Mayweather likes to flash the cash

Most nights, Floyd Mayweather Jr. hits the red carpet with more diamonds than Lucy's sky.

In the city that's seen a galaxy of big spenders, the 30-year-old welterweight champ is the reigning king of flash and cash.

Name a nightclub or strip club and Mayweather has likely rained thick wads of $100 bills on the crowd, often $10,000 a night. That doesn't include the Cristal champagne he showers on his entourage and club patrons.

"I've seen him (make it rain) at least 20 times in the last couple years," said Branden Powers, marketing director for Forum Shops hotspot Poetry, formerly OPM, one of Mayweather's favorite haunts.

"Pound for pound, he's the best tipper," Powers said.

One lucky stripper got a $50,000 tip one night, according to my spies.

When Mayweather and his posse roll, each with a gold goblet on occasion, it's not unusual to see his mini-fleet made up of a Maybach, a Mercedes McLaren SLR and a Rolls Royce Phantom, each worth about $500,000.

Mayweather and British champ Ricky Hatton meet tonight in a battle of unbeatens at the MGM Grand.

With celebrities seemingly being targeted more often, including the recent home-invasion murder of Sean Taylor, the Washington Redskins' young star, I asked Mayweather if he considered dialing back his ostentatious public persona.

"I think athletes are targeted, but sometimes you can be in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said.

"That situation that happened happens every day around the world. It just happened to be a star athlete," added Mayweather, who was dripping in diamonds, including a studded religious cross as wide and as long as a hand.

"With me it's entertainment," Mayweather said Thursday night, after a red carpet appearance at Tabu Ultra Lounge at the MGM Grand for a Toys for Tots drive.

"We're in the entertainment capital of the world," Mayweather told me. "Why not bring something different to the sport? Flash and flair.

"When you watch Floyd Mayweather, you don't just see a guy who entertains -- a guy that's flamboyant -- but also a kid who has a heart and who gives back to the community, to kids who are less fortunate."

Powers said: "I've seen him buying out Nike Town, with 20 to 30 bags of shoes in tow."

Added Mayweather, "I'm just going to surround myself with the right people ... good, clean guys," he paused, "and security."

"He travels with more muscle than John Gotti did," Powers said.

THE SCENE AND HEARD

Hot spots, cool stuff: Mayweather's after-party is at Jet, and Hatton's is at Body English at the Hard Rock. ...

Last call for the online silent auction being conducted by cast, crew and orchestra of "Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular." They are presenting "A Phantom Family Holiday Concert: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" to benefit Family Promise of Las Vegas. The concert is 2 p.m. Sunday at the Nicholas Horn Theater, on the Cheyenne Campus of the College of Southern Nevada. Admission: $30 donation per person. To bid: www.Family PromiseLVTickets.com.

SIGHTINGS

Samuel L. Jackson, Hayden Christensen and Rachel Bilson, in front of the Great Sphinx at Luxor at midnight Friday. They were promoting the debut of the trailer for the film "Jumper," which is being released this weekend. The film will be released in February. The trailer features Christensen atop the Sphinx. ... Lifetime Channel is filming a segment tonight for its new "Better My Party" show at the home of Harmik, the Tom Jones clone. ...

Legendary New Orleans sax player Herbert Hardesty, longtime band leader of Fats Domino, playing with South Carolina's Deas-Guyz at Thursday's opening of Louis's Fish Camp.

THE PUNCH LINE

"Richard Simmons' Fruit Loops." -- From David Letterman's Top Ten Least Popular Kellogg's Cereals

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