Las Vegas Weekly

November 20, 2009 · 12:32 PM

Gossip Gems: Hangover sequel, Barry Manilow and chefs news

By Robin Leach

Three men and a baby: Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms in The Hangover.

Photo: Warner Bros.

Rumors have quietly started that a sequel to The Hangover is in the works. Will that mean return cameos by Mike Tyson, Carrot Top and Wayne Newton? The Hangover, directed by Todd Phillips and starring Bradley Cooper, Heather Graham, Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms, was shot here at Caesars Palace and became the sleeper hit of the year.

Since its release, the blockbuster comedy has earned $277 million in the U.S. and North America and $182.1 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $459.1 million, making it the highest-grossing R-rated comedy ever in the U.S., surpassing a 25-year record held by Eddie Murphy’s Beverly Hills Cop. This are staggering numbers, and the DVD hasn’t even been released yet.

That will change on Dec. 15, and the DVD is expected to add millions more. To celebrate its release, the cast of The Hangover will be back here Dec. 10 with a full schedule of meet-and-greets and festivities at Caesars Palace. Plans for a sequel will be unveiled at that time, according to rumors.

Incidentally, Caesars also will celebrate National Hangover Day on Jan. 1 with a daylong series of events to either help you recover from New Year’s Eve or at least sooth your headaches and bleary eyes. They’re hoping that a couple of The Hangover stars will be back to take part in that, too.

Photo: Erik Kabik/Retna/www.erikkabikphoto.com

Barry Manilow at the Clio Awards.

Barry Manilow’s new Strip show

When I first broke the news in an exclusive Barry Manilow interview about his Las Vegas Hilton contract negotiations and follow-up stories of him not renewing, there was a lot of disbelief from some of my media colleagues. Then I revealed that Barry was moving out of the Hilton and onto the Strip. We were first to confirm rumors posted elsewhere that he would start a residency at the Paris’ Theatre des Arts.

Now I am the first again to advise that the official announcement will come Dec. 1 with a session at the Paris with Barry. He will confirm that his new show, possibly titled A Gift of Love, will start there Feb. 14 -- Valentine’s Day! Barry is already at work prepping the show, along with a generous selection of love songs that dovetail with the late January release of his new album The Greatest Love Songs of All Time.

There’s an irony in all of this. I knew Barry back in Manhattan when he was a piano teacher adding to his TV commercial paychecks before he hit the big time playing for Bette Midler’s appearances at the Continental Baths. Bette calls it quits on the Strip at Caesars early in the New Year just as Barry moves onto the Strip as a headline superstar in his own right.

Wicked whispers

*I’m reliably told that a deal has been executed between the German bank that owns the troubled Cosmopolitan condo tower hotel casino alongside CityCenter and a New York nightlife group who will take over its top three rooftop floors. I know the owner-partners involved, but everybody’s keeping mum for the moment. I’m told, though, that the three-story nightlife entertainment complex will house the largest mega nightclub in Las Vegas history, at least one and maybe two major restaurants, a beach pool and gardens filled with hip day and nightlife lounges. Designs are already underway with the hope that this time next year they will be getting ready for a New Year’s Eve opening.

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

Donald Trump at the Peepshow premiere in Planet Hollywood.

*Anybody who watched episodes of Donald Trump’s The Apprentice will never forget two-time participant Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth. Many never knew she had been married in 2002 but separated in 2005 and later divorced. Now she’s here filming her own reality TV series, and The Donald played a role in that, too. Omarosa, who has been at the Trump International Hotel all week, films today at a ranch down in Jean. The project has been cloaked in secrecy, but I’m reliably told that the story thread is of Omarosa looking for love and marriage. Most of the filming for her new series takes place here in Las Vegas.

*I know the names of both chefs involved in this next tidbit, but for now we’ll leave them unidentified to save some possible problems with this advance news. One major kitchen king is pulling up stakes -- and eggs -- at a major resort casino and reportedly returning to New York. Before the kitchen is laid to rest, I’m hearing that another major celebrity chef will promptly take it over, literally just jumping across the street from another winning hotel. The musical chairs here are part of a much larger deal involving other casinos in the same family, which we’ve already reported.

Remember where you heard all of this first!

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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— From Vegas Deluxe

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