Celebrity Gossip From Las Vegas With Robin Leach | Luxe Life Digest

Now, one of the most awe-inspiring elements of annual awards shows like the Oscars and Golden Globes is just seeing so many celebrities in one place. But other annual events--though not as televised or publicized--bring an almost equal number of the fabulous and famous into one place at one time. The annual gargantuan Consumer Electronics Show here in Vegas, for example, is practically Celebrity Gridlock! As the elec-tech industry unveils all of its new gadgets and supersized TVs, competing companies hired the stars to lure the customers -- and in a fish-out-of-water scenario, the glitzy VIPs often wind up in some unscripted awkward moments.This year's bigger-than-ever event, which just wrapped yesterday (click here for more AOL coverage), provided prime examples:

Mega-star Tom Cruise (gearing up for his 3rd 'Mission Impossible,' coming May 5) wasn't looking too happy with pregnant fiancee Katie Holmes when he had to leap on stage during a TV demo that went wrong. One observer told me: "Those two are decidedly chilly. There have been rumors that maybe their wedding is "on hold" because Kate's dad had quite a battle with Tom over the recent holidays. Katie even looked a tad bewildered,
even frightened, and hardly spoke to anybody. Tom, of course, was over the top smiling, animated, effusive at anybody and everybody who watched them. But those public make-out sessions they love weren't so evident this time. Yeah, they held hands, but it was like ... not so natural." The couple were Steve Wynn's guests at his SW Steakhouse at the Wynn, where they watched the unique music-light show in the "Lake of Dreams." Also dining at the restaurant were Tom Hanks and Danny DeVito...

Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates looked horrified on stage during his presentation, when pop star Justin Timberlake jumped on stage to teach him some dance moves, during the launch of his new on-line service with MTV to be known as URGE. Despite Justin's urging for Bill to swing, shake and shuffle, the shy mogul stayed put. Justin (certainly no stranger to embarassing stage partners!) later turned up with gal-pal Cameron Diaz for a CES industry dinner at Piero's...

And what is happening to Nicole Richie? We know her MTV show with Paris Hilton has been axed. We know her engagement to Vegas club king DJ AM has been cancelled. But while visiting a duplicate of her bedroom, used to
demonstrate wi-fi technology for one exhibitor, she was such a shadow of her former self (reprotedly weighing less than 100 lbs.) that concerned people wanted to buy her food!

At another faux-home--a duplicate of Ellen DeGeneres' living room for No Walls--the talk show hostess and her gal-pal, actress Portia de Rossi ('Ally McBeal,' 'Arrested Development')were so bold and brazen about their intimate relationship that even some fans were surprised about just how open they are living together (was that meant as part of the presentation theme?) ...

Music groups galore picked up over $1-million altogether in bonus paychecks for their competing gigs: Stevie Wonder did a private dealer show for
Monster Cable; Bill Gates hired Vegas boys The Killers for a private show inside PURE nightclub at Caesars (Virgin legend Sir Richard Branson was in the house); Tom Arnold, Kevin Bacon and Morgan Freeman rocked together when the Black Eyed Peas played for Intel execs at the Empire Ballroom; and Kate Hudson's hirsute hubby Chris Robinson and his Black Crowes (above) performed a private 10 song set at Studio 54 in MGM for AMD (Dreamworks honcho Jeffrey Katzenberg was there). It doesn't stop there: Green Day was in for Verizon -- GooGoo Dolls sang at Samsung's supper -- members of Maroon 5 and Good Charlotte joined 'Pimp My Ride's Xzbit at his appearance. And Alice Cooper hopped over from his Phoenix home to do an autograph signing at the XM Satellite Radio booth's meet & greet.

