Monday, Oct. 7, 2002 | 8:56 a.m.
Sahara celebrates its 50th anniversary today.
In addition to the parties, there is plenty going on behind the scenes.
The festivities start early. At 10:30 a.m., a Who's Who of Las Vegas personalities and veteran Sahara employees and performers kick things off.
Among those slated to attend include Charo, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, Sonny King, Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt and Blackie Hunt, Steve Rossi, Bob Anderson, magician Steve Wyrick and a laundry list of others.
Starting at 1 p.m., the public is invited to have some birthday cake and a drink.
Among those who have graced Sahara showrooms or stayed at the hotel over its long life are Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Spencer Tracy, Mae West and Marlene Dietrich.
The hotel has also issued a limited edition of commemorative $5 chips to mark the event.
Meanwhile, the facility has seen several curious personnel changes.
General Manager Chuck Hunsucker was let go last week by Sahara boss Bill Bennett -- and replaced by Bennett's former personal bodyguard and security chief, Larry Serna.
Bennett is ill, and many Sahara staffers are reluctant to be critical of his behavior. He is rarely on site for more than a fraction of the day.
However, as a denizen of the Forbes 400 list and the owner of a major Las Vegas casino, he remains a public figure. A former executive told us that since Bennett has no control over his health, he is countering that by micromanaging casino business to the facility's detriment.
Another former worker proffered that while it is certainly Bennett's right to hire and fire whomever he choses, his lack of trust in many senior employees was hurting the entire staff.
One general manager -- Mel Larson -- served for a mere 19 days earlier this year.
Particularly irksome to many was that a qualified candidate, longtime Sahara executive Craig Hodgkins, was passed over in favor of Bennett's bodyguard.
Sahara spokeswoman Germaine Thompson said she was unable to comment on Bennett or any personnel issues and could not make anyone available to speak.
Imperial farewell
This is the last week at the Imperial Palace for Larry Houck, who has been handling publicity for the Strip landmark for eight years.
He is leaving to join his wife, Sibel Houck, at her Kayla Talent Agency in Las Vegas.
No word on when their son, Brandon, 4, will join the firm as well.
Grade A?
Lotus of Siam, a popular restaurant on East Sahara Avenue, was cited in the October edition of Gourmet magazine as a Las Vegas "neighborhood gem."
Coincidentally or not, it was concurrently cited by the Clark County Health District. The restaurant earned 18 demerits for a variety of code violations.
Greaser
Aussie songbird Olivia Newton-John performed this weekend at Paris Las Vegas. It was also the first leg of her trip Down Under to see her family and pick up a Hall of Fame honor in Sydney from the Australian Record Industry Awards.
USA Today scribe Sue Facter told VegasBeat that fellow Australian Kylie Minogue -- think Newton-John 25 years ago -- will present the honor. Minogue, along with Michael McDonald (the former Doobie brother, not the Las Vegas councilman) and others, is scheduled to sing on Newton-John's upcoming "Duets" album.
Spread the news
Got another taste of old Vegas seeing the Frank Sinatra Jr. show, "Sinatra Sings Sinatra," at MGM Grand's Hollywood Theatre over the weekend.
Junior certainly has Dad's voice, but nary a fraction of the charisma. He looked positively bored up there for most of the performance.
Not that he was stiff, but I initially thought I had wandered into Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum by mistake.
No matter -- the near-capacity crowd ate it up anyway. The name is still magic.
Near the end of the Friday-night show, he announced that the Anaheim Angels had beaten the New York Yankees, and then he broke into one of Ol' Blue Eyes' signature tunes, "New York, New York."
But as any Sinatra or Bronx Bomber fan knows, that song is only played at Yankee Stadium after the team wins. I mean, he could have done "Strangers in the Night" or "My Way" or "The Lady Is a Tramp" as a finale instead. (They weren't performed the night I saw the show.)
I asked him about it backstage afterward.
"I did it for all the Anaheim fans in the audience," Sinatra said, with a wink. Junior lives a lot closer to, yes, Anaheim than the corner of 161st Street and River Avenue in the Bronx (where you'll find The House That Ruth Built).
Redhead
Yes, that was the mug of one Carrot Top (real name: Scott Thompson) on the hood of NASCAR racer Kenny Wallace's car Sunday at the EA Sports 500 in Talladega, Ala.
Maybe all the paint used to capture the hair slowed the racer down; Wallace's car, No. 33, finished like its namesake, a disappointing 33rd.
The racer and the Las Vegas comedian both share a long distance telephone company as a sponsor, AT&T.
And, dislike Mr. Top's long-distance commercials or really dislike them, people I generally trust swear up and down that his live comedy act is gut-busting funny.
The red-haired funnyman and his team are back at MGM Grand's Hollywood Theatre Oct. 24 to Oct. 30.
Team? Yes, actually. He heads a company called -- and this is the absolute truth -- Carrot Top Inc., with several employees who help with his props, tour logistics and fighting off the groupies.
He travels with more than 350 generally handmade props, which fill an 18-wheeler that is driven from tour stop to tour stop.
Check out
That was Jay Leno at In-N-Out Burger near Interstate 15 and Tropicana Avenue the other night. He slipped inside for a late-night double with cheese after introducing a new Suzuki bike at a promotional event at Harrah's ... The band Fuel with Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti and drummer Scott Phillips at Studio 54 inside MGM Grand Saturday night ... Hotel heiress Paris Hilton, acclaimed film director Penny Marshall and B-list movie staple Pauly Shore at Palms Saturday night for a private party.
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