VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: Penn & Teller are taking no … guff

Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2003 | 8:57 a.m.

Are Penn & Teller shooting themselves in the feet by naming their new Showtime cable show "Bulls..t"?

Showtime uses the full word, which is fitting for a barnyard but not a family newspaper. We've cleaned it up for VegasBeat.

"We are not unaware of the shock value of the name 'Bulls..t.' But we went through a lot of names and this really says what we're doing," Penn Jillette told VegasBeat before a Penn & Teller show at The Rio the other night. Their television show premieres Jan. 24 at 11 p.m. Each 13 half-hour episode includes interviews and undercover segments intertwined with elements of Penn & Teller's nontraditional comedy routines.

The self-proclaimed Pit Bulls of Truth set out to prove that many of the institutions society holds dear are bogus and designed to profit from a desperate and trusting public.

They address everything from the purity of bottled water to religious cults to global warming.

"There are a couple of other words that Teller and I really liked for titles, mainly, 'hokum' and 'poppycock,' which were favorites of P.T. Barnum, one of our heroes," Jillette said.

"But those words are no longer colloquial, they are quaint and antiquated and would not have the same impact as the title we chose."

To use a cute title, Jillette said, "would be to defeat our purpose."

"We are not John Edward doing fantasy scams. We are trying to take an honest look at dishonest things."

But isn't having "Bulls..t" for a title just inviting trouble?

"Sure, maybe USA Today and The New York Times won't print the whole name in their listings. But we pull no punches in our show nor in what we call it."

In the end, Jillette said he and his partner are very happy with the finished product.

"We have tried for 15 years to pitch some sort of strongly skeptical, science-based, no-nonsense show," but no one was buying.

"It is rare in television that a network will not try and meddle with a show but we have been very lucky in that Showtime loves our concept and the execution. They did not try to change anything."

Their nightly show at The Rio touches on many of the issues the television show addresses.

For example, onstage they offer a sincere paean to the First Amendment and the American flag before performing an illusion where they appear to torch the Stars and Stripes.

Then they say they could never perform such a stunt in China, and proceed to whip out what they say is the Chinese Bill of Rights.

It is a clear piece of acetate.

"As you can see," Jillette says onstage, "there is nothing there."

Vegas virgin

Madonna has worn a lot of hats, but producer hasn't been one of them. Yet.

According to the current edition of New York magazine, the Material Mom is looking to create and produce a Vegas show based on her notorious 1993 world tour, "The Girlie Show."

The Gotham glossy says Madonna was "inspired" by the $100 million deal that Celine Dion inked with Caesars Palace for her three-year "A New Day" gig that starts in March.

Madonna's rep Liz Rosenthal said her client is happy with her life in London (with film director-husband Guy Ritchie) and that rumors about Madonna and Las Vegas have been swirling around for years.

Score!

Minor-league hockey team? Technically, yes.

But based on what we saw Tuesday, it promises to be a major league operation.

Plus, how can you not love a sports executive who started out as Billy Bird -- a mascot for a Kentucky baseball team?

The new Las Vegas Wranglers hockey team introduced two new suits, Vice President Billy "Bird" Johnson and President Matthew Riley, and offered a sneak peek of the new Orleans Arena.

Riley emphasized how the team would be involved in the community, visiting local schools and reading to kids, and teaching them such concepts as teamwork.

"Build it and they will come?" Riley said of the new facility. "Not at all. We know we have to work hard to earn the support of Las Vegas and we plan to do just that."

Johnson -- who broke into sports as the mascot for the class-AAA Louisville Redbirds -- said that while hockey might not be the best sport for television, nothing is more exciting than seeing a game in person.

He is right about that. And the new arena, which seats 7,000 for hockey, is a beautiful thing. So far, all 16 luxury VIP suites and 200 of the 220 elite club seats have been sold. Every seat in the place offers a fine view of the action.

The hockey season starts in the fall. Orleans Arena Vice President Steve Stallworth said the facility would be open for business in early May, and that a schedule of concerts, fights and other events was currently being put together.

Model approach

Ten of the hardest working women in Las Vegas were turning heads by the tableload at Simon Kitchen & Bar at the Hard Rock Hotel the other night.

"It looked like a party of supermodels had come in," restaurant partner Kerry Simon said.

Nah, it was just some of the people that make this town run smoothly, out for a night on the town for a friend's surprise birthday party.

The honoree was Susan Wesselhoft, the catering sales manager for Wolfgang Puck's Fine Dining Group.

She was joined by the Foundation Room's Lori Foyt; Montecristo Rum's Stephanie Wilson; Carrie Henderson, the owner of Best Models and Talent; Anna Cohen from Southern Wine & Spirits of Nevada; and a posse of Puck people, including Madeline Benito, Stephanie Lanning, Jan Reardon, Valarie Segarra and Kimberly Gora.

After dinner they ambled down to Baby's and fended off admirers until the sun came up.

VegasBits

Tickets for March 28 and March 29 shows by Billy Joel and Elton John at MGM Grand Garden Arena go on sale Saturday. Wristbands will be given out starting at 6 a.m.; tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. They are priced starting at $300 on down ...

The "X" show at Aladdin remains a nightly sellout and one of the hottest tickets in town. To celebrate their good fortune, producers Bobby Boling and Angela Sampras bought each other new Jaguars over the weekend ...

Station Casinos spokeswoman Lesley Pittman spells her first name like Lesley Gore, not Leslie Nielsen. We had it wrong in an item on Monday ...

If you don't want to listen to Al Michaels and John Madden broadcast the Super Bowl on Jan. 26, head to New York-New York. Veteran sportscaster Brent Musburger will host the Super Bowl viewing party at the ESPNZone inside the hotel.