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 also new, at least the non-bloopery parts, as compared to what the chat people heard. Which is kinda fun for them. Also, there's an Easter Egg at the end.In Banter, we mulled our encounter with Mrs. Wynn in Sun Valley, talked about the de-Elvising at Aria and the likely implosion of The Harmon, we explained our strategy for packing and moving and much more. Near the end, we also discuss Steve's bingo adventure.

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 face-to-face conversation. It turned out to be very fun discussion in which Wallace spoke possibly vacating his berth at the resort when his contract ends this year, the feud over the moniker "Mr Las Vegas" and much more.In Banter: Oscar Goodman Steak, Steve Wyrick woes, outdoor (?) summer theater in Vegas, obsessing over fake Spongebobs and more.

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 Sparks, the former “Talk Soup” host and “Queer As Folk” star who appears this weekend at the Las Vegas Hilton. It was Sparks’ show, you might recall, that Vince Neil interrupted in order to confront a former girlfriend. The entire Sparks interview will be in our podcast feed as an extra edition, but we’ll play a taste of it this hour.

Roger Thomas of Wynn Resorts explains the significance of the $18.4 million Chinese vases bought at auction in July and intended for display at the Wynn Cotai resort planned to open in 2015.

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 frank assessment of the Bellagio’s new room renovations. Also, what does he use his iPad for? What are they designing at Wynn now? How was Steve and Andrea’s wedding? In Banter: Feuding over Lanni coverage, Sheldon hearts dollars more than elephants, the WSOP summer finale, some meal deals, Miles' new toy and much more.

Roger Thomas, chief of Wynn Resorts design, tours their new offices near McCarran Airport with Steve Friess of TheStripPodcast.Com and VegasHappensHere.Com.

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 can leave us voicemail at 702-997-3300 and follow us on Twitter at TheStripPodcast   And now, enjoy the interview.

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 from our conversation with Jubilee’s most successful alumna, Tina Walsh, who was a principle singer for the show in the 1980s and is presently appearing as Madame Giry in Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular. The entire conversation with Walsh will be posted as an extra edition into the feed and on the website. In Banter: Miles makes HIS big announcement, Steve has a WSOP adventure, several Vegas closures afoot, the Plaza has some odd new things coming, more MGM misfortune and a Titanically bad restaurant idea.

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 well as chat her up about her appearances on Celebrity Apprentice and the game show 1 v 100. Later, we check in with U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley, the Democrat who represents Las Vegas and has sponsored a bill that would once again legalize online poker wagering in the United States.In Banter: It’s not Le Cock, Niles Crane on Vegas, Mandalay’s electric therapy, Amber Unicorn books at Cosmo, murder on the Strip and more.

**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 responsible for spreading that name around the world. Satre, who left Harrah’s in 2005 and is now the chairman of the board of IGT, talks about the quirks and visions that made the man what he was and then explains several decisions made in the 1980s and 1990s including the choice for the company to never build any new hotel-casinos in Las Vegas. Also, Steve introduces Satre to the term “Harrah-fy” and asks Satre whether he feels he degraded the quality of the resorts he acquired.In Banter: Octavius, Plaza, Bellagio, Maloof, Hilton and an aquarium-related Vegas-set reality show.

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 Soleil scores including that of Mystere. In this conversation, Dunnigan discusses both the show and his varied career which more recently has also included performing for video games.