Las Vegas Weekly

June 30, 2010 · 3:10 AM

The rock show will go on for Vince Neil at the Palms

By Robin Leach

Vince Neil at the grand opening of his Tres Rios in the Las Vegas Hilton on June 12, 2010.

Photo: Valerie Nerres/ValerieNerres.com

It’s still a green light for hometown rocker Vince Neil’s performance at the Palms Pool & Bungalows tomorrow night despite Sunday night’s arrest for drunken driving. Vince and his wife, Lia, posted a $2,000 bond for his release, and a tentative court date for Sept. 27 has been set. Lia is Vince’s fourth wife and describes her as his “partner and rock.”

No details about the arrest or the police report will be released, and Vince’s attorneys David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld said “everything is far too premature” for a response. It is unknown if a reported incident with a female and a broken camera at the Las Vegas Hilton triggered the events Sunday. I exchanged text messages with Vince on Monday, but our communication must remain confidential.

When I talked with him at the opening of his Tres Rios Cantina at the Hilton about two weeks ago, he told me emphatically that he was sober, and the days of drugs and alcohol abuse were long gone.

He sipped no more than one glass of wine that night at the Hilton and just one glass of champagne the last time we had dinner at N9NE Steakhouse in the Palms. “I simply don’t abuse it anymore,” he told me. There is an irony to all of this since we were at the Hilton to launch his Tres Rios line of tequilas and that tomorrow’s concert is part of the Cruzan Rum Campfire Concert series.

The 49-year-old superstar has swapped his wild rock life for that of a serious businessman in recent years and parlayed his music success into a string of companies ranging from his private aviation charter jet fleet Vince Neil Aviation to the Dr. Feelgood Bar and Grills, his tattoo parlors at The Rio and O'Sheas and the cantina at the Hilton. In addition to Motley Crue dates and the Crue Fest tours, he has his own Vince Neil Band.

He also runs an annual celebrity charity poker tournament here and an annual celebrity charity golf tournament in California to raise funds for The Skylar Neil Foundation named in the memory of his daughter who died at age 4 of cancer in 1995. The foundation, started in 1997, has donated millions of dollars in the fight against cancer and related diseases. He has a memorial tattoo inked in the center of his chest as a tribute to Skylar, his daughter with his second wife Sharise Ruddell.

In his new book Tattoos & Tequila set for release in September, Vince reveals that after Skylar’s death, he was “on a path to self-destruction blaming myself for her death.” He eventually entered rehab. He said he finally became sober in March 2007, adding: “I don’t believe I am an alcoholic, per se. I have a little champagne now and then, and sometimes just one shot of my brand of tequila. I realized that drinking was not working for me anymore. I just turned the switch off. These days, now that I’m sober, I’m way more productive. I have my lifestyle here in Las Vegas, and I like the normal life I live here.”

Vince wants to kick off the Fourth of July holiday weekend at the Palms with music from his new album Tattoos & Tequila, but he promises to include Motley Crue hits. Vince said his new solo album features hits from rockers such as Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Def Leppard and Ozzy Osbourne because they influenced his career over the years since Motley Crue first found fame in 1981. He said he’ll also perform his version of Elvis Presley’s “Viva Las Vegas.”

One of the two new tracks on the album that Vince will perform is titled “Another Bad Day.” However, don’t expect any wry comments, ad-lib or statements about the DUI. Vince will remain silent about the matter until his attorneys appear in court.

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.

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

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