Friday, Oct. 24, 2003 | 10:36 a.m.
Despite consistent reports that Roy Horn will never be well enough to perform as he once did, Siegfried Fischbacher continues to publicly insist that the famous performing duo will return to the stage.
Soon after the tragic Oct. 3 incident, Siegfried told a German newspaper that the show would go on. His reps immediately said Siegfried was not speaking literally, and that his comments, made in German, were not precisely translated.
But at a World Entertainment Awards presentation in Hamburg on Wednesday night, Siegfried made similar comments.
"The Siegfried who you see before you here will soon return again as Siegfried & Roy," the Associated Press reported him saying at the event.
At the ceremony, Siegfried also asked for a duplicate award to give to Roy.
Siegfried was returning to Las Vegas on Thursday and was not reachable for comment.
The duo's Las Vegas-based spokesman, Dave Kirvin, said he was unfamiliar with Siegfried's comments, and was not immediately able to comment on them.
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev runs the Austrian-based group, which also presented awards to Christopher Reeve and singer Yusuf Islam, the former Cat Stevens.
Weigh in
One story we've been keeping track of this past year has been Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman's weight-loss program. Last time we checked in with Hizzoner on this, over the summer, he had dropped 21 pounds.
When Goodman started his health and fitness regimen last October with Las Vegas Athletic Club trainer Bret FitzGerald, he weighed in at 233 pounds, with a body-mass index of 33, ranking him as obese.
Today, he is having his one-year weigh-in.
"He has been a model client. I expect him to come in at close to 200," FitzGerald told us. "Remember, he has lost a lot of fat but added muscle, and muscle is heavy.
"In the beginning I hated the exercise program," Goodman told VegasBeat. "But eventually I came to enjoy it."
Goodman said that he'll stay with the program after his weigh-in today.
"There are a lot of things I miss, like beer and mushroom and anchovy pizza," he said. "In fact I am salivating as I tell you this.
"Luckily, my modified Atkins Diet allows me to drink a bottle of gin every night. If I didn't do that, I'd be a walking skeleton by now."
Siren song
The new Sirens of TI, who make their debut this weekend at the former Treasure Island, already have some outside gigs lined up.
The women are off to San Diego to perform the national anthem before Monday night's game between the Chargers and the Miami Dolphins.
They are also slated to belt it out Dec. 8 in Cleveland before that Monday night's Browns game against the St. Louis Rams.
Score!
The inaugural home game for the new Las Vegas Wranglers pro hockey team Tuesday night was an absolute delight, both on and off the ice.
More than 7,000 fans, including Elaine Wynn, boogied in the aisles to the sounds of Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas," which played after each home goal.
Whether he intended to or not, 6-foot-2-inch defenseman Jonathan Shockey lived up to the tough-guy image of the New York Giant who shares the same surname. Shockey's hard checks repeatedly excited the crowd.
The jammed concession stands ran out of several items, including the cool black baseball caps with a puck stitched on the side.
The only problem all night came during the "chuck-a-puck" promotion after the second period, where fans can buy sponge pucks to toss onto a target at center ice.
As a comely team assistant was walking out on the ice to get the number on the puck closest to the bull's-eye, she lost her footing and fell on her bottom. In the process she kicked away the winning puck, where it rolled into a sea of other tossed projectiles.
But she was OK and walked off the ice to an avalanche of cheers.
"Hockey is back in Las Vegas, and we couldn't be more excited," arena exec Steve Stallworth said. Ain't hard to see why.
Doing good
Newly affianced KVVU Channel 5 morning news personalities Ted Pretty and Heidi Hayes, former NFL star Napoleon McCallum, members of the Las Vegas Gladiators and "Real TV" host John Daly are hosting a food drive Saturday as part of USA Weekend magazine's annual "Make a Difference" charity event.
They will all be at the Smith's store at 2211 N. Rampart in Summerlin starting at 8 a.m. for the drive, which will benefit the Las Vegas chapter of the Salvation Army Food Bank.
VegasBits
Friends: Christina Aguilera was hanging with David LaChappelle at the Foundation Room atop Mandalay Bay Tuesday night. He was in town with Elton John to announce the singer's headlining Caesars Palace gig, which LaChappelle is producing ...
Drum roll: Desi Arnaz, Jr. is expected to join childhood pal Ricci Martin (Dean's son) onstage tonight -- and hit the skins -- at Arnaz's Historic Boulder Theatre, when Martin does his tribute show, "A Son Remembers" ...
Summertime: Marva Scott, who appears as Donna Summer in the revamped "Legends in Concert" show at Imperial Palace, is busy during the day, too. She just recorded a commercial jingle for the new Henderson spa, Club Sport, with noted Motown producer Peter Radd.
Snap: Acclaimed rock photog and music video pioneer Ethan Russell will make an appearance at the Virgin Megastore (Forum Shops at Caesars) at 7 p.m. He's worked with such acts as the Rolling Stones, the Doors, Janis Joplin and the Eagles ...
Card: Hard Rock Hotel celebrity Chef Kerry Simon appears on a trading card in the November issue of Bon Appetit magazine. It is part of a Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority advertising insert ...
From Sun wires
Near tears, with her voice cracking, Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie accepted the U.N. Correspondents Association's first Citizen of the World Award for her work with refugees.
Jolie, a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. refugee agency since 2001, told the awards dinner Wednesday night that she was "inspired and humbled" to work with refugees.
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