Tuesday, July 15, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

COLUMN: MIKE WEATHERFORD

Magician looking toward downtown

Dirk Arthur will have to learn the joys of commuting up and down Interstate 15 if a pending deal goes through to move his magic show downtown.

Arthur's "New Art of Magic" closed Sunday at the Silverton after an 11-month run. The locals-oriented casino at I-15 and Blue Diamond Road was an easy drive for hauling a dozen exotic animals from Arthur's house, which is a little more than a mile away.

By midday Monday, Arthur still had not signed a deal with a new property, and did not want to announce the new location until it is official. But he did say his show will most likely end up downtown, which makes the Lady Luck the most likely candidate. (The Plaza and Golden Nugget are the only other venues that could accommodate a stage show.)

"I'm disappointed because business is so good right now," Arthur says of leaving the Silverton only a week after an Animal Planet special, "Big Cat Magic," boosted interest in his show.

Arthur was under the impression that the casino needed to close the showroom as part of its expansion plans. But David Krause, the Silverton's marketing director, says almost the opposite is true: The casino wants to free the showroom of a standing commitment to make room for more special events.

"We need a little more flexibility" to book concert acts or use the room for players events, Krause said. "We're very space-challenged, and we plan to utilize it more than we ever have before."

The Silverton recently hosted the Little River Band, and has two more concerts booked for August and three in September, he said. ...

The Silverton isn't the only locals-oriented property to try more concerts. The Castaways recently renovated a bingo room into a special events center, and will host concert acts such as Freddy Fender on July 25.

The new room also will be a forum for man about town Monti Rock III, who will emcee a roster of doo-wop acts periodically starting July 31 and returning Labor Day weekend.

"Just when you think I should go away, I come back," says the Gaming Today columnist who was once a favored Johnny Carson guest and frontman for Disco Tex & the Sex-O-Lettes. "I'm the only guy in Vegas who has fun with Vegas." ...

Buddy Greco and Lezlie Anders will stage their Peggy Lee tribute "Fever!" for the first time in a casino venue on Aug. 14 and 15 at the Suncoast.

The couple debuted the musical at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas last summer. They had been shopping to casinos, but couldn't make the financial numbers work with a 16-piece band, Greco says.

Finally, he took all 29 arrangements and reconfigured them for a seven-piece band that can be augmented with electronics. "This was not written for Las Vegas, but nobody's booking the 2,000-seat theaters anymore," Greco says. "If it works, we will become part of the (Suncoast) rotation." ...

Comic hypnotist Anthony Cools will continue his Thursdays-Sundays residency at the Stardust. The stint was officially booked only through Saturday, but the Canadian performer had hoped to make a full-time go of it on the Strip.

"It's an experiment," Stardust spokesman Jim Seagrave says of the show that's yielded "satisfactory numbers." The marketing for the profane and ribald act will be redirected to focus on alternative newspapers and rock radio stations, "now that we know what he's all about." ...

Atlantic City audiences are sampling "V -- The Ultimate Variety Show." Producer David Saxe launched a second company of his Venetian revue in Atlantic City's Tropicana on July 3.

Two mainstays of the Las Vegas edition, Jeff Hobson and Russ Merlin, temporarily relocated to launch the new effort. But Saxe's big star has turned out to be 10-year-old Tiffany Evans, the "Star Search" champion who opened a Smothers Brothers stint at the Las Vegas Hilton last May.

"Originally I had planned for her to be the pre-show warm-up. But she's so good, I had her closing the show by the second night," Saxe says. The Atlantic City edition of "V" is only guaranteed through Aug. 28. Regardless of its fate that date, Saxe will offer Evans a spot in the Las Vegas show.

Mike Weatherford's entertainment column appears Sundays and Tuesdays.COMING WEDNESDAY