Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: Douglas tourney is a celebrity club

People often ask me where to best spot celebrities in Las Vegas.

Well, I do have a tip if you want to get some face time with, alphabetically, Marc Anthony, Jim Belushi, Jimmy Buffett, Jackie Chan, George Clooney, Jamie Lee Curtis, David Duchovny, Clint Eastwood, Andy Garcia, Elton John, Tea Leoni, Heather Locklear, Matthew McConaughey, Dennis Miller, Mike Myers, Dennis Quaid, Ray Romano, Kurt Russell, Sylvester Stallone, Justin Timberlake and Mark Wahlberg.

They are all coming to Vegas for Michael Douglas' golf tournament next weekend.

No one will be able to get near the celebs at the private charity dinner Douglas is hosting May 16 at a secret location with Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Robin Leach is emceeing that one.

And unless you already have a ticket to Celine on May 17 you won't see the celebs there either.

But for the first time, tickets are available to the general public for May 18's Michael Douglas & Friends Celebrity Golf event at Cascata, a private course in Boulder City, which is usually open only to Park Place's high rollers and celebrity guests.

Fans who want to see all the celebs play in the Lexus hole-in-one challenge and then in a nine-hole scramble for ABC cameras can enjoy the event for the very reasonable price of $25.

The tourney will be broadcast after the British Open on KTNV Channel 13 on July 20.

Best part is that at such low-key, fun events as this, the celebs often chat with the gallery.

Count on the stars honoring their RSVPs for this one -- they promised Douglas, one of Hollywood's major players, and relish the free national television exposure.

The event raises money for the Motion Picture and Television Fund.

Wynn is in

Steve Wynn's newest art acquisitions will go on public display for the first time Saturday, the Las Vegas casino executive said today.

Wynn, who acquired an 1882 Pierre-Auguste Renoir portrait of a French gentleman's wife titled "In the Roses (Madame Leon Clapisson)" for $23.5 million and a self-portrait by Paul Cezanne for $17.3 million in separate art auctions this week, said the paintings would be displayed at The Wynn Collection, a gallery housed at what formerly was the Desert Inn hotel-casino.

"They're (the paintings) coming home on the plane this afternoon and they'll be on display tomorrow," said Wynn, who said the works are part of a collection owned by him and his wife, Elaine, and not property of his firms.

The gallery charges $5 admission and includes 10 paintings by masters in a collection Wynn said is considered one of the top three public displays in the world.

Wynn said his two newest paintings would be displayed in their original frames until new frames he has ordered arrive in a few weeks. The Cezanne piece has not been displayed publicly for more than 60 years.

"Nevada has made the environment friendly for the public display of art," Wynn said. "It's the tax environment that allows this to happen."

Wynn was absent from Wednesday's Alzheimer's fund-raiser at Postrio, as he was busy purchasing the paintings. He was a big bidder at last year's event, winning a trip to Montreal to see the Cirque du Soleil headquarters, the impetus for a Cirque show being developed for Le Reve.

Busted

Isn't it the worst when you unpack after a move and find out a precious plate or mirror has cracked?

Well, it happened to the Cirque du Soleil folks when they were shipping sound equipment from Montreal to Las Vegas for the upcoming "Zumanity" show at New York-New York.

As a result, they have officially pushed back the opening performance date from late July to Aug. 14.

The official Sept. 20 premiere date was not affected.

Bar talk

The top lawyer in the land, William Rehnquist, the chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, has a nice greeting in the program for tonight's Diamond Jubilee Dinner for the Nevada State Bar Association.

"During the last three-quarters of a century, the Nevada Bar has promoted the kind of educational, professional and civic activity that should come naturally for every lawyer," Rehnquist wrote.

Expected attendees include Bar prez Gloria J. Sturman, former Sen. Richard Bryan and the state's chief justice, Deborah A. Agosti.

The dinner at the MGM Grand honors 75 of the state's most prominent deceased barristers, such as philanthropist Artemus W. Ham Jr. (there is a UNLV auditorium named for him) and Pat McCarran, who eventually had a little airfield named after him.

Bouncer

Wayne Newton's escaped pet wallaby -- possibly the victim of an attempted kangaroo-napping -- was lassoed on Pecos Road by a passing cowboy on Thursday.

Priscilla, an adult female, escaped from the performer's residential compound at Sunset and Pecos roads early Thursday, possibly the result of a botched theft attempt, Tricia McCrone, Newton's publicist, said.

The feisty marsupial with clawed fingers and powerful legs got out around 6:30 a.m., said Joe Boteilho of the Clark County Animal Control.

For the next hour, a cartoonlike chase ensued with the creature leading police, animal control officers and an urban cowboy on a chase through south Las Vegas, and tying up traffic for the morning rush hour.

Priscilla was finally captured by Harry Sullard, 49, a self-described cowboy, who had grabbed a lasso from his truck and reined the animal in.

Boteilho said Priscilla was returned unharmed to Newton after he claimed the wallaby.

VegasBits

Tuned out: KTNV Channel 13 confirms that News Director Denise Clodjeaux was let go Wednesday night. She was replaced by Craig Hune. Calls to both Clodjeaux and Hune were not returned. Despite such popular on-air personalities as weatherman Nate Tannenbaum and sportscaster Ron Futrell, the station's news broadcasts are generally the lowest-rated in Vegas ...

All the girls: Julio Iglesias plays Buffalo Bill's Star of the Desert arena in Primm on Sept. 12 ...

Dining out: John Stamos and wife Rebecca Romijn-Stamos dined at Simon Kitchen and Bar (Hard Rock) Wednesday with former Beach Boys keyboard guy Billy Hinsche and his new close personal friend, former Playboy playmate Rebecca Scott. Stamos produced a Beach Boys movie a few years ago and the guys hit it off. Earlier, Romijn-Stamos taped a bit on "Last Call with Carson Daly" inside The Joint ...

Celeb shuffle: At Prana Thursday night, principal Chief Executive Danny Wu greeted Gaylord restaurant President Satpal S. Kohli, and then escorted Le Reve exec Don Marrandino and the band Journey to a private room upstairs ...

Doctor, doctor: Vegas resident Tony Curtis travels to Bristol, R.I., on May 17 to receive an honorary doctorate in dramatic arts from Roger Williams University. Surprisingly, it is his first such honor ...

From Sun wires

A pair of singer-actors, Puerto Rico's Chayanne and Mexico's Pilar Montenegro, were the big winners at the star-studded Billboard Latin Music Awards in Miami, taking home three trophies apiece.

Chayanne and Montenegro performed their hit songs, and megastars Ricky Martin and Mexican star Thalia also performed at the Miami Arena.

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