Living in Las Vegas

Only hours ago, about 3 a.m. this morning, Las Vegas Entertainer Danny Gans died at his Las Vegas/Henderson home in his sleep. His wife called 911 at 3:44 a.m. to say he was having trouble breathing but by the time paramedics arrived it was too late. He was only 52 years old and the exact cause of this death is unknown at this point. He is survived by his wife and 3 children.

Danny Gans is known as the “Man of Many Voices” and has been the reigning Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year for the past 11 years. He has had a longtime comedy and musical show at The Mirage and I recently posted about how in February of this year he moved his show over to Steve Wynn’s The Encore. His marquee on the Strip is the largest freestanding one in the world.

Danny Gans’ manager, Chip Lightman, told Fox 5 News, “Obviously everyone is in shock, I apologize, I want to give you more information but right now I have to tend to the family.”

Steve Wynn is in New York, but stated over the phone, “Elaine and I and all of us in the Company are devastated at the loss of our brilliant, talented and loving friend. One of the most unique human beings and entertainers in the world has been taken from us in an unexpected moment. A profoundly tragic event that leaves us all sad and speechless. The loss of Danny to his wife Julie, his children Amy, Andrew & Emily is at this moment impossible to comprehend. We will all try to go on with our lives without our dear friend. At this moment it seems almost impossible.”

The Mirage said “All of us in The Mirage family are deeply saddened to learn of Danny’s passing. We all knew of his devotion to his family and our hearts and prayers are with his wife and children.”

Once again, Las Vegas as we know it is changing. I will keep you updated as new information arises.

Wheel of Fortune is coming to Las Vegas!  Not permanently, but 4 weeks of shows will be taped at The Venetian and The Palazzo.  The shows taped in Las Vegas will be opening up Wheel of Fortune’s 27th season. Wow! I love it when game shows come to town because that usually means open auditions for Las Vegas locals, and this time is no exception.

Wheel of Fortune’s Wheelmobile will be rolling into town this Friday, April 24th at Planet Nissan on Centennial Center Blvd. and then on Saturday at Henderson Nissan in the Valley Auto Mall.  After that it will come back on Saturday, May 2nd at The Venetian and finish the auditions there on May 3rd.

I might have to try and get out to one of these auditions, I would love to be on Wheel of Fortune, and who knows, this could be the big one!

Spring break is officially over.   The April 15th tax deadline is on the horizon. All good things must come to an end.  Financial issues are on my mind.  And it seems like financial issues are affecting many members of the Las Vegas community. The top headlines today include:

Nevada bankruptcies skyrocketed in 2008

Bankruptcy petitions increased 71% last year while the national increase was only 31%

Educators protest outside Legislature, seek more funding

Today while lawmakers were voting on several education issues, over 150 teachers and students carried signs reading “Nevada’s children deserve better” and “Teachers are worth every penny.”

Harrah’s needs more debt relief to avoid bankrupty

Harrah’s debt swap offer cut Harrah’s debt by nearly $2.3 billion, but Wachovia said that may not be enough.

MGM Mirage faces Friday deadline for $70 million City Center payment

MGM Mirage and Dubai World, which each own 50 percent of CityCenter need to commit a combined $3 billion to finish the development by December. 

And to end on a happier note . . .

Reno mom hits $33 million Megabucks jackpot

Rachel Romanick had been playing for about 10 minutes at Terrible’s Rail City casino when she hit the jackpot.  This is the second largest Megabucks jackpot in history at a Sparks casino.

The 2009 Las Vegas Film Festival begins Friday, April 9th.  It being held at one of my favorite new hotel casinos, the Eastside Cannery.  The festival will show a variety of film screenings including world premiers and Oscar-winning films.

The mission of the Las Vegas Film Festival is to bridge the gap between independent film audiences and filmmakers, as well as to connect emerging filmmakers with established industry professionals.  The 2009 Festival will showcase Feature Files, Shorts, Foreign Films, Documentaries, Animation, Music Videos, Television Pilots, A Nevada Filmmakers Showcase, Experimental Films, a Screenplay Competition and more.

