text: My mate and I just checked out the new Rio rendition of the Las Vegas San Gennaro Feast on its opening day and other than having great difficulty finding it and a parking spot in a Rio lot we both pretty much enjoyed the food and entertainment I thought the Feast was situated behind the Rio and it was But it is not accessible from Valley View Boulevard The best way to reach it is to enter the Rio and go around the Carnival World Buffet right to the back and out the Rio near Gaylord Indian Restaurant Signage is horrible until you reach the back doors of the Rio that lead to the Feast I needed to ask the security guard manning the Rio Security Desk how to get to the Feast just as did the person in front of me nnOnce there the usual sights and smells of a wide array of Italian and other cooking food products were prevalent with several vendors touting their products as potential patrons walked by I wanted to try a new food vendor this timeand didbut to my disadvantage The handtossed pizza looked real tasty with cheese melting nicely on slices that were dotted with pepperoni But the taste of these slices was bitter and tomato paste was much too dominant an element in the sauce At least the outfit selling this mediocre stuff is from Northern California and only sells at fairs and festivals I checked so you will not accidentally run into this pizza in the Las Vegas valley The two pizza slices I ate set me back I am going to Biaggios for lunch later today to get some firstrate pizza to make up for last nights clinkers nnMuch better was the Philly Cheesesteak I bought from an Anthonys booth as I did last year I watched it grilled before me Since I had not eaten all day in preparation for the Feast dressed with selfadministered ketchup and packed with small cut up pieces of cooked beef red and green peppers white onions and wellmelted Mozzarella Cheese inside a soft inch bun this beauty was worth the highsounding cost Dianes Potato Tornado greasy bent circles of deepfried potatoes that were a cross between thick potato chips and french fries also tasted quite good And a largesize bag of Cinnamon Roasted Almonds that was not that big was steeply priced at but offered both of us a nice sweet ending to our dinners Everything was washed down with very reasonably priced bottles of spring water and Sierra Mist purchased at the Rios own Cafe Martorano booth nnWe did not play any games of chanceskill but I saw a huge banana pig Bart Simpson and other stuffed creatures in attendees hands so some people were clearly winning major prizes As in the past our main focus was on the food and entertainment nnAnd the entertainment we saw was excellent and largely different than what we observed in previous years Dick Contino Tony Sacca and Lena Prima performed once again but there were also the Motown Divas Chris Lista from the East Coast an actorsinger who plays Frank Sinatra in The Rat Pack Is Back at the Rio the bird trainer from Americas Got Talent appearing with Danny the Parrot Deja Vu from South Point and Kim Styles who belted out a very nice rendition of Adeles Rolling in the Deep The Michael T Orchestra that backs up singers was also once again excellentespecially the saxophonist The fine live entertainment in the Tony Sacca Show that begins at pm each night of the festival and changes daily is worth the price of admission with coupon alone nnUniformed Las Vegas Metro officers were clearly visible the crowd seemed happy and very mellow debris on tables was picked up by Feast volunteers very soon after a diner got up to leave and colorful amusement rides were in full bloom We were both glad that we attended yet another Feast