The team that propelled Siegfried & Roy's illustrious career will represent and produce Las Vegas' freshest new talent, Darren Romeo "The Voice of Magic."
Feld Entertainment Chairman and CEO Kenneth Feld, Siegfried and Roy's longtime manager Bernie Yuman, and for the first time the master illusionists themselves, will join forces to showcase Romeo.
Romeo combines illusions with a singing voice. Now 24, Romeo has been a magician since age nine. After high school, Romeo starred in the legendary off-Broadway musical "The Fantasticks." He left the show and moved to Las Vegas to perform at Caesars Magical Empire. Most recently, he was featured in his own show at the Flamingo Hilton.
The Showboat on Boulder Highway was recently sold and the first signs of how the resort will change have come in the form of a new restaurant called the Blue Marlin. The eatery was formerly The Plantation followed by a murder party dining experience.
The Blue Marlin is a Spanish and Mexican seafood restaurant with additional chicken and steak offerings and an innovative menu. Complimenting each entree is one of Blue Marlin's 14 fresh salsas made daily, ranging from a mild melon salsa to the hottest possible, habanero salsa. The menu contains a salsa heat index, and although the Blue Marlin recommends a salsa for each dish, guests can customize their meal by selecting their own salsa. Traditional side dishes such as deep fried cactus also accompanies each entree.
Appetizers and soups range from $3.95 to $7.95, entree sized salads go from $895 to $10.95, and entrees are between $8.95 to $16.95. Authentic homemade Spanish and Mexican desserts include Kahlua flan with a caramel sauce and a Fire and Ice ice cream, a rich custard ice cream with a pepper extract that makes it both cool and refreshing.
The interior decor adds to the coastal dining experience. The dining room's focal point is a mural depicting an ocean side scene created by Los Angeles artist, Michael Jackson.
The Blue Marlin is open at the Showboat nightly except Wednesday. It opens at 4:30 and closes at 10 p.m. on week nights and 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. For reservations, call 702-385-9156.
Sammy's California Woodfire Pizza has opened a second restaurant in Las Vegas. The new location at 3900 Paradise Road in the Citibank Plaza is convenient for visitors. It's a couple blocks from the Strip in an area considered to be "restaurant row." Hours are daily from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. on weekends. Dining inside seats 160, and outside seats 40, call 702- 836-1999.
Petite comedienne Rita Rudner has successfully taken over the 380-seat room at the MGM Grand that formerly housed the Catch A Rising Star comedy club followed by a live version of "Wheel of Fortune." Rudner was originally scheduled to end her gig on July 29, and is now extended through mid-September.
Tickets are $30, plus tax and handling charges, call 1-800-929-1111 or 702-891-7777.
Bela Tabak's "Riders of the Thunderdome" set a record in the "Splash" show at the Riviera on July 2, at the 7:30 p.m. performance, by having five motorcycles race at 40-plus miles-per-hour within a 14' 3" diameter cage of metal mesh.
At the time of the inception of "Splash" at the Riviera in 1985, the act consistedofo two motorcycles inside of an 18-foot diameter ball of metal mesh. Today, the routine is performed nightly in "Splash" with four motorcycles.
Born in Budapest, Hungary, Tabak has been globe riding since he was 12 years old; first on a bicycle and then, once he became accustomed to the spinning sensation, on a motorcycle. He has been in "Splash" since the time of its debut; first as the teenage son of the globe act's lead rider and then on stage himself. For Tabak, seeing as his grandfather Panaair McValley originated the act in the early 1900s in Brazil, this is not just a job. It is a matter of family tradition.
Superstar headliners Tim McGraw and Faith Hill will make a one night appearance at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Saturday, July 29. The Soul 2 Soul Tour 2000, marks the first time McGraw and Hill have toured together as a couple. They met in1996 during McGraw's "Spontaneous Combustion Tour." The show will feature solo performances as well as a special set of duets. Tickets are $35, $55, $75 and $95, call 702-474-4000.
Faith Hill's six-year career has been a steady success climb. Recently, she celebrated a multi-platinum crossover success with her latest album, "Breathe," which debuted at No. 1 on both The Billboard Top 200 and Country Chart.
In the past few months, Hill has performed at the Superbowl, The Academy Awards, The Grammy Awards, VH1 Divas 2000, and most recently the Academy of Country Music Awards, where she was honored as Best Female Vocalist for the second consecutive year.
Tim McGraw kicked-off his musical career in 1994 with a multi-platinum album, "Not A Moment Too Soon" which sold more than six million copies. His current award-winning album, "A Place In The Sun," debuted at No. 1 on both the Billboard Top 200 and Country Album Charts. McGraw is among only five other male entertainers, who have won the coveted Country Music Association Album of the Year for two consecutive years.
Diana Ross and the Supremes will invade the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, Aug. 5. For the first time in three decades, Ross along with Lynda Laurence and Scherrie Payne, two "Former Ladies of the Supremes," will perform the songs that seduced and dazzled an entire generation. In total, eight women have been part of the famed trio called The Supremes.
Las Vegas is the final stop on the "Return To Love" summer tour. Tickets are $32.50, $50, $100 and $250 plus a $2 handling fee, call Ticketmaster at 702-474-4000 or visit www.mgmgrand.com.
TOP OF NEXT COLUMN