Sunday, Feb. 26, 2006 | 8:19 a.m.
On Friday night at the Stardust Conference Center, LeRoy Neiman gave praise to a showgirl.
Make that, the showgirl. The idea. The concept.
"The showgirl, to this day, stands out as a great subject to look at, and to paint," he said just after his painting "Stardust Reflections," was unveiled during a reception attended by about 100 hotel officials and dignitaries.
Neiman's assertion was reflected in his characteristically splashed-with-color oil painting, which depicts a showgirl encircled by the Stardust logo, sign, hotel, a roulette wheel, playing cards, dice and dozens of stacked gaming chips. Above the color burst reads "1958-2006"; the Stardust will be closed by the end of the year to make way for Echelon Place.
Those on hand for the unveiling included Boyd Gaming Chairman Bill Boyd and Las Vegas Art Museum consulting Executive Director Libby Lumpkin (who praised Neiman as one of the great illustrators of his time). The painting by the 78-year-old Neiman, who has a decades-long history of painting what he terms "the Vegas lifestyle" is the first of an ongoing celebration of the resort's 48-year history.
"There are so many memories - none stands out individually," Boyd said of the Stardust, which his company took over in 1985. "What we're doing is preserving those memories, the look and feel of the Stardust." And the showgirls. Don't forget the showgirls.
NoteMart
Oh, that's Rande: In an interview for Fortune magazine, Nightlife impresario (which might be the coolest handle of all time), Rande Gerber says he spends up to a third of his life on the road.
Other highlights of the question-and-answer session with the Las Ramblas investor and owner of Whiskey at Green Valley Ranch: He never checks a bag when flying; says his signature drink is straight Grey Goose or Johnnie Walker Blue (he needs air!); the hottest nightlife is in Vegas; and the best place to dine with his supermodel wife, Cindy Crawford is "our house," for the privacy. Oh, I get it ...
We'll take your word for it: On its official Web site, the city of Las Vegas Planning & Development Department says, "We've added enough miles of sanitary sewers to reach from city hall in Las Vegas to city hall in Los Angeles." Showing remarkable restraint, we move on ...
Art of the "Deal or No Deal": Monday's season premiere of the NBC game show "Deal or No Deal," hosted by Las Vegas frequenter and curiously bald-pated comic Howie Mandel, features guest appearances by Donald Trump and a contestant from Las Vegas, Peter Montasanti.
Montasanti, 33, is a member of the Las Vegas Metro SWAT team. Trump, 59, is a land developer ...
Steeler-Jet showdown: Wearing a necklace heavy with diamonds, Super Bowl champion quarterback Ben Roethlisberger closed Jet at the Mirage on Friday night. He also spent a segment of the evening at OPM at the Forum Shops at Caesars as part of Jerome Bettis's combo birthday-retirement-Super Bowl championship party. Also on hand were Carson Daly and "Saved By the Bell's" Mario Lopez; those three are friends, or at least were on Friday ...
Clever in a literal sense: This license-plate thing (which I ripped off, shamelessly, from the late Herb Caen) is taking on a life of its own. The most recent to be reported, by a sharp-eyed colleague, is the best yet: LCNSPL8.
Fabulous Las Vegas runs Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday in the Las Vegas Sun. John Katsilometes can be reached at 259-2327 or 812-9812, or at [email protected].
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