John Katsilometes captures a moment at the Orleans when a figure from old Vegas gave up an E-string to save a band

Monday, May 7, 2007 | 7:14 a.m.

The request from the stage was both urgent and unlikely. "We have an emergency: Does anyone in the audience have an E string for a violin?" Killian's Angels frontwoman Beth Mullaney asked Saturday night during the band's appearance at its regular haunt, Brendan's Pub at the Orleans.

The scene reminded of when Monty Hall used to ask contestants on "Let's Make a Deal" for odd items in exchange for cash: "Anyone with a plastic fork gets $50! Anyone carrying a pair of tweezers gets $75!" As the crowd chuckled, the Irish-tilted quintet's violinist, Adrienne Lefebvre (standing in for Lisa Viscuglia, who is also a member of the "Monty Python's Spamalot" orchestra) scrambled to find a replacement for the string she had just snapped.

It seemed a lost cause as the all-female band slipped into the requisite jokes about having no spare E-strings, but plenty of G-strings. But at Mullaney's plea, a dapper, silver-haired figure in the back of the club took action. Longtime Vegas musicians know the man well: he is venerable violinist Sasha Semenoff, who has been performing in town for at least 50 years. Semenoff's quartet was a fixture at the Dunes in the mid-1960s, and he played the orchestra leader on the "Aces High" TV show in the film "Casino" (he also had a cameo as a waiter in "Honeymoon in Vegas"). I met Semenoff in November 2005 when he performed during a wedding ceremony for Margaret Nixon and Francis Murphy of Defiance, Ohio, the couple who exchanged vows while seated in motorized scooters at the drive-thru "Tunnel of Love" at the Little White Wedding Chapel.

Semenoff retrieved a string from his violin, which was in his car at the casino, presented it to Lefebvre and, like a king of life-saving apparition, faded from the scene. Lefebvre was still shaking her head at the end of the show, saying that she would never forget to pack spare strings again. Mullaney added, "I just asked as kind of a joke. How crazy is that?" Very, and it was an old Vegas moment money can't buy.

NoteMart

"Lucky You" might not be the worst Vegas film ever, but it is not the best. The "Tomatometer" on the movie review Web site www.rottentomatoes.com gives the Drew Barrymore-Eric Bana vehicle a 29-percent positive response from its 80 critics across the nation. In an artistic piece of backhanded praise, A.O. Scott of the New York Times says, "Even though 'Lucky You' is sometimes dull and generally thin, there is something winning about the movie's genial lack of ambition." ...

The 99-cent breakfast special at the Eldorado Casino in downtown Henderson has sparked some strange behavior among the cafe's more cost-conscious diners. One regular customer demanded toast with his discount breakfast. He was told it does not come with toast or, if you will, English muffin. So he angrily left, only to return the next morning with the same demand. Again, he left in a huff. He finally returned the next day, which was a Friday, and said he had thought it over and he would have the special (which is two pancakes, two eggs, hash browns and bacon or sausage) without the toast. He was disappointed to learn that the special is offered only on Mondays through Thursdays ...

Promotional material for Ivan Kane's Forty Deuce Nightclub and Burlesque says the club is, "Discreetly located on the casino level hidden behind the escalators to Mandalay Place ..." Of course, "discreet" is a relative term for a club that sits just off the casino floor near House of Blues at Mandalay Bay ...

The billboards are still up (or at least were on Sunday afternoon), but the promotional building wrap for "The Producers" was removed from the north side of Bally's over the weekend ...

The Downtown Cocktail Room at the "Fremont East" entertainment district has grown enough to offer valet parking, which is available Thursdays through Sundays. The club is also targeting professionals who work downtown with drink and food specials each Thursday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. ...

Tilt! California plate on a silver Ford Focus station wagon parked Friday at the Pinball Hall of Fame, RNNGBEL.