Jazz band ends Gold Coast run

A 23-year engagement at the Gold Coast will end at 6:30 p.m. today when the Las Vegas Classic Jazz Band plays Peggy Lee's "I Love Being Here With You."

In an era when live music was becoming as rare as coin-operated slots, the six-piece band had put together the longest-running lounge gig in Las Vegas. It began the day the Gold Coast opened.

The last song, said bandleader and pianist Dan Ellis, is "in honor of our loyal fans who have supported us for years -- many for decades. This came as much of a blow to them as it did to the members of the band."

Their farewell appearance begins at 1 p.m.

Ellis said the group, which ranges in age from 34 to 69, received a four-week notice from Boyd Gaming.

The band was informed that the company was "taking a different direction after June 1," Ellis said. But he's heard rumblings that they're being replaced by rotating duos and trios, "so it's obviously budgetary."

The group had many fans who showed up to support them at jazz festivals across the country, said Ellis, who has been with the group for 13 years.

"We hope to find another venue where our fans can continue to listen and dance to the great American songbook," he said.

FANTASY FOOTBALL

Howard Skolnik, director of the Nevada Department of Corrections since 2007, figures he was on the brink of having the most athletic version ever of "The Longest Yard."

The 1974 and 2005 flicks starred Burt Reynolds in a football game pitting prison inmates against their guards. Adam Sandler and Chris Rock joined Reynolds in the remake.

During a private party last weekend, Skolnik volunteered that his Nevada dream team would have included NFL Hall of Fame running back O.J. Simpson and All-Pro cornerback "Pac-Man" Jones. "And I would have traded a couple sex offenders to get Michael Vick," Skolnik said.

Simpson is in Lovelock Correction Center in Northern Nevada. He's serving a sentence of nine to 33 years in the robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers at a Las Vegas hotel in 2007.

Las Vegas police say Jones incited a fight in 2007 that ended in a shooting at a strip club. In a plea deal, Jones got a suspended prison sentence in the incident, which left security guard Tommy Urbanski paralyzed.

Vick served 19 months in a federal prison on a dogfighting conviction.

THE SCENE AND HEARD

Apparently not everyone in Las Vegas is embracing the city's colorful past when organized crime ran the town. A sign near the parking garage at the Summerlin Hospital has been changed, after apparently raising some eyebrows. The sign now reads "Medical Office Building parking" instead of "MOB parking."

SIGHTINGS

Vanna White, filming "Wheel of Fortune" under the Palazzo's porte-cochere on Wednesday. ... Dustin Diamond, who played Screech in the sitcom "Saved by the Bell," hosting at Lavo in celebration of National Nerd Day. He emceed a "sexiest nerd" contest, which paid the winner $1,000. ... Cesar Millan, the star of "Dog Whisperer," dining on Lavo's Stripfront terrace Tuesday. ... Ben Bailey, host of Discovery Channel's hit game show "Cash Cab," at Moon nightclub (Palms) Tuesday. Earlier this week, he joined Mayor Oscar Goodman and comedian David Brenner in filming an episode. Also at the Palms: MMA fighter Diego Sanchez dined at N9NE Steakhouse on Tuesday. ... Boxer Antonio Tarver, at the gaming tables at the Hard Rock Hotel on Tuesday. ... UFC fighter Rashad Evans, on stage with the dance crew Jabbawockeez at the Hollywood Theatre at MGM Grand on Tuesday night.

THE PUNCH LINE

"A new study has found that use of Viagra can double your chances of hearing loss. What?" -- 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.