By John Katsilometes
Over the weekend an Internet poll determined the New Seven Wonders of the World. The hook was that the survey would be announced on 7/7/07, and thus we would be talking about all the new wonders on that day.
Millions of people from around the world voted, and the winners were: The Great Wall of China, the ancient city of Petra in Jordan, the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Machu Picchu in Peru, the Maya ruins of Chichen Itza in Mexico, the Colosseum in Rome and India's Taj Mahal.
Sadly, my favorite, Stevie Wonder, did not receive enough votes for the top 7.
Nothing from Las Vegas merited New Wonders status, either. But I’ve got my own Seven Wonders of Las Vegas, listed as they came to me, with explanations:
The Colosseum at Caesars (a 4,000-seat showroom never felt so intimate).
The Stratosphere Tower (the best spot in town to watch the sun set, or try to locate your home from a thousand feet up).
The Phantom Theater at the Venetian (the venue is the co-star of this $80 million spectacle; the chandelier alone is worth a visit).
The Bellagio water show (still stopping traffic on the Strip after nearly 10 years).
The Luxor light (still a powerful presence on the Strip, but has anyone ever verified that you can actually see that light from space?).
Hoover Dam! (I know, it is not in Las Vegas but it’s in our, uh, media market, so it counts).
Red Rock Canyon (I refer to a comment a cabbie friend of mine told me about a few years ago, when he pointed out Red Rock to a tourist just arriving in Vegas who asked of the mountains to the west, “Are those real?” It was not the first time he would ask that question).
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And on this Internet-interactive tack, you can help Bob Combs return to cable television. The Discovery Channel series “Dirty Jobs” is soon celebrating its 150th anniversary and is holding an “office party,” to be taped for the anniversary show. All of the show’s past subjects are listed on a long ballot you can find at www.dsc.discovery.com/fansites/dirtyjobs/poll/office-party/season1.html.
Combs’ Las Vegas pig farm was featured a couple of years ago on a memorable episode of “Dirty Jobs,” which is where agreeable host Mike Rowe takes on jobs that are inherently unsavory. He usually winds up caked in muck, but beaming like … well, like a pig in slop.
Combs became something of an Internet celebrity in the months after his ranch, R.C. Farms, was given the Rowe treatment (Combs’ pigs consume leftover slop from Vegas buffets, and it is unfortunate they are not equipped to provide reviews of that fare). Combs enjoys a bit of Vegas luck on the site, as he is the first subject listed, under “Las Vegas Pig Farmer.” He’s in competition with such occupations as, “Septic Waste Cleaner,” “Worm Dung Farmer,” “Hippo Keeper,” and “Chick Sexer.” On that last one, where might one find, you know, an application?
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Call him Mr. Las Vegas, or the King of Las Vegas, or Mr. King of Las Vegas. I just call him The Wayner, and on Saturday, Wayne Newton finished his most recent run at Harrah’s with no dates there or anywhere else scheduled. At least, not yet. And the Strip is not complete without a headlining engagement for The Wayner.
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Wynn Las Vegas PR whiz Jenn Dunne, long one of my favorites in or out of the PR field in Vegas, is taking over the duties that once belonged to Denise Randazzo. Randazzo, who was part of the Wynn operation when the hotel opened in 2005, is opening her own agency. Dunne was brought on last year, plucked from Cirque du Soleil.
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A local organization to watch is Whirlygig, the non-profit that has been organizing and staging First Friday for the past five years. One of the city’s more active individuals and foremost art collectors, Patrick Duffy, has joined the organization’s board of directors. Duffy left his old job with Rhodes Homes in March (he fronted Rhodes’ philanthropic efforts and served as the company’s community liaison), and joined Whirlygig last month. Duffy is no mere seat-filler and I expect some cage-rattling at Whirlygig with him on the board.
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Vegas moment: Henderson police officers being offered, and declining, free Sprinklicious donuts at the 7-Eleven at 1400 Horizon Ridge Parkway that has been tricked-out to look like the Kwik-E-Mart in “The Simpsons.”
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Pure power: Pure Management Group partners Robert Earl and Steve Davidovici have their own bowling shoes in assigned boxes at Lucky Strike at the Rio, which Pure operates.
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On our menus: Triple 7 Restaurant and Microbrewery at Main Street Station is pouring a new beverage – Mango Cream Ale -- that goes for $2.95 for 16 ounces, $3.50 for 23 ounces. Specialty ales rotate each month at the busy microbrewery.
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Release me: Team Tiara is really putting the whip to reigning Miss America Lauren Nelson (who was crowned right here in Vegas!). Coming off her recent explosive appearance on the Weather Channel, the former Miss Oklahoma is appearing Wednesday night on the Home Shopping Network’s “Kim Parrish Collection” and “Technibond Jewelry Hour.” According to a release form the Miss America Organization, we can “watch Lauren and former Miss West Virginia (1992) Kim Parrish as they talk about the impact the Miss America Program has had on their lives. Also, watch as Lauren models some of Kim’s ‘must-have’ fashions for the upcoming fall season.” Parrish has her own fashion line and is a fashion stylist, so this ought to be quite a summit. And with Nelson appearing on HSN, I am left to wonder that we might have yet another cable network in the running to broadcast next year’s pageant. It’s getting interesting, folks.
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PL8 in my head: This morning as I was driving to work I found myself behind a Mercedes Benz 320E with the plate THALIA. The plate frame read, “UNLV Football Foundation,” and I have to think that this was Regent Thalia Dondero. I didn’t quite get a look at the driver, but if it was, hello, Thalia.
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Fabulous Las Vegas appears daily (well, almost) at this Web site. John Katsilometes can be reached at 990-7720, 812-9812 or at [email protected]