Carrot Top extends Luxor contract
CARROT TOP performs an impression of Mick Jagger each night in his show at Luxor. The prop comic performs some moves like Jagger, alternating between a microphone and an oxygen mask during “Start Me Up.”
The song is interrupted by the sound of a faltering car engine. The comic then drops to the stage.
The crowd howls. But Jagger is not slowing down. Nor is the Vegas headliner whose legal name is Scott Thompson.
The enduring prop comic is extending his remarkable run at Luxor’s Atrium Showroom through 2030. By then, the headliner whose legal name is Scott Thompson will be 65 years old. The deal is an extension of the contract Thompson signed in 2019, carrying the show through 2025.
At the end of the term, he will have headlined Luxor for 25 years. He had been at MGM Grand’s Hollywood Theater, now David Copperfield Theater, for several years until, as he says, “David Copperfield made me disappear.”
An old joke, but no bit or reference is too old for Carrot Top, who sometimes slips into a Johnny Carson or Casey Kasem impression and counts George Carlin as an influence.
“It’s interesting, I was just talking about this on the way in today, I don’t feel any different. I still feel young. I still feel energized,” Thompson said following Wednesday night’s performance. “I mean, there will be one night I’m sure I’m gonna say, ‘Uh-oh, I’m not moving so well …’ ”
Wednesday was not that night. It was Carrot Top’s 18th anniversary at Luxor. There was cake (carrot, of course), and also rock ’n’ roll. Sebastian Bach showed up, unannounced and to raucous response, to sing the Skid Row staple “18 And Life.”
This was after Topper’s assistant, Jeff Molitz, took the stage in a Bach costume to make his own run at the song.
The comedian backpedaled when Bach strode to the stage, gleefully bowing and pointing, acting like a kid. As he said later, “I still have fun on stage.”
Thompson has added a show-closing tribute to Gallagher, introduced just after the master comedian died in November 2022. Not to give it away, but the backstory is sweet and the closing act explosively on-brand.
The comic debuts new props in every show but is performing more straight stand-up than when he opened at Luxor in November 2005. He dives into his autobiography, sharing such family stories as how is father, Larry, trained NASA astronauts on the Gemini and Apollo missions; and his brother, Garrett, is a former Air Force “Top Gun” pilot.
The comic calls his brother as “Garrett Top,” and himself, in his senior years, as “Cotton Top,” copping a line from his nephew years ago.
Thompson also shows the clip of him losing to fellow comic Bob Zany in “Star
Search” in the early ’90s. The comics’ shared confusion over Ed Mcmahon’s reading of the scores (“Bob Zany, you have four and three-quarters stars!”) is priceless.
“Everyone, from my friends to my brother to my family members, wouldn’t change anything in the show,” Thompson said. “I finally started talking about my life, my family and my career. They love it. It’s kind of a cool thing.”
Her open-ended commitment
Adele continues to refer to herself as being married.
But there is no formal confirmation the Colosseum headliner and Rich Paul are legally wed.
Informally, there is confirmation all over the place.
The latest case, the singer on Wednesday was shown with a big rock (not a basketball, but a ring on the appropriate finger) at the Lakers-mavericks game at Staples Center. Paul, her life partner and sports super-agent was at her side, courtside of course.
For what it is worth, the couple has not (at this writing) obtained a license through the Clark County Marriage License Bureau. No legally binding ceremony for the couple has been held in Vegasville.
Adele also closed her residency run at Caesars Palace on Nov. 4, with the next set of dates starting Jan. 19 and running through June 15. By all accounts she has loved this series, saying as she announced her extension, “These shows have changed my life.”
An educated read on this series: If Adele wants to extend her run of sold-out, critically lauded performances at Caesars past June, the hotel and Live Nation would be only happy to sign on. As it is, she’s scheduled to perform an even 100 in this run.
But we are becoming increasingly interested in Paul’s professional sports fiefdom and how it relates to Las
Vegas, entering 2024. Similar to Adele’s superstar in the entertainment industry, Paul is a major player in the pro-athlete culture. He’s founder of the Klutch Sports Group. Lebron James is among his clients.
James, who is a billionaire co-founder of Springhill Entertainment company with Maverick Carter, wants to own an NBA expansion team in Las Vegas.
If James’ NBA dream comes comes to pass, the Pauls — if we can call them as such — will be a Vegas power couple by proxy. In part because of that blooming opportunity, I feel Adele will continue her relationship with Las Vegas past next June. The option is certainly available.
Cool Hang Alert
The “Chris & James Dueling Piano Show” starring the showmen Chris Mavridis and James Hill is back at Amp’d at M Resort from 7 p.m.-10 p.m. Thursday. They take requests. They appreciate tips. They boast great range, energy and multiple pianos. Go to themresort.com for intel.