The Strip: Las Vegas Podcast

**NOTE: It is strongly recommended you not unsubscribe from this feed after you download this episode. The regular show is over, but it is possible some additional interviews and other specials might be placed in the feed from time to time.**After six years, this is the final regular episode of The Strip. The show, which debuted on Sept. 1, 2005, was co-hosted by journalists and life partners Miles Smith and Steve Friess. In this emotional episode, the duo recount the top 10 moments of the show as voted on by listeners, talk about the changes in their lives and play some classic old clips including a never-before-published 6-minute rehearsal in which they discuss what they show should be about and how they'll go about doing it. The top clips include great moments from Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Curtis, Jim Murren, George Wallace, Johnny Mathis, Sheldon Adelson and, of course, Steve Wynn.

This is a special reissue of the first episode of what would become The Strip. We called it Vegas S&M when we debuted on Sept. 1, 2005. The final episode of the program was recorded on Sept. 5, 2011.

Steve addressed Las Vegas' gay chamber of commerce, Lambda Business and Professional Association, on August 10, 2011. In these comments, he reflects on the progress and challenges facing Las Vegas' GLBT community.

Steve appeared on the Las Vegas Weekly's Radio Mag on KUNV 91.5 FM on Aug. 11 to discuss the Jockey Club and his LVW cover story about it. The interviewer is LVW Editor Sarah Feldberg.

Steve Friess' exit interview on KNPR on 8/10/11 as he prepares to leave for a Knight-Wallace Fellowship at the University of Michigan.

The economy might seem mired in recession in Southern Nevada but elsewhere the sick economy is creating a boom - the gold-mining counties have little or no unemployment, construction work for those who want it and the good times are rolling. This counter-cyclical boom is the other side of the bubble that burst in 2008. Steve Friess has been up in Eureka County to experience first hand what is happening with the healthiest part of our state economy.

We had some extra bloopers. In this file, we fight and bitch at each other (lovingly, riiiight?) and there's lots about our studio antics. Fun stuff.

FINAL TRIVIA: What was the first major hotel-casino to open after Steve arrived in Vegas on 9/9/96 to begin working at the Review-Journal? If you know it, email us at TheStripPodcast@aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by 9/3/11. if you get it right, we send you something. Period. Everything must go.Twitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComVoicemail: 702-997-3300Open & Banter: Start to 36ishIntro/End-Show Bloopers :  36:45-44ishWordplay Bloopers: 44:30ish-50ishBanter/Midshow Bloopers: 50:50-1:07ishTrivia/Poll/Feedback: 1:07ish-1:20ishInterview-related Bloopers: 1:20:35-1:31ishCursing Bloopers: 1:31:20-1:35ishMiles' Voices Bloopers: 1:35:30-1:40ishTSTToTW: 1:40ish-endSomething Extra: 1:53-endSo we did a bloopers show on Aug 14. And the recording was all eff'd up. Steve screwed up a setting. Duh. Which meant we had to do it again. Which we did, bringing special guest Amy back in with another pizza. But this time, no chat room. Just the three of us. This is this year's bloopers show, and it's great. But it's also new, at least the non-bloopery parts, as compared to what the chat people heard. Which is kinda fun for them. Also, there's an Easter Egg at the end.In Banter, we mulled our encounter with Mrs. Wynn in Sun Valley, talked about the de-Elvising at Aria and the likely implosion of The Harmon, we explained our strategy for packing and moving and much more. Near the end, we also discuss Steve's bingo adventure.

TRIVIA Q: Who has appeared on The Strip the most times in the history of the show?Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by Aug 12. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Blog: VegasHappensHere.ComSite: TheStripPodcast.ComE-mail: TheStripPodcast@aol.comVoicemail: 702-997-3300Twitter: @TheStripPodcastOpen & Banter: Start to 18ishGeorge Wallace Part I: 24ish--51ishTrivia/Poll/Letters: 51ish-59ishGeorge Wallace Part II: 1:00-1:26ishTSTToTW: 1:26-endGeorge Wallace threw us for a loop back in the fall of 2005 when he claimed to be two different places and then unceremoniously dumped us. And he's paid for it, at least in these parts, with us mocking him as the symbol of a bad guest and many listeners saying they'd avoid his show because of the shoddy treatment. But Steve can't really leave well enough alone. As we conclude our run as Vegas podcasters, he wanted another whack at Wallace, and so he was over at the Flamingo today for a face-to-face conversation. It turned out to be very fun discussion in which Wallace spoke possibly vacating his berth at the resort when his contract ends this year, the feud over the moniker "Mr Las Vegas" and much more.In Banter: Oscar Goodman Steak, Steve Wyrick woes, outdoor (?) summer theater in Vegas, obsessing over fake Spongebobs and more.

