Where I Stand -- Jimmie Walker: Here's a lighthearted look at changing times in Las Vegas

THINGS HAVE CHANGED in Las Vegas since I moved here in 1976. We've grown from 400,000 to 1.2 million people in that time. ...

In addition to living and working the clubs here, I do a radio talk show out of KKAR in Omaha, Neb. I've worked in radio in San Antonio, Fresno and Chicago. After being turned down for a job in Vegas, I took the job in Omaha. Since I've been at KKAR, I've received one of my greatest compliments: A "media critic" called me a "pseudo-intellectual." This was the first time that "intellectual" and "Jimmie Walker" have been used in the same sentence. ...

Working in Omaha, one of the things I miss is my ethnic music. The only black music in Omaha is Clint Black. ...

One day I'm doing the TV show "Politically Incorrect." I decide to drive to Los Angeles. I get on the Las Vegas freeway at the Constipation Bowl -- I mean, the Spaghetti Bowl. I like to get to L.A. in the morning to beat the afternoon high-speed freeway chase. When I get there, I find out that Southern California has been declared a disaster area. It seems that because of a satellite glitch, cellular phones and pagers are knocked out of service. People all over L.A. are walking around talking into their hands. ...

I work the comedy clubs in Vegas 10 to 12 weeks a year. I mainly perform at the Riviera and Tropicana thanks to my friend, Steve "The Pope" Schrippa, who is in charge of entertainment at the Riviera. We call him "The Pope" because if you want to do comedy in Vegas, you must go through "The Pope": Offerings and ring-kissings are held from 1 to 3 p.m. every Monday. ...

Vegas has really stepped up when it comes to live music. At one time it was only Wayne Newton and Tom Jones. Musical entertainment now includes everything from Boyz II Men to the Rolling Stones to Alabama. The Hard Rock's Joint is an off-the-Strip, mid-sized, fun venue. The surviving members of the Grateful Dead are playing the Joint under their new name: "The Other Ones." Do you get the feeling that these guys have taken so many drugs that they can't remember each others' names? ...

Are there any single women in Las Vegas over 25 without children -- or grandchildren? ...

When I'm not working, I love to go to Las Vegas Stars games. I usually get a media pass and go to as many games as possible. I am looking forward to the Minor League World Series at one of the great minor league ballparks in America, Cashman Field. ...

Yvonne Atkinson Gates, one of the Clark County commissioners, was up on charges for allegedly giving favors to her friends so they could get airport concessions, before the charges were dismissed. She should be up on charges for the prices of the food at the airport concessions. ...

Washington, D.C., is one of my favorite cities in the world. I have lots of friends there and it is the next city I am going to work in. I get to the expanded McCarran International Airport early so I can catch a commuter flight to the new D terminal before making a connection to the nation's capital. Marion Barry is the embattled mayor of Washington. He's not running for a fifth term. He is, however, running for a fifth. When I get off the plane, Marion is standing there. In one of his last official acts, he presents me with a "kilo to the city."

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