Smart Meetings

FALL ROUND-UP

Author: “Lucky Chuck” Kapelke
October 2007

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Blush: As the latest in the long line of swish nightclubs with one-word names, Blush, at Wynn Las Vegas, aims to succeed where its predecessor, Lure, did not.

Blush opens nightly at 5 p.m. as a lounge/wine bar, with appetizers available from Red 8, an adjacent Asian restaurant. Four nights a week, the venue turns into a nightclub playing rock, hip-hop and house. Blush has a distinctly cool vibe, with touches like purse drawers at each seat and personal lockers for belongings. It also has an open-air patio, plus a private room for up to 20 people; total capacity is 350.

Even if the 4,500-square-foot club’s onyx dance floor and crème lantern ceiling sculpture aren’t enough to lure the A-list crowd (though who can ever guess), it could be a fine site for an event, in part because folks visiting Vegas love to check out the Wynn, which still has a lot of that new-kid-on-the-block mystique (wynnlasvegas.com).

Las Vegas Library: When your group wants a change of pace from the “action,” consider holding a meeting at one of the surprisingly attractive facilities available through the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District. The Reed Whipple Cultural Center, for example, has a 275-seat multipurpose theater, an 80-seat intimate stu-
dio theater and a dedicated meeting room. The modern Rainbow Library, in Northwest Las Vegas, has a conference room, a 25,000-square-foot outdoor amphitheater that can hold 900 people, a 2,200-square-foot meeting room for up to 160, and more (lvccld.org).

A Vine Time: Is someone in your group disappointed they’re not going to Napa this fall? Pahrump Valley Vineyards, “The Winery in the Desert,” located about 60 miles southwest of Las Vegas, offers free tastings and tours. October 6 is Grape Stomp Day this year. Groups sign up to compete, with each person on a team stomping for two minutes; the team with the most juice wins. An on-site gourmet restaurant, Symphony’s, can be used for events; it has a private dining room for up to 20 and a nearby clubhouse for up to 60 (pahrumpwinery.com).

KRAVE: For one of the strangest theater bills anywhere, head to the Harmon (a.k.a. KRAVE) Theater, a venue for 300–800 people, located in the Miracle Mile Shops at the Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino.

Operated by the Theater Management Group, thevenue serves as the Harmon Theater by day, showing family friendly fare. Current shows include Bottoms Up2: Burlesque Strikes Back, a 1950s-era vaudeville show full of slapstick and sketches. Starting this month, JR Johns brings his trained dogs to the stage with Doggone Silly, which has twice been voted the funniest family show in America (doggonesilly.com).

As the day goes on, the theater transforms into the KRAVE Theater, which, well, isn’t always so family friendly. Current shows include Little Legends, a celebrity impersonation show in which all the performers are little people (including Mini-Britney, Mini-Elvis, Mini-Madonna, Mini-Tina Turner, Mini Sonny & Cher and “Mini-Vanilli”).

After hours, KRAVE turns into a nightclub for “alternative lifestyles,” with DJs, live entertainment, aerobatics and dancers. It's getting a new state-of-the-art sound system, lights and lasers, video projection, snow machines and plasma TVs. KRAVE was picked by Las Vegas Life magazine as the Best Alternative Club for three years in a row.

As if all that weren’t enough, KRAVE is adjacent to Lucky Cheng’s Drag Cabaret, which, in case you’ve forgotten, features drag hostesses, comedians, cabaret performers and a three-course Pan-Asian dinner (702-836-0830).

NEWS

Braxton Kicks: Flamingo Las Vegas has extended Toni Braxton: Revealed, a
show featuring the six-time Grammy Award-winning singer, through February
16, 2008. Tickets range from $69–$109 (flamingolasvegas.com).

Wayne Brady: Wayne Brady is now a permanent headliner at The Venetian
Resort-Hotel-Casino; his show, Making It Up, which combines improv,
singing and dancing, has been extended through mid-2008 (venetian.com).

Hypnotism Galore: Marshall Sylver Presents: The World’s Funniest
Hypnotists, a new show at Harrah’s, features a wacky bunch of
comedy-hypnotists from around the globe. Between sets are dance
performances by the one-and-only  “Hypnotic Hotties”
(harrahslasvegas.com).

Themed Breaks: Caesars Palace now offers themed breaks for meetings,
adding a little joy to a busy day. Options range from the “DaVinci”
break, with biscotti, Italian pastries and tiramisu, to the “Chocolate,
Chocolate, Chocolate” break, where your group can scarf down mounds of
you-know-what, you-know-what, you-know-what (lvmeetingsbyharrahs.com).

No Dummy: For clean, fun, relatively affordable entertainment at your next
Vegas meeting, comedian-ventriloquist Ronn Lucas (and his puppets Scorch,
Buffalo Billy and Chuck) have a new show at Luxor’s Atrium Showroom.
Lucas mixes stand-up comedy, improvisation, audience participation,
puppetry and vocal gymnastics into his hit show. He has performed for
such corporate clients as IBM, Panasonic and Honeywell (ronnlucas.com).

Bye Bye, Tangerine: Perhaps for violating the “too many syllables in a
nightclub name” rule, Tangerine, a club run by PURE Management Group at
Treasure Island, has closed down, to reopen on New Year's Eve.

Sweet Suites: This month marks the opening of the 1,500-square-foot Sky
View Suites at Mandalay Bay.  Located on the top three floors of Mandalay
Bay, the Sky View Suites are well-suited for board members and other
bigwigs.