Art Vargas returns to Las Vegas tonight

Singer and entertainer Art Vargas returns to Las Vegas tonight for a three-night stand that could give him to move, as the late, great Danny Gans put it, from Cleveland to "playing for the Yankees."

The engagement at the Rampart Casino in The Resort at Summerlin, is miles from the center of the Las Vegas action, but is seen as an opportunity for bookers, critics, columnists and trendsetters to witness an exciting act that deserves a showroom on the Las Vegas Strip

Vargas is a veteran showman known for his Bobby Darin impression in the Legends tribute show that's taken him from the Strip to venues across the county. It's his own retro solo show, which has played lounges, clubs and rooms away from the Vegas mainline, that has generated excitement in recent months, with Vargas seen as a potential successor to the Las Vegas attractions like Louis Prima, Wayne Newton and Danny Gans.

RAMPART CASINO
Aug, 20, 21 & 22 ( Fri, Sat, & Sun) 3 nights!

Swingin’ the Music that defined the Golden era!
In true Vintage Vegas Style,
Las Vegas showman Art Vargas
brings to life Vintage Las Vegas
through exciting song & dance performances,
reminiscent of the legendary stars
of Vintage Las Vegas... Live!
Acclaimed as one of Vegas' best performers!
The Los Angeles times says:
“Art Vargas is Vintage Vegas thru and thru!"
With The Swingin’ Swank Set band
and featuring the fabulous Vargas girls!
Nostalgia, Excitement, Classic Cool...
Nobody does it like Vargas!!
NO-BODY Ya Hear that!!?

Experience the BEST!
Get your Tickets now! For Aug 20, 21, & 22
Call RAMPART CASINO (702) 507-5900

Art Vargas returns to Las Vegas in August

Attention! Art Vargas is returning to Las Vegas.

Showroom bookers, television producers, entertainment critics and gossip column kingmakers, prepare for your chance to return Vegas to its once singular show business glory with an entertainer who is ready to step up and assume the title once given to names like Sinatra, Prima, Newton and Gans.

Alas, Las Vegas is a city in which the local media not only considered its last genius and ambassador of entertainment to something less hip than Montreal-based acrobatic shows, but viewed his untimely death to be unworthy of investigation. And the brilliant entertainer Art Vargas is not beginning a Las Vegas Strip showroom run in August, but a three-night stand at the Rampart Casino in Howard Hughes' Summerlin community-- about a dozen miles from Caesars.


But that's how Vegas rolls these days. Even Jerry Lewis' telethon broadcasts from the South Point. But whether Art Vargas playing the Strip or North Boulder Highway, the vibes will resonate far beyond. And the Vegas establishment is now on notice to take notice.

Be there for Art Vargas' return and see what we mean. Get this man to a showroom!

Art Vargas performs-- with showgirls!-- at the Rampart Casino in Summerlin, Nevada, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, August 20, 21 and 22. Call 702 507 5900 for ticket information.

Video: The Danny Gans of Des Moines shows he's ready for the Las Vegas Strip

We've had great response to our posts about the All-American musical impressionist Rick Ludwig, the Danny Gans of Des Moines, Iowa, who's out there most every night with his "i-man show" when he's not delivering singing telegrams, playing deejay and host at karaoke events or belting out his Two Men And A Tune duet show with Big Al Lauderdale.

The video above shows Rick in performance last month at the Prairie Meadows Casino in Altoona, highlighting his impressions of a Toby Keith & Willie Nelson duet, Elvis Presley, Elton John, Johnny Cash and John Denver. The show also included Rick as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly, Neil Diamond, Billy Joel, Garth Brooks, Joe Cocker, George Jones, Billy Idol and Ozzy Osbourne.

The video proves the man is a powerhouse performer: a strong singer, excellent impressionist, and family entertainer who should be trading off nights with Frank Caliendo on the Las Vegas Strip. Rick Ludwig is the Terry Fator in waiting!

Rick adds a note: "The camera adds an extra 5-10 pounds to this video. I did a good job of adding an extra 50 over the past 10 years myself!"

UPDATE: Rick Ludwig will be performing his i-man show-- and breaking out new impressions of Joe Cocker and Tiny Tim-- at Trophy's Sports Bar & Grill in Des Moines, from 8 to 10 pm this Wednesday, March 17th (St Patrick's Day!)

Tough times for Wayne Newton

With his career-encompassing multimedia show, Once Before I Go, at the Tropicana, these should be golden days for Las Vegas superstar and Tabloid Baby pal Wayne Newton, but according to John Katsilometes at the Las Vegas Sun, these are definitely the worst of times for the Midnight Idol.

Two weeks ago, Wayne's daughter Erin, 33 and pregnant, suffered liver, kidney and respiratory failure and delivered baby boy via cesarean section. Then she fell into a coma until last weekend. Doctors say her condition is consistent with HELLP syndrome, which attacks the kidneys and liver, and is in motion during pregnancy.

After doctors told Wayne that Erin probably wouldn't recover, she awoke "unexpectedly" on Monday.

Wayne had canceled many of his February shows to fly to and from St. Louis to be with Erin, his adopted with first wife, Elaine. (They divorced in 1985. He and his current wife Kathleen have a 7-year-old daughter, Lauren.)

Wayne was in the hospital with Erin this morning when Clark County Sheriff's civil-process deputies and moving vans turned up at his famed 40-acre Shenandoah ranch and estate personnel arrived at his estate on behalf of his former pilot Monty Ward, trying to seize property to execute on a judgment that totaled more than $500,000 in past-due wages.

The deputies were turned away.

Wayne and his family have been hit with all kinds of bad news at least since December. His wife's older sister died suddenly the day after Christmas in Los Angeles, six days after the death of his friend and USO touring colleague Brittany Murphy died.

What else? Kats adds:

"This month, a lawsuit was filed against Newton in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas by speedway magnate and onetime Newton friend Bruton Smith, CEO of Speedway Motorsports, charging that Newton is delinquent on a $3.35 million loan Smith had personally guaranteed. As a result, Smith is seeking foreclosure of Shenandoah, one of the city's signature properties.

"Newton also still is entangled in a $32,000 lawsuit for hay delivered to the ranch for his dozens of Arabian horses, an action that dates to 2009, and earlier this month an airport near Detroit claimed Newton owes more than $60,000 in storage fees after he abandoned a $2 million plane there more than three years ago. The craft reportedly is being eaten away by mold and is useless except for scrap."

Wayne Newton's last stand?

Wayne Newton is returning to the Las Vegas Strip in what could be his last stand-- but probably won't. The Midnight Idol will be opening at the Tropicana's Tiffany Theatre in an autobiographical show he's calling Once Before I Go (the title of his autobiography, a surprisingly angry, intense and entertaining book), mixing monologue, multimedia and of course music, backed by a full orchestra. Wayne is a longtime Tabloid Baby pal, recorded one of Tabloid Baby's top live albums of all time and has always been a tremendous showman. As Vegas has gone through various changes over the past decade and a half, Wayne has bounced among various casino showrooms and despite some recent health problems promises to be as exciting as ever. Anyone with a love for Las Vegas and a sense of history should see him while they can. The show opens October 14th and is set to run through next April. Performances are scheduled for five nights per week, dark Sundays and Mondays. Tickets: $149.99 for front-row “Golden Circle” seats, $99.99 and $79.99.

(Wayne is 67. He's been performing in Vegas for fifty years-- since May 1959, when he and his older brother Jerry performed as the Newton Brothers at the Carnival Lounge at the Fremont Hotel.)