Las Vegas Weekly

October 3, 2008 · 12:20 PM

Strip Scribbles: Star sightings and the weekend rundown

By Robin Leach

*Extra security will be on hand for the mob mayhem and hysteria expected at 6 a.m. Saturday when Jonas Brothers fans start lining up for tickets at MGM Grand Garden Arena, where the pop music rock sensations will appear Nov. 29. A random number will be selected at 9 a.m. and then everybody reshuffles behind that in order. Nobody will be permitted to purchase more than eight tickets. The box office will open at 10 a.m. The brothers are the youngest group ever to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. More than 1 million fans showed up for their previous tour and the boys have been filming a 3D concert and behind-the-scenes feature length movie for Disney to release in February. Expect a debut new photobook of the Jonas Brothers to be released by Disney as they hit Vegas.

*Congratulations to Denay Thompson who won the Miss Hawaiian Tropic Zone Las Vegas’ title and was crowned the winner over 30 bikini-clad competitors. Denay, who was voted on by judges including UFC star Randy Couture and his wife, Kim; and Miss Washington 2007 Elyse Umemoto, picked up $1,500 and a trip for two to New York City.

Photo: Isaac Brekken. Getty Images

Denay Thompson

Photo: Isaac Brekken. Getty Images

Denay Thompson

*Television’s Knight Rider star Jasmine Dustin played host at a ROK nightclub party in New York New York celebrating the former David Hasselhoff series that’s now been reincarnated! Dustin also co-stars with Adam Sander and Courtney Cox in the winter movie Bedtime Stories. If she looks familiar it's not just because she was on Disney’s Wizards of Waverly Place, but because she’s the exotic beauty model on the spectacular 360-degree lenticular images above the bar at ROK.

Photo: Preferred PR

Jasmine Dustin

Photo: Preferred PR

Jasmine Dustin

*A new 2009 Harley-Davidson motorcycle is up for grabs at the Golden Nugget as part of the host hotel’s BikeFest celebrations downtown. The lucky winner come Saturday night at 9 p.m. will choose between three Harleys: the Road King, Fat Boy or the Softail Deluxe. Anyone can register starting today for the free entry.

*It's never too soon to start practicing for a marathon run -- and this weekend members of the Las Vegas Roadrunners undergo a milestone 20-mile run in preparation for the Dec. 7 big event. Sunday’s 6 a.m. start from The Athletes Foot on West Sahara kicks off the training program for everybody -- those with no running experience, beginners and those who really are going to push their limits this December. Each Sunday from now until race day there will be guest speakers and trainers, real race experiences, knowledge and insight to take one from couch to the finish line. Added bonus: the Academy of Healing Arts staffers will be on hand to provide massages to all runners!

*The second-annual Weim & Wine fundraiser is set for Saturday to provide sanctuary, veterinary care and adoption services for Weimaraners and mixed breeds in need. The Rescue Club finds temporary shelter for the animals and provides veterinary care, evaluation, training and help in finding permanent homes for the dogs in its charge. Sadly, in recent months there has been an increasing number of abandoned animals throughout the valley due to difficulties in the housing market and the economy.

*Respected Vegas food critic John Curtas makes his debut as a judge on Food Network’s prestigious Iron Chef series airing Sunday at 9 p.m. However three hours earlier up at the Marche Bacchus restaurant we’ll kick off the Viewing Party festivities. I will join fellow gossip guru Norm Clark and local news anchor Denise Valdez to host and judge a blistering battle between Jean-David Groff Daudet, executive chef at Marche Bacchus and a surprise super-secret guest chef. We’ll give them the task of making three dinner courses using the same Iron Chef America secret ingredient! The only clue I’ll give in advance is that Curtas gets to eat 10 courses of sturgeon on the TV program! Come join us for the fun screening and dinner and critique the critic!

