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Pass the Mic: Elissa Sawaya spices up T and T’s Mischieve Wednesdays

Elissa Sawaya, emcee of T&T’s Mischieve Wednesdays

Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010 | 12:05 a.m.

Oh, cucumbers. We've loved you for years with our Hendrick's gin and our Pimm's Cup, but we might like you even more with Jose Cuervo Platino tequila. It feels like infidelity, but the Spicy Lover gives us plenty of reason to cheat. And with the addition of a little heat from the Tabasco pepper sauce, sweetness from the agave nectar, a squeeze of lime juice and some Mexican cilantro, we just might make it our regular liaison.

Growing up, she dreamed of being a circus clown, but anyone who's seen Elissa Sawaya in person knows that ringmaster would be a much more appropriate way to make a living.

The emcee of T&T's midweek blowout, Mischieve Wednesdays, Sawaya has always been center stage, whether it's as a singer, a ballroom dancer or on the mic at Luxor's raucous Mexican restaurant, refereeing a human rooster fight.

"It's hilarious," she said of the weekly showdowns, where competitors dressed as chickens try to stomp out balloons attached to each other's feet for a $25 bar tab. "Some people get really down and dirty and take it so seriously."

When she's not ruffling feathers in the ring, the South Bend, Ind., native is calling out drink specials, making groups of guests feel welcome among the rowdiness and arranging impromptu dance-offs or pushup contests—with a complimentary tequila shot on the line. Oh, and there was that time during National Finals Rodeo…

"There was a cowboy from Texas, and he was huge, and I jumped on his back, and I was riding around like a rodeo. It was awesome."

Aside from her duties at T&T, Sawaya also sings and dances with Candy Glam Girl, an all-female group of former go-go dancers. Good thing she didn't take up with Ringling Bros. — Las Vegas seems to be circus enough.