John Katsilometes

Story Archive

‘Mamma Mia!’ closes in less than three months at Tropicana
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
The return of “Mamma Mia!” at the Tropicana lasted about six years less than the show’s original run at Mandalay Bay. The show is closing, effective ...
Lorena Peril’s next Vegas show is ‘Vegas! The Show’
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Lorena Peril has experienced the thrill of performing for tens of thousands of fans in an open-air arena and 10 fans in the cozy confines of Rush Lounge at the Golden Nugget. She knows Las Vegas showrooms, too. ...
Melody Sweets to debut ‘Shoot ’em Up’ video with a bang
Monday, July 21, 2014
The purpose of this party and performance is to promote a video. And the purpose of the video is to produce a party and performance. If that all makes sense. The video is for Melody Sweets’ song “Shoot ’em Up.” ...
Return of the man known as ‘Rockin Don’ is not very noisy — yet
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Five years ago, Don Marrandino left Las Vegas after 20 years to return to his hometown, Atlantic City. But now he's back in Nevada, helping manage a hotel in Lake Tahoe and reshape the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas.
Rockie Brown, Sand Dollar and Tuscany forge an unplanned symmetry
Friday, July 18, 2014
As we say, all roads lead through Tuscany Suites. Unless they all lead through the old Sand Dollar, which over the years also has been called Bikini Bar, Bar 702 and is now once more known as the Sand Dollar. ...
Andre Agassi takes center court at Governor’s Mansion
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Sometimes the nuttiest ideas also are the most inspired. Turning a common pair of tube socks, something you’d buy in a three-to-a-pack plastic bag at Target, into pure genius in a Strip production show is such an example ...
Clint Holmes sweeps through L.A.: The man is not done yet
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Clint Holmes was invited to “Jazz at the Bowl,” as he is very much a jazz singer these days, his continuing evolution as a singer having branched to that genre from his standards-driven period as a headliner at Harrah’s a decade ago. ...
Clint Holmes’ ray of sunshine is a Charles tribute at the Venetian
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
In his first residency on the Strip since leaving Harrah’s in 2006, Clint Holmes is part of the artistically robust lineup delivering “Georgia On My Mind” to the Venetian Theater from Sept. 18-Oct. 29. ...
On fight night, singer Amanda Avila also comes away with a split decision
Monday, July 14, 2014
Amanda Avila likens the experience to climbing into a roller-coaster. “You know it’s going to be fun and scary, all at the same time,” she says. “There’s so much energy. It’s amazing.” Avila gained national fame as a Season 4 finalist on “American Idol.” ...
Shout it, shout it, shout it out loud: KISS rolls into the Joint in November
Monday, July 14, 2014
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, and one of rock’s most enduring live acts, are celebrating their 40th year as an active band with a set of shows aptly titled “KISS rocks Vegas,” running Nov. 5-23. That’s a total of nine dates. ...
Its future uncertain, ‘Vegas Nocturne’ counts out its final canto at Cosmopolitan
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Made official this morning with a release from the show’s host hotel, the Cosmopolitan, is that “Vegas Nocturne” indeed played its last shows Saturday night at the restaurant, lounge and entertainment fortress Rose. Rabbit. Lie. ...
Stratosphere has high hopes for its new neighbor SLS
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Sometimes, when a business opens across the street and offers the exact same product or service as yours, it's a bad thing. Other times, like with the opening of SLS Las Vegas, it's a very, very good thing ...
Proposal at Hard Rock, separation at Cosmo and dalliance with Wendy Williams at Venetian
Saturday, July 12, 2014
The Kats Report Bureau has been an uncommonly mobile unit today, starting with Rehab Pool at the Hard Rock Hotel and winding up at the Cosmopolitan. Rehab was a celebratory experience, as I’m helping judge the Ultimate Bikini Contest. ...
Frankie goes to Hollywood (Bowl) for a reunion with Joshua Bell
Saturday, July 12, 2014
In a serendipitous quirk of scheduling, Las Vegas headliners Frankie Moreno of the Stratosphere and Clint Holmes of Cabaret Jazz at the Smith Center performed on consecutive nights last week at the Hollywood Bowl. ...
Star-spangled banner yet waves for a host of Las Vegas performers
Thursday, July 10, 2014
The Kats Report Bureau at the moment is the lounge at Loews Hollywood Hotel, where for the past three days I have been hanging with Frankie Moreno and Clint Holmes. In an odd piece of scheduling, the two ...
Rumors — and one report — have ‘Vegas Nocturne’ closing at Cosmopolitan
Monday, July 7, 2014
Amid chatter about the unsteady future of “Vegas Nocturne” at Rose. Rabbit. Lie. in the Cosmopolitan, an online report posted today says the show is effectively being put to sleep. The same story said the show might surface at the soon-to-open SLS. ...
Coolly confident Belinda Chapple is ready to throw a light on ‘Sydney After Dark’
Monday, July 7, 2014
Every one in “Sydney After Dark,” opening tonight at Planet Hollywood, is a classically trained dancer who has performed before being cast in the topless revue, and each stands taller than 5 feet 8 inches. Chapple is an ex-model and a ...
