Latest / Vegas Revealed / Nostalgia is HOT in Las Vegas, Happy New Year | Ep. 301
Transcript
- 0:00SPEAKER_12: Vegas Revealed, presented by Galindo Law, starts now.
- 0:04Sean McAllister: Welcome to Vegas Revealed.
- 0:06Sean McAllister: We hope you're having a great holiday season getting ready for 2026.
- 0:11Sean McAllister: Sean McAllister and Dana Roselli here with you.
- 0:13Dayna Roselli: Yeah, and we told you we were taking just a little time off, but we wanted to share with you a TV episode that we did that we're pretty proud of because we really feel like it touches on something that all of us have been experiencing.
- 0:27Dayna Roselli: And we're talking about nostalgia.
- 0:28Sean McAllister: It is everywhere.
- 0:30Sean McAllister: From the clothes we wear, the food we eat, the entertainment we consume, it is nostalgia, nostalgia, nostalgia.
- 0:38Sean McAllister: And we've noticed that that's a big trend with a lot of things coming here to Las Vegas.
- 0:43Dayna Roselli: And even since we've done this, more and more nostalgia has come our way.
- 0:48Dayna Roselli: We keep going, see, see, see.
- 0:50Dayna Roselli: We were right.
- 0:50Dayna Roselli: We called it.
- 0:51Dayna Roselli: Um, we really did, but we were seeing such a trend.
- 0:54Dayna Roselli: And, you know, we've chatted with so many different people um lately over the last year celebrities, uh, musicians, actors, actresses, um, about this very thing.
- 1:07Dayna Roselli: And we like put it all together and and did a story about it.
- 1:12Dayna Roselli: We we even interviewed Frankie Shinta, who you know, and some of the things uh that you'll hear in this show, like we've posted interviews about them in the audio podcast before, but this section is something different.
- 1:26Sean McAllister: Right.
- 1:26Sean McAllister: So uh this week we are presenting that the TV episode of Vegas Revealed that is all about nostalgia.
- 1:36Sean McAllister: And you're gonna hear that this week, and we hope you enjoy it.
- 1:40Dayna Roselli: Yeah, so this will be the audio version.
- 1:41Dayna Roselli: If you do want to see the television version, you can always search our YouTube.
- 1:45Dayna Roselli: You can find us right under Vegas Revealed, and um you you'll be able to see all the visuals that go along with this.
- 1:51Dayna Roselli: But we wanted to share and we hope you enjoy it.
- 1:52Dayna Roselli: And like Sean said, have a great holiday season, and we will be back in 2026.
- 1:57Sean McAllister: Welcome to Vegas Revealed.
- 1:59Sean McAllister: I'm Sean McAllister.
- 2:00Dayna Roselli: And I'm Dana Roselli.
- 2:01Dayna Roselli: Well, you know that saying, everything old is new again.
- 2:04Dayna Roselli: And that is the overall theme of the show this week.
- 2:07Sean McAllister: That's right.
- 2:07Sean McAllister: Anything nostalgic is super hot right now.
- 2:10Sean McAllister: You may have noticed that.
- 2:12Sean McAllister: And as we looked through our Vegas Revealed archive, we realize we've interviewed a lot of nostalgic singers and actors.
- 2:19Sean McAllister: And now there are even experiences here in Vegas that evoke those throwback feelings.
- 2:24Dayna Roselli: Yeah, we are excited to go through all of this.
- 2:26Dayna Roselli: But first we want to start with Glam.
- 2:28Dayna Roselli: Taylor Swift has put the showgirl back into the global spotlight recently.
- 2:33Dayna Roselli: She announced her new album is called Life of a Showgirl.
- 2:37Dayna Roselli: And Las Vegas, well, they jumped on it quick.
- 2:39Dayna Roselli: I love it.
- 2:40Dayna Roselli: We are the entertainment capital of the world.
- 2:42Dayna Roselli: We've had the showgirl around for a long time.
- 2:44Dayna Roselli: But you know what?
- 2:45Dayna Roselli: She's not the only one, and we're talking about Taylor that thinks that's important.
