Las Vegas Weekly

June 3, 2010 · 3:27 PM

Strip Scribbles: Richard Branson marks Virgin milestone with DVT

By Robin Leach

Richard Branson, third from left, poses in front of one of his jets with the cast of Entourage.

Photo: Virgin America

It’ll be the most unique and unusual photo ever shot at our McCarran Airport. British tycoon Sir Richard Branson is jetting here on his Virgin Atlantic Airways to celebrate 10 years of flights to Las Vegas from London’s Gatwick, and he’ll be joined by burlesque queen Dita Von Teese, who guest stars at Crazy Horse Paris in MGM Grand.

As part of the celebration, the duo plans to dance for joy on the wing of the Boeing 747-400 Virgin Atlantic aircraft June 15. You can be sure we’ll have our contributing photographers in place for that -- I expect Richard to strip a little, but not a lot!

The following day, the British knight who has performed other wild stunts here, including rappelling down the side of the Palms and turning pinup Pamela Anderson upside down at a poker tournament in the Wynn, turns serious. He’ll host a breakfast at the Bellagio to unveil details of an economy class product he’s launching on his A330s in the debut Manchester-Las Vegas direct route in April.

*Poker pro Phil Laak passed the 24-hour mark this morning shortly before noon at the Bellagio poker salon in his endurance game, with 56 hours remaining to break the Guinness World Record. Actress girlfriend Jennifer Tilly and poker pros Huck Seed, Mike Matusow, David Wells and Prahlad Friedman have stopped by in support. Phil was up nearly $2,000 at 11:30 a.m. You can watch his record attempt at UnabomberPoker.com/blog and follow his tweets at Twitter.com/RealPhilLaak.

*Pop art icon Peter Max visited his art gallery in The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace to unveil his latest original painting. The New York-based artist created a 6-foot-tall acrylic on canvas depicting the Statue of Liberty. My longtime Manhattan friend told me: “It’s a portrait of patriotism.” He inscribed dedications and drawings on the back of each of his paintings sold during the visit. Our Las Vegas Art of Peter Max Gallery hosts the largest collection of his paintings available for sale in one room anywhere in the world. There are more than 150 originals, plus the Max-ed out grand piano, a staggering attraction in its own right. Over coffee at Il Mulino, Peter told me that he’ll be back here for Thanksgiving.

*Planet Hollywood shareholder Sylvester Stallone is just one of a group of Hollywood stars and VIPs, including Wesley Snipes, Uma Thurman, Annie Leibovitz, Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard, named as clients of a fraudulent financial adviser arrested on suspicion of misusing $30 million of client money. The Manhattan U.S. attorney said the clients were pawns in a Ponzi scheme to fund the extravagant lifestyle of Kenneth Starr (no relation to the Washington politico). He was held without bail and charged with money laundering and fraud in alleged schemes to siphon money from clients for his own purchases, including a $7.5 million condo.

*iPhone users now have Cirque du Soleil right at their fingertips with yesterday’s launch of an iPhone app that can be found as a free download in the iPhone App store under “CirqueSoleil.” Users can book tickets, find all 21 shows and have fun with Cirque’s global mobile world. The “Near Me” tab in “Shows” uses GPS to allow users to locate the Cirque du Soleil production closest to them. There also is a history section and an interactive game inspired by Cirque du Soleil shows.

*Wherever boxing champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. goes for dinner, his A1 Steak Sauce is close at hand. When he celebrated his brother’s birthday at Lavo in the Palazzo, they asked for well-done streaks with A1. When the waiter said that they didn’t have any, Floyd said “not a problem,” and a bottle was produced from his cash bag that he uses to throw out $1 bills as rain on the crowd in whichever nightclub he’s hitting. Floyd, who reportedly joked to the server that he even eats cereal with A1, doused it on everything -- chicken, steaks, even the garlic mash. The bottle remained as the table centerpiece throughout the meal.

STAR SURVEILLANCE

Jersey Shore stars Pauly D and Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino aren’t in a rush to return home after their holiday weekend gigs here. They were spotted dining with friends at Lavo and checked out the industry night party upstairs in the boutique club. Pauly also partied at Moon in the Palms and the next morning worked out in Drift Spa. … Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria Parker treated her San Antonio Spurs star husband Tony Parker to a roller-coaster ride at New York-New York. The star couple celebrated his birthday here over the weekend.

TONIGHT’S TIPS

The Far East Movement hosts and performs at Haze in Aria. … Cort McCown and Paul Hughes host standup comic and Emmy winner Greg Fitzsimmons through the weekend at The Playboy Comedy Lounge in the Palms. … And don’t forget the Bamboozle Road Show at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel that we told you about this morning.

TOMORROW’S TEASES

UFC fighters join forces with more than 700 motorcyclists from Harley Davidson and the High Rollers Motorcycle Club for a poker run from Red Rock to The Orleans charity pool party. The Palms porn stars parade and the downtown burlesque queens bump and grind continue throughout the weekend as the 2010 three-day Las Vegas International Film Festival unspools at the Hilton.

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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