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SHOOTING
STARS: Production on 'The Casino' set to begin at Golden Nugget
As reported by The Las Vegas Review-Journal
 Reality
reigns this week on location in Las Vegas -- or at least what
passes for reality in the genre known informally as "reality
TV."
Leading
the charge: "The Casino," a new 13-episode Fox series
from "Survivor" producer Mark Burnett, which launches
production today at the Golden
Nugget.
The show,
scheduled for a summer debut, focuses on the Nugget under new
owners (and Internet pioneers) Timothy Poster and Thomas Breitling,
who hope to transform the Glitter Gulch landmark into a hip
destination reminiscent of Las Vegas' Rat Pack heyday.
As for why
that's worthy of a network reality series, "Las Vegas is
like a magnet," Burnett explains in a news release. "The
city attracts people from all over the world with two things
on their mind -- getting rich quick and having as much fun as
possible in a short period of time."
And it's
"the magnetism of Las Vegas that we will try to capture
on camera," Burnett promises, "as we tell the story
of two young entrepreneurs who found remarkable success during
the Internet boom and are now living out their dreams of owning
a Las Vegas casino."
Camera crews
have been shadowing Poster and Breitling for the past few weeks,
getting preliminary footage for the show.
This week,
however, the action shifts to the casino itself, with the emphasis
on visitors and employees alike.
"The
Casino" plans to showcase a variety of colorful characters.
One of them:
Las Vegan Dan Sherbondy, whose locally produced comedy romp
"The Dan Show" resumes filming this week.
This week,
"The Dan Show" plans a variety of hidden-camera tricks
in restaurants, "so beware," warns Sherbondy. Another
planned skit finds Sherbondy portraying Saddam Hussein, who's
holed up in a cave and touting "Saddam Perignon" champagne.
This week's
broadcast (1 a.m. Saturday on KVVU-TV, Channel 5) also will
feature Sherbondy announcing a $50,000 reward to anyone who
introduces him to the woman of his dreams.
"I'm
searching for my dream girl," he says. And he figures offering
a $50,000 reward "is cheaper than buying drinks and dinner
for years."
Sherbondy's
search already has attracted attention -- from none other than
"The Casino," which has cast him as a featured character,
he notes. "Casino" cameras are scheduled to follow
him next week as he tapes his comedy show -- and searches for
his dream girl.
"They're
looking for anybody who has a different story," Sherbondy
notes.
Meanwhile,
back at Green
Valley Ranch Station, the Discovery Channel's "American
Casino" -- from the folks who brought you "American
Chopper" -- begins its fourth week of production at Green
Valley Ranch.
"The
Casino" is scheduled to shoot through March 16; "American
Casino," another 13-episode series, is expected to roll
through May and begin its Discovery run in June.
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