Venderpump’s Strip hotel will have ‘attainable luxury’

Lisa Vanderpump has stamped her brand across the Strip. Her Vanderpump Hotel will replace the Cromwell next year. Her Vanderpump Cocktail Garden has operated at Caesars Palace since 2019, followed by Vanderpump à Paris at the Paris, and Pinky’s by Vanderpump at the Flamingo.

Vanderpump says she’s planning “attainable luxury” on the corner of the Strip and Flamingo Road.

“It has to be something that everybody who has supported me can afford,” Vanderpump said. “I’m not going to price myself out of the market.”

This week, Vanderpump is proving she is more than an entrepreneur in Las Vegas. She is stepping up as a community leader. She is being honored with the Equality Visibility Award at Wednesday’s Silver State Equality Awards.

The annual event hosted by Nevada’s statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization is slated for Kaos at the Palms.

“I love Vegas so much. I bought a house there,” Vanderpump said during a phone chat. “Otherwise I would just come in, pop in, do a meeting, and leave. But Vegas is not just the playground of America, it’s the playground of the world. I feel safe there, I feel that everything is at your fingertips, the entertainment is just second to none.”

The organization is also honoring longtime Las Vegas resort official, former Las Vegas City Mayor and philanthropist, Jan Jones Blackhurst with its Equality Leadership Award. Blackhurst is chair of the Vegas Strong Fund, the support organization for the Forever One Memorial at the former Route 91 site.

“Ru Paul’s Drag Race” star Coco Montrese hosts the event, and will perform.

Vanderpump has supported the gay community since she was a child.

“Going back to our days in London, going back to the way I was raised, my father (the late John Vanderpump) was a creative art director, I never saw that level of discrimination or homophobia,” she said. “Thankfully, I was raised that way. I am encouraging everyone, including the straight community, to be allies.”

Vanderpump is an especially active advocate of laws protecting same-sex marriages. She says she leads a “moderate life, when it comes to having two children, being married for a long time, although I have a raucous sense of humor.”

She says, “I step outside of those lines, on many occasions, to be involved.”

Vanderpump is still drafting her speech for Wednesday night’s event. But as she speaks, she happens on a line she likes, “Who somebody sleeps with is actually the least important part of who they are. It’s about every other aspect of their life that’s not about that.”

Vanderpump is asked if she has sharpened the timeline for Vanderpump Hotel’s opening. “It’s going to stretch in all directions, as it is,” she said. “But we love design. It’s still going to be a boutique hotel, and it’s going to be more personalized.”

The Vanderpump influence is already evident as Drai’s Nightclub and Dayclub has moved into its original, underground space after 10 years atop the property.

Vanderpump shares that she will instill “the Vanderpump touch” around the hotel, especially one of the hotel’s main bars. A look at any of her Strip nightspots gives an idea of her sense of panache.

“It’s like with everything I do, I want to bring something that’s fresh and playful,” Vanderpump says. “All of my wines score over 90, but I’m not pricing them up the market. It’s going to be where people can have a lovely weekend on the Strip, and it will be fun. Why wouldn’t it be?”

‘Country’s Sinatra’

In an odd pairing of entertainment figures, Kenny Chesney appeared on “Real Time With Bill Maher” on Friday. Maher told him in the interview segment that they hadn’t had any country stars on the show. Chesney of course is the first country artist to headline at Sphere for five dates in June. His “Heart Life Music” memoir is out.

“If we’re going to have one country star, let’s have the biggest,” Maher said. “And Billboard says you’re the top country star of the century … That kind of makes you the chairman of the board, like the Sinatra of country music. Do other country stars treat you like that, deferentially?”

“There is a level of respect there, it seems like” Chesney said, then reminded of his longevity. “I’ve been on the road since 1993.”

Chesney got off a good line when Maher said the show was politically driven, but he wouldn’t press the country star on his politics. Chesney said, “When I was a child, my grandfather was a Democrat. I asked him, ‘Are you a Democrat or a Republican?’ He said, ‘I’m a Democrat, but I’m saving up to be a Republican.”

Tease this …

A comic-magician in a satin costume of a fictional creature celebrates 10 years headlining the Strip. You should know this one, and his brother, Steve …

The Grammy reach

With “Nicole Zuraitis & Friends: Live at Vic’s Las Vegas” being nominated for two Grammys (Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best Jazz Performance), we’re reminded of a Grammy link across Promenade Way at Myron’s. The person reminding us is the man himself, Smith Center President Myron Martin.

The studio release “Just Us” by Dave Koz and Bob James is nominated for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. The album was performed live at Myron’s for PBS and premiered on Vegas PBS on Oct. 3.

And, FWIW, “Harlequin” by Lady Gaga, nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, was recorded at the Palms studio prior to her “Jazz + Piano” shows at Dolby Live.

Cool Hang Alert

The Usual Place at 100 South Maryland Parkway runs it hard with Off With Their Heads with special guests S.M.U.G. (Single Mothers) and Go Bold at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The headliners celebrate 15 year of “In Desolation” release. An online review describes the album as “34 minutes of non-stop, gut-wrenching honesty.” A good name for a podcast. Go to theusualplace.vegas for intel.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.