I don’t know when my friend Jack and I started to go to the Piazza Lounge at the The Tuscany Hotel & Suites on Sunday nights. The singer on Sundays is Rita Lim. Jack hung out before the show with a new friend named Paul. I spent the pre-show time in the casino with one or two slot machines. When the show was about to start (7 p.m.) I returned to to the Piazza Lounge to watch.

I learned as I watched. Rita Lim, a California native, is always dressed in long flowing gowns. The gowns are floor length with a slit for her great legs and have plenty of fabric. I think Rita also has some sort of hidden fan which makes her hair and gowns flow slightly. An outdoor seating area is just on the other side of one of the the Piazza walls and while the music drifts there, people can also talk, with Rita in the background. Rita moves gracefully or dances in many songs and the gowns plus Rita are a very pleasant sight.

Rita mentions lots of names during her shows – even mine. She knows the names of all the local singers who attend; she has friends from in town and from out of town whose names she remembers as well. And she Is kind – especially to regular audience members like the man who seems to have dubbed himself an audience host, Wild Bill Ervin. Among her other favorite men is a man named Vince whom I sit with nowadays when my friend Dorothy is not in town. Vince always has ladies named Joyce and Susie sitting with him. A friend Maxine also attends now and then and her attendance gives me a chance to catch up. Rita’s shows at the Piazza have no charge, though most of us order drinks and maybe, food.

Before her show and during her breaks, Rita glides through the audience and greets fans – sometimes with a hug, sometimes just saying thank you for attending. Few entertainers do what Rita does and her audiences at the Tuscany are always close to a full house. Even the bar stools are full. The dress for Rita’s shows varies; some audience members show up in sequins; others, in jeans and sweatshirts.

Singing, Rita has a lovely lower voice. Her regular fans like everything she sings; me, I am partial to the lower range songs. She remembers when her songs were popular and who sang them. And for those of us who attend almost weekly, she does not sing the same songs every week so we keep coming back.

Rita’s Musical Director is her husband, Dave Siegel, who introduces Rita with lots of very kind words. He is very talented himself and Rita will often joke about spending his earnings.

Rita performs at many places other than the Piazza Lounge. And she makes recordings, too. And oh yes, when I am attending performances of other Las Vegas entertainers, Rita is often in the audience. She supports other singers.

I love living in Las Vegas because of its entertainment offerings. One of my favorites: Rita Lim.