The Strip

The head-scratching and bellyaching began way, way back in 2003 with Zumanity. Then came Ka, Love and Criss Angel Believe. But despite naysayers who think Cirque du Soleil is overextended in Las Vegas, here comes show No. 7, Viva Elvis at Aria, officially opening on Feb. 19. What’s the deal? Steve sat down in Montreal last month with Cirque CEO Daniel Lamarre, who says he wouldn’t mind having 50 shows on the Strip, if only they had the time and available showrooms. But the company is busy elsewhere these days, planning permanent productions at Radio City Music Hall and the Kodak Theatre, not to mention trying to fix the disastrous Criss Angel show at the Luxor.In Banter: Aria room rates falling some more, Super Bowl weekend is up, Obama steps in Vegas poop again and Bill Clinton is a headliner.Web: TheStripPodcast.ComEmail: TheStripPodcast@aol.comVoicemail": 206-424-4737Blog: VegasHappensHere.ComTwitter: @TheStripPodcast

He was the longest-running solo headliner in Las Vegas history, but just a few years since the end of his last gig, he’s probably largely unknown to most of you. Kenny Kerr was the first female impersonator to go mainstream on the Strip, opening in the late 1970s at the Silver Slipper, paving the way for Frank Marino. But Kerr’s story is that of great success and constant financial problems, and when Steve spoke to him in December he had left a gig at a small Italian restaurant miles from the Strip because the owner hadn’t paid him.  This hour, hear Kerr provide some fascinating history about Las Vegas, go into some shocking detail about drag queen life and, of course, some delicious slaps at his archrival.In Banter: Drama at Casino Montreal, a visit to Cirque's mothership, Aria v Bellagio, news on the Fontainebleau, Matt Goss and Krave and more.Web: TheStripPodcast.ComEmail: TheStripPodcast@aol.comVoicemail": 206-424-4737Blog: VegasHappensHere.ComTwitter: @TheStripPodcast

Could there be a better way to kick off a new year than with Mr. Las Vegas himself, Mr. Wayne Newton? The Wayner needs little introduction, so let’s just say that you’re about to hear the answer to all your questions including whether he’s had plastic surgery, what he thinks about his weathered voice and much more. Newton, who is performing at the Tropicana at least through April, also addresses his Norm Clarke plagiarism flap, explains how he recovers memorabilia stolen regularly from his Vegas home and for the first time ever reveals the scene from Vegas Vacation that he had nixed. Plus, is his Trop show profitable? What does he think of others who call themselves Mr. Las Vegas? Why doesnt' he want to see Viva Elvis? What was it like to meet Howard Hughes? And much more.In Banter: Garth's amazing NYE on the Strip, Zowie Bowie's partial demise and more.Web: TheStripPodcast.ComE-mail: TheStripPodcast@aol.comTwitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.comVoicemail: 206-424-4737

Nowadays if you’re the offspring of an iconic celebrity, you can get work regardless of your talent as the subject of a reality TV show or by providing vacuous interviews on red carpets. But some of those who were born famous actually spend their lives trying to both make their own mark on the world and protect the legacies of their parents. In this episode, we’ll hear from two men who have done just that, Louis Prima Jr and Sandy Hackett. Prima continues to try to rescue the dying Vegas lounge act that his father made so great and Hackett is a comic and musician in his own right whose Rat Pack production at the Sahara bounces off of his own family history with Frank, Dino, Sammy and Joey. Both have struggled with and enjoyed perks from their famous names and both speak openly about that mixed blessing as well as their fascinating Vegas histories.In Banter: The Aria buffet, Phil Ruffin’s Bellagio play, the Build It Bigger on CityCenter, Forbes on Adelson and Ruffin, the MGM Mirage Xmas Day outage and more.Web: TheStripPodcast.ComE-mail: TheStripPodcast@aol.comTwitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.comVoicemail: 206-424-4737

He can hardly keep track of how many restaurants bear his name, so he’d be forgiven if he found opening yet another one in Vegas to be run-of-the-mill. And yet Wolfgang Puck, seemed as giddy as ever as he inspected the construction site that will, in one month’s time, open as Puck Brasserie at CityCenter. Amid the hullabaloo surrounding Aria’s opening day, the 60-year-old restaurateur found time to chat with Steve about his childhood food memories, what the most famous celebrity chef in the world means by his “less celebrity, more chef” advertising tagline and why he’ll never open a restaurant in a Steve Wynn resort.In Banter: A recap of the Aria opening, the latest on the P-Ho/Harrahs transaction, Wynn’s art purchase, Trump and Adelson’s CityCenter hate and more.Web: TheStripPodcast.ComEmail: TheStripPodcast@aol.comVoicemail: 206-424-4737Twitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.Com

