Las Vegas Weekly

August 9, 2010 · 3:07 PM

Strip Scribbles exclusive: John Lennon’s birthday to be celebrated in L.V.

By Robin Leach

Yoko Ono, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr unveil a tribute to John Lennon and George Harrison in celebration of the first anniversary of The Beatles Love by Cirque du Soleil at The Mirage.

Photo: Scott Doctor/www.greatscottstudios.com

John Lennon’s 70th birthday will be commemorated with a national three-week tour that will include a stop here Oct. 2; his actual birthday is one week later. I’ve learned exclusively that the night out at Montelago Resort at Lake Las Vegas will feature a sneak preview of Nowhere Boy, a new movie about John’s teenage years and how he formed his first skiffle band at school that eventually became the The Beatles after Paul McCartney and George Harrison joined him.

Nowhere Boy stars Kristin Scott Thomas as John’s aunt who raised him and Aaron Johnson as the young music genius. Then a real coup for Beatles and Lennon fans: His original band The Quarrymen will be reunited for the Las Vegas visit! These were John’s schoolmates, and they still play the skiffle and early rock and roll performed by John, Paul and George.

A video clip about The Quarrymen includes memories of The Quarrymen days from John, Paul and George. I’m told the activities will be an outdoor event with a giant screen, and the band will do a Q&A with fans after performing. I’ll serve as emcee and moderator for the night and will probably recount my meetings with John and a few other Beatles tales when I worked on my first newspaper back in England in the 1960s!

*After a two-year run, Carey Hart’s Wasted Space at the Hard Rock Hotel is closing to make way for a new race and sports book. Our colleague Amanda Finnegan at the Las Vegas Sun has all the details in her story. Carey also owns the tattoo shop Hart and Huntington at the Hard Rock.

*After a grueling day of battle during the inaugural Ultimate B-Boy Championship at MGM Grand Garden Arena, Top 9 of Russia went home with the gold in the global breakdancing competition. After the competition, with also included teams from Brazil, South Korea, Japan, France and the United States, the groups and host Mr. Freeze of Rock Steady Crew made their way to nearby Studio 54, where they danced the night away to DJ Skribble.

*Jabbawockeez paid a visit to the Boys & Girls Club of Las Vegas talking to the kids and encouraging them to work hard and follow their dreams. The dance crew told the kids that they should always dream big, and with time and dedication, they can achieve their goals in life. Jabbawockeez headlines again later this month at MGM Grand’s Hollywood Theater.

*Comedy-magician Mac King welcomed a group of YWCA day campers to his Mac King Comedy Magic Show at Harrah’s to demonstrate live theater as part of the camp’s Drama Week. Mac had a meet-and-greet with them, talked about performing live onstage and sent each one home with a magic souvenir.

*Two upcoming dates: Wine Spectator’s massive New World Wine Experience set for The Venetian from Oct. 28-30, and Cigar Aficionado’s annual Big Smoke is Nov. 12-14, also at the Venetian.

STAR SURVEILLANCE

*Further proof of Paris Hilton’s blooming relationship with Cy Waits: She was his houseguest again, and she partied over the weekend at XS in Encore and Tryst in Wynn, both of which he is a managing partner. Paris flew home this morning to L.A. to shoot a TV commercial after her hair guru Michael Boychuck added highlights to her blondeness. … Dancing With the Stars champion and co-host Brooke Burke took part in a five-day shoot for PokerStars.net’s Million Dollar Challenge at South Point. Barry Sanders, John Elway, Sara Jean Underwood, Gary Payton, Chris Moneymaker, Vanessa Rousso, David Williams, Barry Greenstein, Jason Mercier and Daniel Negreanu joined Brooke. … Playmate of the Year Hope Dworaczyk and Playmate Crystal McCahill hosted a cocktail reception in The Mint High Roller Lounge at the Palms last night. After the reception, the party headed to the Hardwood Suite, where Hope and Crystal hosted a screening of their E! show The Girls Next Door: The Bunny House. … Actor Steve Zahn watched X Burlesque at the Flamingo last night.

*Baseball legend Pete Rose, John Elway and Ludacris all dined at N9NE Steakhouse in the Palms. … Julius “Dr. J” Erving was at Ghostbar, Chicago Bulls star Charles Watson Jr. was at Moon, and comedian Kyle Dunnigan was at The Playboy Club. At Rain, ATB kicked off his August residency at Perfecto. … At Vanity in the Hard Rock Hotel, Denver Nuggets star Kenyon Martin started a dance party with 20 friends at one VIP booth, while Boston Celtics star Glen Davis took another VIP booth. Kevin Federline’s brother Chris also partied there. … Comic Tom Green performed for Las Vegas crooner Brian Evans at his Maui Theater in Lahaina as part of Brian’s Maui Celebrity Series. Brian is working with Tom Arnold to co-produce a reality TV series based on the theater. Then Mos Def rocked the theater for the first time the Celebrity Series has had two star shows in the same month.

Check out the weekend celebrity recap posted this morning for more celebrity coverage.

TONIGHT’S TIPS

It’s a daylong and nightlong Midsummer’s party with DJs Hollywood, Karma and David Christian at The Mirage that starts poolside at Bare Pool Lounge, then moves to Stack for dinner and ends at Jet to dance into the wee hours. The Mirage is keeping 50 suites on standby in case you don’t want the night to end. … Trent Carlini continues his run at the Las Vegas Hilton. … And it’s Industry Mondays at Encore Beach Club at Encore.

TOMORROW’S TEASES

Dancing With the Stars Season 2 champion Drew Lachey, who was a member of 98 Degrees with brother Nick Lachey, flies here to host the Price Is Right tapings at Bally’s, plus our continuing updates from behind the scenes as preparations are underway for the 2010 Miss Universe Pageant.

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.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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