Kanye will perform at Red Rock Resort

The good news: You can still see Kanye West out in the suburbs.

The bad news: You've got to leave the bikinis and Speedos at home. Or at least understand you'll be wearing them on dry land.

Almost losing West's concert on April 25 motivated Stations Casinos to invest in new staging that will put Red Rock Resort in the running for more big tours.

Originally, the casino planned to host West in the outdoor pool area. But an on-sale date for the show was withdrawn two weeks ago.

After West won four Grammy Awards, including Best Rap Album for "Graduation," he decided to go out with a bigger production, explains Joe Santiago, who oversees entertainment for Stations. The pool area could no longer support the requirements for how much weight would be suspended over the stage.

However, "We didn't want to give up just because (the show) was too big," Santiago says. After reconsidering, a new temporary venue will be built in a parking area, one with a covered stage that can support other large tours down the road.

Tickets go back on sale Friday for West's "Glow in the Dark" tour with Lupe Fiasco and N.E.R.D. The set-up for about 7,500 people will be similar to what the Hard Rock Hotel has done for outdoor concerts in its parking lot. All tickets for West's concert will be general admission, but the venue will have some bleacher seating.

The pool area is still home to a concert series that includes Dierks Bentley, May 2; Crosby, Stills and Nash, June 20; Peter Frampton, July 11 and UB40 on Aug. 9. The pool configuration holds about 4,000 people.

A permanent amphitheatre with a covered stage was long discussed for Sunset Station, and there's still space set aside for one in Red Rock's comprehensive plan. Until then, the parking lot venue can be stored and set up whenever needed. ...

Broadway musicals haven't all been home runs on the Strip, so where do casinos look next? I'm predicting ... psychics, spiritualists and mediums.

Sylvia Browne of "Montel" fame is back at the Excalibur this weekend, and March 15 offers both Browne and John Edward, best known for his Sci-Fi Channel series "Crossing Over with John Edward" at the Flamingo Las Vegas. Edward is booked for return visits April 13 and May 25.

Browne has proven to be a "very, very steady" draw at the Excalibur, says producer Adam Steck. She's here every month this year for 10 days at a time. "Even in January, when all shows are down (in attendance), we did better than most shows."

But how good is it for the psychics' tenuous credibility to share marquee space with Louie Anderson or Toni Braxton?

Could they no longer be denying it's all showbiz, much in the way that the World Wrestling Federation eventually changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment?

Already, the two spiritualists have to take Las Vegas with a giant grain of salt, or some form of carbon-based hulk, named Penn Jillette. The tall, talky half of Penn & Teller is friends with James Randi, whose foundation is devoted to the debunking of psychics and mentalists.

The Penn & Teller show at the Rio currently features a "Psychic comedian" segment in which Jillette uses a joke book and audience recruit to partially explain the "cold reading" method the psychics are said to employ. Penn & Teller also devoted a segment of their Showtime series "Bullshit!" to "cheesy psychic superstar" Edward and others who speak to the dead.

Steck calls Browne's Las Vegas venture "more of a seminar" than a show, and says that in the all-important area of customer satisfaction, "She's doing a lot of good things for people. They're getting a lot of closure." ...

George Wallace has been generous in sharing his Flamingo Las Vegas stage with everyone from reclusive funk pioneer Sly Stone to up-and-coming local a capella group Mosaic. Now come the violin triplets from Poland.

The three sisters of Alizma all have masters degrees in violin performance and have been working with local producer Blair Farrington to polish their act. They open Wallace's show through Saturday.

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0288.