by Norm Johnson Send Me E-mail

There's a showroom in Las Vegas that is nearly as old as the world famous Strip. It's the last of the great Vegas showrooms, where some of the best entertainers in the world walked or danced on its boards. The Stardust Hotel Showroom, now named the Wayne Newton Theatre, is a beautiful room and was designed with only one thought in mind--the audience.

Last week I mentioned the fact that I would be attending the Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme Show at the Stardust. Well, to be honest, I did a little more than merely mention it that's for sure. Let me tell you one thing for certain. I'm very glad I did not miss Friday's performance. It was magical!

Steve and Eydie are nearly the last of those gentlemen and ladies who actually helped to make the title "Entertainment Capital of the World" a reality when it really meant something. They are without question (in my mind and the SRO crowds) the Honest-to-God Royalty of Las Vegas entertainers. Each time they return to the Stardust (this was their second engagement) it almost takes knowing someone in the Boyd organization to get a ticket. And, what a show! Its two hours of beautiful music ranging from Broadway, the movies and a few of their hit recordings thrown in. These two wonderful entertainers know what the word actually means: to entertain and not be boring! Steve is a jokester of the first caliber and loves to have fun on stage. What is really neat is the opening: 15 minutes of film highlighting brief moments in a career that has spanned nearly 50 years.

I've said it before and I'll repeat it once again: Old is not old unless one had no lasting talent to begin with. Steve and Eydie have proven that quality is what matters to an audience, not the age of the performer! Entertainment buyers should wake up and bring back more of the great entertainers who once graced our stages. They seem to be in demand in cities all over the world, but not in the city they helped to make famous. It's a shame that only the Stardust, Orleans and Suncoast seem to realize the value of the icons from the past.

When was the last time you attended a Harvest Moon Dance? Heck, I can't remember that far back. Anyhow our local organization THE CAST is presenting just that at the Sahara Hotel this coming Monday night (Sept. 27th). Members and non-members are invited to attend and have a ball. The Buddy Greco Big Band featuring Buddy and Leslie Anders will be providing the music. And what a line-up of special guests appearances: Frankie Randall, Freddie Bell, Steve Lippia, Michaelina Bellamy, Tony Sacca, Mark Giovi, Bobby Brooks, Lt. Governor Lorraine Hunt, Dennis Bono, Linda November, Artie Schroeck and the Master of Ceremonies is Ron Garrett. It all gets underway at 8 pm. with tickets priced at $29.95 for members and $34.95 for non-members. Tickets will be available at the door or by calling (702) 737-2878. Admission includes two cocktails and a dessert buffet.

Beginning this Friday afternoon (24th) you'll find me out at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway covering (reporting) on my favorite sport in the world-auto racing. Starting around noon the Champ Cars (previously known as C.A.R.T. and prior to that the Indy Cars) will begin practicing for qualifying at 4:30 pm. After a dinner break the Champ Cars will return to the 1 1/2 mile speedway for final practice from 8 to 9:30 pm. Local drivers Paul Tracy, Jimmy Vasser, Patrick Carpentier and Alex Tagliani will be the favorites for the race and rightfully so: Tracy is third in points, Carpentier fourth, Tagliani fifth and Jimmy is 11th. Grandstand seating for Friday only is free.

Saturday is a busy one at the speedway. It all begins at 10:30 a.m. when the NASCAR Craftsman Series Trucks take to the track for 2 1/2 hours of practice. At 3:30 the trucks will qualify for 36 starting spots on the grid, with the race scheduled to get underway at 7:30 pm. He may not be a local resident but he's driving the Orleans Dodge truck (#62) and that's Steve Park. He, along with local resident Scott Lynch (who will drive a second Orleans Dodge #61) will be gunning for a win. Park is 11th in truck series points with his best finish at the speedway (driving for Dale Earnhardt, Inc in the Cup series) two fourths in 2001 and 2003. Lynch is the reigning NASCAR Winston West Series Champion and has started three times on the speedway, winning the 2002 event. So, both men know the track very well and could possibly pull off a one-two finish

The Las Vegas 350 (trucks) will run 146 laps (219 miles) followed by the Champ Cars Bridgestone 400 presented by Corona at approximately 10 pm--166 laps or 249 miles. It's going to be a full day and night of outstanding racing. A very nice lady friend of mine, Michaelina has been asked to sing the National Anthem at the start of the NASCAR Truck event for the expected crowd of some 60,000 and national television. She's a former member of the United States Air Force where she often was asked to perform the Anthem for various events, including the President of the United States.

While talking about auto racing I would like to report that we (Jeanine Hefflin my navigator) took third place in the 135 mph class at the Silver State Classic Challenge last Sunday in Ely, Nevada. The 90 mile race on Nevada State Highway 318 had seven cars in our class. All together there were about 115 cars entered in the various classes ranging from 95 mph to unlimited. But, to give you an idea of how tight the racing is, the winning car in my class, a 1996 Corvette driving by Craid Loeck averaged 134.9886 mph for the 90 miles. Second place in a 1987 Corvette was Dale Foust driving an average of 134.9346 mph. My Camaro Z28 sponsored by K&N Filters covered the distance at an average of 134.9256 mph. It was like two blinks of the eye. At times we were bucking headwinds of 25-35 mph with gusts hitting us across the highway at points along the route, which made the race quite interesting at times. Another fun time was had by all. The next race is in May 2005.

Well, gang, that's it for this week. I'm outa here!

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