Sunday, July 25, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

NORM: Pigout in works for Strip property

Las Vegan Ron Koch competes in Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York this month. COURTESY PHOTO

Las Vegas buffets may soon be the next frontier in the world of competitive eating.

Word is a major pigout with TV ties is in the works for this fall at a major Strip property.

That means Las Vegas could be seeing the gut-busting, speed-eating talents of Takeru "The Tsunami" Kobayashi of Japan and Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas.

Kobayashi won his fourth consecutive Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York this month by scarfing down 53 1/2 Nathan's hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes.

Thomas, only 105 pounds, proved she could cut the mustard with the men: She finished fourth by wolfing down 32, more than any other woman and any other American in the contest's history.

Las Vegan Ron Koch, a rookie, was seventh among the 19 contestants, with 22.

The longtime official photographer of the MGM Grand said, "I did it on a dare. I could have done more, but I got stage fright. I was so camera-shy. I guarantee I'll be in the top three next year. I'm a Brooklyn boy; we were born to eat hot dogs." He holds the Nevada record of 20, set at a New York-New York event.

The buffet record is held by New Yorker "Crazy Legs" Conti, who downed 5 1/2 pounds of buffet food in 12 minutes. Thomas holds the chicken wings record of 167 in 32 minutes; cheesecake, 11 pounds in nine minutes; and oysters, 36 dozen in 10 minutes.

Go or no?

Questions are dogging "The Vegas Show" over what is being described as a "retooling."

Crew members moved the equipment out of the Golden Nugget showroom after Monday's show, and the last show aired Friday on KVVU-TV, Channel 5.

"We're in the process of retooling the show for a national rollout," said co-executive producer Howard Leftkowitz. A deal with a national syndicator will be announced "sooner than later," he said.

A local published report suggested the deal was with MGM Television. Leftkowitz said he could not confirm or deny that.

"I have no idea how all that started," said Hank Cohen, president of MGM TV Entertainment. "We had one preliminary meeting. That's strange."

Rick Garson, who shares executive producer duties with Leftkowitz, said the show was "just starting to take off locally. The ratings were doing well with no promotion."

He added, "We can't say who made the offer, but there's been three other phone calls from syndicators who want to throw their hat in the ring."

The Scene and Heard

Elton John stayed away from the Linda Ronstadt controversy during his return to Las Vegas on Friday. John's only comment came at the end of his show at the Colosseum (Caesars Palace) when he thanked America for supporting his career and added that it was fashionable to knock this country. Ronstadt, whose eviction from the Aladdin last week stirred a political firestorm, told the Tucson Citizen newspaper that John had sent flowers in support.

Sightings

Film producer Jerry Bruckheimer and members of his annual three-day Bad Boys hockey getaway, partying at Body English (Hard Rock Hotel) on Friday. Accompanying him: Cuba Gooding Jr., "Pearl Harbor" producer Michael Bay, and NHL stars Chris Chelios, Marty McSorley, Sergei Federov and Jeremy Roenick. ... Jenny McCarthy, getting a new "do" at Amp salon (Palms) on Saturday. ... At Rain nightclub (Palms) on Friday: jocks Mike Bibby, Jimmy Jackson, Elvis Grbac, Brad Miller, Joey Porter and Dante Hall.

The Punch Line

"She looks like she combs her hair with an eggbeater." -- gossip columnist Hedda Hopper

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