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From Sammy Hagar to ‘iLuminate,’ the Strat has widened its Las Vegas entertainment array

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Miral Kotb’s iLuminate has been updated at the Strat Theater.
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There’s no sure-fire strategy for creating a successful musical residency show on the Las Vegas Strip these days, but it’s been proven time after time that an artist with a loyal following of fans who will travel to see the show is an essential ingredient.

Two rock and rollers with that important asset kicked off different headlining gigs over Halloween weekend: Sting at Caesars Palace and Sammy Hagar at the Strat. Sting’s show was announced years ago and delayed because of the pandemic while Hagar’s was announced this year and sold out six shows immediately.

“My fans, the Redheads, they come from all over the world and you want them to be in a place like Vegas, where they can have a good time before and after the show,” Hagar said in September when he hit the Strip to launch his new canned cocktail with a rooftop concert at Beer Park at Paris. “The experience in Vegas is like no other town. If you can’t find something to do here, you’re either broke or in a really bad mood.”

The former Van Halen frontman is rewarding his Redheads with plenty of special guests, a different set every night and a deep dive into his complete catalog, even reaching back to his breakthrough days with Montrose. He returns to the Strat Theater November 5, 6, 12 and 13.

“My fans, I love ’em to death,” Hagar said. “I said it when I left Van Halen: I don’t care if I have one more new fan for the rest of my life, I will never lose the ones I’ve got. I want to make those people so happy and take ’em all the way to the finish line. The music, the cocktails, anything I do, I do it for them.”

The Strat Theater, normally a 600-seat classic-style showroom that has been altered slightly to squeeze in 800 total Redheads, might seem like an unlikely venue for a residency of this caliber. The show was created through the partnership between the casino and SPI Entertainment, which has been producing its own shows while operating the Thunderland Showroom, home of Thunder From Down Under at Excalibur, for nearly 20 years.

The quick results from this partnership are impressive. Michael Jackson tribute MJ Live has been the primary occupant of the venue in recent years. Now, in addition to MJ Live and Sammy Hagar and Friends, the Strat Theater is home to the magical Xavier Mortimer: The Dream Maker, the mentalism-based Banachek’s Mind Games Live and the new dance show iLuminate.

All the time slots are full, mostly with family-friendly live entertainment, a natural complement to the attractions and rides atop the Strat’s Skypod. “For years they only had one show there,” SPI founder Adam Steck said recently, “and I said I’d like to maximize the real estate and make the property stickier, so when people go there, they have multiple entertainment options.”

Suddenly, the Strat is very sticky. A week before Hagar’s opening, iLuminate celebrated its grand opening after a quick break to restructure the show. The updated version is unlike anything the Strip has seen before, a musical party with eye-popping visual effects that must be seen to be fully appreciated. That, too, is an unexpected but awesome find at the Strat.

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Brock Radke

Brock Radke is an award-winning writer and columnist who currently occupies the role of managing editor at Las Vegas Weekly ...

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