Celebs made 2011 eventful in Vegas
Celebrity courtships, nasty breakups and escapades made for an eventful 2011 in Las Vegas.
Wedding of the Year? That's a cakewalk.
It might have been the wedding of the decades: Las Vegas billionaire Steve Wynn, after wooing British socialite Andrea Hissom on his yacht on the French Riviera, married her in a local version of a royal wedding that took place a day after Britain's royal coupling.
Actor Clint Eastwood served as best man and country singer Garth Brooks sang "Friends in Low Places" to a ballroom crowd that included Donald and Melania Trump, hotel billionaire Sol Kerzner, and Priscilla and Lisa Marie Presley.
The split that no one, ahem, saw coming was Paris Hilton and Las Vegas nightclub executive Cy Waits. Their drug-related arrests in August 2010 cost him his lucrative job with Wynn's nightclubs and she was banned from Wynn properties until this week. Co-starring in a reality show probably didn't help matters.
Much of Kris Humphries' courtship of Kim Kardashian also played out in front of reality TV cameras and in Las Vegas nightclubs. When she announced divorce plans in early November, 72 days after the wedding, there were reports she was troubled that Humphries had "gone Hollywood." A couple of days later the NBA player cancelled his hosting engagement at Chateau Nightclub and Gardens at Paris Las Vegas. His shirtless publicity photos for the event provided ammunition for those interested in keeping up with the Kardashians.
Britney Spears made headlines in Las Vegas --- yet again -- but this time it was for her engagement, not an infamous quickie wedding after a night of partying.
Her engagement party and birthday bash for fiance Jason Trawick featured so much chocolate at Sugar Factory's Chocolate Lounge that it rivaled Belgium's sweet shops.
It was a year that saw Tiger Woods return to his favorite playground but it was for his Tiger Jam charity and we didn't hear a peep about the kind of sexcapades that contributed to his shocking scandal.
One of the more bizarre breakups involved Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil and Las Vegas TV entertainment reporter Alicia Jacobs.
She announced the split shortly after he completed a jail sentence in March on a drunken driving charge. He didn't take it well. Jacobs and two local media personalities said Neil approached them in a comedy club at the Hilton and aggressively poked them during an obscenity-laced tirade.
Three weeks later, she left KSNV-TV, Channel 3. Station insiders said management had tired of the high-profile drama. She said her departure was her own decision.
Neil was fined $1,000 on domestic violence charges.
But nobody beat Sinead O'Connor for classic trainwreck honors. Her pink Cadillac chapel wedding went awry hours later, her drug counselor husband aghast when she went cruising for drugs. Their 18-day marriage made Kim and Kris look like soulmates.
SIGHTINGS
Pete Rose, 70, shopping with his 31-year-old girlfriend/Playboy model Kiana Kim at Louis Vuitton at Crystals (CityCenter) on Thursday night. ... Undefeated boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., celebrating his mother's birthday with friends at N9NE Steakhouse (Palms) on Thursday. ... UFC president Dana White, with some friends at the Playboy Club (Palms) on Thursday night. ... At Craftsteak (MGM Grand) on Thursday: UFC commentator and host of NBC's "Fear Factor" Joe Rogan. ... U.S. men's soccer star Jozy Altidore, spotted dining with family and friends Wednesday at Social House inside Crystals (CityCenter).
THE PUNCH LINE
"Oh please let that be chowder all over my pant leg." -- From David Letterman's Top Ten Things Overheard in Times Square on New Year's Eve.
Norm Clarke can be reached at 702-383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com. Follow Norm on Twitter @Norm_Clarke.
