May '08 Notes from Norm — Norm Clarke Column

Saturday 5-31-08

	First lady may be kicking up heels Jessica Simpson may not be the most sought-after blonde on the red carpet tonight at the grand opening of the Palms Place Hotel & Spa. Britney Spears? Nope. Rumor has it Nevada first lady Dawn Gibbons will be in stilettos -- instead of tossing them -- after making headlines this week by accusing her husband, Gov. Jim Gibbons, of an extramarital affair. The first lady, I hear, may not be the only surprise on the red carpet, which begins at 9 p.m. at the main entrance of Palms Place, the new $400 million tower. The public is invited. A court document filed on Dawn Gibbons' behalf Wednesday in Washoe County Family Court characterized the first lady as a "castaway wife" while the governor "succumbed to the seduction" of another woman. She is seeking to have the governor's divorce proceedings, recently sealed by a judge, conducted in public. Taking a glamorous turn on the red carpet is almost guaranteed to keep her among the top news stories. STUPAK HOSPITALIZED Local gaming legend Bob Stupak, who left his mark on Las Vegas in more ways than creating The Stratosphere, is in fair condition after abdominal surgery at University Medical Center. Stupak, 66, has been battling leukemia for more than a year, a source close to the family said. He underwent surgery Wednesday. A high-stakes bettor and an even bigger dreamer, Stupak parlayed the tiny Vegas World into the 1,149-foot Stratosphere, one of the tallest structures in the United States. The Scene And Heard The phones at the call center at Planet Hollywood Resort were abuzz over UFOs early Friday. Callers were curious about the UFO convention footage that appeared on the marquee video screen. Turns out it was part of the 2 a.m.-6 a.m. filming of the movie "Race to Witch Mountain." Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was shooting scenes in front of Planet Hollywood Resort with co-star Carla Gugino while extras in alien costumes jammed the lobby. ... Radio and TV personality Lark Williams has just completed filming her role as a brothel madame in an upcoming horror film. "Dark Moon Rising" is in production in Pahrump, with principal photography scheduled for completion next month. The cast includes Max Ryan, who is also co-producing; Maria Conchita Alonso, Chris Mulkey and Billy Drago. Williams' role fell to her when Jacqueline Bissett had a scheduling conflict. Williams took a hiatus from her deejay job at KXPT-FM, 97.1 to do the movie and has been bitten by the acting bug to the point that she's exploring more opportunities.

Sunday 6-01-08

First lady makes showing at event

Nevada's first lady Dawn Gibbons elected to avoid the red carpet Saturday, instead making a side door entrance at the grand opening of the Palms Place Hotel & Spa. Maybe she's seen enough cameras for a while after facing a media frenzy all week over developments in the divorce suit filed by her husband, Gov. Jim Gibbons.

The first lady was expected to arrive about 10:30 p.m. after tending to official business. She spoke to a Asian-American group at Treasure Island earlier.

Local model Sarah Larson was there, too, making her first public appearance since the news broke last week of her rumored split with actor George Clooney.

Jessica Simpson and the cast from MTV's hit series "The Hills" were also among the red carpet VIPs.

The Scene And Heard

In UFC star Tito Ortiz's new book, "This Is Gonna Hurt," his girlfriend, porn queen Jenna Jameson, writes, according to the New York Post's Page Six: "Criss Angel came up and started hitting on me. He was like, 'Hey, baby, want to go for a ride in my Lamborghini?' I said I had my own Lamborghini and I walked away. Later that night, he found out that I was dating Tito and he came over to apologize. ... He was really groveling. He ended up calling Tito and leaving a message apologizing and asking for forgiveness. People are so intimidated by (Tito), and he's real good about keeping the wolves away from my door." ...

There's chatter that "Stomp Out Loud," which opened about a year ago at Planet Hollywood Resort, may be on its last legs, and replaced by a new show. The prospective replacement involves some "high-profile names," I'm told. ...

