"Avenue Q," that delightful puppet show at Wynn Las Vegas, has been given its notice. Less than eight months since its arrival from Broadway, Steve Wynn has pulled the plugged, effective the end of May. Not that it wasn't making money -- it was, despite the theatre being only slightly more than half-filled most nights. It came down to a matter of economics. Wynn will soon be bringing in another Broadway hit show "Spamalot," for which he was going to build a new theater at a cost of some $80 million, or so it was reported.
With "Avenue Q" not being able to draw larger crowds after being here this long, the future didn't look that great. So why spend 80 mil when you already have a theater that is housing a show that may or may not remain profitable? Better to spend your money on other things that Wynn is planning and use the existing theatre to showcase your new production. I understand the reasoning but feel badly as "Avenue Q" was one of the best production shows in town.
Which leads to the question, why did it not catch on with the public and what will the likelihood be of "Hairspray" and "Spamalot" succeeding? It's hard to point your finger at one specific reason for the failure of "Avenue Q," but one could be that very few people had heard of it or knew what it was about. The same can be said of "Hairspray" and "Spamalot." People like familiarity, whether it's going to see a headliner or a production show. They want to have heard positive things about it and have an idea of what they're in for when they attend.
This is particularly true in our town when tickets for any of the major Strip shows are running at around $100 a piece or more. Secondly, most of our visitors come in for three or four days. If they are planning to see one show over that short period of time, they want to make sure it's something that they know -- or at least think -- they will enjoy. I don't blame them. But you'd think with a population of 1.7 million and almost 40 million visitors annually, we'd be able to support just about anything. I guess not.
TROP TUMBLING?
It's not official yet, but another landmark may soon be coming down. Aztar Corp., the company that owns the Tropicana, has outlined plans for the property. It calls for the Trop to be imploded, making way for a megaresort that would include a 2,725-room hotel, a 100,000-square-foot casino and 200,000 square feet of shops and restaurants. The cost? A cool $1.2 billion. The only stumbling blocks seems to be that Aztar wants the banks to finance the whole project. I hope they have more clout with the banks than I did with the mortgage company. Anyway, as I said earlier, this is not official yet, but the hotel is only taking reservations until April..
MARDI GRAS ON THE STRIP
Well, it's Mardi Gras time again and Harrah's, O'Sheas and the Flamingo Las Vegas are going to celebrate it on the Strip on Saturday, Feb. 25. The celebration will be outdoors between Carnaval Court, O'Sheas and Margaritaville, kicking off at 4 p.m. and running until midnight. Festivities will start with a parade beginning at Harrah's, moving past O'Sheas and ending at the Flamingo. The Mardi Gras-style parade will make its way between the three hotels every half hour from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. joined by a Dixie band, Harrah's and Flamingo showgirls, greeter girls, a baton twirler and Margaritaville stilt-walkers.
And keeping with true New Orleans fashion, showgirls and greeters will toss ceremonial beads to spectators. There will also be giveaways and coupons for Southern Comfort drink specials at Carnaval Court, O'Sheas and Margaritaville and specialty cocktails created just for Mardi Gras, such as Southern Comfort "Harrahcane" and "Southern Lemonade." After the parades end, the celebration will continue with live entertainment at Carnaval Court, O'Sheas and Margaritaville.
FEELING THE PINCH
All that excitement has me worn out, so I'll end with a letter from John O. Bergman of New London, Minnesota, who writes: "Dear Lenny, I just spent 8 days in Las Vegas playing at various casinos. Your observation about the machines being tight is exactly my experience. My experience at the Rio is especially bad. I could put 50 dollars in a machine and would be lucky to get 10 dollars back to continue play.
"The Rio, a Harrah's property, has become a facility that has become very expensive to be at. Blackjack tables at 15 to 25 dollar minimum. Crap tables at 15 minimum and if you happen to get in at a 5 dollar minimum, which is seldom, and they change the minimum, there is no grandfathering in the 5 dollar bet. After they bought the other facilities on the Strip everything tightened up.
"We stay at the Stardust and like that property, but now I see that they are planning to go big time and rebuild. I'm afraid that they will do the same thing that Harrah's has done, tighten the machines and raise minimum bets to pay off their debt as quick as they can. I think that the Strip has become a haven for the very rich and the small time bettor, like myself and many others, will no longer play there.
"The casinos off the Strip are and will become more appealing. I'm sure the Station casinos will appreciate that statement. I like Las Vegas and like the excitement of being in your great city but I think the merger of companies and the purchase of facilities by a very few companies has and will decrease competition and consequently prices for entertainment will increase to a point where many will not come.
"I know that the whales make up a huge portion of the profit for casinos but I bet it is the little guy that pays the bills on a day to day basis for the casinos. Thank you for your time and I appreciate and enjoy your column. Your forthrightness is enjoyed."
Good luck and I'll see you on the Strip. And don't forget to check out www.valleyblogs.com
If you have a question or a Las Vegas experience you would like to share with my readers, please e-mail me at lennylv@cox.net. Please include your full name and the city or town where you live.
