Latest / Vegas Revealed / Oksana Baiul Reveals Plans for Las Vegas | Ep. 29

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Oksana Baiul Reveals Plans for Las Vegas | Ep. 29 · Vegas Revealed

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_03: Welcome to Vegas Revealed episode 29.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_03: This week we have a world exclusive on Vegas Revealed with world champion and Olympic gold medal figure skater Oksana Bayul, the exciting new show that she has coming to Las Vegas and possibly to your town.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: We've got that and much more.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_01: Stick with us.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_01: Vegas Reveal is next.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_03: Welcome to Vegas Revealed.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_03: It's our 29th episode, closing in on 30 as we uh enter the month of August.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_03: Thanks for being here.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_03: I'm Sean McAllister.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm Dana Roselli.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: And no, I can't believe it's August already.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_01: Isn't that crazy?
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's I don't know.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_01: Like sometimes I feel like time's flying, and then sometimes I feel like it's taking forever.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: It literally changes week to week.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_03: Well, it's just like we were talking on the phone earlier today, and I was like, oh my God, Dana, doesn't it feel like this week has been taking forever?
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_03: You were like, no, it feels like it flew by.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_03: I was like, oh, okay.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_03: So it's different for everybody depending on what you have going on.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: It really is.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we are we're sitting in August, and we listen, we got some new numbers today uh from the LVC VA talking about how many visitors we had in June.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: And I think this is really interesting because this is when, right around when, you know, the strip reopened.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: And obviously there's been resorts and casinos sort of opening, you know, week by week or month by month.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: They keep adding more in the mix.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, when we had that first opening, everyone was curious, like how many people came to town?
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: Were we, you know, what was the occupancy and all that kind of thing?
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_01: But um apparently the numbers are like um, you know, just a little bit over a million visitors in June following that reopening and that staggering reopening of the resorts.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: So the visitation numbers apparently based on like a weighted average of roughly 95,000 hotel rooms that were available to book during that month, as several resorts started welcoming people back.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: And that was June 4th when we reopened.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: So, I mean, people came.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: Hey.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_03: They did.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_03: And if you are listening from out of town, the LVCVA is the Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Authority, and they're the ones who uh really track all of uh the visitors who do come into town and how much you spend and where you stay and what you do and what actually draws you here.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_03: And they do a lot of the marketing uh for Las Vegas too.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_03: So they're a really good resource and a good way to get a good glimpse in into the state of Las Vegas right now.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_03: And I would say, I mean, call me crazy or stupid or whatever you want to, but I I feel like for the month of June, over a million visitors is pretty good considering what we have going on.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_03: Obviously, not what we would be used to if you know everything was firing on all cylinders across the world, but still not bad.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: No, and occupancy averages were kind of you know a little bit higher on the weekends than they were the weekdays, which is probably expected normally.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, obviously we don't have any conventions in town and things like that to spike up those midweek numbers.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: But um, and then June or July, excuse me, will be interesting to see when those numbers come out because that's when you know they had uh the rules enforced that you have to wear a mask inside the casino.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that there was no way you could even be in the casino without a mask.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: So we'll have to see if the numbers dipped then.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_01: But for now, those are the numbers from June.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: So we are open.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: Everyone listening, you can come to Las Vegas.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: There are things open, things you can do.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: If you're in the casino, you have to have a mask, but you can go out to the pool.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, as long as you're masked, you don't have to wear the mask in the pool.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then we have a lot of restaurants open too.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: And like we mentioned in last week's podcast, it was really popular.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: We got a lot of listeners for that.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we talked about all the outdoor things we have that you can do in the morning and evening, and there's a lot around Las Vegas.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_03: There really is.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_03: And and something to keep in mind is that we don't even have all of our resort casinos opened yet.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_03: There's a handful that are still closed down, and the ones that are open are only open at a reduced capacity, so they're not even able to sell out every single room, even if they wanted to.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_03: That's just based on uh running at 50% occupancy, so they're only making half of their rooms available.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_03: If that, you know, it's all depending on demand right now.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_03: But um, you know, that just gives you an idea of what's going on here in Las Vegas as we keep going through.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, it still is a reopening process until we get everything back open.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_03: It's a reopening process.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_01: It's true.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: And and with that process, everyone was wondering with our brand new stadium opening, Allegiance Stadium, where the Raiders and UNLV are going to play.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: We did find out just last week that the games will go on, but there will not be any fans allowed in the stadium to watch the games the entire season, right, Sean?
