RED DEER ADVOCATE Saturday, March 16, 2013 B3
Philippines touted as new gambling haven BY OLIVER TEVES THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
approached Marvel about doing a live show of some sort over the years. The partnership with Feld Entertainment was the first with which he felt comfortable. “You always have those questions — how are you going to keep it from being goofy, or silly, or unbelievable?” Quesada said. But the level of showmanship in Feld Entertainment’s other shows made an impression. “They’re already doing feats that are superhuman to begin with,” Quesada said of the performers that Feld Entertainment recruits for its circus and other shows. Feld said his company’s long-standing partnership with Burbank, Calif.based The Walt Disney Co., which acquired Marvel in 2009, helped establish a level of trust between Feld and the Marvel executives. The show is in the early stages of development in a new training centre that Feld runs in Ellenton, Fla. Feld and Marvel said there is close collaboration to ensure the characters act in ways consistent with fans’ understanding. Quesada said the director — veteran choreographer Shanda Sawyer, who has directed various iterations of the Ringling circus and won Emmy awards for her television work, took a deep dive into Marvel mythology that took him aback. “We had to pull her back,” Quesada said. “I told her, ‘I think you’re even
geeking me out.”’ Trying to bring superhuman characters to life in a live show can be daunting and even dangerous, as evidence by the difficulties suffered in launching the Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Several performers suffered injuries ranging from concussions to fractured skulls in what became the most expensive show in Broadway history. The $75 million show has since become one of Broadway’s top earners. “What they tried to do was new for them, but it’s the stuff we do all the time in a lot of our businesses,” Feld said. The Marvel universe has thousands of characters — some household names and others known only to the most devoted fans. Feld said a live show provides an opportunity to present a wide variety of Marvel characters in a way that will appeal to even casual fans. “There’s so much mythology and lore with all of these characters — it’s like going into this treasure chest of unbelievable gems,” Feld said. “There are almost unlimited stories and shows we can create off these properties and characters.” While details of the show remain either under wraps or under development, Feld said the basic plotline is a no-brainer: “The world will be in jeopardy, and the Marvel superheroes will save the world.”
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will become one of the biggest gambling centres in the world, vying with Macau, Singapore and Las Vegas for Asia’s high rollers, officials of a $1 billion casino resort opening in Manila this weekend said. Studies project that the country’s gambling revenue of $1.9 billion will rise to $6 billion, which is currently what Singapore’s two casinos generate, in about five years, said Michael French, chief operating officer of the Solaire Resort and Casino. Solaire will open today as one the country’s biggest hotel-casino complexes in ceremonies to be attended by President Benigno Aquino III, who is targeting 10 million tourists by 2016. It has 500 hotel rooms, 1,200 slot machines and 295 gaming tables, including those in private rooms with a view of Manila Bay for high rollers. It has eight restaurants, a spa, a night club, and will have a 1,800-seat Broadway-type theatre, French said. It is the first of four such developments in the $4 billion Entertainment City being built on a 100-hectare (247-acre) property reclaimed from Manila Bay. The flagship of Bloomberry Resorts Corp. is majority owned by one of the Philippines’ wealthiest men, container ports operator Enrique Razon. The Entertainment City development is potential employment and economic bonanza for the Philippines. Its reputation as a tourist destination has been tarnished by reports of crime, including kidnappings, alongside insurgent violence and the operation of a notorious militant Islamic group in the country’s south. The country has not yet recovered from the drop in the number of visitors from Hong Kong following the killing of eight tourists from the Chinese administrative region by a dismissed police officer in Manila in August 2010, just two months after Aquino took office. The hotel-casino currently has 4,500 employees and will employ about 500 more, French said. About half of the staff work for the casino, including 400 senior officers who have worked for years in casinos in Macau, Singapore and in cruise liners, he said. French said the hotel-casino will offer an “East meets West” venue, combining “the glitz and grandeur and the sparkle of Las Vegas” and the “Macau experience” of VIP gambling. He said the Philippines’ 15 per cent tax on casino operations compared to 40 per cent in Macau is the country’s main attraction, especially for junket operators who will earn a bigger margin here when they bring in the high rollers from Southeast Asia and China. “For those who are in the gaming business, which is what fuels Macau, this is a better financial deal for them,” he said. Lorraine Koo, vice-president for business development, said Solaire is “more inclined” toward international players and 61 of 100 VIP tables have been set aside for junket clients. “The Philippines itself is a very attractive tourist destination,” she said. “The only issue we might possibly have is we may not be perceived that way.”