- 2:48Dayna Roselli: Pamela Anderson just recently starred in a film called The Last Showgirl, and it was nominated for tons of awards and filmed here in Las Vegas.
- 2:56Sean McAllister: Yeah, we also recently spoke with the Queen of Burlesque, Dita Von Tees.
- 3:00Sean McAllister: Her show is incredible over at Voltaire at the Venetian.
- 3:04Sean McAllister: She took us backstage to look up close at some of those super intricate costumes.
- 3:10Sean McAllister: She's kind of putting a new modern twist on what we think of when we think of the Vegas Showgirl.
- 3:17Dayna Roselli: Right.
- 3:17Dayna Roselli: And they use those costumes from Jubilee in the movie and also Indeed a show.
- 3:22Dayna Roselli: So, you know, bringing it back and then seeing Taylor Swift on the cover of her new album wearing this showgirl outfit, it's like the showgirl's back.
- 3:30Sean McAllister: Yeah, to the forefront of pop culture.
- 3:32Dayna Roselli: Right.
- 3:32Dayna Roselli: Well, now let's talk about music and television.
- 3:35Dayna Roselli: We recently interviewed the Lawrence brothers, Joey, Andrew, and Matthew Lawrence.
- 3:39Dayna Roselli: You know them from shows like Blossom, Boy Meets World, and Brotherly Love.
- 3:43Sean McAllister: We specifically asked them about nostalgia, and we didn't haven't aired this part of the interview yet.
- 3:49Sean McAllister: So we wanted to share it.
- 3:50Sean McAllister: We asked about the 80s and 90s and how popular those eras are again.
- 3:54Dayna Roselli: Well, Joey Lawrence especially was passionate about this topic.
- 3:58Dayna Roselli: And we think you're really going to enjoy this interview, this section of the interview, I should say.
- 4:03Dayna Roselli: And I think you're gonna agree with him too.
- 4:05Dayna Roselli: Watch this.
- 4:06SPEAKER_04: You know, the 80s and 90s, we often talk about those times.
- 4:08SPEAKER_04: I mean, looking back on them, it was pretty cool to live through them.
- 4:11SPEAKER_04: I think they were really a couple of great back-to-back decades.
- 4:14SPEAKER_04: You very rarely have had those.
- 4:15SPEAKER_04: If you if you go back in history, it's very rare you get two back-to-back great decades.
- 4:19SPEAKER_04: You know, you'll get one and then kind of it falls apart in the next one.
- 4:22SPEAKER_04: But 80s and 90s were special 20 years for sure.
- 4:24SPEAKER_04: Um that's why I think people hearken back to those with great fond memories.
- 4:27SPEAKER_04: Music was great, especially in entertainment.
- 4:29SPEAKER_05: It was an extremely wonderful time in entertainment, those 20 years back to back.
- 4:32SPEAKER_05: Kind of unparalleled.
- 4:34SPEAKER_05: The the peak of what entertainment was until really COVID and social media, these things really changed it so drastically.
- 4:42SPEAKER_05: Yeah, so true.
- 4:43SPEAKER_05: We were we were going through, if you look at the movies that came out, like between like 81 and 99, every month there's like a classic movie that you can go back and rewatch to this day.
- 4:52SPEAKER_05: Every month, I'm not kidding.
- 4:53SPEAKER_05: Sometimes two or three.
- 4:54SPEAKER_05: It's wild.
- 4:55SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
- 4:55SPEAKER_05: So they really were, it was a it was a heyday, uh, heyday for entertainment, and and I think people miss that.
- 5:01SPEAKER_04: I think people miss it.
- 5:02SPEAKER_04: I I I I know they miss the iconic entertainers.
- 5:05SPEAKER_04: I mean, today we have good entertainers, but we had iconic entertainers, and they were all over the place.
- 5:11SPEAKER_04: Um, you were able to enjoy just these people that have transcended time and will continue to transcend time.
- 5:16SPEAKER_04: I mean, the Michael Jacks of the world, the prince of the world, the Neil Diamonds of the World, Barry Matil's of the world, the Donnie Osmonds of the world, I mean, Cindy Lopper.
