By Robin Leach · December 3, 2008 · 3:43 PM

* Despite a reeling national economy, the superstar lineup scheduled for New Year’s Eve on the Strip might well be the biggest and best block party of them all! Some of the heaviest hitters from showbiz will actually be competing against three live telecasts on Dec. 31, and the rundown, quite honestly, is overwhelming to even me!

How one makes a decision of what to see and where to go and how to party is beyond me. But you had better make your reservations now to ensure that you’re here for the party of the year. I think I’ve got the entire celebrity lineup now.

THE BANK AT BELLAGIO: Grammy Award-winning, smooth, silky R&B soul singer Usher is set to bring “Love in This Club” and grab the mic for the 10 through 11:59 p.m. countdown.

Scott Doctor

Fergie

LAVO AT THE PALAZZO: The glamorous Back Eyed Peas singer Fergie will first perform in concert at the adjoining Venetian Ballroom and then race over in the Tao/Lavo Escalade golf cart to handle the countdown chores at Lavo and then party on through the pre-dawn hours.

CHRISTIAN AUDIGIER AT TREASURE ISLAND: "The Hills" stars and so-called newlyweds Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt will host the midnight countdown and maybe just wind up as the first celebrity couple to be really married here on New Year’s Day!

HOUSE OF BLUES AT MANDALAY BAY: Musical maverick Akon sings and raps his way into 2009 with a midnight hour concert at the House of Blues.

JET AT THE MIRAGE: They sent fanatical fans into a frenzy at their fall concert here, and now Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood from New Kids on the Block are returning for Dec. 31 party festivities.

LAX AT THE LUXOR: Our friends the Kardashians will ring in the New Year with a champagne-fueled celebration. Kim and sisters Kourtney and Khloe will be decked out in fashion’s finery for the platinum party.

THE PEARL CONCERT THEATER AT THE PALMS: Infamous rebel rocker Kid Rock will do double-duty to welcome the New Year. He’s the first of what will become a quick trend in appearing on both Dec. 31 and then staying over to reprise the excitement during the Jan. 2-3 weekend. On New Year’s Eve, he will blow the roof off of The Pearl Concert Theater in concert and then host upstairs at the Playboy Club in George Maloof’s Fantasy Tower. He’ll then repeat it all a second time Jan. 3 for all the visitors who got crowded out three days earlier! Clever thinking!

Scott Doctor

Carmen Electra

TAO AT THE VENETIAN: Sexy pinup actress Carmen Electra will be the pint-sized personality punch powering the restaurant and nightclub celebrations at the Asian-themed hot spot. Come midnight, she and DJ Vice will handle the countdown and then party on through the night.

PRIVE AT PLANET HOLLYWOOD: It’s an initial double-header with more celebrity surprises to come. Reality TV star Denise Richards from E!’s It’s Complicated series will toast the arrival of 2009 alongside hip-hop pioneer DMC, who also will play guest DJ for the night. The party may run all night and all day because on the first night of ’09, Grammy Award-winning artist Benny Benassi plays house DJ.

PURE AT CAESARS PALACE: Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz and pop singer bride Ashlee Simpson will make their first public appearance since becoming new proud parents of bouncing baby boy Bronx Mowgli last week. They’ll make a midnight toast, and Pete will play guest DJ.

SOUTH POINT: It may well be a New Year, but you can bet Tony Orlando will reprise a few old hits including “Tie a Yellow Ribbon” in a dinner show at the grand ballroom of South Point. Tony will perform a 90-minute set leading into his midnight champagne toast.

* Philadelphia Phillies World Series champion pitcher Andrew Carpenter attended the Blue Man Group show at The Venetian with his wife. At 23, Andrew is a premiere young arm in Philadelphia, and he set a record 17 wins while playing with Philadelphia’s rookie league team in Clearwater, Fla. He was called up for the big time during Philadelphia’s run to the playoffs this past 2008 season.

N9NE Group

Paul Pierce with the Playboy Bunnies.

* Even though NBA star player Paul Pierce is captain of the champion Boston Celtics, his legal residence is right here in Las Vegas, and he maintains a condominium hotel near South Point. Paul even voted here!

Now for the first time, he’s talked candidly about the awful night he was stabbed 11 times in the face, neck and back that required life-saving surgery after somebody picked a fight with him in a Boston nightclub. He proudly displays a tattoo on his arm that shows a dagger going through a basketball!

“It represents how close I came to losing my life. Basketball is my gift and my curse. Obviously there are all the good things that come from playing basketball, but you also have to deal with all the negative things that come with being a basketball player. You have people who are envious,” he told famed lawyer Alan Dershowitz in an exclusive interview for our sister magazine Boston Common.

“When I was attacked, my life flashed before my eyes,” he continued. “You ponder all your relationships, your family. It helps you grow so much as an individual knowing that it can all end in a second at any given time. I still worry for my safety, but I live a different lifestyle now. I have a child now, and I think about that first. Her name is Prianna Lee -- 7 months old. I had my first child the year I won a championship."

Find Robin Leach's full blog and updated coverage of the celebrity scene in Las Vegas at Vegas DeLuxe.com.