TRIVIA Q: Who has appeared on The Strip the most times in the history of the show?Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by Aug 12. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Blog: VegasHappensHere.ComSite: TheStripPodcast.ComE-mail: TheStripPodcast@aol.comVoicemail: 702-997-3300Twitter: @TheStripPodcastOpen & Banter: Start to 18ishCharlie Palmer: 18-50ishTrivia/Poll/Letters: 51ish-1:04ishHal Sparks Excerpt: 1:04-1:07ishTSTToTW: 1:08-endSYNOPSIS: The last time we spoke to celebrity chef Charlie Palmer, he used this program to break a WORLD EXCLUSIVE about his plans to build a hotel in Las Vegas. This time around, he joins us as one of the three newest inductees into the American Gaming Association's Hall of Fame. Palmer talks about that, about the aforementioned hotel he still intends to build some day and about a particularly wild birthday meal he had on an island in Fiji. That's all coming up. Also, we excerpt our interview with comic Hal Sparks, the former “Talk Soup” host and “Queer As Folk” star who appears this weekend at the Las Vegas Hilton. It was Sparks' show, you might recall, that Vince Neil interrupted in order to confront a former girlfriend. The entire Sparks interview will be in our podcast feed as an extra edition, but we'll play a taste of it this hour.

Roger Thomas of Wynn Resorts explains the significance of the $18.4 million Chinese vases bought at auction in July and intended for display at the Wynn Cotai resort planned to open in 2015.

TRIVIA Q: Go to TheStripPodcast.Com or VegasHappensHere.Com and listen to the 3-second clip, then tell us who the guest was for that show? Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by July 27. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com. Blog: VegasHappensHere.Com Site: TheStripPodcast.Com E-mail: TheStripPodcast@aol.com Voicemail: 702-997-3300 Twitter: @TheStripPodcast The design genius behind Mirage, Bellagio and Wynn was supposed to have stepped down from the Wynn Resorts and pursue other long-deferred opportunities. But Roger Thomas ran into some financial troubles brought on by the economy and decided instead to stay put, so instead he's right back where we left him: In the throes of conjuring up the look and feel of the world's next most anticipated resort, this time in Macau. Thomas talks to our Steve in this episode about the artistic and hospitality theories behind the resort not due to open until 2015, but he also offers a surprisingly frank assessment of the Bellagio's new room renovations. Also, what does he use his iPad for? What are they designing at Wynn now? How was Steve and Andrea's wedding? In Banter: Feuding over Lanni coverage, Sheldon hearts dollars more than elephants, the WSOP summer finale, some meal deals, Miles' new toy and much more.

Roger Thomas, chief of Wynn Resorts design, tours their new offices near McCarran Airport with Steve Friess of TheStripPodcast.Com and VegasHappensHere.Com.

In addition to our regular episode interview with Jubilee! showrunner Fluff LaCoque, we're also marking the 30th anniversary of the vintage vegas showgirl production with this conversation with the show's most successful alumna, Tina Walsh. As you're about to hear, Walsh came to Vegas from Texas as a young actress determined to put in a few months as a singer and dancer for Jubilee! Instead, she stayed in the show for eight years, then starred in EFX with Michael Crawford, Tommy Tune and Rick Springfield. After that, she opened Mamma Mia! at Mandalay Bay in the lead role of Donna and currently she appears nightly as Madame Giry in Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular. In this conversation, Walsh tells terrific stories of life backstage at Jubilee in the 1980s and 1990s, when she and her co-stars shared a backstage hallway at Bally's with a showroom where the likes of Sammy and Dean performed regularly.   As always, don't forget that our website is TheStripPodcast.Com, our e-mail is TheStripPodcast@aol.com, you can leave us voicemail at 702-997-3300 and follow us on Twitter at TheStripPodcast   And now, enjoy the interview.

This former Nevada governor's dad had mob ties and invested with the likes of Dave Berman, Gus Greenbaum and a dude nicknamed Ice Pick. Who was it?Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by July 20. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Twitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComVoicemail: 702-997-3300 Open & Banter: Start to 41ishFluff LaCoque Part I:  41-103ishTrivia/Poll/Letters: 104ish-1:13Fluff LaCoque Part II: 1:14-1:33ishTSTToTW: 1:34ish-endThirty years is a blink of the eye in most places, but it's an |eternity for the every-changing Las Vegas. This summer, the venerable, historic Jubilee! celebrates the start of its fourth decade at Bally's, so we chatted with the 88-year-old firecracker who has ruled the land of massive headdresses and sequined skivvies with an iron fist for all this time. Fluff LaCoque talks to Steve about bruised thighs, chubby guys, fake boobs and so much more this hour. Also, we'll hear an excerpt from our conversation with Jubilee's most successful alumna, Tina Walsh, who was a principle singer for the show in the 1980s and is presently appearing as Madame Giry in Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular. The entire conversation with Walsh will be posted as an extra edition into the feed and on the website. In Banter: Miles makes HIS big announcement, Steve has a WSOP adventure, several Vegas closures afoot, the Plaza has some odd new things coming, more MGM misfortune and a Titanically bad restaurant idea.

Welcome to a special edition of The Strip. Former MGM Mirage CEO Terry Lanni has died. To commemorate the occasion, we are re-issuing our April 2008 interview with Lanni, who entered the gaming business as C.F.O. for Caesars World Inc in 1977 and went on to be president of that company before becoming president and C.E.O of what was then MGM Grand Inc in 1995. In 2000, he oversaw the buyout of Mirage Resorts, and in late 2008 he resigned his post at the helm of what by then was known as MGM Mirage. This interview was conducted in early 2008 as the recession was just beginning to take hold. At that point in time, Steve had broken the news that the company wanted to use the name ARIA for the CityCenter hotel but legal problems thwarted it. Obviously at some point after this discussion, those issues were resolved. Those caveats aside, we'd like to extend condolences to all within the gaming community and the Lanni family who mourn the loss of one of the industry's most significant figures.

