Sunday 11-25-07

Team spokesman wants retraction

A spokesman for the University of Louisville's basketball team has demanded a retraction for an item printed here that stated team members were night-clubbing.

Kenny Klein, the school's sports information director, called it a "completely erroneous report" and added, "we have people crying for lawsuits."

Klein confirmed that first-year assistant coach Walter McCarty, a former NBA pro, was at LAX nightclub at Luxor late Wednesday/early Thursday, but he was by himself and "had a drink there."

Louisville defeated UNLV 68-48 earlier Wednesday night.

However, McCarty was not with players and he was not drinking Patron tequila and Veuve Clicquot champagne, the spirits mentioned in the sightings item, Klein said.

"Bottom line, I know they got cameras all over those casinos and pictures don't lie. I guarantee you that there's none of our players in that casino at that time," Klein said Friday.

He's right about photos not lying. We checked and found Louisville player Juan Palacios among the photos posted on the local nightclub Web site, Napkinnights.com.

Our sources say McCarty and Palacios were in the LAX nightclub's VIP section early Thursday with several male friends, including a young white man who appeared to be a seven-footer. Palacios, 22, is injured and has not played this year. Sixth-ranked Louisville lost to unranked Brigham Young University on Friday, 78-76.

A bottle of $400 Patron was charged to an Eric Scott's credit card, I'm told, and a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, which goes for about $300, was paid for in cash.

The school's basketball media guide lists an Eric Scott as director of basketball operations.

The Scene And Heard

Boulder City's Brian Velvick, a professional angler who appeared on ABC's "The Bachelor" in 2004, was the victim in a domestic squabble involving the woman he proposed to on the reality show, according to Florida authorities. Velvick's fiancée, Mary Delgado, was taken into custody after she is alleged to have punched Velvick during a incident Wednesday in Seminole, outside St. Petersburg. Velvick and Delgado appeared together Tuesday in a special episode of "The Bachelor" called "After the Final Rose." Velvick, 43, has been working for ESPN's "BassCenter."

Monday 11-26-07

Critic scoffs at LV in Michelin guide

There's some anticipated fallout over the Michelin Guide's first-ever inclusion of Las Vegas restaurants.

Prominent food critic John Mariani of Esquire magazine questions whether the Las Vegas culinary scene deserves a guide ahead of Chicago, Boston or Washington.

The Las Vegas restaurant sector, he said, "is, obviously, booming" but lacks the depth and breadth found in other American cities.

Mariani said he posed the question to Jean-Luc Naret, director of the Michelin Guides.

Naret's response, Mariani said, was that Michelin already had five inspectors in place to do the L.A. guide, and they could cover Las Vegas as well.

"They must be eating as fast as they can!" Mariani added, parenthetically.

But that aside, Las Vegas "still lacks the kind of neighborhood, free-standing restaurants that it needs to be a great food city," Mariani said.

He cited the assertion of fellow critic John Curtas of Nevada Public Radio, who has noted that Las Vegas lacks the markets and local fare other cities have access to. "Indeed," Mariani added, "If Fed-Ex did not exist, L.V. wouldn't have many restaurants."

Mariani's article in Esquire includes criticism from Los Angeles Times food editor Leslie Brenner.

"What shocked me wasn't who did and did not get stars; rather, it was that the book that purports to be the bible of fine dining is so poorly researched and lamely written that the ratings have no credibility."

More specifically, Brenner said she found "just too odd" that a whopping 17 restaurants" in Brentwood were listed in the L.A. guide.

The only three-star restaurant in Las Vegas or Los Angeles was Joel Robuchon's at the MGM Grand.

Among Las Vegas' 16 star recipients, two received two stars: Picasso at Bellagio and Alex at Wynn.

Los Angeles had three two-star eateries and 15 one-star awardees.

The Scene And Heard

"Desperate Housewives" star Eva Longoria joked that she may be job hunting in Las Vegas if the Writers Guild of America strike continues to shut down production. Longoria, during a trip to The Michael Boychuck Salon at Caesars Palace, asked stylist Dawn Oguri if the salon were hiring. She also told Oguri that she swore she'd never remarry, but that all changed when she started dating NBA star Tony Parker

Tuesday 11-27-07

Wednesday 11-28-07

A fracas broke out at Hogs and Heifers Saloon on Monday night when a little person in an Oompa Loompa costume took offense at being called a midget.

