Celebrities in L.V.: Bruno Mars, John Fogerty, NASCAR, Bill Maher, Bill Engvall, Night Ranger, Survivor
The Entertainment Capital of the World epicenter is the 3-mile center stretch of the Las Vegas Strip, but this weekend the action and excitement, except for Bruno Mars at Monte Carlo, moves 15 miles northeast as 100,000 NASCAR fans settle in for three days of high-speed thrills.
The anticipation began Thursday with The Haulers Parade along Las Vegas Boulevard as thousands of fans packed sidewalks to see the racecar trucks. Our thanks to contributing photographer Tom Donoghue for his photo gallery.
Actually, NASCAR exhilaration began Wednesday with the announcement that Las Vegas will get a second race starting September 2018 and continued Thursday when our hometown hero Kurt Busch, this year’s kickoff Daytona 500 winner, was inducted into his Durango High School Hall of Fame. Our thanks to Sam Morris of Las Vegas News Bureau for his coverage.
As Kurt told us in our Q+A posted Thursday, he’s looking for his first win at his hometown Las Vegas Motor Speedway track. It’s a star-studded weekend at the 1,200-acre complex of motorsports with 1.5-mile superspeedway, half-mile dirt oval, 2.5-mile road course, Go-Kart tracks and drag strip.
Our preview posted Thursday has The Royal Robin Rundown of entertainment with John Fogerty as grand marshal, Night Ranger performing the national anthem and “Raiding the Rock Vault” with a pre-race set, plus Crowne Avenue, Sin City 4, The Scotty Alexander Band and The Sylvia St. James Gospel Choir performing at Neon Garage.
Now that he’s retired and a NASCAR team co-owner, Tony Stewart got to enjoy Las Vegas from a different perspective. He’s with girlfriend model-actress Penelope Jimenez, and they attended “Absinthe” at Caesars Palace on Wednesday, where they posed with The Gazillionaire, Wanda Widdles and Melody Sweets post-show.
For non-race fans who want to stay on or near the Strip, we have Bruno headlining at the new Park Theater. Basketball fans unable to wait for the official start of March Madness next Thursday can enjoy The Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament at T-Mobile Arena, Mountain West Championships at The Thomas & Mack Center and Western Athletic Conference Basketball Tournament at The Orleans Arena.
Don’t forget that at 2 a.m. Sunday, daylight-savings time goes into effect. Remember to set your clocks and watches one hour ahead before bedtime. You don’t want to show up an hour late for Sunday’s big NASCAR race! Let’s rev our engines, drop the checkered flag and put pedal to the metal for this weekly preview we affectionately dub The Royal Robin Rundown:
FRIDAY, MARCH 10
MUSIC
John Fogerty is at Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas for two nights.
Billy Idol is at House of Blues at Mandalay Bay all weekend.
The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band is at The Orleans Showroom for two nights.
Charlie Wilson, Fantasia and Johnny Gill are at MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Jarrod Spector and Kelli Barrett are at The Martin Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts for two nights.
LV Retro Vibes with Las Vegas singer-songwriter Chadwick Johnson is at Rocks Lounge at Red Rock Resort.
The Marshall Tucker Band is at Golden Nugget Showroom.
Master of Puppets is at Vinyl at The Hard Rock Hotel.
Next Movement is at Aliante.
Shawn South and Cat Daddy are at Cannery for two nights.
Nitro is at The Orleans Lounge for two nights.
The Mickey Utley Band is at Sam’s Town for two nights.
COMEDY
Bill Engvall is at T.I.
Bill Maher is at The Mirage.
OF SPECIAL NOTE
Tickets are on sale for Rancid and Dropkick Murphys at Downtown Las Vegas Events Center on Aug. 25 and Depeche Mode at T-Mobile on Sept. 30.
“Shen Yun” is at The Smith Center.
NASCAR is at LVMS all weekend.
Pac-12 Tournament is at T-Mobile for two days.
MWC Tournament is at The Thomas & Mack for two days.
WAC Tournament is at The Orleans Arena for two days.
The Galleria at Sunset celebrates its 21st birthday with monthlong events.
Queen Bee Market is at The Conference Center of Las Vegas.
