THE ROCK
BANDS Red Hot Chili Peppers and Weezer will help Las Vegas
celebrate its centennial with an appearance at a free outdoor
concert on the grounds of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors
Authority on July 2. Tickets -- 50,000 of them
-- and more information are available
at www.vegasrocks100.com.
IF YOU
ARENT one of the lucky 50,000 people to score those free
concert tickets, dont despair. Clear Channel Entertainment
Properties, which put the event together, announced a Road to Vegas
concert tour headlined by Collective Soul. The Vegas-themed tour
will hit the top 10 Las Vegas feeder market cities -- San Francisco, Los
Angeles, Phoenix, Houston, Fort Lauderdale, Washington,
Philadelphia, New York, Chicago and Atlanta -- between May 27 and
June 29. During the concerts, attendees can register to win prizes,
including -- you guessed it --
a trip to Las Vegas for the July 2
birthday bash. For Road to Vegas ticket information, visit www.roadtovegas100.com.
SPEAKING OF
CONCERTS... Hard Rock Hotel & Casino owner Peter
Morton has lined up quite an array of entertainment to celebrate
the propertys 10th anniversary. Coldplay, Nine Inch Nails and Bon Jovi will headline weekend
festivities planned for April 29 through May 1. At that time,
Morton also will officially announce details of a $1 billion
property expansion. Slated to be finished in May 2007, the plan
includes the addition of apartments, luxury condominium units and
bungalows on a 24-acre lot, expansion of the pool area and the
construction of four restaurants, a health and fitness club and a
new version of the Joint, the propertys concert venue. Tickets for
the anniversary weekend concerts are available through Ticketmaster
and at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casinos box office.
HEY, ITS
VEGAS for dummies! No, really. The Imperial Palace Hotel
& Casino will host the ninth annual Vegas Ventriloquist
Festival April 22 through 24. The event, presented by the
International Ventriloquists Association, promotes the art of
ventriloquism and performance for all ages and features workshops,
vendor displays and several shows, including Ventastic 2005, the
festivals annual closing show and gala. During the April 24 event,
the Smothers Brothers will present Ronn Lucas with the Askins
Lifetime Achievement Award, which honors performers who have made
an outstanding contribution to the ventriloquial art. Lucas, who
performs six days per week at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino
and is celebrating his 25 year in show business, is the first
ventriloquist to have his own long-running show at a major Las
Vegas showroom. Tickets to Ventastic 2005 cost $10 plus tax and can
be purchased at the Imperial Palace show and tour desk. For more
information about the event, visit www.ventriloquists.net.
STARTING
TODAY, grass skirts are in at the Imperial Palace. Thats
because the property, for the 14th year, will feature a
twice-weekly Hawaiian luau at the Shangri-La Pool. Billed as the
Strips only regularly scheduled luau, the event, which starts at 6
p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, features a Polynesian revue with a
fire-knife dance and hula lessons and an all-you-can-eat buffet
washed down with free mai tais and pina coladas. Tickets, which
start at $31.95 per person, are available at the Imperial Palace
reservations desk, online at www.imperialpalace.com or by phone at (888)
777-7664.