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Powerhouse resort execs assembling NFL draft party in Las Vegas

Transmissions from my missions around VegasVille:

LVE NFL combo

Two names to know representing Las Vegas Events in the Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Authorities planning team for next April’s 2020 NFL draft event in Las Vegas: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas President and CEO Bill McBeath and the D Las Vegas and Circa co-owner Derek Stevens.

McBeath, lest we forget, headed up the negotiations that kept the National Finals Rodeo from moving to central Florida in 2013. Stevens, of course, has become a trailblazer in the new Fremont Street Experience evolution with the development of Circa, the mega-resort on the site of the old Las Vegas Club.

I would logically deduce that Stevens’ Downtown Las Vegas Events Center to be a stage during the NFL draft event, which is to be centered on the Strip.

New tunes

Ex-Jersey Boys cast member and busy headliner Travis Cloer is working on a new album and has enlisted Frankie and Tony Moreno as co-writers. No time line, but these gentlemen have worked together before.

The Morenos are back onstage Thursday night at South Point Showroom, and Frankie is taking pre-orders for his next album, “Pianoforte,” an instrumental release that drops Aug. 9. This is his eighth release in the past year. Five have hit the top 10 of the Billboard Heatseekers chart (requisite plug that Moreno performs the PodKats! theme, “The Biggest Cat in Town”).

Tape live!

Inspired comic mime Tape Face is marking his 333rd show at House of Tape at Harrah’s with a 3-minute routine at 7:33 p.m. Saturday (all those 3s are because that is the number of magic). Sam Wills, who inhabits the Tape Face persona, is selling “Stay Weird” trucker hats, the same caps worn by Howie Mandel on “America’s Got Talent — The Champions.” Wills promises the new material will be “wonderfully weird.”

Pick up The Spare

The Spare Room at Downtown Grand opened formally on Tuesday night, a satisfying night laughs with “Don Barnhart’s Hypnomania” and the “Delirious” comedy lineup, which is a blend of touring stand-ups. Shows run 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays.

This week”s “Delirious” lineup was Ron Coleman, Joe Caliz and Ryan Cole. From Caliz, expressing his religion, “I know there’s a God, because I’ve done enough mushrooms to have spoken to him face-to-face.” And somehow, Cole hustled my personalized license plate from me during his set. Maybe he hypnotized me.

Naturally, I adhere to the rule you should see a hypnosis show every six months, just for that format’s odd but time-honored appeal. No two individuals play the air drums the same way, that is certain. One guy took off his shirt while performing something akin to a striptease (a manzier, anyone?). Local entertainer Kaylie Foster, daughter of keyboard great and “Opium” musician Ronnie Foster, was among those called to the stage. She can actually dance the steps to “Thriller,” as we found out. At least under hypnosis.

Cool Hang Alert

Penny Wiggins, known for years as Amazing Johnathan’s sidekick Psychic Tanya and a cast member in Criss Angel’s “Mindfreak Live” at Luxor, has assembled two shows that are the very definition of a Cool Hang. Both are at Las Vegas Golf Center’s L.I.T. (Local Industry Tavern) at 6730 Las Vegas Boulevard South.

At 10:30 p.m. Tuesdays it’s a scenester karaoke night. I’m not characteristically a fan of the karaoke (turns out I am pitch-imperfect), but this drop-in was a lot of fun as comics joined host Kelly Vohnn, who plays Reba McEntire “Vegas Gone Country” at V Theater at Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood. Somewhere out there is a clip of this scribe navigating “Stray Cat Strut” by the Stray Cats.

Venerable comic Geechy Guy (who can kill in any room, 10 minutes at a time) sang a bunch of songs, too, and he actually has a good voice. Never knew that.

Wednesdays, also at 10:30 p.m., it’s “Local Comedy Night,” with Caliz closing out a lineup of Steve Pearl, Mark Wilde, John Clark, Tyler Jolly and Bruce Purcell. Impressive talent, across the board, and no cover charge.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His PodKats podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.

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