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Las Vegas (TV series)
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Las Vegas was an American television series that aired on NBC from September 22, 2003 to February 15, 2008. The show focuses on a team of people working in the fictional Montecito Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada—dealing with issues that arise within the working environment, ranging from valet parking and restaurant management to casino security. The series originally aired on Monday nights, though NBC later moved the series to Friday nights first to 9:00 p.m.
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Las Vegas was an American television series that aired on NBC from September 22, 2003 to February 15, 2008. The show focuses on a team of people working in the fictional Montecito Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada—dealing with issues that arise within the working environment, ranging from valet parking and restaurant management to casino security. The series originally aired on Monday nights, though NBC later moved the series to Friday nights first to 9:00 p.m. EST/8:00 p.m. CST and then to 10 p.m. EST/9:00 p.m. CST. The show is currently in syndication and airs in the United States (on TNT). NBC announced on April 2, 2008, that the show would not be returning for the next season.
Background
The series originally centered around Ed Deline James Caan, a strict ex-CIA officer who went from Head of Security to becoming President of Operations of the Montecito, whose job is to run the day-to-day operations of the casino. Following his departure from the series in Season 5, former Marine Danny McCoy (Josh Duhamel), Ed's former protege, has become the Montecito's new President of Operations. Other characters that work with McCoy include current Head of Security and Surveillance, and former Head Valet, Mike Cannon (James Lesure) who plays an integral role in investigations due to his engineering degree from MIT. Danny's childhood friend and ex-fiancée, Mary Connell (Nikki Cox), worked at the Montecito first as Event Director then got promoted to Hotel Manager in the third season until finally leaving in the fourth season. Sam Marquez (Vanessa Marcil), a manipulative businesswoman and self-proclaimed "best casino host in the world", has only one interest: to get high rollers to play at the casino. Ed's daughter Delinda Deline (Molly Sims) serves as the Entertainment Manager, and runs all the food and beverages in the casino. She is currently living with Danny after previously having a romantic connection with him early in the first season. The ownership of the casino has changed quite a bit with A.J. Cooper (Tom Selleck) as the sixth owner. NBC recently hinted at the possibility of putting Mike Cannon (Lesure) into a spinoff of the Las Vegas series. TNT has been airing reruns of the series since early 2008. TNT and NBC have also been rumored to be in negotiations for TNT to pick up the series and air new episodes on the network.
Cast and characters
Main cast and characters
- Ed Deline (Season 1-4, starring, Season 5 guest star), (James Caan), Former President of Operations and Head of Security of the Montecito Resort & Casino, and also a former member of the Board of Directors. Deline was, at one point, one of the main characters of the series, portrayed as a loving husband and father, as well as a father figure to his employees, especially Danny. Nevertheless, he is a tough man and doesn't hesitate to use violence to get what he wants. As the former Director of Counter Intelligence for the CIA, his past has come back to haunt him on several occasions, most recently during his daughter's wedding in "Father of the Bride Redux." During season 3, Ed was briefly in retirement until the Maloofs tried to hire him for their potential casino in Macau. Eventually Ed returned to his position when Casey Manning bought the casino. Ed left the casino since being wanted by the Las Vegas police for killing Mary Connell's father and has since gone into hiding. Ed went back to work for the CIA and is currently in Paris, France. He makes the point of not being called Mr. Ed, Edward or Eddy.
- Danny McCoy, (Season 1-5), (Josh Duhamel), initially Ed's apprentice, surrogate son, and best friend who was later promoted to Head of Security. After the resignation of Ed in 2005, Danny was made President of Operations of the Montecito Resort & Casino for a brief period. However, following Ed's return, Danny was officially made Head of Security in Season 3. He was born and raised in Las Vegas. Towards the end of Season 2, his father Larry McCoy (John Terry) died in an accident and he inherited his construction company, McCoy Construction, and house. Danny sold his father's house and used it to pay for his condo. Establishing shots suggest his condo is in the Turnberry Towers. He is a former U.S. Marine, with guerrilla training and counter intelligence training. He was recalled into military service at the end of Season one. In Season 2, he was awarded the Silver Star after he called in an air-strike over his unit and himself when they were ambushed and overrun. Only he survived the air strike. He is currently living with his girlfriend, Delinda, who is pregnant with their child. He was involved in an on-and-off relationship with his childhood friend, Mary in seasons 1 and 2. The show was narrated by this character for the first few episodes. In Season 5, Danny finally gets Ed's job and is now President of Operations for the casino. Throughout the show, Danny occasionally bumps into fellow Marines he knows or served with.
