NFL legend recalls Vegas visit, Trop
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Nthe spring of 1991, Emmitt Smith brought his family to Las Vegas. “We were able to afford four or five days of hanging out,” Smith says as he is about to open his restaurant at Fashion Show mall on the Strip. “We played golf. I had my best friend, mom and dad, the family came out, and we enjoyed Las Vegas for the first time.”
That was just after Smith’s rookie season with the Cowboys. The NFL’S all-time leader in rushing yards and three-time Super Bowl champion is asked where he stayed in ’91.
“Yeah, I stayed at the Tropicana,” Smith says, smiling. “That was the first place I ever stayed in Las Vegas.”
What! I suggest Smith could return this weekend, as the Tropicana closes forever.
“Nah, I’m good, I’m good!” Smith says, laughing. “It’s probably the same place.
They probably put another coat of paint on it, and that’s it.”
Smith’s new restaurant sits where Sugar Factory was located, facing Wynn/encore and Venetian/palazzo across the Strip. Resorts World is also in the neighborhood.
“We have more than 10,000 hotel rooms, a lot of eyeballs, in this location,” Smith says. “We’re on the 50-yard line of the neighborhood.”
As emcee J.T. The Brick said in introducing Smith, the Pro Hall of Famer’s NFL record of 18,355 yards is likely never to be broken. The record, and Smith’s football-field-long list of achievements, took time and diligence to amass. He is applying the same persistence to his Strip-side restaurant.
“I look at my career in terms of the Cowboys. In my rookie season, we went 7-9 and didn’t make the playoffs,” Smith says. “In my second year, we made the playoffs. In my third year, ’92, we won the Super Bowl. To me, success is not necessarily in the grand opening. It’s in the sustainability. That’s what we hope to build here, sustainability.” And to remain open long enough for a fresh coat of paint.
Can he talk?
In Frank Marino’s show, Joan Rivers lives forever.
Marino is keeping Rivers’ legacy — and his own — at center stage as he extends his “Divas, Drag & Drinks” show at Virgin Hotels’ 24 Oxford. The production returns 4 p.m. April 7 and runs “scattered” Sundays (Marino’s term) through the end of the year.
The Vegas drag icon is back May 5 and May 12, then breaks until Aug. 11, 18 and 25.
Marino has portrayed Rivers, or an act inspired by Rivers, for nearly 40 years in Las Vegas, beginning in 1985 with “Evening at La Cage” at the Riviera. The 60-year-old headliner has starred at Linq Hotel in “Divas Las Vegas” and fronted the “Legends” production at Tropicana from September-december 2019. He also test-drove a dragbrunch concept at the Westgate.
All the while, Marino has been portraying Rivers, while reciting the classic line, “Can we talk?”
But Marino’s show at Virgin showcases drag adaptions of stars across several demographics. The characters in the latest show include Lizzo, Rihanna, Beyonce, Pink, Cher and Britney Spears.
“It’s a different kind of vibe, after I made it younger,” Marino said in a recent phone chat. “We have characters with wide appeal, something for all tastes.”
Marino has been selling out his Sunday performances at 24 Oxford, having moved from its original venue at The Shag Room. Virgin President Cliff Atkinson is a friend, fan and (as it tuns out) neighbor of Marino’s in Las Vegas.
The two live about a dozen houses apart in the gated Eagle Hills community in Summerlin. Expect Marino to joke about his real-life residency status as his production residency moves forward.
A veteran Vegas resort exec with stops at Mandarin Oriental, Luxor and the pre-opening Fontainebleau, Atkinson has been a friend and fan of Marino’s for years.
“Frank’s show, and personality, is too big of a production for The Shag Room, so we moved him to 24 Oxford,” Atkinson said in a text Tuesday. The official added, “More entertainment to come,” at the hotel.
Marino has achieved a balance of how to portray Rivers, who died in September 2014. Younger fans remember her from her “Fashion Police” show and the reality series “Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best?” reality series with her daughter, Melissa.
Marino says Rivers’ set-up, punch-line delivery and salty material can stand on its own. Introducing the character by name is a formality.
“I do my own version of
Joan Rivers. I think I broke away from doing a formal Joan Rivers character about 10 years ago,” Marino said. “I’ll keep the name in the show, for people who want it. But my material is just Joan Rivers-esque.”
Nod to the Trop Spiegelworld is lassoing soon-to-be former Tropicana employees by offering $50 tickets to “Atomic Saloon Show” at Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian. Those staffers can show employee ID or credentials at the box office for the discount. The offer runs through May. Call 702-534-3419 or go to Spiegelworld.com for intel.
Cool Hang Alert
Chase Brown is a country sensation and tips champion, raking in between $400-$800 in his shows at Notoriety Live. In his 100th show at the venue in December, he collected $1,800 in gratuities from his fervent fan base. Catch him 7 p.m. Fridays in “Vegas Country.” He’s the guy in the leather vest, cowboy hat, likely riding a mirror-plated ladder.