A funny thing happened on the way... And surprisingly comedian Joe Piscopo dropped most of the comedy schtick from his new act at the Hilton. This time in his Vegas act he sticks to singing the standards. So well in fact, that even he says, "This is the show I should have done twenty years ago. This is the dream come true." So well in fact is his impression of Frank Sinatra that the Rat Pack leader once referred to Joe as "The Vice Chairman of the Board." In previous Vegas appearances, Joe always let the jokes and comedy setups get in front of the songs but this time around you swear you're back in old-time Vegas! He's got a six-piece band of musicians led by Sinatra's former musical director Vincent Falcone and all people can say is, "the spirit of the great crooner is back in town!"



He still tells a few of the backstage comedy secrets of his nearly four-year-run on 'Saturday Night Live,' but this is now a bonanza of ballads for crooners. "It's the way Vegas used to be," says Joe. He originally planned to commute from his New Jersey home for his Sunday through Tuesday gigs in the Shimmer Cabaret at the Hilton but he's now seriously thinking about getting a home here! He and I have known each other for years so it was a very friendly casual chat in his very animated, can hardly finish a sentence, staccato style when we got to talking:


Robin Leach: How did the whole Hilton thing come about and why did you want to come to Vegas?

Joe Piscopo: I was working in Atlantic City and we were working this past summer and I approached my show in a different way. I stripped down like the big man himself and made it like a jazz set! Tap! And we were working it with the music and it just started to work great I seemed to find myself. It only took me 25 years. But this is the kind of show I've always wanted to do. I'm a slow learner, what can I say?

RL: You had it as all comedy and a little singing, now you have it as all singing and a little comedy.

JP: Actually it is about half and half. The base of the show is Frank Sinatra jazz based and then we do the comedy. The songs come first! So then the boss, Mr. Nick Ribis, who runs the Hilton here in Vegas, and the property in Atlantic City said "Piscopo, you are going to Vegas" and I went, "but ." I turned into Jerry Lewis and I said "Mr. Ribis I have children," and it was that quick and they put us there and they have 'Menopause' doing great. They stuck me in the frame and the room is great and so far we have just been having a blast.


RL: Do you get the sense that your new show is shades of old Vegas, which is sorely needed?

JP: Yes. That is exactly what we tried to do, and what everybody will see with the show. That's exactly what it was and I grew up on these guys, with Sammy Davis. I cannot even compare myself to these guys, but what Bobby Darin did. They would be out there doing an old joke talking to the audience, to playing the drums and instruments, to doing comedy, and then they turned it into a song. I just felt there was nothing like that in Vegas and I had to do it.

RL: Do you have any theory as to why Vegas lost that kind of entertainment, and why it still hungered for?

JP: That's a great question and I don't know. But I get in there and do the show and I am looking over, and I see a twenty something table of chicks right there and one night I took kids, 14 and 18 years old because you can bring the kids to my show, But these kids came over, and I said where are your parents, they said they are gambling, they didn't want to see the show, we wanted to see the show. I can't figure it out, but on all age ranges it is novel. What was old, is now new again.

RL: So, what is you own favorite moment in the show?

JP: That is a good question. You know what I dig? We do the comedy in the Shimmer Cabaret and there is a great role for comedy but there are times when I strip it down bare and working hard for the past couple of years, working with Frank Sinatra all of those years, and when he and I did ballads, just he and I. I talked to Barry Manilow and his show at the Hilton is just spectacular. And when Barry comes out and he does "Are You Lonesome Tonight,' that Elvis song, and I pinspot Barry and I said "Barry that was great ,"and he said it really works without a net. Isn't that appropriate? Without a net! It's bare. It's raw. There are no trapeze artists, no production number, it is just you and the piano and this is Vegas, just the way it was always meant to be. Work live and put your entire life on the edge every night.


RL: When were you last here?

JP: About a year and a half ago. I was supposed to come in to another property and do a three day run at the Orleans, and I was supposed to do something else, but Mr. Ribis said "we want you to stay out here," and it isn't something I ever considered. I have small children. At my age I should be embarrassed. My goal is to be the Anthony Quinn of New Jersey. I want to have a child at every exit on the turnpike! I love kids and d the kids have been doing so well, that I think I will bring the kids out with me, and all the girls who are in the 'Menopause' show, they all have children. My life is like a dichotomy, I am living the Rat Pack dream on one side, and I am having a ball working in Vegas, then I go home and I am dork dad.

