Rao's

Rao's is a Southern Italian restaurant founded in 1896 and located at 455 East 114th Street, on the corner of Pleasant Avenue in East Harlem, New York City, with a sister restaurant in Las Vegas, Nevada.

History

The restaurant was started in 1896 by Charles Rao, who moved with his parents from Italy to the United States. He bought a small shop in Italian Harlem, once a very large Italian-American community, and ran the restaurant until his death in 1909. Louis Rao took over the business. He was seen by many as a very suave man. He had his hair cut at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, and wore many fancy suits. Current co-owner Frank Pellegrino describes those days as "the days of big Cadillacs and usually convertibles." He was much more conservative in behavior and looks and refined the cuisine into a simpler Italian menu, with the help of "Aunt Jake." After Vincent Rao's death in 1999, the restaurant was taken over by Frank Pellegrino, Anna Pellegrino Rao's nephew, and Ronald Straci, another close relative. Anna Pellegrino Rao refined the menu even more with the help of Vincent and she is the source of the menu's identity today.

Frank Pellegrino

Frank Pellegrino is an American actor and restaurateur.

Born in East Harlem, Pellegrino has often acted in law and gangster-themed film and television productions. He was a member of an early 1960s singing group called the Holidaes. There is a rare recording of a song called "Never" that appears on FOUND IN THE BASEMENT VOL. 1. Notable roles of his include Johnny Dio in GoodFellas, assorted appearances on Law & Order, and FBI Chief Frank Cubitoso on The Sopranos.

Pellegrino is a co-owner of the restaurant Rao's in New York City. Books written by Pellegrino include Rao's Cookbook, Rao's Recipes from the Neighborhood and Rao's on the Grill. He also produced the CD An Evening at Rao's, featuring music from Rao's jukebox.

Frank Pellegrino sings on the "Heavenly Lullabies" Cd with Dr. Kathy Reilly Fallon which was dedicated to the Babies & Orphans of 9-11-01. He is co-author and sings on "Heavenly Skies & Lullabies Illustrated Song Book & Cd" with Dr. Kathy Reilly Fallon. These two projects were produced by Heavenly Productions Foundation, a 501c-3 not for profit charity based in Armonk, New York that help children in need and in distress.

Las Vegas

Las Vegas (/lɑːs ˈveɪɡəs/, also locally /lɑːs ˈvɛɡᵻs/; Spanish: [laz ˈβeɣas]) officially the City of Las Vegas and often known as simply Vegas, is a city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, the county seat of Clark County, and the city proper of the Las Vegas Valley. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city known primarily for gambling, shopping, fine dining and nightlife and is the leading financial and cultural center for Southern Nevada.

The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous for its mega casino–hotels and associated entertainment. A growing retirement and family city, Las Vegas is the 29th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 603,488 at the 2013 United States Census Estimates. The 2013 population of the Las Vegas metropolitan area was 2,027,828. The city is one of the top three leading destinations in the United States for conventions, business, and meetings. In addition, the city's metropolitan area has more AAA Five Diamond hotels than any other city in the world, and is a global leader in the hospitality industry. Today, Las Vegas is one of the top tourist destinations in the world.

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern United States and is the United States' 27th-most extensive, fourth-most populous, and seventh-most densely populated state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south and Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont to the east. The state has a maritime border in the Atlantic Ocean with Rhode Island, east of Long Island, as well as an international border with the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the north and Ontario to the west and north. The state of New York, with an estimated 19.8 million residents in 2015, is often referred to as New York State to distinguish it from New York City, the state's most populous city and its economic hub.

With an estimated population of nearly 8.5 million in 2014, New York City is the most populous city in the United States and the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States. The New York City Metropolitan Area is one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. New York City is a global city, exerting a significant impact upon commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment, its fast pace defining the term New York minute. The home of the United Nations Headquarters, New York City is an important center for international diplomacy and has been described as the cultural and financial capital of the world, as well as the world's most economically powerful city. New York City makes up over 40% of the population of New York State. Two-thirds of the state's population lives in the New York City Metropolitan Area, and nearly 40% live on Long Island. Both the state and New York City were named for the 17th century Duke of York, future King James II of England. The next four most populous cities in the state are Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, and Syracuse, while the state capital is Albany.

Caesars Palace

Caesars Palace is an AAA Four Diamond luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States, situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip, between the Bellagio and the Mirage. The Palace was established in 1966 by Jay Sarno, who sought to create an opulent facility that gave guests a sense of life during the Roman Empire. It contains many statues, columns and iconography typical of Hollywood Roman period productions, including a 20 foot (6.1 m) statue of Julius Caesar near the entrance. Caesars Palace is now owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corporation. As of 2015, the hotel has 3,960 rooms and suites in six towers and a convention facility of over 300,000 square feet (28,000 m²). The hotel has a very large range of restaurants, including several serving authentic Chinese cuisine to cater to the wealthy East Asian gamblers.

Caesars Palace is one of the most prestigious casino hotels in the world and one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks. It is closely associated with the entertainment industry and has served as a venue for boxing since the late 1970s, and hosted the Caesars Palace Grand Prix from 1981–2. Notable entertainers who have performed at Caesars Palace include Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Rod Stewart, Celine Dion, Cher, Bette Midler, Liberace, Liza Minnelli, Elton John, Julio Iglesias, Judy Garland, David Copperfield, Tony Bennett, Gloria Estefan, Luis Miguel, Janet Jackson, Jerry Seinfeld, Mariah Carey, Matt Goss and Deana Martin. The main performance venue is The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, a 4,296-seat stadium with a 22,450 square feet (2,086 m²) stage, which was originally built at a cost of $95-million for Celine Dion's show, A New Day..., in 2003. After a departure in 2007, Dion returned to The Colosseum with her new show entitled "Celine" in March 2011, which is under contract for 70 shows per year, through 2017.