Troubled festival may call LV home
A promoter who envisioned a crowd of 150,000 for a controversial rave festival said he is pulling out of Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and moving to Las Vegas.
It was not immediately clear what Las Vegas venue promoter Pasquale Rotella of Insomniac Events had in mind for the Electric Daisy Carnival.
"Recent events have created an environment that makes producing (the carnival) at an appropriate venue in Los Angeles an insurmountable challenge for 2011," Rotella said in a statement, according to an Associated Press report.
Negotiations with the Coliseum hit a snag last week when the general manager of the Coliseum resigned after published reports surfaced that he let a top assistant work for Insomniac in the area of security during last June's festival. The event came under scrutiny when a teenager died from an overdose of Ecstasy.
The electronic music extravaganza would require about 50 to 100 acres.
Options could include Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the Thomas & Mack Center and Sam Boyd Stadium, which was the former site of Vegoose, a Halloween arts and music festival which drew 40,000 on its best days.
Multiple stages would be set up outside the venues in the parking areas.
"Vegas is the perfect home for it," said a Las Vegas businessman who was one of the one of top rave promoters on the West Coast in the 1990s.
He told Vegas Confidential: "They should welcome Rotella with open arms because this event would bring in millions of dollars in additional revenue to the hotels and county."
"You're talking about Woodstock," the source said. "Vegas is years behind the rest of the world. Europe does shows with a million-plus people. Rotella's the biggest and best at what he does."
MAY I RECOMMEND
Oscar Night America, the Las Vegas version, will include for $97.50 the opportunity to make a grand entrance Sunday at the Palms by limo delivery and a red carpet stroll with VIPs. Proceeds benefit Variety of Southern Nevada-The Children's Charity, one of the valley's oldest charities. Ticket options start at $50 and go up to $500 for the deluxe treatment. All include the afterparty at the Playboy Club. Tickets: www.ONALV.org or call 702-383-8466.
SIGHTINGS
Boxing champ Floyd Mayweather Jr., celebrating his 34th birthday with a posse of 30 at Criss Angel's "Believe" show (Luxor) on Thursday. ... Duane "Dog" Chapman, catching stares as he walked through the Bellagio on Wednesday in his trademark sunglasses. Paul Stanley of KISS, having lunch at Simon at Palms Place on Thursday. Comedian Dennis Miller, dining at Japonais at The Mirage on Wednesday. Caesars Foundation's executives, presenting a $100,000 check Wednesday to USO Las Vegas during a ceremony inside McCarran International Airport. The donation will go to local USO programs and services.
THE PUNCH LINE
"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he wants to outlaw prostitution in his home state of Nevada. He said he wants to keep prostitution where it belongs -- in Washington, D.C." -- Jimmy Fallon
Norm Clarke can be reached at (702) 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com.
