VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: Feisty King back in the ring

Friday, Jan. 24, 2003 | 4:04 a.m.

Park Place President Wallace Barr is "the Marcus Aurelius of Las Vegas."

So proclaimed Don King in a wide-ranging conversation the other day with VegasBeat.

The fright-haired fight promoter also vowed to restore the luster to Las Vegas boxing that has faded since the glory days of Muhammad Ali -- or even a young Mike Tyson.

King spoke to us from San Diego, where he will verbally assault the national sports media during the Super Bowl today as he talks up the March 1 heavyweight bout between Roy Jones Jr. and John Ruiz at Thomas & Mack Center.

Caesars is putting on the fight as part of its effort to bring back the prestige -- and the high rollers -- that used to permeate Caesars for the big fights.

"Barr has vision. That, along with my brilliance, is a winning combination," King modestly offered. "We will restore that tarnished luster.

"It will be a struggle for Caesars to reclaim the greatest brand name in Las Vegas hotels -- Mandalay Bay has put on some terrific (boxing) cards lately -- but it will happen.

"Don King will again make Caesars Palace king."

King has a long history in Las Vegas and has promoted some of the greatest fights in boxing history.

For the March 1 bout, King and HBO -- to mark 30 years of televising fights -- are bringing to town many of the boxers who have appeared on some of their 500 boxing telecasts.

King said former heavyweights Larry Holmes, Ken Norton, Lennox Lewis, Mike Weaver and Smokin' Joe Frazier are coming, as are Tommy Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Julio Cesar Chavez, Meldrick Taylor, Aaron Pryon and Alexis Arguello.

Also, King said his former lawyer, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, would be a special guest that weekend.

"Back in 1979, 1980, when he was my lawyer, there were a couple of little things that Goodman took care of for me.

"He is a great guy and a perfect mayor for the city of Las Vegas."

As King says, only in America.

Longtime Las Vegas food and beverage executive Roy Hillis has left The Mirage.

He was recruited to join the Stirling Club to try and invigorate the staid dining rooms at the posh private club.

The talk at the club this weekend was the so-called Bionic Breach of Contract. Lee Majors, who has an apartment above the club at Turnberry Place, sued Universal last week, claiming he was shortchanged on profits from his 1970s show, "The Six Million Dollar Man."

VegasBeat rang Goodman after we read his insightful and funny piece on The New York Times op-ed page Friday about the Super Bowl ad controversy.

"Do you know what the most hypocritical thing is about all this?" Hizzoner mused to us. "I bet more pro football players will be in Las Vegas to watch the Super Bowl than there will be in San Diego."

Bet he's right.

Las Vegas is getting a new magazine, cleverly titled, Vegas The Magazine. (Hey -- it works for ESPN The Magazine).

It will be geared to markets outside of Las Vegas and feature stories on fashion, entertainment, nightlife and restaurants.

The glossy will be a "marriage between InStyle and Ocean Drive," Michael Carr, the new vice president of business development for Greenspun Media Group (parent company of the Las Vegas Sun), told us during a break at the Epicurean Awards the other night.

He is looking for a July debut.

This week we also heard from Jay Leno, who is coming to the EFX Theatre at MGM Grand Feb. 7-8 and then again Feb. 21-22.

The Human Chin plays Vegas often, and loves it.

First he cited the technical equipment, saying Vegas had more professional equipment -- and crews who knew how to use it -- than any other place in the country.

Then he cited his late parents.

"From a sentimental point of view, my parents loved Vegas and came to see me all the time," the late-night host said via e-mail. "The MGM Grand would give me a big beautiful dressing room and there would always be huge bowls of fruit, platters of cold cuts and other goodies.

"Half the stuff I never used, but it really, really impressed my parents."