- Mike Cannon, (Season 1-5), (James Lesure), an engineer (with both undergraduate and graduate degrees from MIT in Mechanical Engineering) who worked as head valet for the first season, but was officially recruited by Ed Deline to the security department to help during Danny's military absence. He stayed on as security personnel despite being paid less than his job as a valet and cured his claustrophobia at the end of Season 1. Originally in the pilot episode, Mike had a wife and daughter; this plot line was seemingly abandoned. Mike and Nessa became close in Season 2, until Nessa left to be with her dad and sister without saying goodbye. Mike and Danny are best friends. In Season 5, when Danny accepts the job as the President of Operations for the Casino, Mike is promoted to Head of Security and Surveillance. Mike and Piper were recently married. Whenever approaching a beautiful girl, he first uses breath spray.
- Samantha Jane "Sam" Marquez, (Season 1-5), (Vanessa Marcil), the self-proclaimed best Casino Host in the world, lives in a Montecito suite. She is portrayed as a ruthless business person whose sole interest is to get high rollers to play at the Montecito. However, in the Season 4 episode, "The Burning Bedouin", she reveals that she is only "cold and jaded because everyone expects of her", and "underneath it all, she is weak and pathetic like everyone else." She was married to billionaire Casey Manning, whom she was estranged from for seven years prior to a divorce. She was also involved in an on-and-off relationship with Det. Woody Hoyt from Crossing Jordan, which ended officially based on the events from Season 4 episode, "History of Violins." From "The Burning Bedouin." it is seen that she is currently in love with and waiting for Jeremy, the man who first brought her to Las Vegas from Austin, Texas. Following the death of her ex-husband Casey in a freak fishing accident (later revealed he was poisoned), is left control of the casino. She is the latest former owner of the Montecito Resort & Casino after failing to pay the taxes owed on the property. Her ownership of the Montecito lasted for a week, when A.J. Cooper bought the Montecito by paying off the back taxes. A.J. fired Sam when she was rude to the son of his ranch manager. After Delinda intervened, Sam and Cooper worked things out over a milk shake, bowling, beers, and cigars. Cooper agreed to rehire Sam. Sam is originally from Texas and enjoys playing bingo. In the Season 5 Finale, Casey Manning's younger brother Vic Manning visits the Montecito to take over the ownership of the casino. At the end of the show, it is announced that Sam and Vic plan to get married. When asked why Sam wants to marry Vic, even though she always stated she didn't have feelings for him even though he loved her, she says it is because he reminds her of Casey.
- Delinda Deline, (Season 1-5), (Molly Sims), Ed and Jillian's daughter and the entertainment manager/manager of all the food and beverage outlets in the Montecito: Mystique club, the former Wolfgang restaurant, Opus bar, and the Bella Petto Pool Bar. Delinda is also shown to have a genius level IQ, and once majored in Psychology, but decided that the human race's biggest problem is that they are boring. Delinda has also been shown to be fluent in French, in the season 4 episode, "the Burning Beduoin." Delinda leaves the Montecito in the beginning of Season 3, until Monica forces Ed to hire her back. She is Danny's girlfriend after a long and complicated romantic history with him. They were "involved" briefly for the first episodes of Season 1 before calling it off. During Season 3, an old college flame returns and asks Delinda to marry him. She accepts, but before the ceremony Ed is shot. In the fray of Ed's medical crisis, Delinda calls off her wedding to Derick. After leaving Derick, she again becomes involved with Danny and they are now living together and she is pregnant with their child. At the end of the Season 5 Finale, Delinda becomes overwhelmed with pain after just learning that A.J. Cooper is alive, after he was supposedly killed in a plane crash. Jillian and Danny are with her, and she begins bleeding.
- Mary Connell (Season 1-4), (Nikki Cox), the Special Events Director at the casino. Originally she was supposed to play the casino's personal hooker, but at the last minute during the pilot filming, Gary Scott Thompson changed it back to events director. A Las Vegas native, her father sexually abused her when she was a teenager (while Danny was away serving his first term in the Marines). In season three, she was rehired and promoted to Hotel Manager. In the fourth season, she helps her stepmother and half-sisters testify against her father - a case which was lost. In the episode "Bare Chested in the Park", she was shown purchasing a revolver to shoot her father in the following episode. She was involved in an on-and-off relationship with Danny, who later proposed to her in season two - a proposal which she rejected. Mary is currently hiding from the law for her part in the murder of her father, but is apparently safe, as she sent Danny a photo with a house and white fence (her dream house).
