{"id":8539,"date":"2012-02-16T13:11:54","date_gmt":"2012-02-16T21:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=8539"},"modified":"2012-02-16T13:11:54","modified_gmt":"2012-02-16T21:11:54","slug":"las-vegas-whats-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/las-vegas-whats-next\/","title":{"rendered":"Las Vegas: What’s next?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"If I had a crystal ball for Las Vegas’ future<\/a>, I’d be a wealthier man. Not having one, I consulting some fellows far more perspicacious than myself. In no particular order they include Dennis Conrad<\/strong>, scholars Bill Eadington<\/strong>, Eugene Moehring<\/strong> and David G. Schwartz<\/strong>, Hunter Hillegas<\/strong>, bond analyst David Hargreaves<\/strong>, publisher Charles Anderer<\/strong>, and former Clark County<\/strong> CFO Guy Hobbs<\/strong>. (Taking a break from his McKnight Fellowship, Steve Friess<\/strong> lent me some helpful background on Macao<\/strong> that, regrettably, didn’t make it into the story.) With so many visiting experts, there much good material that hit the cutting room floor, so S&G<\/em> readers can look forward to “outtakes” this week’s CityLife<\/em> cover story. My apologies to Arthur Miller<\/strong>, from one of whose plays the title was shamelessly snurched. (There’s also a Luis Bu\u00f1uel<\/strong> reference, for those who enjoy such arcana.)<\/p>\n

Golden handshake<\/strong>: The producers of Broadway<\/strong>‘s troubled Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark<\/em> have reached a settlement with cashiered director Julie Taymor<\/strong> (The Lion King<\/em>). Ms. Taymor walks off with a bundle of royalties and 8 Legged Productions<\/strong> has one less encumbrance dangling over the show’s head. Since Spider-Man<\/em> is one of the highest-grossing plays on B’way (making in excess of $1.2 million per week), it’s slightly mystifying that it would be fast-tracked to Vegas as a possible replacement for Jersey Boys<\/em><\/a> or Phantom of the Opera<\/em><\/a> at Venelazzo<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Why the rush?<\/strong> Do the producers fear that the show doesn’t have — pardon the pun — “legs”? Why leapfrog past the national tour to set up a “tab” version on the Strip? Spider-Man<\/em> is seven months into its New York<\/strong> run. Jersey Boys<\/em> had been playing 2.5 years by the time it opened in Vegas and Phantom<\/em> took 18 leisurely years to reach the Strip. My spidey sense tells me that 8 Legged Prods. is hoping to cash out quickly. Either that or Las Vegas Sands<\/strong> is trying to block the soon-to-open Smith Center<\/strong> from booking a multi-month Spider-Man<\/em> touring company, as it already did with Wicked<\/em>. Probably a lot of both. And it’s no wonder that Spider-Man<\/em> has been an ill-starred show: It’s playing in New York’s Foxwoods Theater<\/strong>. What worse augury could you have than to open in a house named after an insolvent casino?<\/p>\n

Presidential humor<\/strong>. Give the mixologists at The Mirage <\/strong>props for coming up with humorous drink specials in observance of Presidents’ Day<\/strong>. From Friday through Monday, at $12 a glass, you can have your choice of the …<\/p>\n

\"\"My favorite Grant Wood<\/strong> painting, “Parson Weems’ Fable.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Obamarita<\/strong>: “Cast your vote for this patriotic margarita in celebration of our current Commander-In-Chief. Follow our leader with a liberal pour of el Jimador Blanco<\/strong> tequila and Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur<\/strong> shaken with fresh lime juice, agave nectar and Monin Blood Orange Syrup<\/strong> for the ultimate Obamarita.”<\/p>\n

Lincoln Lemonade<\/strong>: “Four score and seven cheers ago, Honest Abe was known for speaking truth, so it\u2019s only natural that his potent Lincoln Lemonade, spiked with Grey Goose<\/strong> vodka and triple sec, may leave drinkers feeling loose-lipped.”<\/p>\n

The Kennedy<\/strong>: “Known for his charm and grace, JFK<\/strong> and his legacy still reign today. Be whisked away to the family home in Martha\u2019s Vineyard<\/strong> with just one sip of JFK\u2019s favorite drink, a rum daiquiri. This refreshing cocktail is mixed with Cruzan Strawberry Rum<\/strong>, lime juice, muddled strawberries and mint leaves.”<\/p>\n

Washington Apple Martini<\/strong>: “Nothing beats an original. Toast the first president of the United States<\/strong> with a Washington Apple Martini<\/strong>, flavored with Crown Royal\u00ae Canadian Whisky<\/strong>, DeKuyper\u00ae, Sour Apple Pucker<\/strong> schnapps and cranberry juice.”<\/p>\n

I cannot tell a lie: This is a target-rich environment for jokes … but I’ll leave that to you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If I had a crystal ball for Las Vegas’ future, I’d be a wealthier man. Not having one, I consulting some fellows far more perspicacious than myself. In no particular order they include Dennis Conrad, scholars Bill Eadington, Eugene Moehring … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[51,14,4,140,62,11,10,101,12,9,20],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8539"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8539"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8539\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8544,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8539\/revisions\/8544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}