YOUR WEEKEND: It’s the last chance to see three Las Vegas attractions

Three of my favorite things in Las Vegas are closing soon. These are high on the list of stuff that I recommend to the inevitable friends of friends who come to Vegas and want to know what to see. All three are high quality, unusual attractions that either couldn’t find enough of an audience here to continue or had solid runs in town that ran out of steam. If you haven’t seen them, I strongly urge you to do so. If you have seen them, you know exactly what we’re losing and I’m simply pointing out that your last chance to see them is coming up.

“Spamalot,” which is performed Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. at Wynn Las Vegas is closing July 13.Tickets run between $69 and $179.  Ask about the two for one locals’ special when ordering tickets. The show is the musical for people who don’t normally care for musicals and is very bit as silly and delightful as the film it was based on, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”

“Second City” at the Flamingo, which is performed Thursday through Tuesday at 8 p.m. with additional 10 p.m. shows Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, will close on Aug. 1. “Second City” in Chicago is the premier venue for improvisational comedy and has spawned a good deal of the cast of “Saturday Night Live” as well as SCTV and a dizzying array of first-class comic talents. The Las Vegas show maintained that same quality with a show that is a mix of well-rehearsed sketch comedy and pure improv. This show easily has the greatest ratio of laughs per dollar of any show in town. Tickets are $44.95, and there are no locals’ discounts.

Star Trek The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton is closing on Sept. 1, ending its “10-year mission.” The retail shops open at 11 a.m., and the first ride is at noon. This is one of the great weird venues in Las Vegas, and the only place to get a smoking fishbowl of a drink made up primarily of rum, dry ice and blue (see photo, right). The food is decent, the rides each have their own strengths, and it’s home of the only truly nerd-themed bar in the valley. There will be at least one more grand hurrah, when the Creation Convention brings hoards of SF fans and actors from all the Star Trek variations as well as a slew of other SF shows to The Experiences on Aug. 6 through 10.

There’s a Nevada residents deal for the show that cuts the price from $44.99 to $37.99. For that, you get both rides and a tour of The History of the Future Museum.

I should point out that I use the term “nerd-themed bar” in the most loving way possible. I’ll deeply miss Quark’s Bar. I have a lot of fond memories there. Also, if there’s a rich nerd out there, now may be the time to pitch that Star Wars-themed bar again. There’ll be a nerd-bar vacuum this fall. For a video of former Klingons Paul Mattingly (now at Second City) and Steve Biggs singing Klingon Opera, click here.

Also, in the interests of full disclosure, I have friends in both Second City and Star Trek the Experience and I’d have made that a complete trifecta if only John O’Hurley would have returned my calls.