- Nessa Holt (Season 1-2), (Marsha Thomason), "The Ice Queen." Former head pit boss of the Montecito. Although a twenty-something woman, she was put forward as 'the best pit boss in Las Vegas', though this concept was largely dropped midway through the first season. She was born in Manchester, England, but has a shady past due to her father's connections with Ed Deline. She was raised by Ed and Jillian for some years. When the third season started, she had left Las Vegas and been given a new identity to be able to live with her father and long-lost sister. Nessa failed to say goodbye to Mike, as they were getting closer to a relationship. Her father was a well-known gambler, cheater and con artist. He was forcefully recruited and faked his death.
- A.J. Cooper, (Season 5), (Tom Selleck), the new owner of the Montecito as of 2007. He is a former Marine and cattle rancher from Wyoming who stirs things up at the casino. It is said his net worth is about $2 billion. On his first day, he allowed a doctor to avoid jail for cheating by making him lose his winnings back and promising not to return to Las Vegas again. In "Run Cooper Run", it is revealed that Cooper was a Black Ops Marine in the Vietnam War and awarded the Bronze Star for his work. In "Sex, Lies and Lamaze", Cooper admits that he was best friends with Piper's father, a fellow Marine. Before Piper's father died, Cooper promised he would watch over Piper. Cooper also owns condominiums in Florida, the largest paper mill in Wisconsin, the largest cattle ranch in Wyoming, and a high-tech company in California. In the Season 5 finale, Cooper tells the Montecito workers he must go to New York and take care of some lawsuits filed against him by Vic Manning. Later, Mitch alerts Danny that the Montecito's jet has crashed in Colorado. The news reports say only one of the pilots survived. In lieu of the planned triple wedding, Danny and Mike set up a memorial service for Cooper's presumed death. At the last moments of the show, he arrives at the service and appears to be fine.
Recurring cast and characters
- Piper Nielsen, (2007-2008), (Camille Guaty), the newest concierge of the Montecito introduced in season 5. She frequently socializes with both Sam and Delinda. In the episode "The Glass is Always Cleaner", she was arrested at a rave party with Sam and had to be bailed out by Mike. In her first episode, she states she is just 22 years old but later slips and says she is 25. She was fired for letting a minor gamble, but Cooper paid a $1,000,000 fine to hire her back. Piper never knew who her father was, but it was recently revealed that her father was a Marine who was Cooper's best friend during the Vietnam War. He died sometime after Vietnam. Before he died, Cooper promised him that he would keep an eye on Piper. Mike and Piper were recently married. With the help of Cooper and Delinda she won a magazine award as Las Vegas' best concierge.
- Mitch, (2003-2008), (Mitch Longley), a regular member of the Surveillance team. Mitch, like the actor who plays him, is paraplegic and uses a wheelchair. Mitch has a recurring role from Season 1 through Season 5.
- Polly, (Suzanne Whang), a Korean manicurist in the Montecito's spa, who has recently formed a friendship with A.J. Cooper. Polly is always open about discussing her sexual experience, such as claiming she was one of Wilt Chamberlain's 20,000 partners in "2 on 2." Sam once gave Ed a full body massage from Polly for Christmas, in which Polly attempted to give Ed a 'happy ending'.
- Kathy Berson (Rikki Klieman), The Montecito's main legal adviser and lawyer. If there are any legal issues, Kathy is the first person that everyone asks. Kathy helps Ed, Cooper, and Danny with many of their problems over the course of the show.
- Jillian Deline, (2003-2008), (Cheryl Ladd), Ed's wife and Delinda's mother. Jillian had been expressing growing resentment of Ed's time on the job, and admitted this to her daughter, Delinda, at the end of Season 4. In the Season 5 finale, it was revealed that Jillian has left Ed. She is currently awaiting her first grandchild, via Delinda and her fiancee Danny McCoy.
- Monica Mancuso, (2005), (Lara Flynn Boyle), Former owner of the Montecito, was portrayed as self-centered and bull-headed. In the first episode of season three, it was revealed that at age 25, she married an 83-year-old billionaire and upon his death at 93, she inherited his fortune, using it to purchase the Montecito and upgrade it to its current facility. She later used the casino as collateral to try to purchase other casinos in Las Vegas. Dedicated to prove that she was more than just a woman who inherited money, she was determined to make the Montecito a success. In the season three episode "Mothwoman", she dies in a freak accident: a gust of wind blows her off the roof of the Montecito, and down the strip into a shoe store at the Wynn. Because this character was generally disliked by the other characters in the series, and typically was portrayed as a buffoon, her death was constructed mostly for humor. Casino employees disposed of her ashes by flushing them down the toilet (as per her wishes) in her suite at the Montecito. She was a waitress in the morning and a stripper at night before she married the billionaire in Ohio.
