Las Vegas Hot Pants At Los Angeles Pride

In an unusual promotion, the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority posted the above billboard at Los Angeles Pride yesterday, where attendees were invited to snag rainbow-hued metallic hot pants. The shorts, of course, were branded with the Las Vegas logo. Judging by later photos, it appears that the red and purple shorts went first and the yellow ones went last.

Walmart Apologizes For Refusing To Write "Gay" On Cake For Gay/Str8 Prom Couple

Walmart officials in Las Vegas have apologized after staffers refused to write the word "gay" on a cake ordered for the nationally famous gay/str8 prom couple.

Jennifer Sandoval, who's the aunt of teen Anthony Martinez, says she's overjoyed at all the positive attention her nephew has gotten after his promposal went viral. His straight best friend, Jacob Lescenski, asked him to prom after not getting another date. Sandoval said she went to her local Walmart store on Saturday, located near Nellis and Las Vegas boulevards, to get him a surprise cake to celebrate before the dance.  "It said: 'You're gay, he's straight, you're going to prom, you couldn't have had a better date,'” Sandoval said. Sandoval said the initial associate told her she couldn't write that on the cake because it included the word "gay," and that was against store policy. She then asked to speak with a supervisor. "Supervisor takes my phone, looks at it, and was like stuck for a minute, and she was like, 'OK, I'm sorry, we can't use this'. And then I said, 'I'm going to ask you what I asked her because you're the supervisor. Why can't I use this? I don't understand. It's one word. It's gay,'" Sandoval said.

A spokesman for Walmart says they have no policy against the word "gay" and hope to make it up to Sandoval, who says it's too late now. She left the store with the cake seen above. The refusal was mentioned in the video posted yesterday by Teen Vogue.

Producers Pull Plug On Duck Dynasty Musical Two Weeks Into Its Run

Via the Randy Report: "Duck Commander Musical, based on the popular reality TV show Duck Dynasty, has announced it will close May 17th. The show had it's official opening on April 15th at the Rio’s Crown Theater in Las Vegas. According to reports, calls were made to the crew today informing them the show would close. To be fair, the reviews were not bad. Not GREAT mind you, but not bad. I hate seeing actors out of work, but clearly the brand has lost it's lustre."

TRAILER: Duck Commander, The Musical

The Duck Dynasty musical has opened in Las Vegas and the reviews aren't terrible.

It’s not a spoof, but it might be satire. When Miss Kay (Mimi Bessette) sings to troubled Robertson family patriarch Phil (Tad Wilson) “Hey redneck, my sweet redneck …” it isn’t a “Saturday Night Live” bit. It is even, gasp, a bit touching. “Duck Commander Musical,” the new Broadway-style show at the Rio based on the “Duck Dynasty” family, lives up to its pledge not to make fun of its subjects. But making fun of how and why the Robertsons are famous? Open season. Perhaps the creators from the New York side of this cultural collision want to bring in their friends and point out a deeper layer; that their well-crafted and tuneful froth is also a looping “meta” musical about pop culture spiraling to the point where we have a “Duck Dynasty” musical.

You can listen to songs from the show here. Trailer below.

Liberace: The Hologram Show

Via the Hollywood Reporter:

In partnership with the Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts, Hologram USA reported that it has started work on a hologram-like version of the famous entertainer for a feature-length live show that be would staged in such a way that "Liberace" would be able to interact with the audience. “This is a major step in the evolution of this medium for entertainment,” Hologram USA CEO Alki David said in a statement. “With our partners at the Liberace Foundation we’ll be able to stage a show so lifelike — the room will be filled with all of the great singer’s charm and charisma.” Hologram USA was responsible for the recent appearance of a virtual Jimmy Kimmel, and said it holds the North American license for the system that was used to place a virtual Tupac at Coachella in 2012.

After a launch in Las Vegas, the show is expected to tour worldwide.

Duck Dynasty, The Musical

Yes, this is going to be a thing.

Undertaking one of the more audacious theater projects in recent years, the Robertsons — known for their long beards, duck-hunting merchandise and occasional inflammatory remark — are moving to expand their Louisiana-based multimedia franchise with “The Duck Commander Family Musical.” The 90-minute show, with actors playing the family members from A&E’s “Duck Dynasty” as they celebrate the family’s long history from rags to riches, hopes to open in February at the Rio hotel and casino, where the Chippendales show and Penn & Teller are now running.

Even before rehearsals start, the show is courting controversy. Several Broadway producers, many of whom are liberal, gay, or both, are aghast that colleagues would work with a family whose patriarch, Phil Robertson, has compared homosexuality to bestiality. Gay rights leaders are also eyeing the show with concern, while evangelical Christians — many of whom admire the Robertsons — might be hesitant to go to a Las Vegas casino and see whether New York artists have fairly rendered the family.

