VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: The die is cast at ‘CSI’ party at Light

Monday, Dec. 15, 2003 | 10:14 a.m.

When "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" creator Anthony Zuiker got to the velvet rope at Light (Bellagio) Sunday night, the large security guards at the door parted like the Red Sea to make way for him.

"I have to say, if I had come to a place like this when I was (driving a tram) at The Mirage, they'd never have let a guy like me in," Zuiker told us.

But things have evolved somewhat for the Las Vegas native, who now helms the highest-rated show on television.

Zuiker and his cast and crew were feted at Light by Vanity Fair and Turi, a new vodka brand, as the show returned to its Las Vegas setting for a week of location filming.

Co-star George Eads said that life has changed for him, as well.

"I have a maid now," who not only cleans, but cooks, he told us. "When it is meal time, I now eat things that were not delivered moments earlier in a plastic bag."

Then he lost interest in us and went off to flirt with "Vegas Minute" correspondent Brandi Williams.

Producer Elizabeth Devine was especially entertaining, if a bit morbid. The former Los Angeles crime scene investigator regaled VegasBeat with tales of grisly murders.

"Most of the grossest stories (on the show) are events that actually happened when I was on the job," she told us. "Things are altered a little bit to make it suitable for television, but basically, everything you see on the show has really happened."

Also making appearances at Light: cast members Marg Helgenberger, Eric Szmanda, Robert David Hall and Gary Dourdan, Fred "The Hammer" Williamson, Tony Curtis and scenester Michael Shulman, who works with Vanity Fair putting together parties such as this one.

Meanwhile, the Palomino Club, a North Las Vegas Boulevard strip club, will be used as a location in a forthcoming episode.

The Palomino shoot is scheduled for today. The club's owner, Luis Hidalgo, is a fan of the show and also a former law-enforcement employee who once worked for the San Bruno, Calif., Police Department.

Celine game

Everybody has a guilty pleasure. Celine Dion's is watching Bob Barker on "The Price Is Right."

Diva Las Vegas was the opening act, so to speak, on a prime-time special Saturday night marking Barker's 80th birthday.

The show opened with a segment starring Dion from her Caesars Palace dressing room.

"She quietly looks right at the camera and says that she knows this is a special night for me," Barker was quoted in news reports before the broadcast. "Then she talks about how she and her family have watched 'The Price Is Right' for all these years, and she would like to sing 'Happy Birthday' to me.

"And then she sings 'Happy Birthday' a cappella. It brought tears to my eyes."

The Barker tribute continues Thursday night with "The Price Is Right $1 Million Spectacular," where contestants from all of the armed forces join Barker, a Navy veteran, in a chance to win luxury prizes and a $1 million cash payout.

Party people

Clark County District Attorney David Roger is a media-conscious kind of guy.

Seems he was in the middle of opening some gifts at his office's holiday party on Friday at Cozymel Coastal Mexican Grill on Hughes Center Drive when he noticed some of the other midday patrons: journalists.

A meeting of the local chapter of SPJ -- Society of Professional Journalists -- was taking place.

As soon as Roger realized he was being surreptitiously watched -- journalists are by nature a nosy bunch -- he called out to the other group that there was no alcohol on the table, and no gifts of questionable taste had been exchanged.

Roger spent the rest of the party with one eye focused on the media group, according to Sun business reporter Michelle Swafford, who was there.

Free tree

Las Vegas: land of the comped guest room, buffet, show ticket ... and Christmas tree.

For the next 10 days, if you play a couple hours of video poker at the North Las Vegas locals casino the Cannery, you receive a voucher to use at a tree lot at the nearby corner of Craig Road and Jones Boulevard.

Travelin' man

"Proud" was the word that Wayne Newton used over and over Sunday after he learned that U.S. troops had captured Saddam Hussein without a single shot being fired or additional life lost.

But Newton, just back from one of his periodic USO-sponsored jaunts to entertain U.S. troops overseas, didn't have too much time to talk.

He is off to Florida today to perform in a Christmas show titled "Home for the Holidays." The performance takes place Thursday at the Mann Performing Arts Hall in Fort Myers.

VegasBits

Dealmakers: Developers and partners Donald Trump and Phil Ruffin had dinner Saturday night at Charlie Palmer Steak (Four Seasons) ...

Clothes: Carrot Top was browsing at Nordstrom at the Fashion Show mall Sunday afternoon with an unidentified comely brunette ...

Gifted: Vintage Vegas entertainer Faye McKay, now confined to a wheelchair, was to be presented with a new $6,000 motorized chair at a CAST Inc. lunch today at Greek Isles. CAST is a group of local entertainers who assist fellow celebrities in need ...

Fan: Former "Saturday Night Live" star Kevin Nealon was seen laughing hard -- along with everyone else -- at Eric Idle's "The Greedy Bastard Tour" at House of Blues (Mandalay Bay) Sunday night ...

Reunion: KVVU Channel 5 GM Susan Lucas and the station's former entertainment reporter, Robin Leach, were spotted in a seemingly warm and friendly embrace during the "Billboard Music Awards" at MGM Grand last week. Does this mean a possible return to the station for Leach, who has been off the air since mid-October? "Nothing concrete to report yet, but if there is you'll be the first to know," Leach told us Sunday night ...

Ring in: Old-school rap DJ Grandmaster Flash has been booked to spin at Ice Las Vegas on New Year's Eve.

From Sun wires

Comedian Sinbad joined a group of well-wishers at a send-off for nearly 100 Nevada Army Guard members who began their deployment in support of the war against terrorism Sunday at Reno-Tahoe International Airport.

Diaz-Twine is 'Survivor': In a "Survivor" contest packed with villains and indelible characters, Sandra Diaz-Twine, a mother of two from the Northwest, had the staying power to win the television game on Sunday.

Diaz-Twine beat Lillian Morris, the tearful Scoutmaster from the Cincinnati area, in the final vote revealed during the finale of "Survivor: Pearl Islands."