The New Tropicana on the Las Vegas Strip will be filled with a ton of laughter the week of August 11, through Sunday, August 17, with three of the best stand-up comedians in the business taking the stage inside the Laugh Factory, located on the mezzanine level of the famous Hotel/Casino. Headlining the show will be Angelo Tsarouchas, who it seems everyone wants to be his friend, and will feature Chris Bader, with Kristeen Von Hagan hosting.
Tsarouchas has appeared in many TV Specials in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, including most recently as a special guest on the Russell Peters World Tour, and Vince Vaughn’s Comedy Roadshow. The Canadian born comedian cracks up audiences everywhere he appears, and that’s just one, of many reasons, why he is in such high demand year-round. His one-hour Showtime special, “Bigger is Better,” received rave reviews and had more than 14 million viewers. Angelo garnered the 2012 London Greek Film Festival, “Best Actor Award,” for his portrayal of Vinnie Angelo in the award-winning hit comedy, “Fred and Vinnie.” He has also been featured on, “Mad Men,” “Sullivan & Son,” the comedy documentary, “Just Like Us,” and recently finished a new film, “Christmas with the Karountzases.”
Chris Bader is one of Chicago’s fastest rising young comedians. Bader enjoys interacting with the audience with his infectious laugh. You will often find him telling stories about chasing women and growing up with parents that emigrated from Iran. He has appeared on the Kevin Nealon Show, and has worked with Bob Saget, David Koechner, Chris D’Elia, Bobcat Goldthwait and Jamie Kennedy.
Kristeen Von Hagen is a major comedian in Canada, where she has taped three television galas at Montreal’s Just for Laughs festival, and has appeared on the Showtime stand-up comedy show, “Comics Without Borders.” The Canadian-born Von Hagen, who now makes her home in Las Vegas, has won four Canadian Comedy Awards, including the 2012 “Best Female Stand-Up Comedian.”
The Laugh Factory has two shows nightly, 8:30 and 10:30 p.m., with tickets priced at $34.95 and $44.95. For further information, call 702-739-2411 or 800-829-9034.
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THIS AND THAT QUICKLY:
After several years of retirement, a long-time friend of this writer, and a veteran hotel-casino executive, Ron Erickson is back at work. Erickson has returned to Gardnerville, just off the south shore of Lake Tahoe, to run a legendary cowboy-country casino, saloon and restaurant named Sharkey’s Nugget, long a hangout for entertainers like Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, and the late Waylon Jennings. In the 1970s and ‘80s, Erickson lived in Gardnerville while doing management stints at the Sahara Tahoe and Sahara Reno.
Erickson came to Las Vegas in 1964 from Southern California, where he had been a sports writer (we were both sports writers for the Copley Newspapers), and Ron was briefly with the Las Vegas Sun, before joining the Sands Hotel where he worked with the top entertainers of those days—Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Red Skelton, Danny Thomas et al. Three years later he moved to the Sahara Las Vegas, and a few years later, Ron moved north as part of the new Sahara Tahoe management team in 1970. Erickson was responsible for many of the changes that made the Sahara Tahoe a real competitor in the ‘70s and ‘80s, when a change in the entertainment policy saw attractions like Johnny Cash, Sonny & Cher, Tom Jones, and Elvis Presley in the showroom. He was instrumental in creating the Del Webb Golf Classic, and “closest to the pin” play. Golf Digest called it the best amateur golf tournament in the country.
Erickson also brought live boxing to the Sahara Tahoe culminated by a nationally televised bout between Muhammad Ali and Bob Foster. In those days he dated May Britt, Sammy’s ex-wife. The pair became a story on the front page of the National Enquirer, when ittalked about a marriage that never occurred. Erickson went on to the operations management position at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas, where he and Phil Arce, Frontier CEO, were responsible for convincing Hughes management to experiment with Siegfried & Roy in the main show room. Erickson later managed the Sahara Reno for the Webb Hotel Corporation. For the past ten years he has done consulting projects throughout the country as president of Southern Gaming…a casino corporation. Renovation projects at Sharkey’s have already begun. A new lounge showroom is on the drawing boards, as is a boutique hotel room addition all decorated in country chic. Erickson and wife, Avis, a stunning blonde and former Playmate (they met on Hugh Hefner’s airplane) will soon be relocating to Gardnerville.
Following a successful engagement late last year, actress, singer-songwriter and musician Melissa Manchester, returns to the Suncoast Showroom, this weekend. After getting her start as a singer-pianist in the clubs of Greenwich Village, Manchester performed with, Bette Midler, as a “Harlette,” before landing a recording contract. Her debut releases, “Home to Myself,” and “Bright Eyes,” laid the foundation for her solo career. In 1975, Manchester’s album “Melissa” produced her first top 10 hit, “Midnight Blue.” Melissa was nominated for a Grammy® Award in 1978, and again in 1979. In 1982 she won the Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “You Should Hear How She Talks About You.” In 1979, she became the first artist in the history of the Academy Awards® to have two nominated movie themes in the same year – “Through The Eyes of Love” from the film “Ice Castles,” and the title song from, “The Promise.” As an actress, Manchester has guest-starred in numerous television shows, including “Blossom” and “Fame,” and in films such as “For The Boys” and “Dirty Girl.” She has also appeared in the Los Angeles-based theatrical production of “Sweeney Todd,” and recently starred in the Chicago premiere of the musical “HATS!,” which features several songs she co-wrote. Manchester is currently co-writing a new musical, “The Sweet Potato Queens,” based upon the New York Times best-selling book series by Jill Connor Browne, with lyricist Sharon Vaughn and book writer Rupert Holmes. Guests attending the show will receive a copy of Manchester’s new CD “You Gotta Love the Life,” with each ticket purchase. Show time each evening is 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available from $18.95, plus tax and fees. Tickets can be purchased at any Boyd Gaming box office, by calling 702.636.7075.
Five-time Emmy Award® winner and crowd favorite Dennis Miller, returns to The Orleans Showroom this Friday and Saturday, August 8 and 9. Celebrated as a witty comedian with an entertaining and intriguing stand-up routine, Miller keeps audiences laughing with his irreverent observations. A favorite of the public and critics alike, The New York Times said, “Mr. Miller is exquisitely attuned to contemporary foibles … his material can be scathing, his delivery low-key … Mr. Miller reaches a bit farther than most comedians for the scorching comment … this smart aleck has an uncommonly sharp eye.” Called “one of the premiere comedy talents in America today,” Miller emerged on the national scene during the 1980s as the, “Weekend Update,” correspondent on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” After leaving SNL in 1991, Miller moved to HBO, where he hosted the critically-acclaimed talk show, “Dennis Miller Live,” for nine seasons. Miller is a regular on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity,” and “The O’Reilly Factor.” He was also host and executive producer of CNBC’s “Dennis Miller,” which featured conversation, opinion and humor. In a career that has spanned far beyond showrooms and interview sets, Miller has also made a name for himself as a film actor and author. Notable motion picture credits include such mid-‘90s favorites as “Disclosure,” “The Net,” and “Murder at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.” Miller’s “rant” books, including “I Rant Therefore I Am,” “Ranting Again,” and “The Rants” have all been on The New York Times best-sellers list. Miller is host of the nationally syndicated radio show, “The Dennis Miller Show,” airing weekdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST at www.dennismillerradio.com.
ShowTime’s are 8 p.m., with tickets are available starting from $54.95, plus tax and convenience fees, and may be purchased at any Boyd Gaming Box Office, by calling 702.365.7075.
Well, gang, that’s it for this week.