Maybe it was the moment Celine Dion paced gracefully to the stage to join Andrea Bocelli for “The Prayer” that sent chills through MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Or maybe it was the delivery of a dessert modeled after the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, all of it edible, that seemed to be as intricately designed and constructed as the center itself.
Or maybe it was during the event’s after-party, when Siegfried & Roy were presented a giant cake on the event of Siegfried’s 75th birthday. Meanwhile, a troupe of acrobats bounded on a two-tiered trampoline apparatus as dignitaries such as Quincy Jones, Ruvo Clinic chief Dr. Jeffrey Cummings and “The Sopranos” star Steve Schirripa waded through the crowd.
Whichever, this was a customarily Las Vegas-fashioned event, the style and scope of which happens only here. A festival of love, philanthropy and opulence, the 19th annual Keep Memory Alive “Power of Love” gala played out Saturday night at MGM Grand Garden Arena.
The event once more drew huge support from Las Vegas — and beyond — and raised several million dollars in the refashioned ballroom at Grand Garden Arena. The gala’s official numbers won’t be tallied until after organizers shake the cobwebs after this fine night of fine dining and fine entertainment.
The Dion-Bocelli duet finished off the night, which began with speeches from Ruvo Center founder Larry Ruvo and his wife, Camille. In his remarks to the audience, Larry praised Philanthropic Community Leadership Award recipient Peter Bernhard, a Las Vegas resident since the early 1950s who was the first Clark County School District grad to be admitted to Harvard.
Bernhard was chairman of the Nevada State Gaming Commission, where he oversaw the mergers of MGM Grand-Mandalay Bay and Caesars Palace-Bally’s resort companies, and is currently a member of the law firm Kaempfer Crowell.
The night of entertainment was backed by a 60-piece orchestra (because 59 is not enough and 61 too many) and peppered with stars, starting with Gloria Estefan, who performed “Coming Out of the Dark” and was joined by Martina McBride for “In My Daughter’s Eyes.”
From there, it was Robin Thicke (“Magic” and “When I Get You Alone”) and George Benson (“Masquerade”). Bocelli drew the requisite standing ovations even before Dion was introduced, blanketing the arena with “Con te Partiro” and the Elvis classic “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”
Chef Giada De Laurentiis principally supplied the culinary artistry, leading the crew from Wolfgang Puck in feeding these hundreds of guests.
For all the extravagance, know that the “Power of Love” gala always reaches to exceed the previous year’s event, and next year is its 20th anniversary. I asked Larry what he would do to top Saturday night’s event. He smiled and said, “Let’s get through the 19th first, then talk about next year.”
Fair enough. More notes from the Splendor at the Garden (and please check back later for more photos from the evening):
• Siegfried & Roy turned up to once again support Ruvo and the event. The two were honored with a send-off performance in 2009 at Bellagio, appearing onstage at the Mirage with the big cat Mantecore. Roy walked the red carpet with some aid from his longtime partner to pose for photos.
The night marked Siegfried’s 75th birthday, and he is still in great condition. Just off the carpet, he shared his secret for maintaining his youthful vigor: “Remain active, enjoy what you have, and don’t worry about what you do not have.”
• Bocelli said one of his vocalist heroes has been Frank Sinatra. “He has been an inspiration for my entire life,” Bocelli said on the red carpet. “I have always loved singing Frank Sinatra songs. They are genuine because he was genuine and have great feeling.”
Among his favorites: “That’s Life” and “New York, New York,” the latter of which he performed during his most recent appearance at Grand Garden Arena in December.
• “Casino” is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. One of the movie’s enduring characters is Ginger McKenna, wife of casino mogul and mob overlord “Ace” Rothstein, played by Robert De Niro, the character based on Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal.
“It’s amazing that it has been 20 years because that movie is still so fresh to me,” Sharon Stone, who portrayed McKenna in “Casino,” said on the carpet. “I feel that any time you are making a Martin Scorsese movie, there is the likelihood it will have a long legacy and be remembered over generations. I feel that when we were making ‘Casino,’ we felt that was the case. We knew we were making a great movie.”
• Quincy Jones, the 2013 KMA honoree alongside Sir Michael Caine, was wearing the pinky ring given to him by Sinatra, whom he recorded at the Sands in 1964 for the “Sinatra at the Sands” album. “What Frank always said to me was, ‘Live every day like it’s your last because one day you will be right,’ ” Jones said chuckling. “That’s what I learned from Frank Sinatra.”
