Archives
October 2006
10/31/06
10/30/06
10/29/06
Celeb Halloween Pics: Dennis Rodman, Tera Patrick, Criss Angel, Amazing Jonathan, Gene Simmons, More
10/27/06
10/26/06
10/26/06
10/25/06
10/24/06
10/23/06
10/22/06
10/20/06
10/19/06
10/19/06
10/18/06
10/18/06
10/17/06
10/17/06
Basketball Bonanza: the Lakers, the Kings, the Maloofs and a $6K Burger -- LUXE LIFE SPECIAL EDITION
10/16/06
10/16/06
10/15/06
10/13/06
10/12/06
10/11/06
10/11/06
10/10/06
10/9/06
10/9/06
10/9/06
10/8/06
10/6/06
10/5/06
10/5/06
10/4/06
10/4/06
10/3/06
10/3/06
Rita Rudner Returns; Siegfried & Roy Are Honored; Dennis Rodman Strips; Willa Ford Dances
10/2/06
10/2/06
10/1/06
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
In This Issue:Funny woman Rita Rudner talks about her
new show, her new book and her love of Vegas.
Siegfried
& Roy are honored with a star on the Walk of
Fame. Dennis Rodman dines at
Social House and then strips out of his pink camisole at
Tangerine. Willa Ford continues
to survive on 'Dancing with the
Stars.'
Comedienne Rita Rudner moved into her new Harrah's home last night, going from the 428-seat theater built for her at NYNY to the former Clint Holmes showroom that seats 530. (Insiders say it will be renamed the Sammy Davis Theater later this year) Rita is also celebrating her just-published book 'Turning the Tables,' completely set against the background of Vegas. It reveals the adventures of a female public relations executive working at a fictitious casino "Heaven." The book is a laugh-a-minute chronicle of the wild and wacky, the bizarre and the beautiful, and even some old-time “criminal element” controversy. The pages are packed with the good, the bad and the ugly: gamblers, strippers, conmen, swingers and magicians, Sounds just like home!! Rita has written three other books, including the semi-autobiographical novel 'Tickled Pink,' the best-selling 'Naked Beneath My Clothes' and 'Rita Rudner’s Guide to Men,' which continues to be quoted extensively around the world. I guarantee ‘Turning the Tables’ will be your raucous romp along the Strip and will have you chuckling over your casino chips and yelling “Hit Me Again.” As outrageous as the work of fiction is, you laugh knowing every word could possibly be true!!! As the New York Times recently said: "An anomaly in a city built on debauchery and topless women, Rita Rudner is one of the few female headliners to achieve success by keeping her clothes on.” She has been voted “Best Comedian in Las Vegas” for the last five years and the 2005 and 2006 “Favorite Female in Las Vegas” by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Currently, she and her husband of 18 years, Martin Bergman, are among the writers working on the musical 'Natural Woman,' based on the music of Carole King and Gerry Goffin. She originally moved to New York from Miami at 15 to study ballet and pursue a career as a dancer on Broadway. “I said, well, I can try to be the best dancer who ever lived, or I can try to go into a field that isn’t as crowded,” Rita commented about her transformation into comedy. “I discovered that I absolutely loved comedy, and I couldn’t get enough of it." Her big break came in February 1988 on Johnny Carson’s Tonight show and the rest, as they say, is history.
Shortly before the curtain went up on her premiere show last night I chatted with my friend:
RL: How do you feel having given up 5 years at New York, NY and moving up the Strip to Harrah's? What are the highlights? Is there a little melancholy and is it necessary to change venues in order to stay fresh?
RR: Well, I loved working at the New York, NY. It was a totally positive experience in every way. It was a very risky experience for my husband Martin and I, because we sold our house in LA and we moved to Vegas. We are very glad it worked out so well.
RL: Did you feel from the beginning that it was going to last for 5 years?
RR: Well, my contract was first with the MGM and that lasted for 7 months. I think it was for one year, two years and then three more years. But everything changes, and I think it is fun for me to be at a different part of the Strip now. And I always say it is nice to be in a bigger theater because it makes my hips look smaller, and I also like being close to the Forum shops. It is a win- win situation for me, but my husband is a little worried about the Forum shops.
