The Strip: Las Vegas Podcast

**NOTE: It is strongly recommended you not unsubscribe from this feed after you download this episode. The regular show is over, but it is possible some additional interviews and other specials might be placed in the feed from time to time.**After six years, this is the final regular episode of The Strip. The show, which debuted on Sept. 1, 2005, was co-hosted by journalists and life partners Miles Smith and Steve Friess. In this emotional episode, the duo recount the top 10 moments of the show as voted on by listeners, talk about the changes in their lives and play some classic old clips including a never-before-published 6-minute rehearsal in which they discuss what they show should be about and how they'll go about doing it. The top clips include great moments from Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Curtis, Jim Murren, George Wallace, Johnny Mathis, Sheldon Adelson and, of course, Steve Wynn.

This is a special reissue of the first episode of what would become The Strip. We called it Vegas S&M when we debuted on Sept. 1, 2005. The final episode of the program was recorded on Sept. 5, 2011.

Steve addressed Las Vegas' gay chamber of commerce, Lambda Business and Professional Association, on August 10, 2011. In these comments, he reflects on the progress and challenges facing Las Vegas' GLBT community.

Steve appeared on the Las Vegas Weekly's Radio Mag on KUNV 91.5 FM on Aug. 11 to discuss the Jockey Club and his LVW cover story about it. The interviewer is LVW Editor Sarah Feldberg.

Steve Friess' exit interview on KNPR on 8/10/11 as he prepares to leave for a Knight-Wallace Fellowship at the University of Michigan.

The economy might seem mired in recession in Southern Nevada but elsewhere the sick economy is creating a boom - the gold-mining counties have little or no unemployment, construction work for those who want it and the good times are rolling. This counter-cyclical boom is the other side of the bubble that burst in 2008. Steve Friess has been up in Eureka County to experience first hand what is happening with the healthiest part of our state economy.

We had some extra bloopers. In this file, we fight and bitch at each other (lovingly, riiiight?) and there's lots about our studio antics. Fun stuff.

FINAL TRIVIA: What was the first major hotel-casino to open after Steve arrived in Vegas on 9/9/96 to begin working at the Review-Journal? If you know it, email us at TheStripPodcast@aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by 9/3/11. if you get it right, we send you something. Period. Everything must go.Twitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComVoicemail: 702-997-3300Open & Banter: Start to 36ishIntro/End-Show Bloopers : 36:45-44ishWordplay Bloopers: 44:30ish-50ishBanter/Midshow Bloopers: 50:50-1:07ishTrivia/Poll/Feedback: 1:07ish-1:20ishInterview-related Bloopers: 1:20:35-1:31ishCursing Bloopers: 1:31:20-1:35ishMiles' Voices Bloopers: 1:35:30-1:40ishTSTToTW: 1:40ish-endSomething Extra: 1:53-endSo we did a bloopers show on Aug 14. And the recording was all eff'd up. Steve screwed up a setting. Duh. Which meant we had to do it again. Which we did, bringing special guest Amy back in with another pizza. But this time, no chat room. Just the three of us. This is this year's bloopers show, and it's great. But it's…

TRIVIA Q: Who has appeared on The Strip the most times in the history of the show?Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by Aug 12. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Blog: VegasHappensHere.ComSite: TheStripPodcast.ComE-mail: TheStripPodcast@aol.comVoicemail: 702-997-3300Twitter: @TheStripPodcastOpen & Banter: Start to 18ishGeorge Wallace Part I: 24ish--51ishTrivia/Poll/Letters: 51ish-59ishGeorge Wallace Part II: 1:00-1:26ishTSTToTW: 1:26-endGeorge Wallace threw us for a loop back in the fall of 2005 when he claimed to be two different places and then unceremoniously dumped us. And he’s paid for it, at least in these parts, with us mocking him as the symbol of a bad guest and many listeners saying they’d avoid his show because of the shoddy treatment. But Steve can’t really leave well enough alone. As we conclude our run as Vegas podcasters, he wanted another whack at Wallace, and so he was over at the Flamingo today for a…

TRIVIA Q: Who has appeared on The Strip the most times in the history of the show?Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by Aug 12. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Blog: VegasHappensHere.ComSite: TheStripPodcast.ComE-mail: TheStripPodcast@aol.comVoicemail: 702-997-3300Twitter: @TheStripPodcastOpen & Banter: Start to 18ishCharlie Palmer: 18-50ishTrivia/Poll/Letters: 51ish-1:04ishHal Sparks Excerpt: 1:04-1:07ishTSTToTW: 1:08-endSYNOPSIS: The last time we spoke to celebrity chef Charlie Palmer, he used this program to break a WORLD EXCLUSIVE about his plans to build a hotel in Las Vegas. This time around, he joins us as one of the three newest inductees into the American Gaming Association’s Hall of Fame. Palmer talks about that, about the aforementioned hotel he still intends to build some day and about a particularly wild birthday meal he had on an island in Fiji. That’s all coming up. Also, we excerpt our interview with comic Hal…