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: It's the entire season.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, the uh the the team's owner came out and said that that nope, they are not going to have fans in the stadium the entire season.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_03: And I mean, this is a multi-million dollar facility that everybody has been waiting, everybody's been chomping at the bit to get inside and and see what has been rising up out of the desert floor.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_03: Last week we told you Garth Brooks was supposed to hold this big concert to kick off the arena and officially open it.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_03: That's been pushed back to next year, and now fans, uh, NFL fans, fans of the Raiders, are not going to be allowed to go to the game.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_03: So season ticket holders are being offered refunds uh if they want them, which I assume that they would.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but yeah, it's that's just a disappointment.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_03: But that comes on on the news that you know there's at least, you know, six dozen NFL players who are choosing to sit out the season themselves out of coronavirus spheres.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: One one positive note is that uh hockey's back.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: They don't have fans either right now, but we're able to watch it on TV.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: And the Golden Knights are on a streak.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: It's been fun.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, it's been great.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_03: So we've been uh largely uh up to this point um, you know, playing in the round robin uh part of the tournament, and that's to decide um the the our our seeding, our place in the Western Conference.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_03: And we've won our first three games in the round robin series.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_03: We've got another one uh coming up, and then it's into you know the uh official play to advance toward um the the Stanley Cup.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_03: And and we're still we have been pulling out some really good wins.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_03: Oh my goodness.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_01: Really, sometimes it's like we're going, we're going, then we start getting tied up, and then we're behind, and then boom, we just pull it out of nowhere.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: And that just kind of seems like what we've been doing.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: So it's been so much fun to watch, you know.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, hockey's so big here now in Las Vegas, and ice skating is so popular.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: Speaking of that, you know, I'm extremely honored to have our guest that we're about to interview today.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_03: And we're just gonna jump right into it today.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_03: Oksana Bayul is the Olympic gold medal figure skater who captured the world's attention at the 1994 Winter Games.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_03: She's since gone on to develop lifestyle and entertainment projects, and that continues today, right here on the Las Vegas Strip.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's so exciting.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_01: We're excited to have Oksana Bayul with us.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: And Oksana, a lot of people don't realize that you actually live in Las Vegas.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_02: I try to stay on the radar in Las Vegas.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_02: I've done a couple events, I did more than one where I'm on standard.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_02: And um, other than that, uh, when my bacon was born, Vegas born, I just I just wanted to spend time with her.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_02: I I just enjoyed living a normal life, not doing interviews, not putting makeup on, just just be myself.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, no, that's not being yourself.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: Sounds like heaven.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_02: Uh just just just just go out and just just just cheel us.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and we want to get into to what it's what life has been like uh since you moved here to Las Vegas, but first I want to get to the Olympics.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_03: Obviously, with everything that's been going on, the summer games had to be pushed back.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm just curious, from an athlete's point of view, with all the training that you have to do to get ready for the Olympic Games, I can you explain how big of a disappointment it's gotta be for the athletes who've trained so hard to get ready to perform on the world stage?
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_02: Sean, it's absolutely devastating because to some people it might feel like they lost a loved one, and it's you spend your whole entire life pretty much doing the same thing day over day by day, and then all of a sudden you are being told you can't do it, so it's just like whoa, but they have to stay mentally strong, and I highly recommend them not to give up, and we will go back to normal, and everything hopefully we'll get back on track.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_02: Because they used to be all in the same year, but then they said, Oh god, it's too much work for us.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_02: They actually divided them.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_02: So I got lucky because I should have been performing like if everything was going according to the plan, if they would split them up summer games and winter games, I would have been um performing in 1998 two years later.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, and a lot of things are happening according to what we cannot um like hold on to, you know, like in 1991, uh CCCP collapsed because I was born Russian, and uh when Russia's got up to 15 different republics, all of a sudden they told me you're representing Ukraine now.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_02: So, first time the whole Olympic team went to the Olympic Games.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_02: Oh my goodness gracious, I won the Games, and then they couldn't find the National Lantern because nobody expected me to win.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_02: Then they had to win, then national team leader had to go back to the Olympic village, grab the national lantern, bring it back, then they played it, and oh listen, this medal, okay, holds the highest ratings ever in the Interolympic sports.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_02: So here it is, Dana.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_02: It's for you for you, Sean.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_02: Wow, look at that.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_02: And I used to keep this in a shoebox because I used to live up high in the high-rise, and now I live in a house, so basically I can't keep it at home.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_02: God forbid something happens to it.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_02: So, Sean, when you uh texted Carla last night, can we have this?