Also in for XM were baseball's Cal Ripken Jr. and NY Yankee Derek Jeter (Derek was all over Vegas in fact, with new galpal Cassia Riley, 2006 Penthouse Pet of the Year runner-up!). Other sports stars who picked up paychecks in the battle to draw buyers for new products included NASCAR'S Kyle Busch, NFL superstars Troy Aikman, Boomer Esiason, Steve Young and Olympic gold medalists Picabo Street, Dan Jensen and Bonnie Blair. Dan Marino, the NFL Hall of Fame quarterback also swung by after checking out his two new restaurant projects(Fine Food & Spiritsand 13 Martini) that will open inside the new Hooters hotel come February 3.

How's this for an interesting same-table grouping at Body English in the Hard Rock Hotel?  The sexy Pussycat Dolls (LA team) sizzling alongside Richard Branson, porn royalty Jenna Jameson and Larry Flynt, and diamond rivals David Ortiz (Boston Red Sox) and Jason Giambi (NY Yankees)?

Amid the celeb and tech-exec overload, I made one of the worst mistakes of my life during CES. At the SONY cocktail reception ,which my friend Sir Howard Stringer had graciously invited me to, I mistook CBS TV honcho Les Moonves for Dell computer chief Michael Dell! Laughed Les: "I just wish I had his money!" As worldwide chairman of the Japanese electronics giant, Sir Howard (a British compatriot and fellow Elaine's restaurant diner of past years in NY) told me he now commutes from his London and NYC bases for two weeks a month in Tokyo. On the entertainment front, he informed that he's ordered his hit game shows 'Wheel of Fortune' and 'Jeopardy' to be shot in HD as of next season, to meet growing demand of HD TV sales. And on the tech side, he raved about the sales success of the new SONY HD handheld cameras that everybody's put at the top of their shopping lists!

The Consumer Electronics show is the world's #1 consumer technology trade show and attracts almost 150,000 people including 4,500 media (that's double the amount who covered the Tour de France) from every country in the world. The exhibit space was equivalent to 28 football fields with almost 100,000 yards of new carpet laid  (enough to cover the new Vegas Marathon route twice). The $113 billion industry has the average American household buying $1250 worth of electronics every year.

Once again, Vegas proved the perfect place to unveil new breakthroughs for the future. This time it was all about new HD TV's that will play everything from video to photos wirelessly from your home computers or flat-panel TV sets with built in video recorders. It's a gargantuan gourmet for geeks! New video products will enable consumers to even download full-length movies to personal computers or credit card-sized viewers.

And just when you thought you'd seen the biggest and the best, with the
world's largest plasma TV screen currently measuring a whopping 102" diagonally, along came Matsushita/Panasonic's 103" version to top that! (it's one more, innit?) You just know it will be even more mind blowing, with smaller products, more storage, and even more ways to access programming by next year!

Two personal notes before we close today's Journal: please watch my friend Mystic Mona, my favorite Vegas psychic tonight (Tues. Jan. 10) on the Biography Channel's "Dead Famous" program. Mona filmed at the historic Pioneer Saloon in Goodsprings, Nevada, known as the spot where Clark Gable received the tragic news of his great love Carole Lombard. Mona shares her secrets from the vibrations of energy she channeled...  I was saddened by the death from cancer of good friend Lou Rawls this past weekend. I loved his voice and his songs, and he shared a great long-term friendship with my Lifestyles/Star Search partner Al Masini. Lou was truly a fine, loyal gentleman. He may have started as a shoeshine boy in Chicago, but he  gave back generously to his community charities as he became ever more successful through the years. He will be missed -- and his shows in that great theater in the heavens will as usual be sell-outs!


Tomorrow, we'll hook up with Mark Wahlberg for his charity golf tournament and whisper the word about his 2nd baby. Then Thursday you really won't want to miss as we're taking a very special shopping spree with Paris Hilton. Seems she needs lacy lingerie, unmentionable undies and naughty negligees for her new music video filming later this week in LA. Our pal, celebrity photographer Scott M Doctor went exclusively along for her sexy spree and you'll see it here only at AOL CityGuide Las Vegas, for a wild weekend!