TRIVIA Q: Go to TheStripPodcast.Com or VegasHappensHere.Com and listen to the 3-second clip, then tell us who the guest was for that show? Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by July 27. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com. Blog: VegasHappensHere.Com Site: TheStripPodcast.Com E-mail: TheStripPodcast@aol.com Voicemail: 702-997-3300 Twitter: @TheStripPodcast The design genius behind Mirage, Bellagio and Wynn was supposed to have stepped down from the Wynn Resorts and pursue other long-deferred opportunities. But Roger Thomas ran into some financial troubles brought on by the economy and decided instead to stay put, so instead he’s right back where we left him: In the throes of conjuring up the look and feel of the world’s next most anticipated resort, this time in Macau. Thomas talks to our Steve in this episode about the artistic and hospitality theories behind the resort not due to open until 2015, but he also offers a surprisingly…

In addition to our regular episode interview with Jubilee! showrunner Fluff LaCoque, we’re also marking the 30th anniversary of the vintage vegas showgirl production with this conversation with the show’s most successful alumna, Tina Walsh. As you’re about to hear, Walsh came to Vegas from Texas as a young actress determined to put in a few months as a singer and dancer for Jubilee! Instead, she stayed in the show for eight years, then starred in EFX with Michael Crawford, Tommy Tune and Rick Springfield. After that, she opened Mamma Mia! at Mandalay Bay in the lead role of Donna and currently she appears nightly as Madame Giry in Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular. In this conversation, Walsh tells terrific stories of life backstage at Jubilee in the 1980s and 1990s, when she and her co-stars shared a backstage hallway at Bally’s with a showroom where the likes of Sammy and Dean performed regularly. As always, don’t forget that our website is TheStripPodcast.Com, our e-mail is TheStripPodcast@aol.com, you…

This former Nevada governor's dad had mob ties and invested with the likes of Dave Berman, Gus Greenbaum and a dude nicknamed Ice Pick. Who was it?Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by July 20. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Twitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComVoicemail: 702-997-3300 Open & Banter: Start to 41ishFluff LaCoque Part I: 41-103ishTrivia/Poll/Letters: 104ish-1:13Fluff LaCoque Part II: 1:14-1:33ishTSTToTW: 1:34ish-endThirty years is a blink of the eye in most places, but it’s an |eternity for the every-changing Las Vegas. This summer, the venerable, historic Jubilee! celebrates the start of its fourth decade at Bally’s, so we chatted with the 88-year-old firecracker who has ruled the land of massive headdresses and sequined skivvies with an iron fist for all this time. Fluff LaCoque talks to Steve about bruised thighs, chubby guys, fake boobs and so much more this hour. Also, we’ll hear an excerpt…

Welcome to a special edition of The Strip. Former MGM Mirage CEO Terry Lanni has died. To commemorate the occasion, we are re-issuing our April 2008 interview with Lanni, who entered the gaming business as C.F.O. for Caesars World Inc in 1977 and went on to be president of that company before becoming president and C.E.O of what was then MGM Grand Inc in 1995. In 2000, he oversaw the buyout of Mirage Resorts, and in late 2008 he resigned his post at the helm of what by then was known as MGM Mirage. This interview was conducted in early 2008 as the recession was just beginning to take hold. At that point in time, Steve had broken the news that the company wanted to use the name ARIA for the CityCenter hotel but legal problems thwarted it. Obviously at some point after this discussion, those issues were resolved. Those caveats aside, we’d like to extend condolences to all within the gaming community and the Lanni family who mourn the loss of one of the industry’s most significant figures.

The father of what Pulitzer Prize winning former New York Times reporter was once the entertainment director of a major Vegas resort? Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by July 13. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Twitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComVoicemail: 702-997-3300Open & Banter: Start to 20ishAnnie Duke: 21-51ishTrivia/Poll/Letters: 52ish-1:01Shelley Berkley: 1:02-1:12ishTSTToTW: 1:12ish-endThe only poker pro who has any kind of serious name recognition in mainstream popular culture is Annie Duke, and she’d like to change that. Duke, who is history’s most successful female player with more than $4.2 million in live tournament winnings, is the founding commissioner of a new league that aims to use objective criteria to determine who the world’s best players really are. On the eve of the start of the 42nd World Series of Poker Main Event, we hear from Annie about how the league works and why it matters as…

