Leprechaun character to get Lucky with ‘Sexxy’ revue

Even Brian Thomas is confounded at the about the time he’s spent away from his costumed alter-ego.

“It’s been a year,” he says. “Can you believe that.”

Thomas is well-known as Lucky the Leprechaun, a role he played from 2005 through last year at O’Sheas hotel-casino and, later, O’Sheas Irish Pub at Linq Promenade. Over those 15-plus years, Thomas poured shots, posed for photos and performed the occasional jig. He was also the face of the property, which did booming bar sales before pandemic doused the party.

But O’Sheas venue owner Caesars Entertainment subsequently turned Thomas and Lucky loose in October. Thomas has been seeking gigs ever since, but the market has not exactly percolating for a need for full-time leprechaun spokesman.

“I did do a wedding today, and those are always crazy,” says Thomas, who is an ordained minister. Or, as he calls himself, “mini-ster,” who is the contracted officiant for the Twilight Zone mini-golf attraction and also Kiss By Monster Mini Golf at the Rio. “The sci-fi people are as much fun as the Kiss people.” Fans especially love Thomas in his Gene Simmons costume.

Thomas’ Lucky character is finally back onstage this weekend, thanks to an offer from his friend and “Sexxy” adult revue creator Jennifer Romas. Thomas is now cast as the emcee/host of the show’s St. Patrick’s Day weekend shows at Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club.

He’s in “Sexxy” on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, along with sidekick Lorren Cackowski. Thomas hosting at the club Wednesday, but the show is not performing that night.

“I’m very grateful to be working at all, and grateful to Jen for this opportunity,” Thomas says. “Mostly it’ll be great just to be back to work and seeing friends again.”

Thomas has performed myriad roles over the years. I met him in 2004, during a performance of the immersive variety show “Exotique” at Ra Nightclub at Luxor. He played a butler in that production. He was also a member of the “Little Crüe” lineup during Mötley Crüe’s 2012 residency at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel.

“I would love to be a part of the professional teams that have moved into Las Vegas,” says Thomas, whose dream roles would be as an ongoing character with the Las Vegas Raiders, Vegas Golden Knights/Henderson Silver Knights, or with the UFC. “It is exciting to see the growth of sports here. Let’s hope somewhere over the rainbow, includes a hockey puck, a football, or maybe an octagon for me.”

Crossover move

Circa Las Vegas co-owner Derek Stevens says his company’s Circa Sports-Tuscany partnership might lead to further collaboration between the sports-betting brand and off-Strip resort. Both are focused on a locals’ audience, for starters.

“We are excited about doing a lot with the Tuscany,” Stevens said at the ribbon-cutting event marking the Circa Sports opening at Tuscany. “Up the escalators, their ballroom space is massive. At some point, down the road, we would love to have Super Bowl parties. We would love to have March Madness parties. We’re just kicking off now, but I think there are a lot of things we can do with the Tuscany.”

Stevens motioned to the tavern just across from the Circa Sports betting counter.

“Here, with their Pub 365, its great restaurant, there are a lot of things we can do here,” said Stevens, himself an avid bettor and host on the VSiN sports network. “We’ll probably do some VSiN shows over here, things like that, to kind of tie in with that brand, too.”

A property brother

Spiegelworld founder and “Absinthe” producer Ross Mollison is indeed interested in taking over some of Tony Hsieh’s properties in downtown Las Vegas, as reported this week by my colleague Eli Segall. Mollison has a history of kicking the tires downtown.

Soon after “Absinthe” opened in 2011, Mollison talked with Jonathan Jossel about possibly entering into a partnership to brand Las Vegas Club as a Spiegelworld or “Absinthe” property.

“They were very preliminary talks, but we did discuss that possibility,” says Jossel, CEO of Plaza whose Tamares Group owned Las Vegas Club in those days. “It was about a decade ago, before we sold the property.” Tamares sold to Greg and Derek Stevens in 2015.

Mollison recalled those days in a phone chat Tuesday. “Yeah, the wound up selling it to Derek Stevens and turning into something else, Circa or something. A big, golden place. Gazillionaire actually likes it.”

But seriously, folks … Mollison is eyeing some other parcels, including the Western Hotel spot, in the long term. But today, he says, “I’ve got three shows I need to get back up and running. This is a heavy lift.” “Absinthe” is back Wednesday at Caesars Palace, with an “Atomic Saloon Show” to be announced likely this month, and “Opium” next in line.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.