His name was synonymous with Las Vegas, but singing impressionist Danny Gans, who died Friday at age 52, was no stranger to Atlantic City.

Gans--whose cause of death has not yet been determined--made several annual weekend visits to Casears in the late 1990s and early Oughts.

Gans' Caesars turns left no doubt as to why he made eight figures a year in the Nevada desert. It's not that his vocal work was 100 percent accurate; many of his imitations were less than precise. But out of the 70 or so celebrity bits  that comprised a typical Gans show, the overwhelming majority were spot on.

And he didn't just stay in the standard mimics' box when it came to his choice of subjects. He often imitated singers--e.g.Michael Bolton, Aaron Nevelle--other impressionists would never think of doing. And he wasn't limited by gender: NatalieCole and Anita Baker were mainstays of his repertoire.

Gans was also an energetic and engaging performer with an extremely likeable stage presence.

I didn't know him well at all, but my two or three phone interviews with Gans were enjoyable as he was never anything less than engaging and gentlemanly--he seemed devoid of the kind of ego so many top-shelf entertainers possess.

It's a shame AyCee will never see him again.