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_02: We had to send an assistant to um a bank to get it from the vault.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_02: So this is the medal.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_02: It always has two sides to a story, obviously, the front and behind the scenes.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_02: But we will talk about what's really the matter.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_02: And yeah, I'm so excited to have this.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: What does it feel like looking at it again?
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for getting that for us.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Dana, it feels it feels like I have I have achieved what I was working my my 16 years of my life for.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_02: I was starting skating when I was three and a half.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's it feels it feels as my friends would say, fabulous to have this in my hand.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's it's such an accomplishment.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's beautiful, it's it's gold, it's beautiful.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_01: And there's so much emotion when watching that.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, the crime, you know, just uh you can just tell what an emotional moment that was for you.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: Does it feel like a lifetime ago or does it feel like yesterday?
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_02: I got injured the day before.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_02: So everything was online, and when you compete, you pretty much put everything online.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_02: You have nothing to hold back to.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_02: You just go on there and you do your best.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, it felt overwhelming.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, for someone who is that young, and you might not have enough LB games, and to put all you got, all you know, just in that four and a half minutes, it could be overwhelming, yes.
• 13:59
  unknown: Yeah.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_03: And and we did uh we re-watched your routine and your your winning moment last night, and that really is something that um is uh just a crowning uh achievement.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_03: So congratulations on that, but also congratulations on everything that you've done since then.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_03: You ventured into uh lifestyle brands and also uh entertainment, and uh this is all uh while you know now being uh a mom.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_02: This medal was a turning point in my life because I moved to the United States and my first stop before the Olympics was 1993 uh 1993 um champions and ice tour.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_02: So we came to Vegas, and then I was being brought in to see Zig Fried and Roy.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_02: Somebody purchased a ticket for me, and we went, and we actually saw the show for the first time, and I was blown away.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_02: It was the best show on the street, and I just went to the backstage, I remember, and they were started bringing their tigers, babies, and all the animals, and I was just standing like this, you know, looking at them, and then afterwards, you know, I guess whoever I was with at that time, they kind of left me alone for maybe a minute or two.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_02: So I thought, okay, I'll go gamble.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_02: If everybody's gambling, I'll go gamble.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_02: So I went to gamble, and then Security comes in and he's like telling me something because I really didn't speak English back then, and I couldn't even understand what he was saying, and then I was like, I guess I am not allowed to gamble because I was only 15 at that time.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's that was my first impression of the United States, Las Vegas.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_02: I was 15, and then I went on tour to do 78 shows, and it was just breathtaking to see every state after state after state, and then I went back home to Odessa to get ready to get ready to compete in 1994.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_03: And so 1993 was the the first time that you came here to Las Vegas.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_03: You saw Siegfried and Roy, you had your uh I guess first taste at gambling a little bit, and now uh you moved back here to Las Vegas, what, six years ago?
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_02: Six years ago we decided to move uh uh to move to Vegas to West Coast.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I see on your Instagram page your daughter's ice skating now, too.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: Ice skating has become so popular in Las Vegas.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, yes, yes, yes.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_02: Ice is actually making it in the desert.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_02: We were actually the first touring show in 19, if my memory recalling me pretty well like 97.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_02: We were the first ice skating show here in Las Vegas who were opening up Thomas and Max Center.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, Champions and Ice were because we used to do a show at MGM Grant uh where they do boxing matches, but we were only able to pull 5,000 people there, and obviously it wasn't enough for us.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_02: So when they have built Thomas and Mac, we moved there, and I remember 12,000 people show up to see the show, and it's pretty much the same thing what's happening here for golden nights.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, who would have thought, you know?
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, the whole city will be supporting our team like we do.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_02: And yes, Sophia is going to the ring and she's skating, and I took her a year and a half ago, and she loves it.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_02: She's teaching me how to skate.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_02: I don't really teach her how to skate.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_03: And and so is she going to follow in mom's footsteps and have eyes on the Olympics?
