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Home , Dustin Hoffman, George Burns, James Caan, The Hangover, Warren Beatty

Hail, Caesars!

SSA’s host hotel is home to some of the greatest moments in movies, television and sports.

By Tom Comi

If employees at the registration desk at when they were filming that 2009 film, but those moments in were given a $100 chip every time a guest are actually pretty common at Caesars—which has hosted quoted a line from the blockbuster movie The Hangover, countless movies, TV shows and sporting events in its the odds are pretty good they’d be rich enough to retire. illustrious 46-year history. There’s something surreal about standing in the exact same So even if you are a first-time visitor who is checking into spot as , Zach Galifanakis and Caesars in September for the Self Storage Association’s Fall Conference & Trade Show, chances are likely that you will Mike Metzger jumped the fountain in 2006 as part of the Caesars Palace anniversary. See Caesars, page 16

PAGE 14­ SSA GLOBE September 2012 1-800-456-9955 1620 Kipling Street, Lakewood, CO 80215 USA www.sentinelsystems.com

Sentinel-ISS042-FP4C.indd 1 1/31/12 10:44 AM Caesars, from page 14 Getting It Done

experience a case of déjà vu like you have seen the registra- Shooting TV shows, movies and live events on location tion area, casino, fountains, pool area or The Colosseum® is never easy, but imagine the obstacles in doing so at a many times before. venue that never closes. A perfect example is the afore- mentioned registration scene in The Hangover, which had “We have been very fortunate that prestigious filmmakers to be filmed while guests were still checking in several feet and innovative television producers have made some away. Munch said it couldn’t be done without the best of film and television’s most memorable productions at people in the business. Caesars Palace,” said Debbie Munch, vice president of public relations for Caesars Entertainment’s Las Vegas “Our secret is the team of people who work for us,” she hotels. said. “Production support is a lot like creating a spec- tacular on-site event. Many fine hotels can rightly claim expertise in event management, but movies often test the That Looks Familiar! very best in the business. That expertise has grown over the Movie fans roaming the grounds “We have been very fortunate years, bringing a huge benefit at Caesars will recall scenes to our guests, who have varied from (, that prestigious filmmakers service needs.” ), Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), The Elec- and innovative television Munch cites some interesting tric Horseman (), producers have made some examples that attendees might Intolerable Cruelty (George appreciate while attending the Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones), of film and television’s most SSA’s convention: The Only Game in Town (Eliza- • The same employees who set beth Taylor, ), The memorable productions at up pool parties for the catering Gambler (), Dream- Caesars Palace.” clients are those who organized girls (Jennifer Hudson, Beyoncé a poolside restaurant scene Knowles), Fools Rush In (Salma Debbie Munch, Caesars Palace for The Hangover and helped Hayek) and Oh ! You Devil re-construct a penthouse terrace (). to shoot a season-ending finale of Avid TV watchers will recall Caesars depicted in scenes the NBC sitcom Will & Grace. from hit shows like Entourage, The Sopranos, Will & Grace • The lead electrician who organizes the electrical and Friends. The hotel has also hosted theJerry Lewis installations for meeting room booths and exhibits MDA Labor Day Telethon, Circus of the Stars, the TBS is the same man who pulled all the power to shoot program to America and many other specials. the Oscar-winning Best Picture Rain Man. Perhaps most impressive, though, are the many sporting • Some of the stagehands that support Celine Dion’s events that have taken place at the venue over the past and ’s shows in The Colosseum® were on four-plus decades, including 150 major championship duty when Robert Redford rode a horse through the boxing matches—featuring Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Circus Maximus Showroom in The Electric Horseman. Leonard, , George Foreman and Oscar De La Hoya—and more than a dozen international tennis • The convention services team that sets up chairs and competitions that showcased the talents of everybody tables for banquets provided the speaker’s podium from Arthur Ashe to Pete Sampras. and convention props featured in Iron Man. You can’t mention Caesars and the fountains without “When people travel for business or pleasure, they espe- immediately thinking of motorcycle jumps, and it all began cially enjoy being in a picturesque setting,” says Munch. in 1967 when daredevil Evel Knievel broke 40 bones in his “We hope that Caesars Palace and its impressive staff body and ended up in a coma for 30 days after a horrific bring to life some of the movie magic that Steven Spiel- crash. Stuntman Gary Wells attempted the jump in 1980, berg immortalized in Dreamgirls and did but a botched landing led to a broken pelvis, two broken with The Fighter.” legs and a ripped aorta. Oh, and just to clear up any confusion about the question It wasn’t until 1989 that the fountain was finally conquered, posed to the reception employee by Zach Galifanakis’s and it was fittingly accomplished by Evel’s son, Robbie. character in The Hangover, the real Caesar never did live In 2006, as part of Caesars Palace’s 40th anniversary, X at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. v Games champion Mike Metzger performed a motorcycle back flip over the front fountains for an ESPN program titled The Impossible Jump.

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