John Katsilometes
Story Archive
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News
Parking 101: An insider’s advice on how to navigate Las Vegas garages
Sunday, March 13, 2016 John Katsilometes attends a lot of events around Las Vegas, so he’s become a bit of an expert on getting in and out of parking garages efficiently. He shares some of his secrets ...
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A&E
‘Spoofical’ cleans up the ‘Poop’; ‘Showstoppers’ seeks singer
Thursday, March 10, 2016 Las Vegas producer David Saxe has pulled the reins on his “Spoofical the Musical” production, which has been pushed back by several weeks from its originally announced Feb. 8 opening ...
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John Katsilometes
Billy Idol brings an unbridled energy to his House of Blues residency
Wednesday, March 9, 2016 "We’re celebrating what we’ve done, in a way, and that’s why we’re playing this Vegas revue."
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A&E
Sir George Martin’s love for The Beatles never flagged
Wednesday, March 9, 2016 The opening might of “The Beatles Love” in June 2006 was so spirited that I walked fast on my way out of the theater so I could spin around and see the expressions on the faces of that first audience. ...
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A&E
Dunn’s not done as ‘Together in Vegas’ adds July dates at the Colosseum
Monday, March 7, 2016 Ronnie’s ready to rock. A corner of the triangle of country superstars Reba McEntire and Brooks & Dunn is prepped for a return to the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Ronnie Dunn is ...
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A&E
Monday By the Numbers: USA Sevens, Cameo, more Chazz Palminteri
Monday, March 7, 2016 This week, Monday By the Numbers returns with a flourish, focusing on charity and rugby and some funk. ...
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News
Elvis exhibits in need of a makeover
Sunday, March 6, 2016 If the King is going to remain relevant for future generations, the people who want to preserve his legacy need to figure out more engaging ways to present his story ...
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A&E
Original Santana lineup to jam once more at House of Blues
Friday, March 4, 2016 The legendary band that Carlos Santana reassembled in the studio is reuniting onstage, too. The original Santana band featuring Gregg Rollie on keyboards, Neal Schon on guitar, Michael Carabello on percussion and ...
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A&E
A Vegas Tale: Chazz Palminteri to talk it up at Italian American Club
Thursday, March 3, 2016 Chazz Palminteri tells a story about vodka, but, as so many of his stories, it is really about people. ...
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John Katsilometes
Mike Tyson squares off with himself in ‘Undisputed Truth’
Thursday, March 3, 2016 The former heavyweight champion's autobiographical monologue returns to the MGM Grand and runs through June 26.
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A&E
A $4.5 million violin is placed in the hands of Las Vegas ace at L.V. Phil show
Wednesday, March 2, 2016 The Kats Report Bureau at this writing is New York-New York, where on Saturday the St. Baldrick’s Foundation is hosting its annual head-shaving fundraiser ...
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Entertainment
Prima long overdue for primo Vegas real estate
Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016 It seems so simple to rename a street for a famous person. Unfortunately, it's not.
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John Katsilometes
Seats are optional for Britney Spears’ upgraded Planet Hollywood show
Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016 Theater or nightclub? The pop star brings the party to Axis with her Piece of Me production.
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A&E
Steve Martin + Martin Short = March 6 at Caesars — then what?
Monday, Feb. 22, 2016 Steve Martin will be joined by Martin Short on March 6 at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. The show is titled “An Evening You Will Forget For the Rest of Your Life” and is to be an onstage back-and-forth ...
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A&E
Monday By the Numbers: Ready for run-walk action with Cirque du Soleil
Monday, Feb. 22, 2016 This week, Monday By the Numbers focuses on the 15th annual “Run Away With Cirque du Soleil” 5K Run and 1-Mile Fun Walk set for March 12 at Springs Preserve. ...
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A&E
Kats’ 50th birthday soiree Feb. 28 is fundraiser for St. Baldrick’s Foundation
Monday, Feb. 22, 2016 We’re using the event of my 50th birthday to have a bash worthy of that demarcation and also to raise money for St. Baldrick’s Foundation, which funds childhood cancer treatment and research. ...
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A&E
Chippendales hits new heights at Chateau with ‘53X’
Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016 The first Chippendales offshoot in Las Vegas, “53X” opens March 11 at Chateau at Paris Las Vegas. Performances are 9 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Tickets start at $29.95 for ...