The father of what Pulitzer Prize winning former New York Times reporter was once the entertainment director of a major Vegas resort? Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by July 13.  If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Twitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComVoicemail: 702-997-3300Open & Banter: Start to 20ishAnnie Duke:  21-51ishTrivia/Poll/Letters: 52ish-1:01Shelley Berkley: 1:02-1:12ishTSTToTW: 1:12ish-endThe only poker pro who has any kind of serious name recognition in mainstream popular culture is Annie Duke, and she'd like to change that. Duke, who is history's most successful female player with more than $4.2 million in live tournament winnings, is the founding commissioner of a new league that aims to use objective criteria to determine who the world's best players really are. On the eve of the start of the 42nd World Series of Poker Main Event, we hear from Annie about how the league works and why it matters as well as chat her up about her appearances on Celebrity Apprentice and the game show 1 v 100. Later, we check in with U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley, the Democrat who represents Las Vegas and has sponsored a bill that would once again legalize online poker wagering in the United States.In Banter: It's not Le Cock, Niles Crane on Vegas, Mandalay's electric therapy, Amber Unicorn books at Cosmo, murder on the Strip and more.

**NOTE: VISIT THESTRIPPOCAST.COM OR VEGASHAPPENSHERE.COM TO FIND THE FLICKR SLIDESHOW THAT CORRESPONDS/ILLUSTRATES THIS EPISODE. ALSO, IF YOU HAVE AN IPOD CAPABLE OF PLAYING ENHANCED FILES, CHECK THE PODCAST FEED AGAIN TO DOWNLOAD THAT VERSION OF THIS AND THERE PHOTOS WILL APPEAR TO CORRESPOND (MOSTLY) WITH THE DISCUSSION.**This is audio from that walk-around, which also includes conversations with CEO Tony Santo about the process of buying all the furnishings from the never-to-open Fontainbleau and about why they opted not to call the property the Union Plaza again. Plus, he defines what a high-roller is at a place like the Plaza and explains why they won't be opening the room balconies for guest use. The renovations will end up costing about $35 million, up from the original $20 million budget. Santo explains why. Finally, you may notice the main voice on this episode belongs to Santo, but the Plaza's chief marketing officer, Steve Rosen, also chimes in from time to time.

The father of what Pulitzer Prize winning former New York Times reporter was once the entertainment director of a major Vegas resort? Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by July 6.  If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Twitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComVoicemail: 702-997-3300Open & Banter: Start to 25ishPhil Satre Part I: 26-58ishTrivia/Poll/Letters: 58ish-1:06Phil Satre Part II: 1:07-1:48ishTSTToTW: 1:48-endThis fall will be the 100th anniversary of the birth of William Harrah, the man whose name is on more casinos in the world than any other. His former company, which recently changed its name to Caesars Entertainment, has very little planned outside of some promotions at the original Harrah's resort in Reno, but we decided he deserved a little more attention than that. Harrah died 33 years ago tomorrow at the age of 66, so Steve spoke with his successor, Phil Satre, who helmed Harrah's for 21 years and is responsible for spreading that name around the world. Satre, who left Harrah's in 2005 and is now the chairman of the board of IGT, talks about the quirks and visions that made the man what he was and then explains several decisions made in the 1980s and 1990s including the choice for the company to never build any new hotel-casinos in Las Vegas. Also, Steve introduces Satre to the term “Harrah-fy” and asks Satre whether he feels he degraded the quality of the resorts he acquired.In Banter: Octavius, Plaza, Bellagio, Maloof, Hilton and an aquarium-related Vegas-set reality show.

What is the only Nevada lake to empty into the sea? Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by June 29.  If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com. As always, our website is TheStripPodcast.Com, our voice mail line is 702-997-3300, email us at TheStripPodcast.Com and follow me on Twitter at TheStripPodcast.Com. And remember, a donation of $25 or more to the show will get you anything on our prizelist which presently includes a Celine thumbdrive and Celine opening night programs. Synopsis: The following is an interview I conducted earlier this week with Philippe Dunnigan, the head violinist and orchestra captain  for Celine Dion's self-titled production at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. The show features Celine backed up by 31 musicians including a full orchestra, a longtime dream of hers. Playing the Strip in Vegas is a long-time dream of Dunnigan, who studied at the Montreal Conservatory and performed on several recordings of Cirque du Soleil scores including that of Mystere. In this conversation, Dunnigan discusses both the show and his varied career which more recently has also included performing for video games.

What is the only Nevada lake to empty into the sea? Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by June 29.  If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Twitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComVoicemail: 702-997-3300Open & Banter: Start to 24ishKen Ehrlich Part I: 24-58ishTrivia/Poll/Letters: 59-59ishKen Ehrlich Part II: 1:00-1:25ishTSTToTW: 1:25-endThis week on The Strip: It was by far the most hyped – and to our minds the best – new show to hit the Vegas Strip this year. Celine Dion has returned to the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in a self-titled production that is radically different and vastly better than “…A New Day,” her groundbreaking first run in the vaunted showroom. Legendary TV producer Ken Ehrlich directed “Celine,” so we spoke to him at length about the intriguing decisions he, the singer and her husband made. Why didn't they include the closing-number special effects when they opened in March? Was it weird to rehearse Celine's duet with herself? What's the story behind that French song that makes her cry every night? Why wasn't the songstress at the United Center when Ehrlich produced two star-studded final-week shows for Oprah Winfrey last month? In Banter: Anniversaries! Wynn Politics! TV Show Tapings! Maloofs! Monorail Bashing! and more.

