Save $$ On Great Shows in Las Vegas
Written: Mar 26 '02 (Updated Feb 18 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: You can find good deals on shows.
Cons: You may be disappointed in a $100 show.
The Bottom Line: Don't dismiss these basement-priced shows. In fact I highly recommend them.
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| jo.com's Full Review: The Strip |
My review of the The Strip in Las Vegas, whose name is Las Vegas Boulevard, is going to focus on 2 shows we saw both of which were exceptional.
Before I start I want to point you to an interesting website:
http://www.lvstriphistory.com/ which gives a history of The Strip in chronological order of when the hotels were built with links to the hotels as well as links to other important information. Here is a peak of the history: "April 3, 1941 - Its first resort El Rancho opening with 63 rooms. September 1, 1999 - Paris Las Vegas opening with 2,914 rooms." If you are going to Las Vegas or just interested, this is a really unique place. The site is owned by Deanna DeMatteo, someone I do not know so I am not plugging her site for any personal reason!
Background Information
This February was our third year in a row going to Las Vegas. The first year we spent a great deal of money to see the 25th reunion of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Luckily it wasn’t sold out so we could move from our very last row (literally) to a row a bit closer. Last year we would have spent the money on Blue Man Group at the Luxor where we stayed but we saw that show in Boston. This year we toyed with spending a lot of money to see Sigfried & Roy ($100 each); or one of the singers in town but we decided not to. Last year we went to some “freebies” and really enjoyed them so that is what we decided to do once again. Of course none of these is truly free, but getting entertainment in Las Vegas for the price of a drink is wonderful. You certainly wouldn’t think you could walk away and say, “That was terrific.” But we did....so here goes:
#1 Ronn Lucas
Ronn Lucas is performing at and has signed a multi-year contract with the Rio Hotel. (This hotel is not technically on The Strip but since it is owned by Harrah's which is, I figured you would give me some leeway!) He performs in the prettier of the 2 showrooms. At the Rio the room is the Copacabana Showroom also known as The Masquerade Showroom. Ronn performs daily except Tuesdays at 3:00pm.
The setting:
I want to share a little about the rooms since they vary a bit: The Masquerade Showroom was really lovely. It had a huge chandelier in the middle of the room with pictures of old-time ventriloquists around the entire room, which was quite large. I noted that the temperature and seating were both very comfortable. There are several levels at which to sit and since there is no pre-arranged seats it is either first come, first served or how much you give the maitre d'. My husband and were very comfortable in booth type seats and our own table. The whole row we were in was set up like that.
Tip: If you sit here (You can see Ronn from anywhere you sit especially since they use projectors and I really did like these seats which I’ll say were in the middle of the room, in case you go and look for them.) there will be a chair in front of each table along the row. It is unlikely that just one person is going to sit there but the chair faces the stage so someone is supposed to sit there! Most likely the chair is intended for one part of a couple to sit, but in my whole section of couples, the man and woman (That is the way the genders turned out this particular day.) sat next to each other. To ensure no one sits in front of you, turn the chair around so it is facing the table. That will imply either one of you will be sitting there or that it is already taken. No one will sit there and you can use it as a footrest!
The room is a no smoking one.
Who is Ronn Lucas?
Ronn Lucas is one of the most talented performers I have seen. He is a stand up comic, he does improvisation and he is a ventriloquist or as the term is called these days “voice manipulator.” Ronn has performed for almost every living President and other famous people. He is amazing. He is known as the man who “can make anything talk.”
He engages the audience in a couple of ways. One of his characters is Buffalo Billy and as Ronn says his job is to make the audience forget that Billy isn’t real. And you will forget. Buffalo Billy spent a great deal of time kidding around with a woman in the audience – so if you are afraid of that, don’t sit in the front row. Billy also spends time in Ronn’s trunk, which he doesn’t like. Ronn is one of the few voice manipulators who can throw his voice. (That’s what he called it – I don’t know much about the art.) What it means to the audience though is that he can make his voice sound as if it is coming from somewhere else – not from where he is sitting. Now remember he is doing this while he isn’t moving his mouth. He is amazing.
Another one of his characters is Scorch. I was a little disappointed because apparently Scorch can be bought but he was out of them. I would have loved to have him as a souvenir. Scorch is an animal and I just thought he was very cute. Without a doubt the funniest part of the show was a fairly lengthy performance he did with a member of the audience. Tip: If you would like to be on stage, do not act like you do. Ronn will only pick people who don’t seem to want to go up. He put a mask on the man who went up and pulled strings so the mouth and eyes moved while Ronn was talking for this man, of course saying things this man may never have said. As they say, “You had to be there.” My husband was so hysterical; tears were running down his eyes. I was laughing so hard, I though I might have to leave the room.
He ended the show with a wonderful story about his grandfather teaching him how he made a puppet out of a sock and he did a terrific job both making the puppet and talking about his grandfather. It was a great way to end the show, which lasted about 1-½ hours. I imagine he changes his show around a bit so you may see some variations of what I have listed, but he is a must see and when you look at the price.....
