Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2006 | 7:39 a.m.
When Ted Nugent orders a straight shot, he ain't talkin' alcohol. The renowned veteran rocker (and hunter, and longtime Second Amendment rights activist) recently sought an instrument weapon that best suited his divergent passions.
So he asked Las Vegas guitar manufacturer Ed Roman to build a one-of-a-kind six-string electric that seems fairly pedestrian at first glance, but is in fact also home to a high-caliber derringer (exclamation point!).
"I've built a lot of guitars - for Brian May, Eric Clapton just recently - and they are all novelties in some way," Roman said Monday during a phone interview. "But the thing with Ted, with the gun, was completely different."
In a statement, Nugent said, "I am so jazzed to be associated with Ed and the team at ERG (Ed Roman Guitars). This guitar is a work of art and is absolutely magnificent. And what a concept - Ed and his team have outdone themselves once again."
The guitar has a slot cut into the back of the body to house the handgun. Simple. But Roman, whose business, at 4631 S. Dean Martin Drive, is the largest guitar store in the world (with more than 5,000 guitars in stock at any given time), followed all of Nugent's other design specifics.
This might be a bit technical for us air guitar virtuosos, but Nugent's requests included a 3/4-inch solid slab of Alaskan Sitka spruce for its top wood, and a solid black Korina back with a Macassar ebony neck. The fingerboard is Gaboon ebony found only in the most remote regions of central Africa. The guitar is worth about $7,000, not particularly expensive for a custom-made guitar of its type, Roman said.
But that's not counting the gun, which is usually on Nugent's person at all times - even during a visit to the White House, as Roman noted.
"He's a big supporter of President Bush and had the gun on him in the Oval Office once when he met him," said Roman, who also has plans for a new guitar for Rio headliner Prince. Roman is not quite ready to provide details on that instrument, saying, "I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you."
OK. I can wait.
NoteMart
On Wednesday, Strip developer Steve Wynn will be inducted into the Gaming Hall of Fame - for the second time. Wynn was originally inducted 16 years ago, one of the hall's first inductees, but removed himself from the hall in 1995 when Atlantic City casino owner Donald Trump was inducted. Wynn was at the time on unfriendly terms with Trump, but times have changed, the billionaires now get on famously and Wynn has agreed to be re-inducted.
Five-star chef Alessandro Stratta and show creator Franco Dragone will also be inducted. (Stratta was at Wynn's Renoir at the Mirage and today runs the five-star Alex at Wynn Las Vegas; Dragone created "O," "Le Reve" and "A New Day.")
My colleague, Las Vegas Sun columnist Jeff Simpson, spoke to Wynn Monday as Wynn prepared to return to Las Vegas from Macau.
"I guess I wasn't famous enough," Wynn said with a laugh when asked about his re-induction. "Or they lost my membership card. Actually, being inducted again is a really great deal. Each time you get a free dinner." ...
Dave Chappelle is a funny man prone to funny decisions. On Monday he abruptly canceled his performance, scheduled for 8 p.m. Thursday, at the "Comedy Festival," at the Caesars Palace Colosseum, giving no immediate reason why. Thus, the performance by Bill Maher has been shifted to 9:30 p.m., an hour earlier than scheduled. In a similarly sketchy maneuver last year, Chappelle left Comedy Central in a lurch by bailing out of production for the third season of the "Dave Chappelle Show" and ending the series, which was nonetheless brilliant. The first two seasons are out on DVD, where Chappelle is best appreciated ...
Though no dates have been announced, "Forever Plaid" will live on through 2007 at the Gold Coast. This, according to show producer Richard Martini, who checked in Sunday with news that Jinx, Frankie, Smudge and Sparky will be harmonizing at the Gold Coast next year (there was concern around the hotel that the show's run would end on Dec. 31). The annual holiday production of "Plaid Tidings" is scheduled for Wednesday through Dec. 31, and, as Martini noted in an e-mail message, " 'Forever Plaid' will be performing at the Gold Coast in 2007. We will be announcing our schedule for 2007 in the next few weeks." ...
The "wedding" between the wax figures of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, scheduled for Wednesday morning at Madame Tussauds Las Vegas at the Venetian, has been canceled after Pitt's people expressed concern (shocker) over staging such a mock ceremony. And you know what this means, guys: The Jolie figure is still available. ...
The last owner of the famed Venetian Ristorante on West Sahara Avenue, which closed in December 2003, is back in the restaurant business. Thomas D'Antonio, who owned the Venetian from 1997 until 2003 (when he filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy), is managing D'Antonio's on Maryland Parkway and Pebble Road in the Scottsdale Plaza. On Monday, D'Antonio said he opened the restaurant for his ex-wife, Patricia Olivarez (who is listed as the owner), and several longtime frequenters of the old Venetian have stopped in since the new restaurant opened two months ago.
The Venetian enjoyed its heyday under its original owners, Lou and Angie Ruvo (parents of Southern Wine & Spirits of Nevada owner Larry Ruvo). The restaurant opened in downtown Las Vegas in 1955 and moved to its final location on West Sahara and Valley View Boulevard in 1966; the likes of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin were among the regulars (in a disturbing comment on our unique evolution, today the site is home to the Slanted Clam). ...
Pray tell: Plate spotted, noted and reported on a white Mustang reads HVNSJOY.
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