Keep it Cheap

Las Vegas is an entertaining city.

Trouble is, much of that entertainment is high-dollar stuff.

Most hotel-casinos offer shows that can make a $100 bill disappear faster than Lance Burton's white tiger. But for those of us who don't like that kind of magic, there are plenty of affordable entertainment options.

Affordable here means from free -- if you have a pulse you can get in -- to about $16.

The author refuses to vouch for the quality of the inexpensive entertainment, as he can't even afford the free shows, but they are available and plentiful.

The cheapest pastime of all, of course, is people watching. Las Vegas being a cauldron of ethnicity, it is a great place to stand on a corner and watch the world pass by.

It is best to people-watch outside, on the Strip, because if you are motionless in a casino for more than two minutes -- and there isn't a slot machine in front of you -- you're considered a vagrant and security guards tell you to move on.

Free entertainment is so bountiful in Vegas that it is impossible to name it all.

Most casinos offer lounge acts.

If you can't pay $150 to attend a show by Ricky Martin or some-other high caliber singer, then go to one of the dozens of karaoke bars and make your own music at no cost.

If you can't afford "Lord of the Dance" at New York-New York ($59-$68), then become the Lord of the Dance -- go to one of the many dance clubs on the Strip where females are admitted for free and males generally are admitted for about $10.

You can pay $99 to watch Danny Gans do impressions at the Rio, or you can pay $14.95 to attend the "Washington All-Star Follies" at the Harrah's Las Vegas Improv Comedy Club. The "All-Star Follies" is a political musical comedy written, produced, directed by, and starring, veteran comic and singer Steve Rossi.

Rossi and his former partner, Marty Allen, recently were inducted into the Legends Hall of Fame.

"Follies" includes Rossi, Sandy Hackett (son of the legendary Buddy Hackett) and a troupe of impressionists called The Walkers (two brothers and a sister) who re-create countless stars. Performances are Sunday through Thursday at 5 p.m.

The show, based on Rossi's comedy album "Laughs, Sex and Scandals at the White House," has been running for five weeks. Rossi says it will end up on Showtime or HBO and, eventually, on Broadway. But for now he's content to put on an affordable show at Harrah's.

Rossi, a Las Vegas resident since 1954, remembers the days when all shows were affordable. "Vegas used to have the best entertainment buys in the United States," he said. "Now it seems if you're not wealthy and able to pay $50 to $100 for a show, then you can't go in. I remember when you could see four or five shows for $100."

Cost of pre-production, production and advertising have gone up so drastically, Rossi said, that 90 percent of new productions fail. He says he is bucking the trend of high-cost shows by keeping his production costs down. "We're not a big production show. There are no sets, just a backdrop," he said.

He added that Las Vegas is entitled to have "a really good, affordable show. Unfortunately, most of the affordable shows are afternoon shows, which are the most difficult because people don't have a mindset toward them. We're trying to change the mindset by giving a really good show at a reasonable price."

After you watch Rossi's or one of the other afternoon shows, are you in a circus kind of mood? Cirque du Soleil performs at Treasure Island, but it'll cost you $68 plus tax to get in. Circus Circus offers free acts, which change about every 20 minutes.

For productions, the "Best of Folies Bergere" at the Tropicana is popular but it costs between $49.75 and $59.75. But "Viva Las Vegas" at the Stratosphere's Broadway Showroom has been called the best bargain in town when it comes to inexpensive production entertainment.

The show opened in April 1991 in the Sands Copa Room. In October 1996 producer Dick Feeney moved it to the Stratosphere, where it plays to mostly capacity crowds (711 seats) three times a day, six days a week.

For $10 you get to watch sexy dancers and be amused by comedians Dave Swan and Joe Baker, an Elvis impersonator. Swan wears two hats -- one of them a crown. In addition to impersonating fellow Welshman Tom Jones at the Stratosphere, he impersonates a king at the Excalibur hotel-casino, where he appears nightly in "The Tournament of Kings."

A dinner theater performance, "Kings" includes a jousting match between two medieval knights riding real live horses, not mechanical ones or simulated ones.

Surely they jest? No, they joust. If you want jesting, and don't want to pay $34 to watch two guys ostensibly try to turn each other into shish kebab while you're enjoying your dinner, then go to the Court Jesters Stage for a variety of free performances.

Located on the second level of the Excalibur, Court Jesters Stage offers acts by more than 30 performers who put on shows every 45 minutes each day from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. Acts average 10 minutes and are free of charge. If you have a pulse, you can be entertained.

Among the acts are the black-light puppeteers of the Fantasy Factory, the musical trio Vocalese and the magic of Steven Carlson. Besides puppeteers and musicians there are jugglers and musicians dressed in medieval costumes who perform contemporary as well as traditional acts.

