Performers prepare for ‘boot camp’

Some folks may quibble over Las Vegas' billing as "The Entertainment Capital of the World." But juggler and acrobat capital of the world? No contest.

Little wonder, then, that NBC's "America's Got Talent" has chosen Las Vegas as the site of its first five-day "boot camp," scheduled to continue at Planet Hollywood Resort through Thursday.

The "boot camp" -- which will air as a two-hour episode during the show's upcoming run -- is designed to winnow 76 acts, featuring 100-plus performers, down to about 20 acts, explains executive producer Ken Warwick.

Before that happens, however, experts in juggling, acrobatics and other fields will help contestants punch up their acts.

"We want to take the best into the final round," Warwick notes, adding that judges David Hasselhoff, Piers Morgan and Sharon Osbourne will look for performers who have "an act with depth."

Ultimately, he adds, "the only yardstick is, 'Is it entertaining? Do I want to see more?' "

Sounding off: Las Vegas isn't quite the cowboy capital it was during Helldorado's heyday in the '40s and '50s.

But that's not keeping the 42nd annual Academy of Country Music Awards from heading to the MGM Grand Garden Tuesday for a live CBS telecast. (The sold-out show begins live at 5 p.m. and will air at 8 p.m., on a tape-delayed basis for us Pacific time zone types, on KLAS-TV, Channel 8.)

Hosted by Reba McEntire, the show is "more of a concert event with awards" than an awards show with musical performances, explains Richard "RAC" Clark of Dick Clark Productions (yes, it's named for Clark's dad), who's executive producing the show with colleague Allen Shapiro.

But don't expect a kick-back pace from the performers, Clark cautions. After all, viewers' "clickers are in their hands," he says. And part of the job involves figuring out how to keep viewers focused on the show.

One way: speed up the show's flow, with awards segments ranging from 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 minutes -- and performances in the 3- to 3 1/2-minute range.

"We could create a fast-paced edited show," Clark says, "but it's not the same as live."

Also on the country beat, the Great American Country cable channel's "Top 20 Country Countdown" is expected to shoot a segment Wednesday at the Fremont Street Experience.

Cashing in: Poker aces anted up at least $100,000 each over the weekend to participate in the fourth season of GSN's "High Stakes Poker" at the South Point, which also hosted the show's previous season.

Among the players in the cash game: Daniel Negreanu, Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Laak, Mike Matusow, Jennifer Harman and last year's World Series of Poker champ, Jamie Gold. The shows debut in late September.

Carol Cling's Shooting Stars column appears Mondays. Contact her at 383-0272 or e-mail her at ccling@review journal.com.