Audio of Steve Wynn on Fox News with Frank Luntz before an audience on 6/19/2011 claiming he voted for Obama.

What casino had the first eye in the sky? Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by June 6. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Twitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComVoicemail: 702-997-3300Open & Banter: Start to 18ishTerry Fator interview: 19-58ishTrivia/Poll/Letters: 59-1:06ishMelinda Fator interview: 1:07-1:24ishTSTToTW: 1:24-endTerry Fator makes a lot of money as the master behind a string of colorful, entertaining puppets who croon standards nightly at the Mirage. But was the singing ventriloquist himself nothing more than a dummy, controlled by his ex-wife and so-called “handlers” who hijacked his career following his triumph on “America's Got Talent”? That's pretty much what he tells us this week in a stunningly candid interview that paints his former wife of 18 years as a self-aggrandizing, hen-pecking shrew who alienated him from his family and refused to bear him children. Melinda Fator, not surprisingly, has a different version of the story, and she gets her say, too. Also, the performer outs Barry Manilow.In Banter: Caesars wants to soak tourists for an arena, NV may nix its smoking ban, the FAA is silent about the Ferris Wheel, the hosts baffle over who the &*#@ attends pro soccer and more.

What casino had the first eye in the sky? Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by June 6. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Twitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComVoicemail: 702-997-3300Open & Banter: Start to 24ishAngel Porrino interview: 25-53Trivia/Poll/Letters: 54-1:04ishJosh Strickland interview: 1:05-1:49ishTSTToTW: 1:49-endOscar Goodman may be working overtime to ensure his wife replaces him as the official face of Vegas, but it's been a heckuva lot easier for the city's unofficial mascot, Holly Madison, to spread her fame among her minions. Her longtime personal assistant, Angel Porrino, is now a star in the new Caesars Palace hit "Absinthe" and her best gay boyfriend, "Peepshow" singing star Josh Strickland, recently landed atop iTunes with his first single. And, to hear them tell it, they owe a huge debt to one particular former Hugh Hefner girlfriend. Porrino met Holly while testing to be a Playboy Playmate and Strickland, who created the role of Tarzan on Broadway and was a contestant on the second season of American Idol, became fast friends with the blonde bombshell when she joined the Planet Hollywood topless production.In Banter: Bye to Sahara and Jerry Lewis, hi to Rod Stewart, hi and bye to Lotto Express, a maybe-hi to Google's driverless cars, yay to Absinthe and more.

Welcome to a Strip extra. The following is a conversation recorded with Barry Manilow in advance of the Newsweek piece that I contributed to. Very little of this discussion made it into the piece, so we decided to edit it and post it here. The interview was in Manilow's dressing room at the Paris Hotel-Casino and was conducted primarily by me with a few interjections from a colleague working on the story. During the interview, we delve into Manilow's fears about being perceived to be “over” when he decided to headline at the Hilton, memories he has of opening for many major acts in the 1970s and what his digs are like when he does stay overnight here. Manilow also answered questions about lip-synching allegations, why he won't do a Garth Brooks-like show and much more.   Don't forget you can catch up on past shows at TheStripPodcast.Com or by subscribing via iTunes or Zune. Also, email us at TheStriPPodcast@aol.com or call 702-997-3300.

The following episode was recorded on May 11 at the mayoral forum that took place before a luncheon of Las Vegas' GLBT chamber of commerce and was moderated by me. First you will hear Carolyn Goodman, wife of current mayor Oscar Goodman, give opening remarks, followed by about a 25 minute discussion with me that included some questions of my own as well as those submitted from the audience. After Carolyn's turn, her opponent, County Commissioner, Chris Giunchigliani gave her opening remarks and sat for a 25-minute q-and-a with me as well.   This audio was edited only to remove either dead air or several instances when the microphones squealed.   If you have questions or comments, you may email me at TheStripPodcast@aol.com or leave a voicemail at 702-997-3300.

Why did Harrah's name the top Total Rewards tiers the Seven Stars level and put seven stars on the Harrah's logo? Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by May 11. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com. Twitter: @TheStripPodcast Blog: VegasHappensHere.Com Voicemail: 702-997-3300 Open/Banter until 21:00John Philippe Maury, Part I: 21-45Trivia/Poll/Feedback - 45-50John Philippe Maury, Part II: 50-1:13Announcement 1:13-end As any dessert lover knows, there's actually two Bellagio fountains, the one outside that gets all the attention and the one that flows of chocolate at the Jean Phillippe Patisserie around the corner from the hotel's famed Conservatory. The second one, which owns the Guinness record for the largest chocolate fountain, is the brainchild of our guest this episode, Jean Philippe Maury, the French pastry chef who now has shops in both Bellagio and Aria and is responsible for overseeing the pastry kitchen for all of Aria. We've got a delicious dish of a discussion up ahead in which Maury explains why he refuses to make low-calorie desserts, why most chefs are incapable of making a simple pie and why Steve and my wedding cake was so disgusting. Also, has Chef Maury ever used a Betty Crocker cake mix? And, in lieu of the Top Secret Tourist Tip of the Week, we have a major announcement regarding our future. In Banter: Wedding mania in Vegas and elsewhere, transmania at the Cosmo, the Sahara shutdown begins and more.

