VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: J. Lo has a grand time Bucc-ing odds

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2003 | 9:31 a.m.

Ben Affleck apparently has been teaching Jennifer Lopez a few things.

VegasBeat has learned that J. Lo placed a six-figure wager on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the MGM Grand on Sunday -- and won.

According to multiple sources, the booty-licious entertainer placed a $250,000 wager on Tampa Bay to win Super Bowl XXXVII and took the money line at plus-160. That means she won $400,000 -- and also got her original investment back.

So when she saw Madonna Sunday night at a Los Angeles memorial service for photographer Herb Ritts, she was in possession of a ticket worth $650,000.

A senior MGM Grand executive, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that Lopez placed a winning six-figure wager.

Her fiance Affleck's affinity for Las Vegas gaming tables is legendary. Card dealers, croupiers and valet attendants at several Strip properties have told numerous Affleck stories about his monumental wagers and generous tips.

This time, it was unknown if Affleck made any wagers of his own.

The couple have recently made several high-profile visits to Las Vegas, including a Thanksgiving sojourn when Affleck plunked down $200,000 in cash for a pair of Mercedes Benzes.

The couple blew into town again Saturday to meet with Hard Rock Hotel officials to discuss opening a Las Vegas eatery. They had been in Chicago, where Affleck was filming scenes for his 2004 holiday release, "Surviving Christmas."

VegasBeat reported exclusively on Nov. 29 that Lopez was exploring the Hard Rock Hotel as an option for a local branch of her Pasadena, Calif., restaurant, Madre's.

That is not all that the First Couple of Tabloid Nation did while they were in Las Vegas. They also picked out a new house. VegasBeat reported exclusively on Jan. 6 that Lopez and Affleck were shopping for a Las Vegas home.

Seems that "Jenny From the Block" is now ready to move to a heavily guarded, gated community that features two checkpoints with several armed, uniformed guards.

Sources say that Lopez is thinking of plunking down $2.3 million for a seven-bedroom, six-bathroom mansion in the exclusive Anthem development in Henderson. Salespeople at Anthem are boasting to clients that they can be Lopez's neighbor.

Different sources say that Lopez's mother, Guadalupe, would be a part-time resident at the new crib.

The modern mansion is in a new subdivision off Anthem Club Drive and is perfect for such a high-profile couple and their family members. The property is not visible from any roadway.

And it doesn't come cheap to use the facilities at Anthem. An annual membership in the Anthem Country Club is $49,500. Plus $520 per month in greens fees. Plus you should to tip the caddy, if you hire one.

On top of that, it costs $2,500 per month to use the health club and workout facilities

And joining the Anthem Social Club will set Lopez back another $4,660.

Among their new Anthem neighbors would be Chicago White Sox slugger Frank Thomas, who bought a $265,000 plot of land last year and built a $1.1 million house on the property.

And when Anna Kournikova is in town, she stays with a friend on the same street.

Lopez's spokesman Alan Nierob said that Lopez was in Las Vegas but that she was "not a gambler."

"I don't think it was her that made the bet you are talking about.

"And she did not look at a house when she was there. There is no basis in reality on that one."

Anthem spokeswoman Allison Copening would not confirm nor deny anything, but finally did say that the Lopez purchase was "not a done deal."

Meg-a-star

Meg Ryan did not hang with any of the usual suspects -- John Cusack, Dennis Quaid or Russell Crowe -- when she was in Las Vegas this week.

She was in the ring with Mike Tyson.

The actress nicknamed America's Sweetheart by People magazine stopped into a local gym Tuesday to visit with and take photos of the former heavyweight champ.

She took a limo from the Four Seasons to the Golden Gloves Gym on Gragson Avenue to watch Iron Mike train for his upcoming Memphis, Tenn., bout against lightly regarded Clifford Etienne.

Ryan stars as Jackie Kallen -- known as the First Lady of Boxing -- in "Against the Ropes," an upcoming Paramount film inspired by Kallen's life as a boxing manager who worked with middleweight champion James "Lights Out" Toney.

Ryan became enamored of pugilism while making the movie.

When she got to the gym, she said, "Hi Mike, I'm Meg." He answered: "I know who you are," and smiled at her.

Then she took several photos of Tyson as he worked out.

Afterward they chatted about boxing. He is a real student of the sport and owns a gigantic collection of old boxing footage.

Bottoms down

If your studio audience can't laugh at your jokes unless they are drunk, that is probably not a good sign.

But nascent late night host Jimmy Kimmel -- who hails from Las Vegas -- insists he has no problem with ABC brass deciding to stop his unique practice of having a bar available to audience members.

Kimmel just wanted to make his audience happy.

"You stand out there for three hours, they poke you with cattle prods to get it, and then you're forced to laugh and applaud at certain times," he told the Associated Press before the show's Sunday debut.

"I want to make it more of an evening out where people actually enjoy themselves."

Guess they'll have to be satisfied with just the actual content of the show.

Aromatic

Celine Dion's fans don't care how long she spends singing when her "A New Day " show opens at Caesars Palace March 25.

As of today more than 200,000 of 240,000 available tickets for her first 60 shows at The Colosseum have been sold, according to one of the show's producers, John Meglen, the co-chief executive officer of Concerts West.

VeagsBeat reported Wednesday that Dion may only be onstage for half of the elaborate 100-minute stage production -- and sing for just 15 minutes.

We'll try to get her to clear it up on Friday when she appears at the private Caesars party for the unveiling of her Celine Dion Parfums, a new fragrance from Coty Beauty.