For the next two weeks, George Wallace will have an unusual co-star for his show at the Flamingo, the original Dreamgirl, Jennifer Holliday. Decades before Jennifer Hudson won an Oscar for playing the role of big-voiced girl-band reject Effie White in the 2006 film, Holliday won a Tony for creating the same part on stage. She also landed a Grammy for the signature hit, “And I’m Telling You, I’m Not Going.�  But Holliday’s life in the interim has been tragic, with bouts of depression, battles with her weight and an inability to replicate her earlier success. She spoke to Steve in advance of her opening for Wallace from Aug. 19 to Aug 30, relating stories of opening for George Burns at Caesars Palace in the 1980s, about a disastrous outing in the same showroom with Rosie O’Donnell in the 1990s and about how she reconciles her religion with her status as a gay icon. As always, e-mail us at [email protected], visit the site at thestrippodcast.com, leave us voicemail at 206-424-4737 and read Steve’s blog at VegasHappensHere.Com.

This week on the Strip: You may love him or you may hate him, but you cannot deny this one truth: Carrot Top is a Vegas star. And he’s the kind of star whose act could only have this kind of longevity on the Strip. Scott Thompson, the comic with the enormous orange plume and the shockingly ripped physique, joins us live today to explain his journey from Butts Road – no, really – to Las Vegas Boulevard.  That’s coming up. Plus, news from Vegas, a new poll, the trivia question and, as always, the Top Secret Tourist Tip of the Week. This is The Strip, we’re at the Palms and our part of the 2008 Vegas Podcast-a-Palooza starts right now. PLUS: The Robert Earl rapproachement, Sheldon Adelson's protection and Steve's pre-Palooza nightmare. Web: TheStripPodcast.Com E-mail: [email protected] Voicemail: 206-424-4737 Blog: VegasHappensHere.Com

If there’s anyone who can attest to the fact that achieving fame in Las Vegas is never easy, it’s illusionist Nathan Burton. Yes, his goofy grin is now plastered across a tower of the Flamingo Las Vegas now -- and he reveals what that costs! -- but his journey to that triumph required two decades of work, gigs at countless hotels and appearances on not one but two top-rated reality TV competitions. Oh, and sealing himself in a box with seven Vegas showgirls for a week didn’t hurt, either. Burton joined us in the studio, as did Amy Turner of GritsToGlitz.Com subbing for a working Miles.

In Banter: The ladies' night ruling, BestofVegas.Com's screw-up and Steve's theory on that Cirque-Dubai transaction.

Web: TheStripPodcast.Com

E-mail: [email protected]

Voicemail: 206-424-4737

 Blog: VegasHappensHere.com

On paper, David Spade wouldn’t seem a likely to become a star, let alone a ladies’ man. And yet, more than two decades after he got his start in comedy clubs and was guided by Dennis Miller to a role on Saturday Night Live, Spade is a staple of American TV comedy as star of such hits as Just Shoot Me, 8 Simple Rules and Rules of Engagement. Spade, who usually performs his stand-up twice a month at the Planet Hollywood spoke to Steve about being the surprising object of affection of many a hot babe, about the tragedies that surround him and about the difficulty of mocking Barack Obama. Plus, Vegas nightlife guru Jack Colton of JackColton.Com explains the noisy club scene, Steve Wynn's hooker tangle and why Alan Thicke will never be on this program.Email: [email protected]: TheStripPodcast.ComBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComCall: 206-424-4737

On paper, David Spade wouldn’t seem a likely to become a star, let alone a ladies’ man. And yet, more than two decades after he got his start in comedy clubs and was guided by Dennis Miller to a role on Saturday Night Live, Spade is a staple of American TV comedy as star of such hits as Just Shoot Me, 8 Simple Rules and Rules of Engagement. Spade, who usually performs his stand-up twice a month at the Planet Hollywood spoke to Steve about being the surprising object of affection of many a hot babe, about the tragedies that surround him and about the difficulty of mocking Barack Obama. Plus, Vegas nightlife guru Jack Colton of JackColton.Com explains the noisy club scene, Steve Wynn's hooker tangle and why Alan Thicke will never be on this program.

Email: [email protected]

Web: TheStripPodcast.Com

Blog: VegasHappensHere.Com

Call: 206-424-4737 

They’ve become known as the casino closers. Four times in the past decade, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme have been called upon to be the final performers at the closing of a resort or a famous showroom. But the act itself keeps on trucking. Well, sort of. Steve Lawrence is performing solo in August at the Orleans while his wife deals with a variety of health problems, as you’ll hear this hour. Lawrence spoke to Steve last week about Frank Sinatra, the original Tonight Show, about fighting with Eydie on stage and about why they haven’t seen a resurgence like Tony Bennett and Frankie Valli.   Plus, he talks about their son, David, who composed the scores for the “High School Musical� movies. That’s all coming up. In Banter: Trump IS having layoffs, Jerry Lewis is packing heat, Ping Pang Pong is wonderful, Miles is hung up over a gross Secret commercial and the prospect of the Las Vegas TV show as a movie.

Web: TheStripPodcast.Com

Blog: VegasHappensHere.Com

Phone: 206-424-4737

Email: [email protected] 

July 24: Eddie Izzard has many claims to fame. He’s a well-regarded comedian, a terrific actor in such programs as FX’s “The Riches� and, of course, he’s probably the world’s most famous out-of-the-closet heterosexual transvestite. Oh, and he’ll be playing Vegas on July 25-26 at the Palms, so Steve chatted with Izzard about all of those things—and Izzard makes Steve a promise that will delight many. In Banter: Wynn takes on the blogosphere, Steve has tampons, is this woman pregnant, why won't Dave Schwartz change his hours, put that snake away and all hail that great philosopher Laura Bush!

Web; TheStripPodcast.Com

Blog: VegasHappensHere.Com

Phone: 206-424-4737

E-mail: [email protected] 

She told Jane Fonda to fuck off in “Monster-in-Law,� had her portrait snapped by Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair magazine and, this fall, is expected to marry Julia Louis-Dreyfus on the sitcom “The New Adventures of Old Christine.� Those are some of the highlights of Wanda Sykes’ illustrious career. The comic-actress, who performs stand-up twice in July and twice in August, speaks to Steve this hour about all that and some of the less thrilling moments – can someone say Pootie Tang?Call 206-424-4737, email [email protected], read the blog at vegashappenshere.com.

She told Jane Fonda to fuck off in “Monster-in-Law,� had her portrait snapped by Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair magazine and, this fall, is expected to marry Julia Louis-Dreyfus on the sitcom “The New Adventures of Old Christine.� Those are some of the highlights of Wanda Sykes’ illustrious career. The comic-actress, who performs stand-up twice in July and twice in August, speaks to Steve this hour about all that and some of the less thrilling moments – can someone say Pootie Tang?

Call 206-424-4737, email [email protected], read the blog at vegashappenshere.com. 

Jay Leno has always been comfortably inside the lines of mainstream American comedy while Damon Wayans has built a family business out of going out on a limb. So what do these two comics have in common? For one, both are performing in Las Vegas this month. For another, they’re both on the show this week. Leno reacts to questions as about why he’s not more respected by the entertainment media while Wayans tries to explain the method to his mad career. In Banter: Steve's drinking binge, Steve Wynn's favorite drink,  the blue tape is gone, Miles lusts for Clean House, The WSJ covers Vegas debt and Harrah's addresses the environment.Call 206-424-4737, email [email protected], read VegasHappensHere.Com and visit TheStrippodcast.Com, too.