Sunday, July 8, 2001 PRIOR ISSUE   -   ARCHIVES
Robert Goulet, ESPN Zone, Rita Rudner, Studio 54, Professional Boxing, More...

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by Jackie Brett

Singer Robert Goulet moved into the Venetian's Showroom on July 2 for a nine-week run. The baritone is famous for his roles in "Camelot," beginning as a young man playing Lancelot and later maturing into the role of King Arthur.

"Robert Goulet: The Man and His Music" also features singer Paige O'Hara and the Vincent Falcone Orchestra. Tickets range from $78 - $88, call 702-948-3007.

In anticipation of ESPN Zone's grand opening on July 20, at New York-New York, the resort's Statute of Liberty is wearing a custom-made ESPN Zone pinstripe baseball jersey. Her specially contoured shirt weights 190 pounds and measures 34 feet from neck to hem. The giant shirt took four weeks to create and utilizes 250 yards of material. To dress Miss Liberty, it took ten dressers up to four hours with the use of a crane.

The new 425-seat Cabaret Theater built for comedienne Rita Rudner's new show at New York-New York is currently being shared by a trio of rock and roll nostalgia acts. Rudner's 8 p.m. performances are followed at 10 p.m. by Cornell Gunter's Coasters, The Buck Ram Platters and Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. The three groups are expected to do at least 12 weeks, possibly longer. Tickets are $46 and $36 for the 4 p.m. matinee on Saturday, call 702-740-NYNY (6969).

The Coasters open the show with all their fun tunes like "Charlie Brown" and "Yakety Yak." They get the audience totally involved. The Platters, one of the top vocal groups of the 1950s, are best known for their ballads and No. 1 hits like "The Great Pretender," "My Prayer," "Twilight Time" and "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes."

Martha Reeves and the Vandellas had their string of hits through the 1960s. They bring the show back to an uptempo pace with "Dancing in the Streets" and "Nowhere to Run."

The press was treated to an introduction of the recently opened Caf‚ Lago at Caesars Palace. The 660-seat upscale 24-hour coffee shop has a dramatic view of the opulent pool area. Pianist David Osborne performs in the center of the elegant dining room at a Steinway grand piano, Wednesday through Sunday.

Another reason for the gathering was to showcase Osborne's new 16th CD release; "David Osborne Plays the Music of Elton John." NorthStar Music has sold more than one million of his records nationwide. Osborne was the featured pianist in Caesars' famed Palace Court restaurant until it closed. The Steinway featured artist has performed at the White House for former presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton.

Comedian David Brenner is alternating with The Amazing Jonathan and his comedy/magic in The Theatre Ballroom at the Golden Nugget downtown through Oct. 31. Both shows are great so you may just want to see them back-to-back.

Tickets for Madonna's Sept. 1-2 concerts at the MGM Grand are very pricey and hard to come by. She's setting all kinds of sales records. No question, her fans are loyal.

Comedienne Paula Poundstone's recent bout with the law may affect her upcoming scheduled July 28 appearance in Club Madrid at Sunset Station. She's been a Las Vegas headliner over the past several years and her most recent appearance was at Sunset Station last February.

Comedian Jerry Lewis has cancelled his July 19-22 dates at The Orleans, reportedly because of illness. He also cancelled his performance date last January due to back surgery.

Jeffrey Osborne has a new album "That's For Sure" and he's set to perform at Sam's Town Live! on Friday, July 20. He began his career as the lead singer with the pioneering R&B group, LTD in the 1970's. In 1980, he went on his own and followed with a string of hits including "On the Wings of Love." Tickets are priced from $29.95, call 1-888-464-2468.

The line-up of celebs for Andre Agassi's sixth Grand Slam for Children benefit at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sept. 29 is growing. The first commitments were from Elton John and Don Henley, now comedians Dennis Miller and Ray Romano have signed on.

The wild alternative antics of The B -52's will appear at the Mandalay Bay Resort's Bay Rock outdoor beach concert series on Friday, July 13. Cheap Trick will follow on Saturday, July 14. The Mandalay Beach Stage is set in a 11-acre beach environment. Listeners can enjoy the show from a blanket on the sand or from in the surf provided by a 1.6-million-gallon wave pool framed by palms, waterfalls and giant fire pots. For tickets, call 702-474-4000.

Marching to her own drummer, the lady with the quirky name Whoopi and defiant dreadlocks will headline the Le Theatre des Arts at Paris Las Vegas, July 25-29. Tickets are $75, call 1-877-374-7469 or 702-946-4567.

TOP OF NEXT COLUMN

Studio 54 at the MGM Grand will host special guest DJ Rachel Auburn on Tuesday, Aug. 7. Auburn is known internationally for her music style and her massive club hit "Machine Man." She was the first western female DJ to play in China and has played in many countries. In August 2000, she played to 17,000 people in Johannesburg, South Africa.