RL: Does the act change at all because of the new place? Is there any reason for stage fright the first night when you get on stage?
RR: I am always adding new material, because I am always adding new jokes. I am playing new venues all the time, but I will become very comfortable once I have the feel of thetheater, the lighting and the sound. It doesn’t take long. It will probably take 5 minutes. There is no time for a light rehearsal, just the 6pm sound check.
RL: No nervous butterflies in the stomach?
RR: Not until right as the curtain goes up and I walk on stage. I think a performer always gets a little bit nervous. The nerves go away once you get on stage because it is a comfortable place to be.
Yours truly with Vegas' favorite funny woman Rita Rudner.
RL: What do you love about playing Vegas in comparison to LA or New York?
RR: Well, I love having the same gig every night, because you know what to expect and you have friends and the staff that I am going to be working with, it becomes like a little family. It is not like a show on the road where you are all together all the time and have all the same people. I love it because I don’t have to travel and be on the road. I get to work in the same place as I live. Some take that for granted, but performers don’t.
RL: So raising your 4-year-old daughter Molly and having a domestic life becomes quite normal?
RR: Oh yeah, I go to work at 7pm and I am home by 10pm.
RL: But during the daytime you have been busy writing?
RR: That sort of comes naturally. I have been writing my book, which is different, and I have to sit down and do what I am doing. But my act between going to the drycleaners and walking my dog I can jot things down as I think of them. It could be something that you hear; every joke comes at you from a different angle. So it could be a word something my child does or something else. I have to be very alert because it can come from any place.
RL: How is it possible for a female comedian to have a spot on the strip with an act that is clean and not “potty-mouthed?"
RR: I feel very fortunate. I am so glad it happened, but I find material appealing to fine, upstanding, hardworking people. Don’t you think that is the majority of people who come to Las Vegas?
RL: Yes, I think the image of our city is somewhat distorted outside of our city.
RR: It is. There is the young swingers side,where they go to nightclubs all the time and drink very expensive drinks, and dance on top of things. But, there is also a part of Vegas where people come for their anniversaries; theyhave been married 10-15 years, and the come to celebrate momentous occasions in their lives. They come to get away from work for a week and have fun and be able to stay out late. And eat breakfast at midnight. So I always concentrate on what is appealing to what I consider the majority of America.
RL: You do clean comedy but do you laugh at four-letter comedy?
RR: Yes, absolutely I do. My husband does four-letter comedy constantly. I love it, I think it is great, it just doesn’t sound right coming from me.
RL: Let’s talk about the book for a minute and the one dumb question I want to ask you is do you follow magic in any sense of the word?
RR: I was in a magic show on Broadway; I was a magician’s assistant It was during the time when I was a dancer.
RL: So, I got the sense as “the masked man” gets retribution at the end of the book that you had even talked with Copperfield or Penn and Teller about the magic?
RR: No. I used to work in that field and everything that I wrote about I either got from that experience, or I hypothesized. I can generally figure out things. But the tricks that I knew were the tricks that I did. There is always that joke where no one is allowed to tell you anything. But we never reveal how anything is done except for the elderly assistant when she has to bend down very slowly because she can’t and they have to stick the knife in at a certain pace.
RL: When did it come to you to give the title of this casino ‘Heaven’?
RR: I was just sitting there and I was thinking you know Russia, Holland, they are all gone what could you do? It’s the ultimate name. We just thought that Heaven would be a great casino name and from that all of the things that came from heaven would happen.
RL: Truth is that, as I read it, I laughed out loud because your fictional Vegas could become reality here.
RR: Exactly. I was talking to someone today and they said that they thought the Hello, Goodbye project in the book was actually a good idea for a casino to do here. Because everyone celebrates births andnowfunerals are trying to be made into a happy occasion. So, I think both ofthose things would be great money making opportunities for a Vegas hotel. I want a hospital wing and I was saying that I want a plastic surgery hotel too where people come downstairs and they gamble in their robes and their bandages.
