Art Vargas brings touch of Prima to the Palms

Art Vargas himself summed it up in hipster code for his Facebook friends early this morning: "Mondo Lounge was a gass!... Swingin time with the swank set... very cool crowd, swank settin' hipsters... diggin the scene, layin it down old school style... like no other dig it the most daddy!"

The red hot Vargas brought down the house at the Palms' Key West ballroom in Las Vegas last night, working the Mondo Lounge convention crowd and giving bookers, agents and tastemakers another solid reason why the man who's played the big rooms reviving the ghost of Bobby Darin while working lounges and bistros with his own retro-themed classic Vegas act, deserves a showroom of his own, his name on a giant marquee and billboards in and on the way from the airport as big and ubiquitous as Danny Gans'.

And while Vargas has the potential to take Danny Gans' role as the living embodiment of Las Vegas entertainment, the mantle he's really in line to assume is that of Louis Prima, the all-round entertainer who turned the Vegas lounge into the center of Vegas cool, and deservedly ascended to headliner status. Nothing made that more clear by the guest shot in last night's show by none other than Prima's daughter, Lena. Lena, youngest daughter of Louis Prima and Gia Maione, has carried on with her Louis-centric career and is regarded as Vegas loyalty.


Posted Vargas: "What A GASSS it is performing with you Lena!! Lets build a barn and do a show! just like Mickey & Judy! you are great, you must have your dad's heart and soul, what a legacy, the passion and performance is so real, what a thrill, and the audience so loved it! It is magical ..."

The Vegas media will catch up soon enough. Stay tuned.

Art Vargas plays the Palms Saturday night

Art Vargas, the charismatic, energetic veteran showman we've picked as a prime candidate for a showroom of his own on the Las Vegas Strip, gets a few blocks closer when he brings his show to the Palms Casino Resort Saturday night at.

That's tomorrow. At 8.

Hot off last weekend's success at the Rampart, Vargas and his group The Swank Set will be the highlight of the "Mondo Lounge Ultimate Retro Party and Conference," which "brings together fans of retro fashion, tiki, pin-ups, exotica music, Atomic Age cocktails, bachelor pad living, ballroom dance and the vintage Vegas Rat Pack vibe," which Vargas brings in spades with his signature brand of very timely retro cool rock and jazz. Bookers, tastemakers, music critics, gossips and big time talent agents are well advised to make their way to the Palms. Vargas is Vegas future.

Art Vargas is returning to Las Vegas

"I saw Las Vegas future and its name is Art Vargas!"
--Sam Peters

The man who should be a Strip headliner returns to his swingin' stompin' grounds at the Rampart Casino, October 15, 16 and 17.


Beat a path off the beaten path to catch Art Vargas before the big bookers, promoters and agents catch on and place him a theatre with big ticket prices.

Somebody book Art Vargas for Jerry's telethon

They're talking in Las Vegas about Art Vargas killing at the Bootlegger Bistro Saturday night with a swingin' show, a packed house and a wild, cheering crowd that went even wilder when Vargas was joined onstage by Louis Prima's daughter Lena for a version of Old Black Magic. The gig was the latest showcase for the old school showman and topnotch singer that could soon have him headlining in his own room on the Vegas Strip where he belongs, and amid the musical impressionists, magicians, acrobats and superstars, there's surely a place.

With word that Jerry Lewis was filling next weekend's MDA telethon with a roster of little-known Las Vegas acts, we're more than a little disappointed-- and surprised-- to see that Vargas is not among those scheduled. Put this guy and his Swank Set on at 11 pm Sunday and they're guaranteed to bring down the house at the South Point and have those phones ringing and web hits adding up.

Vegas is coming up Vargas!

"Swingin'!" "Smokin'!" "Great!"

Those were only a few of the superlatives tossed toward entertainer Art Vargas after last weekend's triumphant return to Las Vegas in a showcase bound to get the singer and his classic, retro-flavoured act his own showroom on the Strip where, among magicians, impressionists, tributes and comics, there is definitely a lucrative niche awaiting.

The heat from the three-night stand at the Rampart casino at the Summerlin Resortis already evident as Team Vargas has announced another show on Saturday night at his favourite haunt, The Bootlegger Bistro on Las Vegas Boulevard.

This time it's only five minutes from the Strip.

He's getting closer!

Art Vargas & The Swank Set
Live at The Bootlegger Bistro!
Sat Aug 28th
Bootlegger Bistro
(702) 736-4939
shows at 9:30 pm and Aug. 29 12:30 am

The Bootlegger Bistro
7700 Las Vegas Blvd. So.
Las Vegas, NV

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

And they decided the circumstances of his death were not worth investigating...

"Here's a legacy
of the late Danny Gans:
Las Vegas may never,
ever again be without
a singing impressionist."
-- Mike Weatherford
June 23, 2010, Las Vegas Review-Journal

The Prima torch is passed to Art Vargas

Louis Prima gets his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Sunday and Art Vargas will be at the Rampart Casino August 20, 21 and 22. Bookers for showrooms on the Strip, from the Imperial Palace to the Tropicana, and lounge stages from Cleo's Barge to La Cabaret, should be on hand to book this Vegas veteran with a show that mixes vintage Vegas swing with modern hipster cachet.

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.

Darin tribute is an Art Vargas showcase

Yes, Las Vegas has a superstar in the wings. Art Vargas has been bubbling under for years now, portraying Bobby Darin in the popular Legends show while working his own band The Swank Set in various lounges and bistros around town. A look at his show-- as we've given you more than once-- reveals talent and charisma that recall the legendary Rat Pack aura but stand alongside the best of today's one-man shows from Michael Bublé to Robbie Williams. This clip from Legends shows that what's ostensibly a "Bobby Darin impersonation" is actually a display of an equally talented showman, Art Vargas. Among the magicians, musical impressionists (for whom we have great admiration) and comedians, surely there's a Strip resort with a showroom for this Las Vegas classic.

Vintage Vegas Vargas should shine in showroom

Entertainer Art Vargas, who should be featured on the biggest marquee on the Las Vegas Strip with a place in a prime big league showroom, can be seen doing his Bobby Darin with the Legends show at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut.

Is Art Vargas the great hope of Las Vegas?

We caught Art Vargas on Dennis Bono's radio show (from Sam's Town) last night. Looks like Las Vegas has been keeping a Danny Gans-sized talent under the radar: an old school lounge singer who's worked his way up from the impersonator ranks and appears primed for a shot at a big league showroom of his own.