Las Vegas Weekly

April 3, 2009 · 1:08 PM

Strip Scribbles: Marie Osmond takes a short break; Nathan Burton adds shows

By Robin Leach

Nathan Burton.

Photo: Erik Kabik/Retna/www.erikkabikphoto.com

Single mom Marie Osmond grabs a week off from work headlining with brother Donny at the Flamingo starting Tuesday so she can be with her kids during our school vacation time here. Afternoon magic headliner Nathan Burton will perform additional shows so the theater there stays busy!

Nathan just welcomed a group of Best Buddies program participants to watch his illusions and tricks as part of the organization’s 20th anniversary. Best Buddies was started by Anthony Kennedy Shriver to provide employment opportunities and one-on-one peer friendships for people with disabilities.

*Two very important charity efforts are this weekend, and I’d like you to give them your generous support. A collection of celebrity chefs are joining with a stash of Strip stars to kick off tonight’s first interactive culinary arts event -- Dish -- for a dining adventure to benefit the Three Square food bank at Springs Preserve. Among the stars are Carrot Top, Louie Anderson, Susan Anton, Clint Holmes, George Wallace and Steve Wyrick. The celebrity chefs include Rock Harper, Rick Moonen, Linda Rodriguez, Kerry Simon and Peter Sherlock. Then tomorrow is our 4th Annual Celebrity Poker Tournament for our beloved Opportunity Village charity. The good folks at Pure in Caesars Palace host the VIP brunch, and then No-Limit Texas Hold ’em begins at 1 p.m. Top prize is a treasured, valuable spot in the World Series of Poker later this summer, where million$ will be in the purse. Funds raised will benefit people with disabilities throughout our valley at Opportunity Village.

*Rap group HardNox put on an energy-packed live performance of their hip-hop hits at Pure. Brothers Dannyboy and Jimbo had the crowd jumping with their hit “Fly Away.” The Las Vegas Pussycat Dolls turned up after the show to sing “Happy Birthday” to Jimbo, who was celebrating his 27th! Joining in the party fun were tattoo mogul Mario Barth and NBA star Antoine Walker. The next night, Antoine was back for another three-pointer along with Sunset Tan beauty Holly Huddleston. Meantime, down at sister club LAX, heavyweight comedy king Andrew Dice Clay took time out of his current run at the Sugarcane lounge in Sushi Samba at the Palazzo to host the party night. It also brought out new pals comedian Jon Lovitz and Luxor Believe headliner Criss Angel watching all the downstairs dance floor action from the comfort of a second-floor VIP ultra-loft.

*Frankie’s Tiki Room is one of those off-the-beaten-path experiences loved by those in the know and revered by rockers and motorcyclists alike. Insiders love the hidden gem that’s kept secret from Strip visitors. Owner P Moss and artist Dick Vermin have introduced a second series of the world-famous white-bearded clam tiki mugs -- it was time to say goodbye to the last remaining brown bearded mugs. The Tiki Room is a one-of-a-kind environment that’s open ’round the clock with traditional carvings, original Polynesian art and the world’s most potent collection of exotic drinks, including the Pink Bomb, the Lava Letch and the Thurston Howl!

*Motorcross champion, stuntman and nightclub entrepreneur Carey Hart is having the time of his life running his Wasted Space. This week, he welcomed the Plain White T’s to a sold-out crowd at his Hard Rock Hotel club. The T’s brought along special guests Danger Radio and Vedera for the music explosion, and Vegas Deluxe got the performance photos, naturally! Next up for Carey is the opening of his own new HH Tattoo parlor there.

*Since this is the final weekend of the NCAA Tournament, Bob Knight and Billy Packer will shoot two of their Survive and Advance TV specials in the Sports & Race Book at the Wynn. The first is today at 3 p.m., and the second will be noon Sunday with guests Wayman Tisdale, Larry Johnson, Ed O’Bannon and Thurl Bailey. Both shows air the same night as taping at midnight on Fox Sports Network.

Restaurant ramblings

Caesars Palace restaurateur Bradley Ogden opens his brand new Root 246 restaurant in a Solvang Indian casino near Santa Barbara tonight, and we all wish him well. No, it’s not on Route 246, but pretty close and thus the different spelling of route! … Caesars Palace headliner Bette Midler was a surprise visitor to Iron Chef winner Kerry Simon’s restaurant in Palms Place last night, where she ordered up a slew of sushi samplings…. Actor Justin Long showed up for dinner at Yellowtail Sushi Restaurant & Bar in the Bellagio last night with his brother instead of on-off date Drew Barrymore. Chef Akira Back served up tuna pizza, rock shrimp, lobster carpaccio, miso soup and spicy edamame and cucumber essence cocktails. Justin was so impressed that he said he would return tonight. … New mom Jenna Jameson stayed home, but baby daddy Tito Ortiz partied until 5:30 a.m. at the Cathouse ultra lounge in the Luxor and told the group of 12 friends that they’d decided to name the twin boys Jesse and Journey. The champagne came out at 3:30 a.m. to toast the proud parents!

Now it’s time to pop the cork and celebrate your own joyous openings and arrivals. There’s a host of happenings here this weekend that prove once again that Vegas is the best place in the world for fun, entertainment and parties, and we’ve wrapped them all up in a stimulus package of our own that we affectionately refer to around here as the ROYAL ROBIN RUNDOWN:

Friday, April 3

*Ever suffered from “Love and Other Bruises?” The soft pop rockers from Down Under, Air Supply, come stateside for three nights of back-to-back shows up at the Suncoast -- and for more than 30 years, Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell have been turning out their “Lost in Love” hits.

