Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2003 | 10:31 a.m.
Latest celeb to get caught in a compromising position on video in Las Vegas? Bill Gates -- or a man who is a dead ringer for Bill Gates.
VegasBeat and several colleagues were treated this week to a viewing of a security-camera videotape of the married Microsoft billionaire (or a person who could portray the Microsoft billionaire in "Legends in Concert") groping a cocktail waitress on the dance floor at the Beach nightclub. Our source said the tape was two years old.
On the tape, the Gates figure turns away from his dance partner and appears to place his hand on the rear end of a passing waitress. The waitress playfully hits him with a dish towel she is carrying and moves on.
But to be honest, the most disturbing element of the six-minute tape is the way the Gates figure dances -- the guy has less rhythm than VegasBeat. Elaine Benes would have been proud.
The Gates figure wildly throws his arms in the air, spins indiscriminately and gyrates his hips in sync with his dance partner, who is not his wife, Melinda.
The Gates figure displays several mannerisms that seem to identify the man in the tape as the 45-year-old Gates, according to veteran Las Vegas Sun business reporter Rick Velotta, who has covered Gates for years and who saw the tape.
After several minutes displaying wild dance moves, the Gates figure is escorted out by several men our source identified as Gates' bodyguards.
The source said he decided to share the tape because of the media hoopla over the various Paris Hilton sex tapes now in circulation, including one recorded in June at Bellagio.
Gates is in Vegas this week for the Comdex technology show and delivered the convention's opening address Sunday night.
"We have not seen the tape so I can't really comment," said a Microsoft spokesman Mark Murray speaking via telephone from the company's headquarters in Redmond, Wash.
Big bucks
Some familiar Vegas names, and some unfamiliar ones, are on the new Forbes 400 list of the country's richest people. Gates tops the list at $46 billion.
Jacqueline Mars -- granddaughter of candymaker Ethel Mars (Ethel M) -- is reported to be worth a whopping $10.4 billion, placing her at No. 15 on the list, Forbes reports.
Stratosphere owner Carl Ichan comes in at $7.3 billion (26). Henderson resident and eBay founder Pierre M. Omidyar (29) is next at $6.9 billion.
MGM MIRAGE's Kirk Kerkorian has a $5 billion portfolio (33). Venetian boss Sheldon Adelson follows at $1.8 billion (111). Siegfried & Roy producer Kenneth Feld is listed at $775 million (328), a notch above developer Phil Ruffin, at $750 million.
Steve Wynn, who's opening megaresort Wynn Las Vegas in 2005, has an estimated $650 million fortune, ranking him at No. 377 on the list.
Getting better
SanDee Lewis tells VegasBeat that her husband, entertainment immortal Jerry Lewis, is doing "great."
"At this point, the decision on when to come home is entirely up to him," she said Tuesday.
Jerry Lewis has been in a local hospital for nearly a month, his wife said, trying to wean himself from a steroid medication that caused him to bloat. He took the medication to help battle a life-threatening respiratory condition.
"He is in good spirits and has lost a considerable amount of weight," she said. "He is determined to continue to work to improve his health."
She said his condition is good medically. "He is there voluntarily. There is nothing preventing him from coming home today."
It is expected that Lewis will briefly return to his Vegas residence to share Thanksgiving dinner with his wife and their daughter, Danielle, 11. Afterward he'll return to the hospital.
Publicist Candi Cazau said that Lewis had shed 27 pounds from a high of 242, and was aiming to return to his former weight of 180 pounds by March.
She said his goal was to "leave the hospital in a tuxedo, get into a limo and drive over to The Orleans to do a show." Before his health worsened three years ago Lewis was a regular Orleans headliner.
Kid star
AOL Movies has announced that Las Vegas resident Hillary Hindi, 13, has been selected as one of five finalists in a contest where the winner will fly to New Zealand to host AOL's online broadcast of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."
She was one of thousands who sent in tapes demonstrating their red-carpet interviewing skills. Members of the online service can go to keyword "Red Carpet VIP," watch the tapes of Hillary and other finalists and cast a vote for their favorite.
The overseas event takes place Dec. 1.
VegasBits
Sighting: Witnesses say that ballplayer Mike Piazza was absolutely star-struck when he ran into "America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh at Spago at lunchtime Saturday. Piazza was in town for the recent Palms anniversary festivities. Walsh broadcasts his television show Saturday night from the Las Vegas Strip ...
Guest star: Diane Sawyer of ABC's "Good Morning America" will perform in an undisclosed Cirque du Soleil show this evening and talk about it live from Las Vegas on Thursday morning's broadcast ...
Tune: Actress Rosanna Arquette was at the Seal concert Sunday night that closed out the Palms anniversary weekend ...
Cool: Home run champ Barry Bonds bought a couple of $300 sweaters on Saturday at Pal Zaleri, the fashionable men's clothing store at The Venetian ...
Finger: The waiter serving San Antonio Spurs owner Peter Holt at Spago on Saturday was a big basketball fan -- so Holt let him try on his 2003 NBA championship ring ...
Foodie: Restaurateur Mark Packer is in town this week prepping for the much-anticipated opening of his Tao at The Venetian. He is staying at The Mansion at MGM Grand ...
Fixer: Leslie Segrete, the carpenter on The Learning Channel's popular "While You Were Out" program, has a new project: She is renovating Teller's Rio dressing room ...
Happy day: CNN talker Larry King turns 70 today. Thursday, he hosts a Nevada Cancer Institute gala fund-raising dinner at The Mirage ...
Bright: The 10th annual holiday lighting of the Ethel M cactus garden takes place this evening at its Henderson factory. The switch is thrown on the 250,000 holiday lights at 5:15 p.m. Then, until 7 p.m., there will be free chocolates, performances by local choirs, hot coffee and a visit from Santa Claus.
From Sun wires
A judge in San Andreas, Calif., on Tuesday ordered former television tough guy Robert Conrad to stand trial on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Conrad, best known for his roles in the TV shows "Baa Baa Black Sheep" -- later renamed "Black Sheep Squadron" -- and "The Wild Wild West," pleaded innocent to two felony counts.
Conrad crashed head on into another vehicle March 31 near his rural Calaveras County home, injuring the other driver. Police testified Tuesday that his blood-alcohol level was 0.22 percent -- nearly three times the legal limit.
Brokaw honored: Tom Brokaw says he's not going to spend his last year as NBC's top anchor collecting awards, but he's honored to make an exception for the National Press Club.
The Washington institution will give Brokaw, 63, its Fourth Estate Award for Lifetime Achievement at a dinner today in Washington.
Brokaw will be replaced on NBC's "Nightly News" in November by Brian Williams. He said he's still trying to figure out what to do next.
Meat Loaf concert canceled: Grammy-winning singer Meat Loaf, who collapsed on stage during a concert Monday, is being treated for exhaustion brought on by a virus, hospital officials in London said Tuesday.
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