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_02: I think she's going to be a great entertainer because she's interested in music, languages, she's very good, she loves to draw, and she loves to skate, she loves to dance, she likes play piano.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_02: She's a multicultural kid.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_02: I it she loves everything, and she's telling me because Papa uh has a huge map of the world.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_02: She says to me, Mama, I want to travel to India and I want to travel to China, and you can stay home and I'll do this with my so yeah.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_02: She I just I just support her in what she likes to do.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_02: I I'm just introducing her to everything, pretty much.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_01: Well, listen, we have people that join us from all over the world, and a lot of people come to visit Las Vegas and love it so much.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_01: You living here for uh about six years, is there any favorite things that you love to do or that you want to tell people that are listening, like, oh, you gotta do this, it's great, whether it's on the strip, off the strip.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, absolutely, absolutely.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_02: You can take kids to Discovery Museum.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_02: It's our most beautiful, most favorite place to go to because it's five floors of fun, and you can just do everything there.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_02: I highly recommend people to go to um Ms.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_02: Center.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_02: I love it there, and of course, I have a couple spots where I like to go to and eat burgers and Chinese food, you know.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_03: We'll keep those secret spots under wraps for now so that they can stay your secret spots.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_02: Sean.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_03: It's our secret, it's our secret.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_03: And yeah, I know that um you and your husband have been uh developing something that we could see coming here to the Las Vegas strip.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_03: How are we gonna do it?
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_03: Good.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_04: How are you?
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_03: Fantastic, Carlo.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you for uh joining in on the conversation.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_03: Uh so you and Oksana have been in development um of an an ice show, and there's possibility that we could see it on the strip.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_04: Yes.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_04: Um, just to be very blunt, I will give you the exclusive on it because we have not announced it.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_04: So we like it for both of you.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_04: I actually, through my company, have purchased all rights to Champions All Ice Tour.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_04: What I basically did as an homage for my wife is she headlined the tour for so many years, and it grew from obviously theater and small arenas all the way up to stadiums.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_04: And my whole aspect was she's very um aware of how blessed she is with all she's gone through in her life.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_04: But she worked so hard, and I like to say for so many other people.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_04: And it's time now, if she's going to do this, that she should be doing it and having more of a reward for it, shall we say.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_04: So So I ended up by good fortune being able to secure all of the rights to Champions On Ice brand, name, trademark.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_04: It's all done.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_04: They tried for like 20 years to get this done, and no one could, and I was able to do it.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_04: So the exclusive is that I am taking meetings now with a bunch of the casino resorts.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_04: The goal and the hope is because this is home and it is, you know, our family's town, we would love for the world to come back to Las Vegas and enjoy all that this beautiful paradise Las Vegas has to offer.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_04: Um and she has such a huge global fan base.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_04: She hasn't been able to tap into that as much because it's exhausting, the truth be told.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_04: And they all now are able to come here to Las Vegas if we do it as a sort of like a residency style show, a permanent anchor for one of the resort casinos.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_04: And um, so right now there's quite a beautiful reception, in addition to another show that I previously actually uh created and been talking about.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_04: So we're moving in the right direction.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_04: The deal is not inked yet, so I'm open to phone calls.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_04: We want it to be the right spot, the right fit.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_04: And it's gonna be it'll be amazing.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_04: People love, I've noticed, nostalgia also, but they want it modernized, and you have to be able to gap the generations.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_04: So that's the other impact that I think Vegas is just it's really an interesting as a businessman, as an investor, also, not just a producer, which I know a lot of people think that's all I do, but the investor side.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_04: I just I find it very interesting to bring all of these different cultures and people from different countries and different age groups and generations and you know, just everybody, all into one place to enjoy the artistry and the beauty of this thing that's been my wife's passion.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_04: That I, in my humble opinion, feel no one else is better on this planet.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_04: Certainly, no one can draw the audience like she can.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_04: That's the investor speaking, because I've done my research.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_04: So she'll be headlining it, and we'll be bringing in all these various different stars of the world of ice from around the world and having them as guest feature performers rotating.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_04: That's the concept.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_04: And there you have it.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_01: It it made listen, thank you for the exclusive.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_01: This is why we call it Vegas Revealed.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_01: You revealed a very big piece of news.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_01: We love it.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_01: I must tell you, when you're describing it and when you're talking about uh Oksana, and it really like literally makes the the hair stand up on my arms.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_01: It sounds like just such a great show.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_01: And you're right, people from all over the world come here.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_01: So, not why not have something that's full of culture and nostalgia?
