Columnist Joe Delaney: Blame hotels' strategies for sluggish New Year's weekend

Joe Delaney's column appears Thursdays and Fridays. Reach him at [email protected] or 259-4066.

Nobody asked me, but: Las Vegas hotels came off better than they deserved over the long New Year's Eve weekend.

The first mistake was to create demand by refusing all reservations for the year-end holiday until early in 1999.

There were early calls from responsible people, like top executives from the Sandals resorts in Jamaica and the Caribbean, six couples who wanted to greet the millennium in Las Vegas, price being no object.

When prices were finally announced, they were exorbitant. ... It was too late when most of the hotels backed off and the Convention Center Authority put on a costly last-minute "rooms are available" ad campaign.

Hotels, most of them, held the line on showroom prices, although there was paper (comps) everywhere on New Year's Eve and reams of paper everywhere on New Year's Day.

Query: Who was responsible for the $500 to $2,500 price scale for Barbra Streisand, especially on New Year's Day?

Lots of stories

There are instances where good customers who booked early and paid retail prices for their rooms over the weekend found out what was happening and received rebates in the form of a free room equivalent later in 2000. ... Bette Midler gave those who attended her shows in the Mandalay Bay Events Center a great performance both nights. ... Many locals paid the $300 and $500 and said they enjoyed the Divine Miss Millennium.

I'm sure Midler got her full fee and Mandalay Bay got its share of the revenue, but I have it from a reliable source that it was far from the best night on her multicity tour for promoters of the event.

Why did the Desert Inn have to charge $125 for Tony Bennett on Saturday and Sunday? ... If the Crystal Room was filled, there must have been a large number of invited guests, especially on Sunday. ... What happened to LV's original premise of, fill those rooms and showroom seats first?

In conclusion

Las Vegas has gone from originally "giving visitors the best and the most of everything for the least cost and for free, if possible," to "whatever the traffic will bear, so long as we stay under costs in New York, Chicago, L.A, and San Francisco." ... This time the hoped-for traffic decided the costs in Las Vegas were unbearable.

More unasked opinions

Danny Gans did capacity business at the Rio, even when the ticket price went up to $99. ... We understand the price when he opens at the Mirage in March will be between $60 and $75. ... Gans will have 400 more seats to fill each show and he may need more than just an expanded orchestral accompaniment to accomplish this.

David Cassidy's recent Rio hotel press conference to announce his new "Live at the Copa" co-star, Sheena Easton, came off rather flat, giving no further indication of the show's content except for Cassidy's and Easton's hits plus dancers and a live orchestra. ... "EFX" at the MGM Grand carried Cassidy, not the other way around. ... Prognosis: We'll have to wait and see.

Cassidy's "The Rat Pack Is Back" was a good concept and well performed in the Desert Inn lounge. ... It was presumptuous of Cassidy & Co. to use the onstage personas of Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Joey Bishop without prior clearances.

And still more

Wayne Newton, when he opens at the Stardust, might consider a guest comedy slot using Dave Barry and other comedians for a short stint within the performance. ... Forty weeks a year is a lot of time and only Siegfried & Roy and Lance Burton, with production values, seem to be handling this successfully. ... Wayne may be able to do it, but it won't be easy.

As for Clint Holmes, the Harrah's showroom is a good size for Holmes' intimate and very personal approach. ... Like Newton and Gans, to compete on the Strip, it may take more than Holmes alone to sustain 40 weeks a year.

Buddy Hackett would be a natural for Monday's late show at Bally's or even doing Mondays and Tuesdays, especially because the Jubilee Room now features George Carlin and Chris Rock. ... Hackett is "cleaner" and funnier than almost anyone today. ... There you have a few unsolicited thoughts for the new millennium.

A postscript

Welcome, Consumers Electronics Show. ... Your best entertainment bet this weekend is the McGuire Sisters at the Orleans. ... See you Friday.

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