Sunday, December 14, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
NORM: Medley inks deal with The Orleans
George Strait buys some new duds.
R. Kelly does duet with Jimmy Hopper.
Paul Tracy has some fun at the Palms.
Bill Medley gets back in action in March.
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Bill Medley, after losing his longtime Righteous Brother Bobby Hatfield, is coming back with an 11-week deal at The Orleans.
Hatfield, who died last month, will very much be a part of the show, which will be billed "Bill Medley Celebrates the Righteous Brothers."
The first engagement will be in March, and "we'll be using some old video, and we have Bobby on tape, so people will feel Bobby's presence," said Medley, who said Michael Gaughan, chairman of Coast Casinos, made the deal happen.
"The toughest part has been watching Bobby's family (deal with the loss). In my mind, Bobby is fine."
Rodeo roots
My earliest heroes were cowboys and rank rodeo stock.
Growing up in eastern Montana, a world of barbed wire and hard living, I heard the names of Casey Tibbs, the Lindermans, Ronnie Rossen and Benny Reynolds more often than Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Johnny Unitas.
My first up-close celebrity sighting was a horse: It was 1962 and a horse trailer was parked outside Roy Rogers' Bar (no relation to the film star) in my hometown of Terry, Mont. Painted on the red cab's door were the letters: "Trail's End" and "Saddle Bronc of the Year 1959, 1960, 1961."
Careful not to spook him, I crept close enough to stare greatness in the eyes, thinking of all the questions I'd like to ask. That was powerful stuff for a teenager who, at that time in his life, was wondering what he wanted to be and which road to take.
I got reconnected with my rodeo roots this week, thanks to National Finals Rodeo announcers Bob Tallman and Boyd Polhamus, who took the time to sit down with a stranger at the Gold Coast and share some favorite war stories.
You don't need to be a cowboy to know rodeo is the original extreme sport.
The Scene and Heard
Employees at Binion's Horseshoe, unhappy that their payroll checks are bouncing, are talking about a strike at the beleaguered downtown property. ...
The Bellagio Conservatory undergoes one of its most spectacular transformations next month: a replica of Claude Monet's famed painting titled "Water Lily Pond with Bridge," featuring pond, bridge and overhanging trees. It's part of an exhibition of 21 Monet masterworks from Boston's Museum of Fine Arts that will be on view Jan. 30 through Sept. 13. Ticket information: (877) 957-9777 or ticketweb.com. ...
That cut-a-thon fund-raiser to help pay for Kelly Kopinitz's funeral is being held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today at Zen Salon, 10870 S. Eastern Ave.
Sightings
Country star George Strait, buying a leather jacket Saturday at Jhane Barnes (Desert Passage). ... Pamela Anderson, doing a Vogue photo shoot at the Palms spa for six hours Friday night, just missing her ex, Tommy Lee, with his new squeeze, Pink. ... Big league brothers Jason and Jeremy Giambi, hanging with CART champion driver Paul Tracy at N9NE and Rain (Palms). Also spotted at the Palms: actor Jon Favreau, actress Joey Lauren Adams and supermodel Bridget Hall, who turned 26 Friday. ... R. Kelly, a four-time winner at the Billboard Music Awards on Wednesday, joined Jimmy Hopper onstage at the Fontana Room (Bellagio) after the event for a duet and a solo.
The Punch Line
"If all the world's a stage, I want to operate the trap door." -- Paul Beatty
Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com.