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I think we've had so many ice shows come through through the years, you know, for a few days here and there, but for something to be a standstill, I think it's gonna work.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_04: It's not only that, the interesting thing, if you have time, like 30 seconds for the backstory to it, I basically had created, I spent about three years developing through my production company an actual amuse style, if you will, full production.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_04: To the likes of, and these are not my words, these are three top executives in Vegas that I've met with, like top top, have all said the strip has never seen a show like this before.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_04: This is going to literally be a game changer, which I was extremely humbled by.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_04: And then, of course, you know, the strip is always evolving, let's put it that way.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_04: And um, the bottom line is having met with them, it created a catalyst.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_04: And that catalyst has led further.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_04: So it's not just ice, it's a multi-platform, if you will, of entertainment bringing in different genres.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_04: So it's not just an ice show.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_04: People that love dance, people that love um from different parts of the world, like you know, Moroccan style dancing, or there's ballet from Russia, let's say, or there's Spanish, um, uh the um, oh geez, I just went blank.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_04: You know, the thank you, the flamingo.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_04: All of these different types and styles incorporated in, and then different types of vocalizing from pop to opera.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_04: It it's just there, it's something like you've never seen before.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_04: And I know everybody says that, but this is for real, something like you've never seen before.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_04: So it's exciting, it's very exciting.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_04: I'm looking forward to finalizing a deal, and hopefully, when we all can return back to being next to one another in an audience and enjoying the energy and the spirit of everyone's artistry live.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_04: Hopefully, the show will be one of your options to come and see.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_02: There is a number that a very famous number for me that my fans know very well.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_02: It's an LRV number where I skate with the mask.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_02: And I did that number in 1995, and since that time it became like my swan number, it's like a business card.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_02: So when the pandemic happened, oh my god, every single fan went back to it and said, Oh, look, she's already skated with the mask.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_02: So you for her.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_03: You're ahead of your time.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_03: I love that.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_02: I guess, I guess.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_02: So there is a lot of business cards I pretty much have.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_02: And one of them right now is the Arabian that everyone talks about with the mask.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_04: Which is incorporated into one of the numbers, by the way.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_04: She's revisiting it and reimagining it.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_04: So it should be something that everyone has an idea of walking in and leave saying, I had no idea that's what I was going to see.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_04: That's the goal.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_04: Totally reimagined, reinvented without leaving behind her, forgetting the actual platform of how specific numbers became so globally famous for her.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_04: I've tried to keep that historical content, that purest attitude, if you will, to the actual redevelopment of the numbers within the different parts of the shows.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_03: So, I mean, this is uh big news that Champions on Ice is coming back.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_03: Also, uh Las Vegas Ice Spectacular in the works, both starring uh Oksana Bayul.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_03: And I mean, is it any coincidence that Vegas has kind of turned into an ice town since you guys arrived here six years ago?
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_04: No, you want me to be off, no?
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_04: I know that you already know the rumors, if that's what you're asking me to address.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_04: I um I did take meetings, and I will just be blunt with you.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_04: After everyone gave all of that uh accredited, that applause, that oh my god, this is incredible.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_04: But dude, ice will never work in Vegas.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_04: You're crazy.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_04: Don't put your money into this, don't put any time into it.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_04: It'll never work.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_04: I heard it from everybody.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_02: Well, but then that's what we're famous for.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we make impossible to make it possible.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_04: I five.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_04: I love that.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_02: Hallelujah.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_04: That's basically how it happened.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_04: I um, without naming names, it's one of the giants on the strip.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_04: And I met with three of their top executives.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it was the CEO, the president, and CFO, blown away by the show.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_04: And then they just simply had said, but this will never work in Vegas.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_04: And lo and behold, that ended up, I was told by the well, one of the executives, he called me about three months before the announcement that I love hockey by the way.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_04: So the NHL team was coming.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_04: We were gonna have at the time they didn't even know it would be the Vegas Knights, it was just the Vegas ice hockey team for professionally.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_04: And um, he called me and was like, How the heck did you know?
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_04: What kind of crystal ball did you have?