**NOTE: VISIT THESTRIPPOCAST.COM OR VEGASHAPPENSHERE.COM TO FIND THE FLICKR SLIDESHOW THAT CORRESPONDS/ILLUSTRATES THIS EPISODE. ALSO, IF YOU HAVE AN IPOD CAPABLE OF PLAYING ENHANCED FILES, CHECK THE PODCAST FEED AGAIN TO DOWNLOAD THAT VERSION OF THIS AND THERE PHOTOS WILL APPEAR TO CORRESPOND (MOSTLY) WITH THE DISCUSSION.**This is audio from that walk-around, which also includes conversations with CEO Tony Santo about the process of buying all the furnishings from the never-to-open Fontainbleau and about why they opted not to call the property the Union Plaza again. Plus, he defines what a high-roller is at a place like the Plaza and explains why they won’t be opening the room balconies for guest use. The renovations will end up costing about $35 million, up from the original $20 million budget. Santo explains why. Finally, you may notice the main voice on this episode belongs to Santo, but the Plaza’s chief marketing officer, Steve Rosen, also chimes in from time to time.

The father of what Pulitzer Prize winning former New York Times reporter was once the entertainment director of a major Vegas resort? Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by July 6. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Twitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComVoicemail: 702-997-3300Open & Banter: Start to 25ishPhil Satre Part I: 26-58ishTrivia/Poll/Letters: 58ish-1:06Phil Satre Part II: 1:07-1:48ishTSTToTW: 1:48-endThis fall will be the 100th anniversary of the birth of William Harrah, the man whose name is on more casinos in the world than any other. His former company, which recently changed its name to Caesars Entertainment, has very little planned outside of some promotions at the original Harrah’s resort in Reno, but we decided he deserved a little more attention than that. Harrah died 33 years ago tomorrow at the age of 66, so Steve spoke with his successor, Phil Satre, who helmed Harrah’s for 21 years and is…

What is the only Nevada lake to empty into the sea? Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by June 29. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com. As always, our website is TheStripPodcast.Com, our voice mail line is 702-997-3300, email us at TheStripPodcast.Com and follow me on Twitter at TheStripPodcast.Com. And remember, a donation of $25 or more to the show will get you anything on our prizelist which presently includes a Celine thumbdrive and Celine opening night programs. Synopsis: The following is an interview I conducted earlier this week with Philippe Dunnigan, the head violinist and orchestra captain for Celine Dion’s self-titled production at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. The show features Celine backed up by 31 musicians including a full orchestra, a longtime dream of hers. Playing the Strip in Vegas is a long-time dream of Dunnigan, who studied at the Montreal Conservatory and performed on several recordings of Cirque du…

What is the only Nevada lake to empty into the sea? Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by June 29. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Twitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComVoicemail: 702-997-3300Open & Banter: Start to 24ishKen Ehrlich Part I: 24-58ishTrivia/Poll/Letters: 59-59ishKen Ehrlich Part II: 1:00-1:25ishTSTToTW: 1:25-endThis week on The Strip: It was by far the most hyped – and to our minds the best – new show to hit the Vegas Strip this year. Celine Dion has returned to the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in a self-titled production that is radically different and vastly better than “…A New Day,” her groundbreaking first run in the vaunted showroom. Legendary TV producer Ken Ehrlich directed “Celine,” so we spoke to him at length about the intriguing decisions he, the singer and her husband made. Why didn’t they include the closing-number special effects when they opened in March? Was it weird to rehearse…

Audio of Steve Wynn on Fox News with Frank Luntz before an audience on 6/19/2011 claiming he voted for Obama.

What casino had the first eye in the sky? Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by June 6. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Twitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComVoicemail: 702-997-3300Open & Banter: Start to 18ishTerry Fator interview: 19-58ishTrivia/Poll/Letters: 59-1:06ishMelinda Fator interview: 1:07-1:24ishTSTToTW: 1:24-endTerry Fator makes a lot of money as the master behind a string of colorful, entertaining puppets who croon standards nightly at the Mirage. But was the singing ventriloquist himself nothing more than a dummy, controlled by his ex-wife and so-called “handlers” who hijacked his career following his triumph on “America’s Got Talent”? That’s pretty much what he tells us this week in a stunningly candid interview that paints his former wife of 18 years as a self-aggrandizing, hen-pecking shrew who alienated him from his family and refused to bear him children. Melinda Fator, not surprisingly, has a…