EDEN: Erotically Delicious Entertainers Night at Studio 54 with guest DJ Rachel Auburn is open to the public. There's a $20 cover charge for men and tickets are sold at the door. Cover for the ladies is complimentary. For information, call 702-891-7254.

The MGM Grand in partnership with Stingray Studios of Columbus, Ohio, plan to sell a line of black and white celebrity photographs to guests and visitors. Stingray supplied the hotel with 15,000 photo reproductions during the property's remodeling project completed in 2000.

Limited edition reprints of celebrity photos displayed throughout the MGM Grand will be for sale through Stingray catalogs that will be in all 5,000 guestrooms and in the property's Art of Entertainment retail store. Sales over the Internet will begin this month. Prices for the framed photos of nearly 100 celebrities range from $250 to $400.

The Lied Discovery Children's Museum, located about five blocks from the Fremont Street Experience, features more than 100 interactive exhibits in a 25,000-square-foot facility linked to the Las Vegas Library at 833 Las Vegas Blvd. North. The current touring exhibit, "The Good Earth: Folk Art and Artifacts from the Chinese Countryside" features 25 paintings and 15 artifacts ranging from children's toys to clothing, all representing daily life in rural China. The display runs through Aug. 18.

The children's museum opened in September 1990 and a face-lift for the whole museum is being planned within the next five years. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily except Monday. Admission is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors and children 2-17, and free for children under age 1. For information, call 702-382-3445.

A 2.3-acre parcel of Strip land next to the Aladdin is suppose to be auctioned off on July 24 for a minimum bid of $21.3 million. One group wants to develop a 500-foot-tall, Arabian-themed Ferris wheel. The idea is inspired after the 450-foot, 2-year-old London Eye Ferris wheel that towers above the Thames River.

The Ferris wheel would be a big undertaking. As many as 512 people would be able to ride in 32 cars at one time, with 16 people in each. Each car would be 24 feet wide by 18 feet deep and 12 feet tall with a full, handicapped-accessible bathroom, stocked beverage bar, fire suppression system and car attendant. The cars would feature video cameras and have Internet access.

If you have a wait at McCarran International Airport, it's nice to know that there's a 24 Hour Fitness club available. Day visitors who don't have workout gear handy can pay $30 for a package that includes shirt, shorts, socks and a small workout towel, which they get to keep, plus the use of shoes and a bath tower, which they return. If they have their own gear, the fee is $15. Additionally, airlines sometimes hand out $5 discount coupons when a flight is delayed.

Facilities at the 24 Hour Fitness include a sauna, steam room, various sorts of aerobic-conditioning equipment, free weights and resistance machines. The club also has trainers and training programs and various classes.

There's plenty of boxing scheduled this summer beginning with the first fight card in the 5,000-seat Caesars Palace Pavilion. Attila "The Hun" Levin of Sweden, one of the most highly regarded young heavyweights in the world, will meet hard-hitting Ray Austin of Cleveland in one of two 10-round heavyweight co-main events on Friday, July 10, on the "Everlast Heavyweight Explosion" boxing series card presented by Cedric Kushner Promotions.

Robert Davis of Akron, Ohio, will face Sedreck Fields of Richmond, Virginia, in the other 10-round heavyweight co-main event on the nationally and internationally televised card. Tickets are $20 and $40 plus a $3 handling fee, call 1-800-634-6698 or 702-731-7865 for fights at Caesars Palace.

The next night, Saturday, July 21, Heavyweight championship challenger Michael Grant will fight for the first time in almost 15 months when he takes on highly regarded Jameel McCline in the 10-round semi-main event on the Shane Mosley-Adrian Stone WBC welterweight championship card.

In the main event, WBC welterweight champion "Sugar" Shane Mosley will defend his title against Adrian Stone. This will be the second time Mosley defends his WBC 147-pound title at Caesars Palace. Mosley's most recent successful defense was March 10 at the hotel when he stopped Shannan Taylor in the fifth round. Mosley won the WBC welterweight championship June 17, 2000, in Los Angeles with a unanimous decision over Oscar Del La Hoya.

The Grant-McCline fight starts at 6 p.m., with the Mosley-Stone title bout beginning around 7 p.m. Tickets are $50, $100, $200 and $300 plus a $3 ticket-handling fee.

Vladimir Klitschko from Germany will defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) heavyweight title on Aug. 4 in "Summer Storm" at the Mandalay Bay Events Center against Las Vegas-based Charles Shufford. Also on the same card, champion Bones Adams will take on champion Paulie Ayala in a premiere world junior featherweight title fight. Tickets are $50, $100, $200 and $400, call 1-877-632-7400.

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Editorial Content Copyright(c) 2000-2001 Jackie Brett; Internet Presentation Copyright(c) Las Vegas Leisure Guide