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_04: This is just this is crazy.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_04: And then another one called, and then another one called.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_04: So, of course, my response was, Well, let's get back to that conversation about the show.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_04: And now, everyone, of course, it opened up that channel, if you will, for discussion, which is awesome.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_04: And my gosh, this city needed it.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_04: Let's just be honest, without you know, going into that area too much.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_04: Um, it came at the right time, and it was such a unifying blessing, I think, for all Las Vegas to come together, especially after you know we had to deal with October and whatnot.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_04: And it just was such an uplifting and an amazing time for that to bless our city and to come along.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_04: So, yeah, it's exciting.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_04: I definitely don't want to say I take credit for it at all, but do I know most of the players involved?
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_04: Yes.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_04: And did I have conversations with most of them?
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_04: Yes.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_04: And I'm very happy that it worked out for all of them.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_04: So I wasn't the crazy one.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_04: How about that?
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_01: And I and I love that you guys, you seem to work uh so well together.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_01: You support each other, you lift each other up, you have ideas for each other, and and you're married.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_01: It's such a wonderful partnership that you have.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_01: I can see it.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_01: And and anybody behind a show that works so well together is is only going to bring success.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_04: I agree with you on that, but you may want to comment on that.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_04: I would say I'm Italian, she is Ukrainian-Russian, but we are both American.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_04: So mix that combination.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_04: You've got opinions, you've got passion, you've got strong voices.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_04: And I think the truth is for some people that hurts their working relationship.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_04: For us, we've actually found a way to make it benefit because let's face it, not every single idea that you come up with is amazing, right?
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_04: And I would say that we balance absolutely.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_02: When I met Carlo, I did step away from a spotlight because I wanted to navigate my life, and I wanted to find things that I wanted to do in my life, and when I'm ready, I'm I'm I'm doing to do something back.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_03: I was gonna say it sounds like you're ready.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, we we're working, we're working on it, but I always I when I turn 32 I start understanding things in a perspective where some some some things you can push, push, push, and they are not and some things, if it's meant to be yours, it will be yours.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_02: Like champions and I show.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_02: It's just it's just I am so real without the name, and it means so much to me because the original owner who passed away is named some house.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_02: And he was a father too.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_02: I feel like his legacy has to stay alive because he's done so much for the world scene.
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_02: So we make it work.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_04: And if I can contribute one quick thing to that, yeah, I spoke with Tommy.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_04: I spoke with Tommy about maybe a year, I think it was a year before he passed, right?
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_04: Tom Collins was tough, but you don't become a titan of your specific industry by being a sweetheart all the time.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_04: If we can just be one.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_04: I know everyone doesn't like to hear that, but it's the truth.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_04: You've got to make tough calls.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_04: Not everyone's gonna like you every day.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_04: Tommy said the day that Oksana exited the tour as my headliner in the year 2000, it went downhill without her.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_04: And yet everyone else that was on was the same casting crew for the most part.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_04: Now, as a businessman, as an investor, I was like, hmm, you know, the light bulbs start to go on.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_04: And then you start to research, and he was really telling the truth.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_04: He said, I asked her more than once to come back, but she just she wasn't having it, you know what I mean?
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_04: Because she had moved on to a different situation.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_04: And the bottom line is Tommy had said to me, I would love to know that my legacy lived on, and that Oksana was the headliner, ironically, that she was the headliner of Champions on Ice one more time, because she was literally, even though some skaters out there say Tommy considered them like the daughter, Tommy literally said to me, Oksana is the daughter that I never had.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_04: And she is a pistol, and she is wonderful and she can be challenging, but it's because she is a true artist, and she started so young.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_04: And I think that just rest in peace, Tommy.
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_04: I was beside myself when I found out from my attorneys, you've got it.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_04: Carlo, you have control of champions on ice because I know I'll do justice by it.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_04: I'm a hell of a producer, but I'm a smart businessman also, and I just know that it's gonna be amazing.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_02: She is so brave.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_02: Sean and Dana, I have a story to tell you.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, in 1994, right before we went on this big huge Olympic tour, right after the Olympic games.
• 35:23
  SPEAKER_02: We were here in Sesar Palace, and Tommy invited us.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know which restaurant it was, but it wasn't.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_02: And he actually I remember it was so many forms, it was so many plates at the restaurant that I had no idea which one to use.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_02: But I remember it was that big box standing on one of my plates, and I opened it and there was a Roman's watch.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_02: He gave it to me, and he said, This is to you for me, and I still wear it, I still have it.
