Talk About Las Vegas with Ira

This week, Ira spoke with Gloria Day, Las Vegas’ first performing magician, who recently celebrated her 100th birthday and was given the key to the Strip in a special ceremony. In this episode of Talk About Las Vegas, Gloria talks about her father, The Great Leo, who taught her the secrets of magic; becoming a pro at age five; her favorite illusion; how she pursued a Hollywood career and got her first role; her performances in Las Vegas; the headliner entertaining across the street from her at the Last Frontier when she first performed in Las Vegas; and what she sees as the future of magic.

This week, Ira spoke with singer-songwriter and guitarist Jonathan Butler, performing in the Chrome Showroom at Santa Fe Station September 25 at 8 p.m. In this episode of Talk About Las Vegas, Jonathan talks about growing up poor while getting his sense of humor from his family; leaving South Africa to pursue his international musical career; coming to London with a less-than-solid contract; why he focused as a song writer in London; how his second album hit it big in the United States; when he performs on stage, he wants to take people on a journey; how he learned to play music by “stealing” with his eyes and ears; lessons he learned from fame; and why he wants to be accepted as a world music artist.

This week, Ira spoke with Emmy award-winning comedian Craig Shoemaker, headlining in the Laugh Factory at the Tropicana Las Vegas September 15-18. In this episode of Talk About Las Vegas, Craig talks about his difficult childhood and how he worked on his creative self to deal with it; getting arrested at age 13; why he learned to be resilient; how he developed the Lovemaster; why young comedians call him “OG”; teaches “guided laughitation”; when the pandemic caused him to become an even funnier comedian; performing in Harrison Ford’s backyard; and why laughter is essential for society.