Las Vegas Weekly

February 19, 2009 · 9:48 AM

On the town with superstars Brad Pitt, Toby Keith and Ludacris

By Robin Leach

Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

It was a boys’ night out -- in more ways than one -- for three showbiz superstars who hit Las Vegas last night. Actor Brad Pitt checked into the Hard Rock Hotel with two of his sons; country singer Toby Keith was at Harrah’s and, despite a cold, performed a mini-concert at his I Love This Bar & Grill; and this morning, hip-hop mogul Ludacris was still entertaining and partying at LAX in the Luxor.

Just a normal star-studded night in the entertainment capital of the world!

While actress Angeline Jolie was in New York with daughters Shiloh and Zahara, Brad was with young boys Maddox and Pax. Don’t let rumors start about them being separated: You’ll see them together on Sunday at the Oscars! But while Angelina was getting ready for her new film Salt to shoot in Manhattan next month, Brad decided a Vegas visit was perfect for the other youngsters.

Last night, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button star took the boys to Cirque du Soleil’s Ka at the MGM Grand, which was celebrating its 2,000th performance! (Click HERE for our Vegas DeLuxe coverage yesterday).

Brad wore his signature newsboy cap to go unrecognized. He had a Heineken beer during the show while the boys ate popcorn and enjoyed the milestone performance. At the end, as the cast took its standing ovation, Brad’s group slipped out unnoticed by other patrons carrying a sleeping Pax in his arms. Brad told the ushers as he left that he had nothing but praise for the spectacular!

Paparazzi who had trailed Brad into Vegas from Los Angeles grabbed shots of the trio at the Hard Rock before Brad moved over to the ultra-exclusive and impenetrable high roller Mansion at the MGM.

The Vegas getaway comes just 72 hours before Brad and Angelina turn up for Sunday’s Academy Awards. He is nominated for Benjamin Button, and she for The Changeling.

Toby Keith debuts TK Steelman

Over at Harrah’s, Toby Keith launched his new TK Steelman fashion line in his I Love This Bar & Grill for 300 buyers from stores across America. In fashion tradition, he walked onstage at the end with the hunks of The Men of X, who served as models to showcase the clothing line. Toby apologized for suffering from a bad cold. Backstage, he told me he was nursing it with whiskey and water and couldn’t sing.

I urged him to give it a try, or at least hum or do a soft shoe shuffle. “You’ve got to do something. Everybody’s traveled thousands of miles to see you. You don’t have a choice, and even if you sound horrible with the cold, people will love you even more,” I laughed with him.

Eventually, Toby gave into the begging, and when all the media and cameras had departed, he went back out and performed several hits, including “Whiskey Girl” and “ I Love This Bar,” which is how his restaurant chain was named!

We’ll post our exclusive video interview with Toby later today here at Vegas DeLuxe. Be sure to click back as he reveals just how much of a rebel he really is! Some of what he says is going to make headlines, so be sure to watch it here before everybody else makes off with it!

Our contributing photographer Erik Kabik shot a full photo gallery of Toby’s show, and we’ll have that collection next week along with my interview with Toby. Meanwhile, enjoy these preview photos!

Luda @LAX in the Luxor

Then it was onto LAX in the Luxor for the smokin’ hot performance by hip-hop mogul Ludacris, also in Vegas for the MAGIC Marketplace fashion convention. He was still making music and partying there early this morning.

We’ll also have that full photo gallery later here at Vegas DeLuxe.

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