MIKE WEATHERFORD :
Former Stardust performer Thomas heads to The Orleans
Magician Rick Thomas opted to stay loyal to the corporation, not the Boulevard. The Stardust headliner is moving to Boyd Gaming sister property The Orleans in mid-December, after a brief stop at the Suncoast Tuesday through Nov. 9.
The Riviera's main showroom seeks a new tenant and is almost directly across the street from the Stardust. It would more easily conform to the established marketing of afternoon shows: Crowds heavy on sidewalk pedestrians making same-day decisions motivated by discounted tickets or coupon offers.
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"It really came down to staying with the Boyd group. My future there looks positive," Thomas says. And some of the encouragement came personally from Boyd Gaming Chairman Bill Boyd, he adds.
Moving three miles west of the Strip is "something I guess you have to think about," Thomas agrees. But the majority of his Stardust customers came from the south end of the Strip, he says. After 10 years on the Strip, he's hoping his name recognition is enough to get people to travel a little farther to see him.
He doesn't discount The Orleans' base of locals either. "People want a place to send their out-of-town friends to," he says. "When I have visitors, the one thing I don't want to do is take them around on the Strip."
Showtimes are being negotiated, but Thomas is hoping for a schedule that mixes afternoon and evening shows, working around headliners that usually perform in the 800-seat theater Thursdays through Sundays. He will do three shows a day during the holiday season, then cut back to two per day after New Year's.
Thomas won't be the only Stardust transplant over there. Boyd management started giving tours and otherwise edging favored Stardust players toward The Orleans months ago.
And Jim Seagrave, the Stardust's veteran vice president of marketing and advertising, has reported for duty there. John Messana, the showroom maitre 'd who greeted and seated patrons with old-Vegas attentiveness, says he is starting a "fourth career" by studying to be a sommelier at The Orleans.
"Hypnosis Gone Wild," with hypnotists Michael Johns and Terry Stokes, beat it out of a former restaurant space at the Stardust and is already running at the Harmon Theater/Krave nightclub at 9 p.m. daily, taking the spot vacated by the move of "Shag With a Twist" to the Plaza downtown. ...
Las Vegas magicians usually do great business on Thanksgiving weekend, but this year David Copperfield and Dirk Arthur will have less competition. Not only will Thomas miss the holiday, but so will Steve Wyrick, who had hoped to have his new theater open at Desert Passage mall by Thanksgiving weekend.
Now, contractors will turn the theater over to him on Dec. 1, instead of Tuesday as he had hoped. He hopes to do his first ticketed preview on Dec. 13. "There will be many Thanksgivings there to come," he says. ...
If all went to plan, Mel Brooks and David Hasselhoff were to meet with reporters today at the St. James Theatre in New York to drum up interest for the Las Vegas edition of "The Producers." One question the out-of-town reporters might ask Brooks is if he is surprised to find the musical spoof heading to the Strip.
Brooks could always tell them "The Producers" has already played on the Strip. The Bonanza Movie Palace inside the Hotel Bonanza ran the original movie back in July 1968. Believe it or not, the Bonanza stood on the site that Bally's/Paris now occupies ...
One of the worst-kept secrets on the Strip is that Cirque du Soleil and rock 'n' roll magician Criss Angel appear to be collaborating on a new show at Luxor. An announcement earlier this week didn't confirm or deny that, but does note Angel's A&E network show "Mindfreak" will be based at Luxor for its third season. Episodes begin filming Monday. ...
There are two opportunities today for those who just like to watch.
You can almost get close enough to see the cards when the Flamingo's cozy Second City Theatre hosts the VH1 Classic Rock 'n' Roll Poker Tournament. Rockers playing for charity include Sully Erna of Godsmack, Vinnie Paul from Pantera, Ace Frehley of Kiss, Dusty Hill of ZZ Top and Scott Ian of Anthrax.
Admission is free to those 21 and older. The taping commences at 11 a.m.; if you don't get there early enough you can leave a cell phone number to be text-messaged for the 2 p.m. session.
A dozen comedians hosted by Greg Fitsimmons converge on the Empire Ballroom, 3765 Las Vegas Blvd. South, to tape "Special Sauce" for a new Starz Comedy series at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. today. The live audience will be fielded on a first-come, first-served basis. Admission is free but restricted to those 21 and older. ...
Hawaiian entertainer Alben has been testing the desert, specifically the V Theater at the Aladdin's Desert Passage mall. He concludes a month's worth of Friday performances this week at 5:30 p.m. and may return, depending upon the response to this engagement. ...
One last Stardust memory: What I'll miss most about the old place is strolling around the original pool and room wings for the Royal Nevada, the failed casino that was folded into the Stardust. The Royal Nevada once had a showroom that has been gone too long to be missed, but one that gave Las Vegas the earliest Broadway musical I have come across.
In August 1955, Los Angeles-based producer Huntington Hartford staged "Guys and Dolls" at the Royal Nevada. He was able to round up most of the stars of the Broadway production -- which was only 5 years old at the time -- including Robert Alda, Vivian Blaine, Sam Levene and Stubby Kaye.
But some things never change. Blaine's husband-manager Manny Franks supervised the production, and told the Review-Journal the creative team "cut 45 minutes out of the show, which will mean nothing but improvement. ... We have eliminated anything that doesn't specifically advance the plot, and humor that with time has become corny."