"For a true taste of medieval entertainment, we have acts who play period instruments such as mandolin, flute, harp and guitar," Bob Anderson, entertainment supervisor, says. "But we also have singers who sing contemporary songs and magicians who perform feats that medieval magicians never would have imagined."

As a rule, inexpensive entertainment generally falls into three categories -- magic, comedy and Elvis.

Elvis impersonators are thicker in Las Vegas than out-of-work actors in Hollywood.

At Bally's there is a "Love Him Tender" show by Steve Connolly in the Jubilee Room. For $14.95 you can see a serious depiction of the King at 2 p.m., Thursdays through Mondays. For a minimum of one drink, you can see Billy Ortiz imitate Elvis in the Riviera Le Bistro Lounge on Saturdays from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. There's a free tribute to Elvis on the First Floor Stage at Fitzgerald's every Friday and Saturday night.

Comedy clubs abound in Vegas.

For about $12.50 you can catch a rising comic at the Catch a Rising Star club in the MGM Grand. Shows are 8 and 10:30 nightly. The Westward Ho comedy show is even cheaper -- $2.50, or a one-drink minimum.

Unfortunately, the "Ho-larious Comedy Revue" is dark because of the Comedex convention but will resume in mid-January. While Comdex, with its 200,000 attendees, may be good for the Las Vegas economy in general, it doesn't do much for the entertainment revenue.

Many shows close down during the convention because these particular conventioneers are serious about their annual gathering to look at developments in the computer world. They are in meetings all day and attend dinners and other business-oriented functions at night, forcing a number of entertainment venues to go on hiatus.

Although comedy acts at the Westward Ho will be back sometime after Comdex, the ones at the Maxim may not be so fortunate. The resort reportedly is closing its doors around Dec. 6.

Performers at the "Comedy Magic Show" ($9.95) and the "Comedy Max Show" ($16.25) are looking for new homes. The penny-pinching public will be kept posted.

But there is always the Tropicana Comedy Stop ($16) and the Riviera Comedy Club ($14.95).

You like magic but can't afford Siegfried & Roy ($95)?

O'Sheas, at 3555 Las Vegas Blvd. South, has the Houdini Theatre, where adults can be entertained with magic for a mere $9.95 (children $3) at 4:30 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturday.

Or try Dixie Dooley's "Tribute to Houdini" at the Plaza Wednesday through Sunday at 4 p.m. daily and at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Sundays for $15.95. Or you can be amazed by the sleight-of-hand of the "Illusionary Magic of Rick Thomas" for $15.95 at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday through Thursday at the Tropicana.

Many of the casinos have their spectacular free events, such as the "Battle of Buccaneer Bay" at the Treasure Island every 90 minutes from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., weather permitting. Or the fountain show in front of the Bellagio. Or the erupting volcano in front of the Mirage. Or the Mardi Gras parade at the Rio. Or the Fremont Street Experience, a light and music extravaganza on the ceiling of the four-block long canopy over downtown Fremont Street.

For those easily entertained, there is the $6 elevator ride to the top of the 1,149-foot tall Stratosphere. For $8 you can ride an elevator up the Paris Las Vegas' Eiffel Tower, which is about half the height of the Stratosphere.

More exciting are the simulated rides that fool your senses into thinking you're going to die.

For about $11 ($3 admission and $8 for the simulated ride) you can drive an Indy car at Sahara's Speedworld -- a virtual reality show for all ages. Or there is the Race for Atlantis at Caesars Palace, where, for $9.50, adults sit in a 3-D motion simulator for about five minutes and, well, race for Atlantis.

The Las Vegas Hilton offers Star Trek: The Experience. General admission is $15.95, for which you get a simulated space ride and the history of "Star Trek" and its characters.

For the more sedate, there are plenty of inexpensive exhibits along the Strip.

For $12, Steve Wynn well let you look at his personal art collection in Bellagio's Gallery of Fine Art, where you can see works by such artists as Picasso, van Gogh and Monet. Some say it's overpriced, but it's cheaper than flying to New York or Paris (the cities, not the casinos).

The Luxor offers a reproduction of the tomb of King Tutankhamen for $5 or a theater feature on the mysteries of Egypt for $8.95. The Rio has an exhibit of items salvaged from the Titanic. General admission is $15.95. The Tropicana has its Casino Legends Hall of Fame ($4) or its Wildlife Walk (free) and the Mirage will let you see Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden for $10.

For tips about inexpensive entertainment in Las Vegas, there are a number of web sites such as: cheapovegas.com, coolvegas.com and goingtovegas.com, as well as the Sun's website, vegas.com.

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