SHOOTING STARS: Travel Channel peeks inside Vegas bathrooms

For those counting the days until "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" returns to Las Vegas, keep counting.

The top-rated CBS drama was expected here this week to shoot scenes for the first two episodes of its third season.

But "location issues" have prompted a postponement, reports Kim Houser, "CSI's" Las Vegas-based location coordinator. One of the complications: a concert this week at the Palms' Rain in the Desert nightclub, one of the designated settings for "CSI," as reported in last week's Shooting Stars.

"Since it was the first episode of the season, it wasn't a problem to push a week," Houser explains of the location visit.

Tune in again next week for more "CSI" updates.

This week, yet another Travel Channel documentary visits Las Vegas, focusing on a restful subject indeed: "Las Vegas' Top 10 Bathrooms."

The hourlong special, produced by Southern California-based Van Ness Films, will explore a wide variety of Las Vegas lavatories, from gas station outposts to high-roller retreats.

"Last year, our company did a show on best bathrooms of the world, and people just loved it," according to M. Scott Martin, the show's executive producer. (The world's No. 1 bathroom? An all-gold "Midas Flush" in a Hong Kong jewelry store that visitors pay $200 to use, Martin notes.)

For the follow-up, airing in 2003, producers opted for a Sin City spin, where visitors can find plush flush facilities as well as unique retreats.

A countdown-style ranking won't be determined until after the taping, when Travel Channel officials and bathroom experts can check out the footage and judge the results.

But the show's scheduled stops have been set.

And the winners are ...

Liberace's villa, where Mr. Showmanship once greeted TV viewers from a tub full of bubbles. Complete with a chandelier and fountain, "it's Las Vegas history," Martin says of the bathroom suite. "You can't pass that one up."

Mandalay Bay's rumjungle gets a look in part because of its unusual unisex lounge, where "men and women mix," Martin says. "It's the cruisiest bathroom in town."

The Main Street Station's men's room -- complete with a piece of the Berlin Wall -- earns the "best historic bathroom" designation, while Caesars Magical Empire scares up a "best haunted bathroom" nod with its catacomblike setting and ghostly images appearing in the mirrors.

The Hilton's SpaceQuest casino wins the "best themed bathroom" competition with its high-tech "Star Trek" look, Martin notes, while the Rio claims the "best high-roller bathroom" title, thanks to a luxurious penthouse suite's panoramic Strip view, bathroom butler service and other amenities. And, just across Flamingo Road, the Palms boasts the "most secretive bathroom" in a suite where the bathroom jacuzzi is concealed directly behind the bedroom headboard.

The Viva Las Vegas Villa's Gothic suite makes the cut with its Dracula-like atmosphere, right down to the coffin-shaped bathtub. ESPN Zone wins the "best sports bathroom" pennant with TV monitors that enable fans to keep up with the action even when nature calls. Planet Hollywood claims "best bathroom mirrors" with a biting "Jaws" motif, while Paris Las Vegas earns an honorable mention for the elegant luxury of its public toilettes.

Activity Planners' headquarters, a subterranean mansion built for Avon's former chairman, earns the "best underground bathroom" designation, Martin notes. (The highlight: a pink bathtub lit from below.)

As for the humble gas station winner, it's the Chevron at Ann and Drexel roads, on the east side of U.S. Highway 95, which features "real marble walls and counters," along with decorative, high-end fixtures, Martin explains. To say nothing of the fact that "they keep it impeccably clean," he adds. "It's one gas station bathroom you don't have to be afraid of."

And even with all this week's bathroom hopping, Van Ness Films will shoot a segment for another travel show, "Millionaire RV Parks," at Circus Circus.

Speaking of Circus Circus, two beauty pageants -- the 17th-annual Miss Teen of the Nation contest and the 12th-annual Ms. American Woman competition -- tape there Thursday through Sunday.

TV veteran Paul Ryan -- whose credits include game shows, talk shows, travel shows and talk shows, along with acting gigs plus a long-running comedy workshop he teaches at CBS Studio Center -- hosts both pageants.

"Fortunately, I'm a Gemini, so I can keep up," Ryan quips.

The secret to hosting a TV show? "You have to infuse your personality into that camera when there's nobody there," he explains. "And razor-sharp listening."

During his Las Vegas stay, Ryan will lead a TV hosting workshop from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Candlewood Suites, 4034 S. Paradise Road. (Call 323-936-9524 for information.)

Elsewhere on location this week, the syndicated game show "Street Smarts" wraps up a three-week Vegas stay, with Frank Nicotero quizzing bystanders on pop-culture subjects. Among the show's stops: the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where the show's crew visited Saturday.

VH1 also spent Saturday in Las Vegas, in a back yard off the Strip, where a lucky local won the grand prize in the cable channel's annual Labor Day "Backyard Barbecue" contest, complete with a live performance by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Las Vegas-based Century Productions provided the mobile truck for the taping, which will air on VH1 Labor Day weekend.

Century also participated in a two-day shoot, which concluded Saturday, for "Married in Las Vegas 2002," from Basic Elements, a division of Carsey-Werner-Mandabach productions. (Among their TV credits: such sitcom favorites as "The Cosby Show," "Roseanne" and "That '70s Show.") Locations included the Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel, according to Mike Levy, Century's president.

And today, one of Century's production trucks heads to Southern California to shoot "Don't Feed the Comedians," an Animal Planet comedy show taping at Hollywood's Improv comedy club. Compared to the usual pattern -- Los Angeles-based crews traveling to Las Vegas -- that represents a refreshing bit of turnabout.

Carol Cling's Shooting Stars column appears Mondays.

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