- 5:23SPEAKER_04: I mean, you can go on and on.
- 5:24SPEAKER_04: Madonna, it just goes on and on.
- 5:26SPEAKER_04: Lawrence Brothers, Lawrence Brothers, throw us in there in the flesh.
- 5:30SPEAKER_04: Yeah, no, but I mean, and and and it really is very different today.
- 5:33SPEAKER_04: I have two teenage daughters, my older daughters, and they're constantly bringing songs to me that trend on TikTok and IG.
- 5:39SPEAKER_04: That we grew up with that they're, I mean, like, they found Millie Vanilli, literally, found Millie Vanilli again.
- 5:44SPEAKER_04: And they're like, this is incredible, you know.
- 5:46SPEAKER_04: I mean, um, bad Mama Mama Jamma was just trending all over TikTok again.
- 5:50SPEAKER_04: People are doing the dances.
- 5:52SPEAKER_04: I mean, these are songs that make you feel things.
- 5:54SPEAKER_04: Today a lot of music is, a lot of the current music is devoid of a lot of great hooks, a lot of great melodies, it's a different kind of music.
- 6:00SPEAKER_04: You're losing a lot of the of the free flow of even like late Billy Joel and things, Lionel Ritchie and Steve Winwood and these artists that really changed music and were able to do things on the fly.
- 6:10SPEAKER_04: And I think kids are rediscovering that and going, like, wow, this is something really cool.
- 6:14SPEAKER_04: And we don't have this right now, you know?
- 6:16SPEAKER_04: So that's why they're going back to it.
- 6:17SPEAKER_04: And I'm happy it is out there for them to find, you know.
- 6:19SPEAKER_04: I mean, think about the last five years.
- 6:21SPEAKER_04: Name me like 20 songs that you could right now name me and go, everybody knows those songs.
- 6:26SPEAKER_04: They just don't exist.
- 6:27SPEAKER_04: We grew up in an era where that existed.
- 6:30Dayna Roselli: Boy, I could sit there and listen to them and have a conversation with them for hours.
- 6:34Dayna Roselli: I agree with everything they said.
- 6:36Sean McAllister: Well, and they're perfect ones to have a good perspective because they lived like on the forefront of pop culture in these decades.
- 6:44Dayna Roselli: We had a whole other sidebar about live studio audiences when they would film their sitcoms and how apparently they don't really do that anymore.
- 6:52Dayna Roselli: And he was like, You can't do a sitcom, you can't fill a sitcom without a live studio audience.
- 6:57Dayna Roselli: And I'm like, I agree.
- 6:58Sean McAllister: Yeah, and this kind of conversation is a glimpse of what you'll see on uh the Lawrence Brothers podcast.
- 7:04Sean McAllister: It's called Brotherly Love.
- 7:06Sean McAllister: They actually brought that podcast here to Las Vegas and did a stage version over at the Strat.
- 7:11Dayna Roselli: Right.
- 7:12Dayna Roselli: And one of their special guests was Debbie Gibson, and she joined them on stage and they actually talked about song hooks.
- 7:19Dayna Roselli: Debbie commented on one of her most popular songs.
- 7:23SPEAKER_02: The hook does not, and you guys know a hook is like that chorus that repetitive is shake your hook.
- 7:29SPEAKER_02: I just can't shake it up.
- 7:31SPEAKER_02: What's one of my most annoying hooks?
- 7:34Sean McAllister: I don't know.
- 7:34Sean McAllister: Shake your love, Debbie.
- 7:36Sean McAllister: That is not annoying.
- 7:37Sean McAllister: It is stuck in my head, but it's not annoying.
- 7:40Sean McAllister: It works.
- 7:40Sean McAllister: It's effective.
- 7:41Dayna Roselli: Well, let's throw it back to 1981 now when Jesse's Girl, another song with a hug, spent 32 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
- 7:50Sean McAllister: Yeah, that song also turned Rick Springfield into a Grammy winner.
- 7:55Sean McAllister: We talked to him here in Vegas about the lasting impact of that song.
