Poker News

Len Butcher

Big news in our town last week was the announcement that the Las Vegas Hilton has signed country music and television star, Reba McEntire, to a multi-week engagement in 2006. The superstar begins the first part of her engagement on Wednesday, May 3. This was a surprise announcement as many observers, when hearing thatthe Hilton was going to make a major announcement, thought it might be Bette Midler, who has been in town talking to Steve Wynn about doing a permanent gig at his Wynn Las Vegas. I had done a lengthy interview with Hilton CEO Rudy Prieto, just days before the announcement, during which he told me the hotel was just finalizing a five-year master plan for the property, that would include a major star, other than Barry Manilow, performing at the Hilton. Along with Manilow and now, Reba, comedian David Brenner also performs nightly, so the resort has a formidable lineup.

Reba should be a huge draw for the Hilton, as much of her music crosses over from country to pop, and her highly successful television show, Reba, has a huge following of all ages and both men and women.

Reba will perform Wednesdays through Sundays (over nonconsecutive weeks) at 9 p.m. (Sundays, 8 p.m.) in the Hilton Theater beginning May 3. Tickets are $138 (plus tax and service charge), $124 (plus tax and service charge) and VIP seating, which includes a meet-and-greet with Reba, priced at $225 (plus tax and service charge). Tickets can be purchased at the Las Vegas Hilton box office or by visiting www.lvhilton.com or calling 702-732-5755 or 1-800-222-5361.

Caesars Palace has shown, with Celine Dion and Elton John, that headliners can pack showrooms night after night and it looks like the Hilton will be able to do the same. As I’ve said before, it looks like Las Vegas is swinging away from the Cirque du Soleil type shows, thank God. Four — Mystere, O, Zumanity and KA — though all great, were enough. As can be seen by Le Reve at Wynn. Although this wasn’t a Cirque show, it was created by Cirque creator Franco Dragone and it falls far short of his predecessors.

Le Reve opened with poor reviews, from both the media and the public, and those reviews were well-deserved. I went to see Le Reve again the other night, supposedly after it had been tweaked, and found it just as bad. The idea for the show is that it’s supposed to be an unfinished dream (Le Reve is The Dream in French), but what it needs is some kind of thread to hold it together. I found it very disjointed and lacking any sense of direction. Maybe that’s what Dragone wanted, but it doesn’t work.

So I, for one, am very happy to see the days of the headliners returning to Las Vegas, accompanied by Broadway-type shows, although I’m told Avenue Q, also at Wynn, is not doing that well. That would be a shame, if true, because it’s a funny, creative, wonderful show. I think with more promotion for it, it will do fine, asthe reviews have been great from day one and I haven’t heard a negative word about it from the many people I know who have seen it.

Lots of stars, as usual, in town over the past few weeks. Singer Gwen Stefani, enjoying herself at Wynn Las Vegas; Sylvester Stallone took a break from shooting some Rocky VI scenes here to have dinner at Aureole in Mandalay Bay; Drew Barrymore, hanging out with some friends at La Femme in the MGM Grand; Janet Jackson, also with friends at La Femme, but on a different night; Dustin Hoffman enjoying a burger with wife Lisa at Mesa Grill in Caesars Palace; Mick Jagger, showing he still has what it takes on the dance floor at Light in Bellagio; The Killers having dinner at Wolfgang Puck’s Bar & Grill in the MGM Grand; Following the taping of the comedy festival, Earth to America, Ray Romano, Steve Martin, Ben Stiller, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson, Larry David and Albert Brooks, gathered at Pure in Caesars for some relaxation.

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