VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: Ducks on the bill for Maloof brothers?

Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2003 | 1:06 a.m.

Joe, Phil, Gavin and George Maloof are contemplating making an offer to buy the NHL's Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

The family owns the Sacramento Kings and has a majority interest in the relentlessly hip Palms.

In September the hockey team hired Lehman Brothers, the powerhouse New York investment firm, to identify potential buyers.

Last week in New York City, after a Thursday appearance on Howard Stern's radio show and before the Kings played the New York Knicks on Friday, Joe and Gavin Maloof met with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.

Ducks spokesman Alex Gilchrist referred inquiries to Michele Nachum, a spokesperson for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, which owns the team.

"We are talking to more than one interested party," she said.

George Maloof told Sun reporter Jerry Fink that he was unable to comment, citing a confidentiality agreement. Such agreements are common when an individual has reviewed proprietary records of a potential purchase.

Then Maloof continued: "Every time I have had a good deal it leaks to the press and I lose it. But we're in that business and we'll always look at opportunities."

The Maloofs would appear to be a good match for the team, which lost a thrilling, seven-game final Stanley Cup playoff series to the New Jersey Devils last spring.

The Ducks' star players include goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who has a pair of appearances on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" under his belt, and Sergei Federov, who has Anna Kournikova as a notch in his belt.

The team is expected to remain in Anaheim regardless of the buyer, as Disney is expected to make that a requirement for any sale.

Disney paid a $50 million expansion fee for the Ducks, who began playing in 1993. The team is 5-7-1 and in third place in the NHL's Western Conference Pacific Division.

Still weird

Michael Jackson was back at Antiquities (Forum Shops at Caesars), which based on how often he shops there, is turning into his favorite store in town. Dressed in royal blue and gold silk Chinese-style pajamas and a surgical mask, he called ahead to close off the store for his 1 p.m. visit on Monday.

He bought a large "Wizard of Oz" collection of signatures and photos, a Zoltar gypsy fortuneteller, a signed animation cel from the movie "Snow White" and a pair of seven-foot Skookum Indians.

He spent about $40,000, which he charged to a credit card. He also briefly ventured out of the store to greet the pack of fans that had quickly congregated.

Feeling duped

Eagle-eyed visitors to the new show at Guggenheim Hermitage Museum report a disturbing case of deja vu.

It seems that some of the work in the new exhibit, "From Renoir to Rothko," has already appeared in other Guggenheim Hermitage exhibits in Las Vegas.

"I was amazed to see that over one-third of the show was comprised of the same works" as in previous Guggenheim Hermitage exhibitions, a local art aficionado e-mailed VegasBeat.

The art maven insisted that the dupes included the Renoir and the Rothko referred to in the title, and that he confirmed his suspicions when he looked in the old museum catalogs -- which he pointed out were still available for sale in the museum gift shop.

"Perhaps the average visitors won't notice, but I would imagine locals being very disappointed," he said. "With all of the Guggenhiem's resources, I would have expected a bit more."

An outgoing voicemail message at the Guggenheim refers media inquiries to Public Affairs Manager Sasha Jackovich, who left the museum in July.

Calls to museum Managing Director Elizabeth Herridge were referred by a hotel operator to marketing assistant Liz Deveau, who was out of the office and did not return phone messages.

Calender add

Another celeb event to add to the weekend calendar: the cast of "The West Wing" is coming together at Riviera on Saturday night to roast star Martin Sheen. It'll be emceed by a prominent entertainer with historic Vegas ties, but VegasBeat has been sworn to secrecy.

Anniversary festivities are also scheduled at the Palms on Saturday night, as is a "Night of 1,000 Stars" Several Sources Foundation fund-raiser.

VegasBits

Oh, mamma: Broadway stars Frank Langella, LeRoy Reams and Vegas resident Paige O'Hara (the voice of Belle from "Beauty and the Beast") visited with "Mamma Mia!" star Tina Walsh and the rest of the cast after Monday night's performance ...

Sexy: To celebrate its pending branch opening at Fashion Show mall, Frederick's of Hollywood is having a show of its 2004 line at an event at China Grill (Mandalay Bay) tonight. The event is also a fund-raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society ...

Entertainment: Sting and No Doubt will perform live at the "Billboard Music Awards" at the MGM Grand on Dec. 10. Tickets, priced from $40 to $175, remain available ...

Airtime: Robin Leach appears at various times throughout the month on VH1's salute to 1985, which opens with a segment on his classic "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous." At a Caffe Giorgio birthday party for restaurant publicist Elaina Bhattacharyya Sunday night, Leach reminded fellow guests to watch early and often. Revelers such as attorney Pat Chapin, Chris Harju of the Chamber of Commerce, la belle boutique owner Kim Mervine, restaurateur Mark DiMartino (Tillerman, Tilted Kilt) and KVBC Channel 3 morning news executive producer Joyce Kotnick all dutifully said they would watch ...

Media Bit I: Sam Rubin, the entertainment reporter from Los Angeles' top-rated morning show on KTLA Channel 5, hosted a three-hour broadcast from the Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas on Monday morning. Much of the banter was about how so many Californians are moving to Las Vegas ...

Media Bit II: "Inside Edition" interviewed Avery Cardoza at Bellagio on Monday. Cardoza publishes the new Player magazine, a national glossy devoted to the "entire gaming experience" ...

Media Bit III: Another day, another story touting Las Vegas in The New York Times. On Friday there was a long take on automotive fashion accessories available at the SEMA show. The Sunday magazine featured recipes that Frank Sinatra's mother made for him. Tuesday's business section rated McCarran International Airport as the nation's leading airport in terms of layover activities, from a fitness center to slot machines.

Media Bit IV: Rio headliners Penn & Teller are scheduled to appear on Jimmy Kimmel's late-night ABC talker tonight.

From Sun wires

Justin Timberlake has joined the list of celebrities dabbling in the restaurant business. Dim sum is the specialty at Chi, the new Sunset Boulevard nightspot in the Hyatt Hotel in West Hollywood, Calif.

Timberlake teamed with Art and Allan Davis as part owner of the restaurant, described by the Los Angeles Times as "1930s Shanghai-meets-'Blade Runner' " with indoor and outdoor waterfalls.

Another Madonna book: Madonna's second book for children, "Mr. Peabody's Apples" -- a story about the power of words and the importance of teachers -- is now in bookstores.