RL: Home is in New Jersey. So are you commuting at the moment?

JP: I am commuting at the moment. Sunday through Tuesday is what we work. Then I decompress on Wednesdays and then I'll hop home on Thursday and this is the first weekend that I said I am going to stay here and get around town a little bit. It is a great community, the beautiful Sterling Club, it is the best in the world out here, and the community is nice and I want to try to entrench myself in the community out of respect for the locals. Vegas has become a huge community in itself, it is not just the tourists, the local market is huge. It is very similar to Atlantic City and it is the locals in Atlantic City and in Vegas that really are a prime audience.


RL: Now, going back to the joke of Anthony Quinn and having kids at every age, how many kids do you have and how many marriages?

JP: Well, it is a couple marriages and again you want to read my new book, 'Too Many Wives, Not Enough Children.' I have three small children, and a big boy, 67 and retired. I am a Jersey guy. We will stay there, but occasionally I will take them with me. When we were with Don Rickles, I took the kids with me, we had a ball. We all went up to Foxwoods in Connecticut and what a kick it was to see. Business is great and the business we chose is great. I am watching my two year old and my seven year old and my four year old backstage. I had the early show so I kept them up to see Don Rickles, one of the great masters of comedy. They were backstage and my little four year old moves and opens the scrim, and I have a shot of my kids watching him on stage and this is them understanding the impact of live entertainment. So I will take them with me whenever I can.

RL: So, they will be out here for a bit?

JP: They will. You got to do it and I will take them around.

RL: Now, would you ever marry another babysitter? If you are brining the kids out here for a while you have to find a girl to look after them.

JP: No, nannies only, 75 and older, this is my trick I have learned. I said never again, I got to watch what I say, but would I ever? No.

(His second wife, Kimberly made headlines last summer when both spouses alleged domestic abuse and won restraining orders but it was Joe who received custody of the couple's three children.)

RL: Twenty years with the babysitter! Congrats on lasting that long to start with. But it was longer than the first marriage.

JP: My friend calls me a serial monogamist. The first marriage was 12 years and I said, you know what you are right. Right now, I am concentrating on work. I am a slow learner. We are doing a film this year Robin. It is called 'Joey Benefit.' I do a lot of charity work and my friends call me Joey Benefit back in Jersey. I can't say no. You got a charity I got a tuxedo, I come early, and I stay late. So we are doing a film and I got to concentrate on some things I should have done a long time ago. Yeah we are working on a little bit of everything including a TV show but I am telling you, my friend that I have known for so many years, You go to the most beautiful places in the world. I am a Jersey guy, but there is something about Las Vegas. There is so much going on, and the work ethic of the locals, is second to none. I see how they do it here at the Hilton with the lights and the props and these guys work hard. We are in a service industry, which we are a part of whether you are on stage or you are doing lights, or waiting tables. I have no complaints. I come from the whine, bitch and moan generation. If you are a TV star you always go to the trailer. In Vegas people show up, they work and they are happy to do it. There is always a smile. I am having a great time.


RL: So, it is an added bonus that you are single again?

JP: I guess. I have to decompress. I lead with my heart and it gets crushed so easily, so maybe Robin, you could mentor me. I go out and I am dork dad on the dating scene. It is not easy. I lead with my heart and if my kids are OK, I'm OK. There doesn't seem to be much romance left, everything is like... straight to the action. We are tested so easily these days. The days of wine and roses are long gone and I am such a romantic. You know what you have got to keep smiling.

RL: How long is your run scheduled for?

JP: We are going for six weeks. They wanted me to stay for a while. Then I got to go back and do the Joey Benefit film. After that we can always take a look and see what happens. I have to get back and do that though. I dig staying here and once I get the kids out here, I will really feel settled. Time will tell Robin. So far it has been a great experience. It has been ring a ding. It is a cuckoo town. The Hilton is wonderful and it was one of the first places I ever played. I am home. I am in a beautiful suite and my kids think it's better than a house. For them everything is a phone call away and the housekeeper give us clean towels and sheets every day without us doing the laundry! They think this is the life!

PURE AT THE PYRAMID

The success of PURE at Caesars Palace and its management group, now stretching as far afield as Miami and The Bahamas and its new Lucky Strike Lanes at the Rio, is also about to explode at the Luxor. PURE has blossomed into a nightclub and dining company that attracts such celebrity investors as Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Celine Dion, and Shaquille O'Neal, So, no surprise Christina Aguilera, Wilma Valderama, Nick Lachey and Nicky Hilton (seen above) are joining together as investors in the 702 Aspen steakhouse and the LAX nightclub to be opened later this year at the Luxor.