- 7:58Dayna Roselli: Okay, songs like Jesse's Girl, when you hear it and you it I mean, it's been around for a long time.
- 8:03Dayna Roselli: People love it, they embrace it.
- 8:04Dayna Roselli: I feel like everyone knows it.
- 8:06Dayna Roselli: Is that something that warms your heart, or are you like, alright, I'm over Jesse's girl already?
- 8:12Dayna Roselli: I mean, it's gotta be.
- 8:14SPEAKER_07: I'm very proud of Rhythm My Life is before Jesse's girl and after Jesse's girl, really.
- 8:22SPEAKER_07: It's it's the dividing line between uh the two parts of my life, and um, you know, I I love the reaction, of course.
- 8:30SPEAKER_07: Like, really, like having someone who and uh over your child.
- 8:34SPEAKER_07: It's that personal to me.
- 8:36Dayna Roselli: I love that he's so proud of that song and he embraces it.
- 8:39Dayna Roselli: Rick Springfield is one of our most popular videos on our YouTube.
- 8:43Sean McAllister: That is true.
- 8:44Sean McAllister: I mean, Rick is just as popular as ever, kind of proving that nostalgia is king.
- 8:49Dayna Roselli: Right.
- 8:50Dayna Roselli: Well, listen, another song that you can never get out of your head is Push It.
- 8:53Dayna Roselli: Push It Good by Salton Peppa.
- 8:56Dayna Roselli: And we actually ran into Peppa at the American Music Awards over at the Fountain Blue this year.
- 9:01Dayna Roselli: She lives here in town, and you know, we had to talk to her about the 90s.
- 9:07Dayna Roselli: Music has changed so much over the years, but I noticed like everything kind of that was from like 10, 20 years ago is coming back.
- 9:14Dayna Roselli: And that's gonna feel good for you as kind of like a pioneer of that.
- 9:18SPEAKER_00: Because I'm here to stay.
- 9:19SPEAKER_00: They can't get away from the 90s.
- 9:20SPEAKER_00: It's like that time it was happy, it was fun, the music was fun, the the passion, you know, everything about it.
- 9:28SPEAKER_00: So I love that they always hold on to it.
- 9:31SPEAKER_00: But artists like me is great.
- 9:34Sean McAllister: Peppa loves it, and we love it, and we love that Peppa is now a Las Vegas resident.
- 9:38Dayna Roselli: I know.
- 9:39Dayna Roselli: It's so fun that she lives here, and I love that she's still thriving.
- 9:43Dayna Roselli: Well, listen, Backstreet Boys are proving old as new again, reliving their Millennium album.
- 9:48Dayna Roselli: It boosted the economy here in Las Vegas, I think, anyway.
- 9:52Dayna Roselli: I mean, there are white sections of clothing in stores, restaurants are full before and after the show, tickets are in demand.
- 9:59Sean McAllister: Celebrities are going to just about every single show, and Backstreet Boys have even added more shows this winter and into uh 2026.
- 10:10Sean McAllister: So, Backstreet Boys proving that the boy band era is back, which we love.
- 10:15Sean McAllister: I know.
- 10:16Sean McAllister: All right, let's go into some 90s hip hop here in one of the most successful groups of that era, Wu-Tang Clan.
- 10:24Dayna Roselli: Right.
- 10:24Dayna Roselli: They reunited on stage here in Las Vegas for a residency over at Virgin Hotel.
- 10:29Dayna Roselli: And that went so well that they were actually back Super Bowl weekend when we had it here in Las Vegas.
- 10:34Sean McAllister: And we talked to Rizza about how that group launched solo careers for a lot of the members.
- 10:40SPEAKER_09: It's it's a multiple stars in Wu Tang, right?
- 10:43SPEAKER_09: So, you know, GoldSpace has fans that'll come see him, Method Man has fans that'll come see him, Wizard has fans that'll come see him.
- 10:50SPEAKER_09: And then when you get all of us together and we're performing such an iconic album, such as 36 Chamberless, I think that um, you know, it has a magnetism to it.