Notes from the scene: Sammy (Shore) keeps the beat; Sammy (Hagar) pours it on
Friday, July 4, 2014
The Kats Report Bureau on this Independence Day is Terrace 1 (which is the only terrace) at our Newport Lofts office. Sirens have been blaring already today, and from our high perch, we feel the heat of another 110-degree ...
For Life Is Beautiful, Patrick Duffy has a great Western forum
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Patrick Duffy, one of the busiest art collectors anywhere, is hopscotching around Europe right now. But that has not stopped him from igniting the art program for the upcoming Life Is Beautiful festival. ...
No panic at this disco as Rehan Choudhry summons Lionel Richie
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Though Life Is Beautiful is entering just its second year downtown, it has achieved something of a rock identity. Highlights a year ago on the main stage included Las Vegas rock bands The Killers and Imagine Dragons and alt-rocker Beck. ...
David Siegel’s Westgate seizes LVH: ‘Rock Vault’ rocks on, but it’s bye-bye, Shimmer
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
David Siegel, a 79-year-old towering figure and the master of the manor at the redubbed Westgate Las Vegas, made his formal debut Tuesday morning ceremonially pulling the “L” off the old LVH sign facing Paradise Road. ...
Westgate ready to change marquee as purchase of LVH is official
Monday, June 30, 2014
Announced this morning is the sale of Las Vegas Hotel (LVH) from Goldman Sachs to David Siegel’s Westgate Resorts. No terms of the deal were disclosed, but it is believed that ...
After ‘Vegas! The Show,’ Eric Jordan Young eager to connect with audience
Friday, June 27, 2014
Eric Jordan Young left his role as Ernie the Janitor in “Vegas! The Show” in March with a plan to tell the story of classic Vegas in a, shall we say, more traditional way. ...
Post-‘Grease’ tour, Lorena Peril and Ray Jon Narbaitz are lounging around
Friday, June 27, 2014
Lorena Peril left “Fantasy” at the Luxor in April 2013 to tour Europe in “Grease: The Arena Spectacular,” in which she was cast as Sandra Dee. That show played to crowds of tens of thousands in the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, ...
On a scale of 1-to-tenors, Las Vegas scores highly for vocal groups
Thursday, June 26, 2014
If Latin club music is your thing, well, opportunity knocks at LVH. If tenor-fashioned vocal groups are your thing, there are two to note — one of whom plays Shimmer Cabaret across the way. ...
Bill Burr’s latest Las Vegas comedy stop is the Mirage
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Bill Burr remembers those days 15, 16 years ago when he was a young comic performing at comedy clubs on the Strip. Not fondly, in every instance. But he does remember. “I had a horrific run at the Comedy Stop at the Trop, just horrific,” says Burr. ...
‘Raiding the Rock Vault’ opts for Payne relief
Monday, June 23, 2014
“We can confirm that John Payne is no longer with ‘Raiding the Rock Vault,’ ” read a statement issued by what is described as “the show.” Payne was suspended indefinitely beginning May 18; his firing reportedly came down a week ago. ...
Pop Evolution puts Cab Jazz to the test — and vice versa
Monday, June 23, 2014
While the big room at the Smith Center, Reynolds Hall, has flourished with a first-class series of Broadway touring shows, Cabaret Jazz has tried to keep pace with the best productions suited for a small venue. ...
Secret’s out: LVH will be sold, and soon
Sunday, June 22, 2014
John Katsilometes gets the scoop on who is buying the old Hilton nee International.
Maverick’s top guns deliver a high-flying experience at EDC
Saturday, June 21, 2014
At 4 a.m. the text flashed on the iPhone, a message from a friend of mine on the Las Vegas entertainment scene. It read, “Besides the cool helicopter ride, maybe you can explain ...
It wasn’t the Jeff Bridges show, but the surprise Jazz Spider Tour event was a roaring success
Thursday, June 19, 2014
In early April, Jerry Jones suffered a serious infection in his right leg. He was singing backup for Clint Holmes at Cabaret Jazz during the first weekend of that month. After the show on April 6, he was in such pain that he checked into the emergency room. ...
LVCVA starts its ace as Wayne Newton takes the mound at Wrigley Field
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Wayne Newton is taking the mound at the Cubs-Pirates game Friday afternoon in Chicago amid a busy promotional schedule on behalf of the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority. ...
Jeff Bridges and The Abiders are ready to roll through Rocks Lounge
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
During a recent phone conversation with Jeff Bridges, I asked him a question that had been preying on my brain for several years: Is it true that whenever he comes across “The Big Lebowski” on TV, he watches at least until the moment when ...
Celine by the numbers: How 917 turns into half a billion
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
When AEG Live/Concerts West and Caesars Entertainment were entertaining the concept of bringing Shania Twain into the Colosseum as a recurring resident headliner, they took a look at who bought tickets to Celine Dion’s shows in Las Vegas ...