• “The Sopranos” star and former Riviera entertainment director Steve Schirripa (whose acting career was sparked by his bartender role in “Casino”) drove past his former hotel of employ during his visit to town for the event. “It was kind of bittersweet remembering the times there,” he said. “It has a lot of nostalgia for us.” The “us” are Schirripa and his wife, Laura, married at the hotel on April 22, 1989, with their reception at the Top of the Riv. Schirripa worked at the Riviera in either a full-time or consultant capacity from May 4, 1989 (29 years to the day before the hotel closed) until 2010.
Through most of his tenure, Schirripa was allowed to book whomever whenever he liked as a river of molten gold seemed to run right rough Le Bistro Lounge (where Lon Bronson got his start as a locals’ fave) to Versailles Theater (home of Jeff Kutash’s aquatic masterpiece “Splash”).
“When I started there, it was really one of the nicest hotels on the Strip,” Schirripa said. “No other hotel would have allowed me to do what I did at the Riv.” Those who yearn for the glory era of Las Vegas, know that in the Schirripa era, the city was far more likely to subsidize entertainment than it is today. By the mid-1990s, Schirripa’s annual lounge budget — just to book acts for free performances — was $2 million.
Schirripa’s latest TV effort is as co-star of “The Secret Life of an American Teenager” on ABC Family. His latest food-related effort is Uncle Steve’s Italian Specialties, a line of organic vegan pasta sauces. As they say, dig in.
• Bernie Yuman was the sidekick of Matt Goss at the event, promising that Goss’s new expanded schedule at the Gossy Room in Caesars Palace was “just the infancy” of a greater hold on the Strip. He mentioned a larger venue in Caesars Entertainment, which has become an oft-discussed goal of Goss as he plans to move to Las Vegas as his new residency (Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays) launches June 23.
Yuman also is co-producer of “On Your Feet!” The musical based on the lives and careers of Gloria and Emilio Estefan, KMA honorees last year, is being staged in Chicago through July 5 in advance of a run at Marquis Theater on Broadway beginning with previews Oct. 5 and its premiere Nov. 5. Originally, about five to six years ago, the show was expected to play Tropicana, and Yuman still says “‘On Your Feet!’ will have an extended run in Las Vegas.”
When I asked if that run would be a touring version of the show booked at the Smith Center, Yuman repeated his original statement and added, “I have a great deal of respect for what (Smith Center President) Myron Martin and the people at the Smith Center have brought to this community.”
• Here is something I never thought I would say to Suzanne Somers: “Thanks for the Thighmaster.”
“Did you get the one that vibrates?” she asked.
“I think so,” I said.
The product made famous on Somers’ long-ago, late-night infomercial campaign was delivered last week as a token of thanks and goodwill as Somers opened her “Suzanne Sizzles” shows at Westgate Cabaret in May.
Somers said she is happy with the response of audiences at the cabaret-fashioned performances, saying, “We’re getting standing ovations every night, sometimes three or four standing ovations, and that has been very gratifying.” Word of mouth about the show has been strong, and Somers should benefit from solid return business.
Up next is a major marketing push over late summer and into fall with Somers’ familiar face and figure gracing billboards in town. Her objective is to return audiences to genuine nightclub-style entertainment and away from the heavily produced shows that have come to permeate the Strip.
As Somers said: “Those shows are great, but we want people to have a more intimate experience, and that’s why I wanted this (Westgate Cabaret) room and not the big theater.”
• On the topic of billboards … “Pin Up” star Claire Sinclair has lived in Las Vegas for more than two years, moving here when the show opened in March 2013. We met in October 2010, when she was that month’s Playboy Playmate and was a guest star in “Crazy Horse Paris” at MGM Grand.
She was just 19 then, allowed to perform a burlesque-themed act in the show but not allowed to hang out at the bar or casino afterward. Having just turned 24 on May 25, Sinclair has grown to love Las Vegas.
“It’s been amazing to see everything that has happened in downtown Las Vegas, with Life Is Beautiful and what (event founder) Rehan Choudhry has brought to downtown,” she said. “We just had Rock in Rio, we’ve had a lot of energy just in the time I’ve lived here. I feel like I really am part of the community.”
• Holly Madison didn’t quite walk the red carpet but caused a stir just by standing a few feet away. Her husband, Insomniac and EDC founder Pasquale Rotella (who is sporting a healthy beard these days), joined her.
There’s been an uptick of Madison sightings recently as she preps for a promotional effort for her upcoming book “Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny,” recounting her days at the Playboy Mansion. The release date is June 23.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.
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