*It’s just Three Doors Down in that east of the Strip direction to find the rockers at Ovation in Green Valley Ranch.

*The country invasion is in full swing here. Don’t forget Julianne Hough and Jason Aldean’s free concert downtown at Fremont Street Experience. Then in the first of two nights of country music at the Star of the Desert Arena at Primm, Alan Jackson celebrates a “Good Time,” while Rodney Atkins performs in concert with Kate and Kacey Copolla at the Henderson Pavilion. … Keith Anderson, Luke Bryan and the Lost Trailers kick the normal rockers out with their country sounds at the House of Blues in Mandalay Bay. … And River Country is live at 10 p.m. in a free concert at the showroom in the South Point.

*Soul legend Gladys Knight has reigned atop for five decades, and our beloved Vegas queen still hears the sound of success through the grapevine. She’s headlining at The Orleans for three nights through Sunday and “Neither One of Us Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye.” … Over at the South Point, The Lettermen, those legends of yesteryear with their unique sweater-style of sweet sounds and music, play three nights of shows.

*Late-night comedy king Jay Leno returns for two more back-to-back, late-night weekend shows in Terry Fator’s new theater at The Mirage. When his show moves forward to 10 p.m. this fall, we’ll have to label him primetime royal!

*Party patrol: British rocker Gavin Rossdale, who is married to Gwen Stefani, hosts a celebration at LAX and promises a special performance for fans there. … There will be a “Good Morning Revival” when Good Charlotte frontman Joel Madden takes over the turntables as guest DJ at his party in Prive. … Legendary Caribbean singer Oscar D’Leon of Venezuela performs his salsa rhythms at the new ND Fuego nightclub in The Rio. … Disney star Brenda Song, who plays London Tipton on Disney Channel’s The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, celebrates her 21st birthday at the Bank. The stunning young actress, whose parents are Thai and Hmong, has been acting since age 6 and appeared in the films College Road Trip and Like Mike.

Saturday, April 4

*A reminder of the free concert at Fremont Street Experience with LeAnn Rimes, Kellie Pickler, Gloriana and the Zac Brown Band starting at 6: 45 p.m. and running to midnight. I did say free!

*The country weekend continues with “Rough ’n’ Ready” Trace Adkins. He has his “Game On” headlining at the Star of the Desert Arena, and since “Ladies Love Country Boys,” you can bet some “Hot Mama” will be in the audience!

*The three breakaway guys from New Edition who left to form Bel Biv DeVoe have the antidote to “Poison” with their mix of rap and R&B at the Silverton Casino Lodge.

*The Addicts play Carey Hart’s Wasted Space at the Hard Rock Hotel.

*Tickets go on sale today for New Kids on the Block’s July 11 concert and the May 15 featherweight and heavyweight boxing event, both at the Palms. Local heavyweight Charles Shufford will fight Saul “La Cobra” Montana, and Vegas featherweight Clarence “Bones” Adams will battle Cornelius Lock. The most extraordinary ticket sale today, though, is for Metallica’s concert set for Dec. 5 at Mandalay Bay. I don’t have the post-Thanksgiving date incorrect, but I also don’t have my plane reservations in place yet for summer, let alone thinking of what music to mandate before Christmas!

*Bette Midler’s leggy “Caesar Salad” dancers will wear their showgirl outfits to host a “Salad Showdown” contest at Whole Foods in Town Square at noon. Recipe winners enter a raffle for Bette show tickets and an opportunity to go backstage afterward for a meet and greet with the superstar.

*Party patrol: Actress Ginnifer Goodwin, star of Big Love and He’s Just Not That Into You, celebrates the season finale of the hit HBO series at Prive. … Grammy-winning rock group Robert Randolph and the Family Band will play on the terrace at Pure.

Sunday, April 5

*Fall Out Boy -- Pete Wentz on bass guitar and vocals, Andy Hurley on drums and Patrick Stump and Joe Troman on guitars and vocals -- is promoting its latest album Folie a Deux in a concert at The Pearl at the Palms. Under normal circumstances, I would care if Pete’s wife Ashlee Simpson Wentz and their baby Bronx Mowgli are checking into the platinum playground, too, but since I’ll be at the Academy of Country Music Awards, “I Don’t Care” this time around.

*A reminder that Reba McEntire hosts the 44th annual country awards show with a superstar lineup on CBS from the MGM Grand and is followed Monday with another major telecast saluting George Strait.

*At 6 p.m., all 51 Miss USA Pageant contestants, including reigning queen Crystle Stewart, make a runway-modeling debut at Fashion Show Mall.

*Europe’s top nightlife brand Hed Kandi, with its 60-album catalog, has partnered with the Palms N9NE Group to add the authentic British clubbing experience to their already impressive lineup in George Maloof’s kingdom. Part of the partnership also includes the Labor Day weekend release of the Hed Kandi Las Vegas CD. The compilation will be recorded and mastered in the Palms Recording Studio and made available via iTunes. It all launches tonight at Moon with Hed Kandi’s Jim Breese and K.C. Anderson.

Monday’s teases

As Dancing With the Stars continues to whittle down the celebrity dance teams, we’ll have the latest from Julianne Hough and Chuck Wicks from their weekend rehearsals here. We’ll also have the highlights of Sunday night’s 44th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards -- with all the backstage photos and behind-the-scenes revelations from the stars themselves. Plus full photo coverage of the Miss USA Pageant contestants at play at the Palms Place pool and at Kerry Simon’s weekly brunch pajama party!

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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