Phelps finds gold plying Las Vegas waters
Las Vegas has become a dating pool for Olympic swimming legend Michael Phelps.
And it appears cocktail servers are his type.
The 18-time Olympic gold medalist reportedly met his new girlfriend, Megan Rossee, in a Las Vegas club earlier this year.
Rossee, described as a California model who has worked as a cocktail server, has become a celebrity in London since she showed up on the red carpet with Phelps over the weekend.
Phelps was a club-hopping fixture in Las Vegas after his eight gold medal onslaught in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
During his post-Olympic celebration here, he was serious enough with a Palms cocktail server that he took her home to meet his mother.
But his relationship with Carolynn "Caz" Pal bottomed out a short time later. She currently works as a VIP table host at 1 OAK nightclub at The Mirage.
Pal, in her first interview with Vegas Confidential in December 2008, agreed to talk after her Thanksgiving trip with Phelps.
By then the Internet was ablaze with risqué photos of her, including a photo shoot for Beverly Pimp & Hos, an urban clothing line that was popularized by Dennis Rodman, Carmen Electra and Nick Cannon.
She said the publicity storm was an unfair portrayal.
"Those photos are not a statement of who I am," she told me.
Pal agreed to the interview on the condition that she would not discuss Phelps. She did reveal how she met him: Someone in his entourage delivered a "message" to her while she was having lunch with a girlfriend at the Palms.
Phelps had kept his relationship with Rossee submerged for months, although she was seen with him at the Olympic trials in Omaha.
Her father, Wayne Rossee, told Rumorfix.com that she went to London at Phelps' request.
"She is not with him to be famous. She doesn't need that from him," Wayne Rossee said.
Among the many photos that surfaced almost overnight of Phelps' girlfriend included one taken by SpyonVegas.com of her with girlfriends posing with a male dressed as quarterback Tom Brady in a New England Patriots uniform.
DOUBLING DOWN IN VEGAS
The Real Madrid-Santos Lagunas match, which drew 30,000 to Sam Boyd Stadium on Sunday, was just the beginning of an ambitious plan, according to one of the promoters.
Susan Joseph, chairman and CEO of Justice Entertainment Group, told me the idea is to double down next year.
She said JEG is working on a four-team super-rivals weekend event that would pit Manchester United against Manchester City and FC Barcelona "hopefully" taking on Real Madrid.
The winners would meet on a Sunday at Sam Boyd Stadium.
Europe's top clubs are throwing their weight behind efforts to boost soccer's popularity in the United States.
Cristiano Ronaldo told Los Angeles reporters last week that he wouldn't mind following David Beckham's lead by playing for a U.S. club.
"(The soccer here) is good, but it can be better," he said. "If I can help it to be better soccer here, I can help. I think they are great; they are in a good way. I hope to come here to play one day."
THE SCENE AND HEARD
"Iron Man" director Jon Favreau announced on Twitter that he has plan to direct the big-screen adaptation of the Broadway hit musical "Jersey Boys." Favreau wrote and starred in "Swingers," the story of a happening road trip to Las Vegas with a best friend portrayed by Vince Vaughn.
SIGHTINGS
ESPN baseball analyst Orel Hershiser with wife Dana in the lounge at Joe's Stone Crab (Forum Shops at Caesars) on Tuesday.
THE PUNCH LINE
"What's going on with the Jets? They've had more fights this year than Floyd Mayweather." - Frank Caliendo
Norm Clarke can be reached at 702-383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com. Follow Norm on Twitter @Norm_Clarke.
