VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: Dion in the driver’s seat with Chrysler

Friday, Nov. 8, 2002 | 9:25 a.m.

Some people are pretty comfortable with talking about how much money they make.

Celine Dion is not one of them.

At a staged media event at Caesars Palace on Tuesday, DaimlerChrysler introduced two new models and announced a large, multiyear endorsement deal with Dion, the platinum-selling Canadian chanteuse.

Dion made her appearance by driving one of the models out from behind a black velvet curtain onto a viewing platform.

"I always have chauffeurs to drive me," she said with a giggle as she emerged from the sleek, silver Crossfire prototype.

After emerging, she said it was the first time she had driven a car in at least a decade. (When I asked her later if she even had a driver's license she didn't respond.)

After she spent a few minutes comparing Chrysler automobiles and her songs to love and passion, she took some questions from the assembled ink-stained wretches.

The first inquiries were pretty simple: How long was her Chrysler contract? How much money she would be paid? Why, exactly she was doing it? Did she need the money?

Dion took a breath, and balancing in her gold high heel sandal shoes, she adjusted her beige gown and walked down the stairs.

She stopped right in front of the assembled media.

"I do not talk about money, and I am not going to start now," she snapped.

The assorted onlookers, gamblers and fans behind the velvet ropes burst into applause.

Dion then stood among the press and for the next 10 minutes delivered a spirited, passionate and emotional defense of what some people would call selling out to the corporate-industrial complex.

Others would call it smart business.

For a deal estimated to be in the seven-figure range, all Dion has to do is record a new song that will be the music for a commercial, make a few appearances at tightly controlled company events and ... that's about all.

Oh, and drive something from her new fleet of Chryslers.

"As a mom, I expect to be spending a great deal of time behind the wheel of my new Town & Country minivan," she said after she calmed down a bit.

Dion's Caesars show "A New Day" opens March 25 in the new 4,000-seat Colosseum.

Bankable star

Frank Marino is a gay, crossing-dressing public spectacle. He also happens to be smart.

"It is called show business -- and that second word isn't there by accident," the longtime star of "An Evening at La Cage" at the Riviera told VegasBeat.

Marino and Las Vegas attorney Eric Fitting have just put the finishing touches on a lawsuit against Marino's Las Vegas brokerage firm, Dain Rauscher. If the arbitration process fails -- and it has so far -- Marino says he plans to file a $500,000 claim as soon as Monday.

"I understand the vagaries of the stock market, but this is a bad faith claim -- they put me into some investments that were clearly intended to help them more than me," Marino said.

"For example, why does a single male with no dependents need a $6 million life-insurance policy with sky-high monthly premiums?"

Hard as it is to believe, the normally talkative Marino would not go into too many more details, citing his lawyers' advice to keep his mouth shut.

The Dain Rauscher office on Howard Hughes Parkway referred calls to its Minneapolis headquarters. On Thursday spokesman Dan Callahan said he was unable to comment on the matter.

Tuned in

Who says Las Vegans aren't intellectuals?

Based on the killer response the local National Public Radio affiliate, KNPR 89.5-FM, just received during its membership drive, there are apparently a lot of high-end listeners around here. Smart ones, too.

KNPR board members Louis Castle, Pat Chapin, Deborah Jones, Rose McKinney James and Ed Lubbers told VegasBeat (but not at the same time, thankfully) that more than 1,600 listeners pledged a record breaking $227,000 to the station during its 10-day drive, which ended this week.

Truckin'

Lonesome tonight? Or more accurately, in a few weeks?

That's all right. You can go to Graceland.

Mobile Graceland, that is.

It features all kinds of Elvis Presley memorabilia such as his old record player, an Army jacket and a letter to Elvis from President Richard Nixon, and arrives housed in a 53-foot 18-wheeler.

The exhibit literally rolls into Harrah's in Laughlin on Nov. 23. It will conclude its 31-city tour by parking at Harrah's in Las Vegas from Nov. 27 through Dec. 15.

Horse sense

Four bronze horse sculptures by Las Vegas artist and writer Norm Johnson are on display at the Markham Gallery inside The Rio.

Johnson's work is far more interesting than most of the painted cows grazing around town.

His local rep, Karen Martinez, also has them for sale on the popular auction website eBay.

Check out ...

Vin Diesel and Michael Andretti at ghostbar at Palms Wednesday night ... Shannen Doherty all over town this week filming a new Sci-Fi Channel hidden-camera reality game show called "Scare Tactics"; the former "Beverly Hills, 90210" star "Charmed" folks at Little Buddha Wednesday night and then on Thursday morning at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, both at Palms. Tuesday night she was spotted downing a $575 bottle of Cristal Champagne (with help from some girl friends) in the VIP Lounge at Studio 54 ... Susan Molasky, Beth Moskowitz, Cheryl Goldstein, Jill Fertitta, Vicki Fertitta, Jane Shoal, Lynn Weisner and Dena G. duBoef leading a charge of society types into a private shopping session at the new Dolce & Gabbana inside the Forum Shops at Caesars on Tuesday afternoon ... Frank Schreck, one of the many Democrats who w ere spotted roaming around the Caesars Palace pool Tuesday night at the Republican Party bash ... Penn Jillette (wit! hout Teller) at Ricci Martin's show at Riviera late Wednesday night, telling Martin that his pal Bob Dylan was a huge Dean Martin fan ...