Went to see a few shows last week-one new, the other at a new venue. The first was The Scintas, and for the five or six people (not counting my mother) who read my column, you know that this is one of my favorite shows in town and I have been recommending it over the past five years when they performed at the Rio.
They have now taken their act to the Sahara with lots of good new material, but the theater, in my opinion, is a killer. First of all, the theater at the Rio was like a nightclub, with tables and booths and the stage featured a runway that took the performers out into the audience. A perfect setup for The Scintas type of show where there is a lot of interaction with the audience.
The Sahara's theater, like most today in Las Vegas, has "stadium or movie seating". Nothing particularly wrong with that, and I have to admit the seats are comfortable. But the theater itself needs to either be torn down, or a major facelift given to it. There is nothing visually attractive about it. In fact, there is nothing visual about it at all. It's like walking into a large black, gloomy room. Not the kind of setting you want for a show that's full of life with lots of laugh and great music.
The crowd still loved them and they got a standing O the night I was there, but let's hope the hotel gets sold fast (it's on the block now) and the new owners make the theater a priority.
Then there was the opening night for Toni Braxton and the Flamingo has a winner on its hands. Not only does the six-time Grammy award-winning artist have a great voice, but she has a great rapport with the audience, which means everything. Liberace once told me that "no matter how talented you are, you have to be likeable. Likeability is the key to your success. If people don't like you, you'll never make it."
How right he was, and Braxton has it. She knows how to play to the audience and with her nine talented dancers, two backup singers and great band, creates a high-energy, sexy show that should appeal to just about everyone.
The show is called Revealed, a good choice, considering most of the costumes worn by Braxton and her dancers, but it means much more than skimpy costumes, as her selection of songs illustrates.
I am putting this high on my must-see list. By the way, when she changes microphones at one point and says, "I think I deserve a million-dollar microphone," that's exactly what she's getting-a $1 million 500-carat diamond-studded microphone. Now that's class. Tickets range from $69 to $109. Braxton performs Tuesday thru Saturday at 7:30 each night.
ANOTHER MILLIONAIRE
Well, we just made a visitor to our town a multimillionaire. Joey Penn, from a place called Zachary, LA had to go to Las Vegas Market at the World Market Center on business, so decided to tie his vacation into the trip. He and wife Melissa checked into the Wynn and that night started playing some slots. Melissa had hit for $3,000 on a Megabucks machine and talked her husband into playing one of the machines.
He had played down to one credit and rather than cashing out the one dollar, or playing less than max coins, he put in another $100, hit the key and watched as the Megabucks eagles lined up for a jackpot of $12,317,717 Megabucks jackpot. "I saw the first two symbols and thought, 'that's got to be good.' Then the third symbol lined up and I said, "That's the big one'!"
Joey gave full credit to his wife. "She told me to sit down and play it. Melissa had won $30,000 on our last trip to Las Vegas. We thought that was amazing and even commented on how we would never top it." Just a week before their 19th wedding anniversary, the Penns certainly topped it-and more. "Just before it hit, I had told my wife that somebody has to hit it, so why not us?"
As he relaxed in the lounge, the couple had a surprise visit from Steven and Elaine Wynn, owners of the resort, who had come to congratulate him. As for what he's going to do with his winnings, the 38-year-old said, "I'm buying her a Bentley Continental GT." The Penns have just poured the foundation for a new home in Louisiana and had spent their trip browsing the World Market Center for decorating ideas and enjoying the glamorous interior design schemes. "We will definitely be upgrading the interior now." The owner of a successful truck stop and partner in a construction company in Louisiana, Joey plans to continue working. In addition to the home upgrades and the new car, he said he plans to use his winnings to fund his children's college education.
ROCK & BOWL
For all you bowling fans, the Red Rock Casino will be adding a 72-lane bowling center, expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2007. The bowling center will also include a lounge, dining area, full service pro shop and a self-contained VIP bowling area including 12 lanes to host private banquets, meetings and events.
That's about it for this week. I'm too depressed to go on, having not won another Megabucks and seeing it go to a guy almost 20 years younger than me.
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.
