Las Vegas Weekly

March 29, 2010 · 5:01 PM

Strip Scribbles: Neil Diamond checks out his future Caesars Palace home?

By Robin Leach

Neil Diamond.

Photo: Courtesy

For the king of soft rock, it was more than just a visit to The Colosseum at Caesars Palace to enjoy Lionel Richie’s weekend concert. Yes, Neil Diamond was in the audience listening to Lionel, but he also checked out the backstage facilities and the dressing room while he was here. Naturally, that added fuel to the very solid rumors that he’ll officially announce this year his plans for a residency.

Here’s the way I’ve heard it from more than one reliable source. Terms and a contract have been agreed upon among Neil, Caesars and AEG. It has not yet been signed, and the date for the start of appearances remains a blank.

I’m told that AEG and Caesars want him for the theater there and that Neil has finally indicated a willingness to play Las Vegas regularly. Now he’s just needs to pick the date for the announcement so that tickets can go on sale!

*Congratulations to actor James Caan, who celebrated his birthday at The Bank Nightclub in the Bellagio over the weekend with his wife Linda. Photographer Denise Truscello took the dinner party shots in chef Akira Back’s Yellowtail before champagne and birthday cake were served up in the nightclub.

*The ambitious Show of Peace in Beijing being planned by two Las Vegas producers has run into problems, as we previously reported, and the April 17 date to honor the 40th anniversary of Earth Day has now been pushed back to Oct. 10. The Chinese Ministry of Culture has approved the date change for producer Rick Garson’s rock concert to still be held at the 85,000-seat Olympics Beijing National Stadium, aka the Bird’s Nest.

*Tattoo artist Mario Barth opens his new ultra lounge, tattoo salon, bar and outdoor after-hours club at The Mirage on April 10. King Ink is located across from Jet.

*Chef Brian Ogden, the son of star chef Bradley Ogden, has a late April target date for the opening of his new restaurant Munch at Caesars Palace. It replaces a retail store alongside Pure and will serve customers playing in the Poker Room and sports book.

*The Strip went dark to mark Earth Hour on Saturday night. The Luxor spotlight and neon billboards were all turned off, and our colleagues at the Las Vegas Sun provided readers with coverage.

STAR SURVEILLANCE

*What a weekend for star spotting: Mr. Las Vegas Wayne Newton finished his Tropicana show in time to see Matt Goss’ show at Caesars Palace. … Before heading to Jay-Z’’s concert at The Pearl in the Palms, St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson enjoyed sushi at Iron Chef winner Kerry Simon’s Simon in Palms Place, while actor Marlon Wayans was doing the same at an adjoining table.

*Over at Vanity in the Hard Rock Hotel, Shawn Wayans and nephew Damien Dante Wayans enjoyed a boys’ night out. They hung out in a booth and were mobbed by the ladies. One lucky girl even got Shawn’s number, while another one stole a kiss. After all the flirting, the men departed alone about 2 a.m. Washington Redskins star Larry Johnson partied at Vanity with sparklers and champagne, and TheDirty.com’s Nik Richie also stopped by. Boxing legend Lennox Lewis hung out with boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. at Vanity and grabbed late-night eats at Mr. Lucky’s with Bona Fide. The next day, Lennox had lunch at Pink Taco. Also hanging out in the new HRH Tower were pro snowboarder and Olympic gold medalist Shaun White and three buddies.

*Actor and comedian Bob Saget dined with friends at Lavo in the Palazzo before heading upstairs to the nightclub. Kaley Cuoco of The Big Bang Theory and Amy Davidson, who played her sister on 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, were at Lavo celebrating a friend’s bachelorette party. Last night, actor John Cusack, whose comedy Hot Tub Time Machine opened over the weekend, dined at the Palazzo hotspot with two friends. Rapper Young Jeezy enjoyed a romantic dinner with a female friend in a corner booth with a bottle of Dom Perignon Rose. Sum 41 rocker Deryck Whibley continued his weekend-long birthday celebrations at Tao in The Venetian and Lavo, and then recovered by soaking up the sun at Azure Pool in the Palazzo.

*Over at B.B. King’s Blues Club in The Mirage, singer Ray J hung out at and eventually joined the B.B. King Las Vegas All Stars onstage for an impromptu jam session and sang two songs.

*Vampire Diaries star Kayla Ewell celebrated her gal pal Julie Boyle’s bachelorette party at Tabu Ultra Lounge in MGM Grand, and contributing photographer Erik Kabik recorded the fun. Kayla said she came back to Tabu after having such a great time there several weeks ago for her co-star Nina Dobrev’s birthday.

*Photographer Denise Truscello captured great shots of stunt rider Ricardo Laguna and The Cab when they performed at the 2010 Extreme Thing Sports and Music Festival at Desert Breeze Park over the weekend.

TONIGHT’S TIPS

2010 James Beard Award finalist star chef Rick Moonen hosts Super Green Cuisine, a six-course menu with beverage pairing, at RM Seafood in Mandalay Bay from 6 to 9 p.m. … And Saturday Night Live comic Paul Bond headlines at Riviera’s Comedy Club with Joe Moffa and Patrick Keane through Sunday.

TOMORROW’S TEASES

We’ll have dance-floor actions photos from tonight’s Dancing With the Stars, plus Holly Madison gets ready to auction the hottest and most eligible bachelorettes in town, and a new, bold bridal boutique opens on the Strip for a last wild fling.

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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