Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

NORM: GOP strategist bullish on Vegas

Patrick Stewart has angioplasty to widen artery. Kevin Costner hosts party with his fiancee. Macy Gray seen at Hard Rock charity event. Sig Rogich likes Las Vegas as a political convention site.

Could Las Vegas overcome its Sin City stigma enough to host a presidential convention?

"Absolutely," says Sig Rogich, a longtime Republican strategist whose clients have included Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

"If the Southern Baptists can hold their national convention here, why not?" Rogich said Tuesday, with the Republican National Convention under way in New York.

"Besides, almost every state in the union has legalized gambling so there's no longer a taboo about it, not with 37 million visitors coming here."

"I've talked about it for the last eight years," said Rogich. "There's no way anyone can look down on Las Vegas as a site."

The Scene and Heard

Sources say a recent fund-raising event has come under question. The person involved has until today to deliver documentation of what was described as a serious medical condition. Media scrutiny started when anonymous callers began questioning the validity of the condition.

Sightings

Actor Kevin Costner, hanging out at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Monday in support of his fiancee, Christine Baumgartner, who had a booth at the MAGIC show promoting her designer computer bags called Cat Bag Couture. Afterward, they hosted a party at their penthouse at Caesars Palace. ... Music/fashion mogul Russell Simmons, having dinner with Nicky Hilton at Little Buddha before the launch party of her clothing line, Chick, on Monday night. ... Clothier Sean "P Diddy" Combs must be on the Atkins Diet. He was spotted Monday at Conrad's Steakhouse (Flamingo) with Flamingo president Lorenzo Creighton and later at N9NE Steak House (Palms). A tipster says Creighton and Combs were discussing a possible entertainment venture at the Flamingo/O'Shea's. ... Kenan Thompson of "Saturday Night Live," at Morton's on Tuesday for the reception for the world's largest bottle of wine. He's Bill Cosby's handpicked choice to play the lead in "Fat Albert," which comes out at Christmas. ... Muhammad Ali, wife Lonnie and daughter Laila, unveiling "Ali by Adidas" on Tuesday at the Las Vegas Adidas Performance Centre Store next to the MGM Grand. ... Rapper 50 Cent and his posse, chatting up P Diddy at N9NE Steak House (Palms) on Monday. ... Faye Resnick, a central figure in the O.J. Simpson-Nicole Brown-Simpson murder case, checking out goddaughter Nicky Hilton's fashion show on Monday at the Palms pool. Resnick, a prominent architectural designer in Los Angeles, is designing a major restaurant in Beverly Hills. She's in town on a scouting mission to find a star chef to set the menu. ... Macy Gray, spotted at the Maroon 5 charity event at the Hard Rock Beach Club on Monday night. ... Howard Stern's gal pal, Beth Ostrosky, checking out the scene at the FHM party in Body English (Hard Rock Hotel) on Monday night. ... Patrick Stewart, mentioned here on Tuesday when he was spotted having lunch on Monday at Postrio (The Venetian), is a hard man to keep down. Stewart, 64, underwent angioplasty last week to widen an artery. ... Hilton and hubby Todd Meister, buying matching pairs of Blinde sunglasses at Talulah G (Fashion Show mall) on Sunday.

The Punch Line

"My mommy's a singer. My daddy's a pirate." -- Lily-Rose Depp, 5, when asked at a restaurant what her parents do. She is the daughter of actor Johnny Depp, the star of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," and his wife, French singer Vanessa Paradis.

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