Patron: CatHouse incident orderly

Luxor nightspot CatHouse Loungerie remained closed indefinitely Wednesday after structural concerns occurred during a Monday party in the second-floor ultralounge.

The floor in the ultralounge has slipped about eight inches since the club opened two months ago, several sources said.

It was not clear whether the damage occurred during the Monday party scene, which included Amani Toomer of the Super Bowl-winning New York Giants and Dhani Jones of the Cincinnati Bengals.

A CatHouse patron told me the first indication that something was amiss came when he saw security personnel shining flashlights on what appeared to be a 16-inch-long crack in the ceiling.

After the crack was detected, the crowd was moved in an orderly fashion over to the restaurant side of the nightclub, the source said.

"The crack was about an inch wide. Nothing fell from the ceiling from what I saw," he said.

Celebrity blogger Robin Leach had a more dramatic version. In his blog for Las Vegas Magazine, Leach quoted an anonymous source as saying, "There was no panic, just an orderly evacuation, and everybody got out safely without any injury. But it was rather surreal to watch chunks of the ceiling collapse and crash down."

The headline "CatHouse Loungerie's Ceiling Comes Down on Partygoers" appeared on a blog by Xania Woodman, Las Vegas Weekly nightlife columnist. However, there was no mention of a ceiling collapse in her blog, The CircuitLV.com.

New York liqueur purveyor Kirk Spahn, who was with the Bengals' Jones in the VIP section where the crack occurred, said he wasn't aware that anything had happened. Toomer had left the party before the 12:30 a.m. incident, he said.

"I was one of the hosts and I didn't even know something was wrong," said Spahn, who said he was one of the last to leave the section.

"They started asking people to go into the other room," said Spahn. "Whatever it was it didn't interrupt the flow of the party. They were superprofessional about how they handled it."

CatHouse spokeswoman Stephanie Wilson said Wednesday, "No part of the ceiling fell. The restaurant is expected to open in the very near future and the ultralounge shortly after that."

SIGHTINGS

Singing icon Tony Bennett, in the crowd at Bette Midler's "The Showgirl Must Go On" (Caesars Palace) on Wednesday night. ... Midler, having lunch at La Salsa Cantina (Forum Shops at Caesars) earlier on Wednesday. ... NASCAR drivers Robby Gordon and David Stremme, at Pure Nightclub (Caesars Palace) on Tuesday and Dale Jarrett, at Fix restaurant (Bellagio) earlier. At Blush (Wynn) on Tuesday: Minnesota Vikings star rookie running back Adrian Peterson, Grammy-nominated Keyshia Cole and U.S. sprint star Maurice Greene. ... Also at Pure: Mike Tyson. ... Home run king Barry Bonds, NFL standout Terrell Owens, actor David Arquette and MTV's Rob Dyrdek from "Rob & Big" at Moon (Palms) Monday for "Mystery, Myth and Mayhem," the Maloof brothers' celebration to mark the U.S. return of the long-banned French Absinthe le Tourment Vert. Earlier they dined at N9NE Steak House, with Bonds leading the table in a "T.O." chant for Owens. Arquette dined with Jason Hervey of "The Wonder Years" and absinthe U.S. supplier Minott Wessinger. ... At LAX nightclub (Luxor) on Saturday: Singer Ashlee Simpson and boyfriend Pete Wentz of music group Fall Out Boy, rapper Coolio and illusionist Criss Angel.

THE PUNCH LINE

"She's citing fraud as the reason for the breakup. Which is kind of funny -- Pamela Anderson is the last person who should be complaining that something is fake." -- Jimmy Kimmel, on Anderson filing for an annulment from Rick Salomon.

Norm Clarke can be reached at (702) 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com.