Familiar actors in mob shows hit LV

Las Vegans will be seeing a lot of Steve Schirripa and Frank Vincent, last seen being whacked in the final throes of "The Sopranos."

Schirripa, who appeared in nearly 50 of the hit show's 86 episodes, and Vincent, who was in 31, were in town over the weekend to shoot commercial spots for the Las Vegas Mob Experience, which opens in December at the Tropicana.

They were spotted Saturday at Tao, The Venetian nightspot, dining with Mob Experience owners Jay Bloom and Louis Ventre.

Schirripa told Vegas Confidential he will be joining other mob actors who will be working on the project.

Vincent, 71, has a Hollywood connection with the Mob Experience. He had a prominent role in "Casino" as the suave mobster Frank Marino, who beat Joe Pesci's character, Nicky Santoro, to death in a cornfield.

Santoro's character was based on Las Vegas hitman Tony Spilotro. Vincent portrayed Spilotro's mob associate Frank Cullotta.

Spilotro's family is also associated with the Mob Experience.

THE SCENE AND HEARD

The 83 Miss Universe pageant contestants are at the World Market Center tonight to tape a vignette for the pageant telecast Aug. 23. They will appear with chefs Todd English, Rick Moonen, Francois Payard and Oscar Toro. ...

Howard Lefkowitz resigned on Tuesday as president of Vegas.com, which he had run since 2001, The Greenspun Corporation announced. Moving into the position is James B. Gibson, senior vice president with The Greenspun Corporation, and former three-term mayor of Henderson. Lefkowitz was the latest upper management departure in Greenspun's shrinking media empire. ...

Tonight's red carpet event for Sylvester Stallone's "The Expendables" starts at
6:30 p.m. on the mezzanine level at Planet Hollywood Resort. Confirmed attendees: Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, Giselle Itie and Charisma Carpenter, who attended Bishop Gorman High School, became a San Diego Chargers cheerleader and starred in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and it s spinoff "Angel." The red carpet is open to the public. ...

Andre Agassi's No. 1 national best seller, "Open: An Autobiography," is now in bookstores in trade paperback.

KVVU-TV, Channel 5, morning show host Jason Feinberg is mourning the loss of his longtime pet cat, Scratchy, who passed away Tuesday at the age of 18. ...

The security detail protecting U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., during a trip to Whole Foods in Henderson on Saturday were Capitol Hill plainclothes officers, not agents with the U.S. Secret Service.

SIGHTINGS

Rita Rudner, throwing the ceremonial first pitch Tuesday on Rita Rudner Bobblehead Night before the Las Vegas 51s-Nashville Sounds game at Cashman Field. ... "Scrubs" regular Donald Faison, spotted at the Palazzo on Monday with girlfriend Cacee Cobb (Jessica Simpson's former assistant). Faison has a lead role in the set-in-Vegas CBS cop sitcom "The Odds." He will play lead homicide detective Tyler LaSalley. All exterior shooting for the series will take place in Las Vegas, while Albuquerque, N.M., will be home to interior filming. ... Actress Jessica Alba, in town for a bachelorette party she put together for a galpal at the Palazzo. They stayed in a suite, had dinner at Tao and Lavo, spent time at Canyon Ranch SpaClub and partied at Azure pool. ... Legendary actor Mickey Rooney, 90, at Terry Fator's show (Mirage) on Saturday with his wife, Jan. Four of Rooney's eight weddings took place in Las Vegas.

THE PUNCH LINE

"NBA confirms LeBron James' return to Cleveland will be Dec. 2. I'm setting the over/unders at 40 points and 200 cops." -- From the Twitter feed of Tim Sullivan, San Diego Union-Tribune sports columnist.

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