Angela Sampras says her arm was grabbed in Riviera incident. Karen Raider denies that she grabbed Sampras' arm. Jeremy Pond will be trying his hand at a new sport.

The claws were still out Saturday as the feud heated up between topless revues "X" and "Crazy Girls."

A "Crazy Girls" publicist issued a statement rebutting the claim by "X" producer Angela Sampras that "Crazy Girls'' associate producer Karen Raider "grabbed" Sampras' arm during an incident Thursday at the Riviera.

Both sides agree on this much: Sampras was in a booth in a party of four when Raider confronted her and instructed her to leave the "Crazy Girls" showroom late in the show.

Raider "only touched her arm," according to "Crazy Girls" spokesman Wayne Bernath.

He added that Sampras' party requested comped tickets to the show, and when that failed, asked for a reduced price by invoking Raider's name.

Bernath added that Sampras joined her party when the lights went down.

Comedy magician Nathan Burton confirmed that he called Bernath to inquire about comp tickets, a common reciprocal practice in the entertainment community. When Bernath couldn't reach Raider about the comp request, Burton said he purchased two-for-one tickets.

The reason Sampras arrived late, said Burton, was that he had called her and invited her to join him and his date, "X'' dancer Brittney Palmer. When Sampras and her husband, Matt Stabile, decided to join them, Burton purchased their tickets, he said.

Burton said Raider "freaked out" when she saw Sampras in the center VIP booth and "grabbed her arm and said, 'You've got to get out of here.'"

Raider summoned security, and the foursome was escorted out.

In an e-mail to me, Sampras, a former dancer with "Crazy Girls," took issue with Raider's contention that Sampras was fired from the revue.

"For the record, I was never fired. I quit on New Year's Eve when it turned 1999," Sampras said.

MEET JEREMY

The search is over. We have a new addition here at Vegas Confidential and our new Web site, normclarke.com.

New York native Jeremy Pond, 33, has joined us after two years as a sports copy editor at the Review-Journal. In addition, he operated a modeling management company.

He was an award-winning sports columnist with the Poughkeepsie (N.Y.) Journal, where he won three consecutive New York State Associated Press Writers' Association awards.

In December, he was named one of Las Vegas' top 125 socialites by a night life and entertainment industry group.

Our sincere thanks to the 80-some applicants for the interest.

SIGHTINGS

Michael McDonald, formerly of The Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan, at the 10 p.m. performance of "Love" (Mirage) on Friday with family and friends. ... David Hasselhoff, star of "The Producers," and NFLers Ronde Barber and Michael Strahan, partying Friday at Tryst nightclub (Wynn). ... Hasselhoff, partying with friends at Pure nightclub (Caesars) on Friday. ... Actor Taye Diggs, dining at Social House (Treasure Island) on Friday. ... Heather Vandeven, the new Penthouse Pet of the Year, celebrating her title with friends at Tangerine (Treasure Island) on Friday. ... Lee Meriwether, Miss America 1955, dining with friends at Spago (Forum Shops at Caesars) after a screening of her new film, "The Ultimate Gift."

THE PUNCH LINE

"(Angelina Jolie) adopted her first child in Cambodia, her second in Ethiopia, gave birth to her third in Nambia, and now from Vietnam. She's working her way down the alphabet. Stay cool, Yemen. She's coming."-- Jimmy Kimmel

Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com.