What do Barbra Streisand and Pamela Anderson have in common?
Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas!
Huh?
Streisand performed Saturday night at the grand opening of the new gambling and hotel complex, on the same stage where Anderson usually appears in Hans Klok’s weekend magic shows.
The resort is actually the old Aladdin, which businessman and original Planet Hollywood restaurant creator Robert Earl transitioned into the new resort when he bought the place with a slew of investors about three years ago.
Streisand is no stranger to hotel openings. Back on Dec. 31, 1993, she did a special New Year’s Eve concert to open Vegas MGM Grand, followed by another the next night. She reportedly banked $20 million for the two-day gig.
She kicked off Saturday night with “Memories” and concluded with the Democratic Party’s unofficial anthem, “Happy Days Are Here Again.” The whole shebang consisted of about nine songs and lasted just 30 minutes. I can only imagine how much Planet Hollywood paid for the Streisand gig. Even if we wildly speculate that she got, say, $1 million (though I suspect it was lots more), that would have meant Babs cashed in at about $33,333 a minute!
Perhaps she was planning on using some of her earnings in the casino. “I’m glad to be here, because I do like to gamble—particularly, I like to play blackjack,” Streisand said. “I doubled my money the last time I was here. I took 100 and made it 200—dollars, that is.”
Streisand’s singing wasn’t her best. Her voice was scratchy and raspy, and she didn’t hit the high notes like we know she can. “I caught my husband’s cold,” she explained. “Sorry.”
Celeb guests included Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Eddie Murphy and fiancée Tracey Edmonds, Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Patrick Swayze and Kevin Spacey. Actor Kevin Pollak opened the show with some stand-up.
Streisand only acknowledged one of her famous friends. “Who is that?” she said, looking into the audience. “Sly? Hi, baby. My neighbor!” Yes, it was Sylvester Stallone.
After the concert, the 7,000 or so in the audience packed the ballroom for a party featuring performances by Sugar Ray and Earth Wind & Fire. Jon Stewart headlined the night before, followed by the Bruce Willis Blues Band, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and DMC entertaining the crowd.
Earl reportedly lost $1 billion when the Planet Hollywood chain of 100 restaurants went under in 2001. Willis and Stallone were original investors. “Bruce and Sly,” Earl said, “have stuck with me through thick and thin."