Wynn Las Vegas chef/operator Paul Bartolotta of Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare battles Mario Batali on "Iron Chef" at 9 tonight on the Food Network. The New York-based Batali has three restaurants here, two at The Venetian (B & B Ristorante and Enoteca San Marco) and one at The Palazzo (Carnevino). ...

Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers, who has the Celtics in the NBA Finals for the first time in 21 years, is among a group of celebrities who have purchased penthouses at Palms Place. Hulk Hogan's estranged wife, Linda, also has one. ...

CLARIFICATION

Tiffany Masters contacted me after I mentioned in my Friday column that she appeared in the 2003 documentary film "Fluffy Cumsalot, Porn Star," which spoofs the porn industry. She says the Tiffany Masters listed among the cast by Internet Movie Database (imdb.com) is not her.


Monday 6-02-08

Larson dances for ex-boyfriend Friends are playing down a cabana sighting of Sarah Larson and her former boyfriend Ryan Doherty at the grand opening of Palms Place Hotel & Spa on Saturday night. Several witnesses said Larson, the Las Vegas model who recently split with George Clooney, was dancing seductively in front of Doherty, a local media executive, who was with friends. "There's nothing to it. They're just good friends," said a friend of Doherty's. "He's got a girlfriend." Larson, 29, made her first public appearance since the news of her split with Clooney broke last week when she posed for about five minutes on the red carpet. Larson and Doherty left the party together with their group of friends. A request to put Doherty on the telephone to quell the rumors was declined by the intermediary. Doherty and Larson dated for about a year and a half before she started going out with Clooney late last summer. Their cabana sighting was the hottest gossip on a night that included Hulk Hogan's estranged wife, Linda, showing up with a bleach-blond 19-year-old boy toy who was denied access to Moon nightclub. But the weirdest development of the night came when Palms officials and a rep for Nevada first lady Dawn Gibbons confirmed that she had arrived at the grand opening, only to have the story change Sunday. The first lady, who is in the middle of a nasty divorce with Gov. Jim Gibbons, changed her mind after appearing at an Asian-American function at Treasure Island. Her rep, who apologized for the miscommunication, said she called it a night amid concerns over a pregnant stepdaughter who went into contractions earlier in the day. GRABOWSKI GOES PUBLIC Veronica Grabowski, Miss Nevada USA 2008, is talking about her breakup with magician Criss Angel. Grabowski, in an interview Friday with KKWN-AM 1100, was asked by the "Afternoon Gridlock" sports-talk team of Pauly Howard, Mitch Moss and Seat Williams if she thought Angel's comments to a Miss USA preliminary judge hurt her chances. "I am going to have to say no comment," Grabowski said. Angel approached judge Sandy Mecca two days after she completed her judging duties and asked her to "give my girl high marks," Mecca said. Angel and Grabowski broke up shortly after the pageant in early April. She didn't go into why they split, only that the relationship was "very casual, no big deal. We still talk." None of my reports involving them were true, she said, specifically the story that Angel gave her jewelry after attending Elton John's concert with Pamela Anderson. "It wasn't 'makeup bling,'" she said. He gave her the jewelry a month before Angel and Anderson went out, she added. I had reported that she was showing off new earrings to Miss USA contestants the day Angel visited her during rehearsals, the same time reports circulated that he was seen dancing with Anderson.

Tuesday 6-03-08

Norm is taking Tuesdays off

Wednesday 6-04-08

La Toya, Jackie tell of family gig

La Toya and Jackie Jackson let the cat out of the bag during their red carpet appearance at Saturday's grand opening of Palms Place Hotel & Spa.

During an interview with the syndicated TV show "Extra," Jackie Jackson told Tanika Ray "we're putting something together with the whole family. It's coming soon."

Including Janet? Ray asked.

"Everybody," La Toya said.

Her brother added that family members have been in a recording studio working on a new CD.

"It's going to happen," said La Toya, who hedged when she was asked whether Las Vegas was involved. "I don't know about here in Vegas," she said.

