Las Vegas Weekly

August 10, 2009 · 1:46 PM

Strip Scribbles: Usher a polite, friendly and stylish superstar

By Robin Leach

Usher at the Palms for the Vegas magazine party in his honor.

Photo: Denise Truscello/Vegas Magazine

Music superstar Usher was spotted at Michael Boychuck’s Amp Salon in the Palms, proving that real men take care of their cuticles by treating himself to a manicure and pedicure. With no entourage in sight, Usher was accompanied by just one bodyguard and was very polite and friendly with the staff at Amp.

Usher decided against any trendy nail art and instead opted for a clear polish. He was in Las Vegas this past weekend to celebrate his Vegas magazine cover and to host the issue release last Friday at The Playboy Club in the Palms.

The majority of Usher’s upcoming new album Monster was recorded at the Palms. Click HERE for our red carpet coverage and photo gallery of Usher over the weekend.

Photo: Scott Harrison/Retna/www.harrisonphotos.com

Criss Angel opens his new store in Circus Circus.

*Mindfreak magician Criss Angel appeared on ABC’s The View this morning as Season 5 of his A&E series kicks off on Wednesday. Criss has previously said that this season’s mind freaks will be the most dangerous and deadliest yet. Criss’s Cirque du Soleil show Believe is a headliner at the Luxor.

Photo: Hard Rock Hotel

Ben Lyons, Jessica Szohr and a friend.

*Gossip Girl star Jessica Szohr spent the day at Tao Beach in The Venetian celebrating her brother Nick’s 21st birthday. Mojitos and a Tao birthday fortune cookie marked the celebration. They continued the party with dinner at Tao before going to the nightclub, where they celebrated the night away. Jessica’s co-star and boyfriend Ed Westwick couldn’t make the trip due to last-minute filming.

Photo: Scott Harrison/Retna/www.harrisonphotos.com

Frontman Rob Halford and his band Judas Priest were in concert at Thomas & Mack Center on Aug. 8.

Photo: Scott Harrison/Retna/www.harrisonphotos.com

Frontman Rob Halford and his band Judas Priest were in concert at Thomas & Mack Center on Aug. 8.

*Legendary heavy metal band Judas Priest performed their entire British Steel album, released in 1980, plus other hits at the Thomas & Mack Center on Saturday night. Pop Evil was the opening act. Our contributing photographer Scott Harrison was at the concert and captured these photos of frontman Rob Halford and guitarist Glenn Tipton.

Photo: Scott Harrison/Retna/www.harrisonphotos.com

Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford and guitarist Glenn Tipton in concert at Thomas & Mack Center on Aug. 8.

Photo: Scott Harrison/Retna/www.harrisonphotos.com

Frontman Rob Halford and his band Judas Priest were in concert at Thomas & Mack Center on Aug. 8.

Star surveillance

Jermaine Jackson attended the Donny & Marie show at the Flamingo over the weekend and posed for photos with the brother-sister performers and Flamingo President Don Marrandino. … British singer Estelle dined with friends and crew at Tao before traveling to L.A. for an appearance on The Tonight Show. Dr. 90210’s Dr. Gary Motykie celebrated his birthday at Tao, with Marie Osmond joining the dinner party. Up in the nightclub, Soleil Moon Frye was spotted with her husband and friends. The Punky Brewster actress stuck to Red Bull and was very courteous to all around. … Actress Ali Landry was overheard raving about the food at Lavo in the Palazzo, noting that she will return every time she’s in town. After dinner, Ali headed upstairs to the boutique nightclub for a quick nightcap. Also spotted upstairs was Star Trek star John Cho, who was part of a bachelor party that took over a table on the dance floor, and Tracy Ayala, Justin Timberlake’s business partner and childhood friend, who together own the William Rast line. Tracy and entourage stopped at Tao later in the evening. … Whitesnake partied at The Playboy Club. Dressed in button-down shirts and jeans, the four band mates sat at a VIP table. … Model and porn actress Kristen Price was spotted at Ghostbar. Wearing a black dress and black high heels, she enjoyed the scene from a VIP table. … Excalibur comedian Louie Anderson enjoyed a late-night dinner at Society Cafe in the Encore with friends. … And Prison Break star Dominic Purcell was seen hanging out at Body English in the Hard Rock Hotel.

Photo: Harrah's

Marie Osmond, Don Marrandino, Jermaine Jackson and Donny Osmond.

Photo: Denise Truscello/WireImage

Ali Landry at Azure Pool in the Palazzo.

Tonight’s tips

Treasure Island mogul Phil Ruffin opens his new Asian restaurant Khotan complete with more than 20 pieces of his multimillion-dollar jade collection, the largest private one in America, and a 35,000 year-old tusk with the unique carving of an entire Asian village. Khotan, which translates to “City of Jade,’’ features Chinese, Thai, Japanese and Indonesian cuisine. … For music fans, Jeremih is at Jet in The Mirage and E-Rock and Romeo Reyes hit Tabu Ultra Lounge in MGM Grand.

Tomorrow’s teases

It’s a dog-eat-dog world, as our guest celebrity columnist Napoleon will tell you as he talks about his owner, Peepshow star Holly Madison. Don’t worry, though: Napoleon’s bark is louder than his bite!

Vegas DeLuxe Editor Don Chareunsy compiled Strip Scribbles for Robin Leach, who is on vacation.

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.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter HERE.

Follow Don Chareunsy on Twitter HERE.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter HERE.

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