Columnist Kate Maddox: ‘Club’ to be wielded in Vegas

Kate Maddox

Tuesday, May 22, 2001 | 8:20 a.m.

One TV producer sounds like he's about to strike gold. A new show is in the works, part "Beverly Hills 90210" and part "The Sopranos," based on the life and times of Las Vegas rich kids. And, hello, it really was only a matter of time.

"Desert Club" promises to be a juicy inside look at the next generation of the too rich and too powerful. Executive producers Robert Escobar and Randy Spelling (son of Aaron) have been scouting clubs, strip joints and after-hours parties to develop what Escobar calls "a realistic edge" for the drama series.

The pilot is scheduled to be completed in four weeks. Fox is interested in picking up a season (no surprise there) and cast and crew could be shooting new episodes by the end of the summer. The entire production will be based in town.

Of course all of this could be potentially bad news for the real-life counterparts of the next wave of Brendas, Kellys, Brandons and Dylans. Most of Las Vegas' wealthiest offspring do their hardcore partying in private clubs (read: places most of us couldn't afford or even get into). Exposing the underbelly of the rich and famous in a splashy TV series could mean disturbing a quiet subculture, or (better yet) give the rest of us an opportunity to make fun of spoiled rich kids.

Well, pass the remote. This could be the best thing to happen to Spelling TV since Heather Locklear bed-hopped her way through "Melrose Place."

More on the show: A private casting party to find the sexier "Desert Club" regulars will be held at a hush-hush location on Thursday. Producer Escobar says he's invited strip club bouncers, general managers and young millionaires to bring "girls with a sexy, 'Baywatch' look." (Right, because America needs to know that all women in Las Vegas look like they've just come from pole-hanging at Cheetah's.)

The casting party will also feature celebrity attendees, a DJ and a "friendly, family-like atmosphere."

Sounds like yet another Cirque du Soleil show is about to sign a deal on the Strip. The buzz is Steve Wynn has successfully lured his old friends from Cirque into setting up shop at his newest property.

But some entertainment insiders suspect this latest rumor could cause friction between Wynn and MGM MIRAGE, since Cirque du Soleil has also been in talks to bring shows to either MGM Grand or New York-New York.

Either way, one celebrity pal of Wynn's has been telling friends that the Vegas visionary has finally OK'd designs for his property and is ahead of schedule.

All I can say is, forget what you've heard about Versailles. Word is Wynn's latest venture will be sleek, modern and state of the art.

Has Andre Agassi already put a price tag on his Marin County compound? On Monday Cindy Adams hinted in the New York Post that Agassi and his love, Steffi Graf, are trying to sell the sprawling pad the tennis star purchased for a whopping $23 million last year.

In February Agassi told the San Francisco Chronicle that he was planning to move into the new spread within a month. No word whether he and Graf have taken up residence.

A svelte and smiling Sheena Easton will open at the Las Vegas Hilton on June 5. New promo shots show the petite singer has lost a little weight and updated her image since closing in "At the Copa" in January.