Wee Matt, a member of "Beacher's Madhouse," was carried out, legs furiously kicking, after throwing a punch that struck a bar patron in the posterior.

"He snapped," said Jeff Beacher, who pulled Wee Matt, all of 4-foot-2 and 80-some pounds, and a cohort out of the Third Street bar.

They were hired as entertainment for Rattle, Rumble & Roll Night, an outing for hot rod aficionados, including the Knuckle Draggers Car Club.

The rumble started not long after the Oompa Loompas started downing shots of Patron tequila. That's when the spit hit the fan.

Upset by the "midget" remark, Wee Matt "promptly started swinging and spit on the guy and had to be pulled away and escorted out by a member of my security staff," said owner Michelle Dell.

"Roald Dahl would be horrified!" added Dell, referring to the author of the 1964 book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," which was turned into the film "Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" in 1971. Oompa Loompas are characters in the story.

The message here, said Beacher: "Don't call an Oompa Loompa a midget."

Wee Matt is no stranger to throwdowns. In early 2006, he slapped Michael Politz, a plus-sized local food and beverage publisher, during a tussle on a stairway at Tao in The Venetian.

Marilyn LaRocque, contributing editor of Luxury Las Vegas magazine, takes exception to Esquire food critic John Mariani's contention, mentioned here the other day, that "if Fed Ex did not exist, (Las Vegas) wouldn't have many restaurants." LaRocque, in an e-mail to me, shot back, "And if Fed Ex didn't exist, NO major U.S. city would have fine restaurants serving exotic foods. Mahi-mahi scarcely flies to Chicago; and last I knew, truffles don't grow in Central Park." Luxury Las Vegas is a sister publication of the Review-Journal. Inadvertently omitted from Monday's item about Mariani was Las Vegas' third 2-star awardee in the Michelin Guide -- Restaurant Guy Savoy at Caesars Palace. ...

Melissa McCarty is leaving KTNV-TV, Channel 13 to join KCAL/KCBS in Los Angeles as a reporter. Her last day is Friday. McCarty made some news when she showed up as a boldface name in this column on occasion for dating Palms owner George Maloof. ...

Alicia Jacobs must have a thing for the sound of a particular name. The KVBC-TV, Channel 3 entertainment reporter was spotted having a cozy time at Sushi Sake (Green Valley Ranch) with smooth jazz star Chris Botti, who formerly dated then-NBC anchor Katie Couric. One night later, Jacobs was seen climbing into Criss Angel's black Rolls-Royce Phantom after the Planet Hollywood Resort grand opening party.

Thursday 11-29-07

The Louisville Courier-Journal newspaper on Tuesday ran a follow-up of our account that included a photo of injured star Juan Palacios at LAX nightclub at Luxor on Nov. 21.

Missing from the report were the emphatic denials by Louisville sports information director Kenny Klein, who dismissed the sighting as "completely erroneous."

"Bottom line," said Klein, who demanded a retraction before Sunday's story, "I know they got cameras all over those casinos, and pictures don't lie. I guarantee you that there's none of our players in that casino at that time."

Klein called Sunday and apologized but added that Palacios doesn't drink.

Almost 200 comments poured into the newspaper's Web site, almost all of them supporting the Louisville basketball program, although some disputed Klein's claim that Palacios is a teetotaler.

Among the responses:

"I'm still not sure why this is news ... UNLESS ... it was an upset UNLV fan. ... I'm sure that's more like it."

"Let's see," said another. "One fuzzy picture, lots of conjecture and speculation, no proof, lots of holier-than-thou posturing, nothing substantial, illegal, or even newsworthy."

Several respondents took a more serious view and cited possible repercussions.

"Actually, you idiots, it IS an issue ... and it could end up being a major one," one Web site visitor wrote, adding if a member of U of L's staff bought drinks for players, it "could lead to some big problems. Remember when Bill Walton paid for Richard Jefferson's plane flight while he and Bill's son were at Arizona? That cost Arizona some scholarships and suspensions."