Why did Harrah's name the top Total Rewards tiers the Seven Stars level and put seven stars on the Harrah's logo? Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by May 9. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Twitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComVoicemail: 702-997-3300Open/Banter until 18:00Cassidy 18:30-1:14Trivia/Poll/Feedback - 1:15-1:29Estrada 1:30-1:57TSTToTW 1:57-endLas Vegas used to be a place where past-their-prime entertainers went to die. Now, in the age of Cirque, Celine and Garth, there's not that much room for them to do even that. So, instead, they just pass through. Two of the biggest heartthrobs of the 1970s, David Cassidy and Erik Estrada, will do just that this coming week, Estrada appearing at the Luxor for a Cinqo de Mayo celebration and Cassidy at the Orleans for two concerts. Both reflected on their heyday in conversations with Steve, and Cassidy – who starred in the MGM Grand spectacle EFX for two years in the 1990s – talks about getting fired by would-be presidential candidate Donald Trump in the first episode of this season's Celebrity Apprentice. Cassidy also talks in detail about the EFX debacle he encountered, and Estrada discloses what he made from that soap in surprising detail.In banter: Elton's coming back, Harrah's Reno's coming back, Sahara ain't coming back and more.

The VegasMate Stripper Poll in April found overwhelming support for Mayor Chuck Monster, VegasTripping.Com Guru, to become the next mayor of Las Vegas. It was tough, but we demanded a hard-hitting interview with Mayor-Elect Monster, and we, of course, prevailed.(This is an excerpt pulled out from 5/1 episode of The Strip. Flock to TheStripPodcast.Com for the whole show, which is unbelievably AWESOME.)

Trivia – How much did Judy Garland make each week at the Frontier Hotel in Vegas in 1956? (Closest answer wins if nobody gets it exact.) Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by 4/27/11Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.comTwitter: @TheStripPodcastVoicemail: 702-997-3300This week, on the Strip: The nightclub industry in Las Vegas is a mystery to many, including us. It's clearly not one to Rich Wolf who, along with Jason Strauss and some other partners opened Tao in 200x at Venetian. They've been making unthinkable piles of money ever since, even though the idea of a hip nightclub at a Sheldon Adelson business and convention resort seemed nuts when they spent $20 million to build it. Now they own Lavo at Palazzo and the newest hotspot, Marquee and the Cosmopolitan. In this conversation, we hear the mind-boggling numbers behind the business, try to get to the bottom of where – especially in this economy – all this money is coming from and what the appeal is of being in a club with a celebrity. Also, did stars really get those rumored six-figure paychecks at the height of the boom and how much are they getting now?In Banter: Absinthe is a critical hit, Frank Marino's spending habits exposed, Cosmo could be cooling off, show tickets rise, Marriott dreams big and how seriously do Vegas resorts intend their online responsible gaming efforts to be?

TRIVIA: Prior to March 1931 when Nevada passed its six-week waiting perido for divorce, what state was known as the Divorce Capital of America? Know? E-mail us call 702/997-3300 by 4/11/11 Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.com Twitter: @TheStripPodcast Voicemail: 702-997-3300 The announcement of the closure of the Sahara means a lot for Vegas historians and enthusiasts, but it also will have some consequences for one of the city's most notable landmarks, The Stratosphere. As that resort turns 15 years old this month, it finds itself increasingly isolated north of the Strip right when new management has been spending millions to clean it up and modernize it. We'll hear in this episode from Frank Riolo, the CEO of the Stratosphere's parent company, American Casino and Entertainment Properties, about what's in store for the fifth tallest structure in America. Will there ever a casino at the top of the tower? Why did Steve Wynn scream Riolo? And what does Riolo wish he could ask the ghost of Bob Stupak? In Banter: Getting to the bottom of Oscar Goodman's drinking, looking at legalizing sports and mobile gambling, Expedia's new loyalty program and Steve & Amy's Liberace adventure.

Prior to March 1931 when Nevada passed its six-week waiting perido for divorce, what state was known as the Divorce Capital of America? Know? E-mail us call 702/997-3300 by 4/11/11Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.comTwitter: @TheStripPodcastVoicemail: 702-997-3300 Welcome to a special edition of The Strip. The race for Las Vegas mayor is heating up with the April 5 primary, and the frontrunner by all accounts is none other than Carolyn Goodman, the wife of Mayor Oscar Goodman. Steve is working on several stories related to the race, so he sat down for this lengthy, thorough conversation with Mrs. Goodman on March 31. This interview has already become controversial because of how the candidate responded to questions about gay marriage and immigration reform, but here's your chance to hear for yourself who she is and where she comes from. Carolyn Goodman opens up about her husband's famed history as a defense attorney for several infamous mob figures, describes her upbringing and family life, responds tartly to attacks from her two main rivals and much more. The interview took place at The Beat Coffeehouse in downtown Las Vegas, which explains the background noise.

