Las Vegas Weekly

December 5, 2008 · 2:02 PM

Strip Scribbles: Rio lands New Year’s Eve truck backflip stunt

By Robin Leach

Robbie Maddison at his record-breaking Rio jump.

Photo: Garth Milan/Red Bull

I can now officially reveal that New Zealand daredevil Rhys Millen will attempt the complete backflip of his off-road truck in the parking lots of The Rio on West Flamingo and the I-15 on New Year’s Eve. There had been preliminary talk that he would tackle the impossible on desert scrubland on the South Strip. Now it’s definite that it will take place at The Rio on Dec. 31. That’s where he wound up smashing his ribs in a practice run 12 months ago, and the attempt had to be scrubbed at the last minute. ESPN cameras will cover the New Year No Limits TV special sponsored by Red Bull and send the Rio jump back to giant screens at center Strip where, as we previously reported several weeks ago, Australian action sports star and freestyle motocross rider Robbie Maddison will attempt to jump to the top -- and then off again -- of the 96-foot Arc de Triomphe entranceway to Paris Las Vegas.

Last year for ESPN, Robbie succeeded in jumping the length of a football field set up in the same Rio parking lot. Contrary to reports elsewhere, the ESPN deal with both riders at both hotels is all set to roll as we first exclusively reported several weeks ago. Red Bull even signed the deals yesterday for all the ancillary promotions being built around the dangerous stunts. The two drivers will be competing for viewers and spectators against the life-threatening Robbie Knievel jump across the new Mirage volcano attraction that Fox will feature as a one-hour live special just a few thousand feet away also on the Strip.

*Tickets are expected to sell out in a matter of minutes tomorrow at MGM Grand when they go on sale for the first arena tour in five years for Britney Spears. We’re still awaiting word on the possibility of Britney appearing on Randy Jackson’s live, two-hour New Year’s Eve TV special at center Strip with the full list of stars being announced mid-week. The 27-city North American part of Britney’s worldwide travels includes the April 25 show here with the Pussycat Dolls as her opening act. Criss Angel’s Emmy Award-winning choreographer Wade Robson at his Luxor Believe show has signed on to lead the incredible Circus in the Round Tour as director. Extra security will be on duty as early as 6 a.m. tomorrow when the first fans are expected to line up. All fan club and VIP tickets were sold in seconds after this week’s priority release coinciding with her 27th birthday Tuesday, and even the ringside $695 tickets have already tripled in price on Internet resale sites! Talks are continuing about adding a second MGM Grand show in the event of monstrous ticket demand and instant sellout of the first show.

*There are horrid rumblings about a two-week deadline being put in place for a new hotel group to come up with their final-phase financing of a major Strip landmark property. “The whole thing goes bust with the overspending already incurred,” I was reliably told. If that happens, they lose what’s already been invested, and I’ve also learned that a new out-of-town buyer is ready to swoop in with cash at hand to buy it out at a bargain-basement price and run it himself.

*Boys will be boys! It’s become a pattern for Flamingo headliners Donny Osmond and Nathan Burton to beat each other to the punch with unexpected practical jokes. Yesterday, in the middle of an on-stage illusion, comedy magician Nathan expected to see a shapely showgirl magically appear from one of his trick cabinets. To both his and the audience’s surprise, a bewildered Donny emerged scratching his head saying, “This isn’t my dressing room.” Nathan told Vegas DeLuxe: “I was shocked and delighted because it should have been one of my cast members.” After the surprise, it was on with the show!

*To celebrate the holiday season, Bette Midler has added festive touches to her The Showgirl Must Go On production at The Colosseum in Caesars Palace. Performances feature three of The Divine Miss M’s favorite holiday songs, “Cool Yule,” “White Christmas” and the holiday edition of “From a Distance.” These special shows also feature updated choreography, costumes and video elements topped off by a visit from jolly old St. Nick as he takes the stage with Midler to wish the crowd a merry holiday season. The holiday songs Midler performs in these special shows also can be found on her holiday album Cool Yule, which earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album in 2007. It’s the first time any of the songs from the album have been performed by Bette live in concert.

*Stomp Out Loud at Planet Hollywood has signed on as the official show sponsor for the 2008 Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl. On Dec. 17, the two competing teams who will battle it out in the Pioneer Bowl will first attend the unique, exuberant musical show and then they battle it out in the big game Dec. 20. All bowl fans also get a special 2-for-1 offer on tickets by saying “Las Vegas Bowl” at the Box Office. The offer is good from Dec. 15 through Jan. 4.

*It might seem like a total country western music weekend, but our valley is so large that there’s still many other nightlife attractions to choose from -- and we’ve got the other boot-kicking highlights neatly wrangled and roped up in what we affectionately refer to around here as the Royal Robin Rundown:

Friday, Dec. 5

*Our hometown’s favorite sons The Killers will play tracks from their new album Day & Age at an album release party at the Bank in the Bellagio, and guests will get a copy of selected singles to take home after waving to the band in the VIP area.

*It’s not all about country music this weekend because soul and R&B are well represented with Teena Marie, Cameo, Bo Benton and the extraordinary sounds and skills of Morris Day and the Time in one platinum-packed concert at The Orleans Arena.