Another blogger wrote: "The story is not that college kids drink ... the story is that Klein called out the tabloid in Vegas that ran the story, saying it was totally false and wanted a retraction from them."

The (Review-Journal) "in turn dug a little deeper and found player pics and receipts from a UL official buying $400 bottles of Patron. Klein should have kept his mouth shut, moved on and quit acting like UL players/coaches are some kind of saints."

The blogger added, "One thing of note is that Rick Majerus got in NCAA trouble for buying a player lunch at the hotel he lived at." Paying $400 for tequila "would seem to be a little outside the scope of normal expenses for BB players on a road trip."

Las Vegas radio personality Lark Williams sent a paramedic friend to investigate when she couldn't reach Quiet Riot lead singer Kevin DuBrow for days, according to a former member of the metal band. DuBrow, 52, was found dead of unknown causes Sunday at his Las Vegas home. Original Quiet Riot band member Kelly Garni of Boulder City, in a Web site posting at www.RandyRhoads.tk, said Williams, who dated DuBrow for several years, became alarmed when he didn't show up for Thanksgiving and she didn't hear from him by Sunday. When her paramedic friend went to DuBrow's residence and, through a window, saw his keys on a counter, Williams immediately ordered him to break into the house. ...

Donnie and Marie Osmond are reuniting for an eight-performance run July 17-23 at the MGM Grand's Hollywood Theatre.

Friday 11-30-07

Sex, boxing, murder at the 'Love Ranch'

The saga of Mustang Ranch owner Joe Conforte and the 1976 murder of boxer Oscar Bonavena is heading for the big screen.

Boxing promoter/film producer Lou DiBella was on the telephone from New York on Thursday, shedding more light on the film, which was mentioned here in skeletal form in Thursday's column.

A fictionalized version of the deadly love triangle will star Academy Award-winning actors Helen Mirren and Joe Pesci, with Mirren's husband, Taylor Hackford, directing her for the first time.

Filming will begin in January in New Mexico. Some scenes will be shot in Nevada, probably near Reno.

Fundamentally, "Love Ranch" is "a love story with great backdrops like murder, prostitution and boxing," said DiBella, the former head of sports programming for HBO.

The script was written by New York Magazine columnist Mark Jacobson, who wrote the article that the newly released film "American Gangster," about Harlem drug kingpin Frank Lucas, was based on.

"Taylor loves boxing and always wanted to direct his wife," said DiBella.

Hackford, who won an Oscar for directing the short film "Teenage Father," also directed "An Officer and a Gentleman" and "Ray."

Bonavena, whose 56-9-1 record included going the distance twice against Joe Frazier and a controversial 15th technical knockout by Muhammad Ali, was killed at the Mustang Ranch in 1976.

He was being managed by Conforte's wife, Sally, and was spending a lot of time with her at the Mustang Ranch, Nevada's first legalized brothel.

The brothel's bodyguard, Willard R. Brymer, was convicted in the killing. Many believed Joe Conforte put out a hit on Bonavena.

A young Spanish actor, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, will play the character based on Bonavena.

Pesci will play a character loosely based on Conforte. Mirren will play his wife.

One of Nevada's most colorful figures, Conforte, facing tax evasion issues, fled the country in 1980 and reportedly lives in Brazil. He is in his 80s.

Local casting director Ray Favero is interviewing SAG actresses 18 to 40 Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Riviera Comedy Club for principal roles. The roles are for "ladies of the evening" in great shape, he said. Non-union applicants will be interviewed if time permits.

The Scene And Heard

Mayor Oscar Goodman makes another guest appearance on NBC's "Vegas" series today (10 p.m., KVBC-TV, Channel 3). The episode, shot last summer, is the second of a two-parter and involves the casino floor of the fictional Montecito being gassed by a masked crew of master thieves. The mayor's scene is with Tom Selleck. "(Goodman) is the crew's favorite guest star. They literally line up to hug him and say hello," said a spy on the set.

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