It used to be this lady with fruit loops in her hair carrying a big basket of bananas under her melons was the big news here. Rio Rita they called her and she would make appearances in the casino and restaurants along with the Singing Chef. It wasn’t too long ago that this was considered classy entertainment for an ‘80s carpet joint. Now you gotta have a whole lot more fruit if you’re going to put some color in your fishbowl and that’s what the Rio did. They developed Mardi Gras Village as an extension of their casino to give gamers a chance to look up from their machines once in awhile and check out the floor-to-ceiling parade. Once an hour the music gets going, gogo girls get gyrating, dancers swing on stars, 20-foot puppets on stilts work the floor, and gondolas ferry about with tourists who pay $12 to have the privilege of hanging above the players and throw beaded necklaces at them. Hey, you gotta look up some time. Rio Suite Hotel and Casino, 3700 W. Flamingo, 702-252-7777.