The Kats! Bureau at this writing is Westgate’s Super Pigskin Party. There are many super bowls (no infringement here) of snacks.
Officials here estimate 10,000 total in the building for the big game. That’s 1,000 in this VIP party, 3,500 at another party in the large ballroom, 1,500 in the theater and the balance at the legendary SuperBook, International Bar and milling around the property.
That’s about two thousand lower than peak turnout at Westgate on Super Bowl Sunday. I sense the even the 10K estimate is high. The lines to wager on game day were half as long as usual (personal experience). The property population feels light, in keeping with what has been reported around the city as a comparatively low turnout for Super Bowl weekend.
Some officials point to the indifference about the Chiefs and Eagles, teams with fervent fan bases but are played out across the country. A lot of Super Bowl visitors plan before the conference championship games, but I’m certain the energy and turnout would have been higher if it were Bills-Lions. Or Bills-anyone else from the NFC.
And naturally, nobody considered the game would be such a dog. The Eagles made Swift work of the Chiefs in this one.
The Elvis-Jackson connection
Peripherally related, you know who never had attendance concerns in this hotel, Elvis Presley. An audio post surfaced last week of Presley welcoming the Jackson 5 to his show at Las Vegas Hilton on Aug. 20, 1974.
“There’s a group in the audience, ladies and gentlemen, I’d like you to meet. One of the hottest groups around. They’re really fantastic. They just came into the show … They’re in here, the Jackson 5.” Presley called for the spotlight to shine on the group. “They open tomorrow night. Go see them.”
It was the earliest and most powerful endorsement of original Jackson 5 brothers Michael, Jermaine, Jackie, Marlon and Tito. The act premiered in Las Vegas at the old MGM Grand (we know it today as the Horseshoe) the following night.
Current Resorts World Theatre headliner Janet Jackson also performed for the first time on stage at those shows. Her reps haven’t responded to a request to see if she was in the crowd at the Elvis show. But regardless, it was a rare moment shared by entertainment legends, who remain a ubiquitous presence in VegasVille.
Diamond setting
The popular Neil Diamond tribute artist Rob Garrett saw Presley perform 23 times in the ’70s. That’s 18 times at the Las Vegas Hilton, and five shows in New York (twice at Madison Square Garden, three times at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island).
Garrett, who has an extensive knowledge of Vegas entertainment, recalls Presley’s cocktail shows at the Hilton drew 2,000 and the dinner shows 1,500. Never an empty seat.
The Diamond performer saw Diamond himself in his five-show set at Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts in July ‘76. Garrett attended 17 Diamond times overall, including his final ticketed performance the Forum in Los Angeles in August 2017, and his final appearance singing in public at the 2020 Power of Love Gala at MGM Grand Garden.
Garrett has performed as Diamond for decades in Las Vegas. Catch his “King of Diamonds” show at Oyo’s Stand Up & Rock Showroom 9 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays. He knows the material.
Super Bowl connection
Impress your friends, or not, by knowing Barry Manilow is the link between the Westgate, the Super Bowl and the Raiders. The International Theater resident headliner sang the national anthem prior to the last Raiders’ Super Bowl victory, the Silver & Black’s 38-9 victory over Washington in Super Bowl XVIII at Tampa Stadium.
That was 41 short years ago, when “Owner of The Lonely Heart” by Yes was the No. 1 song in the country. The Raiders have been shut out since.
Magic! Magic, I tell you!
Westgate Cabaret headlining magician Jen Kramer and her fiancé, Dylan Jorgensen, are planning to hold their wedding at Westgate on Feb. 28, 2025. The couple were engaged on stage this past October at Magic Castle in Hollywood, with comic Whitney Cummings as stage assistant in an engagement-announcement act. Westgate CEO and General Manager Cami Christensen, who runs the whole show, is set to officiate.
Cool Hang Alert
International Bar is bubbling — bubbling, I tell you! — with great live bands and artists. Kelly Christian is 8-11 p.m. Monday, David & Derrick 8-11 p.m. Tuesday, Kelandy Diaz 8-11 p.m. Wednesday, High Octane 8:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Thursday, Blue String Theory 8:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Friday, and The Party 8:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Saturday. No cover; stage is just off the main entrance.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.