Columnist Kate Maddox: Club to be great for airheads

Kate Maddox

Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2000 | 8:09 a.m.

Kate Maddox's column appears Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at kmaddox@lasvegassun.com

OK, I'm going to write just one more item on C2K and that's it. Finis. So let's launch the new version of the Venetian nightclub with a little good publicity for a change, shall we?

Look for some new attractions at the multilevel spot. First, gone will be the old club crowd. This time around C2K will cater to a "more mature, upscale clientele ... mainly between the ages of 28 and 45," according to a club spokesman.

To aid in keeping the late-night spirits of that boisterous demographic up and raging, C2K has installed an oxygen bar. The O2 Zone will feature 16 stations offering flavored oxygen. And let me tell you, there's nothing cooler than dancing around with plastic tubing up your nose. Par-tay.

Actually, the oxygen area will be a "quieter part" of the club, a video lounge, if you will, with TV screens built into in coffee tables. And what else is hip with the so-called upscale crowd these days? Well, the martini/cigar bar, of course. Sure, the popularity of the idea peaked eons ago, but C2K has installed a liquor-and-lounge area on the mezzanine level just in case.

Music at the establishment will also change. Gone are the thumping techno, E-fueled rave beats. In their place will be '70s/'80s dance tunes, with some '90s pop and a little house music thrown into the mix. Cultural backpedaling, once again, should help the fogies chill out.

And do not look for the burly bodyguards from those C2K days of yore. Instead, ladies dressed in evening gowns, serving as "hostesses," will greet customers. Hosts will don suits. Great, so getting escorted out by security will be a much classier affair. Fabulous.

The new and improved C2K opens Saturday night. Still 10 bucks for the guys, but local ladies get in for just five.

Lauren Hutton was released from UMC on Monday after a 2 1/2-week stay following a motorcycle accident. The actress left the hospital in a wheelchair, but was awake and alert and listed in fair condition.

The best part of attending Saturday night's Radio Music Awards was deciding which acts would still be around next year. Those who might not were awarded an imaginary Lou Bega Award (last year, Bega's "Mambo No. 5" left America with a little bit of please-go-away in their lives).

This year, awards go to: O-Town, ABC's boy band, enough said. Sisqo, who held the charts with -- no, not talent -- women's underwear. 98 Degrees, boy band, shmoy band, see above. And finally, Ricky Martin -- livin' la vida bye-bye. Congratulations to everyone, see you next year ... or not.

Another interesting note from the RMAs was (a heavily made-up) Oscar De La Hoya announcing (again) he will quit boxing after "a few more fights" and then focus on his recording career. He also admitted that his "mentor in life" was Ol' Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra.

One Strip performer has already made plans to play at a political celebration this evening -- should there be a victory to celebrate. Jimmy Hopper, who sings five nights a week at the Fontana Bar at the Bellagio, will be at the Mandalay Bay Events Center tonight to sing the national anthem if John Ensign wins his Senate race. Hopper, a GOP junkie, felt confident enough about the outcome of the race that he asked his Bellagio bosses for the night off weeks ago.