RL: Well,there has been a lot of talk about plastic surgery hotels or hotels that would have cosmetic surgery. The Fantasy Island complex has also been kicked around as an idea to become a reality.
RR: Well I even heard the Titanic Hotel where it would sink every night!!
RL: Well now nothing would surprise us would it? What do you think of Vegas generally? Not as an entertainer, but as a mom and a wife?
RR: I have a different experience of Vegas than those people who come for three days, and you do too. You know it is a place where you have friends, there are restaurants. It is a small town, great restaurants, great spas, great golf courses, and great stores. We have all the amenities of a five-star city. I was just in New York doing things for the book and I was amazed at how many things from there we have here. I was like we have this is Las Vegas. It was hard to find something that wasn’t already in Las Vegas.
RL: Your book is just out and already on the bestseller list?
RR: Yeah, it has been out for 2 weeks and it is doing well though. It sold out its first printing. We are very happy about that. I have also been commissioned to write another book. I think that Vegas is a fun place to write about and a place that people are curious about. So, I don’t think many books are set against our city’s backdrop. There has been a lot of non-fiction written. It is a great place to have a backdrop for a romantic comedy. But my next book is an essay book. This will be my second book of essays. My first was called 'Naked Beneath My Clothes.' It is called 'I’ve Turned Filthy,' which is about life in your fifties. I can’t say I am fifty so the closest I can get is I am filthy.
RL: So congrats on your new contract with Harrah’s but you don’t have to be there every night?
RR: My contract is for a year, but I am only there for six months of the year and Wayne Newton is in there for six months of the year. I am doing 2 months, I am off for three months and then I do four months. So, we are rotating like that. Areally different schedule to the one I had at NY NY, And it's going to let me take a little time offnext year. I am going to do a very small amount of traveling, but I am going to spend time at home with my daughter and my husband. We have a new house over in Laguna that we also love escaping to for writing purposes and we’ll pop between Vegas and there.
(You can click here for Rita’s own guest Luxe Life column that she penned this summer while I was away in Italy)
WALK OF STARS
Sigfried & Roy will be honored today for their impact on entertainment in Vegas.
Siegfried & Roy’s unparalleled entertainment career and their role in revolutionizing Vegas entertainment will be honored today at 2pm with a star on the Walk of Fame in front of their statue at The Mirage, their home for more than 13 years. It's perfect timing, because Roy celebrates his 62nd birthday today too. Happy Birthday good sir! In total they’ve performed here for more than 3 decades and set box-office records that will probably never be equaled “Our passion and love affair with Las Vegas began the first day we arrived over 30 years ago,” Siegfried and Roy said. “The residents and visitors of what immediately became our hometown have allowed us to live our dreams and our fantasies. We have fulfilled our destiny of carrying on the traditions of magicians and magic.” Roy continues to make remarkable progress in his courageous battle against the injuries he received from the on-stage tiger attack that forced their long-running show to end. Incidentally, S&R are huge supporters of the vital role of police K-9 units and they’ll sponsor the 16th annual K-9 trials on Sunday Oct 15 at the Orleans Arena, and I’d like you to attend to boost the efforts of our Vegas Police officers who risk their lives to protect us.
STILL ALIVE
LEFT, RIGHT: Willa Ford with her dance partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy. CENTER: Vivica Fox in 'Jubilee!'
I’m unashamedly rooting for pop-singer model Willa Ford -- our favorite regular guest celebrity Pussycat Doll -- to win ‘Dancing with the Stars.' Last week she prevailed yet again when Harry Hamlin got booted from the show. But Willa admits she faces stiff competition from actress Vivica Fox, who got to dance her winning foxtrot with partner Nick Kosovich during the finale of 'Jubilee's' 25th anniversary show at Bally’s. ABC-TV camerastrailed her during her Vegas visit and the backstage preparations of sequins, rhinestones, makeup, red lipstick, eyelashes and the feathered head-dress will be shown on tonight’s nail-biting show. Vivica, known for her fancy footwork in 'Kill Bill,' won applause from the 'Jubilee!' showgirls, who said it looked like she’d been strutting and sashaying in the show for a quarter of a century. "She did ‘t even break one bead of perspiration," I was told.
