Passion is really in play now with the curvy Crazy Girls at Riviera. They’ve launched a Passion Pit on an intimate stage complete with pole dancing as players somehow try to concentrate on hitting 21 at blackjack or winning at the three-card poker tables. Naturally, the felt cloth on the Bottoms Up blackjack features the famous rear outlines of the dancers immortalized in the metal sculpture outside the casino resort. The gorgeous dancers perform every Thursday through the weekend, and their moves are telecast on flat-screen televisions throughout the casino.
Congratulations to Cirque du Soleil’s Mystère as the original Las Vegas production celebrates its 8,000th performance at Treasure Island. More than 8.5 million people have seen the show since it premiered on Christmas Day 1993. Cirque’s CEO Daniel LeMarre was on hand with TI owner Phil Ruffin and his wife for the event, and LeMarre spoke about the two Michael Jackson shows next up for Cirque du Soleil.
David Foster & Friends was a nearly four-hour, 30-song powerhouse of music that was also taped for PBS’ Great Performances, which meant that introductions and performances that weren’t 100 percent for various reasons would be repeated, and this was the case, hence the marathon running time. But the audience didn’t care, as loyal fans of the legendary music producer stayed put from the first act, Kenny Loggins, to the final performer, disco queen Donna Summer. As midnight approached, another performer, Las Vegas-raised, Grammy-winning singer Ne-Yo, waited to continue the weekendlong celebration of his 28th birthday.
When celebrated French chef Jean-Louis Palladin was alive and running his hit restaurants in Washington, D.C., and at the Rio here, other chefs literally worshipped in his kitchen. So it’s no surprise that our original French star chef Andre Rochat has kept his memory alive with a series of dinners to raise scholarships to support new chefs. This year, Andre joined with Rick Moonen and his chefs Adam Sobel and Gerald Chin at his RM Seafood in Mandalay Bay to create a magnificent meal taken from the recipe pages of Jean-Louis’ best-selling cookbook.
For more celebrity sightings, check out Vegas Deluxe with Robin Leach
