ATLANTIC CITY HILTON-- (609) 340-7200; . KC The Sunshine Band: 8 p.m.
Saturday; 10:30 p.m. Sunday.
$45 (Saturday); $99 (includes buffet dinner) and $75 Sunday. BORGATA -- (866) 900-4849; . Jim Norton: 10 p.
m. Sunday. $60 and $50.
HARRAH'S ATLANTIC CITY-- (800) 242-7724; . Sinbad: 9 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday. $45 (Saturday) and $75 (Sunday). HOUSE OF BLUES (SHOWBOAT)-- (609) 236-2583; .
Bouncing Souls: 8 tonight. $15 Trey Anastasio Band: 9 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday (Music Hall) $39.50 (Saturday) and $50 (Sunday). The B-Street Band/2U: 9 p.
m. Sunday. $95 (includes two-hour open bar, hors d'oeuvres and $15 restaurant voucher).
RESORTS ATLANTIC CITY-- (800) 736-1420; . The Commodores: 8 p.m.
Saturday; 10:45 p.m. Sunday.
$50 (Saturday); $99 (includes special New Year's Eve buffet) and $75 (includes two drinks) Sunday TROPICANA -- (609) 340-4020; . Gladys Knight: 9 p.m.
Saturday; 10:30 p.m. Sunday.
$100, $75, $65, $60, $55, $50 and $35. 2006 is just about history; a brand new year is so close we can almost taste it. But before we plunge into 2007, let's continue our annual end-of-the-year tradition of taking a final look back at the preceding 12 months in casino entertainment.
Nothing is a sure thing in the casinos -- if it were, they wouldn't be in business. But it is an irrefutable certainty that 2006 was the most spectacular show business year of the legal gaming era. Never before have so many gaming hall-sponsored mega-stars appeared in a single 365-day period.
For starters, there were the giants who played Boardwalk Hall under the auspices of various gambling dens: Barbra Streisand, Madonna and Elton John (the Harrah's Entertainment group); Bon Jovi and The Rolling Stones (Borgata) and Barry Manilow (Resorts/Atlantic City Hilton). Then there were the shows that took place within the confines of the casino-hotels, especially Borgata, whose affiliation with Live Nation, the nation's largest concert promotion firm, enabled it to host such hot-ticket acts as The Who, The Killers, Nick Lachey, Santana, Paul Simon and Ricky Martin. Not to mention a host of top-shelf comics including Dave Chappelle, Stephen Lynch, Brian Regan, Bill Maher and Lewis Black.
Trump Taj Mahal scored two of the biggest names of all, pop divas Mariah Carey and Shakira. It also hosted a series of ultra-cool "Decades Rock Live" concerts, produced by the VH1 Classic cable channel, featuring such mix-and-match moments as Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day and Elvis Costello, Shirley Manson of Garbage and The Pretenders, and "American Idol" insta-star Bo Bice and Lynyrd Skynyrd. And House of Blues inside Showboat, although specializing in up-and-coming and more esoteric acts, welcomed the likes of blues legend Etta James, (the late) King and Queen of Soul, James Brown and Aretha Franklin, chart-topper Ciara, hot new pop-rockers The Raconteurs, veteran stars Cyndi Lauper, Alice Cooper, guitar god Jeff Beck and even action-movie avatar Steven Seagal, who brought his band, Thunderbox, to the venue.
Then there was Jerry Seinfeld who, on Oct. 7, made Atlantic City show biz history by being the first performer to headline two casinos (Hilton and Resorts) on the same date. Beyond the mind-boggling A-list talent, there were other sources of fine entertainment.
While extended-run production shows aren't quite the showroom staple they were in the 1980s and '90s, there were several worthwhile efforts. The most pleasant surprise of all was "V The Ultimate Variety Show" at Tropicana in the spring. It was produced by Las Vegas-based impresario David Saxe, whose previous revues tended to be cheesy, low-rent affairs.
But "V" was a blast. It showcased a number of wonderful specialty acts, including The Richards Brothers, who delivered a marvelous and hilarious juggling turn, and Six Real Brothers, a sextet who used their bodies to reproduce the sounds of various instruments. Also on the bill was the dependably side-splitting comic, Jeff Hobson.
The Hilton's "Spirit of Broadway" (which is returning shortly) was far more than a standard-issue show-tune survey, as it featured elaborately staged and costumed numbers, the likes of which were never before seen on a casino stage. Not quite as memorable, but still praiseworthy, was the Trop's similarly themed "Best of Broadway." And speaking of Broadway, Harrah's summer-long attraction, "Hairspray," boasted a great cast and significant cuts that actually improved the show.
And kudos to the Hilton for bringing in Tony Pace and Stephen Sorrentino, two gifted entertainers who ably combine music and comedy (Pace encores at the Hilton next month). All of this good news was tempered somewhat by the November closing of the Sands, which brought the curtain down on the revered Copa Room, arguably Atlantic City's most historic casino-era performance space. It's expected that the property's new owner, Pinnacle Entertainment of Las Vegas, will include some sort of fairly large venue when it replaces the Sands with a $1.
5 billion, state-of-the mega-resort four-to-five years hence. Here's hoping the blueprints also include a smaller, Copa-style room as well. Finally, from me and mine to you and yours, here's wishing you a healthy, peaceful, joyous -- and lucky -- 2007.
See you in AyCee!
Chuck Darrow is a columnist for Gannett New Jersey Newspapers. He can be reached at (856) 486-2442, or .
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