Columnist Kate Maddox: Flamingo to fly by Knight

Kate Maddox

Friday, Jan. 11, 2002 | 9:02 a.m.

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

It may have taken months of planning, but Gladys Knight has finally signed a deal with Flamingo Las Vegas. Knight, who has spent the past several years touring, says she is thrilled to be settling down in a showroom in her hometown.

"I already work about 48 weeks a year," Knight said Thursday afternoon. "So to get to do this and be here in one place is like whipped cream."

Knight, who will perform seven shows a week for at least a year, says the deal wouldn't have come together without the help of Danny Gans and his manager, Chip Lightman. Lightman and Gans are partners in producing Knight's show.

And Knight isn't worried about making the leap from touring singer to permanent headliner.

"I'm a workaholic and so was my dad. I think I got that from him," she said."And it's easy because I just love what I do."

One insider who keeps tabs on Michael Jordan when he's hitting the tables in Vegas is shooting down the rumors that chronic gambling had something to do with Jordan's marital woes.

"I know people are speculating that he's got an addiction," the casino caretaker said. "But he doesn't throw around nearly as much (money) as some high rollers ... he perceives it as more of a hobby."

OK, so he's not Affleck-ian about it, but there are some who still believe that Jordan's wins and losses over the past couple of years, reportedly in the millions of dollars, had something to do with Juanita Jordan's decision to file for divorce last week.

What better way to wind down after a concert than with a little game of blackjack -- observed by 30-plus of your biggest fans.

Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler and guitarist Brad Whitford will be in the Hard Rock Hotel casino following their concert in The Joint tonight. At around midnight look for a crowd hovering -- a group of radio listeners from around the country won the opportunity to watch the duo gamble.

If your last name was Romeo, what day would you plan to open your new show? Darren Romeo, singing magician and Siegfried & Roy protege, is antsy to get back on the entertainment scene and friends say his show will open on Valentine's Day.

Only thing is, no one's quite sure where.

Romeo has been rehearsing in The Mirage (also home to you know who) and is reportedly hopeful that a deal for an afternoon show will be inked in coming weeks.

With subtle pressure generated by the Magicians of the Millennium, Bernie Yuman and Kenneth Feld -- all on Romeo's team -- odds are The Mirage will be only too happy to host the city's only singing magician.

Say you're the average techie. A nerdy-ish type who every year plans and pines for Las Vegas' annual Consumer Electronics Show. You get a kick out of the gadgets, the doodads, the pleasant conversation with others in the calculator crowd. So what do you do when you leave the show and find your windshield papered with flyers and invites to porn parties?

When worlds collide.

One conventioneer could barely get to his car in the Convention Center parking lot because it was plastered with invitations to events thrown by the other big convention in town, the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo. One bash, "Erocktica" at Insomnia, was calling its fete the "largest porn after party." Another, at Ra, was dubbed "Club Starlet -- XXX Party." Other venues in town trying to seduce the pocket-protecting CES crowd were Coyote Ugly and Hush.