Jim Rogers’ passion for classic cars never idled
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Jim Rogers and my family in Idaho were connected by a shared affection of old vehicles and the restoration of such. My uncle was Rogers’ mechanic and property manager at the latter’s Indian Hills estate. ...
Rebirth of resort starts with the right name
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Naming hotels and hovels in downtown Las Vegas requires a special sense of environment. Downtown Grand, which for a time was named something else, is the latest example. A bundle of names were tossed around to reflect the building’s classic décor and familiar position in the heart of the city, on 3rd and Ogden streets. At one time, Seth Schorr, who presides over the property as CEO of ownership company Fifth Street Gaming, was swayed by...
Human Nature take on the Apollo: ‘I think we earned their respect’
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Human Nature, the spinning, sweet-voiced Aussie quartet who performs Motown hits at the Venetian, was in the all-star lineup for the 80th Apollo Spring Gala fundraising production of the storied music hall in New York City on Tuesday. ...
A recharged Ian Ziering plugs in once more with Chippendales
Friday, June 13, 2014
Ian Ziering is an actor who seems electrically charged, rejuvenated by a jolt of volts as he enters his second run as a guest host of Chippendales. Ziering returned to the production Thursday night and fronts the show ...
Nicolas Cage, Andrew Dice Clay and Carrot Top: How GNR closes a run at the Joint
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Guns N’ Roses attracted an impressive array of celebs in their latest stint at the Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel, including Andrew Dice Clay, who surprised GNR fans with an unannounced standup set. ...
Who wants ‘The Book of Mormon’? Myron Martin had to raise his hand
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Myron Martin has been on a mission on behalf of the Smith Center for the Performing Arts. But instead of the Book of Mormon, he’s packing his Tony Award voter’s card. And he played it expertly to land ...
Women fitting into influential roles on the Strip
Sunday, June 8, 2014
With women occupying the top three executive posts at the Cromwell, and three women serving as presidents of major resorts on the Strip, girl power is on the rise in Las Vegas.
Clint Holmes writes sequel to ‘Great American Songbook’; Penn & Teller spend $250K on elephant/cow trick
Friday, June 6, 2014
Clint Holmes is back at Cabaret Jazz at the Smith Center at 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. The theme of his show is “The Contemporary American Songbook” filled with songs that might well be the classics of tomorrow. ...
Tara Palsha of ‘Vegas! The Show’ leaving the Strip to roll the dice in New York
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
One of the most dynamic and accomplished dancers in VegasVille is leaving, at the end of this month, for parts uncharted in New York City. Tara Palsha arrived here in 2003, winning a part in “Jubilee!” at Bally’s and spending 12 months learning something new. ...
Overcoming his mother’s death, Matt Goss is still sticking and moving
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Matt Goss has been firing in combinations over the past several weeks to overcome the illness and death of his mother, Carol. She died after a long battle with cancer, on Memorial Day in Los Angeles, with Matt and his twin brother Luke at her side. ...
Business dispute ices John Payne in ‘Raiding the Rock Vault’ at LVH
Monday, June 2, 2014
During a phone conversation, “Sir” Harry Cowell said that he could not say much about why John Payne, a longtime friend, was removed from the show. But it is clearly a business dispute within the band that does not directly involve its relationship with LVH. ...
At 25,000 shows and counting, Frank Marino’s career is lesson in fabulous
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Frank Marino keeps beating back the effects of aging. He had a face-lift just after turning 50 last November, a procedure that tightened the skin on his face and during which he had implants screwed into ...
A pair of 8s is a winning hand for Jerry Lewis
Friday, May 30, 2014
He keeps returning to that number. Eighty-eight. The number of keys on a piano, as it turns out. The double-snowman. It would be a hard 16 on a craps table, if the dice had more sides. “I just passed 88,” Jerry Lewis says, as if looking back at a car he’s left in the dust. “That’s a pretty good number.” In his hands, it is. Lewis wears 88 quite well, remaining as kinetic as ever and enlivened during an hourlong chat this week in his Las Vegas home. He’s...
Clint Holmes’ home is being jazzed up by top Las Vegas acts
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Clint Holmes and the Composers Showcase are the anchors, but such artists as Lon Bronson and David Perrico have been invited to jam at Cabaret Jazz in the Smith Center for the Performing Arts downtown. ...
Laugh Factory’s Harry Basil recalls stint with unprecedented comic lineup at Dunes
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
One night 30 years ago, Harry Basil opened in Las Vegas as part of a comedy show at the Dunes. It was no ordinary lineup. Basil was sharing the hotel’s 500-seat showroom with a handful of other rising young comics.
Guest at Oscar Goodman’s dinner talk at the Plaza gets his just desserts
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
During former Mayor Oscar Goodman’s entertaining presentation, based loosely on prostitution in Las Vegas, a guy who had “gotten an early start,” as his table mates reported, repeatedly and loudly interrupted Goodman’s monologue.