Rudner rowing to Venetian in ’11

After a four-year run at Harrah's, comedy legend Rita Rudner is moving: first to The Venetian in January then to California.

She's signed a six-month open-ended deal that begins Jan. 12 in The Venetian's 720-seat showroom.

Her last show at Harrah's is Jan. 1.

"I'm going to miss my people at Harrah's," she told Vegas Confidential on Tuesday. "They were so wonderful. But The Venetian made me a great offer: fewer shows in a bigger theater in a property that has a shopping mall, and I couldn't resist it."

She will appear on Mondays and Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 6 p.m.

In April, she will celebrate her 10th year on the Strip. She spent six years at New York-New York before moving to Harrah's. At the end of our interview, she dropped a bit of a bombshell. She and her husband/agent Martin Bergman are building a house in California.

The construction might take more than a year, she said. I asked whether that meant she was retiring.

"Just doing other things," she said.

She shot a film in the past year and has authored several books.

"I'll always be working in Las Vegas," she said.

THANKS, BUT ...

"The new Frank Sinatra" isn't on Nancy Sinatra's must-see list.

She's not interested in "imitators," she said.

She politely turned down an invitation via Twitter last week to see Matt Goss, the re-invented Caesars Palace headliner whose new style has been likened to the Rat Pack icon.

Now 70, Sinatra's daughter, who had two No. 1 hits in the 1960s ("These Boots Are Made for Walkin' " and "Somethin' Stupid") responded on Twitter: "I really don't like those tribute shows but thanks anyway."

"You might feel as I do if it were your father," she told the Goss fan. "No offense meant but I'm so tired of imitators."

Goss' ambitious plans were buoyed last month after his triumphant return to London that featured his first appearance at the legendary Royal Albert Hall.

The former British boy band star posted a tweet the other day saying, "would Love to put my London show in the Colosseum in Vegas! NYE ;)."

That wink suggests it's on, and based on the Goss show I recently saw, it could be a boffo New Year's Eve alternative.

THE SCENE AND HEARD

An undisclosed illness has forced Mirage headliner Terry Fator to drop out of two commitments this week. He was to sing the national anthem at Wayne Newton's USO benefit today and perform in Gary Sinise's concert for veterans on Saturday night at The Orleans. He will perform his nightly concerts and the "Tribute to the Troops" concert on Sunday in his theater. ...

And if you happen to run into Bernadine Schneider of Boulder City today, wish her a happy Veterans Day. Bernie, 99, joined the Ladies Auxiliary to the Veteran of Foreign Wars in 2001 as a tribute to her husband, who died that year.

SIGHTINGS

Singer Nelly Furtado, backstage after the Jabbawockeez show at Monte Carlo on Monday. ... Professional poker star Gavin Smith, marrying Kayce Edstrom on Monday night at the Mon Bel Ami chapel on Las Vegas Boulevard. ... Jonathan Duhamel, the 2010 World Series of Poker winner, celebrating at Pure (Caesars) on Tuesday night. Also in the house: Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi, who placed fifth in the WSOP. He was hosting the evening and celebrating with family members. Filippo Candio, who finished fourth, and Matthew Jarvis, who took eighth place, were also spotted.

THE PUNCH LINE

"Has anyone seen the aerosol cheese?" -- From David Letterman's Top Ten Dumb Guy Explanations For The Mystery Missile

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