Clear Channel joins Aladdin

In a deal that could pave the way for two new major shows to come to Las Vegas, Clear Channel Entertainment is teaming up with the Aladdin to manage the hotel-casino’s theater and a planned showroom.

The agreement gives Clear Channel Entertainment, one of the world’s leading producers of live entertainment, a sizable venue in which to lure top-notch performers, headliners and possibly a Broadway show. The company has a deal to bring “Phantom of the Opera” to another Strip resort in 2006.

The partnership should also help revive the once-bankrupt Aladdin that was bought last year by a group of investors led by Robert Earl, Planet Hollywood’s chief executive.

Earl declined to say what shows might land at the Aladdin but said they would have national recognition. To accommodate nightly performances, the casino’s 7,000-seat theater will be modernized, and a showroom will be built that could hold up to 1,500 people.