What casino had the first eye in the sky? Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by June 6. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Twitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComVoicemail: 702-997-3300Open & Banter: Start to 24ishAngel Porrino interview: 25-53Trivia/Poll/Letters: 54-1:04ishJosh Strickland interview: 1:05-1:49ishTSTToTW: 1:49-endOscar Goodman may be working overtime to ensure his wife replaces him as the official face of Vegas, but it's been a heckuva lot easier for the city's unofficial mascot, Holly Madison, to spread her fame among her minions. Her longtime personal assistant, Angel Porrino, is now a star in the new Caesars Palace hit "Absinthe" and her best gay boyfriend, "Peepshow" singing star Josh Strickland, recently landed atop iTunes with his first single. And, to hear them tell it, they owe a huge debt to one particular former Hugh Hefner girlfriend. Porrino met Holly while testing to be a Playboy Playmate…

Welcome to a Strip extra. The following is a conversation recorded with Barry Manilow in advance of the Newsweek piece that I contributed to. Very little of this discussion made it into the piece, so we decided to edit it and post it here. The interview was in Manilow’s dressing room at the Paris Hotel-Casino and was conducted primarily by me with a few interjections from a colleague working on the story. During the interview, we delve into Manilow’s fears about being perceived to be “over” when he decided to headline at the Hilton, memories he has of opening for many major acts in the 1970s and what his digs are like when he does stay overnight here. Manilow also answered questions about lip-synching allegations, why he won’t do a Garth Brooks-like show and much more. Don’t forget you can catch up on past shows at TheStripPodcast.Com or by subscribing via iTunes or Zune. Also, email us at TheStriPPodcast@aol.com or call 702-997-3300.

The following episode was recorded on May 11 at the mayoral forum that took place before a luncheon of Las Vegas’ GLBT chamber of commerce and was moderated by me. First you will hear Carolyn Goodman, wife of current mayor Oscar Goodman, give opening remarks, followed by about a 25 minute discussion with me that included some questions of my own as well as those submitted from the audience. After Carolyn’s turn, her opponent, County Commissioner, Chris Giunchigliani gave her opening remarks and sat for a 25-minute q-and-a with me as well. This audio was edited only to remove either dead air or several instances when the microphones squealed. If you have questions or comments, you may email me at TheStripPodcast@aol.com or leave a voicemail at 702-997-3300.

Why did Harrah's name the top Total Rewards tiers the Seven Stars level and put seven stars on the Harrah's logo? Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by May 11. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com. Twitter: @TheStripPodcast Blog: VegasHappensHere.Com Voicemail: 702-997-3300 Open/Banter until 21:00John Philippe Maury, Part I: 21-45Trivia/Poll/Feedback - 45-50John Philippe Maury, Part II: 50-1:13Announcement 1:13-end As any dessert lover knows, there’s actually two Bellagio fountains, the one outside that gets all the attention and the one that flows of chocolate at the Jean Phillippe Patisserie around the corner from the hotel’s famed Conservatory. The second one, which owns the Guinness record for the largest chocolate fountain, is the brainchild of our guest this episode, Jean Philippe Maury, the French pastry chef who now has shops in both Bellagio and Aria and is responsible for overseeing the pastry kitchen for all of Aria.…

Why did Harrah's name the top Total Rewards tiers the Seven Stars level and put seven stars on the Harrah's logo? Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by May 9. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Twitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComVoicemail: 702-997-3300Open/Banter until 18:00Cassidy 18:30-1:14Trivia/Poll/Feedback - 1:15-1:29Estrada 1:30-1:57TSTToTW 1:57-endLas Vegas used to be a place where past-their-prime entertainers went to die. Now, in the age of Cirque, Celine and Garth, there’s not that much room for them to do even that. So, instead, they just pass through. Two of the biggest heartthrobs of the 1970s, David Cassidy and Erik Estrada, will do just that this coming week, Estrada appearing at the Luxor for a Cinqo de Mayo celebration and Cassidy at the Orleans for two concerts. Both reflected on their heyday in conversations with Steve, and Cassidy – who starred in the MGM Grand spectacle EFX for two years in…

The VegasMate Stripper Poll in April found overwhelming support for Mayor Chuck Monster, VegasTripping.Com Guru, to become the next mayor of Las Vegas. It was tough, but we demanded a hard-hitting interview with Mayor-Elect Monster, and we, of course, prevailed.(This is an excerpt pulled out from 5/1 episode of The Strip. Flock to TheStripPodcast.Com for the whole show, which is unbelievably AWESOME.)

