John Katsilometes
Story Archive
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Bravos and, yes, scalpers greet Las Vegas Philharmonic at Smith Center debut
Sunday, March 25, 2012 A capacity audience took in Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2, "Resurrection," at the Smith Center's Reynolds Hall, and the demand for tickets left even Myron Martin searching for a seat.
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MGM Grand is ditching Starlane Mall for name that's just below the surface
Thursday, March 22, 2012 Brad Garrett's Comedy Club opens March 30 in a space currently known as Starlane Mall that is due for a new name in the coming months.
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Marie Osmond to perform without Donny at Flamingo ‘until further notice’
Thursday, March 22, 2012 Having spent, collectively, about a century entertaining audiences from county fairs to Radio City Music Hall, Donny and Marie Osmond have learned to adapt.
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Features
Mike Tyson confronts ... Mike Tyson
Thursday, March 22, 2012 Loved, hated or feared, Mike Tyson has always been the star of his own story. Now, he’s ready to tell the tale himself in a new one-man show.
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Marie Osmond goes solo (as Zowie Bowie declines offer), Joe Cortez's hoops mojo, and more from Rick Faugno scene
Wednesday, March 21, 2012 So it was that Chris Phillips showed up at Rick Faugno’s show Tuesday night at the Lounge at the Palms (where dreams come true) with a tantalizing piece of information: Earlier in the evening, he’d been asked to perform a few numbers with Marie Osmond. Onstage.
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New venture at the Tropicana is a laugh — or, rather, a factory of them
Tuesday, March 20, 2012 Jamie Masada is trying to bring an identity to the Tropicana, one chortle at a time. Masada is the owner of the Laugh Factory franchise, which boasts comedy clubs in Hollywood; Long Beach, Calif.; and Chicago.
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Mike Tyson gets in under the bell as 'The Rosie Show' announces cancellation
Monday, March 19, 2012 Mike Tyson sat with Rosie O'Donnell in Chicago for a taping of "The Rosie Show" this morning, just days after Oprah Winfrey announced the show would be canceled.
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Holy spectacles, Batman! Show brings Gotham City to Thomas & Mack
Saturday, March 17, 2012 Las Vegas has thrown the switch on the Bat Signal. A stage version of how the Caped Crusader joined forces with Robin (aka the Boy Wonder) is heading to the Thomas & Mack Center in the dizzying spectacle “Batman Live.”
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Photos: Tommy Thayer's ace gets KISS Mini Golf off to rockin' start
Friday, March 16, 2012 Tommy Thayer is the lone golfer in KISS. He’s an 11 handicap, very good for any amateur player and excellent for any rock guitarist. But even Thayer is lost as ...
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Clint Holmes adds third show at Cabaret Jazz; Cork Proctor set for show at Railroad Pass
Thursday, March 15, 2012 Clint Holmes might want to pull a cot into Cabaret Jazz for his opening weekend at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts music club. The Smith Center ...
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Brad Garrett rolls toward L.V. with sitcom pilot
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 Brad Garrett is a part-time businessman, but playing funnyman is a full-time job. As his club at MGM Grand’s Star Lane Shops retail corridor moves toward its ...
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It's a hair-raising time at Hard Rock Hotel as DJ Pauly D arrives on the scene
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 DJ Pauly D is the new resident DJ at the Hard Rock Hotel, and his unique appeal should add excitement -- and a sense of hair fashion -- to the property.
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If he can make Mike Tyson cry, Chazz Palminteri can move anyone to tears
Monday, March 12, 2012 He is the man who moved Mike Tyson to tears. Chazz Palminteri is more than that, of course. He’s the acclaimed actor who picks his projects with remarkable ...
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Smith Center opening makes Vegas entertainment Mecca once again
Monday, March 12, 2012 Jennifer Hudson. John Fogerty. Willie Nelson. Joshua Bell. That's how you throw a party ...
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Under an expanding big top, Cirque du Soleil works to keep its edge
Thursday, March 8, 2012 As the inspired experiment "Viva Elvis" closes to make way for "Zarkana," Cirque du Soleil President and CEO Daniel Lamarre says the company is as creatively hungry as ever.
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'Jersey Boys' exploring wide open spaces at new Paris digs
Wednesday, March 7, 2012 “Jersey Boys” has for years enjoyed wide appeal, selling out theaters on Broadway, in London and on tour across the country. In its new Las Vegas venue, the company is finding a different sort of wide appeal -- that of a physically wider stage on which to rock ’n’ roll.
