zenferret's blog: "Vegas observations"

Saw a show at the Imperial Palace - not the most elegant of casinos that one... The show was The Legends in Concert, a show full of impersonators or tribute artists. They have a rotating cast so its different each night. It was okay. It started of with my personal favorite - a Jerry Lee Lewis act. Jerry Lee is the real king of rock and roll and this guy did it well. Next was Gwen Stefani. Might have been better if the sound system didn't eat the highs hurting her and the later Whitney Houston acts. Another highlight was the BLues Brothers. Very good job they did. Last was Elvis. Many call this guy the best Elvis in Vegas but I prefer Trent Carlini at the Sahara. This guy was "Fat Elvis, the Las Vegas years" (a name I gave a ferret years ago) while Carlini is better through more of Elvis's life. Not my favorite show but not bad. Liked seeng a collection of Herbies frmo the latest Herbie Reloaded movie in the lobby.

Yet another free dinner in Vegas... Many casinos, especially the locals casinos will bribe you to cash your pay check at their cashier. I have my pay divided into several parts, the 401K and other deductions, a direct deposit and between $100 and $200 just to take into a casino on pay day. I went to Fiesta Henderson. Cashed my check and because I have a player's club card I just a free spin on the electronic wheel. Gott free club points. Got a lot of free club points even. Took my players card over to the buffet and had a free dinner. Fiesta Henderson isn't my favorite casino but its a lot better then the Fiesta Rancho. Too many old people but I don't feel like I'l get mugge in the parking lot.

Dixie Dooley Master Mystifier at the /specialoffers.starwoodhotels.com/Westin_Casuarina/SO.htm?PS=PS_aa_SoCal_Google_westin_hotel_las_vegas_101006_NAD_FM> Westin Casuarina Las Vegas Took the son and his friend to this show. The kids loved it. I thought he was a good classic magician/illusionist. I could have done with out the brief ventriloquism bit though. It wasn't at all his strong suit. Well worth seeing is you are near Flamingo looking for a classic magic show. THe Westin is not a large Vegas resort but the hotel and casino were beautifully decorated. Smallish casino but very nice. The players club though seems to suck. Very unimpressed with them. THey also don't seem to know how really to promote Doolry. THe show hall was kinda lame too I guess. A banquet hall with a smallish stage more than a real theatre.

Trent Carlini -- The Dream King. Contestant on "The Next Best Thing" Not my YouTube bit - I just found it there. Just saw Trent again tonight. His show was even better depite his being tired from taping for "THe NExt Best Thing" on ABC http://abc.go.com/primetime/nextbestthing/index His performance last week on that show was the best Elvis tribute/impersonator performace I've ever seen. It was better than his show tonight bu this show tonight was great. He didn't - I'm sure legally couldn't - say who did or didn't win. If you get to Vegas and want to see a real Vegas Elvis impersonator, I strongly recommend TRent. Best thing at the Sahara. His band is hot. Okay I have a slight crush on one of his back up singers - Nicole. His guitarist and the female trumpet player in particular caught my attention though as musicians.

There are two ways I get casinos to buy me dinner. THe most obvious is the comps. I play in local casinos much more than the strip casinos because they are geared toward comps I want. The Orleans bought dinner tonight at T.G.I.Fridays. They over the past few months would give me either 800 or 1000 points just for earning one point playing. Got 9000 points really fast that way. Today I cashed those points in at Fridays. Yum. This weekend George Maloof owner of the Palms bought me sushi because I'm smart enough to quit when I'm ahead. Boulder Station bought me dinner for the same reason. I'm no big gambler - the most I bet at one time this weekend was eighty cents. But I got free dinners every night. Wave to me if any of you ever get into town....

The Cannery seems to be a new casino up in North Las Vegas. It seemed nicer than the other casinos I have been to up there, but that is not saying much. The casino time was good - it paid for the tickets to the show. But the show venue sucked. Oh well.

Saw a double bill at the cannery tonight. Rare Earth opening for Eric Burdon and the animals. Rare Earth is only one of the original guys and a bunch of aging not so good replacements. Eric Burdon was great. None of the other original Animals but he unlike Rare Earth got great musicians as replacements. If you get a chance to see Rare Earth, hope it is better than they were tonight. If you get a chance to see Eric Burdon, go!