The Sin City Brewing Company was created by former Gordon Biersch Director of Brewing Operations, Richard Johnson.  He invented his own beer brands and originally sold them on tap in Las Vegas bars and taverns. Three years later the Sin City Brewing Company opened its first microbrew bar inside the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood and the newest location just opened last weekend inside the Flamingo.

There are four beers; Sin City Weisse is an unfiltered, straw-colored wheat beer with a low hop profile; Sin City Light is micro-brewed with imported malted barley and lightly hopped with a satisfying CO2 bite; Sin City Amber is full-bodied and made with imported and specialty malts; and Sin City Stout is a full, richly flavored beer with a roasted, coffee-like taste and a hint of chocolate.  The beers are brewed 100 kegs at a time at the Gordon Biersch Brewing Co.

If the opening of new location goes well at the Flamingo, owner Richard Johnson hopes to expand to more locations on The Strip.  He stated, “We needed a microbrewery that identified with Las Vegas.  People go into cities and the easiest way to get to know the town is to buy some of their products. Beer is definitely one of those ways to get to know the city. It makes you feel like you get a taste of the place.”

My hubby and I are definitely interested in trying out Sin City Beer and will be giving a full review shortly!

In the middle of the worst recession in my lifetime, NV Energy feels entitled to ask to raise residential power rates a whopping 16.7%!  About 100 residents attended the public hearing today at the Las Vegas Convention Center to ask NV Energy how they could raise power rates during this time of economic hardship.

Some people angrily pointed out the high salaries of NV Energy executives.  Others suggested NV Energy work to reduce its debt or delay the coal-fired power plant in Ely  NV Energy executives said they are aware the timing is bad, but the improvements will eventually be good for consumers and that they have no choice in asking for the  increase right now.

CEO, Michael Yackira, said he does not expect NV Energy to get the full increase it is asking for but that they will get something in between what their request is and what the Public Utilities Commission recommends.

There are three more hearings scheduled to be held at the offices of Public Utilities Commission until the final decision is made in May.  Fortunately it looks like we will at least get a break for the summer and the rate increase will not take place until September.  It’s just so frustrating when I have been working so hard to lower our other bills that now this power bill rate increase is probably going to cancel out that savings!

Las Vegas Metro Police Department has hopped on the Twitter bandwagon.  Check is out at http://twitter.com/LVMPD.  They are posting tweets such as, “3:30 this morning this guy robbed a convenience store near Rainbow & Westcliff. Recognize him? Call Crime Stoppers.” or  ”officers are heading to local elementary schools over the next few days to read to students in honor of Nevada Reading Week.”After reading over a lot of the the tweets, it looks like it’s a pretty good mix of live updates and promotional or informative type messages about Las Vegas Metro. 

Richelle Leaverton, who monitors activity on Metro’s Twitter page says, “This will give the public real-time information about what is happening.  If there is police activity in a certain part of town and streets are closed, the public will know immediately and can change their routes accordingly.”

Twitter is becoming bigger than I ever expected. I mean they were just talking about twittering during the basketball game. I have had an account for ages, but haven’t really used it.  I am thinking maybe I will head on over to it and see if I can remember the password.

As part of a 132 city tour, the Independent Entertainer’s Association’s Rock the Economy concert and family music festival will be held at the Henderson Pavilion on Saturday, April 4th.  The entertainment starts at noon and goes until 10:00 p.m.  There is going to be plenty of food, fun and music. 

Rock the Economy is intended to be an economic stimulus for different local schools, churches and social organizations.  In addition,  it is a way for people wanting to make an economic change in their lives to talk to different companies that can help with their home financing, finding employment or establishing new credit. 

The Independent Entertainer’s Association is a group of independent entertainers, businesses, and enthusiasts who support the independent entertainment industry.  The founder of IEA, CD Palmer, based the association on four objectives; production, promotion, distribution and marketing.

