Big names returning to Venetian

Wayne Brady will return to The Venetian, but not before Chazz Palminteri and Joan Rivers.

Brady was the anchor tenant for the 742-seat Venetian Showroom last year and was carving out success on the Strip even before CBS announced he would host the "Let’s Make a Deal" reboot, which tapes at the Tropicana.

The national exposure sounded like nothing but good news for the live show. But Brady quit performing it just before "Deal" commenced last fall, citing vocal strain.

Now the show’s co-producer, Scott Zeiger, confirms Brady will return Memorial Day weekend and perform 15 weeks scattered through the rest of the year, presumably working around the taping schedule of "Deal."

Brady is produced by Zeiger’s Base Entertainment. Other acts are booked in-house by The Venetian.

Palminteri performs his autobiographical one-man play "A Bronx Tale" April 28-May 9, and Oct. 6-18. Last fall, his Las Vegas debut came at the end of a long tour. This year, fans won’t be able to see him do this anywhere else.

The Venetian also hosts return dates by Joan Rivers in April and is close to announcing another high-profile comedian who has played elsewhere on the Strip. …

The Las Vegas Walk of Stars will install sidewalk tributes to Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin in ceremonies at 1 p.m. Monday in the Flamingo showroom. Deana Martin will speak on behalf of her father.

Those who rightfully ask tough questions about the Walk of Stars project might wonder why these Las Vegas legends get their stars after Tony Sacca and Wayne Allyn Root? The answer: The latter were paid for by the recipients themselves, while the Sinatra and Martin families didn’t see the need.

So the Walk is financing these two stars on its own dime, and it already has paid off in publicity — if a brief in USA Today counts for anything. Which begs the question: Wouldn’t these two stars have made a fine way to launch the project and its credibility in the first place?

The organization is back to its old ways when it installs a Frank Marino star on Feb. 25. Nothing wrong with honoring the durable female impersonator … except that he already has one. Does he really need two?

"They’re like earrings honey. If you don’t have a second one … ." More seriously, he explains that one honors him for being an entertainer and the other as a "Las Vegas icon."

He expects that will ruffle some feathers and he sounded kind of happy about it. …

The Pussycat Dolls are pulling out of their annex of Pure nightclub inside Caesars Palace on Feb. 27, thus driving the final stake into the heart of the burlesque revival that at one point included four nightclubs.

A news release says Pure Management Group plans to replace the room with "a venue where music and technology will intersect."

The timing is odd, considering Dolls founder Robin Antin is moving crooner Matt Goss into the nearby Cleopatra’s Barge at Caesars. And the club was ahead of the curve, opening in April 2005 before Antin made pop stars of the original Dolls.

The consolation prize: Neo-burlesque star Dita Von Teese returns to headline the MGM Grand’s Crazy Horse Paris March 31 through April 7. The articulate performer attracted press attention that was perhaps out of proportion to what she ended up doing in the revue when she guested two years ago. …

Finally, the writing teachers always told us to make each word count. A case in point is a recent descriptive for "Sandy Hackett’s Rat Pack Show," citing "killer director Billy Karl."

Rival producer Dick Feeney went through the roof. As R-J columnist Norm Clarke recently chronicled, Feeney went to the police after discovering an e-mail in which he claims Karl threatened him and his family.

Feeney sent a pointed note to Hackett’s publicist and protested the news release in a letter to the Sahara, which distanced itself and cited neutrality in the legal battle between Feeney and his former partner Hackett.

So was Hackett just trying to stir the pot and tweak his former partner? He issues this nondenial: "My official comment is that I’m not going to dignify anything Dick Feeney has to say with a response."

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.