VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: Tiny town tut-tuts ‘Thunder’

Friday, Nov. 14, 2003 | 5:58 a.m.

VegasBeat appears Sunday through Friday in the Las Vegas Sun. Timothy McDarrah can be reached at tim@lasvegassun.com or at (702) 259-4096.

WEEKEND EDITION Nov. 15 - 16, 2003

What plays in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

Two venues in rural Austin, Minn., that had scheduled performances of the Excalibur's male revue, "The Thunder From Down Under," made last-minute cancellations after being told the performance may be in violation of a city ordinance.

The popular show, which has a touring production that interchanges dancers with the Vegas group, had been booked to perform Thursday night at Trader's Bar and Friday night at a Holiday Inn, show spokeswoman Penny Levin told VegasBeat.

But neither facility is licensed as an adult cabaret. So when an employee at a different club that is licensed for near-naked dancing got wind of the pending "Thunder" dates, he notified local authorities.

Austin City Attorney David Hoversten confirmed that the two venues could have been closed down if "Thunder" had been performed there.

Since the shows had been heavily advertised, the "Thunder" dancers showed up to meet fans and sign autographs.

"They didn't dance, but their fans were not entirely disappointed," Levin said.

A second Paris Hilton tape has surfaced, and it was allegedly filmed at Bellagio when the heiress was in Las Vegas in June for her 22nd birthday party at Light.

In the new tape, she is seen frolicking with Playboy Playmate Nicole Lenz, a Frederick's of Hollywood model, according to those who claim to have seen it.

As if violent crime isn't tragic enough, the murder in the Palms parking lot Friday morning occurred just as the hotel was gearing up for its second anniversary weekend festivities. However, no anniversary plans have been affected, including tonight's concert by Seal at Rain in the Desert.

"The men involved were not guests of our hotel or casino," Palms spokeswoman Vanessa Thill said in a statement.

As reported on Friday in the Sun, a fracas between two groups of men started at the Strip nightclub Seven. The groups later went to a bar at the Palms and ended up in a parking lot at the hotel, where violence broke out.

Terrie Springs, a weekend DJ at KXPT 97.1-FM (The Point), is expected to be the replacement for Melanie, who was mysteriously taken off the air and removed from the KMZQ 100.5-FM (LITE FM) website last week.

Springs will join incumbent Tom Kelly on the station's highly rated morning broadcast.

Shortly after Steve Wynn broke ground on his new resort, he started hiring a staff, including a few fairly high-profile poaches from other properties.

Now, the same thing is starting to happen with Robert Earl and Planet Hollywood, which will be the new name of the bankrupt Aladdin.

We hear that Earl has made initial contact with Michael Coldwell, Park Place Entertainment's western region director of public relations. Coldwell, based at Caesars Palace, used to work for Earl at the original Planet Hollywood restaurant in New York.

"American Beauty" and "American Pie" star Mena Suvari has been added to the cast of Insomnia Entertainment's upcoming film, "Standing Still," with Colin Hanks and James Van Der Beek.

A Gen Y "Big Chill," the film is about a popular yet continuously drunk actor who reconnects with a group of his college friends at a Las Vegas bachelor party. Filming begins locally in December.

Insomnia is the new company recently formed by Las Vegas residents and longtime friends Tom Breitling and Tim Poster (who own the Golden Nugget), Station Casinos prez Lorenzo Fertitta and veteran Hollywood player Trent Othick.

VH1 is airing a five-hour miniseries on the history of reality television.

Filming starts this week in Los Angeles. The show is hosted by Las Vegas' own Robin Leach. The series begins with Leach's "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" and ends with "I'm a Celebrity -- Get Me Out of Here!," the reality show Leach participated in earlier this year.

The series airs in January.

Also, Leach has wrapped filming on "Life of Luxury," essentially an updated version of "Lifestyles." It is tentatively scheduled to air Dec. 29 in prime time on ABC.

North Pole resident and kiddie favorite Santa Claus has arrived in Las Vegas for a six-week engagement.

He will be accepting wish lists and posing for pictures with fans at the Galleria at Sunset mall through Dec. 24.