Columnist Kate Maddox: Stern broadcast features a bust

Kate Maddox

Friday, Feb. 8, 2002 | 9:41 a.m.

Kate Maddox's column appears Fridays, Sundays and Tuesdays in the Las Vegas Sun. Reach her at (702) 259-2309 or kmaddox@lasvegassun.com

You win some, you lose some. And so goes another Howard Stern betting spectacular. On Wednesday night a Stern listener who had a particularly sad life story was even more sadder after she took a hit on 15 (against the dealer's 10) and busted at the blackjack table.

One hundred thousand dollars was at stake.

Bummer.

The website goldenpalace.com put up the cash, as it did for last year's Stern blackjack showcase. After this go-round there was no winner. But in a gesture of kindness the Hard Rock Hotel gave both the first and second "saddest story" winners $5,000 for their troubles -- courtesy of Hard Rock owner Peter Morton.

So for the two women, sharing the most intimate details of their hard-knock lives to a radio audience of approximately 40 million didn't turn out to be a total bust.

This year was also a little different for Stern in that he decided to actually attend a party at Club Paradise held in his honor. Last year Paradise General Manager Dennis DeGori ponied up somewhere around $50,000 to get the shock jock and his posse to his club. The crazier members of Stern's crew showed, but the man in charge claimed fatigue and begged off.

No word on the fee for this year's stripper bonanza, but Stern did stay awake long enough to entertain a dancer or two. He was talking up the joint live on the air Wednesday night, proclaiming Club Paradise has the best girls in Vegas.

I'm guessing that kind of fun ended late Thursday when Stern's girlfriend, model/actress Beth Ostrosky, arrived on the scene from New York. One insider says Ostrosky and her better-behaving beau will stay on in a Hard Rock suite for a little R&R through Saturday.

Hard-partying heiress Paris Hilton will be having her 21st birthday blowout in Vegas after all. Hilton, who has a penchant for doffing her top and dancing on bars 'round the globe, has settled on a late-February soiree at Light, the expensive new club at Bellagio.

A spokesman for Light still won't comment on the private event, but invitees are already planning what to wear (or not wear) to the exclusive bash.

Hilton's been acting 21 since she was 14, but that's not stopping her from marking her official leap into adulthood. Hey, at least now she's legal. And to show her new, more mature side, the invitations to the party feature young Paris in a bunny costume and in a barely there bikini.

Though she's 22 years old, holds a good job with Blue Man Group and is a student at UNLV, Tammy Unglesbee apparently doesn't feel the need to hide her love for boy band O-Town. And on Saturday night at 9, the rest of the world will be able to mock/congratulate Unglesbee as she takes the cake on MTV's "Win a Date with O-Town" contest.

Weeks back, Unglesbee, who works as a management assistant for Blue Man Group, submitted a video to the music television network proclaiming her love for the youthful boy groovers. She also expressed her desire to tie the knot with one particular member.

I won't say which of the five is the object of Unglesbee's obsession, but I will say that the Blue Man Groupie indeed makes it down the aisle.

Personal fave Gladys Knight kicks things off at Flamingo Las Vegas on Tuesday night with a VIP performance. Knight's contract at the Strip hotel is for one year.