Getting in and out of the parking lot is a pain. Instead, we drove to the neighboring town, Solana Beach, had lunch at Chief’s Burgers & Brew, parked and took a free double-decker bus to the track. It’s a five-minute drive, drops you at the entrance and makes the loop throughout race day. So there’s never a wait. FYI, Solana Beach has a commercial street called Cedros Avenue Design District. It’s a compact, pedestrian-friendly avenue with loads of funky antiques stores, designer shops and artsy enclaves. Not typical Surfer Dude fare, but a fun way to spend an hour or two. Still resting sore surf muscles, we spent the next day at San Diego Zoo Safari Park, which is nowhere near San Diego. It’s just outside Escondido, about 32 miles northeast of San Diego and 40 miles almost due east from Carlsbad. While the weather on the SoCal coast is ideal, that’s not so much the case as you travel east. The Safari Park is in the San Pasqual Valley. If it’s 75 in Carlsbad, it’s probably 95 degrees in San Pasqual. Keep that in mind. And forget
all that pap about “well, there’s no humidity, so it’s not that bad.” Yes, it is — 98 degrees is 98 degrees. The cost of admission includes a 30-minute tram ride through the park, where you can see — up pretty close — the best that Africa has to offer: elephants, giraffes, etc. There are also petting goats, bat caves and monkeys. And for an extra $5, you can feed the giraffes. But go early, before that “no humidity” afternoon sun starts sucking the life out of you. If you only have time for one big attraction in the Carlsbad/San Diego area, it’s SeaWorld. Pricey, but worth it. SeaWorld is almost 200 acres of dolphin shows, rides, sharks, Shamu, penguins, pirates. Many people attend, but it never seems crowded; the layout includes wide pedestrian walkways and squares. It’s in the beautiful Mission Bay area of San Diego and is open throughout the year. We tried to have dinner in San Diego on the way back to Carlsbad. Bad idea; the city’s too popular. We went to the redeveloped Gaslamp Quarter. It’s loaded with great restaurants, beautiful architecture and people, lots of people. We drove around for 20
minutes and couldn’t find a parking space or an empty lot. Downtown SD rocked too much for us that night. And the Padres were playing in the Petco baseball stadium, sucking up most of the parking in the area. Back to Carlsbad and our final days on the boards. Veteran surfers by now, we lugged our boards confidently toward the water. Keenan, a single father and former marketing executive, said that the pay isn’t great for surfing instructors, but there are other benefits. “Got two phone numbers yesterday,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a good night.” We wrapped up after two hours in the water. The kids were riding waves, while my wife and I stood up long enough to be videotaped and posted online. Not sure how often we’ll continue our new hobby. Surfing, I figure, can be like fishing. Sometimes it’s best when the line’s bobbing in the water, and the fish just won’t bite. Keeps things simple and relaxed. Same with surfing — sometimes you just want to lie on that board and not be bothered by any waves.
File photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this image provided by Feld Motor Sports, Nuclear Cowboyz riders Adam Jones, left, and Taka Higashino perform for fans in Pittsburgh. Part motocross, part show, the Nuclear Cowboyz tour is a rock opera on wheels that borders on sensory overload for anyone sitting in the stands.
Live superhero arena show going worldwide in 2014 MARVEL, CIRCUS PRODUCER FELD ENTERTAINMENT TO TEAM UP BY MATTHEW BARAKAT THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MCLEAN, Va. — The people who bring you The Greatest Show on Earth will be taking Spider-Man, the Hulk, Thor and the X-Men on a worldwide road show. Feld Entertainment Inc., which produces the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus, along with a host of other live shows such as Disney on Ice, is announced a partnership Wednesday with Marvel Entertainment to produce a live arena show featuring the Marvel universe of characters. Exact financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. But Kenneth Feld, CEO of Vienna, Va.-based Feld Entertainment, said he expects the show to open in July 2014, and tour arenas domestically and internationally, as the company’s other shows do. Production costs will likely exceed $10 million, Feld told The Associated Press in announcing the partnership. Feld Entertainment has expanded in recent years to acquire several motor sports and monster truck shows aimed at expanding its appeal beyond the young children who go to the circus and girls who flock to the Disney shows. Feld expects the Marvel shows to appeal to older boys, comic book fans and family audiences. Marvel’s chief creative officer, Joe Quesada, said dozens of people have
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SURFING: All kinds of water toys The place is loaded with water toys. It’s a fun place to spend an afternoon. Even if you don’t like horse racing, you have to see Del Mar racetrack. Situated near the ocean in the upscale town of Del Mar, 15 miles south of Carlsbad, the track is open from midJuly until right after Labor Day. It was built in 1937 by a group that included celebrities Bing Crosby, Jimmy Durante and Pat O’Brien. Seabiscuit became famous at Del Mar. It’s difficult for four people — each betting different horses in each race — not to have at least one winner in the course of a day. But we managed it. I’m a worse handicapper than surfer, and that’s scary. But this is a great place to lose money. One tip: Del Mar can get crowded.
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