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Did Michael Jackson, a master of disguises, recruit a double as a diversion during last week's media invasion?Lane Lassiter, a longtime local Jackson impersonator, has a hunch that's what Jackson's handlers had in mind when they met with him recently.Lassiter met backstage with Jackson's representatives about two weeks ago. He was asked if he would be available for an unspecified job."They came upstairs after the show and said they liked the picture I sent them," said Lassiter. He found it unusual that they didn't attend the show."They didn't tell me any more than I needed to know," said Lassiter, a 12-year veteran of the Riviera's "An Evening at La Cage."A Jackson impersonator since 1979, Lassiter, a 43-year-old father of two, claims he was the lone Jackson act who wasn't axed in Las Vegas 10 years ago when Jackson was in the middle of another child molestation scandal.The existence of a double has been suspected since TV coverage captured His Weirdness up to something at the Henderson Executive Airport on the day of his return from Santa Barbara. With blankets held up to block the view, Jackson was seen getting in and out of a vehicle and going back into the plane. Seconds later someone who appeared to be Jackson came out the plane door and got back into the car.Suspicious minds believe that a double came out of the plane and was in the car that went on the circuitous three-hour route to Green Valley Ranch. That bit of chicanery would have allowed the real Jackson to be spirited off to another location.Dr. VegasCBS has an hour-long drama set in Las Vegas planned about a casino house doctor.According to Variety, the concept is loosely based on "Dr. Fink," a longtime house doctor at Caesars Palace.The leading man will be "a good-looking guy who's caring, smart and has a little bit of a wild side," director-writer John Herzfeld told Variety.The Scene and HeardBig Mona at KWID-FM 102 is threatening to open a can of whup-ass on this reporter and deejay Craig Williams of KOMP-FM 92.3. She is taking issue with Williams' account of a KOMP stunt last Saturday. Williams had a KOMP regular named "Brain Dead" driven around town, waving out a window, ala "Jacko," from under a blanket. Williams claimed a KWID staffer got punked by the prank. Didn't happen, says Big Mona. ...The Celebrity Poker Showdown, filmed at the Palms last month and featuring Ben Affleck, begins airing on Bravo Tuesday as part of a six-part, one-hour series. ...Bernie Yuman, longtime Siegfried & Roy manager, has added Jimmy Hopper of the Bellagio's Fontana Room to his stable of entertainers. ...The local chef community is raising eyebrows over the recent mass mailing of $25 discount certificates by a hip restaurant that recently won major acclaim. Those mass mailings are usually a bad sign.May I recommend ...The fabled cream corn at Piero's Italian Cuisine is the creme de la creme of holiday side dishes.The Punch Line"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way -- things I had no words for." -- Georgia O'Keeffe, on painting.You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login
An Evening at La Cage' CLOSES ABRUPTLY AFTER 24-YEAR RUN At THE RIVIERA in VEGAS!The cast of “An Evening at La Cage” was informed Monday that the show was closing effective immediately, after a 24-year run at the Riviera.Headliner Frank Marino said producer Norbert Aleman told the cast of 15 after Monday's show that “because of the economy, he needed to take a break.”Marino said attendance “kept just getting worse and I guess you have to stop the bleeding. It became very expensive to run a show as big as 'La Cage.' “The cast included Crystal Woods as Diana Ross, Jimmy Henderson as Marino's understudy, Lane Lassiter as Michael Jackson, Steven Wayne as Cher, Kenneth Blake as Madonna, Ryan Zink as Reba McEntire, and Brent Allen as Bette Midler.“La Cage,” which opened Sept. 1985, was the fourth longest-running show on the Strip. “Folies Bergere,” the topless revue at the Tropicana, announced last month that it was closing in March after 49 years.There was a local internet report earlier Monday evening that Aleman was closing “Crazy Girls,” his other show at the Riviera, but Marino said that he was informed “Crazy Girls,” which has been on a brief hiatus, is reopening Wednesday.Marino said he plans to take a three-week vacation and launch “Frank Marino's Ultimate Drag Show.” Marino added “look for me to come back in a big way because I'm not ready to give up the title of Vegas' longest-running headliner just yet.”You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login;You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login