Las Vegas Weekly

May 19, 2010 · 11:46 AM

Photos: Chad Ochocinco is the 100th celebrity to exit DWTS

By Robin Leach

Cheryl Burke, Chad Ochocinco, Erin Andrews and Maksim Chmerkovskiy are the bottom two couples on Dancing With the Stars on May 18, 2010.

Photo: Adam Larkey/ABC TV

All of the previously eliminated Dancing With the Stars celebrities from Season 10 are back rehearsing today for next week’s blockbuster three-hour finale. When Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver and hunk Chad Ochocinco was sent packing last night, he became the 100th contestant to exit the competition.

It’s all come down to three finalists next week and with two Las Vegas professional dancers in the lineup. Derek Hough will be with his partner Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger and Le Reve choreographer Maksim Chmerkovskiy with ESPN anchor Erin Andrews. The third duo is Olympic figure skating champion Evan Lysacek and his partner Anna Trebunskaya.

Our thanks this morning to ABC photographer Adam Larkey for these stunning new shots from the dance floor last night when Miley Cyrus, Sarah McLachlan and returning dancers Melissa Rycroft and Joey Fatone performed.

Chad commented after his elimination: “It was awesome. I enjoyed the journey, and I met some awesome people, including Cheryl.” It’s still unknown if there’s a romance between them, but there’s no question that he showered her with diamond jewelry throughout the season.

Chad tweeted last night, “DWTS was a life-changing experience.” He doesn’t immediately vanish from TV screens, though. First, he’ll be in rehearsals again today for next week’s finale, and then in July he will star in a new VH1 reality TV dating show.

Las Vegas friends Pamela Anderson and Buzz Aldrin also will be training this morning for their finale appearance, but all eyes will be on Kate Gosselin after reports this week of “fear and dread” by some cast and crew about Kate of the eight’s return. She’ll be dancing a freestyle paso doble with Tony Dovolani, and they hope to pull off a flying sequence as part of the routine.

Two other items of note from last night: Questions are being asked if the Miley birdcage performance was censored when cameras cut away to show another dancer as Miley bent over the chest of a female in one leering moment during the number, and former Las Vegas resident, dancer and rocker Derek celebrated joint birthday parties with fellow dancer and band mate Mark Ballas after the show.

The big question in next week’s finals is whether Erin and Maks can perform strong enough to disrupt the neck-and-neck battle at the top between Nicole and Evan. If not, then it will go as predicted and be the showdown between the skater and the singer. With 59 points apiece on their semifinal routines Monday, its anybody’s guess as to what will happen.

It might well be the tightest and toughest battle of all 10 seasons and provides riveting suspense for viewers who have tuned in this season en masse in making it the No. 1 show in America, eclipsing American Idol for the first time.

Johnny Avello, director of race and sports book operations at the Wynn, has these odds -- the beginning of the season and current odds to win -- for the finale next week: Nicole, 5 to 1, now even; Evan, 4 to 1, now 8 to 5; and Erin, 7 to 1, now 6 to 1.

Vegas DeLuxe will be back Monday with a preview and rundown of what dances to expect, and then follow with our spoiler-alert stories and full photo coverage on Monday and Tuesday nights’ shows from the dance floor.

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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