Columnist Kate Maddox: Vegas ‘N Sync with heartthrobs

Kate Maddox

Friday, July 27, 2001 | 8:49 a.m.

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

Teeny-bopper sightings are expected this weekend. Be on the lookout for members of 'N Sync, as well as 'N Sync fans, 'N Sync gal-pals (specifically Britney Spears) and hordes of screaming hangers-on.

Here's the skinny on the boys' Las Vegas weekend: Following tonight's concert at Sam Boyd Stadium, they'll attend an after-party at Ra. Saturday marks the start of the group's fund-raiser, Challenge for the Children III. Basically, celebs run around town on a scavenger hunt. Woo-hoo. (If you're truly desperate for a peek at Spears and Co., try hanging out at Paris Las Vegas in the morning. Limos will pull up to the Eiffel Tower and unload the hunters for a quick elevator ride to the top -- one of the required stops.)

Saturday night look for the popsters at a VIP auction/party at Olio! and then at a hush-hush celebration late-night at Studio 54. On Sunday the gang plays hoops all day with oodles of stars and NBA noteworthys (Oh, to be in a boy band with the hottest record in the country! Sigh.) Party to follow at Planet Hollywood.

OK, so don't tell me I didn't let you in on where to spot the little buggers. Grab pens, posters and cameras and get to work.

And to think, it all started right here with a case of Bud and a hanky-panky filled ride up an elevator. Ain't love grand?

That's right, Pam Anderson and Kid Rock's romantic April evening in Las Vegas was the start of something beautiful and rumormongers are saying all that tonsil-hockey will soon culminate in Sin City nuptials.

Anderson and the Kid bonded, to put it mildly, all over town when they attended Tiger Jam IV a few months back. Gross-out sightings of the lovebirds popped up everywhere: in the bathroom at the Hard Rock Hotel, in the dimly lit corners of the Foundation Room, in restaurants, swimming pools, limos -- lemme tell you, the fun never stopped.

MSNBC gossip scribe Jeannette Walls is reporting that pals of Anderson and Rock are saying that the hard-partying twosome plan to wed here in coming weeks.

Now that Robert Goulet has officially packed it in at the Showroom at the Venetian, stories are leaking about just how dire things were for the performer from the very start of his aborted nine-week run.

One source says Goulet only sold 40 tickets to his first preview performance, and that a local casting company was enlisted to hire extras to fill the empty seats prior to the grand opening.

Another insider is saying Showroom operators offered to let Goulet stay open on an IOU basis, but the star and his manager wife, Vera, reportedly declined the offer, opting instead to pull the plug and bail ASAP.

Hopefully "Chicago" will fare better when it moves in this fall. Updates from show insiders confirm rehearsals begin next week in New York. The cast will then tour the country for six weeks to work out the kinks. Following the practice run, "Chicago" lands at the Showroom in October.

Don't you think brides and grooms who even want to copy Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston's wedding bands already have enough troubles of their own? Pitt and Aniston should be flattered -- and a little scared, maybe -- but flattered nonetheless.

No matter. The duo are suing Damiani International for allowing other couples the opportunity to purchase reproductions of their rings. (The horror!)

The $50 million suit names Venetian jewelry store Cadoro as one of the two places in the country where people could obtain the knock-off bands of gold.

A spokesman for the shop said he could not comment on the suit, but assured that the rings were never sold, nor were they on display, at the store.

However, he added, they could be special ordered.