*It's another star-studded weekend invasion from Hollywood as Vegas welcomes singing star Mariah Carey, Danity Kane's Aundrea, actor and Extra host Mario Lopez and my favorite socialite, Nicky Hilton, who will be here celebrating her 25th birthday at the Pure nightclub. So now it's time for us to turn up the burners, use multiple secret ingredients, fire up the files, cook and serve up all the star attractions in what we affectionately around here call the ROYAL ROBIN RUNDOWN:

Friday

*Two stars will battle it out for bragging rights to "party of the night" when handsome Mario Lopez, the new host of the nightly Extra show, celebrates his birthday at the Bank in the Bellagio and sexy Aundrea from Danity Kane hosts next door in the Mirage at the Jet nightclub. Then over at Prive in the Planet Hollywood casino, Sarah Underwood shows off her sexy side while hosting the celebration.

*Our favorite blond knockout hometown singer Susan Anton starts a three-night run up at the Suncoast and the leggy tall one will run the range of pop to country to Broadway showtunes ... Scottish-born singer Sheena Easton, who also calls Vegas home, opens a three-night run at the South Point and you can be assured she’ll sing her hit James Bond movie theme!

*Funnyman Dana Carvey, the former Saturday Night Live star and creator of Church Lady, might well revamp her in the image of VP candidate Gov. Sarah Palin during his three-night run at the Orleans. Dana does a wonderful impression of yours truly that even impresses me!

*Former band members from Black Sabbath, Quiet Riot and Tina Turner’s backup band join as the five-piece Hollywood Allstarz at the Cannery ... The two-man, two-girl Mindless Self Indulgence group heads up a four-pack of rock headliners at the House of Blues including Die So Fluid, Dearestazazel and I Am the Dream ... Branscombe Richmond and the Renegade All Stars Band perform for two nights at the Fiesta Rancho for its official Vegas BikeFest after party ... the 20-year British jazz duo Accoustic Alchemy with nine albums to their credit, play the smooth sounds at the Santa Fe Station ... Academy Award winners Three 6 Mafia are the stars of Rain nightclub’s Music is the Currency show in the Palms ... Kelly J and Fandango entertain for free in the ongoing Born2BWild concerts at BikeFest weekend at the Fremont Street Experience ... The Lucky Cheats and Southern Stue are the two headline bands for motorcycle enthusiasts piling into the no-holds-barred Hogs & Heifers Saloon downtown for BikeFest.

*Shoe-designer and fashion mogul Donald J Pliner hosts a five-hour presentation of his fall collection all afternoon at the Forum Shops of Caesars ... Singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles will perform when our UNLV men’s basketball coach Lon Kruger is honored at the seventh-annual Epicurean Charitable Foundation beach fundraising benefit at Mandalay Bay. Chefs from Seablue, Joel Robuchon, BLT Burger, BOA Steakhouse and more will man the dining stations!

*Guest performers tonight and tomorrow at the late-night magical Wonderground include the International Magic Society’s Close-up Magician of the Year Steve Dacri and Turkey’s top magician Kubilay “QB” Tuncer. Their interactive close-up magic follows at the Palace Station, when cutting edge magician Jeff McBride has finished his own Magic at the Edge show in the Sound Trax showroom. Wonderground is now broadcast live for four hours around the world every weekend via A.J. Olson’s new Internet TV company at streetofcards.tv. The elaborate experiment -- a Vegas first -- gives Internet users the opportunity to talk with other viewers and the performers while they are executing their magic. Incidentally, Jeff and the Wonderground are featured on the cover of this month’s new Magic magazine.

Saturday

*It’s a huge music weekend with sounds for whatever your taste: Carlos Santana kicks it all off with special guests the Salvador Santana Band at MGM. The music career of the Mexican-born superstar who loves equal servings of salsa, jazz, blues and rock began 40 years ago and he’s still at the top -- admired by fellow music stars and fans alike.

*Recording superstar Mariah Carey hosts a huge affair at the Bank nightclub in the Bellagio -- and the mob scene of photographers will be battling to get shots of the singer and new husband, comedy-actor Nick Cannon, if they show up together!

*The biggest blast of the weekend is the downtown X-Fest with live performances by Pepper, Reverend Horton Heat, The Vandals, Kottonmouth Kings and my old pal Vanilla Ice. Tickets are only $20 for the all-night-long rock festival ... Over at the Fremont Street Experience stages, Kelly J and Cashed Out entertain for free as part of the Born2BWild BikeFest weekend celebrations.

