Las Vegas Weekly

January 28, 2009 · 10:13 AM

Strip Scribbles: Hairspray actress shrugs off busted romance with The Hills star

By Robin Leach

Amanda Bynes.

Photo: Scott Doctor

Actress Amanda Bynes of Hairspray and She’s the Man isn’t shedding any tears over her breakup with Doug Reinhardt of The Hills. On her whirlwind visit to Las Vegas, not only did she party like a new solo sensation, but she also was eager eyes over one attractive male suitor! The 23-year-old former Nickelodeon star was spotted all over the Palazzo and The Venetian the past few days, and she and four friends (two guys and two girls) lunched at Sushi Samba in the Palazzo. Cute as could be Amanda wore an adorable three-quarter-sleeve pink sweater and knee-length shorts. The group ordered Samba rolls, and Amanda was particularly close to one of the guys. Later, the twosome -- sorry, we don’t have his name yet! -- turned up in a group past midnight at the Playboy Club in the Palms. Amanda, in a blue dress, ordered up Ketel One vodka with mixers for the group, and they partied into the night!

Photo: Scott Doctor/www.greatscottstudios.com

Marie and Donny Osmond show off their dance moves.

*If superstar singer Josh Groban wanted a quiet night away, he shouldn’t have turned up at Donny and Marie Osmond’s show at the Flamingo last night. That’s because the duo were filming a new DVD, and no less than eight cameras filmed every moment from curtain up to the standing ovation after the finale! And Josh was right in the middle of it all! But he didn’t mind, and in fact loved being part of the extra excitement of the filming!

Wicked whispers and racy rumors

If the whispers prove true, it could be one of the most startling bust-ups in the coast-to-coast casino industry business. Rumors are picking up speed that a headline honcho might be in the early stages of a possible divorce as a result of a yacht vacation in the Caribbean last week. It’s the first time that the D word has been spoken of in his various travels by other informed industry sources. Allegedly, he was supposed to be somewhere else in the world but instead was spotted with a new companion under the sun in the islands. Apparently, this is no sudden passing fling with young eye candy for the veteran. The lady, sunbathing with him, was said to be a polished, serious, mature mate, and they’ve been linked for a little while but managed to keep it top secret until they raced off to the carnival. We know all the names and details, but we’ll keep it undercover just in case there’s a mending of fences as has happened previously.

Photo: Kirvin Doak Communications

Larry Wayne Morbitt and Brianne Kelly Morgan of Phantom -- The Las Vegas Spectacular flank Mad Men's Julie McNiven.

Photo: Kirvin Doak Communications

The casts of Mad Men and Phantom -- The Las Vegas Spectacular.

*Hot off their Screen Actors Guild Awards win, several cast members from AMC’s hit Mad Men, in Las Vegas for the National Association of Television Program Executives convention, insisted on seeing Phantom -- The Las Vegas Spectacular at The Venetian. After the show, the Golden Globe-winning ensemble visited backstage with the cast to congratulate them on Phantom’s continuing success.

*A plan to turn out all the lights in Las Vegas for one hour on March 28 was to be unveiled this morning. Our town has been chosen as a flagship city for Earth Hour 2009. To raise awareness about climate change, several cities across the globe will turn off their lights simultaneously for 60 minutes. The city and county leaders, with the help of some striking showgirls and the World Wildlife Fund panda bear and its officials, will meet at the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign on the Strip near Mandalay Bay. They will put out a call to recruit Strip and off-Strip hotels to go dark from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., along with other organizations and government agencies. It will be interesting to see if Neon City complies from top to bottom on the Strip, but, if everybody does it, there will certainly be world headlines!

Photo: Ash Hopkins

Gene Simmons at Prive.

Photo: Ash Hopkins

The RZA aka Bobby Digital aka The Rzarector performs at Prive.

*Rock legend Gene Simmons visited Prive at Planet Hollywood to enjoy RZA from Wu-Tang Clan performing the group’s hit tunes. The KISS star, who does not drink, spent the evening talking with fans, taking photos and partying with friends until 2 a.m. … Atlanta Falcons defensive end John Abraham was with two lady friends for a 6 p.m. dinner at Nove in the Palms. They ordered up calamari, crab cakes and spaghetti and built their own cannoli for desert, which they enjoyed with Pink Pussycat specialty drinks. … And, on a personal note, congratulations to my friend Palms super-host Jimmy Tipton, who is throwing a surprise 80th birthday party for his mom in the Hardwood Suite there tonight. Hopefully, he’ll keep her away from the computer so this note doesn’t spoil the surprise!

Photo: N9NE Group

John Abraham of the Atlanta Falcons.

Tonight’s tip

KISS frontman and long-tongued Gene Simmons launches the new “Moneybag” weekly party at Carey Hart’s Wasted Space” in the Hard Rock Hotel. … HardNox give a guest performance at Rok Vegas in New York-New York. They promise to “Let the Bass Go,” which is their musical message and not a fisherman’s plea!

Photo: TVT

Chef Andre Rochat.

Tomorrow’s tease

A dream comes true as a 15-year-old girl gets to play rock star for a day thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and we’ve got photos of the rock stars who make up The Head Cat. Plus, advance details on the new Joint at the Hard Rock, and, thanks to a showgirl love affair, an amazing look back over the 29-year-history of the first real restaurateur of Las Vegas, chef Andre Rochat.

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