The price:
I am not much of a drinker but of the 2 shows we went to that I am reviewing and of all the “free” drinks we had in the casino, this is the only place in which I had a drink where I could actually taste any alcohol.
The regular advertised price for Ronn Lucas’ show is $19.95. If you stay at the Rio or Harrah’s you immediately get a coupon for a free show with the purchase of a drink for $6.95 (plus, hopefully a tip for the waitress or waiter). You will find this same “deal” around town, though. You will not have to pay $20 to see Ronn Lucas. In fact if you go to http://www.harrahs.com/our_casinos/rlv/amenities/ronn_lucas.html you will see a link on the right and that will take you to a printable coupon for “the deal.”
This show is very appropriate for children.
For reservations or information call 1-888-777-7776. This particular coupon expires 6/30/02, but you should find others.
About Ronn:
Ronn Lucas has been named Entertainer of the Year by Atlantic City Magazine, the Las Vegas Review Journal calls him “Very funny…he stands alone for his voice-throwing capabilities” and Larry King has said that Ronn is “A wonderful comedian..” (This information is from a pamphlet.)
To see Buffalo Billy and Scorch as well as other characters, videos of Ronn with famous people and on television and information about him go to http://www.ronnlucas.com/
The Rio is owned by Harrah’s and whether Ronn Lucas and Mac King are truly friends or not I don't know but they plug each other’s shows.
#2 The Mac King Comedy Show
The setting:
Mac King appears at the Comedy Cabaret at Harrah’s. As you ride up the escalator (or get out of the elevator) you will see huge neon smiley faces on the ceiling. The ticket area is done up with a cute theme. The walls have a brick façade with funny lines and jokes written on it and in it. There are also pictures of comedians such as Bette Midler and Billy Crystal. The room itself isn’t as pretty as the above. There are a couple of levels but it was a much more basic room than the Masquerade Room. Here again a tip will determine the seat you get or not to the maitre d'. We did not give him money but had decent seats anyway.
I never want to sit in the front because I don’t ever want to be called on and engaging the audience by calling them on stage is a very popular thing to do. We were not nearly as comfortable here. It was too warm in the room, which is smaller than the room above. We sat on regular chairs and shared a table with a couple who was sitting with their backs toward us. It was really their table so we had to squeeze in a bit. None of this had any negative impact on how good Mac King was or how much we enjoyed the show.
Who is Mac King?
Mac King is really an amazing illusionist. He dresses in a very silly way making this a really nice show for children. In fact, children will love this, although by no means is it a kids’ show. I am not going to say Mac King is on the David Copperfield level, but you aren’t going to get that kind of talent at this kind of price anywhere. He did a couple of “tricks” that I have never seen anywhere else and one I have. He does a David Copperfield stunt where somehow he appears in the audience. Mac also does a trick with cards I have never seen done and am still amazed by it. After some card tricks with an audience member the card the person in the audience chose showed up in a closed box of cereal. Was this person a plant? We though so. How else could he have done that. But I don’t think entertainment at Harrah’s would allow that kind of deception. I just think he was very, very good.
His most amazing trick is done by somehow making nothing alive turn into a real goldfish. He could not have had it in his hand and the fish would have died in his pocket. But perhaps somehow it got into his pocket right before it became alive. Attempting to figure out how he does his tricks is useless. Just trust me...this is worth the price.
The price:
The regular price for this show is $14.95 and is shown Tuesday-Saturday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Since we were staying at the Rio we got the coupon and paid $6.95 each for a drink. I didn’t find the same coupon at
http://www.harrahs.com/our_casinos/las/amenities/mac_king.html but you will find the coupons in the Las Vegas area and perhaps online at a later date.
Truly, this show, which also lasted about 1-½ hours, is worth $15.00. If you take out the $7.00 for the drink you are actually paying only $8.00 for a fantastic show. You can purchase your tickets online if you want at the above website.
About Mac:
“King has made numerous TV appearances on such shows as Houdini: Unlocking His Secrets, The World's Wildest Magic, An Evening at the Improv, Comic Strip Live, Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular, and most recently, the Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus show starring Cybill Sheppard. King has the distinction of being the only performer to have appeared on all five of NBC's World's Greatest Magic shows." This is from the following website where you can read more about him: http://www.harrahs.com/our_casinos/las/amenities/mac_king_news.html.
My Final Thoughts
I am certainly not saying to stay away from the high-priced shows. If you can afford it or want to save up for one, then go for it. But don't dismiss these shows whose prices seem too good to be true. They are both, in my opinion, worthy of a look.
For more Las Vegas reviews:
Red Rock Canyon
Eating Our Way Through Las Vegas Buffets
The Rio Hotel and Casino
The Fremont Experience (Downtown Las Vegas)
The Strip - 2 Low Budget Shows
Valley of Fire
Tropicana Casino
The Luxor
The Rio Hotel and Casino
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
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