Originally, The Aladdin Hotel, Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino has had a long and storied history on the Strip. Opening on April fools Day (April 1) in 1966 the hotel was a steady and continuing source of high quality entertainment, Underworld involvement, and entertainment innovations which endured through a series of owners, operators, and scandals. The Aladdin was often saved by the quality and variety of its entertainment.

Originally conceived by Milton Prell, the Beverly Hills businessman who previously opened the Sahara Hotel, the Aladdin was to have an "Arabian Nights" theme combined with the finest food, casino and entertainment.

When it first opened the Bagdad Showroom was a 500 seat venue featuring 3 distinct shows every day. The shows began at 8:00 PM and ran until 6 AM. Each show was different and lasted as long as the performers wished.

The first shows were Comedian Jackie Mason, "The Jet Set Revue" and the musical comedy sensation "Three Cheers with the Petit Rockets Girls".

The roster of early stars went on to include Comedian Redd Foxx, James Darrin, and Little Richard, who came out of retirement to perform at the Aladdin.

The Aladdin's prestige was built upon its connection to Myram Borders, then head of UPI and a Native Las Vegan, who placed the story about the "wedding of the century" on all the newswires around the world when Elvis Presley married Pricilla at the Aladdin Wedding Chapel.

The Aladdin is perhaps most infamously the site where in 1967, Comedian Richard Pryor had what he called in his autobiography an epiphany when he walked onto the stage at the Aladdin (with Dean Martin in the audience), looked at the sold-out crowd, said over the microphone What the f**k am I doing here!?, and walked off the stage. Tired of conforming to the constraints of playing to Las Vegas audiences, he had decided right there and then on stage that he wasn't a Vegas comedian.

After a succession of owners, some of whom were forced to sell their shares because of reputed links to organized crime, the Aladdin was bought by a group of Las Vegas businessmen headed by Sam Diamond, who was once a doorman for Ben "Bugsy" Siegel, and had long ties to the Detroit Mob.

Diamond, a savvy businessman saw the need in Las Vegas for quality performances by newer and younger acts, especially rock and roll artists so in 1972 construction began on a world class performance arena to be called The Aladdin Theater for the Performing Arts. Plans also called for the construction of a new hotel tower.

When the 7,500 seat Theater for the Performing Arts ( TPA ) opened, it had virtually unobstructed views form every seat, owing to its round design with no pillars, and it boasted the "Best and Loudest Sound System" in Nevada.

Now Las Vegas had a world class arena with great views and even a greater sound. All that was needed were the acts to fill the seats.

After an extensive remodel Neil Diamond was the headliner who performed at the grand reopening ushering in a new phase of contemporary entertainers to the Aladdin.

Diamond was followed by some of the greatest names in Rock and Roll history; Jethro Tull, ELO, Bob Seger, Willie Nelson, and Jimmy Buffet. At the same time, the Aladdin Lounge was serving up the likes of Sam Butera and the Witnesses, Louie Prima, and The Irish Showband.

Interestingly the enormous theater for the performing arts was deemed a building of historical value and when the new Aladdin was constructed it was built around the TPA in a doughnut shape leaving the TPA intact at the center of the new hotel, take a look on Earth Google and you can clearly see the forty year old theater acting as the jam to the doughnut of the newer building.

The Aladdin attracted a plethora of entertainers and Hollywood types as potential investors, among whom included Wayne Newton, Mr. Las Vegas, and Johnny Carson, whose Carson Broadcasting Company operated local TV station KVVU TV5. (The station's trademark ID was the genesis for the drawn out pronunciation of Las Vegas as Laaaaas Vegas)

Wayne Newton and his partner Ed Torres bought the Aladdin in 1979 and immediately had diverging views about the entertainment policy. Torres, an accomplished casino operator wanted to save money and energy and install a series of long running revues while Newton, long a Las Vegas headliner insisted on maintaining the star policy. Torres won the fight and the Aladdin, once home to the greatest names on the strip, went for the revue shows. It turns out that Mr. Las Vegas was right and the Aladdin was losing money daily. In 1982 Newton sold his interest to Torres and the hotel soon went bankrupt.

The team that operated the hotel under receivership went back to the star policy and, for a year or so, stars such as Gladys Knight and the Pips and Lola Falana kept the place alive by packing the Bagdad Showroom nightly.

In the 1980's with the opening of Mirage, Treasure Island, and new plans for the Bellagio announced the Aladdin seemed destined to fail. This left the Theater for the Performing Arts as the only revenue generating piece of the property. They continued to bring in major acts like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Stone Temple Pilots who, along with the early Las Vegas appearance of Barry Manilow, kept the name alive. One revue show which lasted for a time was "Country Tonight" with Kirby Van Burch.

Van Birch, now residing and performing in Branson, MO was a great addition to the Aladdin roster from 1987 until his departure in 1992.

Magician Steve Wyrick moved from the main showroom inside the Aladdin to his own named theater in the retail section of the property. His nightly shows include well executed magic acts and his world know stunt of making an airplane disappear from stage.

The Aladdin was sold to a partnership of Starwood International and Planet Hollywood and retained the name Aladdin, for a while eventually re branding to the newer hip PLANET HOLLYWOOD hotel and casino in 2007.

Planet Hollywood continued to make the effort to add a wider dimension to Las Vegas shows and brought the cast of Stomp Out Loud to the hotel in 2007. While an excellent show and a dependable Broadway favorite Stomp out Loud lasted for almost 2 years before stomping out of the PH.

A magician of renown who appeared at the huge TPA in Planet Hollywood in 2007 was Hans Klok of Germany.His show was originally scheduled to include Carmen Electra but due to unforeseen circumstances he opened his show with the multi talented Pamela Anderson. This magic show lasted for a short time most likely due to the enormity of the TPA auditorium , too large for a solid act and too small for mega stars who are accustomed to filling arenas.

In 2009 Planet Hollywood featured PeepShow in it's smaller room, a "sexy" show with an ever changing roster of stars like Mel B. from the Spice Girls and Holly Madison of Playboy fame dancing and disrobing with a cast of 25 dancers.

The TPA theater is used for TV specials notably, Miss USA, Americas Got Talent, So You Think You Can Dance and Miss America.

The PH mall newly re named Miracle Mile Shops also includes the V Theater, which true to the old Aladdin penchant for revues, hosts an always changing series of shows including Popovich's Comedy Pet Theater, and the famous variety show "V".

Also connected to PH is the Harmon street theater which is essentially a nightclub that houses shows in the afternoon and early evening then converts to a club in the later hours.

In all there are five venues in Planet Hollywood which creates a competitive marketplace all within the same property and could be perceived as detrimental to each other in some respects but with over ten thousand entertainment seats all under one roof we celebrate the fact that this property truly embraces live entertainment.

If you have any information about the history of entertainment at this property please do contact us, we aim to update this section of the site as frequently as possible so that we can ensure as accurate as possible correct historic information.