Columnist Kate Maddox: V Bar will be V place to be

Kate Maddox

Saturday, Sept. 30, 2000 | 2:36 a.m.

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

As Las Vegas steps into the realm of swank and sophistication, so, too, must the cocktail crowd. Enter V Bar, which come November will be the latest see-and-be-seen hangout on the Strip.

Opening in the Venetian's restaurant-row area, V Bar is the brainchild of a collaboration between East Coast and West Coast club gurus. One of the partners, Brad Johnson, is the mind behind L.A.'s fabled celebrity clubhouse the Sunset Room. And the other two partners, David Rabin and Will Regan, scored their latest hangout swank-torium in New York with a supper club called Lotus.

Both teams boast high success rates and cutting-edge design elements, balanced with just the right touch of EuroTrash, new money and celebrity sightings.

In an effort not to overplay the look of a standard Vegas lounge/bar, or the circus-on-acid ambience of some hotel nightclubs, the creators of V Bar hired a young New York design team and challenged it to do something different. So different it'll be: a 50-foot glass wall that will wrap around the bar, double-sided chaise lounges offering places to, well, lounge. And let's not forget the bed.

The most-coveted spot will no doubt be a custom-designed, supersized bed made of pearlized silver leather, in the middle of which will be a hollowed space with a table holding a bevy of exotic cocktails. And I thought Serta had a perfect sleeper.

Gwen Castaldi, who departed her position as news director at KVVU Channel 5 in August, was spotted at the Venetian this week, working with celebrities and a crew from "Entertainment Tonight."

The longtime Las Vegas newswoman was field-producing for "ET," lining up the stars of "Rat Race," including Whoopi Goldberg, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Jon Lovitz, for interviews.

So has Castaldi found a new niche in entertainment TV?

"Nope. I really still love news, just not in a day-to-day situation," she said.

Asked what she's been up to lately and what's on the agenda for her career, Castaldi replied she'd just like to take things slowly.

"I have a lot of plans," Castaldi said. "I'd like to start doing some more voice work, maybe some video production and also look into starting a business in media training to help young journalists learn the ropes."

I guess RodmanTV.com isn't quite as lucrative as expected. The Web cameras Dennis Rodman set up around his house aren't attracting the multitude of fans he was hoping for. Now there's a shocker.

An attempt to come up with a Plan B for fast cash has led the former NBA hoopster to find the answer in himself, and, unfortunately, with himself.

Rodman's agent quietly announced last week that the flamboyant, cross-dressing party boy will now be available to personally entertain for you and your friends for a mere $75,000 an hour. Oh happy day! I wonder if he does weddings ...

Entertainer Sonny King is out at the Regent Las Vegas. The 74-year-old's comedy revue, "When Lounge Shows Were King," won't be picked up for a contract extension. Regent Director of Entertainment Jim Grifall said the hotel is re-evaluating its entertainment priorities.

C2K may not be up and running at full-steam just yet, but the troubled club is trying to spice things up in the meantime.

In an effort to keep the fans around, the Venetian OK'd the opening of the nightclub for Salsa Nights on Thursday and Friday, and should do so again this week. For $17 on Thursday, or $23 on Friday (yikes!), you can dance to the Ecstasy-free rhythms of a Latin band.

But you can be sure the hotel has the last word on this deal. Buzz from inside the Venetian confirms the rumor: Hotel brass will have ultimate control over what goes into the nightclub space from here on out.