David Hasselhoff is getting comfortable with the idea of staying in Las Vegas.

Anna Nicole Smith's former manager said the Playboy icon had a longtime fascination with Marilyn Monroe, including a shared love for mixing champagne and pills.

Smith died Thursday in Hollywood, Fla., after being found unconscious at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

"Her whole house was plastered with Marilyn Monroe photos," said Las Vegas producer-manager Joey Battig, "and the reason she drank champagne with pills is because Marilyn did. She always wanted to parallel her life with Marilyn's."

Monroe died at age 36 from what was ruled an overdose of sleeping pills in Brentwood, Calif., near Hollywood, on Aug. 5, 1962.

"I believe she died emulating her," Battig said.

Smith, 39, was touted as "the next Marilyn Monroe" after Hugh Hefner put her on Playboy's cover of the March 1992 issue and named her Playmate of the Year in 1993. Hefner put Monroe on the first cover of Playboy in 1953.

Battig said he was aware of Smith's battle with drugs."You couldn't get her on the phone for days, and then she was out of it. I threw in the towel after eight months."

She wanted to be a movie star, said Battig, who managed Smith about five years ago, after her stint as spokeswoman and model for Guess.

Smith had an appearance in Las Vegas on New Year's Eve 2004, when she hosted a VIP party and the countdown to 2005 at the Aladdin.

She was still smarting from an appeals court reversal one day earlier of her $88 million inheritance award. While she posed for photos with a long line of high rollers, after she slow danced with several of them, I asked her about the legal setback.

"The judges were so paid off," she blurted.

That set off an outburst from her companion, attorney Howard K. Stern.

"Don't print that! You can't print that!" Stern ordered.

THE 'HOFF' GOES VERTICAL

David Hasselhoff says he's buying into the vertical trend in Las Vegas.

He's planning to move into a penthouse in a downtown high-rise.

"Looks like I'm in," Hasselhoff said in a telephone interview during a break in rehearsals from "The Producers."

"We're going to rename it (the high-rise) the 'Hoff' Lofts," he said.

If his Las Vegas move works out, he's looking at a long-term stay.

"I want to see how 'The Producers' goes. If it does well, and the people embrace Hasselhoff, I've already talked to Harrah's about doing an after-hour (variety) show once or twice a week," he said.

Before Mel Brooks came along with "The Producers" offer, Hasselhoff said, he was exploring the idea of doing "David Hasselhoff: The Musical" in Las Vegas.

"It's a fun, tongue-in-cheek show, with a Broadway set and a serious set," he said.

Brooks is in town tonight for the red carpet VIP opening of the show.

MAY I RECOMMEND ...

Hasselhoff goes uber-gay as dress-wearing director Roger DeBris in Brooks' musical comedy "The Producers" at Paris Las Vegas, 8 p.m. Thursdays through Tuesdays, with a 2 p.m. show on Saturdays. Tickets: $75.50-$143.50. Call 946-4567 or go to parislasvegas.com

SIGHTINGS

Olivia Harrison, widow of Beatle George Harrison, at "Love," at The Mirage, with Neil Aspinall, president of the Beatles' Apple Corp., on Thursday night. ... Tiger Woods, with pals Wednesday night at Tangerine in Treasure Island. ... Chef Gordon Ramsay, host of the popular reality show "Hell's Kitchen," at Red Rock Resort on Thursday for his first visit to Terra Rossa to visit with "Hell's Kitchen 2" winner Heather West. ... Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman, getting over Sunday's Super Bowl loss, in the company of Bunnies Cerra, April and Michelle on Wednesday night at the Playboy Club in the Palms. ... Former big-league slugger David Justice in the crowd at Lance Burton's magic show Wednesday at the Monte Carlo. ... Ryan Ross of Panic! At the Disco, checking out local band The Tramlines on Wednesday at the newly opened University Theatre. He and some of the band members go back to their high school days in Las Vegas.

THE PUNCH LINE

"It's awful cold. It's chillier than dinner at Ryan O'Neal's house.'' -- David Letterman

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