The show is being produced by Michael David, the same guy that brought you the multiple Tony-winning Jersey Boys. The show's gay-married director Jeff Calhoun, who won the Tony for Newsies, says that he and the Duck Dynasty clan have "agreed to disagree" on gay issues.

This... Is CNN

CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer posed with the Chippendales on Friday before the Las Vegas taping of the Soul Train Awards, which airs on BET on November 30th. (Photograph by JMG reader Michael Caprio)

NEVADA: Several Las Vegas Wedding Chapels Won't Marry Same-Sex Couples

Via the Las Vegas CBS affiliate:

After making calls to about 15 wedding chapels, 8 News NOW found that several of them refused to perform wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples. The Elvis Wedding Chapel, which welcomes traditional and Elvis-themed weddings, said they wouldn't marry same-sex couples. However, when the 8 News Now cameras were rolling as we tried to get their stance on camera, they refused to open the door. "I'm not going to tell you,” David with the Elvis Wedding Chapel said, "It just -- there is no story here.”

Dolly Deleon, the owner of the Vegas Wed Chapel, said she's a born-again believer in Jesus. "My faith won't allow me," Deleon said. She said she's been asked to wed same-sex couples before, but has found that mostly people accept it when she says no. She did not know that a couple who is turned away based on race, sex, or sexual orientation could file charges against her. That could then lead to a misdemeanor arrest. "I would be a hypocrite if I said I'm a Bible-believing person and yet I would perform marriage that believe is solely against God's law,” Deleon said.

So far it doesn't appear that any of these businesses have actually turned away a gay couple.

Las Vegas Celebrates Marriage Equality With Full-Page Ad In USA Today

VIDEO: First Las Vegas Marriage License

NEVADA: First Marriage Is On DeckUPDATE: Marriages Have Begun!

Earlier today the Ninth Circuit Court ordered a local district judge to lift Nevada's ban. That injunction is coming at any minute and then off we go.

UPDATE: The waiting continues.

UPDATE II: County Clerk Diane Alba is over the wait.

UPDATE III: Marriages have begun! State #27!

NEVADA: Marriages Are Back On (Again!)

Via the Associated Press:

A group that fought to keep Nevada's state ban on same-sex marriage is dropping its appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court and a lower court, clearing the way for gay weddings. The Coalition for the Protection of Marriage on Thursday filed documents with the high court and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. There is no longer any formal opposition in court to gay marriage in Nevada. Coalition lawyer Monte Neil Stewart declined to say why.

The first licenses should be issued this afternoon. There is no waiting period to marry in Nevada.

Marie Osmond As Madonna, Liz, Marilyn

For her Vegas show, Showstoppers.

NEVADA: Las Vegas Cop Killers Revealed As Tea Party Supporters

Via the Las Vegas Review:

Officers Alyn Beck, 41, and Igor Soldo, 31, were in their seats at CiCi’s Pizza, 309 N. Nellis Blvd., at about 11:20 a.m. Sunday when suspects, identified by sources as Jerad Miller, 31, and his wife Amanda, 22, entered the rear of the restaurant. The police official said neither officer had a chance to return fire. The entire attack was caught on surveilance video, police said Monday. Jerad Miller then covered the officers with the Gadsden flag, a yellow banner with a coiled snake above the words, “Don’t tread on Me,” and placed a manifesto with a swastika symbol on one officer’s body. The flag is named for Christopher Gadsden a Revolutionary War general who designed it. It has recently come back in vogue as an adopted symbol of the American tea party movement.

And then this happened.

After the shooting, the couple headed toward a nearby Wal-Mart, where Jerad Miller was confronted by Joseph Robert Wilcox, 31, of Las Vegas. Wilcox was legally carrying a concealed pistol. Wilcox was unaware that Amanda Miller, who was pushing a shopping cart, was involved in the incident and “lying in wait,” the official said. She slipped behind Wilcox and shot him at close range. “He had no idea the wife was walking behind him,” the police official said of the murdered man. “This guy (Wilcox) was not some idiot with a gun. To me, he was a hero. He was trying to stop an active shooter.” Police said this morning that Wilcox was killed without firing a shot.

The NRA will surely spin this by declaring that there should have just been more "good guys with guns" out there.

NEVADA: Tony Perkins Cheers After Las Vegas Withdraws Its Bid To Host The 2016 Republican Convention

One month after the Nevada GOP dropped opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion from its platform, the Republican National Committee announced this afternoon that Las Vegas has withdrawn its bid to host the 2016 convention.

Heidi Hayes, spokeswoman for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said timing played a big role in the decision to withdraw the bid. "After analyzing the requirements and needs of the RNC, particularly the timing of the event, it was determined our existing convention calendar filled with previously booked business made it difficult to host the event at the Las Vegas Convention Center," Hayes said in a statement to FOX5. "We understand the decision and wish the RNC well in their endeavors." The Republican National Committee said the field of cities to host the convention had been narrowed to Cleveland, Dallas, Denver and Kansas City. A vote on a final choice could be made by late summer or early fall.

