Las Vegas Weekly

March 26, 2009 · 11:26 AM

Strip Scribbles: ShoWest names Rachel McAdams its Female Star of the Year

By Robin Leach

Rachel McAdams.

Photo: Getty Images

Actress Rachel McAdams is headed to Las Vegas next week for the ShoWest movie convention where she will be presented with the Female Star of the Year Award. The convention starts Monday and runs through Thursday at Bally’s and Paris, and Rachel will attend the final night awards banquet April 2. Her breakout role in Mean Girls led to successes in The Notebook and Red Eye before grabbing attention in Wedding Crashers and appearing opposite Tim Robbins in The Lucky Ones.

Rachel stars in a slew of summer movies starting with the April 17 release of the thriller State of Play alongside Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck and Helen Mirren. Then Aug. 14 is the release of The Time Traveler’s Wife, a romantic drama opposite Eric Bana. She also will be seen this year in director Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jr. as the British detective and Jude Law as his sidekick Watson.

The ShoWest convention attracts some 5,000 movie delegates from 50 countries, and Vegas DeLuxe will be front row next week to cover all the glitter, glamour and action.

*Terry Fator’s incredible ventriloquist-singing-impersonations show at The Mirage is attracting celebrities and other VIPs. Even 2009 Miss America Katie Stam plans to see it when she returns to town next month for the National Association of Broadcasters convention. Meantime, our hometown Alizma triplets certainly made for pretty photos when they went to see Terry’s show! This week, Mickey Thomas and his Starship band mates are the surprise guest performers through Saturday. Keep your eyes open for the viral marketing campaign that Terry has created and which will arrive shortly via email. It will even let you put your name up in lights and your image in his video co-starring as the newest puppet in his collection!

*Seven wineries with 28 wines will host the first “Stroll Swirl & Shop Wine Walk” at the Palazzo Shoppes tonight, and all the proceeds from the fundraiser will benefit the Three Square food bank that services more than 200 agencies in Southern Nevada as a meals-on-wheels delivery program. David Van Such will provide live jazz, and cuisine from Dos Caminos and Woo will be featured. The wineries include Rodney Strong Vineyards, Ste. Michelle Wine Estate, Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines, Foster’s Wine Estate, Icon and Lion Nathan. If you love the wines, the Double Helix Wine Bar’s boutique is selling them with a 25 percent discount!

Photo: Brian Steffy

Dana White and friends.

*The second annual spring luau party at Blush in the Wynn brought out a bounty of coconut bras and grass skirts -- and also UFC President Dana White and friends sans lawnmowers! Dana took a dance floor table to be up close to the action just as he is at UFC ringside. He and his friends stuck to Grey Goose cocktails until 2 a.m. for the party night.

Tonight’s tips

Photo: Firm PR

Neil Sedaka looking as classy as ever.

Neil Sedaka has racked up countless hit singles and platinum and gold records over the run of his incredible four-decade-plus career, and he’s still going strong. He opens a four-night run at The Orleans, and you can bet your last dollar he will reprise “Calendar Girl” and “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.” … The circus sideshow will be in full swing for two hours before the rock starred Monster Circus opens at its big top home in the Hilton with Twisted Sister Dee Snider as guest star. … No less than five rock groups are on the lineup for the AP Tour that arrives at the House of Blues in Mandalay Bay: Family Force 5, The Maine, 3-Oh-3, Hit the Lights and Rocket to the Moon.

Photo: Monte Carlo

Gordie Brown.

Tomorrow’s teases

We’ll have our exclusive chat with entertainer-impressionist Gordie Brown just before curtain up on his gala opening night at the downtown Golden Nugget, and get ready for Kim Kardashian in the sexiest of swimsuits as she opens the pool summer season at MGM. … This is the weekend that the Strip goes dark to mark Earth Hour, and we have the final rundown of everywhere the lights are turned off for an hour!

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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