1.
Remember when. Think back to the halcyon days of early 2003, when the world was mesmerized by seven strangers, picked to live in a casino suite and have their lives taped, to find out what happened when they stopped being polite and started getting real. Now Steven, Trishelle, Arissa, Irulan, Frank, Alton and Brynn are back, living in the Palms and trying to eke out another 15 minutes of reality-TV fame, on Reunited: The Real World Vegas, airing Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on MTV, starting May 30.
2.
Laugh. It’s a blockbuster weekend for big-ticket comedy, as the likes of Don Rickles (May 25-27 at the Golden Nugget), Mike Epps (May 25 at Mandalay Bay Events Center), Tracy Morgan (May 26 at House of Blues) and Robin Williams (May 27 at MGM Grand Garden Arena) take the stage. And then there’s MTV exile, nasty nursery rhymer and chronic social instigator Andrew Dice Clay. VH1’s Dice Undisputed may paint him as a has-been; his Sirius satellite-radio show may never score cred on par with Stern or Opie & Anthony. But live, he’s still as unapologetically hardcore as they get. You may not agree with him (you may, in fact, loathe him) but his words never fail to stick. May 25-27, 10:45 p.m., $60-$150. Planet Hollywood’s Steve Wyrick Theatre, 785-5555.
3.
Admire the beautiful. The finals of last year’s Drop Dead Gorgeous beauty pageant at Beauty Bar featured camp icon John Waters and the heights of hipster hotness. This year’s event kicks off with a first round hosted by Tony James, plus DJ performances and more tattooed and pierced lovelies than you can possibly handle. May 27, 9 p.m. Beauty Bar, 598-1965.
4.
See the fancy clay. You know him as the original bad boy of modern art, dragging painting into a brave new era of folded pictorial space and wildly distorted features. But there was more to Pablo Picasso than depicting both of a subject’s eyes on the same side of her face; he also weirded up the craft of ceramics. See for yourself at In The Master’s Hands: Picasso’s Ceramics, Treasures from the Estate of Pablo Picasso, opening May 25 in the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. General admission $15, $12 for Nevada residents. Call 693-7871.
5.
Go mad. Back from a long hiatus, Beacher’s Madhouse—the erstwhile weekly event featuring sideshow acts, karaoke contests, dance contests and, yes, even a monkey and a goat—will return to its home at the Joint the last Saturday of every month through the end of the year. Beginning May 26, big man on campus Jeff Beacher will once again walk his red carpet, flanked by hot chicks, to usher in another season of deafening laughter, surprise celebrity sightings, hairy back contests, implant giveaways, drunken exploits and general mayhem. Call 693-5066 for info.
6.
Be boldly, plainly desperate. For those with nothing—truly nothing—going on this Memorial Day weekend, the Las Vegas Monorail has spruced up your calendar:
“The Las Vegas Monorail is honoring Memorial Day by inviting all locals to ‘play tourist’ this weekend and ride the monorail for free while enjoying a wide array of free entertainment on its 4-mile route along the Las Vegas Strip. Locals ride the monorail for free this Saturday, Sunday and Monday by showing Nevada ID at all monorail station customer service booths from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.”
Enjoy!