OUT AND ABOUT
Dennis Rodman showing off his pink camisole during a recent visit to Tangerine.
Basketball’s badboy Dennis Rodman was so charged up on his first visit to the new Social House sushi restaurant, that he sat briefly to enjoy his unique shrimp and pork dish and then he was off walking around the restaurant drinking specialty cocktails at all 4-bars and with other diners who wanted his photo. After his stroll-along supper, he 3-pointed his way downstairs on the private staircase to the Tangerine nightclub, where he became the impromptu host of the evening. After several Jagermeister shots, he held nothing back and took over the burlesque show, dancing with a few of his own female guests. While doing his own burlesque number, Rodman took off his XS pink camisole -- YES that’s what he was wearing!!! -- and swirled it around his head making all the women in the club go crazy. Moving from dancing on the stage to the different go-go boxes, grabbing the microphone, pumping up the crowd and sitting on the drum set on stage dangerous decadent Dennis turned it into one more night to never forget!
LEFT: Comedian Tommy Davidson. MIDDLE: Actor Josh Radnor. RIGHT: Sacramento Kings' Kenny Thomas.
Mind freak illusionist Criss Angel turned up later to dine on Executive Chef Joseph Elevado’s specialties, in addition to celebrity star chef Michael Mina checking the culinary competition while watching the 'Sirens of T.I.' show, drinking Grey Goose Vodka and soda with his co-workers. (Michael opens his new Stripsteak restaurant at Mandalay Bay next week.) Criss was back for a 2nd consecutive night with bodybuilders fresh from the Mr. Olympia competition, including Melvin Anthony and Victor Martinez, Golden State Warriors guard Baron Davis, Playboy Playmate Raquel Gibson, swimsuit model CJ Gibson and ultimate Fighter Kevin Randleman. The newly crowned Mr. Olympia Vegas resident, Jay Cutler, ordered up a celebration combination of Kobe Burgers, Tuna Tataki and California rolls. Social House has quickly become the new must-be-seen, must-eat headliners’ hangout before hitting its PURE nightclub big brother. 'Inked' star and comedian Tommy Davidson arrived at PURE with two beautiful women. He was followed in by all-time most nominated Grammy artist record producer Quincy Jones plus Josh Radnor, star of the new hit TV show 'How I Met Your Mother,' and Sacramento Kings player Kenny Thomas out on the terrace overlooking the Strip.
STRIP SCRIBBLES
LEFT: Barry Manilow will return to Vegas Nov. 8. RIGHT: Toni Braxton at MGM's PLAY industry night.
Hilton headliner Barry Manilow, who recently underwent outpatient arthroscopic surgery to repair torn cartilage in both hips, will actually make his showbiz return with an appearance in Atlantic City on Saturday, October 14, the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Tuesday, Oct 17, and then he’ll doQVC home-shopping live on October 21, before heading hereto resume his Hilton concert dates November 8. His 'First & Foremost' DVD will be released Oct 31 and features black and white footage of his debut 1964 rehearsals and then jumps 30-years ahead to his last touring arena concert, the 2004 ‘farewell’ in Anaheim. It’s the same day as his new CD 'Greatest Songs of the 60’s' is also released. … My favorite first-lady of song, temptress Toni Braxton surprised her cast and crew partying at Studio 54’s PLAY industry night in MGM Grand, and then went on stage to tell the crazed-crowd how much she loved her hardworking Flamingo theater family. Tomorrow night, the cast of Chippendales strut their stuff at the PLAY party.
TONIGHT'S TIP
The 8 very sexy sassy showgirls who make up Fantasy at the Luxor will unveil their brand new 2007 calendar this evening, at a special show with a fan’s meet and greet afterwards. And just to whet your appetite in a Luxe Life exclusive, below you'll find some of that oh so hot and provocative year-round photo-romp! Both my pal, Cris Judd the choreographer, and producer Anita Mann, will be at the launch party with the gorgeous girls and their beautiful bodies. Singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins is the most recent star to check out the adult revue and meet the dancers backstage afterwards!