Trivia – How much did Judy Garland make each week at the Frontier Hotel in Vegas in 1956? (Closest answer wins if nobody gets it exact.) Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by 4/27/11Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.comTwitter: @TheStripPodcastVoicemail: 702-997-3300This week, on the Strip: The nightclub industry in Las Vegas is a mystery to many, including us. It’s clearly not one to Rich Wolf who, along with Jason Strauss and some other partners opened Tao in 200x at Venetian. They’ve been making unthinkable piles of money ever since, even though the idea of a hip nightclub at a Sheldon Adelson business and convention resort seemed nuts when they spent $20 million to build it. Now they own Lavo at Palazzo and the newest hotspot, Marquee and the Cosmopolitan. In this conversation, we hear the mind-boggling numbers behind the business, try to get to the bottom of where – especially in this economy – all this money is coming from and what the appeal is of being in a club with a…

TRIVIA: Prior to March 1931 when Nevada passed its six-week waiting perido for divorce, what state was known as the Divorce Capital of America? Know? E-mail us call 702/997-3300 by 4/11/11 Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.com Twitter: @TheStripPodcast Voicemail: 702-997-3300 The announcement of the closure of the Sahara means a lot for Vegas historians and enthusiasts, but it also will have some consequences for one of the city’s most notable landmarks, The Stratosphere. As that resort turns 15 years old this month, it finds itself increasingly isolated north of the Strip right when new management has been spending millions to clean it up and modernize it. We’ll hear in this episode from Frank Riolo, the CEO of the Stratosphere’s parent company, American Casino and Entertainment Properties, about what’s in store for the fifth tallest structure in America. Will there ever a casino at the top of the tower? Why did Steve Wynn scream Riolo? And what does Riolo wish he could ask the ghost of Bob Stupak? In Banter:…

Prior to March 1931 when Nevada passed its six-week waiting perido for divorce, what state was known as the Divorce Capital of America? Know? E-mail us call 702/997-3300 by 4/11/11Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.comTwitter: @TheStripPodcastVoicemail: 702-997-3300 Welcome to a special edition of The Strip. The race for Las Vegas mayor is heating up with the April 5 primary, and the frontrunner by all accounts is none other than Carolyn Goodman, the wife of Mayor Oscar Goodman. Steve is working on several stories related to the race, so he sat down for this lengthy, thorough conversation with Mrs. Goodman on March 31. This interview has already become controversial because of how the candidate responded to questions about gay marriage and immigration reform, but here’s your chance to hear for yourself who she is and where she comes from. Carolyn Goodman opens up about her husband’s famed history as a defense attorney for several infamous mob figures, describes her upbringing and family life, responds tartly to…

Prior to March 1931 when Nevada passed its six-week waiting perido for divorce, what state was known as the Divorce Capital of America? Know? E-mail us call 702/997-3300 by 4/11/11 Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.comTwitter: @TheStripPodcastVoicemail: 702-997-3300 As we record this episode of our show, the folks at the Flamingo Las Vegas are busy applying a spankin’ new wrap to the hotel’s Strip side. And while the faces will be the same – Donny and Marie, of course – they’ll look a little less cheesy, a little more rock n roll. As Donny Osmond explains this hour, the original wrap was thrown up in a hurry when the sibling duo opened there in 2008. But now they’ve weathered a withering recession and passed their 500th performance, so it’s time for something more current and durable. How much longer can they dominate Vegas? Donny’s answer: Forever. Sort of. Stick around to hear what the big brother has to say about their future and hear him play some bits of their first album of new music in decades. Also, Marie…

Go to the blog (VegasHappensHere.Com) or the podcast site (TheStripPodcast.Com) and tell us what is "Vegas wrong" about the image from a stain glass window at the Guardian Angel Cathedral. Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by March 21. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com. Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.com Twitter: @TheStripPodcast Voicemail: 702-997-3300 A Caveman and a Chipmonk walk into a bar. Actually, they’ve never even met, but they have one thing in common: They both were interviewed by Steve last month. The Caveman is comedian and actor Kevin Burke, who has clocked more than 1,500 performances in “Defending The Caveman” first at the Golden Nugget, then the Excalibur and now Harrah’s Las Vegas. And the chip monk is the nickname earned by Arthur Nelson, the organist who has cashed in casino chips for Guardian Angel Cathedral on the Strip for decades. In Banter: Sahara closing, Celine opening, geocaching shut down, earth-moving…

Web: TheStripPodcast.ComEmail: TheStripPodcast@aol.comBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComVoicemail: 702-997-3300Twitter: @TheStripPodcastWelcome to a Strip Extra. Listeners of this show will NOT be surprised to learn that Steve is a big fan of none other than 1980s and 1990s pop balladeer Richard Marx. So when the opportunity presented itself to interview Marx today, he made it work. Since Marx plays the Orleans Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas Saturday and Sunday, March 12 and 13, we didn’t want to wait until next week’s show to post it. So here we go.Richard Marx, of course, is well known for some of the biggest pop ballads of the 1990s including “Hold On To The Nights,” “Now and Forever” and “Right Here Waiting.” Over the past decade, he became a music producer and songwriter for the likes of N Sync, Barbra Steisand and Luther Vandross. He lives with his wife, “Flashdance” and “Dirty Dancing” star Cynthia Rhodes, and their three sons in the Chicago suburbs. In his hey day, Marx sold more than 30 million records and was…