- 11:01SPEAKER_09: I think the first testament is that when we were young, we created a piece of art, 36 Chambers, that resonates generation after generation because when you capture the energy of youth.
- 11:12Dayna Roselli: And let's not forget about Janet Jackson.
- 11:14Dayna Roselli: We saw her residency show at Resorts World.
- 11:16Dayna Roselli: She was great.
- 11:17Dayna Roselli: You get all the hits, her signature dance moves, and she also performed this year at the American Music Awards that were held at Fountain Blue.
- 11:25Sean McAllister: Coming up, we'll keep the nostalgia going and talk Las Vegas shows.
- 11:29Sean McAllister: And times sure have changed.
- 11:31Dayna Roselli: Yeah, we also take you to a few attractions on the strip that will have you reminiscing.
- 11:35Sean McAllister: Welcome back to Vegas Revealed as we dive into everything nostalgic.
- 11:39Dayna Roselli: Well, headliners, you know, they come and go.
- 11:41Dayna Roselli: The way shows are scheduled are so different now.
- 11:44Dayna Roselli: Singers and comedians, they come into town, they leave, they come back, they do more shows.
- 11:49Dayna Roselli: Well, it kind of used to be that they used to just be here and perform all week consistently.
- 11:53Dayna Roselli: And there are still a few of those, but what has changed?
- 11:56Sean McAllister: We talked to longtime Las Vegas showman Frankie Shinta about just that.
- 12:02SPEAKER_08: I think as the older regime moved out, the older guys that owned the casino and sold it off to corporations, these young kids came in and they do numbers.
- 12:13SPEAKER_08: Look at these numbers, ain't right.
- 12:15SPEAKER_08: Uh let's get rid of that showroom, Suncoast, perfect example.
- 12:20SPEAKER_08: Get rid of the showrooms, let's put a sports book in there.
- 12:23SPEAKER_08: And that's what happened.
- 12:25SPEAKER_08: These young kids came in mathematically, not thinking like the old guys did.
- 12:30SPEAKER_08: Hey, let's put people in the showroom.
- 12:32SPEAKER_08: After the they'll eat at our hotel, stay at our hotel, drink at our hotel, and gamble at our hotel.
- 12:38SPEAKER_08: Give them the showroom, just let them get them in here.
- 12:41SPEAKER_08: And that's what it was a marriage between the casino and the entertainer.
- 12:45SPEAKER_08: It doesn't exist anymore.
- 12:47SPEAKER_08: There are residencies right here at the South.
- 12:50SPEAKER_08: This is Michael Gon is one of the only men in town that's in control of what he does.
- 12:57SPEAKER_08: He has entertainment all the time, and he pays people.
- 13:01SPEAKER_08: It's not a four-wheel deal, which is beautiful.
- 13:04Sean McAllister: And Frankie just mentioned the South Point, and they do have a really good rundown of shows over there, including the Bronx, Wanderers, The Righteous Brothers, Human Nature, and so many more.
- 13:13Sean McAllister: And each of those groups really does take you back to another time.
- 13:16Dayna Roselli: Yeah, they have a really long list, and it's a great theater, too.
- 13:20Dayna Roselli: So, um, by the way, if you didn't know, Frankie Shinta, you know, was with the Shintas.
- 13:25Dayna Roselli: They performed at the Rio and all over town for so long.
- 13:28Dayna Roselli: So he really knows his stuff, and it was interesting to get his take.
- 13:32Dayna Roselli: He did that show there at the South Point, and he continues to do shows there, you know, as the year goes on.
- 13:37Sean McAllister: Yeah, Frankie has seen it all.
- 13:39Sean McAllister: Yeah.
- 13:40Sean McAllister: Well, experiences are in right now in Las Vegas, but just like shows, some have a nostalgic twist.
- 13:48Dayna Roselli: Right.
- 13:48Dayna Roselli: The Friends Experience, the one in Vegas, is open over at MGM Grand.
- 13:52Dayna Roselli: The flagship attraction brings the world of friends to life on the strip.
- 14:09Dayna Roselli: Were you like, this is the perfect fit?
- 14:11Dayna Roselli: It's Vegas.
