Las Vegas Weekly

March 5, 2009 · 9:44 AM

Strip Scribbles: Alan Thicke reveals son Robin’s tour date at the Palms

By Robin Leach

Alan Thicke, wife Tanya and Robin Leach at Alan's birthday dinner at Tao.

Photo: TVT

Alan Thicke celebrated his 62nd birthday without growing pains at Tao in The Venetian, but his son, R&B singer Robin Thicke, had to phone in greetings from the East Coast. Alan told me at the dinner party that Robin was appearing on MTV’s Dogg After Dark with rapper Snoop Dogg! But the bigger news I learned is that Robin is teaming as co-headliner with Jennifer Hudson on her first tour. The pair will hit 24 cities from March 31 through May 9 with a May 1 stop here at The Pearl in the Palms.

Robin and Jennifer are Grammy winners with two of the most distinctive voices in R&B today. His newest album Something Else is his highest-charting album to date and looks set to eclipse the double platinum Evolution of Robin Thicke, which featured the hit “Lost Without You” (that song was No. 1 on four Billboard charts simultaneously!).

Our fabulous feast at Tao included crispy sashimi tuna rolls, lobster won tons, sushi, prime New York sirloin, miso glazed sea bass and kung pao chicken. It was capped by two dessert platters presented with sparklers. Vegas entertainer Clint Holmes and his wife, singer Kelly Clinton, leggy model Summer Martin and Alan’s wife, Tanya, were in the festive group of well-wishers. Afterwards, they moved to neighboring Lavo, where DJ Five played Robin’s “Wanna Love U Girl” to start the dancing the moment everybody arrived!

*NBC cameras will film three days of poker this weekend at Caesars Palace. Some 64 of the world’s best poker players, including defending champion Chris Ferguson, 2008 WSOP champion Peter Eastgate, Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, Jamie Gold, Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu, will compete in the National Heads Up Poker Championship. Celebrity players include Brad Garrett, Orel Hershiser, Jennifer Tilly and GoDaddy.com ladies Danica Patrick and Candice Michelle. The player brackets will be selected at Pure tonight. Play starts tomorrow at 1 p.m. with gorgeous LeeAnn Tweeden as the Heads Up reporter. The best-of-three championship match takes place Sunday, and the tournament will be taped for broadcast and aired on NBC over six consecutive Sundays in April and May beginning April 12.

Star surveillance

There were 20 people in the entourage of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger when he hit Tao to celebrate the Super Bowl win. The group included Darnell Stapleton, Trai Essex and Willie Colon, and the athletes devoured most of the menu, including wasabi filet, lobster kimchi fried rice, Thai Buddha chicken and miso glazed bass satay sticks. Pro golfer Anthony Kim joined their dance floor table upstairs in the nightclub afterwards. … At another table in Tao was Nip/Tuck actress Kelly Carlson, who enjoyed champagne with friends before she grabbed the Tao/Lavo Escalade golf cart to return her to the next-door Palazzo. Kelly played one spin of roulette betting on red -- and won! … Kristin Cavallari of MTV’s Laguna Beach partied to the sounds of DJ Five after dinner in Lavo, where Oscar-winning actor Adrien Brody dined with Tao/Lavo partner Noah Tepperberg. He took the golf-cart back to Tao so everybody could dance till dawn. … With the nightclub and bar convention in town, Playboy Playmates Jennifer Pershing, Jessica Burciaga, Tiffany Selby and Kara Monaco hosted “The Greatest Party on Earth” inside The Playboy Club at the Palms, where they ordered up Ketel One and cranberry.

Just askin’ …

… if longtime lounge entertainer Earl Turner is teaming up with Society of Seven singer Lani Misalucha for a run in Shimmer lounge at the Hilton next month when the shows there, including the Scintas, are replaced. Word is that Earl will share the stage with a topless adult cabaret, but it’s unknown if it’s much-talked-about adult star Tera Patrick’s lingerie lineup of lusty ladies. … if Bridget Marquardt of The Girls Next Door is correct, following up from our story yesterday about singer Jewel’s injuries possibly sidelining her from ABC’s Dancing With the Stars, that Bridget’s best girlfriend Holly Madison, who just broke up with Believe illusionist Criss Angel, might go in this week as Jewel’s substitute. … if rumors that began this morning before Chris Brown’s L.A. court appearance that Rihanna and he were secretly married over the weekend by a minister in Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs’ Miami mansion.

Tonight’s tip

Sculptor Richard MacDonald unveils a new collection of work inspired by the performers of Cirque du Soleil’s O in his Fine Art Gallery in the theater lobby at the Bellagio. He used Otrapeze artists and dancers as his models. He’ll be there all afternoon tomorrow and Saturday to meet with collectors, fans and art enthusiasts. … Turn the clock back to the 1980s and celebrate with “I Think We’re Alone Now” Tiffany’s mini-concert at Tao’s “I Worship the ’80s” party. DJ Five promises to play ’80s music, and 50 of the best-dressed revelers in ’80s attire will compete for $5,000 in prizes.

Tomorrow’s tease

Paris Hilton arrives in town to celebrate her 28th birthday with a weekend of dining, dancing, partying and poker playing at the Hard Rock Hotel. ABC airs its one-hour 20/20 special with Siegfried & Roy. We’ve got the inside details on both stories, plus advance information on the premiere of Zowie Bowie’s striking debut night at the Palms.

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