‘Apprentice’ will have local flavor

Las Vegas viewers will have plenty of local ties to pull for on Donald Trump's "Celebrity Apprentice" on NBC come March.

Among the 16 celebrities are poker pro Annie Duke, pro golfer Natalie Gulbis, former "Vegas Show" host and singer Brian McKnight, Vegas partyhound and former NBA star Dennis Rodman and comedy headliner Andrew Dice Clay.

Trump announced his lineup for the second season on Thursday. The new, two-hour episodes begin at 9 p.m. on Sunday, March 1 (KVBC, Channel 3).

Instead of a job with Trump -- the previous prize in the early seasons -- the eight men and eight women will be out to raise money for their favorite charities.

Gulbis, the glamour girl of the Ladies Professional Golf Association, will be competing for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

McKnight, who teamed up with Sheena Easton on "The Vegas Show" in 2005, has chosen Youthville USA.

Duke holds the women's record for most "in the money" finishes in the World Series of Poker.

The other contestants: mother-daughter duo Joan and Melissa Rivers, 2001 Playboy Playmate of the Year Brande Roderick, reality show star Khloe Kardashian, "Deal or No Deal" model Claudia Jordan, Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, country star Clint Black, funnyman Tom Green, Olympic ice skating gold medalist Scott Hamilton and former NFL star Herschel Walker.

THE SCENE AND HEARD

Miss America contestants will be testing their mettle at putting the pedal to the metal when they pay a visit to Pole Position Raceway on Jan. 18. Their 6 to 9 p.m. appearance is part of a rare night out for the pageant beauties, who will be racing, doing interviews and photos.

They arrive in town Jan. 15 for their group photo in front of Planet Hollywood Resort at 2:30 p.m. They begin competing on Jan. 19. The finals are Jan. 24 on The Learning Channel, which is airing "Countdown to the Crown" every Friday at 10 p.m. The four-part reality series began last week.

SIGHTINGS

At the opening day of the International Consumer Electronics Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Wednesday: Tom Hanks, cracking up the crowd, Usher, Stevie Wonder, and baseball hall of famer Reggie Jackson, receiving a Reggie candy bar on stage from Sir Howard Stringer. ... Baseball slugger Jason Giambi, celebrating his 38th birthday and a new contract Wednesday night at Wasted Space in the Hard Rock Hotel. The five-time All-Star, who lives in Las Vegas in the offseason, signed a one-year, $5.25 million contract with the Oakland A's this week. ... Jeffrey Katzenberg, producer and CEO of DreamWorks Animation, at Postrio (Venetian) on Thursday, having Wolfgang Puck's signature lobster sandwich. ... Former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, who survived a September plane crash with DJ AM, performing shirtless Wednesday with DJ AM at LAX nightclub (Luxor) and revealing scars from the serious burns he suffered. ... Rapper and actor Ludacris at the Playboy Club on Wednesday.