A special 5-minute video montage from the opening of Aria at CityCenter in Las Vegas on Dec. 16, 2009. Includes footage of MGM Mirage CEO Jim Murren ringing the NYSE closing bell via satellite, fireworks over Aria and the public descending on the resort. Also featured are EXCLUSIVE photos throughout the property. The episode is scored by "A Little Less Conversation" by Elvis Presley and "Las Vegas Remixed" by Strange Radio.Site: TheStripPodcast.ComBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComE-mail: TheStripPodcast@aol.comTwitter: @TheStripPodcast

Cirque du Soleil's seventh Vegas show, VIVA ELVIS, had a media preview on Dec. 15, 2009. Here is two minutes of that preview, the "Blue Suede Shoes" number. The show opens for previews Dec. 18 and has a grand opening scheduled for February 2010.Site: TheStripPodcast.ComBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComE-mail: TheStripPodcast@aol.comTwitter: @TheStripPodcast

**Visit VegasTripping.Com and vote for us in the podcast, blog and Tweeter categories!**In case you haven’t heard, there’s a little company opening up a few new attractions out there on Las Vegas Boulevard this month and the guy behind all that is a fellow named Jim Murren. The CEO of MGM Mirage was, for better or worse, the visionary behind CityCenter, the $8.5 billion project that is finally a reality and has already opened the hotel-condo Vdara, the Mandarin Oriental and the mammoth Crystals shopping mall. In the interview you’ll hear in this episode, Steve challenges Murren on several ideas behind CityCenter and Murren offers some surprising boasts – that CityCenter will singlehandedly save the Nevada economy, that he’s never set foot on Encore or Palazzo and much more. Plus, Murren admits that the problems of Fontainbleau and Echelon are good for CityCenter, has tough words about Harrah’s and Station Casinos regarding overleveraging and describes the green elements of CityCenter as “a gift to the United States.” Also, Steve asks, much to Murren's chagrin, if CityCenter is a Vegas version of EPCOT. That’s coming up. Plus RateVegas.Com’s Hunter Hillegas is here to discuss being Steve’s date at the Mandarin Oriental gala last night, to tell all about his exclusive Aria tour and to explain how this Harrah's-Planet Ho thing makes sense. Or not.E-mail: TheStripPodcast@aol.comTwitter: @TheStripPodcastVoicemail: 206-424-4737Blog: VegasHappensHere.ComSite: TheStripPodcast.Com  

Even if you know or care nothing about professional poker, it is hard to imagine you’ve never come across the name Doyle Brunson. Poker’s elder statesmen was there when Texas Hold ‘Em came into being, was there when the concept of the poker tournament was invented and was there when they added hole-card cameras to poker tables to make it interesting for TV viewers to follow the action. Now, at 76, he’s published a surprisingly frank autobiography appropriately titled “The Godfather of Poker” in which he reveals the violent early days of his gambling life, his strained relationship with his father and much more. When Steve spoke to two-time World Series of Poker Main Event champ this week, he opened up some more about the Binion family, mob enforcer Tony Spilotro, Annie Duke, Joan Rivers and Phil Hellmuth, among others. Plus, Steve did the seemingly impossible – he won a bet off Doyle.In Banter: USA Today’s CityCenter piece, New Year’s Eve is back on top, Harrah’s is buying P-Ho but with what?, Hash House A Go Go is opening a Strip location and more.?Web: TheStripPodcast.ComEmail: TheStripPodcast@aol.comVoicemail": 206-424-4737Blog: VegasHappensHere.ComTwitter: @TheStripPodcast 

You may not be all that familiar with the name Frank Caliendo, but it will become hard to miss it the next time you’re on or around the Las Vegas Boulevard. The 35-year-old impressionist known for his work on MADTV and on Fox NFL Sunday just started a 10-year deal to appear nightly at the Monte Carlo, so Steve chatted with him this hour about how that happened, about how he felt about the cancellation of his TBS sketch comedy show and much more. Plus, he explains why he wasn’t at his best the night the media came to review his show.In Banter: More pre-CityCenter thoughts, the future of non-smoking casinos, Lily Tomlin's show and slots, strippermobiles, Mirage's 20th, Golden Nugget's non-price-cutting price-cutting and more.Web: TheStripPodcast.ComEmail: TheStripPodcast@aol.comBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComVoicemail: 206-424-4737Twitter: @TheStripPodcast