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_00: What a special moment.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_01: Something you'll always remember, and now something that you can hold on to and look at.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_01: What thanks for sharing that with us.
• 36:16
  SPEAKER_01: What a special story.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_04: You got the tears.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_03: I got the cheers, Oksana, Carlo.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you both so much.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_03: We love having you a part of the Las Vegas community.
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_03: And yeah, thank you for breaking your news with us here on Vegas Revealed.
• 36:33
  SPEAKER_03: You're very welcome.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 36:35
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you guys.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_00: What a pleasure.
• 36:37
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you very much.
• 36:37
  SPEAKER_04: Can I just see by the way to both of you also?
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_04: Congratulations to both of you.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_04: This is awesome that you're both doing this podcast.
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_04: It's great for Vegas.
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_04: And uh, you guys have such an accomplished career, both of you.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_04: So we're just we're really happy for them.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_04: We were talking about it earlier before we went on camera.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, so that's huge, massive success to both of you.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_04: Go Vegas.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_03: Go Vegas, absolutely.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_01: That means so much.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_01: A pleasure being with both of you, and I hope to run into you in person soon, okay?
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_03: I'm sure we will.
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_03: We live close.
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we do.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_00: Take care.
• 37:13
  SPEAKER_00: Bye.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_02: Take care.
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, such a great conversation.
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_03: Loved that.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_03: And stick around here on Vegas Revealed.
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_03: Our tips are next.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_03: Thanks for listening to Vegas Revealed.
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_03: As always, we appreciate you, and we want to hear from you too.
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_01: We have a lot of ways that we can hear from you.
• 37:33
  SPEAKER_01: And one of them is going to our website, Vegas-Revealed.com.
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_01: There we've got video clips, we have articles, also, all our podcasts are listed.
• 37:41
  SPEAKER_01: But we also have an email there that you can just click on.
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_01: It's called ideas at vegash revealed.com.
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_01: You can write us and let us know what you want us to talk about.
• 37:50
  SPEAKER_01: We want to hear from you.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_01: But we also love the reviews, Sean, that's for sure.
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_03: That's right.
• 37:55
  SPEAKER_03: Click on those little stars, as many of them as you can, and also go down below and uh write up a quick review, what you like about the podcast, and uh maybe even what you'd like to hear.
• 38:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we always appreciate that.
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_01: It really helps if you could subscribe and review us, especially on Apple Podcasts.
• 38:13
  SPEAKER_01: It really helps just, you know, have us show up in some of the search engines.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_01: So we appreciate you.
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_01: We thank you for listening.
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_01: And if you could take a moment and do that, we would love it.
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_01: Also, again, check out our website, Vegas-Revealed.com.
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_01: All right, it's time for Dana and Sean's tips.
• 38:32
  SPEAKER_01: And Sean, I've been meaning to mention that I went to this new place called the Vegas Room.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_01: I discussed it with you.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_01: I was heading over there with our friend Johnny Kath for a Sunday brunch.
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't even really know much about it when I went, but it's kind of becoming the place to be.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_01: It's at Commercial Center, which is just really close to the strip.
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_01: You basically go north and just before the stratosphere, you'd you'd hang a right and maybe go a few blocks, and you're right there at commercial center.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_01: It's really old school.
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and the Vegas room is getting a lot of buzz right now on social media.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_03: This is one of the one of the only places, one of a handful of places, I should say, that's doing live entertainment.
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_03: And they're they're able to do that because it comes with your meal.
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_01: Mm-hmm.
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, as long as you're eating, they can have some some performances in the corner or in the front or on a little stage that they have.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_01: And this is one of those places it's really cool when you pull up because they have a red door, so you can't miss it.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_01: But and it says the Vegas room.
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_01: But I went to the Sunday brunch that they offer, and it's at 1 p.m.
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_01: Really cool.
• 39:37
  SPEAKER_01: It's$49 per guest, but you get served all these different courses, and they have vegan options.
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_01: It's a five-course kind of meal, brunch.
• 39:47
  SPEAKER_01: And they have an amazing iced coffee that they do up fresh there that's really good too.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_01: Sounds good, doesn't it?
• 39:55
  SPEAKER_01: And it was a great experience because you do that, you enjoy your brunch.
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_01: Then they have the performances come out and you get to be entertained and you get to sit there and enjoy and watch.