Scenes from the photo shoot for the Fantasy girls 2007 calendar, unveiled tonight.
TOMORROW'S TEASE
You'll see more sexy photos like this in tomorrow's Luxe Life, as we preview the new Playboy Club.
Hugh Hefner is coming to town this weekend to open the new Playboy Club, his first in 25-years, and Palms hotel honcho George Maloof gives Luxe Life the full advance sneak-peek photo tour -- complete with the brand new bunnies!
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Rita Rudner Returns; Siegfried & Roy Are Honored; Dennis Rodman Strips; Willa Ford Dances
In This Issue:
Comedienne Rita Rudner moved into her new Harrah's home last night, going from the 428-seat theater built for her at NYNY to the former Clint Holmes showroom that seats 530. (Insiders say it will be renamed the Sammy Davis Theater later this year) Rita is also celebrating her just-published book 'Turning the Tables,' completely set against the background of Vegas. It reveals the adventures of a female public relations executive working at a fictitious casino "Heaven." The book is a laugh-a-minute chronicle of the wild and wacky, the bizarre and the beautiful, and even some old-time “criminal element” controversy. The pages are packed with the good, the bad and the ugly: gamblers, strippers, conmen, swingers and magicians, Sounds just like home!! Rita has written three other books, including the semi-autobiographical novel 'Tickled Pink,' the best-selling 'Naked Beneath My Clothes' and 'Rita Rudner’s Guide to Men,' which continues to be quoted extensively around the world. I guarantee ‘Turning the Tables’ will be your raucous romp along the Strip and will have you chuckling over your casino chips and yelling “Hit Me Again.” As outrageous as the work of fiction is, you laugh knowing every word could possibly be true!!! As the New York Times recently said: "An anomaly in a city built on debauchery and topless women, Rita Rudner is one of the few female headliners to achieve success by keeping her clothes on.” She has been voted “Best Comedian in Las Vegas” for the last five years and the 2005 and 2006 “Favorite Female in Las Vegas” by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Currently, she and her husband of 18 years, Martin Bergman, are among the writers working on the musical 'Natural Woman,' based on the music of Carole King and Gerry Goffin. She originally moved to New York from Miami at 15 to study ballet and pursue a career as a dancer on Broadway. “I said, well, I can try to be the best dancer who ever lived, or I can try to go into a field that isn’t as crowded,” Rita commented about her transformation into comedy. “I discovered that I absolutely loved comedy, and I couldn’t get enough of it." Her big break came in February 1988 on Johnny Carson’s Tonight show and the rest, as they say, is history.
Shortly before the curtain went up on her premiere show last night I chatted with my friend:
RL: How do you feel having given up 5 years at New York, NY and moving up the Strip to Harrah's? What are the highlights? Is there a little melancholy and is it necessary to change venues in order to stay fresh?
RR: Well, I loved working at the New York, NY. It was a totally positive experience in every way. It was a very risky experience for my husband Martin and I, because we sold our house in LA and we moved to Vegas. We are very glad it worked out so well.
RL: Did you feel from the beginning that it was going to last for 5 years?
RR: Well, my contract was first with the MGM and that lasted for 7 months. I think it was for one year, two years and then three more years. But everything changes, and I think it is fun for me to be at a different part of the Strip now. And I always say it is nice to be in a bigger theater because it makes my hips look smaller, and I also like being close to the Forum shops. It is a win- win situation for me, but my husband is a little worried about the Forum shops.
RL: Does the act change at all because of the new place? Is there any reason for stage fright the first night when you get on stage?
RR: I am always adding new material, because I am always adding new jokes. I am playing new venues all the time, but I will become very comfortable once I have the feel of thetheater, the lighting and the sound. It doesn’t take long. It will probably take 5 minutes. There is no time for a light rehearsal, just the 6pm sound check.
RL: No nervous butterflies in the stomach?
