John Katsilometes reports that Arizona Charlie’s Decatur plans to bring back the Palace Grand Theatre

By John Katsilometes (contact)

Monday, Jan. 22, 2007 | 7:14 a.m.

By the time Arizona Charlie's Decatur turns 20, it will likely be celebrating the return of the Palace Grand Theatre. One of the city's first true "neighborhood" casinos, AC's on Decatur Boulevard opened in 1988. For years its signature venue was the Grand Theatre, which stage performances by an often eclectic series of performers - John McEnroe (yes, the tennis legend and sometimes guitarist), Dr. Hook, Herman's Hermits, Leon Redbone and the Lovin' Spoonful all graced the somewhat makeshift 800-seat showroom.

But in May 2000 the theater was turned into a 500-seat bingo hall. A sold-out performance by Bobby "Blue" Bland seemed to serve as the old theater's send-off. But last week General Manager Ron Lurie said he is in discussions for the design of the new ballroom and plans to turn the bingo center back into an entertainment and banquet facility. "We're talking to architects and drawing plans. We'd like to start relatively soon," Lurie said. "We'd like a flexible, multipurpose facility. We'd go back to chair seating, cocktail tables, and it would be for 500 to 600 people."

Lurie said the master plan would call for a new 8,000-square-foot bingo room that would be "sophisticated, nonsmoking." And today, the hotel opens an Outback Steakhouse, replacing the Yukon Grill (but good news for those looking to dine on the quick: the Sourdough Cafe remains open).

NoteMart

YOU could be the next Marcel Vigneron: The open casting call for Season 3 of "Top Chef" will be from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 11 at the Culinary Institute of Las Vegas, 2350 Corporate Circle in Henderson (just a muffin's throw from my desk, as it turns out). Go to www.bravotv.com for info. ...

Palomino Club manager Adam Gentile is frustrated. Gentile, who leases the famous all-nude club from his father, Las Vegas attorney Dominic Gentile (who took over ownership of the club in March as payment for defending previous owner Luis Hidalgo Jr. in a murder case) says he is unable to afford paying cab drivers to deliver customers to the off-the-beaten-path establishment on Las Vegas Boulevard North in North Las Vegas. "I can't afford $70 a head, which is what some of these clubs are paying, to get people out here," Gentile, who celebrated a grand reopening of the club in August, said Friday afternoon. The next few weeks are crucial for the future of the club, the valley's only club to allow totally nude dancing and full alcoholic beverage service. ...

On top of the world lookin', down on creation: Brass, the nightclub atop Hennessy's Tavern on Fremont Street and Las Vegas Boulevard, opened Friday night. The grand opening is weeks away, as workers finish assembling what is billed as the "world's largest pint," which is the club's towering sign. ...

The sign seems to beg for a lawsuit, but Elvis' Restaurant & Lounge, which opened last month at 545 E. Sahara Ave., three blocks east of the Strip, is owned by Elvis Presley impressionist Elvis Nargi, for whom the business is named. That keeps the blue meanies policing any infringement of Presley's name and image away ...

They call me the squanderer, yeah I'm the squanderer: An H2 in downtown Las Vegas with the plate MY401K.