Prior to March 1931 when Nevada passed its six-week waiting perido for divorce, what state was known as the Divorce Capital of America? Know? E-mail us call 702/997-3300 by 4/11/11 Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.comTwitter: @TheStripPodcastVoicemail: 702-997-3300 As we record this episode of our show, the folks at the Flamingo Las Vegas are busy applying a spankin' new wrap to the hotel's Strip side. And while the faces will be the same – Donny and Marie, of course – they'll look a little less cheesy, a little more rock n roll. As Donny Osmond explains this hour, the original wrap was thrown up in a hurry when the sibling duo opened there in 2008. But now they've weathered a withering recession and passed their 500th performance, so it's time for something more current and durable. How much longer can they dominate Vegas? Donny's answer: Forever. Sort of. Stick around to hear what the big brother has to say about their future and hear him play some bits of their first album of new music in decades. Also, Marie chimes in a bit as well. In Banter: Celine's return, Terry Fator's gay puppet, Loews LV's William and Kate deal, the ex-Rao chef's new gigs, and much more.  

Exclusive video reporting from Celine Dion's return to Caesars Palace on opening night, March 15, 2011. Includes photos, a singing interview with fans and an impromptu review from Robin Leach of VegasDeluxe.Com. In addition, there's some footage from Celine Dion's press conference after the show.The video was shot on an iPhone and streamed via UStream. For more footage and reporting, visit VegasHappensHere.Com Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.comTwitter: @TheStripPodcastVoicemail: 702-997-3300

Go to the blog (VegasHappensHere.Com) or the podcast site (TheStripPodcast.Com) and tell us what is "Vegas wrong" about the image from a stain glass window at the Guardian Angel Cathedral.   Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by March 21. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.   Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.com Twitter: @TheStripPodcast Voicemail: 702-997-3300   A Caveman and a Chipmonk walk into a bar. Actually, they've never even met, but they have one thing in common: They both were interviewed by Steve last month. The Caveman is comedian and actor Kevin Burke, who has clocked more than 1,500 performances in “Defending The Caveman” first at the Golden Nugget, then the Excalibur and now Harrah's Las Vegas. And the chip monk is the nickname earned by Arthur Nelson, the organist who has cashed in casino chips for Guardian Angel Cathedral on the Strip for decades.   In Banter: Sahara closing, Celine opening, geocaching shut down, earth-moving extravagance ramps up, Rumor for rent and Gladys on the cheap.   las vegas, gambling, chips, religion, caveman, history, shows, harrahs,

Web: TheStripPodcast.ComEmail: TheStripPodcast@aol.comBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComVoicemail: 702-997-3300Twitter: @TheStripPodcastWelcome to a Strip Extra. Listeners of this show will NOT be surprised to learn that Steve is a big fan of none other than 1980s and 1990s pop balladeer Richard Marx. So when the opportunity presented itself to interview Marx today, he made it work. Since Marx plays the Orleans Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas Saturday and Sunday,  March 12 and 13, we didn't want to  wait until next week's show to post it. So here we go.Richard Marx, of course, is well known for some of the biggest pop ballads of the 1990s including “Hold On To The Nights,” “Now and Forever” and “Right Here Waiting.” Over the past decade, he became a music producer and songwriter for the likes of N Sync, Barbra Steisand and Luther Vandross. He lives with his wife, “Flashdance” and “Dirty Dancing” star Cynthia Rhodes, and their three sons in the Chicago suburbs.  In his hey day, Marx sold more than 30 million records and was the first solo artist to see his first seven songs make the top 5 on the Hot 100 singles charts.In this conversation, Marx explains why he stopped cutting albums of his own, expresses pity and annoyance at Phil Collins of Collins' recent public diatribe against the music business and sings some of the very well-known advertising jingles his father wrote.

Go to the blog (VegasHappensHere.Com) or the podcast site (TheStripPodcast.Com) and tell us what is "Vegas wrong" about the image from a stain glass window at the Guardian Angel Cathedral. Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by March 21. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com. Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.com Twitter: @TheStripPodcast Voicemail: 702-997-3300 Less than two months ago, Miss America 1943 Jean Bartel was in Las Vegas for the pageant's 90th anniversary celebration. She was the oldest living winner of the pageant and she had played the Strip as a singer at Bugsy Siegel's Flamingo back in the day. Steve interviewed her for his Jan. 19 column for the Las Vegas Weekly, and she sounded hale and hearty then. But on March 6, she died at the age of 87, so we remember her by playing Bartel's final interview. In it, she offers her recollections as a groundbreaking Miss America who led the charge to create the scholarship program that is now its hallmark. Bartel also was the first Miss America to go to college, sold the most bonds in 1943 to support the World War II and even helped the US with some espionage work during the Cold War.  During this conversation, she tells of hanging out with Danny Thomas at the Flamingo, reveals that her crown is on display at the Smithsonian and recalls Beth Myerson, Vanessa Williams and many other former beauty queens. In Banter: A Provo adventure, a word about cousin Paul Stanley, Ruffin doubts on the Cosmo, Caesars takes Fontainbleau's castoff show and more.  

