Wednesday, January 07, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

NORM: Britney wows 'em at wax museum

A wax figure of Britney Spears wears a bridal veil at Madame Tussaud's. Photo by John Gurzinski. Bobby Hatfield autopsy released. Ben Affleck wins big at poker.

Britney Spears in wedding regalia has become an instant tourist attraction at Madame Tussaud's, the wax celebrity collection at The Venetian.

"There's a ton of people taking pictures with her," said Melissa Horacek, spokeswoman for the house of wax.

"We put a veil on her this morning, a bouquet in her hand and a garter on her left leg. We have men taking off her garter with their teeth and on their knees proposing. Everyone's coming up and touching her and kissing her."

The interactive "Britney Experience" went up in October. Her wax figurine replicates a scene from the HBO concert she performed at the MGM Grand.

A mannequin of a minister is standing nearby.

A wax likeness of the bellman who gave her away apparently wasn't available.

The Britney list

Entries from ESPN Magazine's list of the Top Things Overheard at Britney's Wedding:

• "Man, that actor from 'Seinfeld' looks a lot different in person."

• "Not quite a bride, not yet a divorcee."

• "Dude, you're marrying her on the first date? Whipped!"

• "Britney, you strip your clothes off after the ceremony. Not during."

• "I, Britney, take you Justin. ..." "Psst. Baby, it's Jason."

• "I ran into Pete Rose, and he bet me I wouldn't go through with it."

• "Don't you think she's taking this rivalry with Jessica Simpson a little too far?"

• "Really, back home in Louisiana it's not at all unusual for the bride to wear torn jeans and a baseball cap."

• "Dude, you're breaking up. ... Listen, I just married Britney Spears. ... No, I haven't been eating contaminated beef."

• "Oh, boy, this is awkward. Can somebody please tell Madonna to take off the groom's tux?"

The Scene and Heard

The heart attack that killed singer Bobby Hatfield of The Righteous Brothers was triggered in part by cocaine use, according to the autopsy report. WWMT-TV in Kalamazoo, Mich., reported Monday the report lists "acute cocaine toxicity" as the cause of his Nov. 5 death in his hotel room there. ...

Spies say Ben Affleck beat Gus Hansen, a two-time World Poker Tour winner, in a $130,000 pot at the Bellagio during last week's Las Vegas visit with Jennifer Lopez. Affleck tipped the dealer $1,400 and left. ...

A Hard Rock Hotel limo taking Ben and Jen to the airport on Friday stopped at Metro Pizza for a to-go pie. ...

Who knew? Apparently a lot of readers. I've been swamped with reaction to Saturday's item from Gary Mahoney, a worker at McCarran International Airport, who overheard a female tourist note that it was 11 p.m. here and added "that means it's 1:30 at home." Turns out it wasn't as crazy as it sounds: There are not only a number of locations in the world with half-hour time zones, but "in New Zealand (Chatham Island) there is an area with a three-quarter hour time zone," e-mailed Monti Rieman.

The Punch Line

Larry David, co-creator of "Seinfeld" and producer of "Curb Your Enthusiasm," has something in common with Britney. "We got married in a touching ceremony in Las Vegas," he told L.A. Weekly last year. "The cabdriver who witnessed it was deeply moved."

Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com.