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A&E
Giles Martin is asked, ‘You know Paul McCartney?’; cupid’s arrow finds Brad Garrett
Sunday, Feb. 14, 2016 If you are asking the musical question, “Where’s the 'Love' at Mirage?": The Cirque-Beatles production is dark for upgrades to the show, which eventually will coincide with its ...
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News
Mr. Las Vegas grateful to serve those who serve
Sunday, Feb. 14, 2016 John Katsilometes checks in with Wayne Newton, a longtime supporter of the USO who recently celebrated the organization’s 75th anniversary.
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A&E
To the finale, ‘Jubilee’ was in a class by itself
Friday, Feb. 12, 2016 Showgirls have a way of crying. The tears fall and flow, but the smiles are ever-radiant. The look on the faces of those elegant women and, yes, the oft-overloooked showboys was one of …
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John Katsilometes
The ‘Jubilee’ conundrum: The showgirl production was beautiful, but got trapped in time
Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016 The curtain closes on the iconic show on February 11.
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A&E
Forever a showgirl, Diane Palm bids adieu to ‘Jubilee’
Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016 You feel this moment coming as Diane Palm talks of her days in “Jubilee.” This feeling hangs heavily over the conversation, that sense that stuff is about to get real. It happens when Palm is asked what advice she would give herself ...
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A&E
Mike Tyson’s combination of ‘scripted freestyle’ is back for Round 2 at MGM Grand
Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016 Mike Tyson’s introspection, talking of being a husband and parent, has always belied his glowering image as one of the storied heavyweights in boxing history. It is that quality that has made his autobiographical one-man show, “Undisputed Truth,” a hit ...
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A&E
Hall & Oates: Great duo, great deal at MGM Grand
Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016 Hall & Oates are rightfully billed as a multiplatinum rock duo, but you won’t have to dole out multiplatinum prices to see them play MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sept. 23. ...
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A&E
Monday By the Numbers: Sports books’ semi-Super profit, Chinese New Year and supercharged cars
Monday, Feb. 8, 2016 This week, Monday By the Numbers takes a spin with Super Bowl 50, Chinese New Year and our friends at Dream Racing, the supercar attraction, which in January celebrated its fourth ...
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A&E
An Oscar Goodman-Pete Rose gambling summit? Bet on it
Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016 During the past two days, we’ve hit Brody Dolyniuk’s orchestral production at the Smith Center, visited Mr. Lucky’s 24/7 at Hard Rock Hotel, met up with the L.V. Phil, Storm Large and Pink Martini before that performance ...
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News
What’s to come of the brightest stars of ‘Jubilee’?
Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016 To the millions who have seen “Jubilee” over its 34-year history, the costumes have been as much a part of the show as the performers. They are stars unto themselves, these ...
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A&E
Paul Johnson nails it down as the new Drew in ‘Rock of Ages’
Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016 Paul Johnson can at once rock, and build, the house. A man who hammers it down on and off the stage, Johnson has ascended the spiral staircase of “Rock of Ages” at ...
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A&E
Rocking in Rio with ‘Ages’ changes; L.V. Phil takes on pink hue
Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016 One performer who will not rock in Rio for long is Mark Shunock, the magnanimous actor who portrays Lonny who has announced on his Facebook page that he is leaving ...
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A&E
Monday By the Numbers: A statistical summary of Super Bowl 50
Monday, Feb. 1, 2016 This week, Monday By the Numbers focuses on Super Bowl 50, where we finally drop the Roman numerals and ask the question, “In how many Super Bowls did Roman Gabriel of the Rams play?” ...
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Gaming
CEO says MGM Resorts’ Park will be a busker-free zone
Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016 John Katsilometes relays a message from CEO Jim Murren about why SpongeBob SquarePants will not be welcome at the new entertainment …
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A&E
The Amazing Johnathan, Psychic Tanya and ‘Mondays Dark’ prove Las Vegas charity knows no bounds
Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016 Sometimes you don’t see the busy weeks coming. The week just passed was one of those in VegasVille, a weeklong rollout of parties, performances and events that was almost impossible for even this scribe to …
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A&E
Jerry Lewis returns — briefly — as MDA spokesman
Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016 Jerry Lewis is back as a spokesman on behalf of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, having recorded a video in support of the MDA’s new logo and tagline. The clip is to be used ...
