Las Vegas Weekly

December 3, 2008 · 11:59 AM

A star- and stunt-studded NYE on the Strip features Usher, Fergie, Pete & Ashlee, Kid Rock and two death-defying jumps

By Robin Leach

Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson.

Photo: Pure Management Group

Despite a reeling national economy, the superstar lineup scheduled for New Year’s Eve on the Strip might well be the biggest and best block party of them all! Some of the heaviest hitters from showbiz will actually be competing against three live telecasts on Dec. 31, and the rundown, quite honestly, is overwhelming to even me!

How one makes a decision of what to see and where to go and how to party is beyond me. But you had better make your reservations now to ensure that you’re here for the party of the year. I think I’ve got the entire celebrity lineup now, and I’ve tried to put it all together in a logical, alphabetical order. We’ll start with the stars and wind up with the stunts!

Photo: Pure Management Group

Usher at Pure.

THE BANK AT BELLAGIO: Grammy Award-winning, smooth, silky R&B soul singer Usher is set to bring “Love in This Club” and grab the mic for the 10 through 11:59 p.m. countdown.

CHRISTIAN AUDIGIER AT TREASURE ISLAND: The Hills stars and so-called newlyweds Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt will host the midnight countdown and maybe just wind up as the first celebrity couple to be really married here on New Year’s Day!

HOUSE OF BLUES AT MANDALAY BAY: Musical maverick Akon sings and raps his way into 2009 with a midnight hour concert at the House of Blues.

JET AT THE MIRAGE: They sent fanatical fans into a frenzy at their fall concert here, and now Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood from New Kids on the Block are returning for Dec. 31 party festivities.

Photo: Scott Doctor/www.greatscottstudios.com

Fergie.

LAVO AT THE PALAZZO: The glamorous Back Eyed Peas singer Fergie will first perform in concert at the adjoining Venetian Ballroom and then race over in the Tao/Lavo Escalade golf cart to handle the countdown chores at Lavo and then party on through the pre-dawn hours.

Photo: Scott Doctor/www.greatscottstudios.com

Kim Kardashian.

LAX AT THE LUXOR: Our friends the Kardashians will ring in the New Year with a champagne-fueled celebration. Kim and sisters Kourtney and Khloe will be decked out in fashion’s finery for the platinum party.

THE PEARL CONCERT THEATER AT THE PALMS: Infamous rebel rocker Kid Rock will do double-duty to welcome the New Year. He’s the first of what will become a quick trend in appearing on both Dec. 31 and then staying over to reprise the excitement during the Jan. 2-3 weekend. On New Year’s Eve, he will blow the roof off of the Pearl Concert Theater in concert and then host upstairs at the Playboy Club in George Maloof’s Fantasy Tower. He’ll then repeat it all a second time Jan. 3 for all the visitors who got crowded out three days earlier! Clever thinking!

PRIVE AT PLANET HOLLYWOOD: It’s an initial double-header with more celebrity surprises to come. Reality TV star Denise Richards from E!’s It’s Complicated series will toast the arrival of 2009 alongside hip-hop pioneer DMC, who also will play guest DJ for the night. The party may run all night and all day because on the first night of ’09, Grammy Award-winning artist Benny Benassi plays house DJ.

PURE AT CAESARS PALACE: Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz and pop-singer bride Ashlee Simpson will make their first public appearance since becoming new proud parents of bouncing baby boy Bronx Mowgli last week. They’ll make a midnight toast, and Pete will play guest DJ.

SOUTH POINT: It may well be a New Year, but you can bet Tony Orlando will reprise a few old hits, including “Tie a Yellow Ribbon” in a dinner show at the grand ballroom of South Point. Tony will perform a 90-minute set leading into his midnight champagne toast.

Photo: Scott Doctor/www.greatscottstudios.com

Carmen Electra.

TAO AT THE VENETIAN: Sexy pinup actress Carmen Electra will be the pint-sized personality punch powering the restaurant and nightclub celebrations at the Asian-themed hot spot. Come midnight, she and DJ Vice will handle the countdown and then party on through the night.

Photo: Palms

DJ Paul Oakenfold and Michael Phelps.

Now to the live telecasts, again in alphabetical order:

AMERICA’S PARTY: American Idol judge and music personality Randy Jackson is set to host a two-hour broadcast from center Strip with a host of recording stars making guest appearances live in the second hour. During the first hour, multiple Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps will help highlight some of 2008’s top events. A press conference set for next Monday will announce the CBS/CW network star lineup, but you may well find Beyonce, Rihanna and Chris Brown on the list -- with or without Britney Spears, which we should know by day’s end. Many cast members of hit The CW shows including Gossip Girls, 90210, One Tree Hill and America’s Next Top Model are scheduled to be a part of America’s Party.

THE MIRAGE: Fox TV cameras will broadcast stuntman Robbie Knievel’s 8 to 9 p.m. jump over the new exploding and erupting Mirage volcano. He’ll leap across the 900-degree, 65-foot fireballs from a take-off ramp and hopefully land safely on another ramp on the other side of the resort driveways -- all within 30 feet of the crowded sidewalk. The show is set to air Eastern Time from 11 p.m. to midnight, with Robbie’s actual jump getting underway here local time at 8:50 p.m. (11:50 p.m. Eastern Time) after the preparations, safety inspections and previous historic footage inserts. Then Fox continues on with midnight East Coast coverage from Times Square.

PARIS: ESPN cameras will do double-duty with two stuntmen attempting the impossible in a live New Year No Limits TV special sponsored by Red Bull. Australian action sports star and freestyle motocross rider Robbie Maddison will attempt to jump to the top -- and off again -- of the 96-foot Arc de Triomphe entranceway to Paris Las Vegas. Elsewhere in a safer location on the south Strip desert scrubland, his daredevil New Zealand buddy Rhys Millen will attempt a complete back flip of an off-road truck live. That escapade will be broadcast on large TV screens set up at Paris for the spectators awaiting Robbie’s death-thrill jump. Last year for ESPN, Robbie succeeded in jumping the length of a football field set up in a Rio parking lot. Ratings were so high that ESPN decided to make it an even more ambitious, spectacular and dangerous challenge this year! ESPN will briefly cut away to New York for the Times Square midnight ball drop, which also will be shown on the giant screens at Paris.

In all, it’s a million-dollar payday for the stars coming to Vegas -- and their appearances here ensure that Las Vegas lives up to its reputation as the best party place to spend New Year’s Eve! Even though the giant fireworks displays this year will be set off at ground level or on parking garages instead of on hotel rooftops for safety reasons, we should still attract nearly 300,000 revelers along the Strip.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t make mention of two familiar Las Vegas faces who won’t be here on Dec. 31. For the first time since they survived a fiery Sept. 19 plane crash in Columbia, S.C., that killed four people, drummer Travis Barker and celebrity DJ AM (Adam Goldstein) will perform together again, but not here in Sin City. Instead, they’re staying closer to home in Hollywood for the Nation’s Los Angeles party at the Lot nightclub. Their TRVSDJAM performance will be broadcast with other Nation’s parties across America and streamed on the Internet.

It’s going to be one giant wow of a night! Now the really tough job lies ahead of deciding among all the choices!

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