Audio from a panel discussion moderated by TheStripPodcast.Com host Steve Friess at the Global Gaming Expo that featured Roger Thomas, DeReuyter Butler, Andrew Kreft and Todd Avery Lenahan. Thomas is the mastermind behind several Wynn property designs going back to Mirage, Butler has been drawing up the architecture for Steve Wynn for 20+ years, Kreft oversees all the horticulture and Lenahan designed the Wynn Buffet as well as the Encore rooms and spa. The conversation includes new details of the plans for the Switch Beach Club area, some surprises about Wynn's initial intentions with both the Dunes and Desert Inn properties and some thoughts on Wynn/Encore versus CityCenter.E-mail: TheStripPodcast@aol.comBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComSite: TheStripPodcast.ComPhone: 206-424-4737Twitter: @TheStripPodcast

At 77, William S. Boyd could just sit back, count his money and let his children carry on his family’s casino and philanthropic legacies in Nevada. But for Boyd, retirement from running the company means being active in it in other ways, and he remains very much involved in the important decisions of Boyd Gaming. Mr. Boyd speaks to Steve this hour about halting construction of Echelon, making a play for the properties of bankrupt rival Station Casinos and old versus new Vegas.In banter: Frank Caliendo opens, Steve bets on Cotto for a friend, WSOP ratings are flat, the Rio is NOT all suites, three popular attractions are now neighbors, crazy Bette fans attack and Jim Murren claims he listens to this show.Web: TheStripPodcast.comEmail: TheStripPodcast@aol.comBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComTwitter: @TheStripPodcastPhone: 206-424-4737

 She’s conquered Hollywood and Broadway and won over the hearts everywhere in between so at 70, Lily Tomlin has finally decided it’s time to become a Vegas headliner. For nine nights, from Nov. 10-18, the comedienne brings her cast of famous characters – Ernestine the telephone operator and bratty 5-year-old Edith Ann among them – to the stage. Tomlin explains this hour her illustrious career never before included the Strip and chats with Steve about her roles in Desperate Housewives, West Wing, Damages and the X-Files. Plus, she explains why she walked off the Dick Cavett show in 1972 in a feminist huff and why she and her longtime partner Jane Wagner won’t be getting married.In Banter: A CityCenter tour, Bette's departure, the WSOP final table, Miles' Oval Office adventures, the disgraceful debasing of The Harmon, a Top Chef viewing party and some we-toldja-so's.Web: TheStripPodcast.ComEmail: TheStripPodcast@aol.comTwitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComVoicemail: 206-424-4737

Four years ago, a San Francisco chef took a gamble and opened up his San Francisco kitchen to the first challenge of a new Bravo TV show called “Top Chef.” At the time, Hubert Keller came across as tough and grouchy but the show was a hit and his Fleur de Lys in California became a place of intrigue for its fans. Fast forward to this year when warmer, cuddlier Keller appeared first on Top Chef Masters and then in an episode of the current, Las Vegas-set season of the show. Business at Fleur de Lys – long an underperformer at Mandalay Bay – is booming. Keller speaks this hour about that, about what it smelled like to grow up above his family’s bakery in Alsace, France, and about how a Frenchman became one of the biggest things ever in the burger cuisine. Plus, as usual, Steve asked Keller about his food guilty pleasures.In Banter: Ticket scalping issues, Barry Manilow, the Podcast-a-Palooza, Harrah's dumb iPhone app, DB leaves Wynn, DB opening at Sands in Singapore and who is the Maori Hi Five?Twitter: @TheStripPodcastEmail: TheStripPOdcast@aol.comWeb: TheStripPodcast.ComPhone: 206-424-4737Blog: VegasHappensHere.Com

When the idea first came up, nobody -- and by nobody we mean Steve -- thought it could possibly work. Chazz Palminteri was a career character actor with modest name recognition next to the likes of, say, Holly Madison, and his plan was to bring a serious autobiographical one-man play to the Strip? Fuggedaboutit. But Palminteri has faced down doubts about "A Bronx Tale" before, and here he is now in the middle of a two-week run at the Venetian that has been extended by popular demand. Palminteri joined us live at the 2009 Vegas Podcast-A-Palooza to discuss the show, his friendship with Frank Sinatra and the chronological problem in his play that only three people have ever asked him about in 20 years.In Banter: Rating the Garth deal, revealing some new slot machine ideas coming to G2E.Blog: VegasHappensHere.ComTwitter: @TheStripPodcastEmail: TheStripPodcast@aol.comPhone: 206-424-4737Site: TheStripPodcast.Com