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John Katsilometes
The Kats Report: J.Lo’s ‘All I Have’ goes all-out all the time
Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016 The production is generous, tireless and imaginative—all qualities shared by Lopez. There are no half-measures with this woman, and at the end you feel spent, which is the intended result.
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A&E
Zowie Bowie leaves Station Casinos: ‘Nobody is more shocked that I’ve done this than me’
Monday, Jan. 25, 2016 Chris Phillips told me, “I am tired of doing the high-leg kicks and having a job that is all about making people dance and buy alcohol. I’m so over all of that, and I’m the kind of guy who needs to be hungry to make something happen.” ...
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A&E
Monday By the Numbers: A standing ‘O’ for one of Cirque’s greatest shows
Monday, Jan. 25, 2016 This week, Monday By the Numbers delves (or, dives) into “O” at Bellagio. This show remains one of Cirque’s bestselling and most-appreciated productions, (water) logging more than 17 years on the Strip. I caught the show again ...
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A&E
Santana sets release date for ‘Santana IV’; ONJ and Marie Osmond bond at NBT
Monday, Jan. 25, 2016 The Kats Report Bureau at this writing is Mizuya lounge at Mandalay Bay, where the band of the moment is The Limit, fronted by John Lombardo, an original singing gondolier at the Venetian and stellar rock vocalist. The tune is ...
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A&E
Heard it through the grapevine, and it is fact: John Fogerty is back this fall
Monday, Jan. 25, 2016 It is not a surprise that rock legend John Fogerty has added more dates to the eight he banked in his first spree covering this month. The show was terrific, the biggest pure rock show in that venue and among the most electrifying of ...
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John Katsilometes
The Kats Report: Louie Anderson stars as Zach Galifianakis’ mom(?!) in a new FX series
Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016 The Vegas headliner's voice landed him the role.
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A&E
David Bowie was a master of reinvention, innovation to the very end
Monday, Jan. 11, 2016 Thirty-five years ago, Johnny Carson introduced David Bowie on “The Tonight Show” and was thrown off by screams from the audience. Thrown off his game, the talk-show legend called out to the shouting fans: “He better be good after this.” Johnny, bless him, ...
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John Katsilometes
The Kats Report: Andrew Dice Clay returns, Britney refreshes and other entertainment notes
Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016 Plus: Jazz at SLS and Santa Fe and the Fat City Horns at the Smith Center.
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John Katsilometes
The Kats Report: Huge productions are history as Vegas gets cozy in 2016
Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015 What to look for on the Vegas entertainment scene in 2016.
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A&E
Aria convention expansion leads to closing of ‘Zarkana’
Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015 Announced today are plans for a massive new expansion of the Aria convention center, which will cover an additional 200,000 square feet and overtake the lavish theater that has been home to “Zarkana” since ...
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John Katsilometes
The Kats Report: With 10 years at Luxor and a new five-year contract, Carrot Top keeps his grip on the Strip
Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015 Like the comic, the laughs never get old.
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A&E
Mirth, music set for Colosseum as Steve Martin, Martin Short to play the Strip
Monday, Nov. 16, 2015 For one night in March, the Colosseum at Caesars Palace will be the home of the Martins. Steve Martin and Martin Short are performing a one-night headlining show, “An Evening You Will Forget For the Rest of Your Life,” on March 6. ...
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A&E
Dixie Chicks: Reunited and ready to roll at Las Vegas Arena in ’16
Monday, Nov. 16, 2015 Dixie Chicks once headlined at a Las Vegas neighborhood casino. In July, they play the big room ...
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John Katsilometes
The Kats Report: Checking in with 'ShowStoppers' director Philip Wm. McKinley
Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015 The production's one-year anniversary is next month.
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John Katsilometes
The Kats Report: Even amid turmoil, Murray Sawchuck continues to raise his public profile
Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015 Sawchuck’s master plan: use his cozy Vegas afternoon show as a launching pad for a weekly TV series.
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John Katsilometes
The Kats Report: Piff the Magic Dragon is ready to set the Strip on fire
Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015 A man and his Chihuahua. In dragon costumes. Doing magic.
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John Katsilometes
The Kats Report: Impressionist Gordie Brown has mastered his manic mind
Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015 If he’s having a good time in his home entertainment center of a brain, you will, too.