Thursday, May 30, 2002 | 10:14 a.m.
Ron Kantowski's insider notes column appears Tuesday and his Page One column appears Thursday. He can be reached at [email protected] or (702) 259-4088.
Judging from the ages of those scattered in the grandstand, it can be assumed that most Las Vegas 51s fans are either too young or too old to be regular readers of Rolling Stone magazine.
That might be a good thing, given how quickly most people jump to conclusions.
Based on the price of concessions at Cashman Field, one might also assume that Ken Stickney, the sometimes point man for Mandalay Sports Entertainment, the Hollywood conglomerate that owns the 51s, has a lot in common with Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show:
You know, he keeps getting richer but he can't get his picture on the cover of the Rolling Stone.
But he got his name on page 86 of this week's issue in a story on Joe Francis, the 20-something-year-old Peeping Tom who has made a bazillion dollars producing and selling those "Girls Gone Wild" videos you've probably seen advertised on late-night television.
According to the story, Francis has signed a deal to form another rib under the Mandalay umbrella that will be known as Mandalay Direct.
Peter Guber, the former studio head who founded Mandalay and produced movies such as "Batman," "Midnight Express" and "Caddyshack II," declined to comment for the Rolling Stone story. Smart man.
But Stickney, God love him (and I mean that sincerely, because he's never been one to dodge a question) was more cooperative.
"Joe's demonstrated that he's one of the best, if not the best, direct marketer in the world, and we want to be in that business, whether it's to sell sex or comedy or fitness products," Stickney said.
Judging from that comment, one might assume the 51s' brass is going to take their ill-fated Bikini Night, which was ... well, a bust, for the negative publicity it generated during the salad days of the Las Vegas Thunder hockey team, a step further. Especially given there are several photographs of college-age girls, with certain body parts masked by black patches, on the page preceding Stickney's quote.
But Stickney insists the only part of Francis' business that interests Mandalay is the marketing part. They plan to use his knack for getting people to dial the telephone and use their credit cards to move some videos of their own.
Stickney said there wouldn't be anything offensive about these films. First up, he said, is a line of country music videos (although people who read Rolling Stone might find those offensive).
"I made it absolutely clear to the woman who wrote the story ... that (the partnership with Francis) has nothing to do with that (the Girls Gone Wild films)," Stickney said.
"My first reaction was here's this 28-year-old guy who has made $30 million and he comes to me about going into business together? I thought 'What have I done to deserve this?' "
So don't expect Family Night at Cashman Field to turn into The Man Show anytime soon. Game programs will not come in a plain, brown wrapper. And until further notice, the tradition that occurs during the middle of the seventh inning will continue to be known as a stretch, rather than a table dance.
But if you look up one day and see that Howard Stern has replaced Brad Mills in the third-base coaching box, you might want to notify the bouncer -- er, usher.
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