Friday, Nov. 15, 2002 | 9:30 a.m.
Jerry Fink's lounge column appears on Fridays. Reach him at [email protected] at (702) 259-4058.
I've been going to lounges for the past two years for this column.
Finally, a lounge came to me.
A 45-foot tour bus whose interior replicates the cigar lounge in New York City's Club Macanudo pulled into the parking lot Wednesday afternoon. Stepping inside, I was greeted by the not-so-subtle aroma of cigar smoke and by two Macanudo "tour ambassadors" -- 25-year-old Andrew Freesmeier and 27-year-old Charisma Baltazar.
The traveling lounge criss-crosses the country, promoting Macanudo cigars, one of the nation's best-selling brands.
It's in Las Vegas because of the annual Big Smoke, a gathering of cigar enthusiasts sponsored by Cigar Aficionado magazine. The event is being held tonight and Saturday from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Paris Las Vegas.
Smokers pay about $150 per evening. The price includes dozens of premium cigars, drinks, food, seminars and camaraderie among like-minded men and women.
Big Smoke conventions are held in several locations throughout the year, such as New York and Chicago, but cigar-friendly Las Vegas attracts the largest number of fans -- about 5,000 attended last year, which is why the mobile Macanudo lounge is in town.
"We try to target gatherings where there are a lot of cigar smokers," said Freesmeier, a native of New Orleans who has spent the better part of his life on the lounge-bus since the company came up with the promotional tool two years ago. "We attend jazz festivals, wine festivals, golf tournaments, the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes."
Sort of like the Goodyear blimp on wheels.
Freesmeier and Baltazar sleep in hotels at night, but the rest of the time they are on the bus. This year the lounge has made more than 150 stops in 28 states, not only at major events but also at cigar stores and other small venues.
"We're on it almost 24/7," said Baltazar, who joined Freesmeier on the tour about six months ago. "This is our sole source of transportation. Wherever we go, we go on the bus."
It isn't exactly a hardship. After all, it is a lounge, and a luxurious one at that -- with plush red leather sofas and swivel chairs; a powerful air filtration system; an elaborate audio and video system that includes a Sony receiver, a 200 CD changer, DVD player and two flat-screen TVs.
The TVs are hooked up to an in-motion satellite receiver that provides 300 channels to choose from.
Naturally there are electronic games to pass the time, and laptop computers. About the only thing that can't be found in this lounge on wheels is a bar, or a restaurant.
Bummer.
But there are many Macanudo cigars in the 30-cubic-foot J.C. Pendergast humidor. And the cigars are free to anyone who comes to the lounge, which is open to the public.
"All the cigars in here are complimentary," Freesmeier said. "We give them a couple of cigars, a cigar cutter and a lighter and they can sit back and relax here in the lounge with us for four hours."
The lounge holds about 20 people. An average of 160 people visit it at each event.
Freesmeir said the rolling cigar lounge reflects the decor of Club Macanudo, which was opened by the cigar maker in Manhattan in 1966. The club has a restaurant, bar and cigar lounge.
"All the colors are pretty much the same," he said. "We have the wood floors, the Honduran mahogany bar. The humidor is the highlight."
At the back of the bus is the VIP lounge, a room with a horseshoe-shaped red-leather sofa and television.
"We don't serve alcohol but you're welcome to bring drinks on," Freesmeier said.
About the only thing lacking on this bus, once owned by Elton John, is a lounge singer.
Lounging around
The Treniers, Freddie Bell, Sonny Turner and Nelson Sardelli proved Tuesday night there is still a demand for good, old-fashioned entertainment, the kind they have been providing for decades. The 700-seat showroom at The Orleans wasn't quite full, but there were easily 400 or more fans at "A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening." The 90-minute show moved quickly, too quickly. It ended too soon. Maybe the producers will bring it back next year, when Claude Trenier will be only 84.
What to think about Cafe Michele? In July the once-popular hangout reopened with much fanfare under new ownership after being closed for several months. The new management touted the classy decor, the proposed entertainment by well-known musicians, the fine wines (also expensive) and the dining. But within three months the place was in trouble and on the verge of closing. Now, in an effort to keep the venue alive, Bo-Town Productions has been brought in to provide late-night music by DJs on Tuesdays starting at 10:30 p.m.
Crooner Brian Evans, fresh from a year in Key West, Fla., will be appearing at Bally's Indigo Room beginning Monday. Evans played at The Desert Inn up until a few months before it closed, recording a "Live at The Desert Inn" while there.
Catch Acoustical Garage at the Fiesta's Blue Agave Bar Wednesdays 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Magician Michael Close is at Monte Carlo's Houdini's Lounge Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 8 p.m. to 1 a.m.
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