An unlikely entertainer is taking the stage tonight at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., the Miami Herald reports: former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev, 77, will speak on peace in a venue where country crooner Reba McEntire and guitar legend Carlos Santana are also booked this month.
A fat paycheck from the Native American tribe that owns the casino hotel could be behind the appearance, the Herald notes, with Gorbachev commanding $125,000 in the past for one-hour engagements. But, a casino rep says, ticket business "has not been overwhelming," with 400 given away free to students at the nearby University of Miami. (More Mikhail Gorbachev stories.)