Busy rocker takes small knock

Vince Neil got into an expensive fender-bender near the Hard Rock Hotel on Thursday. I know this because I called him at 4 p.m., and he said, "I just got rear-ended in my Lamborghini."

So I called back later. He said he drove his 2009 black Lamborghini from his Vegas pad to pick up a friend at the Hard Rock. Neil was at a stoplight on Harmon Avenue. It turned green.

"He rammed me just as I was starting to go," Neil said. "The guy said his clutch slipped in his truck -- a four-by-four."

The alleged rammer had insurance, but he had no clue he rear-ended the singer from Mötley Crüe, which plays the Joint's last show ever at the Hard Rock in February.

"This guy barely spoke English."

Neil was flummoxed: "Oh man, geez, it's a brand-new car."

But he also laughed, especially after I told him I wish I had the hard-knock life to be able to say my Lamborghini just got hit.

"Yeah," he said, chuckling. "They'll get it fixed. The good thing is, I'm gonna park it in my garage and take my Ferrari out."

You can hang out with Neil this weekend at the Hard Rock during Vince Neil's Fourth Annual Off the Strip Poker Tournament, which benefits the Skylar Neil Memorial Fund, funding children's hospitals and research into cancer, leukemia and AIDS.

When Neil talks publicly about the death of daughter Skylar to cancer in 1995, it can make grown men cry. Check out skylarneil.org. The charity golf tourney hits Los Angeles on May 2. Donald Trump is doing a Skylar event in New Jersey in October.

I brought up John Travolta's tragedy -- the death of son Jett -- and Neil's tone turned into sad shock.

"It's horrible. When you lose a kid, there's nothing like that. It's something you can't believe," he said.

The Hard Rock event is pure Vegas, featuring "porn chicks, and strippers, and poker players, and rockers," he said.

By the way, Neil owns a Vince Neil Ink tattoo shop in O'Shea's casino on the Strip. He's opening a second Ink in the Rio. On March 1, he opens a Dr. Feelgood's restaurant-club at Sahara Avenue and Rainbow Boulevard. There's already a Dr. Feelgood's in West Palm Beach, Fla.

"It's good music. Go-go dancers. It's a rock 'n' roll place. On the weekends: live music. And it's a nightclub. And hot girls in bikinis."

Neil's poker tournament runs from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday. There's also a memorabilia auction. Poker players pay $550 to play and get into the after-party at Wasted Space. If you don't play, the Wasted Space entry is a $100 charity donation.

OTHER FAMOUS PEOPLE'S PARTIES

* Joaquin Phoenix appears inside Lavo at Palazzo. Red carpet is 9 p.m. Friday.

* Brody Jenner parties at The Bank at Bellagio on Friday, promoting his MTV show, "Bromance."

* And Miss America 2009 rivals pose from 5 to 6 p.m. Saturday at Fashion Show mall.

What do you think about all this? Write your thoughts on my blog (reviewjournal.com/elfman) or e-mail me (delfman@reviewjournal.com), and I'll post them. My column runs Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. See you then.