BREAKING NEWS: Our favorite Party Heiress, Paris Hilton almost "came a cropper" (as we say) or "bit the dust" (as you say) while partying with the TAO posse at Sundance! Yes, the infamous indie film festival is so hot this year that TAO Las Vegas brought some of their magic from the Venetian to the somewhat less glamorous Harry O's on Park City, Utah's Main Street for a special event. And of course they had to bring their star patron along (here's a couple outtakes from New Year's Eve at our TAO, just to give you the flavor)! First Paris entertained crowds in the TAO outpost by grinding on a speaker to the rhythms -- but she wound up in the nearby 'W' Lounge, where Vegas nightclub queen and 'Circuit' creator Xenia Woodman reported: "She gave everyone a scare when she nearly fell over the two story balcony."

Others told me it was so dangerous that if Paris hadn't been pulled back a split second, she would have fallen 25 ft to the hard ice-and-packed snow ground below. Paris has proved with her antics here that you just never know what the wild child will do next. But we can report that, unsettled and unmoved from the near-tragedy, she is officially relocating to our desert kingdom, buying a condo at the new W Hotel complex being planned just off the Strip on East Harmon (where the ubercool Ice nightclub now stands). The W Residences are being built as part of the Edge Resort, and honcho Adam Frank presented Paris with a $10,000 poker chip in a white-velvet lined case -- which she promptly turned into a "down payment" on a condo there! (She did keep the monogrammed W bathrobe and the I W LV" ringtoner phone). Ms. Hilton certainly spends enough time here in Vegas visiting nightclubs and hotels (almost weekly for the past few months) -- she might as well call it home!

And now for something completely different (our regularly scheduled blog!):
Without a doubt, Eric Idle's 'Spamalot' musical on Broadway is the funniest and most entertaining show I have ever seen. If you go see it ten times, you'll still be laughing at its madcap melodies, merry-making mischievous music, sarcastic spoofs and send-ups. It is nonstop laughter from the moment the curtain rises until the five-minute standing ovation finale, where everybody in the theater sang along with the cast's closing number. I had made a jetspeed journey this past weekend to check it out at the Schubert Theater on the Great White Way.

Back here, hotel mogul Steve Wynn confirmed for me last night (in an exclusive interview during the reopening of his Corsa restaurant): "'Spamalot' will open in its own brand new built theater at the WYNN resort hotel next February." That's 2007--so make a note in December of your new 2006 calendar to get tix... (and keep your eyes here for more coming up from our interview with Wynn --celebrating above left with Corsa chef Stephen Kalt and Ave. Q friends -- talking candidly about the changes he ordered for 'La Reve,' 'Avenue Q,' La Bete -- now Tryst -- and Corsa. He's a maestro who doesn't rest until pertfection is attained, and isn't scared of changes, shut downs, re-opens until he gets it 100% right. Quite amazing!)

Funnily enough, Vegas already has a nice couple of pleasing plugs in the production: there's the quickie wedding chapel, the roulette spinning Camelot casino, plus the now-immortal spin-off line "What happens when we get to Vegas hasn't even happened yet" -- or was it "What happens in Spamalot Stays in Spamalot?" In advance of the zany zoo hitting our desert hotspot, the cast already gets in a couple of priceless potshots against 'Cirque du Soleil' and the 'Phantom of the Opera.' But I'll not spoil the surprise, you'll have to discover it for yourself!

Fabulously funny, cunningly creative and unbelievably unique, 'Spamalot,' I am confident, will be a massive jackpot Vegas hit. Writer and lyricist Eric Idle, though, isn't as certain as I am. When Idle (right) initially told me about plans to bring the Broadway sensation Wynn's new hotel, the Monty Python creator admitted: "It's a very big gamble to see if a Broadway musical will work in this city. We don't know yet if it will be a success or a failure." Eric should be more assured, considering what people once said about the Pythons: "They told us that Python would never work in America! But I think its success was because the writers were the actual performers, and there was always that edge of a little bit vulgar and a little bit vicious."

A few days ago we joked about snow in Vegas, but tonight I can promise you it will be here. I'm no weatherman, I just happen to know that for the 3rd Annual Rail Jam at the Hard Rock, they've set up a artificial mountain of snow in the resort's parking lot! 20 of the world's top riders will be competing head to head, and with a $10,000 grand prize at stake, be assured of cut-throat competition. You are invited free of charge -- and there's an afterparty in the Body English nightclub for competitors and fans alike -- provided no one's broken any bones on the hill...

Barry Manilow's show at the Hilton is still dark until next month, but he is one busy man none the less. His diary is packed solid in a Manilow media frenzy, all to promote the January 31 release of his new CD 'The Greatest Songs of the '50s,' for which he recorded a March PBS special right here at the Hilton. Saturday (Jan. 21) he and my friend, record mogul Clive Davis wound up on the QVC shopping channel -- tomorrow (Jan. 26), his A&E Biography airs as well as his interview on Good Morning America, and then Friday he returns to perform on GMA. Remember Manilow co-wrote the theme song to 'American Bandstand,' so he's always had a soft spot for the era...

I'm feeling just as busy, spending the day at the media-manic Mandalay Bay, where 10,000 TV programming execs, stars and producers are all huddled in a bizarre bazaar, selling old and new television shows amongst themselves. I say 'bazaar' because it reminds me of a carpet market in a far foreign land where people haggle over length, color and quantity -- but never quality!  It's our annual National Association of Television Program Executives convention, and with Hollywood producer Passport International, we're launching a new weekly half-hour show titled 'Action Vegas' -- think of it as a once-a-week ET, but everything in and about Sin City. I'll have the 'Andy Rooney' role (if you will), adding wryobservations on sinners and saints as we unlock the golden gates to put you on the right side of the rope, plus the very best celebrity interviews and deep-dish gossip. At present, the show -- hosted by glamour girl Brande Williams -- is a pilot, but if all goes well, you'll find it on your local station in September, and we'll start pre-production in June. By the way, if you're visiting the convention, AOL has conveniently provided a comfortable internet lounge where you can log on for your AOL or AIM email, and all your regular AOL features, of course including our AOL Vegas pages, All Access and Counter Intelligence videos, and the latest Luxe Life Journal from valiant Vegas!

Tomorrow, join me again as we party hearty to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Entertainment Tonight (yes, I was there at the birth) here at the Mandalay Bay... Meantime, please click 'Alert Me' up top, so we can pop the latest report from Vegas into your in box faster than we ever imagined back in ET's early '80s days. Go ahead and send a pithy pearl or even extended email to robinsvegas@aol.com too!