Regional Casinos Give Aging Rockers a Fresh Chance to Shake Their Booty

KC & the Sunshine Band’s summer concert tour will make almost half of its 23 stops at casinos. That’s just fine with lead singer Harry Wayne Casey. The 63-year-old performer, known for disco-era hits such as (Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty and Get Down Tonight, says he likes the facilities at many of the venues—the hotel rooms, the restaurants, and the blackjack tables, where he aims to keep his losses below his performance fee. “I try not to play for free,” he says.

Since Congress let American Indian tribes open casinos in 1988 and Iowa legalized riverboat gambling the following year, the number of states with Las Vegas-style resorts has risen to 39 from two. That translates into a lot of stages—and a lot of work for musicians. The regional casinos provide a nice living for bands of a certain age. And they’ve given fans, even in small towns, a chance to connect with artists they once loved, some of whom stopped producing new material years ago.