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Old photo brings Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield together -- on Twitter
Saturday, March 3, 2012 Evander Holyfield came across a photo of Mike Tyson and him last month and sent a tweet to Tyson linking to that shot.
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Smith Center adds Carole King and Mavis Staples to gala; mystery of the vanishing theater resolved
Friday, March 2, 2012 Carole King, Mavis Staples and Emmylou Harris are the three most recent names to surface for the opening gala at Smith Center, and expect tickets to go on sale next week for the March 10 show.
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Composers Showcase taking its merriment to Smith Center; Joshua Bell to ring in opening
Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012 Late of Suede restaurant and the Liberace Museum, both closed, Composers Showcase is decamping and moving to Cabaret Jazz at the Smith Center for Performing Arts.
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Burlesque legend Tempest Storm celebrates ‘21st’ birthday
Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012 Tempest Storm is turning 21, and this can only mean one thing: Party.
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Santana goes even more intimate with concert series at House of Blues
Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012 Carlos Santana announced the first 31 dates of his two-year run at House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, where the seating capacity has been dropped to just under 1,400 and tickets start at $89.
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The great storyteller Ron Shock is in a 'very difficult position,' and that's putting it mildly
Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012 Ron Shock was diagnosed in December with urethral cancer, a rare and difficult-to-treat disease. Tonight, his friends in the comedy field are raising money for his medical costs.
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Las Vegas musicians unite to do a good thing for the Las Vegas Musicians Union
Friday, Feb. 24, 2012 No admission charge is required for Sunday's benefit show for the L.V. Musicians Union Emergency Relief Fund, but those attending are asked to donate to the fund to help assist Las Vegas musicians who are union members in good standing and are suffering financially.
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'Thunder' doesn't impress Jake Pavelka, but the power of 'Chippendales' does
Friday, Feb. 24, 2012 Jake Pavelka is known across the country for his turns in "Dancing With the Stars" and "The Bachelor." Through March 18, he's emceeing "Chippendales" at the Rio.
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'Power of Love' Ali celebration raises more than $11 million
Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012 The 16th annual Keep Memory Alive "Power of Love Gala" drew 2,000 celebs and dignitaries to MGM Grand Garden Arena and will be broadcast Saturday on ABC and ESPN 2.
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Post it: House of Blues tuning up for a Santana residency
Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012 Carlos Santana spent 2 1/2 years in residency at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel, a run that ended in November. His next concert hall is House of Blues at Mandalay Bay.
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In pursuing a tribute to Frank Sinatra, Robert Davi is no bad actor
Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012 Frank Sinatra, a hero and inspiration to Robert Davi, appeared in Davi's first film, "Cherry Street," in 1977.
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Skating Aratas to take a spin on 'Ellen'
Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012 The Skating Aratas, the wheeled darlings of “V — Ultimate Variety Show” at Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood, are to be featured on Thursday's episode of “Ellen.” The show is broadcast locally at 3 p.m. weekdays on KLAS Channel 8.
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A wild weekend capped by wicked comedians, winning Wranglers and aerial acrobatics
Monday, Feb. 20, 2012 Sunday was to be a day of rest following a night of weighty opulence at the Keep Memory Alive Power of Love gala at MGM Grand Garden Arena. But Sammy Shore had other ideas, and he is 85 years old.
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Gaming
Business is a family affair for Golden Gaming’s Blake Sartini
Monday, Feb. 20, 2012 Consider the ram, and its significance in the life of Blake Sartini. It is the official animal of his home state — Nevada. When he hunts big game, Sartini often tracks the powerful and elusive desert bighorn sheep.
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Stars line up to honor Muhammad Ali, help Ruvo Center fight brain diseases
Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012 Sometimes, you don’t need words to convey the message. Fifteen minutes before midnight on a Saturday in Las Vegas was one such time. Stevie Wonder ...
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Las Vegas throws a party worthy of 'The Greatest'
Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012 The tribute to Muhammad Ali was an endless barrage of knockout blows at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday night as the stars streamed into ...
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Oscar Goodman goes Shecky as Mob Museum opening prompts a mob scene
Friday, Feb. 17, 2012 Oscar Goodman was quick to joke about his relationship with the current mayor as media and dignitaries descended on the Mob Museum this week. ...
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Sneak peek: Mob Museum set to open, with plenty of larger-than-life figures to greet you
Monday, Feb. 13, 2012 When you walk into the Mob Museum in downtown Las Vegas, you are first met by a beyond-life-size portrait of J. Edgar Hoover holding a semiautomatic weapon trained at the entrance.