What is now where the Landmark Hotel-Casino once stood? Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by March 5. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.   Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.com Twitter: @TheStripPodcast Voicemail: 702-997-3300 To go along with our 1990s Tabloid Stars of Vegas theme from this week's proper episode of The Strip, we're also posting Steve's chat with Gennifer Flowers, Bill Clinton's original other woman. Flowers now splits her time between Vegas and New Orleans, two cities that she says are particularly welcoming to those, like herself, trying to live decent lives despite their controversial notoriety. Flowers rates the Clinton presidency, opines on Hillary's competence as SoS and as a fashion figure and explains why anyone would want to own jewelry or clothes from the Gennifer Flowers Collection. Flowers also explains how she can claim to have been the "Most Googled Name" of 2008, as her website suggests.   scandal, gennifer flowers, bill clinton, politics, las vegas, google

TRIVIA: What is now where the Landmark Hotel-Casino once stood? Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by March 5. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com. Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.com Twitter: @TheStripPodcast Voicemail: 702-997-3300   We all know that Las Vegas has long been a haven for washed up show business stars, but in the past decade or so we've also become a mecca of sorts for 1990s tabloid fixtures, too. The list of Las Vegans who earned household-name infamy at the end of the previous century includes Heidi Fleiss, Mike Tyson, John Wayne Bobbitt, Gennifer Flowers and, most recently, Mary Jo Buttafuoco. Steve had lengthy, fascinating conversations with Flowers and Buttafuoco for a recent Las Vegas Weekly column, but they're just too long, even for us, to put both in the same episode. So here's what we're going to do: In this episode we'll hear the conversation with Buttafuoco, whose husband's teenage girlfriend shot her in the head in 1992, and we'll put out the interview with Flowers, Bill Clinton's original other woman, as a special edition of the show.   In Banter: BMG moving, non-sports betting is coming, Wynn loves Chinese government meddling, Celine fans love Steve's tweets, and more.

RateVegas.Com's Hunter Hillegas and VegasHappensHere.Com's Steve Friess join forces to present VegasDelivered.Com, a subscription service that will offer special and exclusive video and audio content. This is one of two trailers for our first project, a tour of Wynn Las Vegas' new rooms and restaurant, Lakeside Grill, as explained by Wynn uber-designer Roger Thomas. Visit VegasDelivered.Com for more information and learn how to buy the videos.

RateVegas.Com's Hunter Hillegas and VegasHappensHere.Com's Steve Friess join forces to present VegasDelivered.Com, a subscription service that will offer special and exclusive video and audio content. This is one of two trailers for our first project, a tour of Wynn Las Vegas' new rooms and restaurant, Lakeside Grill, as explained by Wynn uber-designer Roger Thomas. Visit VegasDelivered.Com for more information and learn how to buy the videos.

Which was the first Vegas casino to celebrate Chinese New Year?Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by Feb. 18. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.comTwitter: @TheStripPodcastVoicemail: 702-997-3300This week on The Strip: If you rack your brain hard enough, you'll still fail to come up with any star of the Vegas stage quite like Sierra Boggess. We've had plenty of hugely famous people perform and countless formerly famous people attempt to revive careers here. But Boggess is singular as an actress whose first big break was in a Vegas production, “Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular”, and who has then moved on to star in a major Broadway production followed, now, by opening the Phantom sequel “Love Never Dies” in London's West End. Now the 28-year-old is about to return to Broadway as one of the most in-demand ingénues of her age. We visited our little Sierra in her dressing room in London last week, and we'll play that conversation for you today.In Banter: Our London sojourn, the Twitter Twerps drama, Super Bowl TV ad drama, Cher's goodbye

This is a reissue of our 2006 interview with Sierra Boggess, now the star of Love Never Dies in London as featured on our Feb. 10, 2011 show. It's a fun blast from the past.Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.comTwitter: @TheStripPodcastVoicemail: 702-997-3300Blog: VegasHappensHere.ComTwo stars of Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular joined us live in the studio. Sierra Boggess (Christine Daae) and Brent Barrett (The Phantom) discuss their careers off the Strip and what it's like to be in a shortened version of history's most successful musical. Also, Steve's mom is in the house and nearly makes Miles weep by singing Steve's favorite lullaby! Plus, opening night at the Playboy Club with George Maloof.

TRIVIA Q: How many hotel rooms did Circus Circus open with? Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by Feb. 4. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Twitter: @TheStripPodcastVoicemail: 702-997-3300This week on The Strip: We know we've been gone too long and we're sorry. But we're back to count down the 10 best moments of 2010 as voted on by you. And here's a hint: there's a dash of Oscar, a dollop of the Wynns and a whole bowl of me beating up on Steve for being an ill-spoken weirdo. That's coming up plus news from Vegas, a new trivia question, a new poll, listener feedback and, as always, the top secret tourist tip of the week.In Banter: Our staycation with PETS at Cosmo, Alex's closure, our newest dog, Aces, our recording troubles, Aria's wrap woes, losing the Trippies, MGM Resorts' M Life and more.

An edited compilation of live hits at Panorama Towers where KSNV Channel 3 anchor Marie Mortera reported on a dinner party with her boyfriend as well as Panorama resident Amy Turner and Vegas journalist Steve Friess. Friess blogs at VegasHappensHere.Com, co-hosts TheStripPodcast.Com and Tweets from @TheStripPodcast.The quartet dined on food from LBS Burger and Hachi at Red Rock Resort and drank Champagne provided by Southern Wine & Spirits. Each segment included a kitchen visit by Marie to the chefs who prepared the food, but that was removed to stay within YouTube's allowable time. In these segment, Marie turned to Friess for commentary on the news of 2010 and what we can expect in 2011.

