About the Town 09-09-10

Curiously Strange $200,000 Slot Palladium At The Palms Resort & Casino Features The Jim Rose Circus

Like a little circus with your slots? How about peculiar performances with your payout?  The Palms’ upcoming free slot tournament, beginning September 5th and running through October 2nd provides just that – and more.

 

 

It’s not called the Curiously Strange $200,000 Slot Palladium for nothing.  Taking place in the Palm Resort’s Key West Ballroom (which has been transformed into a festive circus/carnival space complete with game booth, sensationalistic posters full of hyperbole, and a sparkling main stage complete with two video monitors) the rows of tournament slots take up little more than a corner of the room.

 

 

The biggest attraction is a slender, charismatic wizard in a black suit, the one with a red, winged pentagram across the back and the neat line of safety-pins shining down each seam.  The effect is dangerous and whimsical all at once.  Video screens broadcast his previous shows which feature a man moving objects via hooks in his nipples and one who plays the guitar in a contortionist position so that his feet are directly above his head while he lies on his chest.  You’ll just have to see for yourself.

 

Jim Rose

 

Jim Rose, legendary performer/author/artist will be holding court center stage, leading a cast as unusual, mysterious and mind-bending as he is.  The charismatic headliner, resplendent in his goth-chic attire, was accompanied by his exotic, black leather-clad wife, Bebe (Beatrice Aschard, a Paris native), and sidekick Mighty Mike, a 4’3” dynamo in a gold mask and black/red harlequin costume; both figure prominently in the show.

 

 

Rose has toured with acts including None Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, and Korn.  He’s even guest starred, in cartoon form, on The Simpsons.  MTV, Rolling Stone Magazine, and even the Wall Street Journal have taken notice.  The showman delights and misleads (by his own admission) “a rapt audience on a journey rife with misunderstood, mysterious, and idiotic achievements and exploits.”

 

He gave the assembled media a taste of his macabre medley. As Bebe removed a large scorpion (tied to the end of a string) from a box, Rose passed through the crowd looking for people to verify that it was real and very much alive.   The creature kicked with a ferocity that was unnerving to watch until you realized that Bebe was lowering it into her mouth.  Call it the ultimate French kiss.  Bebe later admitted that the sensation was “hard and dry,” not slimy at all.

 

 

Mighty Mike worked the room, sometimes juggling three bowling pins but mostly sharing his extensive knowledge of entertainment opportunities for little people throughout the U.S.

 

 

 

Rose later recruited Mighty Mike to hold a cinder block across his lap while a sledgehammer descended with a force powerful enough to break it.  Mighty Mike took the blow, well, a part of him did, anyway, later admitting, “I got clipped” and the pain was a bit more than considerable.  Will Rose keep this stunt in the act?  You’d better believe it.

 

 

As a finale, Rose filled his mouth with four razor blades, unwrapping them individually, and slicing a playing card with each before placing them on his tongue; a tiny ball of white thread (unwound from a spool) followed.  Facial gestures suggested something wondrous was occurring as Rose appeared to chew, gag, and maneuver the inside of his mouth into tying the razors together.  He pulled at the string slowly, revealing a razor bound to the string every two inches until all four were out of his mouth and hanging as if they were on some tiny, treacherous clothesline.

 

A haystack was piled in front of the stage, and surgical masks were offered to allergic guests who might want to fish for the sewing needle hidden inside.  Your humble correspondent unceremoniously dove into the mound from all angles, but the endeavor turned pointless.  Had anyone found the silver splinter, they’d have won a two-night stay at The Palms.

 

With all of this going on, it’s easy to forget that there will be a free slot tournament taking place as well, each day from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., with prizes ranging from cash (1st and LAST place, $10,500, with other amounts ranging from $150-$500) to free buffets.  Each Club Palms member will be allowed seven minutes of free play on each of the tournament dates.  Extended play will be offered to invited hotel guests and out-of-town customers.

 

 

But back to human dartboards and straight jacket escapes.  At nine shows a day, Rose promises 30 days of “different,” with no two shows being exactly alike.  Is there anything he won’t do?  “Anything that causes blood, I stay away from,” he grins. Just give him a few minutes and he declares, “The throes of danger - there’s no place I’d rather be.”

 

For further information:

Curiously Strange $200,000 Slot Palladium
The Palms Resort & Casino
4321 W Flamingo Rd, Las Vegas
Las Vegas, NV 89103
(702) 944-3200

www.jimrosecircus.com
www.mightymike.tv