RR: Not until right as the curtain goes up and I walk on stage. I think a performer always gets a little bit nervous. The nerves go away once you get on stage because it is a comfortable place to be.
Yours truly with Vegas' favorite funny woman Rita Rudner.
RL: What do you love about playing Vegas in comparison to LA or New York?
RR: Well, I love having the same gig every night, because you know what to expect and you have friends and the staff that I am going to be working with, it becomes like a little family. It is not like a show on the road where you are all together all the time and have all the same people. I love it because I don’t have to travel and be on the road. I get to work in the same place as I live. Some take that for granted, but performers don’t.
RL: So raising your 4-year-old daughter Molly and having a domestic life becomes quite normal?
RR: Oh yeah, I go to work at 7pm and I am home by 10pm.
RL: But during the daytime you have been busy writing?
RR: That sort of comes naturally. I have been writing my book, which is different, and I have to sit down and do what I am doing. But my act between going to the drycleaners and walking my dog I can jot things down as I think of them. It could be something that you hear; every joke comes at you from a different angle. So it could be a word something my child does or something else. I have to be very alert because it can come from any place.
RL: How is it possible for a female comedian to have a spot on the strip with an act that is clean and not “potty-mouthed?"
RR: I feel very fortunate. I am so glad it happened, but I find material appealing to fine, upstanding, hardworking people. Don’t you think that is the majority of people who come to Las Vegas?
RL: Yes, I think the image of our city is somewhat distorted outside of our city.
RR: It is. There is the young swingers side,where they go to nightclubs all the time and drink very expensive drinks, and dance on top of things. But, there is also a part of Vegas where people come for their anniversaries; theyhave been married 10-15 years, and the come to celebrate momentous occasions in their lives. They come to get away from work for a week and have fun and be able to stay out late. And eat breakfast at midnight. So I always concentrate on what is appealing to what I consider the majority of America.
RL: You do clean comedy but do you laugh at four-letter comedy?
RR: Yes, absolutely I do. My husband does four-letter comedy constantly. I love it, I think it is great, it just doesn’t sound right coming from me.
RL: Let’s talk about the book for a minute and the one dumb question I want to ask you is do you follow magic in any sense of the word?
RR: I was in a magic show on Broadway; I was a magician’s assistant It was during the time when I was a dancer.
RL: So, I got the sense as “the masked man” gets retribution at the end of the book that you had even talked with Copperfield or Penn and Teller about the magic?
RR: No. I used to work in that field and everything that I wrote about I either got from that experience, or I hypothesized. I can generally figure out things. But the tricks that I knew were the tricks that I did. There is always that joke where no one is allowed to tell you anything. But we never reveal how anything is done except for the elderly assistant when she has to bend down very slowly because she can’t and they have to stick the knife in at a certain pace.
RL: When did it come to you to give the title of this casino ‘Heaven’?
RR: I was just sitting there and I was thinking you know Russia, Holland, they are all gone what could you do? It’s the ultimate name. We just thought that Heaven would be a great casino name and from that all of the things that came from heaven would happen.
RL: Truth is that, as I read it, I laughed out loud because your fictional Vegas could become reality here.
RR: Exactly. I was talking to someone today and they said that they thought the Hello, Goodbye project in the book was actually a good idea for a casino to do here. Because everyone celebrates births andnowfunerals are trying to be made into a happy occasion. So, I think both ofthose things would be great money making opportunities for a Vegas hotel. I want a hospital wing and I was saying that I want a plastic surgery hotel too where people come downstairs and they gamble in their robes and their bandages.
RL: Well,there has been a lot of talk about plastic surgery hotels or hotels that would have cosmetic surgery. The Fantasy Island complex has also been kicked around as an idea to become a reality.
RR: Well I even heard the Titanic Hotel where it would sink every night!!
RL: Well now nothing would surprise us would it? What do you think of Vegas generally? Not as an entertainer, but as a mom and a wife?
RR: I have a different experience of Vegas than those people who come for three days, and you do too. You know it is a place where you have friends, there are restaurants. It is a small town, great restaurants, great spas, great golf courses, and great stores. We have all the amenities of a five-star city. I was just in New York doing things for the book and I was amazed at how many things from there we have here. I was like we have this is Las Vegas. It was hard to find something that wasn’t already in Las Vegas.