TRIVIA: Go to VegasHappensHere.Com and TheStripPodcast.Com, look at the trivia photo and tell us, what Vegas couple got married at that hotel. If you know, e-mail TheStripPodcast@aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by Dec. 17. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com. Twyla Tharp has been that unusual New York dance figure who has long dabbled in popular culture, largely a result of being exposed as a kid to lots of movie musicals while working at her parents' drive-in theater in California. She studied dance with such legends as Martha Graham, then formed her own dance company in the mid-1960s and by 1973 was having the Joffrey Ballet do numbers to Beach Boys music. She choreographed several Hollywood films including the dancing horse scene from “Hair,” and in 2001 her Billy Joel-scored production “Movin' Out” became a Broadway smash. As you're about to hear, Tharp, a Tony winner and Kennedy Center Honoree, has long been friends with Steve Wynn and has long been enthralled by Frank Sinatra music, so she's excited to bring “Sinatra Dance With Me” to the Wynn Las Vegas was easy. It opened last weekend to an A-minus grade from Mike Weatherford and with blogger David McKee both liking it and wondering if it's too artsy for Vegas audiences.Tharp, however, believes Strip tourists will understand the show better than show-goers in New York.In Banter: A NYC adventure, a Cosmo adventure, a KNPR adventure, a Vdara adventure and more.Twitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComVoicemail: 702-997-3300Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.comVoicemail: 702-997-3300

Hunter Hillegas of RateVegas.Com graciously authorized us to put this episode of his program featuring Steve in The Strip Podcast's feed. Subscribe to The Vegas Gang in iTunes or Zune via VegasGangPodcast.Com.#55: The Cosmopolitan OpensRecorded LIVE from the 50th floor of The Cosmopolitan with Chuck Monster (VegasTripping.Com), Hunter, Dr. Dave Schwartz (DieIsCast.Com), Jeff Simpson, RateVegas.Com columnist and Steve Friess. Web: TheStripPodcast.ComEmail: TheStripPodcast@aol.comTwitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComPhone: 702-997-3300

Web: TheStripPodcast.Com Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.com Twitter: @TheStripPodcast Blog: VegasHappensHere.Com Welcome to an interview-only edition of The Strip Podcast. We've been traveling this week but wanted to post Steve's interview with John Unwin, the CEO of the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, in advance of the resort's opening on Dec. 15. In this conversation, Steve and John discuss everything from whether the city needs another megaresort to Steve Wynn's criticism that the resort is quote “an extraordinary example of ill-conceived plans.” Also, what's it like to now be one of Wynn's peers? One important note: About halfway into this conversation, Unwin begins laying out his theory as to why the Cosmopolitan is a different resort gunning for a different audience than the rest of the high-end Vegas market. To do so, he draws Steve a grid. You can find that grid either on your iPod if you're listening that way or on Steve's blog, VegasHappensHere.Com in the post he'll put up for this episode.  

TRIVIA: What was the name of the first hotel that stood where the Las Vegas Club is now?If you know, e-mail TheStripPodcast@aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by Dec. 17. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Twitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComVoicemail: 702-997-3300Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.comBy now everybody who listens to this program, reads Steve's blog or enjoys eating out on the Strip must know about all the controversy kicked up over this little book that recently came out that names the 50 quote-unquote essential restaurants in Las Vegas. Steve had some issues, so on this show he's invited co-author and food critic Al Mancini into the LVRocks.Com studio to hash it out on the air, live. Before we get to that, though, Steve interviewed Franck Savoy, the 31-year-old son of Guy Savoy who was just named director of restaurants at Caesars Palace. Savoy dishes about growing up in Paris as the son of the famed chef, what's really happening at rumor-riddled Bradley Ogden and, of course, what his fast-food guilty pleasures are. And, in a special INTERVIEW edition of the Top Secret Tourist Tip of the Week, Ric Guerrero of Slidin Thru breaks some news.In Banter: The mayor's Ferris wheel, Ruffin's Starbucks, Wynn's expo center, Rhumbar's kangaroos, Frank Marino's blood drive and other absurdities.

TRIVIA: What was the name of the first hotel that stood where the Las Vegas Club is now?If you know, e-mail TheStripPodcast@aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by Dec. 17. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Twitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComYou think of Andy Williams, you think Christmas specials, Moon River and Branson, Missouri. You do NOT think of LSD, eating dog food or strident political commentary. Williams, the legendary crooner who's now 83, appears in December at the Las Vegas Hilton, so Steve chatted with him about some of the revelations in the book, including the time he saw Frank Sinatra flash his brutal side and what it was like to be on the funeral train with Bobby Kennedy's coffin.In Banter: A Cosmo preview, a debate over food critic anonymity, gambling as a cure for "homosexual problems," an El Cortez room design contest and a Thanksgiving Day fire.

Welcome to a special AOL News extra edition of The Strip Podcast. The following interview was conducted with David Karofsky, a Massachusetts business consultant whose name was given to a bully character on the Fox TV show Glee. It turns out, the real Karofsky attended Beaver Country Day School in Brookline, Massachusetts, with Glee creator Brad Falchuk. This conversation took place in advance of a piece for AOL News on Karofsky and other Glee characters named for Falchuk classmates and acquaintances. As always, visit TheStripPodcast.Com to catch up on old shows featuring interviews with celebrities and other notables. You can also email TheStripPodcast@aol.com, follow me on Twitter at @TheStripPodcast and read my blog, VegasHappensHere.Com.