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“Crazy Girls” 25th anniversary celebrations at the Riviera from Oct. 1-3, 2012.
Monday, Oct. 8, 2012 | 2:01 p.m.
"Crazy Girls" 25th anniversary celebrations at the Riviera from Oct. 1-3, 2012.
"Crazy Girls" 25th anniversary celebrations at the Riviera from Oct. 1-3, 2012.
For a quarter of a century without interruption, “Crazy Girls” at the Riviera has bared their butts and breasts with exotic and erotic dance routines. Now producer Norbert Aleman says his updated show will run another 25 years and that one of our Strip’s most recognized statues also will stay put.
To mark the anniversary, the lineup of “Crazy Girls” beauties held a pink-carpet celebration complete with a commemorative cake and an official proclamation naming it “Crazy Girls Day” last week. Among the revelers, porn princess Sunset Thomas with female impersonator Jimmy Emerson of “La Cage Aux Folles.” Ex-Crazy Girl and one-time adult movie queen Jenna Jameson was delayed in L.A. and missed the fun, but other ex-Crazy Girls were in the audience for the show.
“Crazy Girls,” with its eight topless temptresses, is hotter than ever. Through the years, the statistics are as deadly as their measurements: In all, the 186 blondes, brunettes and redheads have danced 16,506 shows. They expanded the show into a Crazy Girls Passion Pit gaming area at the Riviera and starred in the adventure thriller “Las Vegas Crazy Girls Undercover” filmed here with Nikki Ziering, Simona Fusco and Clive Robertson.
A day before the celebration, the “Crazy” cuties set out to achieve a record for the “longest butt lineup,” and some 60 femme fatales claiming “the best butts” in Las Vegas marched in their bikini bottoms alongside the trademark bronze statue of the original lineup that’s still rubbed for good luck by tourists at the Riviera.
Included in the faithful fans raising funds for the American Cancer Society were a 66-year-old former dancer, an exotic dancer, several Las Vegas showgirls old and new and a trio of porn stars. Baring their butts in thongs, bikinis and tank tops without bras brought a serenade of horns from passing drivers, but no Guinness Record as there isn’t such a category, and one couldn’t be established!
“When the bronze was first installed, there was outrage and opposition from our city fathers,” Norbert said. “ But the ‘Crazy Girls’ were immortalized, and there’s no question it is a landmark. When the original posters went up on billboards, there were many car accidents with drivers looking at those butts. The council wanted them removed. There was even a national campaign of people voting whether the butt shot should stay or go. Seventeen million voters said it should stay, and it’s been here ever since.
“We are the longest-running topless revue on the Strip, and we get visitors from all around the world -- millions -- to see the original topless cabaret act that has spawned dozens of come-and-go imitators over the years but, in my opinion, no equals.
“I truly think we have the hottest girls in town. We’ve certainly got the hottest G-strings to accentuate those derrieres and very sexy Paris topless outfits from leather to spiked heels. It’s bawdy, it’s burlesque, it’s a bachelor’s delight, and the stockinged girls in their burst-out corsets dance on the poles right in the audience and on the couches and beds onstage. They are wild and crazy, and they always will be.”
There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it all. I’ve known Norbert, a European full-contact karate champion since he quit the French Foreign Legion as a mercenary and moved to Atlantic City, where his shows ran for 12 years. In 1985, he moved to Las Vegas with “An Evening at La Cage” and then in 1987 created and produced “Crazy Girls,” which he’s also toured in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Australia, Monte Carlo and France.
“I love beautiful women,” Norbert confided. “I love statues of beautiful women, the art of beautiful women. It is not sexual; it is just love of beautiful women. Nothing is more striking than the body of a beautiful women, and that’s what we show every night.”
Norbert, who married former Crazy Girl Jennifer Stowe, now the company manager, summed up: “I’ve had a fun life. I’m still here. I did it my way. I am happy the show will run for another 25 years even after I’m gone.”
Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.
Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.
Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.
Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.
With its glass, star-lit exterior, visitors can't miss the Riviera when driving down the Strip. As the first high-rise to open on the Las Vegas Strip, featuring a nine-story hotel, the Riviera has seen more than 50 years as an entertainment destination in Las Vegas. Top bill acts like Liberace, Dean Martin and the long-running Splash revue (closed in 2006) have graced its showrooms over time.
The Riviera still offers its share of entertainment options with topless revue "Crazy Girls," a comedy club and "Illusions," starring Jan Rouven.
The 100,000-square foot casino has been featured in many films like "Casino," "Austin Powers" and "21." Although the hotel has passed through a long list of owners over the years it has always held on to it's unique theme (for Las Vegas) in that it lacks any particular theme. It also features a William Hill Race & Sports Book walk-up betting window right off the sidewalk on the Strip.
The Riviera has dining options well covered, from seafood and steaks at R Steak and Seafood, a variety of breakfast, lunch and dinner fare at Banana Leaf Café to an international cuisine at the R Buffet.
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