Houston tuning up for comeback

A surprise appearance by superstar Whitney Houston at the Joe Calzaghe-Bernard Hopkins title fight on Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center added fuel to speculation that she's working on a headliner deal here.

Houston, we hear, is hoping to use an upcoming album to launch a comeback spearheaded by music giant Clive Davis.

There have been rumblings that she's in talks with a number of Strip properties, including Planet Hollywood Resort, which makes sense because she is believed to have attended the fight at the behest of Planet Hollywood founder Robert Earl.

CHIPPING IN FOR NANA

UNLV head basketball coach Lon Kruger continues to practice what he preaches about community involvement.

He'll join some of his players at Montana Meat Company, 6371 Centennial Center Blvd. (near Tropical Parkway and the Las Vegas Beltway) tonight at a fundraiser for 4-year-old Savannah "Nana" Reid.

The granddaughter of local talk-show host Rick Rosen, Reid has a rare childhood cancer. The $75-a-plate event, which features a ton of sports memorabilia, runs from 5-7 p.m.

Rosen's pal Marty Rodick will be broadcasting it live on Fox Sports Radio-AM, 920. For reservations: Call Rodick at 610-5556 or the restaurant, 396-7615.

THE SCENE AND HEARD

There was last-minute buzz Saturday that soccer icon David Beckham and Spice Girl wife Victoria would be joining the ginormous celebrity turnout for the Calzaghe-Hopkins title fight. Now we know why they couldn't make it: David threw a big 34th birthday party for Posh on Sunday night. But they'll be back in Las Vegas in June, when she joins the Pussycat Dolls on stage at Pure nightclub at Caesars Palace. ...

Former employees of the Desert Inn are holding the first reunion since the property closed in 2000 after being a fixture on the Strip for 50 years. The get-together will begin at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Laborers Local 872 event center, 4201 E. Bonanza Road. The D.I., which opened 58 years ago today, was imploded Oct. 23, 2001, to make room for Wynn Las Vegas. ...

The next generation: Nick Belcastro, godson of former Crazy Horse Too owner Rick Rizzolo, opens Badda Bing! men's club tonight at 4625 S. Polaris. Rizzolo was released from prison earlier this month after serving less than a year on a felony tax charge. ...

Shannon Elizabeth, one of the six celebrity survivors on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars," waltzes down the red carpet tonight at the premiere of the poker flick "Deal" at the Palms' Brenden Theatres. The red carpet unfolds at 7:30 p.m.

SIGHTINGS

Hall of Fame NFL coach Don Shula, dining with friends at Eiffel Tower Restaurant (Paris Las Vegas) on Wednesday. ... Miami Heat guard and former UNLV standout Marcus Banks, checking out Pure nightclub on Tuesday. Also at Pure: Poker star David Williams and former U.S. soccer standout Cobi Jones, who also turned up at N9NE steakhouse (Palms) and Moon nightclub (Palms). ... Mena Suvari, dining Tuesday at Tao Asian Bistro (Venetian). Suvari also was spotted at Moon nightclub. ... Auto racing driver Marco Andretti and actor Efrin Ramirez of "Napoleon Dynamite" fame, stopping by Moon on Tuesday. ... At the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce grand opening this week at the chamber's new location Towne Square: UNLV's Kruger and Palms owner George Maloof. ... Former Hollywood madame Heidi Fleiss at BJ's Cocktail Lounge East, 218 E. Tropicana Ave., on Monday.

THE PUNCH LINE

"She (Hillary Clinton) is trying to convince voters in Pennsylvania that she is pro-gun. C'mon, if she were really pro-gun, Bill would be dead." -- David Letterman

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