Ring of Honor Wrestling’s 15th anniversary is at Sam’s Town for two days.
Tuff-N-Uff is at DLVEC.
PARTY PATROL
Stafford Brothers are at Encore Beach Club.
Australian DJ Brooke Evers is at Crazy Horse III Gentlemen’s Club.
Adam is at The Dorsey at The Venetian.
DJ Mustard is at Marquee at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
DJ Exile is at nearby Bond for two nights.
SATURDAY, MARCH 11
MUSIC
Bruno Mars is at Park Theater for two night.
Foreigner is at Primm Valley.
George Thorogood & The Destroyers is at Pearl at The Palms.
“Raiding the Rock Vault” is at Vinyl.
Brass Transit is at Suncoast for two nights.
Lou Gramm is at Aliante.
Mark OToole is at Green Valley Ranch.
Night Ranger and Survivor are at Fremont Street Experience.
Portugal The Man is at Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas at The Linq Promenade.
Sons of Serendip is at UNLV.
OF SPECIAL NOTE
Run Away With Cirque du Soleil’s 5K run and 1-mile walk is at Springs Preserve.
The 8th Annual St. Baldrick’s Day shave-a-thon is at Nine Fine Irishmen on The Brooklyn Bridge at New York-New York in the fight against childhood cancer. Celebrities include Terry Fator, “Absinthe,” Tenors of Rock, Mark Shunock, “Magic Mike Live,” Thunder From Down Under, Chippendales, “Fantasy,” plus our own RJ man-about-town John Katsilometes at 2 p.m. under the thumb of burlesque queen Melody Sweets’ scissors.
Knockout Night boxing is at The D Las Vegas.
The 28th Annual Splendor in the Glass is at Red Rock Resort.
Championship Bull Riding “Tuff Hedeman Vegas Shootout” is at South Point.
Make-a-Wish Southern Nevada Annual Walk for Wishes is at Town Square.
The 4th Annual Whiskey Revival Grand Tasting is at Golden Nugget Ballroom.
Aladdin’s March Magic is at Neon Museum.
The Shade Tree Hero Walk 5K Fun Run or Walk is at Llama Lot at 9th and Fremont.
Xcycle Las Vegas hosts Ride to Benefit The Patrick Kelley Youth Foundation.
PARTY PATROL
Kaskade celebrates the 2nd anniversary of Omnia at Caesars Palace.
DJ Que is at The Dorsey.
Timmy Trumpet is at Marquee Dayclub Dome.
SUNDAY, MARCH 12
MUSIC
Tribal Seeds is at BBLV.
UFO and Saxon are at HOB.
Chris Zemba and The Late Shift Band are at Sam’s Town.
OF SPECIAL NOTE
Supporters are gathering to reveal to Zariyah Walls, 3, that her Make-a-Wish to visit Disney World is coming true. At 16 months, Zariyah was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder that leaves her defenseless against infections and requires monthly infusions. Zariyah will be greeted by execs at FSE, which is hosting her wish and will feature Zariyah on the Viva Vision canopy.
Step Up Academy of the Arts will surprise Zariyah with a flash dance to her favorite song, “Juju on That Beat,” and showgirls Kelly and Hope from Best Agency, wearing Zariyah’s favorite color, purple, will take photos with her. Cheer on Zariyah at 6:45 p.m. at 1st Street canopy.
Singer-impressionist and actor David de Alba (Finocchio’s Club) stars in his tribute to Judy Garland at MVIG Cultural Arts Center at Boulevard Mall.
PARTY PATROL
It’s the 3rd birthday party for Ozzie, the only painting giraffe in Nevada, and the 32 lions at Lion Habitat Ranch near The M Resort will roar birthday wishes.
Dillon Francis spins at EBC.
DJ Conrad is at The Dorsey.
Ghastly (Drenched After Dark) is at Marquee Dayclub Dome.
DJ Zsuzsanna is at Bond.
We’re in Sunday Life of The RJ with our pre-race Q+A with Kurt Busch and rundown of the new summer pool season opening this weekend, plus Terry Fator previews the start of his eighth year at The Mirage introducing his Sir Elton John doll.
Enjoy the great weather for this NASCAR Weekend, and let’s wish Kurt good luck for his first hometown win!