Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: Borgata already hall of fame resort

Atlantic City has lately been marketing itself as Vegas East, particularly since the opening this month of the lavish Borgata Hotel.

The resort has already made national headlines.

Last weekend the American Gaming Association held its annual Gaming Hall of Fame induction ceremonies at the Borgata. It was the first time in the event's 15-year history the ceremony was held outside Las Vegas.

Singing legend Tom Jones and longtime Harrah's Chairman of the Board Phil Satre were this year's inductees. Last year's inductees, honored at Paris Las Vegas, were Merv Griffin and Shannon Bybee, director of the International Gaming Institute at UNLV.

The ceremony was moved to mark the Borgata opening, and the 25th anniversary of legalized gaming on the boardwalk.

Previous honorees include Steve Wynn, Wayne Newton, Terry Lanni, Siegfried & Roy, Kirk Kerkorian, Barron Hilton, Steve Lawrence, Eydie Gorme and the late Bill Bennett, Sam Boyd and Frank Sinatra.

More than 600 people attended Saturday's dinner, which raised funds for the National Center for Responsible Gaming.

"Saturday Night Live" cast member Darrell Hammond and Hootie & The Blowfish entertained.

There is no brick-and-mortar Gaming Hall of Fame for people to visit, but spokeswoman Naomi Greer said representatives are considering several permanent locales, including downtown Las Vegas.

Atlantic City is also vying for next year's ceremonies.

Real estates

Turns out that Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck never did buy the 8,500-square-foot Anthem mansion at 2 Bloomfield Hills Drive that was being buzzed about a few months ago.

Michael Flatley was recently spotted inspecting the home, located at the end of a quiet cul de sac. There's also another opening two doors down, where Franco Dragone just moved out.

The latest rumor has J-Lo and Ben looking in Seven Hills, although in April the couple purchased an 83-acre piece of property on an island near Savannah, Ga.

Movie man

Sen. Harry Reid went to the movies Monday. He attended a special screening of the new Tobey Maguire film, "Seabiscuit," with author Laura Hillenbrand in Washington.

Hillenbrand penned the best seller the movie is based on. Afterward, both were awarded plaques in by the Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome Association. The debilitating illness plagues Hillenbrand and an estimated 800,000 other Americans.

Reid has been particularly active in working to get federal funding for the Centers for Disease Control to research the illness.

More Crue

There was more humanity than you could shake a stick at Tuesday night at the Skin Pool Lounge (Palms) for ghostbar VIP host Marko Greisen's 29th birthday bash.

One face sticking out in the crowd was that of Vince Neil, who told revelers he was planning a Motley Crue reunion tour for next summer.

Also on Neil's calendar: a guest spot on the WB series "The Gilmore Girls" this fall, and an appearance on a pilot episode of Robin Leach's upcoming syndicated late-night show, "Penthouse Vegas," where the long-maned rocker and Charo will teach each other their unique styles of playing guitar.

Others joining Greisen: Warren Moon, Marcus Banks and Adrian Paul.

VegasBits

Living large: Peter Fonda was sitting among a party of 45 at Charlie Palmer Steak (Four Seasons) Tuesday night after an early screening of his restored 1971 film, "The Hired Hand," at Brenden Theatres (Palms) ...

No mystery: "Bad Boys II" star Martin Lawrence, making the rounds in Vegas this week, was with eight friends and family members at "Mystere" at TI on Tuesday night ...

Memories: Connie Stevens, fresh off her appearances at the Suncoast over the weekend, and Wayne Newton were both on "Larry King Live" this week, reminiscing about Bob Hope ...

New venue: Engelbert Humperdinck is apparently leaving the Las Vegas Hilton, where he has been a regular headliner. He is thisclose to signing a deal to appear at The Orleans starting in October ..

Music men: Las Vegas resident B.B. King and Jeff Beck, who played together at Mandalay Bay last weekend, appear this evening on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" ...

Happy: KVVU Channel 5 morning news anchor Cher Calvin turns 20-something Friday. The transplanted New Yorker has about 20 pals flying in for a Postrio (Venetian) dinner and the full treatment at Canyon Ranch Spa the next day ...

Magic men: There was a long, laudatory story posted on CNN.com Wednesday about Penn & Teller and their perception of Las Vegas ...

Good times: Melinda and Frankie Randall had dinner Tuesday at the House of Lords (Sahara). He reminisced with friends about performing in the Congo Showroom and Casbar Lounge in the 1960s, and dining with Buddy Hackett in the House of Lords. "When we came outside afterward it was always daylight," Randall said ...

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. You can also listen on the Internet -- the broadcast is streamed online at knews970.com.

From Sun wires

More than 430,000 people crushed into Downsview Park in Toronto Wednesday night to see the Rolling Stones, Justin Timberlake, Rush, AC/DC and others perform one of the biggest rock concerts in North American history. The concert was promoted in part by the government to tell the world the city is safe from SARS.

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