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Knappster: Dollars and centennials

By George Knapp

The Las Vegas centennial celebration planned for 2005 is finally picking up steam. Our town's 100th birthday bash is still a few years off but it appears to be shaping up as quite a shindig.

The Las Vegas Centennial Committee, chaired by Mayor Oscar Goodman, has been listening to pitches from businesses and groups interested in participating in the year-long festivities. "Suddenly, everyone's asking to get involved and they all seem to think we have this big pot of money to spread around," says one insider. "They're coming into town, looking for a piece of the action."

Take, for example, the European-based exposition company that proposed the staging of the world's most elaborate and incredible parade. We're not talking high school marching bands and a few helium-filled Underdogs here, no siree. The parade these folks have in mind would cost in the neighborhood of $50 million. For that kind of money, they probably could buy a new car for everyone who lined up on the parade route, or, if not a car, they could buy everyone one of those little scooters the Shriners always drive. When asked where the $50 million would come from, the expo people casually remarked that "the casinos" would certainly ante up for it. (Note to expo people: Please read elsewhere in this issue about the financial challenges facing the casino industry.)

Here's another idea that's been floated. Famed filmmaker Ken Burns is interested in producing the ultimate, slam-bang Las Vegas documentary, something similar to what he did for jazz, baseball and the Civil War. Burns' people have requested a mere $1.6 million to do the job, plus they want unlimited access to all photos, film and video of our city from its inception. The materials would be used to produce DVD and VHS copies of the documentary, as well as a mighty fine coffee table book. The Burns organization would retain the rights to all the photos and other material until the end of time. Sweet deal. Makes us wonder if Ken Burns is in any way related to Montgomery Burns, the skinflint robber baron from TV's "The Simpsons."

One idea that's just in the whisper stages sounds truly cool. The U.S. Treasury has plans to unveil a new and improved $100 bill sometime in the next few years, a more colorful (and counterfeit-resistant) version of the time-honored C-note. There is early talk that the feds will use the Las Vegas centennial as the backdrop for the unveiling of the new "cecil." I can't imagine there is another city in America that uses as many 100s on a daily basis as Las Vegas, so this sounds like a natural fit.

Most encouraging of all is a possible resurrection of the Elks' Helldorado event, a local staple for half a century. Helldorado fizzled and died out a few years ago because it couldn't compete with everything else our town had to offer. But the Elks are reportedly fired up about

bringing it back for one year, at least. (Knappster is already buying some Miracle-Gro to prepare my scruffy beard for the Whiskerino contest.)

The Centennial Committee is debating whether to hire a professional manager to steer them through the jungle of competing ideas. One school of thought is the committee may turn to some civic-minded businessman-type to do the job for free. Others worry that the city might get what it pays for under such an arrangement. They're urging the hiring of a full-time pro.(Terry Murphy and Amy Ayoub's names have been mentioned.)

The good news is the birthday bash is finally generating some buzz. We all know what Las Vegas can do when focused, so it seems likely this will be a party no one will want to miss.

Survey says

Say, did you see the marketing survey released last week that claims only 17 percent of Las Vegas visitors plan to do any gambling while they're in town? The same survey, conducted by the respected MRC Research Institute, found that 5 percent of our visitors say they plan to visit an art museum while here, but only 3 percent admit to having any interest in popping into a topless bar. This explains why so many museums are being built here, while the topless industry is clearly gasping its last breath.

While I would never question the honesty of the people behind this marketing research, I wonder if the people who responded were being completely candid. Could it be the same folks who tell TV researchers they love to watch "Masterpiece Theater" but, in reality, turn the tube to old "Three's Company" reruns?

Names and faces

Vince Spilotro, son of the late Las Vegas rackets boss Tony Spilotro, has granted an interview to a local magazine in which he talks about his famous father. At the same time, many never-before-seen photos from the Spilotro family album have shown up on eBay. For 15 to 25 bucks a pop, mob watchers can buy copies of unique photos, some showing Tony with his one-time pal Lefty Rosenthal, others of Tony with members of his family, and one classic shot of Tony with Lefty's wife, Geri Rosenthal. (If you know the movie Casino, you know why this is of interest.) The photos are being sold by a longtime friend of Vince Spilotro but apparently without the knowledge of Spilotro's widow, Nancy, who was more than mildly surprised when told about it. ... Boy, you should have read the gushy memorials printed in New York newspapers on the one-year anniversary of the death of mob kingpin John Gotti. The published notices commented about how last week was the one-year anniversary of Gotti's arrival in heaven. ... As noted elsewhere, a movie about the late poker champion Stu Ungar was unveiled at the CineVegas festival this week. Knappster remembers meeting Ungar during my brief stint as a taxi driver shortly after moving to town in the late '70s. Ungar was one of my first fares and tipped me excessively even though I clearly didn't know where I was going. In later years, I had the chance to watch him practice his craft while covering the World Series of Poker as a reporter. I knew Stuey had his personal demons, but he seemed a gentleman and an interesting character each time I met him. ... Joe Travis, the owner of Rachel, Nev.'s famed Little A'Le'Inn is on life support, according to his family. Travis has been in failing health for months. Late last week, he underwent two emergency surgeries in a Utah hospital, and the prognosis is not good. His wife, Pat, says the family has no insurance, so even if Joe survives the family will be buried financially. ... If you've seen the recent newspaper ads for the Fiesta's Club Tequila, ads which run in this paper and others in town, you probably noticed the sexy, leather-clad senorita in the accompanying photo. Contrary to the impression given by the ad, model Jamie Palazzolo is Italian, not Hispanic. She hails from Chicago, is a full-time model and dancer, and says that almost no one has figured out that she's the girl in the ad. ... Another high-profile pitchwoman Cheryl Maxwell, best known as the blonde in the Courtesy car commercials, has just earned a degree from Bethany Bible College, qualifying her to work as a missionary. The devout Ms. Maxwell was recently divorced from hypnosis guru Marshall Sylver, who's been indicted on numerous felony counts related to his business seminars. ... PR consultant Mark Fierro is helping to launch a new animal rescue organization. Animal S.O.S. (Shelter Outreach Services) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to decreasing the dog population at the city shelter. A kickoff event is slated for June 25 at Fierro's new office at 803 S. Sixth St. Even with the new shelter facilities, the city is overrun with too many unwanted dogs and cats. Animal S.O.S. will try to whittle the number down to manageable levels, through adoption, not euthanization.