Las Vegas is all over the tube

By Christina Almeida
Associated Press

When MTV came to Las Vegas three years ago, some of the Strip's biggest hotel-casinos refused to host "The Real World," worrying about a long production schedule, patron privacy and a target audience too young to visit Vegas.

BIG mistake.

That reality show transformed the eventual host — the then-fledgling, off-Strip Palms hotel-casino — into THE place for celebs and beautiful twentysomethings.

"If they had to try and buy that kind of advertising, they wouldn't be able to afford it," said Jeanne Corcoran of the Nevada film office. "No one could."

Fast-forward to 2004: Vegas has rolled out the red carpet to TV producers.

Two prime-time shows devoted to all things Vegas already are on the air, two more will be on this month, and another two start in the fall — not to mention all the poker and travel shows from and about the city.

The two new reality shows:

• "The Casino" on Fox, set inside the Golden Nugget focuses on the hotel-casino's pair of thirtysomething owners, Tom Breitling and Tim Poster. It's produced by Mark Burnett, creator of "Survivor" and "The Apprentice."
• "American Casino," which has been airing Fridays on the Discovery Channel, is less about the owners and more about the everyday challenges of working in a casino. From handling drunken guests to managing a Super Bowl party for thousands, the show follows employees at the suburban Green Valley Ranch hotel-casino.

"There's a mystique about (Las Vegas) ... that people find insatiable. And that's what we're capitalizing on," said Mark Finkelpearl, co-executive producer of "American Casino."

Come fall, there'll be an animated spin on Las Vegas with "Father of the Pride," about a family of white lions performing in the famed Siegfried and Roy show.

The comedy on NBC's prime-time lineup joins "Las Vegas," which stars James Caan as a casino boss and was the highest-rated new drama for the 2003-04 season.

"At a time when so much of the news in the world is bleak, it's a great escape for the audience," said Jeff Zucker, president of NBC Universal Television Group. "It's a fun, sexy ride in a fun, sexy place.

Over the years, Las Vegas has been a popular destination for sitcom characters such as Ross and Rachel of "Friends," but rarely the setting for its own TV show. Until recently, the biggest show had been "Vega$," a late-'70s series starring Robert Urich as a private eye.

It wasn't until the 2000 debut on CBS of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" that Hollywood forged its current affinity with Vegas.

But even the forensics drama initially was leery.

"At the outset, the idea was that Vegas was a backdrop," said Carol Mendelsohn, the show's executive producer. "As time went on, Vegas has become more and more a character on 'CSI.' Vegas has been the accent, the seasoning of so many episodes."

After the success of "CSI," CBS is taking a gamble this fall on "dr. vegas," about a playboy casino doctor played by Rob Lowe.

"What happens on the inside of a casino can be the story of an entire human life," said Robert Thompson, director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University. "Inside a casino, you can go from rags to riches sometimes on the roll of a dice."

The TV trend has meant big business for the state. In 2003, production revenues in Nevada exceeded $104 million. Of that, nearly $60 million came from TV shows and specials.