Sunday, August 28, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

NORM: Britney may get full-time LV gig

Britney Spears embracing resident headliner idea. Prince checks out Pure nightclub at Caesars Palace. Clint Holmes spotted at N9NE Steakhouse.

Mommy-to-be Britney Spears may be expecting a long-term Las Vegas engagement.

She's embracing the idea of becoming a resident headliner and nontouring mom, a la Celine Dion, according to Las Vegas deal maker Jack Wishna, who met with her recently.

"The parties are working on a deal that could bring Britney in her own show in Las Vegas by 2007-2008," Wishna said Saturday by e-mail.

Wishna did not identify the property he's negotiating for, other than saying it is not Phil Ruffin's New Frontier or Donald Trump's residential tower. Wishna, who put together the Ruffin-Trump deal, said he's representing a "major Strip property."

He said he's also been discussing a deal that would bring Madonna to the same property, for several weeks at a time.

Big cat attack

A fatal tiger attack in Kansas has tie-in issues with Las Vegas.

Stardust big cat headliner Rick Thomas has obtained animals from the owner of the Lost Creek Animal sanctuary near Mound Valley, Kan., where a 17-year-old girl was killed while posing for a photo with a Siberian tiger.

"We have relations with them, but it wasn't my cat," Thomas said Saturday, between his matinee shows.

Thomas currently has a white tiger in his big cat lineup that he purchased from Doug Billingsly, who opened the 80-acre Kansas sanctuary in 1994 and supplies cats for entertainment acts.

The death of Haley Hilderbrand of Altamont, Kan., reopened the debate over safety concerns involving live animal shows and human contact at sanctuaries.

Thomas said his show has never been safer since the U.S. Department of Agriculture ordered added cautionary measures after Roy Horn's near-fatal incident at The Mirage almost two years ago. Thomas' cats are attached to a cable system designed to prevent them from going into the audience.

The Scene and Heard

Hawaiian singing legend Don Ho has canceled his mid-September Walk of Stars ceremony because of a heart scare. Ho, 75, was hospitalized recently for three days for an abnormal heart rhythm. He was to be honored in connection with the Las Vegas centennial celebration.

Kudos to Las Vegas-based Adam Goldman, who has made a name for himself covering the gaming industry for The Associated Press. He's being promoted to the AP's New York bureau.

Sightings

Tiger Woods, chilling with Amstel Lights at Light (Bellagio) late Friday, after flying in from hurricane-soaked Florida to work on his golf game. He spent the day at the MGM Mirage's exclusive Shadow Creek course and stayed in the MGM Grand's Mansion. ... Prince, checking out Pure (Caesars Palace) on Friday night. ... Actor Seth Green, who played Dr. Evil's son in "Austin Powers in Goldmember," requesting a pingpong table in his suite at the Palms. ... Molly Sims of NBC's "Las Vegas," spinning heads at Wynn Las Vegas on Saturday. ... At a table at N9NE Steakhouse (Palms) on Friday: local headliners Frankie and Joey Scinta, Clint Holmes, Lance Burton, Gordie Brown and Mac King, along with music producer Pat Caddick.

The Punch Line

"Northwest mechanics went on strike. Not to worry. They have replacements: mechanics from the monorail." -- Dennis Bono, on his radio show, "Las Vegas Now with Dennis Bono" (KJUL-FM, 104.3)

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