Las Vegas Weekly

March 10, 2010 · 4:34 PM

Strip Scribbles: Sierra Boggess is feted in Love Never Dies premiere

By Robin Leach

Brent Barrett, Siegfried Fischbacher, Sierra Boggess and Roy Horn in June 2006.

Photo: Scott Doctor/www.greatscottstudios.com

Former Phantom -- Las Vegas Spectacular star Sierra Boggess was center stage with Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber for the standing ovation at the world premiere of the sequel Love Never Dies in London yesterday. Stars including Sir Michael Caine, Rupert Everett, Richard E. Grant and Gerard Butler cheered the cast, and Sierra received the loudest of all.

Theater critics at London newspapers were unanimous in their praise for the soprano who starred here at The Venetian production for three years. The Love Never Dies Web site posted exclusive video from the premiere with Sierra. Love Never Dies continues the story of The Phantom, who has moved from his Paris Opera House lair to haunt the fairgrounds of New York’s Coney Island 10 years later.

*Mindfreak magician and Believe headliner Criss Angel’s appearance on the WWE’s Raw in Portland, Ore., attracted more than 3.5 million viewers vs. less than 1 million for the rival Impact with Hulk Hogan.

*Comedy actor Zach Galifianakis, who filmed the blockbuster The Hangover here at Caesars Palace, was named Comedy Star of the Year today and receives the award at ShoWest next week here at Paris & Bally’s. His new film Due Date, which reunites him with The Hangover director Todd Phillips, will be screened during ShoWest.

*To clear up some confusion, Men of X is closing at Hooter’s Owl Showroom on March 21 and reopens three days later at the larger Dixie’s Dam Bar in Hooters.

*Congrats to our good friend David Foster, the pianist arranger who is Andre Agassi’s charity entertainment producer and appears here regularly as a headliner, for being named an inductee to the Songwriters Hall of Fame on June 17 in New York. He’ll be joined by Las Vegas regulars Maurice White, Philip Bailey and Verdine White of Earth Wind & Fire, and Phil Collins will receive the Johnny Mercer Award.

*Contributing photographer Darrin Bush of Las Vegas News Bureau captured this great shot of singer Engelbert Humperdinck in concert at The Orleans Showroom.

*The new 13,000-square-foot PBR Rock Bar (Professional Bull Riders) will open at Planet Hollywood’s Miracle Mile in late May or early June, with a grand opening on the Fourth of July. PBR will feature a mechanical bull and gorgeous girls in sexy chaps serving up beer and barbecue. The bar will host the PBR World Cup events in April and the World Finals in the fall.

*Caesars Palace will open its eight swimming pool complex the Garden of the Gods on March 19, and we have a sneak peek photo. The Fortuna pool has an 18-foot waterfall, swim-up blackjack tables and poolside massage facilities. There will be 44 private cabanas, each with a flat-screen TV, a DVD player, an iPod docking station and wireless Internet access. The three-level Garden of the Gods also has a whirlpool retreat and a wedding venue set among landscaping, statues and fountains. The other pools are Apollo; two elevated Bacchus pools with curved staircases and individual whirlpools with butlers; Neptune; Jupiter; the circular Temple pool for families; and the secluded topless Venus opening April 1.

STAR SURVEILLANCE

*Justin Timberlake was at Tao in The Venetian and then Lavo in the Palazzo with friends and associates drinking his 901 Silver Tequila for the Nightclub & Bar festivities.

*The Mirage headliner Terry Fator and poker champion Joe Hachem led the applause for Jason Alexander’s The Donny Clay Experience at Planet Hollywood.

*Peepshow star Holly Madison and five friends watched Donn Arden’s Jubilee! at Bally’s. Showgirl Kristina greeted the group and posed for photos before curtain up. Holly and rocker Lita Ford were in Sammy Hagar’s Cabo Wabo Cantina at separate tables. Lita was joined by husband glam metal singer Jim Gillette and their two children for dinner, and they stayed for classic rock band Rock Daddy’s performance.

*NFL legend Joe Montana dined at N9NE Steakhouse in the Palms in a party of five. At another table, Playboy Playmate and The Girls Next Door star Bridget Marquardt also dined with five friends.

*Former Playgirl cover model and L.A. luxury real estate hunk Madison Hildebrand hosted the official 2010 GLBT Nightclub & Bar Party at Tabu Ultra Lounge in MGM Grand last night. The star of Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing danced the night away with friend Mervat Berry and mingled with the who’s who of the Las Vegas GLBT community, including Q Vegas Managing Director Earl Shelton. Madison posed for photos with partygoers and the Crush models and also toured MGM CityCenter’s residential units.

*“Let It Rock” singer Kevin Rudolf was at Blush in the Wynn to perform his hit song and preview his new single “I Made It.” He jumped onto the bar with his guitar at 1 a.m. to perform and mingled with fans until 3 a.m.

*Ryan Leslie’s appearance at Haze in MGM CityCenter’s Aria drew Chip Vaughan and Jamie Sharper of the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints and Steven Jackson and Jacob Bell of the St. Louis Rams. This week, our Light Group friends are presenting a check for $15,000 to Katie Cassidy, who is hosting at The Bank in the Bellagio, for her library building project in Malawi.

TONIGHT’S TIPS The new comedyShe’s Out of My League has its world premiere at Planet Hollywood, and stars Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve and T.J. Miller are expected on the red carpet. … The Wholigans tribute show to The Who is at the Las Vegas Hilton. … We salute the 2010 Nightclub & Bar Award winners at Lavo at an invitation-only party. We posted the winners on Feb. 4. Actor Dan Aykroyd gave the keynote address this morning, and the convention wraps tonight with the Sports Bar Networking party at Emeril Lagasse’s Stadium in the Palazzo and the DJ Spin-Off between Kid Capri and Keys ’n’ Krates at Tao. VDLX reader Richard Corey recorded Dan’s trade show appearances.

TOMORROW’S TEASES

Singer ventriloquist Terry Fator gets ready to celebrate his first anniversary at The Mirage, and he reflects on his incredible life-changing year in a one-on-one chat with us. … Rockers 311 come to town on 3/11, and Gretchen Wilson performs a free country show at Stoney’s.

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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