American Notes LAS VEGAS--- Stop the Music!

Lounge music may be to the symphony what Velveeta is to cheese, but hey, it's all part of what makes Las Vegas great. That is why 195 musicians are on strike against five casinos that want to replace them at least some of the time with audio tapes and synthesizers. The musicians are getting tremendous support within the community -- 87% of the callers to a local TV talk show applauded the strike. Performers like Rodney Dangerfield, Connie Francis and Dionne Warwick have canceled their shows. Lounge lizards like Sammy Davis Jr. and Tony Orlando have vowed not to cross the picket lines.

Casino operators will not say how much the canceled floor shows are costing, but Bally's alone estimates that bands run $1.1 million a year and are becoming obsolete: visiting performers often provide their own backup. Strikers argue that the live music lures customers. Keeping the music, says picketer Elizabeth Smith, who played the French horn with Bally's Jubilee!, "is something a classy hotel should do."