Go to the blog (VegasHappensHere.Com) or the podcast site (TheStripPodcast.Com) and tell us what is "Vegas wrong" about the image from a stain glass window at the Guardian Angel Cathedral. Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by March 21. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com. Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.com Twitter: @TheStripPodcast Voicemail: 702-997-3300 Less than two months ago, Miss America 1943 Jean Bartel was in Las Vegas for the pageant’s 90th anniversary celebration. She was the oldest living winner of the pageant and she had played the Strip as a singer at Bugsy Siegel’s Flamingo back in the day. Steve interviewed her for his Jan. 19 column for the Las Vegas Weekly, and she sounded hale and hearty then. But on March 6, she died at the age of 87, so we remember her by playing Bartel’s final interview. In it, she offers her recollections as a groundbreaking Miss America who led the charge to create the scholarship program that…

What is now where the Landmark Hotel-Casino once stood? Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by March 5. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com. Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.com Twitter: @TheStripPodcast Voicemail: 702-997-3300 To go along with our 1990s Tabloid Stars of Vegas theme from this week's proper episode of The Strip, we're also posting Steve's chat with Gennifer Flowers, Bill Clinton's original other woman. Flowers now splits her time between Vegas and New Orleans, two cities that she says are particularly welcoming to those, like herself, trying to live decent lives despite their controversial notoriety. Flowers rates the Clinton presidency, opines on Hillary's competence as SoS and as a fashion figure and explains why anyone would want to own jewelry or clothes from the Gennifer Flowers Collection. Flowers also explains how she can claim to have been the "Most Googled Name" of 2008, as her website suggests. scandal, gennifer…

TRIVIA: What is now where the Landmark Hotel-Casino once stood? Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by March 5. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com. Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.com Twitter: @TheStripPodcast Voicemail: 702-997-3300 We all know that Las Vegas has long been a haven for washed up show business stars, but in the past decade or so we’ve also become a mecca of sorts for 1990s tabloid fixtures, too. The list of Las Vegans who earned household-name infamy at the end of the previous century includes Heidi Fleiss, Mike Tyson, John Wayne Bobbitt, Gennifer Flowers and, most recently, Mary Jo Buttafuoco. Steve had lengthy, fascinating conversations with Flowers and Buttafuoco for a recent Las Vegas Weekly column, but they’re just too long, even for us, to put both in the same episode. So here’s what we’re going to do: In this episode we’ll hear the conversation with Buttafuoco, whose husband’s teenage girlfriend shot her in the…

Which was the first Vegas casino to celebrate Chinese New Year?Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by Feb. 18. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.comTwitter: @TheStripPodcastVoicemail: 702-997-3300This week on The Strip: If you rack your brain hard enough, you’ll still fail to come up with any star of the Vegas stage quite like Sierra Boggess. We’ve had plenty of hugely famous people perform and countless formerly famous people attempt to revive careers here. But Boggess is singular as an actress whose first big break was in a Vegas production, “Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular”, and who has then moved on to star in a major Broadway production followed, now, by opening the Phantom sequel “Love Never Dies” in London’s West End. Now the 28-year-old is about to return to Broadway as one of the most in-demand ingénues of her age. We visited our little Sierra in her dressing room in London last week, and…

This is a reissue of our 2006 interview with Sierra Boggess, now the star of Love Never Dies in London as featured on our Feb. 10, 2011 show. It's a fun blast from the past.Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.comTwitter: @TheStripPodcastVoicemail: 702-997-3300Blog: VegasHappensHere.ComTwo stars of Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular joined us live in the studio. Sierra Boggess (Christine Daae) and Brent Barrett (The Phantom) discuss their careers off the Strip and what it's like to be in a shortened version of history's most successful musical. Also, Steve's mom is in the house and nearly makes Miles weep by singing Steve's favorite lullaby! Plus, opening night at the Playboy Club with George Maloof.

