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

It's been said that "the rich are different." But not according to the people who regulate alcohol in Las Vegas. The ever-watchful Clark County Business Licensing commissioners have issued warnings to megahot nightclubs Body English at Hard Rock and TAO at Venetian, specifically related to permitting 19-year-old Greek tycoon Stavros Niarchos to enter the 21-and-over establishments with galpal Paris Hilton (then 24) on New Year's Eve (at left, Stavros brooding at TAO over a "ginger ale"). Body English, insiders might recall, successfully booted Britney Spears out two years ago when she was underage, but this time the Hard Rock was forced to fire a security guard and suspend a doorman there for the Niarchos incident. (click here for our first Stavros story; click here for our full New Year's Eve report) At Tao, Niarchos was in the restaurant section, but the commission claims it effectively became a "nightclub environment" after midnight, when tables and chairs were removed and a DJ began playing dance music (that's Paris and Stavros behind the scenes that eve at right). The commissioners did not cite them due to their cooperation with investigations, but those precious liquor/gaming licenses can be yanked if there are repeated violations. They seem to be cooperating: Licence Enforcement officers passed out photos of Niarchos to keep him from entering Paris' recent PURE birthday celebration (click here for our story) -- though PURE was the one club that also refused entry to Niarchos back on NYE. Now it would appear the lad's got a near 2 year wait ahead of him before he’s ever back in a Vegas nightspot again. Though personally, I've witnessed more snogging than swizzling on Stavros' part (see photos from left down at Beachers, TAO, and Beachers again), but rules are rules. A permit to sell liquor is certainly something you don't want to lose in Vegas...

BAR WARS: Meanwhile, the astounding success of Tao, Body English and other ultra-clubs has attracted an out-of-town megaclub to do battle in what is already described by some as "a war zone." PURE, TAO and Tryst at WYNN continually battle for the #1,2 and 3 spots -- with Light, Jet, Tangerine, Rain and Body English right behind. Now comes word that Rain will undergo a massive makeover when The Palms opens its brand-new Playboy Club in the new Fantasy Tower. Then famed NYC club Crobar will take over the Cabaret Theater on June 10th after Rita Rudner celebrates her 5th anniversary (and 600,000 show-goers) on April 20 at New York-New York. The original NYC nightclub is so successful it's opened branches in Miami and Chicago already. Crobar's got a reputation for being one of Manhattan’s top very latenight celebrity draws with its barely-lit atmosphere and wild music marathons.

SCOOPS: June 24 is set in stone as the premiere for 'Phantom of the Opera' at The Venetian ... Insiders have been hinting at a special surprise in the new Cirque-Beatles Yellow Submarine show planned for the former Siegfried & Roy showroom at the Mirage. Also debuting in June, the show will feature giant puppet versions of John, Paul, George and Ringo! (the resort's gift shop is already selling Beatles gear in advance of its arrival) ...

Every year about this time we all hold our collective breaths wondering what musical superstar Tiger Woods will pull out of his golf bag for his annual Tiger Jam charity. Well, breathe easy, because superstar Sting will be the April 29 headliner for the 9th annual Mandalay Bay event. Expect a huge star turnout to help Tiger raise funds for underprivileged Vegas children...

For a man who says he's on a year hiatus from performing and calls Atlanta home, superstar Usher is sure spending a lot of time in Vegas these days. Now on his fourth visit in as many weeks, he’s been taking in a slew of our productions, including Steve Wynn’s 'Le Reve,' Cirque du Soleil shows 'O' and 'Mystere,' and this weekend, 'KA' in the MGM Grand. My fellow gossip guru Norm Clark of the Review-Journal says, "Usher may be up to something. He met with former president of Disney worldwide theatrical marketing Bob Levin, who is now worldwide marketing president at MGM." My friends tell me Usher has also been dining all over town, settling on Sushi Roku at Caesars as his favorite, with its breathtaking views of the Strip.

BRING IN THE CLOWNS: Our city attracts all kinds, but the most interesting group in recent days has been the 100 registrants of the Great Clown Adventure convention, held for the fourth year at Circus Circus. They were here to improve their skills in make-up, costumes and comedy routines. There’s a 120-ft clown marquee at the resort hotel, so it was appropriate they would pose for this "clowning around" souvenir...

A more normal convention arrives when ShoWest kicks off March 12 at Paris and Bally's. It’s the largest annual convention for the worldwide motion picture industry with more than 10,000 folks attending from 50 different countries, including, no doubt, the typical array of A+ list Hollywood celebs. I can already let you in on one major secret: Former 'American Idol' competitor (she wound up in the final 12) Jennifer Hudson (right) will be named as "Female Star of Tomorrow" when her feature movie debut 'Dreamgirls' is unveiled at the convention -- just about the same time as her debut album hits the airwaves. Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy and Jamie Foxx also star in the long-awaited movie musical, about The Dreamettes struggling for success in the '70s...

Which might just be the case for our local rock group The Killers. Now in residence at The Palms recording their first album since hit 'Hot Fuss' in the resort's state-of-the-art studio, they've just been hit with a $16 million lawsuit by their former manager Braden Merrick. He claims he was fired last May when they became successful after years of struggling. The band answered back saying his claims were "absolutely without merit" and they will "fight the lawsuit vigorously..."

Tomorrow, action-man Chuck Norris rolls the dice on a new fighting league. You can keep us on our feet by emailing robinsvegas@aol.com, and we can keep youon your feetafter you click here or on the 'Alert Me' tab up top, which will add you to our email alert list, advising you the instant our new daily LuxeLife Journal is posted.

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