*Multiplatinum rockers Tesla are out on their 11th tour and supporting their newest and seventh album Forever More. It’s a 1970s, no-frills, hard rock style with an edge of blues to round it out. Sharing Tesla’s love of old school hard rock is Cinder Road as the opening act at the Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel.

*Carey Hart has booked Velicious for his neighboring Wasted Space club at the Hard Rock Hotel.

*It’s a double work weekend for the duo of Tommy Shaw of Styx and Jack Blades of Night Ranger as the rock legends team up. They recorded the album Hallucination back in 1995 and got together again for Influence last year. Tonight they’ll play the Ovation Lounge at Green Valley Ranch, and then tomorrow they’ll be at the newly opened Aliante Station in North Las Vegas.

*Aloha! The holiday spirit comes ashore on the mainland from our state way out there in the Pacific as the Suncoast showroom celebrates a Hawaiian Christmas concert.

*Party patrol: Hawaiian Tropic Zone at Planet Hollywood’s Miracle Mile rolls out the red carpet for Miss Nevada USA 2009 Georgina Vaughan as she hosts a holiday party and celebrates her 21st birthday. … 90210 actor Ryan Eggold is the hunk attraction hosting at Prive nightclub inside Planet Hollywood.

Saturday, Dec. 6

*The official Golden Boy Dream Match after-party will be held at Studio 54 right after the raucous, rowdy, ring rendezvous between Oscar de la Hoya and Manny Pacquiao. Along with the expected bruises and battering, one will be crowned victor and party the night away!

*It’s an Oasis in the desert when brothers Liam and Neil Gallagher lead their British rock band Oasis into The Pearl Concert Theater at the Palms. The group from my old hometown of Manchester dates back to 1991 and were at the height of their fame by 1998, but they then fell from the charts until 2005’s Don’t Believe the Truth and this year’s Dig Out Your Soul propelled them right back to the top again. Singer-guitarist Ryan Adams teams with drummer Matt Costa as the opening act.

*The Wu-Tang Clan has been so successful with millions of album sales, they even have a manual that sets out philosophies on music, business and spirituality to keep the nine solo stars intact. The group has seen leader RZA and members Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon all enjoy individual success. The Clan collectively is at the House of Blues in Mandalay Bay.

*Hard to believe Three Dog Night is into its fourth decade with such hits as “Joy to the World,” “Shambala” and “Black & White” -- can you imagine 40 years of being on the road? They’re joined by my old hometown Manchester friends Peter Noone and Herman’s Hermits for the oldies show at the Star of the Desert Arena in Buffalo Bill’s on the state-line border. It’s worth the drive south on the I-15 just to sing along to “I’m Into Something Good” and “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter.”

*Back in 1986, L.A. Guns got their start on the famed Sunset Strip in Hollywood, and a year later they enjoyed platinum success with the first of four albums, including 2006’s Loud and Dangerous. They’re playing the Chrome showroom at the Santa Fe Station.

*Party patrol: Singer-guitarist Benji Madden of Good Charlotte, and newly single again now that his romance with Paris Hilton has fizzled, will be guest DJ on the wheels of steel at Prive in Planet Hollywood.

*Rapper Vanilla Ice, who was ousted from the Fame Games reality series I hosted for VH1, will present a $1,000 diamond necklace to a winning lady at McFadden’s restaurant saloon in The Rio. Now that’s “Ice Ice Baby” -- the sparkling kind rather than his ’90s hit!

Sunday, Dec. 7

*Lee Greenwood, who is proud to be an American, celebrates a Tennessee Christmas with a special one-night show at The Orleans to mark the magic of the holiday season.

*For the next seven nights starting this evening, Studio 54 at MGM goes country in honor of the National Finals Rodeo. The one-of-a-kind comedy singers Ricky and the Redstreaks bring their unparalleled eccentric talent to the rodeo circuit. They’re known as one of pro rodeo’s favorite bands and have been described as a collision between Animal House and a John Wayne Western.

*Expect to see a lot of partygoers in martial-arts costumes at the Kung Fu Clash revelry at Moon nightclub atop George Maloof’s Fantasy Tower at the Palms.

*The All-American Rejects play Carey Hart’s Wasted Space at the Hard Rock Hotel with special guests Jetlag Gemini and The City Lives in a triple-heads-up show.

Monday’s tease

Over the weekend, we will have special photo reports from tomorrow’s early morning Great Santa Run, tomorrow afternoon’s coronation of the new Miss Rodeo Queen and Sunday morning’s dawn start of the 4th annual Las Vegas Marathon. Then Monday we’ll have our round-up of the ultimate Dream Match pitting Oscar de la Hoya and Manny Pacquiao, complete with celebrities ringside at the major boxing event, plus our very first look, with video coverage, at Disney’s The Lion King musical that’s roaring into Mandalay Bay. The week also starts out with the new Mirage volcano’s explosive eruptions, and I’ll emcee the after-party for headline ventriloquist Terry Fator. Coming Tuesday our exclusive interview with sweet singer and marvelous Marie Osmond in the midst of decorating for Christmas.

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