Andrew "Dice" Clay is excited about replacing Danny Gans at baggage claim

As Andrew "Dice" Clay begins a run at the Las Vegas Hilton, he speaks to Tabloid Baby pal Robin Leach and pays tribute to Danny Gans, the man who brought the Vegas one-man show to new heights in the 21st century:

“I wanted to prove that I could sell tickets anywhere. I wanted them to go, ‘You know what? We want him here. We need him here. He brings people here and sells tickets!’ I’m totally different from what’s here already. I look at Vegas almost like it is its own Hollywood. They could literally take a street bum if they want, put some music around him and put some midgets on bungee cords, and they would have a show and people would come into town and go, ‘Have you seen the midgets on bungee cords with the homeless bum?’

“By the time you start looking from the airport to the hotel, if you have never heard of this person, you do now. I used to kid about it with Danny Gans. Outside of Vegas, Danny Gans really wasn’t known. When you flew into Vegas and you saw the little advertisement Danny Gans, you go, ‘Oh, I wonder who that is?’ Now you are in baggage claim, now the woman is looking at her husband going, ‘Oh, is he a singer. I wouldn’t mind seeing him.’


“Now you are in the cab going to the hotel, in the cab that has another sign of him on the cab, you are looking at Danny Gans, ‘I almost can’t believe, we’re in town, and Danny Gans is here.’ You see a giant billboard at The Mirage, ya know, Danny Gans, the husband’s going, ‘Honey, you want to go get something to eat,’ and she’s going, ‘No, no, no, first go get the Danny Gans tickets, I don’t know if he is here just for the night, but I got to get in.’ That’s what Vegas does.

“Now you’ve got me almost full time!... We will be all over Vegas. They are giving us more digital billboards. They gave me that big thing at the airport, where Manilow’s thing was in the airport, at baggage claim. It is unreal."

Leach says Caliendo is the new Danny Gans

"There was little doubt
that the man of many voices
also had inherited the mantle
of the late Danny Gans
as the newest
comedy impressionist
in the entertainment capital
of the world."

That's tabloid journo Robin Leach's verdict after TV impressionist Frank Caliendo opened his longterm engagement at the Monte Carlo Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip officially on Friday night. Caliendo's big show is al;so being hailed as a Vegas milestone because it featured cameo appearances from fellow Strip headliners and competitors Carrot Top, Terry Fator and Louis Anderson.

ALSO: It took more than a month, but our copy of the Danny Gans autobiography, The Voices In My Head, finally arrived from Amazon.com. We've finished reading it and the book's first review is on the way.

Beyoncé scores in Danny Gans' room

Beyoncé is in Las Vegas this weekend, in the middle of a four-night residency at Danny Gans' Encore Theatre. Robin Leach had reported on the day of Danny Gans' tragic death, "It’s said openly that Danny was not happy about Steve (Wynn)’s decision to sign Beyonce," but in light of the unexpected tragedy of May 1st, her much-publicized stint can serve as a memorial to the unique entertainer.


Beyoncé is closing out her "I Am..." tour, which has been ranked as the #1 concert attraction worldwide, with a special show in the comparatively intimate 1,500-seat theatre. The dates are being recorded for a DVD, titled "I Am... Yours."


Despite a downpour in which Beyoncé's husband Jay-Z was left standing outside the show last night, there have been no reports of calamities due to the "Encore curse," which had been bandied about even before Gans' untimely passing.

Rap-Up.com

**We retract a Danny Gans-related report: Click here for details**

Steve Friess twitters from a comped Danny Gans coverup Apalachin summit

Danny Gans' manager Chip Lightman and Steve Wynn book big stars into his theatre

Events are moving rapidly at Steve Wynn's Encore Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, close to one week after the sudden and unexplained death of its headliner Danny Gans at the age of 52. The Encore Theatre where Gans performed his musical impressions will be the site ofan invitation-only memorial service at 3 pm on Thursday, May 21st, followed by a roll-out of big stars.

Robin Leach reports on his Vegas Deluxe blog today that:

"Wynn and Encore executives confirmed our Vegas DeLuxe exclusive that Whoopi Goldberg will be playing the Danny Gans Theater this month.

"Tickets have just gone on sale at the two resorts for Whoopi’s first two dates -- May 22 and 23 -- as part of the Memorial Day weekend activities we reported.... It’s also believed that Whoopi will return for additional performances.

"Whoopi becomes the first guest artist to perform at the Encore theatre since the unexpected death of resident entertainer Danny Gans last week...

"Steve is busy working with Danny’s longtime manager Chip Lightman (right) to add weekend star appearances at the theater."

Leach reported yesterday, May 6th, that Beyonce will be playing the 1,500-seat Danny Gans the in August.

(On May 5th, Las Vegas papers reported that Wynn Resorts Ltd. reported a first-quarter loss of $33.8 million, 30 cents a share, on revenue of $740 million for the quarter ending March 31. That compared with earnings of $46.7 million, 41 cents a share, on revenue of $778.7 million in the same quarter a year ago.)

On May 4th, Leach reported "the most extraordinary turn of events at the Danny Gans theater.

"Less than 96 hours after the death of longtime Strip entertainer Danny Gans, CNN talk show host Larry King has confirmed that he will star at the Encore venue June 19 and 20. The deal was wrapped up about four hours ago by owner Steve Wynn and Larry while he was visiting Las Vegas over the weekend.

"Larry, 76, who describes it as 'good news,' also has confirmed that his wife, Shawn Southwick, will open for him..."

On May 1st, in reporting Gans' death, Leach wrote:

"The staff at the Wynn and Encore resort hotels is in shock, but rumors are already rampant at the Wynn hotels this morning.

"It’s said openly that Danny was not happy about Steve’s decision to sign Beyonce to four concerts this summer -- and Steve reportedly has signed a lineup of other major stars to the Encore theater, including Liza Minnelli and Whoopi Goldberg.

"Danny’s show was reportedly experiencing sluggish ticket sales, and that was blamed on deteriorating economic conditions on the Strip and Terry Fator, who had moved into Danny’s former theater at The Mirage and was experiencing sell-outs nightly."

Robin Leach on Danny Gans: "Rumors are rampant"

Not every Las Vegas journo is content to give Steve Wynn and the Las Vegas Police Department the unchallenged last word on the death of Strip headliner Danny Gans. Tabloid veteran and Las Vegas entertainment reportage kingpin Robin Leach resonded quickly and tantalizingly, leaving us wanting to hear more with this tidbit:

"The staff at the Wynn and Encore resort hotels is in shock, but rumors are already rampant at the Wynn hotels this morning.

"It’s said openly that Danny was not happy about Steve’s decision to sign Beyonce to four concerts this summer -- and Steve reportedly has signed a lineup of other major stars to the Encore theater, including Liza Minnelli and Whoopi Goldberg.

"Danny’s show was reportedly experiencing sluggish ticket sales, and that was blamed on deteriorating economic conditions on the Strip and Terry Fator, who had moved into Danny’s former theater at The Mirage and was experiencing sell-outs nightly..."