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_01: Then they take a quick little break of the entertainment, they bring out your dessert, and then they do some more entertainment.
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_01: So it's really like a few hours of, you know, kind of you get a lot out of it because once you're there, everyone's there with you.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_01: No one's coming and going.
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_01: And so it is a really great experience.
• 40:21
  SPEAKER_01: If you want more information, it's thevegasroom.com.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_01: But they have all sorts of different performers doing piano, singing, and it was really enjoyable.
• 40:30
  SPEAKER_01: And when I was there, I was there with uh John Katz, who's a columnist for the Review Journal, and a woman from I believe it was Milwaukee stopped and talked to him and said, I read this in your column.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_01: I'm here, I visit Vegas all the time.
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_01: And since there's not much to do, I've been looking for things, so that's why we're here for the brunch.
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_01: You know, they're just people are just looking for things to do to get out and be entertained a little bit.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and uh the and talk about the caliber of entertainment.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_03: Um, the entertainment director at the Vegas room is Broadway star Brent Barrett, who is absolutely phenomenal.
• 41:03
  SPEAKER_03: We've known him here in Las Vegas for years because he starred as uh the Phantom in Phantom, the Las Vegas Spectacular that was uh staged over at the Venetian.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_03: They built a special theater for it.
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_03: That really one of my favorite Vegas shows of all time, absolutely spectacular.
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_03: And Brent is amazing.
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_03: So he has been uh you know using his contacts in the entertainment industry and having his uh friends get up and and perform.
• 41:32
  SPEAKER_03: So there's nobody better to really uh orchestrate a great show than Brent.
• 41:39
  SPEAKER_03: And we've been in contact with him, and he has said that he will come on the podcast and we'll have tons to talk about with him.
• 41:46
  SPEAKER_03: So stay tuned in the weeks to come for our chat with Brent.
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_03: But um, when you come to town, go to the Vegas room.
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it was great.
• 41:53
  SPEAKER_01: He was there too, Brent, and he's in control of the room.
• 41:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's really old school in there, too.
• 41:57
  SPEAKER_01: People will love it.
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_01: So check it out.
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_01: I definitely highly recommend it.
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_01: And uh Commercial Center is is old and a little bit part, you know, there's a lot of parts of it that are empty, but the ones that they do have filled in there, some other Thai restaurants, and then uh Lotus of Siam, which so many people know of, a very, very popular restaurant is located in there, but it's shut down for a while because they've had so many issues and they opened somewhere else, and they had to close that one.
• 42:21
  SPEAKER_01: But we're just hearing now, I just saw in an email that we get with some different kinds of restaurant alerts that the commercial center location is now open for dinner only, 5 30 to 10.
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_01: So they do recommend reservations, but I know a lot of people, you know, when a lot of people come to Vegas, they kind of like to know the little local places.
• 42:39
  SPEAKER_01: Some people like to do that, get off the strips.
• 42:42
  SPEAKER_03: Well, and in Lotus of Siam, if if you're wondering uh about how good it is there, they have won James Beard Awards, which the James Beard Award is like uh the the Oscars of the food world.
• 42:56
  SPEAKER_03: The best of the best get James Beard Awards, and Lotus of Siam, um, I I believe has received a few.
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_03: And um, I mean, they're amazing, tons of accolades, really a local favorite and a favorite for uh people coming in from out of town, too.
• 43:13
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm glad to see that that they're back open as well because they are top-notch.
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_01: Listen, we're getting there, everyone, little by little.
• 43:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we hope over the next few months maybe we'll be open every single episode since we started or since our, but listen, new things keep opening and we're excited about it.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_01: But it's true.
• 43:37
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh.
• 43:37
  SPEAKER_01: And every week we struggle with our tips sometimes because we're like, well, what Vegas y tips can we give?
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_01: But then we go, oh, we do have so many.
• 43:43
  SPEAKER_01: We think about this, that, this, you know, we're like, oh yeah, I did that.
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_01: So I mean, so there are still things out there, and and yeah, I'll say it again baby steps.
• 43:52
  SPEAKER_03: So thanks for for bearing with us as we take these baby steps right along the way.
• 43:58
  SPEAKER_03: And uh, we'll be back with more good stuff for you next week here on Vegas Revealed.
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_01: Have a great week, everyone.
• 44:10
  SPEAKER_01: The desert sky is cold, but the neon has been wrong.