Thursday, Aug. 14, 2003 | 11:07 a.m.
Once upon a time, the must-have accessory for a Hollywood power player was a car phone.
Then, it was a certain designer bag. And later it became the latest PDA.
Now the stakes are higher -- the hottest celebrity accoutrement is your own line of clothing.
And pages of A-Listers -- everyone from Jackie Chan to Lisa Marie Presley -- are coming to Las Vegas for the MAGIC clothing convention the last week of August to promote their own new lines or to support others.
Since the days of Audrey Hepburn and Givenchy, celebs and fashion designers have worked hand-in-hand. But now, the famous are branding their names on duds as never before.
Sela Ward is hosting the MAGIC opening-night party at an undisclosed location. Hip-hop vocalist Eve is launching Fetish, her own naughty lingerie line, at Crustacean.
"Why not? I got tired of asking designers for clothes. It was time to start designing my own stuff," Eve told Essense magazine.
Christy Turlington might attend some MAGIC events to promote her Nuala yoga-wear line. Bow Wow is also hosting a party for his new line, Shago.
A new male underwear line called Big Headed Boxers has rented out ghostbar one night for its launch party, and is trying to get as many high-profile pugilists as it can round up to attend. Mike Tyson was to be its star attraction, but after his recent bankruptcy filing he is not expected to show.
Dionne Warwick's son Damon Elliot will likely have Presley in his audience and Beyonce and Pink modeling his wares on the runway; both have an eye toward doing their own designs.
Ja Rule and Ashanti are hosting a party celebrating denim and how their new line incorporates the fabric.
Already, such Las Vegas stores as Macy's carry Carlos Santana Shoes, Jay-Z's Rocawear, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs' Sean John, Russell Simmons' Phat Farm, and items designed at least in part by Eminem, Jennifer Lopez and Gwen Stefani.
Of those, Combs will be in Vegas during MAGIC co-hosting a basketball tournament with Nelly. Stefani is expected at Eve's party, and she has been asked to sing a few songs for guests.
Pol pay
House Speaker Dennis Hastert will be in Las Vegas today, making appearances with Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev.
First on the agenda, at Palace Station, is a $100-per-person lunch, followed by a $1,000-per-person, round-table discussion.
Gigs
"Voices in My Head," the rat-a-tat-tat show where Las Vegas entertainer Stephen Sorrentino rips through dozens of dead-on voice impersonations, returns to Boulder Station the first and last weekends in September.
Also, Sorrentino introduces (or opens for) Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman at the San Gennaro Festival Sept. 10 at the festival's new location, on Alta Drive and Rampart Boulevard.
Finally, Dennis Miller has again asked Sorrentino to open for the caustic comic at his October gigs at Paris Las Vegas.
Why isn't this guy famous yet?
All wet
Las Vegas is about to get its third Strip water show, along with "O" and a production Franco Dragone is creating for Wynn Las Vegas. The Bally's show -- which lists former MGM aquatic film star Esther Williams as a co-producer/spokeswoman -- will be housed in a new 2,000-seat theater. The show, still unnamed, will be based on the Legend of Persephone, a Greek tragedy featuring Pluto, the twisted, tortured, hideous ruler of the underworld.
The story centers on how he can possess Persephone, but never be loved by her.
It will be produced by Park Place Entertainment and Daniel Flannery and should open within the next two years.
Back in fold
The Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group and Wolfgang Puck Worldwide have long been two separate corporate entities.
The former controls Las Vegas restaurants Spago, Chinois, Postrio and Lupo, while the latter operates the chain of Wolfgang Puck Cafes and his line of prepared frozen foods.
But as of July 11, in Las Vegas, they are a team.
"Wolfgang thought it made sense for us in this market -- Las Vegas -- to work together," said Joe Essa, the Puck Fine Dining Group managing partner for operations.
"In the past the cafes had not been part of the dining group, but Wolfgang feels it is in everyone's interest to work together and support each other. So that's the direction we are headed in."
Essa also said that Puck Fine Dining is the exclusive caterer for Cili at the Bali Hai Golf Club.
"We helped them open and get up and running," he said, "but now our official role is as exclusive outside caterer."
VegasBits
Celebrate: Vegas entertainer Buddy Greco turns 77 today. He and wife Lezlie Anders are bringing their Peggy Lee tribute to the Suncoast on Friday night before taking it on tour to New York and Boston ...
Vroom! The Harley-Davidson Ride Home Celebration is in Las Vegas this weekend. Among the celebs participating and doing autograph sessions at Las Vegas Harley-Davidson at 2605 S. Eastern Ave. are Peter Fonda, Nancy Sinatra, Gladys Knight, Paul Revere and Grizzly Adams himself, Dan Haggerty ...
Call me: VegasBeat is back for its weekly radio call-in bit with "Las Vegas Today" host Andy Vierra on KNUU 970 AM (K-NEWS) today at 4 p.m. Call the studio line at (702) 735-6397 and we'll dish. Also, we're back with Melanie & Tom KMZQ 100.5-FM (Lite FM) at 7:30 a.m. Friday.
From Sun wires
Alec Baldwin's former business partner is suing him, claiming the actor owes her $125,000 of his earnings from a recent television movie. Corrinne Mann and Baldwin formed El Dorado Pictures in 1995, agreeing to develop productions for film and television and split producer fees and profits from any joint projects, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
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