Las Vegas Weekly

April 6, 2009 · 12:36 PM

Strip Scribbles: Palms to host NHL Awards in June as part of a three-year deal

By Robin Leach

George Maloof is interviewed by television crews.

Photo: TVT

The Stanley Cup is the pride and passion of the National Hockey League, and it’s coming to Las Vegas for the first time June 18 when the 2009 NHL Awards will be presented at the Palms. Palms owner George Maloof is ecstatic to have landed a three-year deal to host the awards here, and today he will welcome NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, Mayor Oscar Goodman and Rossi Ralenkotter, CEO of our Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, for the official announcement.

Extra security will be on hand to guard not only the Stanley Cup, but three other trophies that will be on display: the Hart Trophy for Most Valuable Player, the Calder for Outstanding Rookie and the Norris for Outstanding Defenseman.

George told me: “This is an incredible honor for Vegas. It’s going to be an extraordinary event with all the stars attending. Fans are going to have the time of their lives, and for us to be able to show off Vegas to all the NHL players will be a wonderful boost for our city.”

Star surveillance

There were more stars on the Strip in the past 72 hours than I’ve ever seen in the 10 years I’ve been living here. The list is more impressive than a Hollywood agent’s iPhone or a Nashville producer’s Rolodex! Bear with us, and we’ll try not to leave anybody out:

Recent rumors about a marital bust-up between rockers Avril Lavigne and Derek Whibley have been running rampant, but I can tell you that her wedding ring was firmly on her finger and sparkling brightly when she had dinner at Lavo in the Palazzo. I know because I was at the next table! New chef Ralph Scamardella of Carmine’s in New York City served up his first-night Italian menu: Fantastico! Comedians Andrew Dice Clay and David Spade met each other after their shows at the side-by-side Venetian and Palazzo resorts for dinner and partying at Sushi Samba and Tao for the second consecutive night and wound up with Avril at Lavo. Also at Lavo with us was poker player Annie Duke, who is currently a frontrunner on Celebrity Apprentice; the Diceman was eliminated from the competition weeks ago. Annie was with boyfriend Joe Reitman. Impresario Jeff Beacher was there, too, back briefly from his current Madhouse road tour and promising an announcement within two weeks about his return to the Strip. Dice, who earlier hosted fellow comedy actor Eddie Griffin at his Sugarcane show at the Palazzo, also checked out X Burlesque at the Flamingo this past weekend, and the girls delayed their show 15 minutes so he could run from Sushi Samba to make their curtain up!

Country music stars were in all the hot spots: Toby Keith turned up unannounced at his own I Love This Bar & Grill in Harrah’s and sang to a packed house, inviting NFL stars Kyle Vanden Bosch of the Tennessee Titans and Matt Light of the New England Patriots onstage for his impromptu sing-along. … Dierks Bentley partied into the early hours at Tabu ultra lounge in the MGM Grand, while members of the Zac Brown Band were nearby at Studio 54. … Kenny Chesney was presented a Playboy Key by two Playboy Bunnies when he visited The Playboy Club at the Palms. It now gives him exclusive access at the bunny hutch, plus Moon and Rain nightclubs, Ghostbar, the Palms pool and bungalows and The Pearl concert venue. Other celebrity key holders include George Clooney, Matt Damon, Josh Duhamel, Paris Hilton, Michael Phelps, Brad Pitt and Gwen Stefani. Kenny danced and posed for photos with fans.

Country queen LeAnn Rimes enjoyed shots of Patron Platinum tequila with friends at owner Victor Drai’s table in Tryst at the Wynn, where she danced throughout the night with her friends.

Next door in the Encore at Victor’s newest club XS, boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. held court. Model stunner Keeley Hazell, who has been ranked as one of the top three hottest women in the world by FHM the past three years, was surrounded by poker star Chris Ferguson, NFL free agent Mike Brown, formerly of the Chicago Bears, and former Dallas Cowboys star lineman Ed “Too Tall” Jones.

Actor comedian Ray Romano treated his family to the Terry Fator show at The Mirage and took them all backstage afterward to pose for photos with the new ventriloquist headliner.

Jamie Foxx and Flavor Flav surprised a packed house at Tao when the duo hopped onstage for a 60-minute impromptu performance that included Jamie’s new single “Blame It on the Alcohol.”

Star Trek actor Chris Pine, who stars as the young Capt. Kirk in the big summer movie release, and actress Sienna Miller celebrated at a private event in Strip House at Planet Hollywood. Both Chris and Sienna received ShoWest Awards last week here in Las Vegas.

Good Charlotte’s Benji Madden dined at N9NE Steakhouse in the Palms with longtime friend and business partner Tal Cooperman enjoying the restaurant’s signature Oreo ice cream dessert after a petite filet and mac and cheese. … Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria Parker looked simply stunning at N9NE in an orange off-the-shoulder number and treating several lady friends in a birthday celebration.

Actors Dennis Quaid, Greg Kinnear and Matthew Fox joined a casino party pit at the Hard Rock Hotel after double dinners there in AGO and Nobu!

Tonight’s tips

It’s a mega-star country turnout to honor George Strait in a CBS special being recorded at the MGM Grand Garden Arena to air May 27. … Jet in The Mirage cunningly tries to lure promoters from every club in town with a $5,000 prize and the title of Top Promoter for bringing the most girls to the nightclub. … Actress Lindsey Lohan’s off-and-on ladylove DJ Samantha Ronson returns tonight as the guest behind the wheels of steel at Prive in Planet Hollywood. Reports over the weekend indicate that the couple has broken up yet again, so it’ll be interesting to see if there’s a repeat of their Planet Hollywood drama three weeks ago. At that time, Lindsey arrived unexpectedly, but they wound up having another fight, and the two sped off in separate vehicles chasing each other back to California.

Tomorrow’s teases

Sir Elton John returns to Caesars Palace to wrap up his three-year contract. Yes, it’s the final shows for the Red Piano concert king. And we’ll say a sad farewell April 22, so our 16-day countdown begins! … We’ll have the all-star highlights of the George Strait special, as the King of Country is saluted as Artist of the Decade at the MGM Grand. … Plus, there’s my one-on-one Q&A session with Playboy founder and birthday boy Hugh Hefner, and Hef’s former flame Holly Madison reveals that she has a new reality show in the works to be filmed here!

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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