- Casey Manning, (2004-2007), (Dean Cain), A shrewd and cunning businessman, Sam's ex-husband and former owner of the Montecito Resort & Casino. In Season 3, Casey bought the Montecito from the Foundation for the Blind, after it was left to them following Monica's death. In the Season four episode "Bare Chested in the Park", his character was killed off in a fishing accident: a giant squid enveloped him off the coast of New Zealand. The autopsy revealed that he was poisoned before the accident. After his death, he leaves the Montecito to Sam, who faces tax problems. In the series finale, Sam plans to marry Casey's brother Vic even though she doesn't love him because Vic reminds Sam of Casey.
- Sarasvati Kumar, (2004-2006), (Lakshmi Manchu), She is an accountant for the Casino and one time love interest of Frank (Sylvester Stallone), and later Mike. Her relationship with Mike ended officially after she went home with Delinda's bachelorette party strippers.
- Gunther, (2004-2006), (Harry Groener), The temperamental executive chef at the Montecito's original restaurant. Habitually had issues that required Delinda's attention. Developed a rivalry with Wolfgang Puck when the more famous chef opened a restaurant at the casino. Eventually quits after losing a cook off to Puck. He sells his restaurant to Charo. Believed to be a parody of Wolfgang Puck, whose disposal by means of a cook-off was arranged when the show was able to sign on the real Wolfgang Puck
- Erika, (2006-2007), (Anna Pheil), A hard-as-nails barmaid Danny hired on a lark when he saw her dealing with customers where she tended bar at a strip club.
Notable guest stars
- Alec Baldwin as Jack Keller, episodes 12 and 32
- Terry Bradshaw as Peter "Pete" Skinner, episode 104
- Richard Burgi as Vince Peterson, episode 86 and 87
- JC Chasez as William, Piper's Ex-Boyfriend, episode 98
- Rachael Leigh Cook as Penny Posin, episodes 50-53
- Elliott Gould as The Professor, episode 4
- Tamyra Gray as Patty, episode 65
- Brian Austin Green, as Connor Mills, episode 14
- Jill Hennessy, as Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh of Crossing Jordan in several crossover episodes
- Paris Hilton, as Madison, Connor Mills fiancee, episode 14
- James Hong as Soli Tendar Monk, episode 76
- Dennis Hopper, as Jon Castille, episode 16
- Kathryn Joosten as Roberta "Robbie", episode 104
- Jon Lovitz, as Fred Puterbaugh, episodes 14, 25 and 46
- Christian Kane, as Bob, episode 20
- Dominic Keating, as Anthony Demby, episode 12
- Jerry O'Connell, as Detective Woody Hoyt of Crossing Jordan in several crossover episodes.
- Sylvester Stallone, as Frank, episodes 35 and 41
- Robert Wagner as Alex Avery, episode 66
- Sean Astin as Lloyd, episode 17
- Sarah Clarke as Olivia Duchey, episodes 56 and 57
- Jean-Claude Van Damme as himself, episode 15
- Jon Bon Jovi as himself, episode 47
- John Elway as himself, episode 47
Notable cameos
Crossing Jordan crossover
Las Vegas is set in the same universe as fellow NBC series Crossing Jordan. In the season 2 episode "Two Of A Kind", a case brought Jordan Cavanaugh (Jill Hennessy) and Det. Woody Hoyt (Jerry O'Connell) to Las Vegas. Woody and Sam got very well acquainted and maintained a long-distance relationship. However, based on events that happened in Season 4 episode "History of Violins", the relationship seems to be off. As of the end of Season 4, O'Connell has appeared in a total of five episodes of Las Vegas. Vanessa Marcil has also appeared as Sam in two Crossing Jordan episodes. Jordan and Danny also become involved, but both agreed it was only for fun. No relationship came from it. The crossover is in part due to the fact that Las Vegas was on during Crossing Jordan's usual time during the fall since the producers of Crossing Jordan decided not to shoot any episodes while their star Jill Hennessy was pregnant.
Opening sequence
Different theme songs have been used, depending on where, how or when the show is aired. In Italy, Australia, Portugal, UK, Netherlands and other countries the theme song is Let It Ride by Charlie Clouser and Jon Ingoldsby while in other countries, such as the USA and Canada, the theme song is A Little Less Conversation (the Junkie XL mix) by Elvis Presley. For the American DVD, as well as the episodes available for viewing on NBC's website, Clouser's song is used with the exception of the pilot episode on the American DVDs.
