Sunday, July 16, 2000 PRIOR ISSUE   -   ARCHIVES
Darren Romeo "The Voice of Magic", The Showboat, Tim Conway & Harvey Korman, More...

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Jackie Brett
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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.

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Tim Conway and Harvey Korman shared a sound stage together for a decade on CBS Television's "The Carol Burnett Show," that ran from 1967 to 1978. Now they are sharing a concert stage while they tour together. After a near "sold out" status in April, the tour will stop at the Las Vegas Hilton again for shows on July 28 and 29. Tickets are $55, $65 and $75, call 1-800-222-5361 or 702-732-5755.

Conway and Korman will re-create five sketches from "The Carol Burnett Show" with the help of comedian / impressionist Louise DuArt, and they will do individual stand-up routines.

Conway became a regular on the "Steve Allen Show" in the 1950s before becoming a featured performer in "McHale's Navy." For 20 years, he appeared on national television variety shows and starred in three variety specials of his own.

Korman was also an in-demand guest star during the heyday of the variety television show from the 1960s though the 1980s. For his work on "The Carol Burnett Show," he earned four Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award.

Sting has returned to the U.S. supporting his new platinum album, "Brand New Day," which is a collection of songs exploring the theme of love. He'll appear at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, Aug. 19.

Recording since 1978, accruing a dozen Grammy's and four Brit Awards, Sting also extended his reach by acting in films from 1979's seminal "Quadrophenia" to the recent British comedy romp, "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," appearing on Broadway in "Threepenny Opera," and embracing activism for causes as varied as rainforest preservation and Amnesty International.

Tickets to see Sting are $40.25, "$75.25 and $125.25 plus applicable service charges, call Ticketmaster at 702-474-4000 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.

Lance Burton recently celebrated the fourth anniversary of his "Lance Burton: Master Magician" production show at the Monte Carlo Resort. He also recently completed taping a 30 minute public service program and commercial for the National Clean Cities Program to tout the benefits of clean air fuel such as electric, natural gas, propane, 85 percent ethanol and bio-diesel in vehicles. There are 80 member cities and Las Vegas was one of the first cities to join the national program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy.

The Dixie Chicks were recently in Las Vegas headlining at the Thomas & Mack Center for a crowd of 11,500 people. While in town, the gals visited the "La Cage" female impersonation show at the Riviera. Afterwards their management called and asked if the "La Cage" cast could impersonate The Dixie Chicks and be filmed.

The star of "La Cage," Frank Marino and two other cast members will be putting this tribute together and the film will be shown at all The Dixie Chicks shows while on tour.

Award-winning comedienne Paula Poundstone will perform at Sunset Station's Club Madrid on Friday, July 28. Tickets are $25, $35 and $40 plus tax, call 702-547-7777.

This fall, Poundstone is set to become a celebrity panelist for a revival of the classic game show, "To Tell The Truth." Another project in the works is a book of humorous essays.

Poundstone's 20-year career has included many "firsts:" the first woman to win a CableACE Award for her first hour-long HBO special, "Cats, Cops and Stuff;" live coverage of the 1992 political conventions and presidential inaugurations for "The Tonight Show;" the first person to provide backstage commentary at the 1993 Emmy Awards; and comedic pre-and post-shows for the 1994 Oscar telecast.

Award-winning singer Lorrie Morgan will appear at the Orleans Showroom, July 21-23. She'll be singing songs from her "To Get To You - A Greatest Hits Collection" album on BNA Records. Tickets are $44.95, $49.95 and $54.95 plus tax, call 702-365-7075.

The Improv Comedy Club at Harrah's will feature headliner Maryellen Hooper, a winner of the coveted "Best Female Stand-Up" comedy award, Aug. 1-6, along with two fellow comedians. Tickets are $24.95 plus tax.

Margaritaville, the lounge located in Boulder Station, is changing its name to "KIXX." Summer specilas currently being featured in KIXX are happy hour from 4 to 7 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays. For $1 each, guests have a choice of select beers, Margaritas, martinis, well drinks or house wine. For more information, call 702-432-7769.

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