Tuesday, September 23, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
MIKE WEATHERFORD: New entertainment tax brings price hike to Dion's show
Need a reason to feel good about sitting in the "cheap" seats for Celine Dion's "A New Day ..." at Caesars Palace?
The $87.50 and $127.50 balcony seats have been spared a price hike that kicks floor seats up $25 -- to $175 and $225 -- in a move that's at least partly a reaction to a new entertainment tax.
Dion's show in the 4,000-seat Colosseum was a primary target for a new
10 percent entertainment tax on venues with fewer than 7,500 seats; concert arenas with 7,500 seats or more pay 5 percent.
The Colosseum was singled out as far back as May, when Nevada Taxpayers Association President Carole Vilardo pointed out the venue's tax-free status to the Assembly Taxation Committee. Before the Legislature raised taxes last summer, laws written in the 1960s -- when showrooms dominated the Strip -- applied entertainment taxes only to venues of 2,750 patrons or less.
A spokesman for Concerts West, the Los Angeles-based producer of "A New Day ...," could not be reached for comment. But it's evident that the extra $5 and $2.50 -- on top of the $20 and $15 that would have covered the taxes on the old ticket prices of $200 and $150 -- are helping to pay the tax for balcony-sitters.
The implication would seem to be that money is no object for die-hard Dion fans, while those lofty balcony seats might be a harder sell. ...
The Society of Seven will be looking for another port of call on the Strip, and magician Steve Wyrick is possibly taking the Hawaiian group's place at the Aladdin.
"We've been told they're going in a different direction," says Tony Ruivivar, leader of the variety act that closes on Sept. 28 after a year at the hotel.
Wyrick said Monday that "an announcement will be forthcoming," but added that he wouldn't be interested in renting or sharing a room.
And Friday, "X" producer Bobby Bolling said that "for the time being, we're being told we're coming back" after an Oct. 21-Nov. 14 break that would give Wyrick -- or any other act taking over the early time slot -- time to set up and rehearse.
"Nothing's official yet," Aladdin spokeswoman Tyri Squires said. The current Aladdin management isn't sure whether the new owners -- a group fronted by Planet Hollywood Chairman Robert Earl -- will take over at the end of December or the end of June, she adds.
Ruivivar says his group would have been happy to stay until the transition. "We're doing terrific business," he says. "The dinner package (a $55 combination with the Zanzibar restaurant) has been great." Seniors clubs from developments such as Anthem and Summerlin have come as groups, he adds.
But, Ruivivar concedes the hotels are chasing a younger dollar these days. "We're trying to stay in town," he says. "We love to be here in Vegas. Entertainment is so pulsating here."
Besides, the group already enjoys the unique position of being in two places at once. The group "cloned" itself with a spinoff to take its place in its longtime berth at the Outrigger hotel in Waikiki, Hawaii, while the original group works the mainland.
Ironic postscript: The Society of Seven came to the Aladdin after a stint at the Golden Nugget, where Mirage headliner Danny Gans' management protested that his contract required only one impressionist in the corporate family.
The Society of Seven doesn't strictly do impressions, but it created some ripples on issues such as in-house advertising. Ruivivar says that Gans indirectly sent the group lots of business in recent months with his series of cancellations at The Mirage. ...
Producer Dick Feeney announced the opening lineup for "The World's Greatest Magic Show," which debuts at the Sahara next month: Joseph Gabriel, Kevin James, Nickolas Knight, the Majestics, Sylvester the Jester, Jason Byrne and host Jeff Hobson.
That means Hobson will be leaving "V -- The Ultimate Variety Show" at The Venetian for the three-month contract at the Sahara. "V" operates under the continued possibility that The Venetian will buy out the lease from the outside firm that operates the Showroom at The Venetian. But "V" producer David Saxe says he has reason to believe "V" will be there for at least another six months. ...
Early Clover has the kind of animated showmanship and comic persona that can fool most people into thinking he's one of the original Coasters, rather than a member of a spinoff group, Cornell Gunter's Coasters, playing at the Sahara.
But those who gather at Cafe Nicolle on Saturday nights know that Clover's talents don't end there. His late-night following there includes other performers.
On Saturday they have an extra reason to celebrate, with a release party for Clover's second album, "Love Man," at 10 p.m. You can hear the original tunes he wrote with collaborators, along with remakes of the Carpenters hit "Close to You" and the Nat King Cole standard "Unforgettable."
Mike Weatherford's entertainment column appears Sundays and Tuesdays.
