24 March 2009

Les Folies runs bare of cash

LAS Vegas - The high-kicking can-can dancers of Les Folies Bergere in Las Vegas are the latest cultural institution to fall victim to the economic slump.

The Independent reports that on Saturday, nine months short of its 50th birthday, the Tropicana Resort and Casino will pull the plug on the long-running stage show, blaming falling box-office receipts.

The decision will force almost 100 dancers to hang up their feathered headdresses and rhinestone thongs for the last time.

During its heyday, Les Folies Bergere would attract rat pack stars Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.

Developed from the show of the same name in Paris, it was considered highly daring, because it featured some of Vegas's first topless dancers.

But the future has been in doubt ever since Tropicana Entertainment, which owns the hotel, filed for bankruptcy protection last May.

It is one of several Vegas hotel firms facing financial pressure following the downturn, which led to a decline in local gaming revenues of 23 percent in December.

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