- 14:12SPEAKER_11: I mean, you know, this is an incredible city, and we can reach so many people because of the tourism.
- 14:18SPEAKER_11: We don't have a flagship on the West Coast.
- 14:20SPEAKER_11: We're in New York City, but this serves our fans on the West Coast.
- 14:24SPEAKER_11: And then Vegas is very meaningful to the series because we have those Vegas episodes, which are highly memorable and fan favorites.
- 14:33SPEAKER_13: You know, if if you remember, the reason that they all came out was that Joey had left New York because he took a job in Las Vegas.
- 14:39SPEAKER_13: Um and so we've got the gladiator costume uh that that Joey wears, which is an amazing one.
- 14:45SPEAKER_13: Um we've got the wedding chapel, which, you know, to Kathleen's point, that is one of the most iconic moments because Ross and Rachel get married, but it's an accident, right?
- 14:52SPEAKER_13: But we know that it's it's coming.
- 14:54SPEAKER_13: I think for Friends fans it is about feeling like you're you're in on it, right?
- 14:58SPEAKER_13: That you're you know, stepping inside that world, that you're on the bed, that you're one of the gang.
- 15:02SPEAKER_13: And so we try to, you know, give every opportunity for you to sit on the couch, sit in the recliner, sit at Monica's table, and get those pictures.
- 15:09Sean McAllister: Could I be wearing anymore?
- 15:15Sean McAllister: David Crane.
- 15:16SPEAKER_06: David Crane.
- 15:19SPEAKER_06: Yes.
- 15:19Dayna Roselli: You guys are doing tonight! Oh my this is exciting.
- 15:23Dayna Roselli: What do you think?
- 15:23SPEAKER_06: Oh my god, we're blown away.
- 15:25SPEAKER_06: It's just absolutely surreal.
- 15:28Dayna Roselli: What you guys have created.
- 15:29Dayna Roselli: I mean, this is all you play.
- 15:31SPEAKER_06: What they've created out of what we started is really that's the thing, because we never imagined any of this.
- 15:36SPEAKER_06: This is just really an enhancement of uh bringing the show to life.
- 15:48Dayna Roselli: So much fun there.
- 15:50Dayna Roselli: The Friends Experience is located right in the district adjacent to the entrance to the Grand Garden Arena.
- 15:55Sean McAllister: Another attraction that'll make you feel like a kid is called Play Playground.
- 16:00Sean McAllister: It's over at the Luxor Hotel and Casino.
- 16:02Dayna Roselli: It's a 15,000 square foot hands-on, fully immersive attraction with over 20 games and experiences.
- 16:09SPEAKER_01: Some of our games will certainly take you back to your childhood and uh remember games that you grew up as a kid playing, whether it be board games or you know, games outside with some friends, right?
- 16:19SPEAKER_01: Um we're definitely the most playful bar in Vegas, that's that's for sure.
- 16:23SPEAKER_01: There's nothing else like us, and you know, that takes you back to the physicality and hands-on experience that you remember growing up with as a kid before computers and VR took over.
- 16:33Dayna Roselli: Yeah, and it's so cool because this attraction is for adults, but you know, we like to play all those old games, and those are life-sized.
- 16:39Dayna Roselli: It's just, you know, it's a really unique experience.
- 16:41Sean McAllister: It is.
- 16:42Sean McAllister: And there's a bar inside, so you will have a great time over there at Play Playground.
- 16:47Dayna Roselli: But again, everything old is new again, and we hope you enjoyed this show, kind of, you know, looking at some of the nostalgic things that are happening here in Las Vegas and also some of the interviews that we've done over the past couple years.
- 17:00Sean McAllister: And a reminder, you can catch up on past Vegas Revealed TV shows by visiting our YouTube channel.
- 17:06Sean McAllister: There's a code to scan right on your screen there.
- 17:08Dayna Roselli: We also do a weekly audio podcast if you prefer to listen, and you can follow us on social media.
- 17:14Sean McAllister: We'll see you back next week.
- 17:20Sean McAllister: Never miss an episode of Vegas Revealed.
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