Wynn remembers help from Griffin

Steve Wynn will remember Merv Griffin not just as "the greatest Las Vegas booster of all time," but for a personal boost when Wynn needed it most.

"All those years he was doing the show (here), we were very lucky because he loved Las Vegas. He was a big fan of Benny Binion's. Had him on his show many many times. He was fascinated with Benny," Wynn said.

After a major renovation at Wynn's first big venture in gaming, the 600-room Golden Nugget downtown, "we didn't have the money to buy 200 gross rating points in Los Angeles."

"But I did have that big golden nugget, the Hand of Faith, and Benny mentioned it to Merv," Wynn recalled.

Griffin called Wynn and said he would bring his crew down to the Golden Nugget to tape a segment on "The Merv Griffin Show," which was filmed at Caesars Palace throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

In what would be one of the first times Wynn would employ the wow factor, he showed off the iconic 61-pound nugget, a stunning symbol of Wynn's bold gamble, on national TV.

"He goes on with 10 minutes of effusive, wonderful 'and look at this place, gawd it's prettier than the Strip' and he repeated the show six times. He did a job on us. It was hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of exposure and of course you couldn't buy Merv a cup of coffee. And that was the beginning of our relationship."

"He got Las Vegas. He knew it was a party," Wynn said.

Griffin, an entertainment giant, died last Sunday of prostate cancer.

CAMERA QUARREL

A clip showing an on-air spat between KVBC-TV, Channel 3 morning host Kim Wagner and a female camera operator has shown up on YouTube, the popular video Web site.

During the one-minute, 50-second clip, Wagner gets upset at the camera angle and walks toward the camera.

"Here, I'll show you," she says, as she reaches toward the camera.

When she rejoins her husband and co-host Dana Wagner on a couch, she is heard saying, "Tyra refuses to raise the camera for us."

After tossing to morning weatherman John Fredericks, he attempts to defuse the tension by saying, "We love our crew," Kim Wagner interjected, "We love Tyra but right now she's a little pissed at us."

The video can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCrBe2GJmHA.

THE SCENE AND HEARD

Morning talk-show co-host Kerri Kasem has left KXNT-AM 840, 10 months after joining the station. Kasem, the daughter of legendary disc jockey Kasey Kasem, resigned about two weeks ago and left Thursday. "She moved back to her home in Los Angeles to further pursue her entertainment career," said program director Jack Landreth. "We all wish her well." A former host and reporter for E! Entertainment and a UFC host, she replaced Heidi Harris last October. ...

Three Elvis Presley impersonators with extensive Las Vegas backgrounds finished 1-2-3 in the first "Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist" Friday night in Memphis, Tenn. Shawn Klush, a "Legends in Concert" performer, outscored Sahara headliner Trent Carlini and Donny Edwards of Las Vegas. Because of misinformation received from Carlini's agent, it was erroneously reported here Saturday that Carlini had won the competition. Carlini, who won ABC's "The Next Best Thing" competition last month, was an easy winner of USA Today's favorite Elvis based on reader responses to videos of 10 finalists in the "Ultimate Elvis" contest.

SIGHTINGS

Pamela Anderson and friends, arriving at Jet (Mirage) at 3 a.m. Saturday. ... Drew Carey, motocross racer Carey Hart, race driver Jimmy Vasser and former big leaguer Chuck Knoblauch, at Body English (Hard Rock Hotel) on Friday.

THE PUNCH LINE

"Another Democratic debate last night. I don't want to say it did bad in the ratings, but it had so few viewers it was declared an NBC prime time show." -- Jay Leno

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