Columnist Kate Maddox: Kole cool on ‘Sopranos’ bash

Kate Maddox

Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2001 | 8:27 a.m.

Kate Maddox's column appears Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 259-2309 or kmaddox @lasvegassun.com.

Kelly Kole called to say that she hadn't heard a thing about the genuine Bada Bing girls coming out here on Saturday to help entertain at the Las Vegas Hilton's high-roller "Sopranos" bash.

And she would know -- she's one of them.

"I was voted the favorite Bada Bing girl and I think we would have heard something about this if they were really using the real girls," said Kole during a phone conversation from New York.

An aspiring actress, Kole landed the role of Debbie ("I'm the only (Bada Bing girl) whose character got a name this season") and she's been teetering on her heels at parties and publicity appearances across the country ever since. Recently she helped "Survivor" alum Jerri Manthey celebrate her Playboy spread at a party in the Big Apple.

Well, it was really just a case of one Bunny supporting another. Kole was featured in Playboy's August "Girls of Bada Bing" photo layout.

Kole has her fingers crossed for next season on "The Sopranos." She's hoping her role will be upgraded, but she said most actors don't find out about their parts until right before shooting starts in October. "They let you know at the last minute," Kole said. "I can only hope!"

As for her participation in the Hilton bash, Kole said she'd be happy to fly out and officially represent the Bada Bing -- if she gets an invite to do so.

Rick Springfield's injuries sound a lot scarier than originally reported. This weekend the singer told TV's "Extra" that he was "so lucky not to have cracked my skull or broken my back" in his harrowing 30-foot free fall during a recent performance of "EFX Alive."

Springfield also said that he "went into shock" while he was plummeting from a broken wooden beam that gave way while he was standing on it.

Sporting a cast on his broken left arm, Springfield told "Extra" that he planned to return to his duties in "EFX Alive" in three weeks.

The man whose job it is to watch Vegas now has to worry about being watched himself. Such is the price of dating a celebrity starlet.

Jason Ader, a top gaming analyst for Bear Sterns and possibly the No. 1 go-to guy for anyone looking into Vegas' stock trends, is treading where MTV's Carson Daly has tread before: Tara Territory. Ader, a balding, 34-year-old Wall Street big shot, has been dating Tara Reid, the 25-year-old "American Pie 2" blonde cutie (and former Daly fiance), for the past couple of months.

In this week's Us Weekly, Reid says she's seeing Ader because she "need(s) a man, not a boy," and because "an older man is sexier, more confident of himself." And I'm guessing the frequent trips to Vegas don't hurt either. Reid's mom even gives him a thumbs-up. "We've met Jason several times," Donna Reid tells the magazine. "He's a real gentleman."

Don't look for the popular Earl Turner to disappear from Vegas' entertainment radar after his show closes at the Rio on Sept. 2. Rumor has it the singer will sign a new deal by the end of the week -- mostly likely at a different hotel.

Seven officially opens with a party on Sunday. The 22,000-square-foot restaurant space, formerly home to the Country Star American Music Grill, will become a giant nightclub after 11 p.m. The dinner tables will be put away and a DJ will move in. The club plans to stay open for revelers until five o'clock in the morning on weekends.

Dennis Rodman has already reserved the space for a private fete later this month. The appropriately named "Dennis Rodman's Drama in Las Vegas" will mark the official end of his "Rodman Bikini Tour 2001."