IEA recently built a  brand new recording studio at it’s local office to assist independent artists in being able to compete with the mainstream entertainment industry.  They will have programs for the novice and professional musician.  Sounds like it’s going to be a great opportunity for all the local Las Vegas musicians.

I think the Rock the Economy concert is exeactly what Las Vegas needs right now.  A little food, a little fun and a little free advice.

Good news Las Vegas, good news!!  Carlos Santana is going to be in town for a while.  He is set to be the first headliner at the Joint at the Hard Rock playing a show titled “Supernatural Santana: A Trip Through the Hits”  Nice!  Who does not love Carlos Santana?

The band will include drummer Dennis Chambers and keyboardist Chester Thompson.  They are scheduled to play 36 shows at the Joint over the next two years. Opening night is May 27, 2009 and you can get tickets at the Hard Rock ranging in price from $79 to $299.

Santana has been performing since 1966 when he formed the Santana Blues Band.  In 1999 Santana’s album, “Supernatural,” won 9 Grammy’s and the single “Smooth” was the last #1 single of the 90’s.  In 2003 he was named #15 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.”

Mike Weatherford of the Las Vegas Review Journal did a phone interview with Carlos Santana that I liked. in it, Santana stated:

“I’m 61 years old. I understand that if you go see (a legacy performer), there’s certain things you need to hear. We’re respecting and abiding with that,” he said.

“I can use my imagination and go to a sound check in Fresno in 1969 and it’s the first time we ever played ‘Black Magic Woman,’” he said. “I can go there and stay there. I can tell you what it smells like, I can tell you where the sun is. I utilize my imagination to take me to that place where it’s a first-time wonderment.

“A sunset and a sunrise is never the same. Making love is never the same unless you’re doing something wrong.”

I really need to see this show!

We are up to the 10th annual Pet-a-Palooza here in Las Vegas, this Saturday, April 4th.  Looks like it’s going to be a nice weekend and the location is perfect for a nice day out with your pets.

Pet-a-Palooza will be open from 10am to 5pm at the Star Nursery Fields over at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Admission is $5 for people ages 3 and up and all pets are free.  The Mix 94.1 website states that this year a portion of the proceeds will be donated to all the animal rescue groups attending Pet-a-Palooza

I have to list the performances because some of them sound so cute and funny!

 THE FINDLAY VOLKSWAGEN MAIN STAGE SCHEDULE

• 10:45 AM SMALL DOG FINALISTS
• 11:20 AM POPOVICH COMEDY PET THEATER 
• 11:45 AM BIG DOG FINALISTS 
• 12:00 PM THE SCRIPT  
• 12:45 PM UGLIEST DOG FINALISTS 
• 1:00 PM  BARKING CONTEST 
• 1:15 PM BEST DOGGIE SMILE FINALISTS 
• 1:30 PM   OWNER-DOG LOOK ALIKE FINALISTS 
• 1:45 PM   BEST DRESSED FINALISTS 
• 2:00 PM   MAT KEARNEY  
• 2:45 PM   BUFF DOG FINALISTS 
• 3:00 PM   HARRIEST DOG FINALISTS 
• 3:15 PM   MR. AND MRS. PETAPALOOZA 2008 
• 4:00 PM   GAVIN ROSSDALE

DOG SHOW ARENA SCHEDULE

• 10:30 AM PURINA INCREDIBLE DOG TEAM
• 11:30 AM SIT MEANS SIT DEMONSTRATION
• 12:30 PM PURINA INCREDIBLE DOG TEAM
• 1:30 PM WEINER DOG RACES
• 2:30 PM PURINA INCREDIBLE DOG TEAM
• 3:30 PM SIT MEANS SIT DEMONSTRATION
• 4:30 PM PURINA INCREDIBLE DOG TEAM

In addition, Mr. & Mrs. Pet-a-Palooza 2009 will be chosen among all 1st place winners of each contest.   Good luck and have fun!