There are few in Vegas who command more juice than native son and retired tennis star Andre Agassi. And Agassi uses his local pull completely for charity. In fact, he calls in all favors for this one night a year: the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation's Grand Slam for Children.
This was the 12th year of the event, and the headliners were again Grand Slam's trademark mix of only-in-Vegas eclecticism: Jerry Seinfeld, the Goo Goo Dolls, Tony Bennett, Kelly Clarkson and Hall & Oates. "Who doesn't want to see the best entertainment in the world?" Agassi says of his traditionally wide-ranging choices.
The overriding thing the headliners share, besides a connection to Agassi, is a belief in the cause of benefiting children. As a result, in past years the varied headliner mix has occasionally caused some controversies, like the year Dennis Miller's political routine was blasted by Elton John onstage, or the year Robin Williams' repeated profanity surprised the audience at the generally G-rated event. Last Saturday, everyone got along.
Over its history, including this year, the Grand Slam for Children has raised more than $70 million to benefit a variety of local charities -- most notably the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, a charter school located in a distressed neighborhood in West Las Vegas.
Agassi explains that the school has a longer day than most Las Vegas schools and requires summer work and parental involvement. For the 50 spots open in kindergarten, the waiting list is at more than 350.
"We give resources, and we ask for accountability for resources, and we do it with the children who need it the most. The children who society has written off can actually thrive if given the opportunity," he says, quite relaxed backstage.
The school was singled out for praise in Bill Clinton's new book, "Giving."
The first senior class at the school graduates in spring 2009. Meanwhile, Agassi hopes to see his education model spread and announced at the Grand Slam his plans to open a second Agassi Prep school in Camden, N.J.
As for his decision to place the first school in Vegas: "I was born and raised here, and you have to eat an elephant one bite at a time."
It will be interesting to see if Agassi can bring his ability to access funding to New Jersey.
