At the rate Las Vegas reinvents itself, the city will never encounter a midlife crisis. The capital of glitz, glamour and unabashed indulgence, Vegas is the land of the makeover, constantly shifting its skyline, reworking its venues and introducing new names to its marquee.
One name that has kept constant for the past five years is comedian George Wallace, whose nightly shows at the Flamingo Las Vegas have attracted a who’s who of guest celebrities, including William Shatner, Tony Bennett, Sly and the Family Stone, Jennifer Holiday, and Wallace’s friend Jerry Seinfeld.
“I have the only authentic showroom left in Vegas—big booths, velvet drapes,” Wallace says of his Flamingo venue, which has staged Vegas stalwarts such as Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra and Tom Jones.
Wallace first appeared in Vegas more than 20 years ago with Diana Ross at Caesar’s and Tom Jones at the old MGM Grand.
“When I started coming [to Vegas] with Seinfeld, we would say, when are these old guys going to die off? They have been there for years; I want to work there,” Wallace says. “Now, it’s like, Oh my god, I’m on the stage, what a blessing.”
Though he owns a home in Atlanta, Wallace has been a steady enough part-timer to monitor Las Vegas’ progression.
“I’ve seen so much change here,” he says, noting some 40,000 new rooms recently unveiled or projected for the next few years, including mega-venues like MGM Mirage’s CityCenter, Trump International Hotel & Tower, Encore at Wynn Las Vegas, and Boyd Gaming’s Echelon Place.
Also onboard is the new Palazzo Las Vegas, a 3,000-unit, all-suite property managed by Las Vegas Sands Corp., which also owns and operates the adjacent Venetian Resort and Sands Expo and Convention Center. The package is being marketed as the Las Vegas Sands Megacenter.
“Half the town is less than 15 years old,” Wallace says. “So the city is new. I’m a ‘new freak,’ I like newness… new people, new jokes, new fun.”
For all the talk of what’s new, Wallace enjoys his routine, including frequenting his favorite restaurant, Mon Ami Gabi at Paris Las Vegas.
“I have lunch every day at Mon Ami and watch the dancing waters of the Bellagio,” Wallace says.
Choosing a culinary outlet can be challenging with Vegas’ laundry list of celebrity chefs, everyone from Thomas Keller at The Venetian’s Bouchon to Joel Robuchon with both his L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon and Joel Robuchon at The Mansion at MGM Grand.
For Wallace, dinners are enjoyed at the steakhouse Neros at Caesar’s Palace, where he swoons over the lollipop steak.
After-hours, Wallace attends other Vegas shows, including hypnotist Anthony Cools, who performs in the Anthony Cools Experience venue at the Paris Las Vegas.
“It’s a very underrated act and I wish more people could see it,” Wallace says.