RL: Your book is just out and already on the bestseller list?
RR: Yeah, it has been out for 2 weeks and it is doing well though. It sold out its first printing. We are very happy about that. I have also been commissioned to write another book. I think that Vegas is a fun place to write about and a place that people are curious about. So, I don’t think many books are set against our city’s backdrop. There has been a lot of non-fiction written. It is a great place to have a backdrop for a romantic comedy. But my next book is an essay book. This will be my second book of essays. My first was called 'Naked Beneath My Clothes.' It is called 'I’ve Turned Filthy,' which is about life in your fifties. I can’t say I am fifty so the closest I can get is I am filthy.
RL: So congrats on your new contract with Harrah’s but you don’t have to be there every night?
RR: My contract is for a year, but I am only there for six months of the year and Wayne Newton is in there for six months of the year. I am doing 2 months, I am off for three months and then I do four months. So, we are rotating like that. Areally different schedule to the one I had at NY NY, And it's going to let me take a little time offnext year. I am going to do a very small amount of traveling, but I am going to spend time at home with my daughter and my husband. We have a new house over in Laguna that we also love escaping to for writing purposes and we’ll pop between Vegas and there.
(You can click here for Rita’s own guest Luxe Life column that she penned this summer while I was away in Italy)
WALK OF STARS
Sigfried & Roy will be honored today for their impact on entertainment in Vegas.
Siegfried & Roy’s unparalleled entertainment career and their role in revolutionizing Vegas entertainment will be honored today at 2pm with a star on the Walk of Fame in front of their statue at The Mirage, their home for more than 13 years. It's perfect timing, because Roy celebrates his 62nd birthday today too. Happy Birthday good sir! In total they’ve performed here for more than 3 decades and set box-office records that will probably never be equaled “Our passion and love affair with Las Vegas began the first day we arrived over 30 years ago,” Siegfried and Roy said. “The residents and visitors of what immediately became our hometown have allowed us to live our dreams and our fantasies. We have fulfilled our destiny of carrying on the traditions of magicians and magic.” Roy continues to make remarkable progress in his courageous battle against the injuries he received from the on-stage tiger attack that forced their long-running show to end. Incidentally, S&R are huge supporters of the vital role of police K-9 units and they’ll sponsor the 16th annual K-9 trials on Sunday Oct 15 at the Orleans Arena, and I’d like you to attend to boost the efforts of our Vegas Police officers who risk their lives to protect us.
STILL ALIVE
LEFT, RIGHT: Willa Ford with her dance partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy. CENTER: Vivica Fox in 'Jubilee!'
I’m unashamedly rooting for pop-singer model Willa Ford -- our favorite regular guest celebrity Pussycat Doll -- to win ‘Dancing with the Stars.' Last week she prevailed yet again when Harry Hamlin got booted from the show. But Willa admits she faces stiff competition from actress Vivica Fox, who got to dance her winning foxtrot with partner Nick Kosovich during the finale of 'Jubilee's' 25th anniversary show at Bally’s. ABC-TV camerastrailed her during her Vegas visit and the backstage preparations of sequins, rhinestones, makeup, red lipstick, eyelashes and the feathered head-dress will be shown on tonight’s nail-biting show. Vivica, known for her fancy footwork in 'Kill Bill,' won applause from the 'Jubilee!' showgirls, who said it looked like she’d been strutting and sashaying in the show for a quarter of a century. "She did ‘t even break one bead of perspiration," I was told.
OUT AND ABOUT
Dennis Rodman showing off his pink camisole during a recent visit to Tangerine.
