Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Sin (City) is In: ‘Las Vegas’ joins growing list of Strip-centric TV shows

The new NBC series "Las Vegas" hasn't even premiered yet and already there's controversy.

Well, sort of.

The rancor is certainly not between the city and the show's producers. Nor is it coming from the cast.

Rather, it seems the creator of the upstart "Las Vegas" is already staking territorial television bragging rights against his prime-time rival, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

Let the war of words begin.

"It's us. That's it," said "Las Vegas" creator Gary Scott Thompson of the Las Vegas-themed shows that matter.

When asked specifically about "CSI's" connection to Las Vegas, Thompson was even less diplomatic.

"No one even knows it's set in Vegas," he said. "Ask anybody."

Considering "CSI" is the No. 1 prime-time series in the land, that's a lot of viewers to ask.

While "CSI's" creator, Anthony Zuiker, had no comment about Thompson's assertions, he did offer some advice for future Sin City series.

"Where Las Vegas-oriented shows have failed in the past is when their storylines are constructed solely on the cliche of Vegas, i.e. casinos," he said.

"My advice for doing a show in Las Vegas is to stay off of the Strip. Many shows have tried to make their bones there. Week one is one thing. Year three is another. Find a fresh approach."

Not surprisingly, Thompson is ignoring Zuiker's suggestion.

"Las Vegas," which premieres at 10 tonight on NBC (KVBC channel 3) is, in fact, all about the Strip. The show is centered around a high-tech security/ surveillance outfit at the mythical Montecito, one of Las Vegas' largest resorts and casinos.

The show affords a behind-the-scenes look at the hidden world of casino security, and most of the plots involving card-counting scammers and high-tech schemers, as well as voyeurs and just plain lucky gamblers, are based on real-life incidents.

The cast includes, among others, James Caan as Big Ed Deline, a former CIA operative who heads the surveillance team, along with his protege, Danny McCoy, played by Josh Duhamel ("All My Children"), an ex-Marine and Las Vegas native.

Thompson said he specifically wrote and developed McCoy as a native to allow for more stories off the Strip.

"It's a city of almost 2 million people," said Thompson, himself a Las Vegas resident. "We wanted to capture not just the Strip. People live here and it's their home, and we wanted to capture that."

But it's the fun and excitement associated with the city that will bring viewers in, he insists.

"It's Vegas, baby."

Goodman glows

Mayor Oscar Goodman has yet to see "Las Vegas," but already he's declared it a winner for the city.

"If they show the Las Vegas Strip and Fremont Street Experience and all the lights and glamour, I don't care what they're doing on the show," he said. "All publicity for Las Vegas is good publicity."

To help spread the word on the new series, Goodman and a small entourage from Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority flew to Hollywood recently to attend the premiere party of "Las Vegas."

The entire cast and many of the producers and writers were on hand, as well as Jeff Zucker, president of NBC's entertainment division.

While Goodman left the party before the screening, he was nonetheless impressed with the look of "Las Vegas."

"With all the pretty little girls (on the show), it will have a very lascivious viewership," he joked.

Still, the attractive women in the cast of "Las Vegas" are merely representational of the city itself, the mayor said.

"I think we have the most beautiful women in the world -- including my wife," he said.

Casting call

Certainly Nikki Cox manages to capture that elegance.

The raven-haired, buxom beauty, who plays a high-priced escort-turned director of special events at the casino, says there's little comparison of her show and the other "Vegas"-set series.

"The show is a lot more glamorous than 'CSI,' " Cox assured. "It's a different show altogether."

According to TV Guide, "Las Vegas" is also blessed with the best-looking new cast on television.

It's a testimony to the show's casting agent, then, that when watching the show, it's impossible to simply focus on one pretty face.

In fact, Thompson was so impressed with one cast audition, Marsha Thomason, that he rewrote the part of a steel-eyed, no-nonsense pit boss for her.

"I was supposed to be a 60-year-old man," Thomason said.

Instead, Thomason plays Nessa Holt, aka the "Ice Queen."

Born and raised in Great Britain, Thomason had never been to Las Vegas until filming for the series began on location earlier this year.

"I didn't know much about Las Vegas, other than it's synonymous with glitz and glamour," she said.

But she and the rest of the cast are getting a crash course.

And judging by reaction to the pilot, the cast is receiving passing grades so far.

Chrystee Pharris, star of NBC's daytime soap "Passions," was born and raised in Las Vegas. She said that while she enjoys watching programs set in Sin City, more often than not the shows don't mirror reality.

"I know what Las Vegas is about," she said. "My mom is in the casino industry. But it ('Las Vegas') was very accurate. They portrayed it very well."

So when she says she is impressed with the veracity of the new series, it's high praise indeed.

And that's good news for Darryl Frank, one of the executive producers of "Las Vegas."

Frank said that while the series is going for authenticity, the show is also trying to replicate the excitement and sexiness of Sin City.

"There's a reason Las Vegas is the No. 1 tourist attraction in the United States," he said. "We figured if we could capture that, (the series) would be successful."

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