Eclectic mix of events

By Ron Kantowski

Friday, June 27, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Over lunch at the Coronado Cafe at the South Point, Michael Gaughan and Steve Stallworth were asked to put together a list of favorite events they brought to Orleans Arena when they owned (Gaughan) and ran (Stallworth) it. In alphabetical order, here it is:

• Brooks and Dunn: As they said in the “Blues Brothers,” these guys play both kinds of music — country and western. A grand opening crowd is still tapping its foot.

• Disney on Ice: You should have heard the kids cheer when Mickey laced up his skates. You should have heard the Orleans accountants cheer when their moms and dads lined up for tickets.

• Enduro-cross: This extreme sport featured motorcycles jumping over land and sea and a bunch of other stuff. It sold out so fast you needed a Kawasaki with an extra gear to get a ticket.

• Larry the Cable Guy: When it came to filling seats, nobody Got-R-Done like the big guy from Nebraska.

• Major college basketball: How major? Kansas vs. Florida, the past two NCAA champions. In a game decided by overtime on ESPN. That major.

• Minor league hockey: The Las Vegas Wranglers will soon become the second-longest-running pro sports franchise in Las Vegas’ checkered pro sports history. The puck stopped here and it’s not going away anytime soon.

• Mormon Tabernacle Choir: In case you’re wondering, these choir boys (and girls) did not open for Larry the Cable Guy, although that sure would have been interesting.

• Mr. Olympia bodybuilding: Hans and Franz and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who handed out the trophies. That’s a combination that will pump you up.

• National Association of Home Builders Convention: You don’t have to measure twice and cut once when President George H.W. Bush is swinging the hammer as a keynote speaker.

• Nevada State High School Basketball Tournaments: High school basketball in an arena connected to a casino? You betcha. After 19 years, the state basketball championships returned to Las Vegas and the only thing that got corrupted was a piece of the court that kept coming up.

• Ringling Brothers Circus: At first, the Orleans’ brass weren’t sure family events would work here. They did.

• West Coast Conference basketball tournament: Here come the ’Zags, and they’ll be playing for a ticket to the Big Dance.