Las Vegas Weekly

July 6, 2010 · 7:45 PM

Stars at Play Day 4: Mike Epps, Kelly Rowland, Busta Rhymes, Bruce Buffer

By Robin Leach

Chuck Liddell, Angelica Bridges, Carrot Top, Bruce Buffer and Bridges' Fantasy castmates at the grand opening of the Bruce Buffer Poker Room at the Luxor on July 2, 2010.

Photo: Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com

The shows, parties and performances continued through the Fourth of July holiday weekend until it was time to go home last night, and our contributing photographers got the chance to lay down their cameras and take a break for the first time from the celebrations, as it was four nonstop days of festivities.

KELLY ROWLAND AT PURE AND VENUS

Singer Kelly Rowland’s performance at Pure in Caesars Palace not only brought down the house, but she also turned herself into a fashion plate. Dressed in a military-inspired costume and flanked by two backup dancers, Kelly performed “Commander” and “When Love Takes Over.” After the mini-concert, she changed into a Jean Paul Gaultier dress and Cesare Paciotti shoes and returned to party with friends. Kelly also lounged at Venus Pool Club in the Garden of the Gods complex and dined at the newly opened Social House in Crystals at MGM’s CityCenter.

Down The Strip at sister nightclub LAX in the Luxor, rapper Big Boi pumped up the crowd and was joined onstage by C Bone. Big Boi performed a number of favorites from his Outkast days and songs from his recent album.

BUSTA RHYMES AT EVE

It was an explosive, high-energy performance at Eva Longoria Parker’s Eve in Crystals when Busta Rhymes celebrated the Fourth. With a bottle of Patron in hand, Busta had the crowd dancing and waving their hands as he performed several of his hits, including “Touch It” and “Pass the Courvoisier.” He stopped the song “Stop the Party” several times to pose for the crowd as they cheered him on and also performed “Ante Up,” “Put Your Arms Where My Eyes Could See” and “All I Do Is Win.” He yelled to the crowd, “Shout out to my boy Spliff Star,” who then joined him. Latina pop stunner CeCe Segarra opened for Busta with a sexy performance of “Go Your Own Way.” Busta dined at Beso before the show.

MIKE EPPS AT THE JOINT

Comedian Mike Epps performed at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel for the holiday weekend festivities. The standup comic, rapper and host of the BET Hip Hop Awards has appeared in The Hangover, All About the Benjamins and the Friday films. Thanks to contributing photographer Erik Kabik for capturing the performance.

DJ PAULY D AND JWOWW AT PALMS

Jenni “JWoww” Farley of Jersey Shore continued the celebration of her new clothing line Filthy Couture. From dresses to casual wear and swimwear, her models were dressed to impress and adorned with edgy and fun jewelry and accessories by designer Kim Williams. JWoww walked the runway with her models and gave guests her T-shirts and makeup.

Her castmate DJ Pauly D dined at N9NE Steakhouse in the Palms before heading off to Ghostbar, where boxer Evander Holyfield was partying. Also at N9NE Steakhouse, tennis star Andy Roddick and his wife 2010 Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover girl Brooklyn Decker, who spent the weekend in the Kingpin Suite with its two bowling lanes in the Palms Fantasy Tower. The couple also hit Iron Chef Kerry Simon’s restaurant for Sunday brunch.

BRUCE BUFFER POKER ROOM AT LUXOR

Luxor President Felix Rappaport took on announcer duties to introduce the Octagon’s voice Bruce Buffer at the opening ceremonies of Bruce’s high-limit poker room at the resort casino. Luxor stars Angelica Bridges, her gorgeous dancers from Fantasy and headliner comic Carrot Top were in attendance, and the $10,000 opening tournament also attracted Chuck Liddell, Evander Holyfield and Fernando Vargas. Earlier, a media-only group played in a debut tournament won by Fox Sports MMA anchor Ryan “Loco” Nixon, with Stacey Butini of Las Vegas Poker Source the runner-up. Thanks to contributing photographer Tom Donoghue, who was on duty on opening day play.

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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