Reviving a tradition from the glory days of Las Vegas, Liza Minnelli has been given the green light to perform a free show for fellow entertainers.
"Good news," wrote Luxor president Felix Rappaport in a 1 a.m. e-mail Saturday.
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"We are going to do her 'gypsy' show after all, when she returns in November," Rappaport said after a late-night dinner Friday with Minnelli and MGM Mirage executives.
Minnelli had mentioned her desire to re-create the old Vegas days during an interview Thursday. I had asked her if a single Las Vegas performance stood out among her career highlights.
She cited the 2 a.m. shows with Sammy Davis Jr. for the show kids, also known in show business as "gypsies."
"I'll do it again," she vowed during the interview, but not until she talked it over with MGM Mirage decision-makers, she added.
Approval came after Friday's show during dinner with Rappaport, MGM Mirage entertainment boss Richard Sturm and others.
She is at the Luxor's 1,400-seat venue for Thanksgiving weekend Nov. 23-25, and I'm hearing it could be a 1 p.m. show on the 25th, a Saturday.
One thing's certain: After seeing her light up the stage on Friday, her gypsy show will be the hottest ticket this town has seen in ages.
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THE SCENE AND HEARD
Irish dancer Michael Flatley was married Saturday to one of his former dancers, Niamh O'Brien, in Fermoy, Ireland. Flatley's "Lord of the Dance" production had runs at New York-New York and The Venetian. Among the invitees: Las Vegan Jack Wishna, who was unable to attend. Flatley continues to explore the idea of an Irish-themed casino in Las Vegas, Wishna said.
SIGHTINGS
Lindsay Lohan and arch-nemesis Paris Hilton, spotted arriving in a private plane on Saturday and together on the town. ... Eva Longoria of "Desperate Housewives," having lunch Saturday at Spago (Forum Shops at Caesars) with girlfriends. ... Backstage to meet Minnelli on Friday: Clint Holmes; Kelly Clinton; Bill Fayne; Larry Moss, director of "Breath," Holmes' next show; and Robin Leach. Fayne was musical director of The Sporting Club, a music venue in Monte Carlo, when Minnelli performed there in front of Frank Sinatra in the mid-1990s. Minnelli dedicated "Alexander's Ragtime Band" to ol' pal Leach during her show Friday. "We go back to opening night of Studio 54," Leach told me later. "My date was a young Brooke Shields." That party was Leach's first entertainment assignment for a fledgling cable network called CNN. ... ZZ Top, at the Pussycat Dolls Lounge in Pure (Caesars Palace) after dining at Social House (Treasure Island). Also at Pure: actress Shannon Elizabeth and poker pro David Williams. ... Longtime Siegfried & Roy manager Bernie Yuman, with a special guest accompanying him to client Gordie Brown's show (Venetian) on Friday. Yuman's mother, Doris, was celebrating her 91st birthday.
THE PUNCH LINE
"I'm superstitious. I never walk under a ladder, and I never give my address to a congressman." -- David Letterman on Friday the 13th.