Episodes
Ratings
DVD releases
| Name | Ep # | Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 |
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| Season One | 23 | January 4, 2005 | March 14, 2005
| November 28, 2005 | | Season Two | 24 | September 13, 2005 | December 5, 2005
| November 28, 2005 | | Season Three | 23 | September 12, 2006 | November 30, 2006 | November 15, 2006 | | Season Four | 17 | September 11, 2007 | October 29, 2007 | April 1, 2009 | |
| Season Five | 19 | July 22, 2008 | October 13, 2008 | TBA |
Season information
The show has five complete seasons, all of them are available on DVD. The show was renewed for the fifth season on February 27, 2007. On March 2, 2007, it was announced that James Caan and Nikki Cox would be leaving the series. Caan's departure is because he wants to return to acting in feature films, while Cox's departure seems to stem from budget cuts. Tom Selleck replaced James Caan as head boss in season 5. In the final season, only 19 episodes of the originally planned 22 episode season were filmed at the time the show was cancelled. The final episode was a cliffhanger with many issues left unresolved and will remain unresolved according to TV Guide Canada. However, Michael Ausiello of TVGuide said that there are plans, should a proper resolution not be possible, to have the characters of Danny McCoy and Delinda Deline cameo in an episode of Knight Rider carrying a newborn .
Location
The location of the fictional Montecito has changed from season to season. Some of the first episodes were taped at the Monte Carlo and Mandalay Bay. Because of its similarity to Mandalay Bay, many of the show visuals place the Montecito at the far southern end of The Las Vegas Strip, albeit usually across the street from Mandalay Bay on the airport side of Las Vegas Boulevard. The exact location and rotation of the building seems to vary a lot within this area, indeed the CGI zoom shots of the building exterior in the season two episode, "Montecito Lancers", shows the building in three slightly differing locations for three different shots. In Season 5, the Montecito seems to have the consistent location across from Mandalay Bay.
Many of Mandalay Bay's interiors and exteriors (including its wave pool) have been used as Montecito exteriors, although (according to the Internet Movie Database) the actual set of Montecito is located at Culver Studios, in Culver City, California, so the interiors are a replica of the Mandalay Bay. These studios are where Gone With The Wind was filmed. The Season 3 set of Las Vegas has been said to be the biggest set for a TV show ever.
During the first season of the show, many of the Montecito's suites overlooked various parts of the middle part of the Strip, placing the hotel near where The Venetian, Flamingo Las Vegas, or The Mirage are currently, before the more consistent location at the southern end of the Strip was finalized.
During the first season, except for the pilot episode, the sets were built as needed for filming.
Some episodes were shot using interior and exterior shots of Green Valley Ranch including a shot of the pool and spa area where in one episode Everlast (musician) holds a concert.
In Season 3, Ed Deline's office appears to be in the middle of the strip, overlooking Harrah's, Caesars Palace, The Mirage, and The Venetian, which puts the Montecito near where Treasure Island is located. This is inconsistent with the flyover shots of the Montecito, which would place Ed's office over two miles away. Closer examination of the window scene shows that The Mirage's marquee over their driveway has been edited to read "Montecito". In season 4, episode 2 there is a scene in Ed Deline's office where again we can see an overview of The Mirage and Caesars Palace. Again it's a confirmation that Ed Deline's office would be where Treasure Island is located.
According to an episode that originally aired in December 2005, the Montecito is located about 1.5 miles from Wynn Las Vegas. It's possible that this distance is in a straight line ("as the crow flies") as opposed to a reference to actual driving distance. This distance is inconsistent with long shots that place the Montecito near the airport and Mandalay Bay, but is in line with Season 3 visual references noted above.
Other episodes show aerial shots of the Montecito that make it appear to be situated at the corner of Giles St. and Reno Ave., about half a mile from Mandalay Bay.
In the episode "Father of the Bride Redux", it's shown that the Montecito also operates a property in Hawaii called the Montecito Royal Hawaiian Villas.
Popular culture references
- In the Las Vegas tie-in novel High Stakes Game, author Jeff Mariotte tells the tale what could have occurred between the season two finale and the season three premiere when the casino was destroyed and rebuilt and the characters briefly went their separate ways.
- Las Vegas "Montecito Hotel" has also been used as a set in the episodes of Medium, Heroes, Stargate Atlantis and was featured in the "Mr. Monk Goes to Vegas" episode of the TV series Monk . The 2008 TV film Knight Rider also filmed scenes on the set.
External links
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