*If you "want to get around" roll on south, down the I-15 to the Star of the Desert Arena on the stateline border to roll-up summer with the Beach Boys, who will perform everything from their hit collection including "California Girls," "Help Me Rhonda" and "Surfin USA." The group is rankled 12th on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

*The Nashville 2008 Star Tour steams into the Santa Fe Station with Coffey Anderson, Shawn Meyer, Gabe Garcia and Melissa Lawson happy to punch your ticket to ride.

*Comedy is still in the mix with the dueling Ray Romano and Kevin James as they go solo then team together at the Mirage for two nights of blue-collar humor ... Over at the Pearl Theater in the Palms, blond beauty Chelsea Handler guarantees the laughter along with opening act Heather McDonald. The E! Entertainment late-night talk show hostess, who has been named one of America’s funniest comedians, hit No. 1 on the New York Times best-seller list with her second book "Are You There Vodka? Its Me, Chelsea." Her after-party is up at the Playboy Club in the resort’s Fantasy Tower ... Over at the House of Blues, Saturday Night Live funnyman Norm McDonald opens up his wacky warped world of deadpan dry humor.

* Ticket sales: Ducats go on sale today for the Nine Inch Nails wrap concert of their North American fall tour at Planet Hollywood’s Theater for the Performing Arts on Dec. 13 ... Pop-rock sensations The Jonas Brothers are booked at MGM’s Grand Garden Arena for Thanksgiving weekend on Nov. 29 and it’s likely there will be mob hysteria and mayhem when the tickets go on sale this morning. I’m told that their meteoric rise as a pop-culture phenomenon has bigger sales insanity than the recent Hannah Montana concert there.

*Party patrol: Lovely fashionista and socialite entrepreneur Nicky Hilton celebrates her 25th birthday at the Pure nightclub in Caesars Palace ... The world’s first supermodel Janice Dickinson, owner and star of Oxygen TV’s Modeling Agency hosts at the Prive nightclub in Planet Hollywood’s casino resort ... No. 1 world DJ Paul Oakenfold hosts and spins his own Perfecto party at the Rain nightclub in the Palms ... VH1’s Rock of Love 2 winner Ambre Lake hosts a BikeFest party at Torrid nightclub in the Hawaiian Tropic Zone at Planet Hollywood’s Miracle Mile ... Co-stars Julie Benz, David Zayas and C.S. Lee celebrate their third season of Dexter on Showtime with a party at Tao in the Venetian.

*Don’t let it ever be said that we leave out of the weekly rundown activities of appeal to the kids! Disney Playhouse Live takes over the Orleans Arena for two days filled with all your favorite Disneyland and Disneyworld characters we love.

Sunday

*It's no illusion when our beloved resident master magician Lance Burton “appears” without any trickery to tap the keg of beer as Oktoberfest celebrations wind-down at the Hofbrauhaus near the Hard Rock.

*UFC Octagon beauty Arianny Celeste hosts at the Christian Audigier nightclub in the TI with DJ Eric Cubeechee, who could bring fiancé Jaime Presley along for the wheels of steel turntable twists ... It’s the annual Gold Digger party at the Bank in the Bellagio if there are any multi-millionaires left after this week’s Wall Street slide!

*Former Vice President Al Gore is on a private fundraising mission on Sunday night for Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Elaine Wynn, Commissioner Rory Reid, and ad-king Billy Vassiliadis are just a few of the heavyweight Vegas VIPs who will welcome the concerned global-warming environmentalist to the home of Jenna and Michael Morton. They are throwing open their manse for two receptions and Michael's N9NE Group celebrity chefs Barrry Dakake and Geno Bernardo from Nove at the Palms will rush up the taste treats!

Monday's tease

We’ll have the full weekend wrap-up of all the star parties and special shows and the full day-by-day calendar of all the comedy shows now locked into place for the upcoming Comedy Festival. Then Tuesday we'll have our exclusive photo-shoot and interview with Miss America Kirsten Heglund on her secret Vegas visit as she gets ready to welcome the next set of hopeful contestants for the 2009 title.

— From Vegas Deluxe

Link Share This