Las Vegas Weekly

February 9, 2012 · 3:08 AM

Is Kate Upton next Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition cover model?

By Robin Leach

Kate Upton in the 2011 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.

Photo: SI.com

Wicked whispers and racy rumors!

Heavy petting … er, betting, that 19-year-old Michigan model beauty Kate Upton will be on the cover of the annual, coveted Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition being unveiled in New York on Tuesday. Kate then joins 19 other supermodels to fly to Las Vegas for two days of events and a music festival at the Cosmopolitan.

Kate was here in Las Vegas last year for S.I. as Rookie of the Year and has since appeared in the comedy “Tower Heist” with Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller. … Is Kool and the Gang joining Van Halen’s concert date at MGM Grand in March?

The long-shuttered, European-styled nightclub due to open two years ago atop the Palazzo expansion by German entrepreneur Nicole “N.D.” Durr is being taken over by Chicago investors planning to bring the naughty New York City burlesque avant-garde performance nightclub The Box to the Strip.

Which Strip star became involved in a nightclub row that now threatens other appearances? … Jeff Beacher of “Beacher’s Madhouse” fame has expanded his one-time Hard Rock Hotel “little people” shows from his recent success in L.A. to the new Viceroy Hotel in Miami.

Which headliner group might be moving to a rival showroom after they take a brief break from their current home on the Strip? … The first restaurants, although wincing over the high retail rental costs, have signed on for the retail space at the Caesars Entertainment giant Ferris Wheel now under construction at center Strip.

Robert De Niro’s Ago at the Hard Rock Hotel is to be turned into a gastropub as casino executives shake up the dining options at the hotel with a new Chinese restaurant and a change to the Johnny Smalls’ tiny bites concept. … The long-closed Lutece at the Venetian is to be reopened this spring as an upscale burger joint with outdoor dining around the canal out toward the Strip.

Inspired by the annual Burning Man Festival, there will be a first-ever public burn in Las Vegas on March 2, when Burn Vegas Burn will set ablaze “Lucky Lady Lucy,”, a 20-foot-tall wooden showgirl sculpture. Additionally, there will be fire art acts, plus a performance by the L.A. cast of “The Burning Opera” adding to the heat!

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.

Share This