Parties will honor lounge pioneer

Some long overdue recognition is coming this week for Las Vegas lounge pioneer Louis Prima.

His son, Louis Jr., will perform his dad's biggest hits at a 100th birthday celebration Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. on the 1st Street Stage at the Fremont Street Experience.

Louis Prima, Keely Smith and Sam Butera helped usher in the Las Vegas lounge era in the 1950s with their New Orleans swing band at the Sahara's Casbar. Their ol' black magic quickly transformed Las Vegas into a 24-hour party town.

Local cover band the Swingin' Pedestrians will duplicate the vibe during their 8-11 p.m. gig.

Meanwhile, the folks at Siena Authentic Italian Trattoria & Deli, 9500 W. Sahara Ave., are marking Prima's birthday with a re-creation of the nine-course menu from the classic 1996 movie "Big Night" about two brothers hoping to save their failing Italian restaurant by putting on a special dinner.

The $88 feast includes a bottle of wine. Call 702-360-3358 for information.

And let's hope all the buzz will fire up interest in adding Louis Prima Street to the list honoring iconic Las Vegas entertainers.

LOVIN' LAS VEGAS

The future wife of Las Vegas-grown NASCAR star Kyle Busch appears to be on a fast track to becoming one of NASCAR's "it" girls.

Samantha "Sam" Sarcinella's Twitter following has soared to almost 12,000 since she appeared in a September miniseries on ESPN titled "Riding Shotgun: Kyle Busch."

Most of the show centered on her life as she and Busch, the bad boy of NASCAR, head for their New Year's Eve wedding in Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral.

She's into the vintage era and is going with an ostrich and peacock feathers theme for their ceremony. He designed her vintage wedding ring.

They were in town for NASCAR's Champions Week, and she's embracing all things Vegas, including a certain iconic burger franchise.

"Made it to vegas!," she tweeted earlier this week. "First stop.... In n out of course!"

After a workout at Wynn Las Vegas she tweeted she was off to find "some killer leopard pumps" for her Thursday outing.

She added in another tweet that her dress for Friday's award show had arrived and "I'll give u one hint...SEQUINS! Hey it's Vegas..."

SIGHTINGS

Josh Harris of Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch," sitting with Charidie Timberman, wife of 2004 world champion bareback rider Kelly Timberman, at Sunday's National Finals Rodeo session. ... Tiger Woods' mistress, Rachel Uchitel, at N9NE Steakhouse on Friday with a gal pal. ... "90210" star Annalynne McCord, at La Cave Wine & Food Hideway (Wynn) on Sunday with sister Rachel, the restaurant's special events director. ... Quentin "Rampage" Jackson at Vanity (Hard Rock Hotel) on Saturday with a group of country music stars. Spotted at the club: actor Johnathon Schaech and country stars Laura Bell Bundy, Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts and singer Easton Corbin.

THE PUNCH LINE

"When I was king, I never made anyone wait." -- Rodeo legend Ty Murray to Trevor Brazile, who arrived late for a photo setup of the two Saturday, a day after Brazile's eighth NFR All-Around Cowboy title bettered Murray's record.

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