However, La Toya was spotted Monday at Ago restaurant at the Hard Rock Hotel with Harrah's President Don Marrandino and KVBC-TV, Channel 3, entertainment reporter Alicia Jacobs.

STUD FARM: APPLY HERE

Heidi Fleiss has been besieged by e-mail requests from women inquiring when Heidi's Stud Farm will open and from men wanting to stud there.

The former Hollywood madam showed hundreds of messages, all new, to Review-Journal Fear and Loafing columnist Corey Levitan, whom she employed for the day as an attendant at Dirty Laundry, her Pahrump Laundromat.

"I would love to be a gigolo," read an e-mail from an Antonio in Italy.

"It doesn't matter whether a woman looks like Miss America or Miss Piggy," pleaded a man named Chris.

Fleiss read only the e-mails from men that included a photo, clicking on them to decide whether they're good-looking enough.

"I'll know exactly which ones to hire," she said. "I'll know what it takes."

Fleiss said she pays a woman in New York to regularly sift through the electronic deluge.

"If I had to do this all day, I'd hang myself," she said.

Fleiss is waiting for the political corruption case against Nye County brothel owner Maynard "Joe" Richards to go to trial in October before applying for her license from the Nye County Liquor and Licensing Board. (She may serve as a witness.)

"If you asked me, I would like to be open now," she said. "Why not?"

Meantime, "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" begins taping Monday at the Pasadena Recovery Center with Fleiss and Rodney King among the paid "rehabitants."

HOLD THE APPLAUSE

Kevin Federline returns Friday to host the evening at Privé nightclub, which is honoring him as Father of the Year.

Maybe we missed the epiphany. During a March hosting appearance at Pure, he was loudly booed and had the mic ripped away from him during a profanity-laden rap song while celebrating his 30th birthday.

So maybe we can work in some match-making magic here: Dina Lohan, mom to Hollywood train wreck Lindsay Lohan, was recently named Mother of the Year by a Long Island, N.Y., social networking organization named Mingling Moms.

The Scene And Heard

Michael Jackson, living in a guesthouse at Wayne Newton's estate? We checked the latest Jacko rumor with Newton's spokeswoman, Trish McCrone, who had a response at the ready: "He's not on the ranch, and he'd be hard to miss." ...

Paris Hilton is back in town again, too. She's hosting Friday at Tao and filming segments for her new reality show, "My New Best Friend." The after-party moves to the villas at The Mirage, with Jeff Beacher's "Madhouse" cast providing atmosphere…

The "X Burlesque" show has been extended through July 2009 at Flamingo Las Vegas.

Thursday 6-05-08

Jacko may still be eyeing Vegas deal

Michael Jackson's future was probably part of the dinner conversation Tuesday when he met with Thomas Barrack Jr., the man who rescued the singer's Neverland Ranch from public auction.

Barrack, chairman and CEO of Colony Capital LLC, dined with Jackson in the Las Vegas Hilton's Verona Sky Villa.

Barrack, a real estate magnate, recently paid $23.5 million for the 2,700-acre Neverland property. Jackson released a statement at the time indicating he was working with Barrack, who is a partner with Colony Resorts LVH Acquisitions LLC.

Jackson had defaulted on loan payments on the Santa Barbara County property.

Jackson, who recently met with Donald Trump associates at Trump International Hotel & Tower, has been scouting for a Vegas deal since arriving in late 2006.

The Scene And Heard

Paris Hilton will film her new reality show, "My New BFF," at the Tropicana on Sunday with six of the contestants, who will perform two dance routines with "Folies Bergere" cast members. The contestants will rehearse Saturday morning. ...

A sake-tasting fundraiser featuring 20 of Japan's top brewmasters and 150 premium sakes is being held tonight at the Palms to benefit the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute. ...

Wayne Newton has taped NBC's "Celebrity Family Feud," and it will air in early July. Newton's episode included Joan Rivers, Raven-Symone (from "That's So Raven") and Ice T, and their families. Newton's family consisted of wife Kathleen, daughter Erin Newton, mother-in-law Marilyn McCrone and sister-in-law Tricia McCrone.