Basketball’s badboy Dennis Rodman was so charged up on his first visit to the new Social House sushi restaurant, that he sat briefly to enjoy his unique shrimp and pork dish and then he was off walking around the restaurant drinking specialty cocktails at all 4-bars and with other diners who wanted his photo. After his stroll-along supper, he 3-pointed his way downstairs on the private staircase to the Tangerine nightclub, where he became the impromptu host of the evening. After several Jagermeister shots, he held nothing back and took over the burlesque show, dancing with a few of his own female guests. While doing his own burlesque number, Rodman took off his XS pink camisole -- YES that’s what he was wearing!!! -- and swirled it around his head making all the women in the club go crazy. Moving from dancing on the stage to the different go-go boxes, grabbing the microphone, pumping up the crowd and sitting on the drum set on stage dangerous decadent Dennis turned it into one more night to never forget!
LEFT: Comedian Tommy Davidson. MIDDLE: Actor Josh Radnor. RIGHT: Sacramento Kings' Kenny Thomas.
Mind freak illusionist Criss Angel turned up later to dine on Executive Chef Joseph Elevado’s specialties, in addition to celebrity star chef Michael Mina checking the culinary competition while watching the 'Sirens of T.I.' show, drinking Grey Goose Vodka and soda with his co-workers. (Michael opens his new Stripsteak restaurant at Mandalay Bay next week.) Criss was back for a 2nd consecutive night with bodybuilders fresh from the Mr. Olympia competition, including Melvin Anthony and Victor Martinez, Golden State Warriors guard Baron Davis, Playboy Playmate Raquel Gibson, swimsuit model CJ Gibson and ultimate Fighter Kevin Randleman. The newly crowned Mr. Olympia Vegas resident, Jay Cutler, ordered up a celebration combination of Kobe Burgers, Tuna Tataki and California rolls. Social House has quickly become the new must-be-seen, must-eat headliners’ hangout before hitting its PURE nightclub big brother. 'Inked' star and comedian Tommy Davidson arrived at PURE with two beautiful women. He was followed in by all-time most nominated Grammy artist record producer Quincy Jones plus Josh Radnor, star of the new hit TV show 'How I Met Your Mother,' and Sacramento Kings player Kenny Thomas out on the terrace overlooking the Strip.
STRIP SCRIBBLES
LEFT: Barry Manilow will return to Vegas Nov. 8. RIGHT: Toni Braxton at MGM's PLAY industry night.
Hilton headliner Barry Manilow, who recently underwent outpatient arthroscopic surgery to repair torn cartilage in both hips, will actually make his showbiz return with an appearance in Atlantic City on Saturday, October 14, the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Tuesday, Oct 17, and then he’ll doQVC home-shopping live on October 21, before heading hereto resume his Hilton concert dates November 8. His 'First & Foremost' DVD will be released Oct 31 and features black and white footage of his debut 1964 rehearsals and then jumps 30-years ahead to his last touring arena concert, the 2004 ‘farewell’ in Anaheim. It’s the same day as his new CD 'Greatest Songs of the 60’s' is also released. … My favorite first-lady of song, temptress Toni Braxton surprised her cast and crew partying at Studio 54’s PLAY industry night in MGM Grand, and then went on stage to tell the crazed-crowd how much she loved her hardworking Flamingo theater family. Tomorrow night, the cast of Chippendales strut their stuff at the PLAY party.
TONIGHT'S TIP
The 8 very sexy sassy showgirls who make up Fantasy at the Luxor will unveil their brand new 2007 calendar this evening, at a special show with a fan’s meet and greet afterwards. And just to whet your appetite in a Luxe Life exclusive, below you'll find some of that oh so hot and provocative year-round photo-romp! Both my pal, Cris Judd the choreographer, and producer Anita Mann, will be at the launch party with the gorgeous girls and their beautiful bodies. Singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins is the most recent star to check out the adult revue and meet the dancers backstage afterwards!
Scenes from the photo shoot for the Fantasy girls 2007 calendar, unveiled tonight.
TOMORROW'S TEASE
You'll see more sexy photos like this in tomorrow's Luxe Life, as we preview the new Playboy Club.
Hugh Hefner is coming to town this weekend to open the new Playboy Club, his first in 25-years, and Palms hotel honcho George Maloof gives Luxe Life the full advance sneak-peek photo tour -- complete with the brand new bunnies!
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