Friday, October 18, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
COLUMN: Norm!
Palms' 'Real World' suite draw for pop stars such as DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio is reported to have rented the "The Real World" suite for the Palms hotel's anniversary weekend in mid-November.
DiCaprio, who goes nowhere without his posse of almost a dozen pals, probably had to pay about $7,000 per weekend night for the suite that was converted from six hotel rooms on the 28th floor.
The Sacramento Bee called the pad "the hottest, hippest hotel suite in America."
It's part of the payoff for hosting MTV's "The Real World," which is six episodes into the 29-week show.
Sacramento Bee pop culture writer J. Freedom du Lac said the suite "is a fascinating stroke of marketing genius for the Palms, which is cementing its status as the epicenter of cool here in Sin City by being spotlighted in a popular program on the nation's pre-eminent pop-culture outlet."
Scoop of the Year
CityLife staffer Jimmy Boegle, in an item for "Media Watch" in the weekly publication's Oct. 17-23 issue, is convinced I got duped last week by a headliner.
Boegle cited one of my sightings in the Oct. 11 column that mentioned Danny Gans called his dad, Sid, to the stage to mark his 86th birthday. Sid then brought down the house with "Singin' in the Rain."
Boegle believes the birthday reference is bogus. He referred to a July 28 Los Angeles Times story about the Mirage headliner that pointed out: "Danny Gans' father, Sid Gans, tries to come to his son's show every Wednesday and Saturday. Sometimes, Sid Gans turns 85 and is introduced. Other times, he has recently turned 85 and is introduced. Often, Sid Gans gets up and does an `impromptu' version of `Singin' in the Rain.' "
Gans' manager Chip Lightman, who called in the item, put Sid on the speaker phone Thursday.
What's the big deal, the elder Gans said. "I was born Oct. 7, 1916. Some nights, Danny says I'm 85, and some nights he says I'm almost 86." Voter registration records confirm that his 86th birthday was on Monday last week. He was introduced to the audience two nights later.
Must have been a slow news day at CityLife.
The Scene and Heard
The French-Canadian media is all abuzz over rumors Celine Dion is announcing the name of her show at Caesars Palace early next week with an international simulcast. She opens her three-year run in March in Caesars' new cavernous 4,000-seat Colosseum. ...
Word's out that "Burn the Floor," a big dance production, has been booked at Paris Las Vegas for Nov. 8-10. ...
Golfer John Daly's slot winnings at Bally's/Paris dwindled to $200,000 last week, from his high of $1.9 million the day before the Invensys Classic at Las Vegas opened. Daly's all-night gambling binge probably had something to do with his last-place finish. ...
Mamie Van Doren, inducted into the Casino Legends Hall of Fame last week at the Tropicana, told Byrd, Foxx and Steph on the KXPT-radio, FM 97.1 morning show that Howard Hughes tried to pick her up when she was 16 and that she stopped hanging out with Clark Gable because "all he wanted to do was take LSD."
Sightings
New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza, going ga-ga over the pumpkin squash soup during a menu tasting Tuesday at the new Simon at the Hard Rock restaurant, which opens tonight. ... Michael Flatley of "Lord of the Dance" fame, dining Wednesday night at Lutece (The Venetian). I'm hearing Flatley might have been celebrating a rent-a-room deal that would put his latest Irish dance show in The Showroom at The Venetian, where shows usually need a life preserver by Week 2. ... Rich Little, having an animated exchange backstage after Andre-Philippe Gagnon's show at Paris Las Vegas. It was a Vegas moment, the two going back and forth with their impressions of the celebs they vocally impersonate. ... David Copperfield, taking in Gans' show Thursday night.
The Punch Line
"There are as many story lines in this series as flasks in Giant fans' pockets." -- Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times sports columnist.
Norm Clarke's column appears Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. You can reach him at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com.