Illusionist Steve Wyrick just signed a 13-episode reality show deal for a show that will be titled "Steve Wyrick: Tricky Bizness." It's a hush-hush deal, so we can't name the network just yet. But he said his recent appearance on the David Letterman show has provided a shot in the arm. "We're kicking butt at the theater," Wyrick said. Plus he's on "Celebracadabra," the VH1 show that features magicians coaching celebrities through magic tricks. ...

Kevin Federline's Father-of-the-Year hosting appearance at Privé nightclub (Planet Hollywood Resort) is next Friday, not this Friday.

Friday 6-06-08

Authors less than kind to Siegfried

Siegfried Fischbacher receives the lion's share of criticism in a new book by Siegfried & Roy's inner circle.

Fischbacher's temper led to several incidents, including a citizen's arrest by a camera girl, according to "The Secret Life of Siegfried & Roy."

Another time, he gave a black eye to cast member and friend Lynette Chappell.

The book is an as-told-to collaboration by the German illusionists' former security staffers, Jim Mydlach, the duo's chief of security for about 20 years, and his son, Louis, along with show consultant Jim Lavery. It was written by Henrietta Tiefenthaler.

The camera girl claimed Fischbacher became violent and shoved her to the floor.

Retired Metro officer John Hannon told Lavery he marched Fischbacher to the jail after the camera girl made the citizen's arrest in 1978. He spent the night in jail missing the second show.

Lavery said Chappell, his longtime girlfriend and "Evil Queen" in the show, admitted Fischbacher had hit her.

It's no secret Fischbacher struggled with painkillers and sought help, which is mentioned in the book.

During Roy Horn's early struggles after a tiger bit him Oct. 3, 2003, his longtime doctor quit in frustration after Fischbacher meddled with the prescribed medical regimen.

The book is a mix of revelations, along with hijinks (an elephant handler sharing beers with the show's lead pachyderm) and details of Horn's near-death experience, with heavy borrowing of material from local reporters.

The authors claim that the first time Horn "stood" on his own in public was a case of razzle dazzle.

When Siegfried & Roy showed up at the Stardust in August 2004 to see "Havana Night Club," which they had co-produced, Horn arrived in his wheelchair to huge applause and, after the show, performed "one of the most brilliant illusions he ever sold to an audience," the book says.

"In actuality, Louis Mydlach was standing close behind Roy, surreptitiously holding him up by his pants!"

The audience might have gone home with the impression that Horn had made a miraculous recovery 10 months after the tiger incident, but from my vantage point, it was clear he hadn't stood on his own. A day later, I reported that Horn "twice rose from his wheelchair, with help from friends."

'THE VIEW' LINEUP

The entertainment lineup for the June 23-25 taping of "The View" at Caesars Palace was announced Thursday, along with ticket information.

Joining Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Sherri Shepherd on Monday, June 23, at 8 a.m. (live) will be Jimmy Kimmel, who grew up in Las Vegas and whose Uncle Frank was a security guard at Caesars Palace; cast members of HBO's hit show "Entourage," Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara and Debi Mazur; and musical artist Rhianna.

On Tuesday, June 24, at 8 a.m. (live): performances by "American Idol" David Cook and first runner-up David Archuleta, Danny Gans and The Chippendales. At 10:30 a.m. (taped for broadcast on Thursday, June 26): comedian Wayne Brady, "The Hills" star Heidi Montag and "Jubilee!" showgirls.

On Wednesday, June 25, at 8 a.m. (live): Jessica Simpson and Rita Rudner. At 11 a.m. (taped for broadcast on Friday, June 27): Bette Midler and Lance Burton.

The show will be broadcast from a stage built atop the Caesars Palace front fountains.

Audience members must be 18 or older and must have a ticket. Ticket holders are asked to gather 90 minutes before the scheduled show start time in the Roman Plaza.

Audience tickets are free and available online at abc.com while seating remains available. Tickets will not be available at The Colosseum box office.

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