Las Vegas Weekly

June 23, 2010 · 3:32 PM

Strip Scribbles: Jermaine Dupri jumps across Strip from Prive to Eve

By Robin Leach

Nelly, Lance Bass and Jermaine Dupri at the New Year's Eve party at Prive in Planet Hollywood on Dec. 31, 2009.

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

Grammy Award-winning artist and record producer Jermaine Dupri returns to his Las Vegas DJ duties tonight. He lost his regular gig at Prive in Planet Hollywood when Harrah’s officials shuttered it after they took over and assumed its considerable debts.

Jermaine, the former longtime boyfriend of Janet Jackson, spins the wheels of steel at the hot industry night at Eva Longoria Parker’s Eve at MGM CityCenter’s Crystals. No definite word whether Jermaine will be booked as a regular, but the whisper is that if tonight’s a success, he’ll certainly be back as a regular.

*Ten couples will walk out to Trevi Fountain in front of The Forum Shops at Caesars this fall on 10/10/10 at exactly 10:10 a.m., and one significant other will propose marriage to the other. If you want to win an all-expense paid trip here with a two-night stay at Caesars Palace, plus dinner at The Palm and a party at Pure, go to www.101010at1010am.com. You’ll must submit a 110-word essay, plus photos or video as to why you should be a winner.

*Defending the Caveman star Kevin Burke returned to his clown days under The Big Top when he was invited to be the guest ringmaster for Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus at The Orleans. Kevin donned a cape for the occasion and walked the elephants. “She had to be the world’s biggest hair dryer -- she kept blasting me with hot air from her trunk,” Kevin said.

*If you’ve ever dreamed about joining Cirque du Soleil and starring in one of its seven Strip shows, here’s your chance. Cirque is looking for performers in acrobatics, sports and circus to join its worldwide shows. The Montreal-headquartered company will be here for three days in September to hold auditions. Go to Cirque du Soleil’s Web site for details.

Photo: TLC MediaWorks

The World Hip-Hop Dance Championships.

*The world’s best dance crews are headed back to town to compete for the gold medal and $20,000 in cash prizes in the 9th Annual World Hip-Hop Dance Championships. The preliminary events highlighted by the USA Finals, World Popping, Locking and Freestyle battles along with Urban Dance Moves workshops are July 26-31 at Red Rock Resort, and the finals are Aug. 1 at The Orleans Arena. American Idol judge Randy Jackson presents MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew for Hip Hop International, and he’s expected to fly in for the action-packed seven days.

*I couldn’t resist sharing this extraordinarily fascinating movie. It’s believed to be more than 100 years old and reportedly was the first 35mm film ever shot and lost for many years. This was a normal traffic day in 1906 on Market Street in San Francisco at the Embarcadero Wharf. Horse-drawn vehicles criss-crossed with a staggering number of right-hand drive cars ignoring even the cable cars in a day and age when everybody had right of way before traffic lights. Rush hour doesn’t seem to have changed much! Apparently, a camera mounted on the front of a cable car just four days before a big earthquake took the clip. It was placed on a train to be processed in New York and thus escaped destruction. David Kiehn of Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum calculated the April 14,1906, filming date from historical records, weather reports and the car license plates.

*Forever 21 is about to open its largest Nevada store spanning an incredible 126,000 square feet. The L.A.-based retailer launches its department store concept tomorrow on both levels at Fashion Show mall with 132 fitting rooms and 36 cash registers at the ready. There will be 10 apparel, accessories and cosmetic zones for the 21 Brands for men and women of all ages, plus HTG 21, a kid’s line. It’s Forever’s fourth Las Vegas location.

STAR SURVEILLANCE

*Celebrities continue to party up a storm at The Venetian and Palazzo hotspots Tao and Lavo, respectively. Olympic swimmer supreme Michael Phelps and Miss California Nicole Johnson were practically inseparable hanging out at Lavo, Tao Beach and Tao for dinner. Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky stopped by to greet Michael, who wound up in the booth with DJ Vice. Also dining at Lavo were NBA star Robert Horry, Atlanta Falcons’ Tony Gonzalez and Football Hall of Famer Michael Irvin at separate tables. Super sexy Olivia Munn partied in the boutique nightclub.

At Tao separately were UFC fighter Kenny Florian, Pauly Shore and DJ Pauly D, who went upstairs to the nightclub after dinner. Christopher Mintz-Plasse, McLovin’ in Superbad, celebrated his 21st birthday at Tao with friends including Ryan Cabrera and Diana Ross’ son actor Evan Ross. Tao’s model servers presented Christopher with a cake adorned with sugar beer cans after midnight, and he jumped into the DJ booth with Michael and DJ Vice as the crowd cheered and did shots of Patron to mark the occasion. The birthday celebration continued at Tao Beach the next day when Chuck Liddell stopped by just as another cake shaped as a beach ball was presented to the actor, who continued the festivities at Lavo. Former NFL stars Eddie George and Michael Irvin enjoyed Tao Beach during the day and the restaurant at night.

NHL players partying at Lavo included Philadelphia Flyers’ Mike Richards, Florida Panthers’ Bryan Allen, St. Louis Blues’ Barret Jackmann and Jay McClement and John Tripp, who’s playing in Germany. Mark Mothersbaugh, the lead singer of Devo, dined at Lavo with friends before hitting the nightclub. Although UFC fighter Jamie Yager lost The Ultimate Fighter finale, he was still in good spirits as he hosted an after-party at Lavo.

Photo: Bryan Steffy/Encore

Chuck Liddell at Encore Beach Club in the Encore.

Photo: Al Powers

Jamie Yager at Lavo in the Palazzo on June 19, 2010.

*It was just as crowded with celebrities and star power at the Palms’ hotspots. Sports announcer Michael Buffer partied at Palms Pool & Bungalows, as did UFC champion Georges St-Pierre, poker player Steve Dannenmann with three friends, DJ Pauly D, UFC fighter Matt Hamill with his entire training entourage, ex-NFL quarterback Jim Kelly, pro fighter Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis and TUF Season 4 winner Travis Lutter. Patrons at N9NE Steakhouse at various tables included DJ Pauly D in a party of eight, UFC President Dana White, Rev Run, Ndamukong Suh Jonathan Ogden, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Court McGee and Chuck Liddell with his girlfriend. After dinner, Pauly was spotted at Rain and Ghostbar, where Jamie Yager made it a 4 a.m. stop. At Moon were Ryan Cabrera, Dana White, Matt Hamill and Spin Doctors after they’d performed at the Palms Pool. Pauly Shore was at The Playboy Club when boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. rolled in wearing a tracksuit and sunglasses.

TONIGHT’S TIPS

Guess Jeans From Marciano hosts a Model Material soiree at Gold Lounge opposite the Viva Elvis theater in Aria. … Revolution at The Mirage presents Salsa With the Stars. … The Casino Chip and Gaming Token Collectors Club starts its four-day convention at South Point. … Bruno Mars performs at Surrender in Encore.

TOMORROW’S TEASES

Our photo reports from the 2010 NHL Awards and Rick Moonen’s Top Chef Masters dinner with Marcus Samuelsson, plus the surprise in store for the audience at the fourth anniversary of Phantom -- Las Vegas Spectacular at The Venetian.

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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