The Las Vegas Strip’s newest concert space will open its doors just before the new year with a performance by popstar Bruno Mars. Mars will play shows Dec. 29 and 31 at a new eastern European glass factory-themed venue at the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas, and then return six more times in 2014, the casino announced Tuesday. The 3,000-capacity theater, called the Chelsea, features glass chandeliers, brick walls, a grand staircase, high ceilings and a vintage wooden bar. The Cosmopolitan is touting the space as an “avant garde” venue where fans can get an up-close look at stars who usually play arenas. Chief Executive Officer John Unwin said earlier in the year that the space would be an antidote to vanilla venues along the Strip. Asked about the project’s price tag, Cosmopolitan spokesman Alyssa Anderson said the company does not disclose capital costs. In a statement, Mars warned Vegas to get ready for him and the Hooligans, his eight-piece backup band. The 27-year-old songwriter and producer turned frontman will lead his audience in the New Year’s countdown, taking on a role often performed up and down the Strip by Sin City regulars like Kim Kardashian and Nicki Minaj. Tickets start at $150.
Her license suspended, Dina Lohan left a suburban New York courthouse in a chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce on Tuesday after entering an innocent plea on speeding and drunken-driving charges. Lohan, 50, was surrounded by a media throng usually associated with her troubled actress daughter, Lindsay, as she left a Long Island courthouse after her arraignment. She was released without bail until her next court appearance Oct. 23. Apparently, the only family member accompanying Lohan to court was her mother, Ann Sullivan. Judge Joy Watson released Lohan without bail but ordered her driver’s license suspended,citing the severity of the drunken-driving charge. State police arrested Lohan on Sept. 12 after stopping her for purportedly driving 77 mph in a 55 mph zone on a Long Island parkway. Police said her blood-alcohol level was 0.20, more than double the legal limit of 0.08. Defense attorney Mark Heller said his client has no criminal record and is a lifelong resident of Long Island who has raised four children as a single mother. He did not specifically address the allegations against her, and she did not comment to reporters.
Front Section, Pages 2 on 09/25/2013