TRIVIA Q: How many hotel rooms did Circus Circus open with? Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by Feb. 4. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Twitter: @TheStripPodcastVoicemail: 702-997-3300This week on The Strip: We know we’ve been gone too long and we’re sorry. But we’re back to count down the 10 best moments of 2010 as voted on by you. And here’s a hint: there’s a dash of Oscar, a dollop of the Wynns and a whole bowl of me beating up on Steve for being an ill-spoken weirdo. That’s coming up plus news from Vegas, a new trivia question, a new poll, listener feedback and, as always, the top secret tourist tip of the week.In Banter: Our staycation with PETS at Cosmo, Alex's closure, our newest dog, Aces, our recording troubles, Aria's wrap woes, losing the Trippies, MGM Resorts' M Life and more.

TRIVIA: Go to VegasHappensHere.Com and TheStripPodcast.Com, look at the trivia photo and tell us, what Vegas couple got married at that hotel. If you know, e-mail TheStripPodcast@aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by Dec. 17. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com. Twyla Tharp has been that unusual New York dance figure who has long dabbled in popular culture, largely a result of being exposed as a kid to lots of movie musicals while working at her parents’ drive-in theater in California. She studied dance with such legends as Martha Graham, then formed her own dance company in the mid-1960s and by 1973 was having the Joffrey Ballet do numbers to Beach Boys music. She choreographed several Hollywood films including the dancing horse scene from “Hair,” and in 2001 her Billy Joel-scored production “Movin’ Out” became a Broadway smash. As you’re about to hear, Tharp, a Tony winner and Kennedy Center Honoree, has long been friends with Steve Wynn and has long been…

Hunter Hillegas of RateVegas.Com graciously authorized us to put this episode of his program featuring Steve in The Strip Podcast's feed. Subscribe to The Vegas Gang in iTunes or Zune via VegasGangPodcast.Com.#55: The Cosmopolitan OpensRecorded LIVE from the 50th floor of The Cosmopolitan with Chuck Monster (VegasTripping.Com), Hunter, Dr. Dave Schwartz (DieIsCast.Com), Jeff Simpson, RateVegas.Com columnist and Steve Friess. Web: TheStripPodcast.ComEmail: TheStripPodcast@aol.comTwitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComPhone: 702-997-3300

Web: TheStripPodcast.Com Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.com Twitter: @TheStripPodcast Blog: VegasHappensHere.Com Welcome to an interview-only edition of The Strip Podcast. We’ve been traveling this week but wanted to post Steve’s interview with John Unwin, the CEO of the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, in advance of the resort’s opening on Dec. 15. In this conversation, Steve and John discuss everything from whether the city needs another megaresort to Steve Wynn’s criticism that the resort is quote “an extraordinary example of ill-conceived plans.” Also, what’s it like to now be one of Wynn’s peers? One important note: About halfway into this conversation, Unwin begins laying out his theory as to why the Cosmopolitan is a different resort gunning for a different audience than the rest of the high-end Vegas market. To do so, he draws Steve a grid. You can find that grid either on your iPod if you’re listening that way or on Steve’s blog, VegasHappensHere.Com in the post he’ll put up for this episode.

TRIVIA: What was the name of the first hotel that stood where the Las Vegas Club is now?If you know, e-mail TheStripPodcast@aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by Dec. 17. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Twitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComVoicemail: 702-997-3300Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.comBy now everybody who listens to this program, reads Steve’s blog or enjoys eating out on the Strip must know about all the controversy kicked up over this little book that recently came out that names the 50 quote-unquote essential restaurants in Las Vegas. Steve had some issues, so on this show he’s invited co-author and food critic Al Mancini into the LVRocks.Com studio to hash it out on the air, live. Before we get to that, though, Steve interviewed Franck Savoy, the 31-year-old son of Guy Savoy who was just named director of restaurants at Caesars Palace. Savoy dishes about growing up in Paris as the son of the famed chef, what’s really happening at…

TRIVIA: What was the name of the first hotel that stood where the Las Vegas Club is now?If you know, e-mail TheStripPodcast@aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by Dec. 17. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Twitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComYou think of Andy Williams, you think Christmas specials, Moon River and Branson, Missouri. You do NOT think of LSD, eating dog food or strident political commentary. Williams, the legendary crooner who’s now 83, appears in December at the Las Vegas Hilton, so Steve chatted with him about some of the revelations in the book, including the time he saw Frank Sinatra flash his brutal side and what it was like to be on the funeral train with Bobby Kennedy’s coffin.In Banter: A Cosmo preview, a debate over food critic anonymity, gambling as a cure for "homosexual problems," an El Cortez room design contest and a Thanksgiving Day fire.

