Rita Rudner and Tony Bennett, below, team up as headliners for VegasTennis.com event. Todd English has a lot on his plate at Stack. Peter Morton gives up rights to Hard Rock Hotel brand name as part of deal.

Peter Morton is giving up a priceless collection of pop memorabilia with the sale of the Hard Rock Hotel.

All but two Jimi Hendrix items will be included in the $770 million purchase by Morgans Hotel Group, in a deal announced Thursday.

"My two boys wanted Jimi's floral print jacket and his flying V guitar," Morton said in a telephone interview.

He also gave up the Hard Rock Hotel brand name, which he created with co-founder Isaac Tigrett with the launch of their Hard Rock Cafe empire in 1971 in London.

He's not giving up on Las Vegas, however.

"How could anyone be done with Vegas? It's been fantastic to me."

I asked Morton whether there was any truth to rumors that the Hard Rock's $1 billion expansion project had soured him and was a catalyst behind the sale.

"Not at all," Morton said. "I've been thinking about this for a long time."

For now, his focus is on Hollywood, he said. He's the executive producer of the upcoming film "Stardust," co-starring Robert De Niro, Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sienna Miller "and some great young English actors," he said. It's being filmed in England.

His oldest son, Harry, 25, is taking the Hard Rock's Pink Taco Mexican restaurant brand to Los Angeles, Scottsdale in Arizona and possibly beyond, Morton said.

THE SCENE AND HEARD

Illusionists Siegfried & Roy will be awarded Ellis Island Medals of Honor on Saturday for their entertainment and conservation efforts. They will attend the ceremony, hosted by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations, at Ellis Island, which is part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument and includes a museum dedicated to the history of immigration. ...

Tony Bennett and Rita Rudner are headlining this weekend's VegasTennis.com fundraiser at Turnberry's Stirling Club. The event kicks off at 9 a.m. Saturday with a Mike Agassi tennis clinic. A tribute dinner for Bennett, who turns 80 in August, starts at 6 p.m. For more information: 822-1081. ...

Two days of auditions for a second season of Bravo's "Top Chef" wrap up today at the Las Vegas Hilton's Tempo Lounge, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 3-5 p.m. ...

Find a wing man and head for the Great International Chicken Wing Cookoff, hosted by Hooters Hotel, on May 19-21. Here's a hot deal: There will be $2 sampler plates of wings.

MAY I RECOMMEND ...

"Rock of Ages," a musical celebration of the 1980s, opens a one-week engagement on Saturday at the Flamingo Las Vegas. The show features Jack Blades, former frontman for Night Ranger and Damn Yankees, and the music of Journey, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, Styx and Poison. Tickets: $61.50 to $75.50. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. daily except Mondays.

SIGHTINGS

Star chef Todd English, ordering the works at Stack restaurant (Mirage) on Wednesday night. ... Blades, shopping for apples and oranges at Albertsons on Maryland Parkway and Flamingo Road on Thursday. ... Comedian Richard Jeni, dining at Spiedini's (J.W. Marriott).

THE PUNCH LINE

"Britney Spears has confirmed that she is indeed pregnant. I hope she's got enough room on the dashboard for a second kid." -- Jimmy Kimmel.

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