|  LAS
VEGAS - The
Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas recently introduced
an innovative new entertainment concept to its casino floor
- one that will transform casino beverage service forever.
The Rio's everyday casino gaming experience
has been infused with a new form of energy, excitement and entertainment.
It's called BevErtainment(SM), a new concept that marries Las
Vegas' most recognizable icons, the cocktail server and the
entertainer.
Nearly 100 glamorous entertainers traverse the
casino floor not only taking drink orders, but periodically
pausing to grace strategically-placed stages for 90-second live
performances. Some sing, some dance -- they have their own styles
and abilities; yet they all have one thing in common: they serve
beverages swiftly, and with a smile.
"It
has been fascinating to watch this project unfold and take form,"
said Tom Jenkin, Senior Vice President and General Manager of
Harrah's Southern Nevada and the Rio
All-Suite Hotel & Casino, "The Rio has a reputation
for pioneering new concepts and realizing creative ideas.. BevErtainment
is both electrifying and inventive - a winning combination for
a Las Vegas casino property."
The 10 stages
or, "hot spots," may be found throughout the Rio's
casino floor, accessible from every entrance. Each weighs approximately
4,000 pounds, has its own computer processor and state-of-the-art
sound and lighting package. When the lights begin to flash and
the original musical introduction sounds.. it's time for something
exciting to happen.
At this
moment, players within a 40-foot radius will have all their
senses alerted as they enjoy their individual casino experiences,
whether it's playing slots or table games, sitting at one of
the Rio's casino bars, or
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simply
walking the floor, soaking up the atmosphere. And there is plenty
of atmosphere to go around.
"Our
goal was to create a continuous sequence of entertainment,"
said Jenkin. "Rio customers expect live action everywhere,
all-the-time; yet they also rely on us for truly exceptional
service. We are offering that service with an added edge ...
a floor show they won't find anywhere else in the world."
 The
Rio contracted Dick Foster Productions (producer of the Rio's
popular "Masquerade Show in the Sky") to plan and
execute the concept. Foster, who works in association with Creative
Productions, Inc., auditioned and hired world-class professional
entertainers from several cities, wrote and recorded arrangements,
choreographed dance routines and designed several glitzy costumes
in a manner similar to that of a major Las Vegas
production show.
"We
searched the country for individuals with a unique combination
of talents," said Foster. "It is difficult to find
people who are all at once gifted, enthusiastic, service-oriented
and driven to succeed. And here we have 100 of them all together
at the Rio."
The
Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino is owned and operated by
Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. Founded more than 60 years ago,
Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. is the most geographically diversified
casino company in the United States, operating 26 casinos under
the Harrah's, Showboat, Rio and Harvey's brand names.
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World
Poker Tour TV Series Airs Specials
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 SILVER
SPRING, MD - How do you celebrate the successful first
season of a television show? By giving viewers two new
specials. The World Poker Tour series, which airs on the
Travel Channel every Wednesday from 9-11 PM ET/PT, announced
on June 9th it would air two new programs before the first
season culminates with the World Poker Tour Championship
on June 25. The two new specials air Sunday, June 22 from
8-11 PM ET/PT, and include the one-hour, The World Poker
Tour: A Poker Primer (8-9 PM ET), hosted by actor and
poker player Lou Diamond Phillips, and the two-hour, The
World Poker Tour: Road to the Championship, (9-11 PM ET/PT).
In World Poker Tour: A Poker Primer, Phillips
introduces the show and guides viewers on a proverbial
Poker 101. Viewers get the ultimate lowdown on the hottest
game in town, from vocabulary and strategy, to bluffing
and betting-to-win at no-limit Texas Hold 'Em -- widely
heralded as the Cadillac(TM) of tournament poker, and
the game featured in the World Poker Tour series. It's
the viewers' chance to get the inside scoop -- whether
their aspirations are a weekly poker game in the living
room, or trying their hand on the professional poker circuit.
"Poker is the definitive test of
a person's nerve," said Phillips. "It's exciting,
it reveals a lot about how each of us performs under pressure.
At the level of the WPT pros, the stakes are huge. But
whether you're playing for fun or playing for cold hard
cash, there's plenty to learn from World Poker Tour: A
Poker Primer."
The second special, The World Poker Tour:
Road to the Championship, is a whirlwind recap of a season
of poker action featuring the best plays, the greatest
bluffs and the toughest breaks -- everything from the
incomparable rush of victory to the gut-wrenching agony
of defeat. The Road to the Championship features ten million
dollars in prize money won on the tour in some of the
most dazzling locations around the world. Viewers get
a sneak preview of who to watch in the upcoming World
Poker Tour Championship and why they're favorites to capture
a piece of the more than $2.6 million overall prize pool.
An instant hit, the 13-week World Poker
Tour series has been a ratings success for the Travel
Channel, quickly becoming the highest-rated programming
on the network in 2003. The series combines the best of
sports television with the compelling theater of reality
TV shows.
Who will bluff their way to the top? Who
will cash in all his -- or her -- chips on one last big
hand?
Expert analysis, varying camera angles
-- including close-ups of the players' hole cards -- bring
viewers into the action like no other televised poker
in history. The show continues to capture new fans, as
well as to captivate many of the nation's 50 million poker
enthusiasts. Poker has suddenly become the "hot new
trend," and the World Poker Tour is riding the cresting
wave of this pop culture phenomenon. Besides Lou Diamond
Phillips, Hollywood's hip poker players include Norm MacDonald,
Don Cheadle and Meatloaf to name a few.
The
World Poker Tour is a joint venture between Steven Lipscomb
and Lakes Entertainment, Inc. Steve Lipscomb is the Executive
Producer of World Poker Tour and Joe Swift is the Executive-in-Charge
for the Travel Channel. Visit World Poker Tour on the
Web at World Poker Tour.
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