Welcome to a special AOL News extra edition of The Strip Podcast. The following interview was conducted with David Karofsky, a Massachusetts business consultant whose name was given to a bully character on the Fox TV show Glee. It turns out, the real Karofsky attended Beaver Country Day School in Brookline, Massachusetts, with Glee creator Brad Falchuk. This conversation took place in advance of a piece for AOL News on Karofsky and other Glee characters named for Falchuk classmates and acquaintances. As always, visit TheStripPodcast.Com to catch up on old shows featuring interviews with celebrities and other notables. You can also email TheStripPodcast@aol.com, follow me on Twitter at @TheStripPodcast and read my blog, VegasHappensHere.Com.

What famous photographer shot the classic portrait of Siegfried & Roy that appeared on the Mirage marquee for more than a decade? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by Nov. 5. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com. Twitter: @TheStripPodcast Blog: VegasHappensHere.Com Voicemail: 702-997-3300 Frank Sinatra Jr. has the voice, the stage presence and the look. So why is he not successful? Or, rather, why does HE say he’s not successful? In this conversation with Steve, the son of the legendary Chairman of the Board is stunningly candid about the disappointments in his life, including the fact that he never really felt close to his father and doesn’t know whether his dad was proud of him. Plus, find out what famous actor’s home he and his friends never visited on Halloween, learn how he felt about playing such off-Strip sites as Boulder Station and the Suncoast, and hear some intimate details about his 1963 kidnapping. Also, how did that unusual…

What famous photographer shot the classic portrait of Siegfried & Roy that appeared on the Mirage marquee for more than a decade? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by Nov. 5. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.THIS EPISODE WAS RECORDED LIVE OCT. 30, 2010 AT THE FLAMINGO LAS VEGAS AT THE VEGAS PODCAST-A-PALOOZA!This week on THE STRIP: She’s danced on Broadway, told jokes in Carnegie Hall and, of course, headlined in Vegas for nearly a decade. And now, Rita Rudner is about to reach her career apex, appearing with us at the Go Pool at the Flamingo Las Vegas. That’s right, we’re LIVE at the third annual Vegas Podcast-a-Palooza to chat up the Harrah’s Las Vegas comedienne and her husband about their careers, their politics, living next to the carcass of the F'Blew and much more. Also, when will Rita be at Harrah’s? Answer: Probably sooner than later.In Banter: Lion King is leaving, Lotus of Siam is exported, Las Vegans are out of their minds,…

NEW TRIVIA: What famous photographer shot the classic portrait of Siegfried & Roy that appeared on the Mirage marquee for more than a decade? Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast@aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by Nov. 5. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com. Wayne Newton is not broke. Really. Just ask him, and he’ll tell you all about it. We did so, as you’re about to hear, and Mr. Las Vegas is surprisingly forthcoming about all those recent lawsuits and much more. Steve visited Newton this week at his ranch, Casa de Shenandoah, to hear all about the plans to open his home and property to tours along with a nearby museum for Las Vegas entertainer history. Also, how does the Wayner keep his hair so darned black? Why does his left eye shimmer? Has he ever influenced a president? And how will he know when his voice has given out to the point he can't perform anymore? In Banter: Sinatra dances with Wynn, Harrah's dances with an IPO, the Cosmo dances with pets and TV ads…

Current Trivia: Who did Barbra Streisand open for in her Las Vegas debut? E-mail TheStripPodcast@aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by Oct. 22. If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Twitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComVoicemail: 702-997-3300This week on the Strip: Rickles. His name is synonymous with the so-called insult comic, a label he alternately embraces and cringes over. He is, he insists, a whole lot more than that. For one thing, his voice is in this year’s top-grossing movie of the year, Toy Story III. Don Rickles is our guest this hour, discussing the late Tony Curtis, the pranks Sinatra and the boys played on him, how he first got to Vegas and how other so-called insult comics like Brad Garrett learned the craft from him. Also, find out where his toughest Vegas gig took place.In banter: Zipline mania, Hoover Dam bridge mania, Harrah’s mania and more.

Three years ago, Pete Rose was still pretty bitter when he spoke to Steve about his banishment from baseball and the inequity that he’s still not eligible for the Hall of Fame while the villains of baseball’s steroid era are. But these days Rose has mellowed and, as you hear, is humble and contrite about his past misdeeds as well as patient for the day when he might be reinstated. This interview was recorded in early September before Rose was honored for the 25th anniversary of breaking the all-time hit record, and he is clearly excited about that moment. He continues to sign autographs for pay 15 days a month at the Field of Dreams at the Forum Shops. In Banter: Vdara death ray mania, F-bleau's fire sale, Rod Stewart, Wicked and EXPOSE!!! are coming, Miles hearts CityCenter, RIP the spunky Tony Curtis and more. Web: TheStripPodcast.Com Email: TheStripPodcast@aol.com Twitter: @TheStripPodcast Blog: VegasHappensHere.Com Phone: 702-997-3300