VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: White House plays hail to the chef

Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2003 | 10:18 a.m.

The national media in town today shadowing President Bush will not be going hungry.

Former Venetian Executive Chef Georg Paulussen will be cooking breakfast and lunch for the ink-stained wretches -- and their broadcast counterparts -- in a McCarran International Airport hangar, which is also serving as the press room for the president's visit.

"The White House called The Venetian (where Bush is having a midday fund-raiser) and asked who could provide gourmet food on no notice to a lot of people at a good price. I am flattered to have been asked," Paulussen told VegasBeat on Monday.

After his stay at The Venetian, Paulussen was the culinary veep at the Atlantis, the super-luxury Bahamas resort. There, Paulussen cooked for guests former President Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Sean Connery, Sylvester Stallone and Whitney Houston.

Breakfast selections include an omelette station and a smoked fish bar; lunch is various gourmet salads, cold cuts, cheeses and some prepared dishes.

"The environment will not be that great, but the food will be special," Paulussen said.

On Dec. 4 Paulussen is opening Wild Truffles on West Sahara Avenue, a European-style deli.

Turkey day

It'll be a pretty traditional Thanksgiving for a few notable Las Vegas personalities.

"We're all going over to my brother Frankie's house for dinner," said Chrissi Scinta of The Rio's headlining family show, "The Scintas."

"I will be cooking a 23-pound turkey," Joe Scinta said.

"Yes, I will have the entire family at my house. We are still deciding whose house we will destroy on Christmas Eve," Frankie Scinta told us.

Harrah's headliner Clint Holmes will help cook for his clan before his 7 p.m. show.

"We all chip in a little bit," he told VegasBeat.

Also sitting around the Holmes table will be his mother, Audrey, wife Brenda, son Brent, twin daughters Brittany and Cooper, granddaughter Asia and Holmes' longtime friend and musical director, Bill Fayne.

Holmes' "Vegas Live!" co-host Sheena Easton will be out of town through Christmas -- she starts a national "Colors of Christmas" tour this week with Irene Cara ("Fame") and pop star Christopher Cross.

While she is gone, such local notables as Bernie Yuman, The Scintas, Lance Burton and Audrey Holmes will pull guest-hosting duties on the Las Vegas ONE morning show.

Several other local personalities are also out of town this holiday. Wayne Newton will be entertaining troops in Kuwait. Siegfried Fischbacher will be with his fallen friend, Roy Horn, in a Los Angeles hospital. Robin Leach is in Mexico with his children.

"I am going to see my mother and father in Santa Monica (Calif.) for the holiday," former Las Vegas Mayor Jan Jones told us. "I make the best deviled eggs and the best stuffing."

Longtime "La Cage" star Frank Marino says he will not be cooking "because I steer clear of anything that has bigger breasts than I do."

But the Riviera headliner will attend a traditional holiday feast at a cousin's home in Las Vegas before his regular performance that evening.

French-Canadian Celine Dion, who has an 8 p.m. Thanksgiving performance, plans to spend a quiet day at her Lake Las Vegas home with her husband, Rene Angelil, and their son, 2-year-old Rene-Charles.

Pricey

Tickets for the New Year's Eve party at ghostbar, the hot spot atop the Palms, are now on sale. Admission -- which includes an open bar for a couple of hours -- is $300 per ticket. As of now, they are the most expensive New Year's Eve party tickets in town.

The party at Rain in the Desert costs $200 if you buy tickets Dec. 31; $150 if you purchase in advance.

Light (Bellagio) is offering tables for four at $250 per person, or $1,000 for the table, plus a one-bottle minimum. Bottles of vodka (mixers included) go for around $300, depending on the brand.

Individual Light entry tickets are $150.

Little Bomber

Joe Louis Barrow, son of late heavyweight champ Joe Louis, is the executive director of the kids golf charity The First Tee, which held its first Las Vegas event Sunday.

The Brown Bomber's son, and Vegas residents Mike and Greg Maddux, PGA pros Chris Riley and Craig Barlow and Vegas native and LPGA player Stephanie Louden were among the players in the Danny Gans-hosted Lexus First Tee Celebrity Classic at Southern Highlands on Sunday afternoon.

That night they all took in Gans' show at The Mirage.

Casual

Rep. Shelley Berkley showed up in blue jeans Sunday night at the Diabetes Lion's Club Charter Night gala at Texas Station.

"She said that her son had car trouble and she didn't have time to go home to change," said club member Sheri Solomon. "We are so glad that normal things happen to congresswomen too!"

Dr. Henry Jay Bindson was sworn in as the group's president and the event featured entertainment from sleight-of-hand magician Tony Blanco.

VegasBits

Star: Actor Sean Penn, wife Robin Wright Penn and their two children attended the 7:30 p.m. performance of "O" Sunday night ...

Quiz: Comic Sinbad was in Niketown (Forum Shops at Caesars) on Saturday afternoon buying basketball jerseys, and quizzing store workers on different players and their numbers ...

Opening: The adult revue "X" opens at the Harrah's-owned Harvey's in Lake Tahoe on Dec. 20. Show producers Angela Sampras and Bobby Boling signed the deal over dinner Saturday night with Harrah's Northern Nevada boss Don Marrandino. The show also opens at Stratosphere after the New Year ...

Calling: Harrah's headliner Mac King has rescheduled his attempt at a Guinness record-setting game of Telephone to Jan. 6 at Carnaval Court. The first attempt was rained out ...

Address: The address listed in Monday's VegasBeat for the Talulah G. holiday boutique was inaccurate. The store is at 8876 S. Eastern Ave., just off Interstate 215 ...

Gobble! VegasBeat is off to Beantown for turkey. We're back on Sunday. We'd like to take this opportunity to give thanks to Dion, Michael Jackson, Leach and Oscar Goodman for giving us something to write about, no matter how slow things get around here. And on a serious note, let's all keep Horn in our thoughts this holiday.

From Sun wires

Country singer Glen Campbell, whose hits included "Rhinestone Cowboy," struck another car in Phoenix while driving drunk and left the scene, then later kneed a police officer while demanding to see the police chief, authorities said todday.

He was freed early today on $2,000 bail on charges of extreme drunken driving and hit and run. He also was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer.

Campbell, 67, was arrested Monday at his home after a collision at a Phoenix intersection in which nobody was hurt, police said. A witness had followed the car, called police on a cell phone and directed them to a home in the Biltmore area, police said.