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What a Whitney Houston residency in Las Vegas might have looked like
Monday, Feb. 13, 2012 Emmy Award-winning set designer Andy Walmsley used 3D computer graphics to design two renderings of a set to be built for a Whitney Houston residency in Las Vegas that never happened.
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Color from the scene at Thomas & Mack Center: We have a wire job! Rebels win, and Louie Armstrong sings!
Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012 The Thomas & Mack Center was brimming with excitement for the sold-out Mountain West Conference crucial between the home UNLV Runnin' Rebels and the hated San Diego State Aztecs.
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South Point owner Michael Gaughan's take on 'Vegas Stripped': 'I'll give it an 8'
Friday, Feb. 10, 2012 South Point owner Michael Gaughan does not appear in any episodes of "Vegas Stripped," but he is a fan of the show.
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Author relishes writing the life story of ‘larger-than-life’ Oscar Goodman
Friday, Feb. 10, 2012 Among the compelling subjects with whom David Fisher has collaborated are William Shatner and the late Johnnie Cochran. “Oscar Goodman,” Fisher said, “is a combination of Cochran and Shatner.”
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'Power of Love' Muhammad Ali celebration to be broadcast on ABC, ESPN2
Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012 The "Power of Love" Keep Memory Alive gala Feb. 18 honoring Muhammad Ali's 70th birthday will be broadcast on ABC and ESPN2 on Feb. 25.
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A sophisticated look at line-moving and dog-show handicapping from Wynn's Johnny Avello
Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012 Johnny Avello likes the Pekingese to win the Westminster Dog Show, although the Black Cocker Spaniel is the industry's favorite heading into the weekend's competition.
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A party replete with Carrot Top, 'AGT' contestants, a couple of Blue Men, deep-fried Oreos ... oh, and the Super Bowl
Monday, Feb. 6, 2012 Joey Fatone posed for photos, and the crowd relished hot dogs, a great Super Bowl and Madonna at a remarkably quirky Super Bowl party at the home of Carrot Top's personal assistant.
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Ex-Checkmate Sonny Charles took an early ride on Don Cornelius' 'Soul Train'
Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012 Sonny Charles and Marvin "Sweet Louie" Smith found an appreciative audience for their single, "Black Pearl." It was Don Cornelius.
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Motley Crue at the Joint is 'Cirque meets rock' with flames, rollercoaster drums and even 'Little Crue'
Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012 Motley Crue's residency at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel is the first of its kind in Las Vegas, and if the show blows up (in terms of ticket sales), there is the possibility of even more Crue in Vegas.
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Former Las Vegas mayor, 'mob lawyer' Oscar Goodman turns a new page with memoir
Monday, Jan. 30, 2012 There is no title, but “Oscar Being Oscar” might well fit. We speak of the upcoming memoirs of the former “mob lawyer” and three-term mayor of Las Vegas.
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The latest dish: Martha Stewart out, Marie Osmond in for the Hallmark Channel
Monday, Jan. 30, 2012 It is news that might make fans of Marie Osmond feel a little faint. According to published reports, Osmond is in line to supplant "The Martha Stewart ...
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Opening act chosen for Kiss-themed golf course
Monday, Jan. 30, 2012 At one side of the room, a guy dressed as Gene Simmons adjusted his studded codpiece. At another, a would-be Paul Stanley was plopped on a leather sofa, munching on a handful of tortilla chips.
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The concept of Pamela Anderson at 'Pamorama' didn't end up too suite
Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012 In the spring of 2006, Pamela Anderson was ebulliently talking of taking up residence at Panorama Towers. A year later, that concept began to unravel.
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KISS fans ready to paint the town (and their faces) at Sunday's KISS Off at Hard Rock Hotel
Friday, Jan. 27, 2012 The top four KISS tribute bands in a worldwide online voting contest and top six finalists to portray Lady Demon will be featured Sunday afternoon at KISS Off at Body English at Hard Rock Hotel.
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Wynn sports book guru Johnny Avello posts 'The Artist,' George Clooney as Oscar favorites
Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012 "The Artist" is listed ahead of "The Descendants" and "The Help" in the annual Oscar odds set by Wynn Las Vegas sports book overlord Johnny Avello, who also likes George Clooney to win Best Actor for "The Descendants."
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After 27 years, porno pioneer Vivid Entertainment is still lighting the fire
Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012 Vivid was the company that made public Kim Kardashian's sex tape, but it is so much more than that. Think "Star Wars."