Dateline: February 1, 2001
A Stern Fan's Inside View
Of The Las Vegas Visit!
Stern's appearance was pure chaos. I got to the Hard Rock
at about
5:30, or just before halftime of the Super Bowl. The set was technically
on
the casino floor, but not in the center ring that is most of the
HR casino.
They were really in the bar just off the floor that has a few
blackjack
tables. If you've been to the Hard Rock, you know where I'm talking
about,
when you walk in the front door, the bar area just to the right.
When I first got there, you could still walk by the front
of the set along
the main walkway. If you stopped to stand and watch a security
guard would
tell you to keep moving, but you could walk by and see Scott Salem
setting
up. There was a mass of people on the steps in front of the set
leading
down to the casino floor.
Once halftime was over, enough people had lined up along either
side that
they put up ropes and stopped letting people walk through. So
there were
basically four groups of people... to the left, right, on the
stairs in
front, and those people in the bar area right next to the set.
Once they
roped off the sides, no one else was allowed into the bar area
so the people
there really were the only ones with a good view. Then they let
some people
in to stand right in front of the set. All movement was restricted,
the
only way out of the casino was to go all the way back around,
nobody at all
was allowed through.
For the hour before the show (during the 4th quarter), they
finished setting
a few things up, then most of the peripheral show members showed
up (Ralph,
Benjy, KC). Stuttering John went out to the crowd and was shaking
people's
hands, looking for people they might want to put on, and he was
followed by
an E! camera. The crowd was getting restless, people kept pushing
to see
better, the security had to keep yelling at people to move back
and not to
stand on the chairs by the slot machines. Most people were having
a good
time though and were excited. It was a good bunch, if you've been
to a book
signing or other appearance you know what it was like. Fans from
every
corner of society were there. People were yelling chants for all
the cast
members, the Baba-Boooooey chant, a bunch of F-Jackies, and plenty
of
Howard, Howard! cheers. Probably the highlight was a Gary's Head
made of
twisted balloons with of course, huge teeth. The camera crew got
plenty of
shots of that, you'll be sure to see that on TV plenty.
Finally right around 7:00 Howard and the rest of the show
came out through a
small door behind the set and they were greeted with huge applause
and
shouting. They actually got down to business pretty quickly...
they came
out, gave a quick wave, sat down and started almost right away.
Once the show got started it was slightly disappointing. Because
Howard and
the crew was sitting at the table on the same level as all the
spectators,
it was nearly impossible to see over or through the people who
had been
allowed right in front. There were monitors so people could see
the camera
shots, but the real problem was that the sound was very low. The
crowd
yelled "turn it up, turn it up" a number of times but
they didn't do that.
So most people were just seeing the show on the monitor and not
hearing
anything.
The crowd was getting quite restless once the show got started...
more and
more people were pushing their way up to the front of the ropes.
Fights
started breaking out in the crowd, a few people just tried sneaking
under
the ropes (and were all called out), and people tried other ways
to get in.
One guy had a pro video camera and said he was part of the E crew,
but when
he had no credentials the head of security came over and threatened
to break
the camera. People near the front but behind the ropes (at least
near me)
were starting to get really annoyed, they were constantly being
pushed from
behind and a few were concerned about a big mob run and asked
to leave.
I personally stayed till about 8, I got in another 45 minutes
at the dice
table and then I had to go to the airport anyway. Once I went
outside to
catch a cab, there was a huge line along the entire Paradise Rd.
side of the
hotel just to get in the front door.
Although overall it was exciting and a great show, the Hard
Rock could have
handled it a little bit better. They could have hooked up the
TV's
throughout the casino floor so all of them (or some of them) had
the same
feed as the studio monitors. More importantly, they could have
piped the
audio through the sound system. I'm assuming they didn't because
of
feedback, but I'd think there would have been a level that would
have
worked. They turned off the normal music in the casino so that
wasn't on
either. The other thing they could have improved was security
and crowd
control. They did a good job making sure Howard and the crew were
safe, but
as long as people didn't go through the ropes they really didn't
care what
was going on in the crowd, and that led to the mob mentality.
They did go
in to stop fights, but they also just stood there as people yelled
at each
other and waited for punches before doing anything at all. When
a guy would
get caught scooting under the ropes, they didn't kick him out,
they just
pushed him back behind the ropes but right up front so he could
try again
(and a few did).
As far as other sightings, Howard and the cast talked a lot
about what they
did and where they were during the show. But people I spoke with
had
spotted Howard at Nobu on Saturday night. Other people said they
had seen
John and Gary gambling Sunday morning. The entire crew watched
the Super
Bowl at the party at the Joint, but were pretty much separated
from the rest
of the crowd. I personally wasn't staying at the Hard Rock so
my only
first-hand experience was from about 5 to 9 Sunday nite.
Most of the dealers agreed that it was the craziest they had
ever seen the
place. Along with the post-Super Bowl rush, the huge crowd to
see Stern
just made the place an absolute madhouse. They said it was the
first time
there had been a live show from the casino floor. At random times
throughout the evening, groups of strippers and models would walk
through
the casino to or from the set. Most people at the tables were
keeping one
eye on their money and the other on the show... every time the
Stern crowd
would get loud everyone gambling would turn around to see what
was going on
or what guest had shown up.
Overall it was a great weekend and a great opportunity for
Stern fans to get
together. I wish the rest of you KOAM fans could have been there!
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The K.O.A.M. Newsletter. All Rights Reserved.
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