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ent001379-061
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V MILWAUKEE, WiSQ. D. 364,362 SUN. 551,968 APR 1 2 1SS7 Some Vegas Stars Like Gamble From page 1 women, some irr wheelchairs, are assaulting the slot machines. The showrooms operate 365 nights a year. Easter night, seminude chorines were prancing at the ;?╟úFollies,?╟Ñ ?╟úLido?╟Ñ and ?╟úCasino de Paris.?╟Ñ Says Harvey Diederich, publicity director of the Tropicana, ?╟úThe only time in my memory when qur schedule of entertainment was interrupted was following the assassination of President Kennedy. Otherwise we run dingdong all the time.?╟Ñ When Las Vegas* celebrities aren?╟╓t performing, they golf, gamble, get married?╟÷and get divorced. Vegas weddings in the last year or two have in- cluded Burt (Robin) Ward to Kathy Kersh, Frank Sinatra to Mia Farrow, Brigitte Bardot to Gunther Sachs, Xavier Cugat to singer Charo and Cary Grant to Dyan Cannon. With Nevada?╟╓s six week divorce waiting period, stars can establish residency while filling a cabaret engagement. The town?╟╓s best kept secrets are the losses of celebrity gamblers. Except, that is, for singer Eddie Fisher who announces that the casino oper- ators ?╟úown me.?╟Ñ It is said that Fisher will be per- forming here free for the rest of his,life. Dancer Donald O?╟╓Connor is another heavy bettor. One of his favorite pastimes is Keno (a bingo type game). Gordon MacRae, Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom and Joe E. Lewis also like to gamble. Former blackjack dealer Dean Martin occasional- ly wanders into the casinos. Owners dread the days when comedian Jerry Lewis gets the urge to take, over as a blackjack dealer. Then the customer never loses. Blackjack dealer Lewis keeps giving himself cards until he goes broke. Obviously, the clubs are delighted when enter- tainers stay on the other side of the tables. Not only does the employer get a rack at the celebrity?╟╓s healthy salary, but a star at a table attracts other bettors. They can go back to Keokuk and say,* ?╟úI shot craps with Dean Martin.?╟Ñ Thus, a couple dozen people clustered around a dice table one night earlier this month as a small figure in a beatup hat dug into his pocket for money. Out came a handful of white papers and cards. ?╟úI . . . dentification!?╟Ñ he snorted hoarsely. You recognized him as someone for whom identification cards are superfluous, Jimmy Durante. ?╟úStop da music!?╟Ñ Durante barked as he peeled off five $1 bills. Never has Vegas had a more demonstrative craps shooter or the customers a cheaper show. Another Keno fan is trumpeter Harry James, one of several entertainers who have bought homes here. James?╟╓ ex-wife, Betty Grable, and singer Keely Smith, own plush homes bordering the Desert Inn golf course. Miss Smith?╟╓s former partner and husband, Louis Prima, also has a big desert house with his own adjoining six hole golf course. Prima, the hottest lounge act in Las Vegas his- tory until comedian Shecky Greene came along, has a million dollar contract with the Sands, ex- tending over several years. Martin, Sinatra, Skelton and Davis, who perform at the Sands exclusively, use small houses with pools on the hotel property. Carson recently bought a home in a plush Vegas subdivision. Bandleader Russ Morgan also has a home and pool here.