Columnist Joe Delaney: More entertainment needed, not less

JOE DELANEY has been active in the entertainment industry for more than 50 years. His column appears Thursdays and Fridays in the Sun.

ENTERTAINMENT and star performers gave Las Vegas the impetus it sorely needed in the late 1940s. ... Gaming could only take Las Vegas so far. ... After World War II, it was Joe E. Lewis, Sophie Tucker, Milton Berle and similar night club headliners who made LV an entertainment destination. ... Frank Sinatra made his debut at the Desert Inn and in the early 1950s, Danny Thomas opened the Sands, later home for the Rat Pack.

The late Mo Dalitz was the prime mover in ushering in the era of production shows when he sent Donn Arden over to Paris. ... Arden came back with the rights to "Lido de Paris" in the mid-1950s.

Arden went on to produce "Lido" shows both here and in Paris, plus successful production shows at the Desert Inn and later at the MGM Grand, now Bally's. ... "Jubilee," since revised as the late Donn Arden might have done so, continues a successful long run at Bally's.

Closing notice

The demise of Bally's Celebrity Room has been confirmed, with the 1,400-seat star-policy showroom slated to be closed right after the Super Bowl in late January, 1999. ... Plans are to convert the showroom into a three-tiered, high-fashion shopping mall, keyed to its upcoming next-door neighbor to the south, the Paris Hotel.

Bellagio will have high-end shopping. ... Caesars Palace is expanding its hugely successful Forum Shops. ... The Venetian has announced upscale shopping areas and the Aladdin, by whatever name, will have a shopping area designed by the people who created the Forum Shops.

Bally's Celebrity Room begin its decline when it went to a four-wall lease policy, abandoning the room to entrepreneurs and performers willing to work for the door (ticket sales), less the cost of operating the showroom and, sometimes, shared advertising expenses.

Bally's today

Bally's star roster is down to Louie Anderson, Geroge Carlin, Liza Minnelli, who shouldn't play here now -- and often cancels -- because she's ailing, an occasional week by Anne Murray, Penn & Teller, plus two-day weekends with Andrew "Dice" Clay and Chris Rock. ... The original concept of a hotel having a star-policy room and a production showroom is still valid today.

The MGM Grand today has a major production show in "EFX," a mostly four-wall, 600-seat star policy showroom, lounge action, "Catch A Rising Star," the newly-opened Studio 54 and the Grand Garden Arena. ... MGM's Hollywood Theatre rotates Carrot Top, Rodney Dangerfield, The Four Tops, Engelbert Humperdinck, Tom Jones, Gladys Knight and Wayne Newton.

The Orleans Hotel has recovered from an inauspicious beginning with a star-policy lineup so strong some of the stars are complaining they would like to work there more weeks each year.

Some answers

Star combinations are one answer, packaging two or more stars in one show for larger showrooms. ... Production show formats, with a guest star next-to-closing segment, pumped life into the LV Hilton's "Moulin Rouge" a few years back. ... This has worked for the Flamingo Hilton's "Radio City Spectacular," alternating Susan Anton and Paige O'Hara.

The Riviera has the most multiple entertainment options with "Splash," "La Cage," "Crazy Girls," the Riviera Comedy Club, great lounge action, Don Menza's Monday Night Jazz, special shows at the Top of the Riv and, occasionally, in the Convention Center.

Entertainment was the original catalyst that helped develop LV into such an attractive investment potential. ... More and better entertainment is the way to fill our present hotel rooms and the 20,000 or more rooms being built as we approach the millennium.

Star-policy rundown

It's George Carlin-Dennis Blair (Bally's); Wynonna (Caesars); Mickey Finn Show (Gold Coast); Pat Benatar, Friday and Saturday (LV Hilton); Four Tops (MGM Grand); Siegfried & Roy (Mirage); Lance Burton (Monte Carlo); Smothers Brothers (Orleans); and Danny Gans (Rio). ... Dr. Hook featuring Ray Sawyer is at Arizona Charlie's, 9 p.m. Saturday.

It's not too late to support the Sun Summer Camp Fund. ... Make sure every deserving youngster gets to camp this year. ... All monies received go to the children, the Sun absorbs any other expenses. ... See you Friday.

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