Meantime, PURE and its its sister club Tangerine and Social House restaurant complex at Treasure Island remains a Mecca for visiting stars. Comedy actor Jamie Kennedy (seen above with Michael Madsen) stopped in for Kobe burgers and assorted sushi rolls with funny man Jeff Beacher. Later down the Strip at PURE, Jamie ran into actor Michael Madsen, and former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Joey Porter. To promote his upcoming movie 'Kickin' It Old Skool' Jamie dressed as an '80s break dancer in red bandana, sleeveless red t-shirt with black mesh undershirt and fingerless leather gloves. Celebrating the completion of his second book, Madsen hosted his official book signing party, mingling and signing books for fans. Next night, Madsen hit Social House and Tangerine and first dined on Hokkaido sea scallops and Yellowtail Jalapeno in the newspaper room and then held his second book signing in 24-hours! Singer/songwriter Kenny Loggins entertained privately at PURE for a Sony Electronics party singing his hits 'Heart to Heart,' 'This Is It,' 'Danny's Song' and 'I'm Alright.'

TRIPLE 7'S

When it comes to luck superstitions play an important role and with the unique date July 7, 2007 fast approaching the Ritz-Carlton out at Lake Las Vegas is debuting two extraordinary packages for guests who love to play by those numbers! The price for the first package, "Seven Ways of Wonderment" will be $7,707. The second package, "Savory Sensations of Seven" begins at just $777. They went on sale this past weekend and will run for exactly seven months through to the end of September. "Seven Ways of Wonderment" at $7,707 includes accommodations in The Ritz-Carlton Club Level suite on the 7th floor, a Tour of Hoover Dam, one of the seven wonders of the world, seven hours of treatments at The Ritz-Carlton Spa for two, a seven-course dinner with wine pairings at the hotel's restaurant, Medici Cafe and Terrace where Elizabeth Taylor celebrated her 75th birthday last week, 7AM tee time for two players at either Reflection Bay or The Falls Golf Club at Lake Las Vegas, a 777 shopping spree at Neiman Marcus, a $777 line of credit at MonteLago Casino, a 7-Sisters Constellation Stargazing and night-time picnic and a 7-themed breakfast for two. You just know somebody is going to bet all the 7's!

STRIP SCRIBBLES
David Hasselhoff, threw off his 'Producers' show high-heels and gown to go same-night club- partying and nonstop dancing at both PURE in Caesars Palace and Tryst in Wynn. ... New Penthouse Pet of the Year, Heather Vandeven danced till dawn at Tangerine in TI while upstairs actor Taye Diggs dined at Social House on mini Kobe burgers and a selection of sushi rolls with cold sake. ... Coyote Ugly customers at New York New York went wild when Playboy playmate Marketa Janska turned up with buddy bunny Jessica Hall. The girls stayed till 3AM and Marketa got on the bar, as is Coyote tradition, danced and threw t-shirts to the party revelers!

TONIGHT'S TIP
Las Vegas Motor Speedway officially opens its brand new Neon Garage with roof deck observation glass just in time for fans to peek down at the star drivers and their crews priming their engines for NASCAR weekend. Click here for Monday's LUXE LIFE which detailed all the track improvements. ... Democratic Party mastermind Terry McAuliffe takes a break from the Nation's Capital and planning the 2008 election strategy to host an autograph session for his new book 'What a Party' at Spago in the Forum Shops of Caesars. Our friends at Vegas Magazine, Michael Carr and Jason Binn join with Myra and Brian Greenspun for the book's publication, which is subtitled 'My Life Among Democrats: Presidents, Candidates, Donors, Activists, Alligators and other Wild Animals,' which basically sums up perfectly what most people think of the political process in D.C.!

TOMORROW'S TEASE
After months of fevered anticipation Monty Python's 'Spamalot' musical opens in previews at its new Wynn Theater. LUXE LIFE reprises the close up, advance look with Python comic and creator Eric Idle, hotel tycoon Steve Wynn and 'Seinfeld' actor John O'Hurley, who plays King Arthur. Plus George Maloof's Palms is the first to leap ahead of the pack and declare Spring is here as he opens the three-acre sprawling entertainment pool complex!

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