KKK-affiliated hate group leader Tony Perkins is exulting in the news and implies that Las Vegas withdrew after pressure from RNC chairman Reince Priebus.

"We are pleased to learn today that Las Vegas has withdrawn its bid to become a host city - a decision that comes only weeks after the state party ignited a party-wide firestorm by stripping pro-life and pro-natural marriage language from its state platform. We commend RNC Chairman Reince Priebus for his work to ensure the party upholds the core principles found in the party's platform. Those Republicans who want to rip up the planks of life and marriage in their party's platform will only succeed in building a boardwalk to a permanent GOP minority. The reality is that after two failed presidential cycles, the GOP can't afford to jettison the planks of life and marriage, which would only alienate a segment of voters which is the difference between victory and defeat."

RELATED: After the 2012 GOP convention, Perkins crowed that he had personally written the anti-gay marriage portion of the national party platform.

UPDATE: In tonight's daily message to FRC supporters, Perkins doesn't mention that Las Vegas withdrew voluntarily from consideration.

The reality is that these issues are non-negotiable to the base of the party. The Nevada Republican Party found this out the hard way after its party leaders removed the life and marriage planks from their platform. The plank stripping stunned Republicans around the country and caused many within the party to pull back from giving consideration to Las Vegas as the host site for the 2016 Republican National Convention. Today, the RNC announced that Las Vegas is no longer on the short list of possible host cities. Republicans like Governor Tom Corbett can continue to rip up these planks but they will only succeed in building the GOP a boardwalk to a permanent minority.

LAS VEGAS: Woman Arrested After Throwing Object At Hillary Clinton

The Associated Press reports:

A woman was taken into custody after throwing what she described as a shoe at Hillary Clinton during a Las Vegas speech. The incident happened moments after Clinton took the stage Thursday at an Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries meeting at the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino. Clinton ducked but did not appear to be hit by the object, and then joked about the incident. Security ushered out a woman who said she threw a shoe but didn't identify herself to reporters or explain the action. Authorities said the woman would be arrested.

Among Clinton's jokes following the incident: "Thank goodness she didn't play softball like I did."

The Hottest Gadgets At CES 2014

Eydie Gormé Dies At Age 84

Superstar of the 60s Eydie Gormé, also well-known for her career-long onstage partnership with her husband Steve Lawrence, has died at the age of 84.

"Legendary singer and performer Eydie Gorme passed away peacefully today at Sunrise Hospital following a brief illness," [spokesman Howard] Bragman said in a statement. "She was surrounded by her husband, son and other loved ones at the time of her death." In his own statement, Steve Lawrence said: "Eydie has been my partner on stage and in life for more than 55 years. I fell in love with her the moment I saw her and even more the first time I heard her sing." He added: "While my personal loss is unimaginable, the world has lost one of the greatest pop vocalists of all time."  A favorite on The Ed Sullivan Show, in showrooms in the Catskills and in Las Vegas – where they married on Dec. 29, 1957, and later took up permanent residence – as well as on stages, including Carnegie Hall, Steve and Eydie, as they were known, sang popular hits of the day, including Broadway standards, and exchanged pointed personal banter – all of which their audiences ate up.

Eydie and Vicki Carr were my dad's favorite singers.  

RELATED: There used to be a great gay-owned record store in Atlanta called E.D.'s Gourmet Records. I stopped in whenever I was in town and the name still makes me smile.

Girls Gone Bankrupt

Some feminists probably find this news very satisfying.

The company behind the “Girls Gone Wild” videos filed for bankruptcy to protect itself from a $10.3 million debt claimed by Steve Wynn’s Wynn Las Vegas LLC and a $5.8 million award won by a woman who says the company used naked images of her without permission. Last year, Wynn and his company won a slander lawsuit against Joe Francis, founder of the “Girls Gone Wild” franchise, which features college-age women in reality TV-style shows focused on drinking, stripping and sex. “The court finds that Francis made a knowing and intentional false and defamatory statement,” a Nevada judge ruled in April in awarding $7.5 million to Wynn and Wynn Las Vegas. Francis lied when he claimed he had proof that Wynn tricked high-end gamblers, the judge ruled.

Francis reportedly owns a personal jet and a $30M waterfront mansion among other personal holdings that may be used to satisfying the judgements against him.

Las Vegas Welcomes Straight People

In a new campaign for gay tourism to Las Vegas, the tagline reads: "Everyone's welcome. Even straight people." Copyranter reacts:

"Oh GOD, those outfits. Whelp, turnabout is fair play? Interesting strategy for a campaign targeting gays. I'm assuming the ads wont be running in Field & Stream or Good Housekeeping. As a straight man living in New York City, I find the ads mildly amusing, but I'm not the target."

Hit the link for more images from the campaign.