Funeral director hits the jackpot

Sir Richard Branson's latest fan is a funeral director from Wisconsin who came to Las Vegas and left with way more than a T-shirt with a cute message.

But it was no easy undertaking.

David Olsen, 48, showed up at the Palms on Wednesday to watch Branson, the British mogul/daredevil, take a 407-foot plunge off the Fantasy Tower.

Before the publicity stunt, Olsen came over to me and introduced himself, saying he was in town for the National Funeral Directors Association convention.

"I read about this in the paper, and I'm here," Olsen cracked, "just in case."

Olsen tracked me down Thursday to provide an update.

When Branson, founder and chairman of Virgin Group, was plummeting down the south side of the tower at 100 mph, he tossed a handful of what appeared to be airline tickets into a strong wind.

Olsen joined some youngsters who chased the fluttering paper trail.

The former U.S. Army captain who served in Desert Storm hit the different kind of jackpot about 20 minutes later when he found two of the coupons near West Flamingo and Hugh Hefner Drive.

He decided to keep searching, and an hour later, he found two more in the parking lot at the Gold Coast. They're good for round trips on any Virgin America flight.

Wanting to share the news of his good fortune, Olsen walked into the Gold Coast and asked a bellman if he knew how to reach that newspaper man with the eye patch. "The bellman told me, 'Everybody knows how to get a hold of Norm,' and he pulled out your phone number," he said.

"Persistence paid off," said Olsen, who lives in Jefferson, Wis., population 7,500, with his wife and two children.

"I called my wife and told her, 'I didn't win any money, but I've got something more important than money -- airline tickets for the whole family.' "

THE SCENE AND HEARD

Branson has some other plans for Las Vegas. He's exploring a casino deal. "We had some meetings today, and I think Virgin will be flying over Las Vegas within a couple years," Branson said during a red carpet interview at Tryst nightclub at Wynn Las Vegas. He was still banged up from what he called the wildest of many crazy stunts.

MAY I RECOMMEND ...

Mandalay Bay's new nightclub, eyecandy sound lounge & bar, is a high-tech marvel featuring the latest in interactive touch tables and camera coverage that provides real-time peeks, from who's in the next booth to who's on the dance floor. New twists include four $200-an-hour rotating booths seating as many as 12.

The hourly rental fee includes $200 worth of beverages, "so we're not forcing drinks on people," said Tony Angotti, vice president of food and beverage at Mandalay Bay.

SIGHTINGS

Branson, accompanying Kyla Ebbert on the red carpet at Tryst on Wednesday night at a charity poker party, part of his inaugural Virgin America San Francisco-to-Las Vegas flight festivities. Ebbert, a 23-year-old San Diego Hooters waitress, was escorted off a Southwest Airlines flight last summer for being inappropriately dressed, though she was wearing a white denim miniskirt and a summer sweater over a tank top and a bra. Branson was sending a message to arch-rival Southwest, I'm told, that "there's no dress code on Virgin America." Also on the red carpet: Pamela Anderson (who was overheard muttering a profane suggestion to the small media gathering; she later told Robin Leach she is NOT pregnant, as reported by In Touch Weekly on Wednesday), her husband, Rick Salomon, Carmen Electra, and MTV's "The Hills" co-stars Lauren Conrad and Audrina Patridge. ... Cast members from the "Little Legends," meeting with Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman on Thursday at his office. The performers invited him to their grand opening show Tuesday at the Harmon Theater inside Krave nightclub. The mayor presented them mini bottles of Bombay Sapphire gin. ... At Social House (Treasure Island) and LAX (Luxor) on Wednesday: magician David Copperfield.

THE PUNCH LINE

"(Britney Spears) passed her first court-ordered drug test. So good news, she's not on drugs, she's just crazy." -- Jimmy Kimmel

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