Mark Davis meets the Stones, says Allegiant ‘absolutely’ can host galas
Just before Friday’s Power of Love gala, Larry Ruvo was asked about the next one.
“We’re trying to get to 100,000,” Ruvo said. “We’re going to overbook Allegiant Stadium.”
Hah! Good one. But wait. This could happen.
Allegiant Stadium is already home to the annual Grant A Gift Autism Foundation event, which is spread across the stadium floor. About 850 people took part in the most recent Grant A Gift gala; Power of Love drew about 1,500 to MGM Grand Garden.
Raiders owner Mark Davis says the Power of Love event “absolutely” could be held at Allegiant.
“We’re actually looking at doing our Raiders’ event next year at Allegiant,” Davis said. “We don’t want to just add another gala to the calendar for the sake of having a gala. But there is no better gala than Larry’s. We’d love to host either one of them.”
Having closed its 27th event, Power of Love is coveted by multiple venues, including MGM Grand.
Another Davis opportunity arose during my red-carpet chat with Maria Shriver. The broadcast icon and philanthropic trailblazer has founded the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement Prevention and Research Center at Cleveland Clinic. She is also the lead strategic advisor of the new Women’s Comprehensive Health and Research Center.
Shriver was asked about the possibility of partnering with the Aces to advance the women’s health effort in Las Vegas and nationwide.
“That is a great idea,” Shriver said. “The Cleveland Clinic has really put its flag down and said, ‘We really want to be a premier place when it comes to women’s neurological health.’ Women’s health in general is having a moment right now. We’re making up for lost time.”
Davis is a Keep Memory Alive board member, a helpful position in this conversation.
“I love it,” Davis said. “It brings everything together, all the partnerships. I think our Aces players would be amazing ambassadors.”
Start him up
On the topic of Davis, he checked off a bucket-list item by meeting the Rolling Stones on Saturday night.
“I’d seen them perform, but never met them,” Davis said. “When Mick (Jagger) came up in a golf cart, I got pretty excited. I talked a lot with Keith Richards, ’cuz I’m such a guitar freak. But I got to hug them, and thank them for bringing the blues back to Vegas.”
Wilson posts up
On the topic of the Aces, A’ja Wilson was an unbilled contributor to Cedric the Entertainer and Toni Braxton’s “Love & Laughter” show at the Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan on Sunday night.
Cedric takes the stage for a brief interview during the recurring production.
The Entertainer asked about a friend of his, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, Wilson’s coach during her title run with the Gamecocks.
“There’s nothing more powerful than a woman who looks like you being so successful,” Wilson said. “It gives you a vision. If you see her, you can be her.”
Wilson plugged her new A’One Nike shoe, due in spring 2025. The star forward said she was “ready ready” for the season to start.
“We open Tuesday, and it’s ring night,” Wilson said, noting that the team receives its WNBA championship rings prior to its opener against the Phoenix Mercury at Michelob Ultra Arena. She and Cedric talked of her upcoming spot on the U.S. Olympic team.
The Entertainer asked Wilson about her medals and rings.
“I have one gold medal, and two WNBA championships,” Wilson said.
“It’s gettin’ reaaaal icy right now!” Cedric said. Wilson laughed and called out, “For sure!”
The @_ajawilson22 moment w/ @CedEntertainer @ #LoveandLaughter show @Cosmopolitan_LV … @reviewjournal pic.twitter.com/SrnXKCZjQG
— John Katsilometes (@johnnykats) May 13, 2024
Stones, Timberlake redux
For all the excitement of the Stones and Justin Timberlake performances, neither show sold out. Dozens of standing-room only general admission tickets at the front of the stage for the Stones at Allegiant Stadium were being offered for $450 on Ticketmaster at showtime.
A few seats in the first 20 rows in the floor were going for $670, down from $900. Rear general admission were going for a comparably reasonable $143 a pop.
We also received complaints of sound distortion in the upper section, especially for opening act The Pretty Reckless. The sound downstairs, known as the front-of-house-mix, was fine. The touring tech crew used only a few of the house speakers, filling with its own system. Again, the quality of sound at Allegiant Stadium largely depends on the tour’s own tech team. The results are inconsistent.
Timberlake’s shows at T-Mobile, which were really well received, wound up on seat-filler sites. Hundreds of seats were being offered at showtime at a 60-percent discount. This is in large part because of the saturation of shows in Las Vegas this past weekend (or any weekend). Even Jagger mentioned this Las Vegas entertainment trait during Saturday’s show, with Donny Osmond, Carlos Santana and Timberlake as his now-famous examples.
Cool Hang Alert
The Jazz Outreach Initiative (JOI) Jazz Orchestra performs its “Jubilee Celebration” on Wednesday at Notoriety Live. The program begins 5-6:30 p.m. with a “Midnight Muse: Milestones in Music” film discussion, a cocktail reception from 6:30-7:15 p.m.; the JOI show from 7:30-9 p.m., featuring Clint Holmes, Marlene Ricci, Toscha Comeaux and Gary Fowler. E-mail info@chiccompass.com for ticket info; go to forgottensongfoundation.org for intel about this terrific nonprofit organization.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.