VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: Former SNL-ers rage against the machines

Thursday, Sept. 18, 2003 | 11 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.

Dan Aykroyd has a little less hair than he used to, but he has lost none of the ironic wit that made him a mainstay of the early "Saturday Night Live."

He was vintage brilliant at a party he hosted at Rain in the Desert at Palms on Wednesday night to introduce new Bally Gaming Systems slot machines based on the late-night sketch-comedy institution.

"Actually, (NBC's parent company) General Electric originally sold the rights to all of our images to use on a magnetic resonance imaging machine -- but they finally decided it wasn't good for anyone's health," Aykroyd told VegasBeat before the party as we sat on adjoining stools, stage right, near a "Blues Brothers" slot machine.

The conversation then veered into the "Blues Brothers" impersonators greeting party arrivals.

"I saw those fellows outside," Aykroyd said, referring to the faux Jake and Elwood Blues characters. "I see them at Halloween parties and at football games, too. It is is a little weird, frankly. I mean some of them are a little too dedicated, if you know what I mean."

Then former cast member Kevin Nealon came over. "Damn these Hans and Franz slot machines! I just lost every penny I ever earned on 'Saturday Night Live' in a machine," Nealon cried.

"One dollar and 75 cents shot to hell!"

Then we asked Nealon about his feelings on being immortalized on a one-armed bandit.

"I am sort of disappointed, actually. I was hoping for an action figure."

No one was disappointed by the tight set that Lenny Pickett and the "Saturday Night Live" band played for the packed room of Global Gaming Expo visitors.

Also in the house: Former SNL-ers Garrett Morris and Laraine Newman, SNL producer Lorne Michaels and comedian Carrot Top.

Tattoo you

Talk about branding ...

Starting next month, when lady guests check in to Treasure Island, they'll be "tattooed" with the hotel's new logo, courtesy of a temporary decal.

"The ink may be temporary, but the message is lasting and clear: Check your inhibitions at the door, because the new TI is all about letting go and having fun," a hotel spokeswoman told us.

Guests will not have to affix the decal if they don't want to, of course.

The hotel celebrates its 10th anniversary the weekend of Oct. 24 with a series of events, including the introduction of the new "Sirens of TI," a more contemporary, adult version of its popular pirate show, in front of the hotel.

New show

Rehearsals have started for "Vegas Live Starring Clint Holmes and Patty Chong."

It's a television show designed to be an eventual replacement for the morning Las Vegas ONE (Cox cable channels 1 and 39) cable show DayONE, and then to be sold for syndication.

The format will be similar to "Live With Regis and Kelly."

"We are very excited about this project and the new energy it will bring to Las Vegas ONE," said station exec Bob Stoldal in a memo announcing the new program.

The show is being produced in partnership with Vegas.com, part of the Greenspun Media Group. The Green- spun family owns the Sun and has a one-third interest in Las Vegas ONE.

Art show

The Playboy weekend at Palms kicks off Friday afternoon with the opening of a public art show by Victoria Fuller, Miss January 1996, who claims to be "the most photographed and interviewed Playboy bunny on record."

The exhibit includes everything from silkscreen prints to "lush oil paintings celebrating pop culture and feminine mystique," according to the invitation.

Fuller will be in the Vetana Ballroom, where the exhibit is being held, for a meet-and-greet beginning at 3 p.m. Friday. The show extends through the weekend.

Winner

The television documentary series "Cirque du Soleil: Fire Within" has won an Emmy for Outstanding Nonfiction Program (Alternative).

It beat out MTV's "The Osbournes," among other entries.

The win was part of the Creative Arts Awards gala Saturday night at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

Major category awards go out Sunday night.

VegasBits

Party: Actress and Radio Shack spokeswoman Teri Hatcher spent Tuesday night with some friends in the VIP room at Studio 54 (MGM Grand) ...

Wager: Lots of rumors floating around that Oscar De La Hoya and Sugar Shane Mosley had a $500,000 side bet on the outcome of last weekend's fight ...

Club man: Branden Powers has left his marketing job with The Rio club BiKiNis for a partnership slot at OPM, the club above Chinois inside the Forum Shops at Caesars. He has a long and successful history as a promoter. His events have been featured everywhere from MTV to Life magazine ...

Chameleon: New Wave icon Boy George is coming to Las Vegas. He'll give a live performance and then play DJ at the club ICE on Oct. 18 ...

Pricey: Tickets for the Nov. 8 Simon & Garfunkel show at the MGM Grand Garden Arena go on sale Monday. Top seats go for $250 -- plus service charges. Cheapest ducats will run $75 ...

Hostess: Brenda Holmes will be the mistress of ceremonies at the Nevada Arts Advocates Gala at The Mirage on Oct. 11 ...

Listen up: VegasBeat is back for its weekly radio call-in bit with "Las Vegas Today" host Andy Vierra on KNUU 970 AM (K-NEWS) today at 4 p.m. Call the studio line at (702) 735-6397 and we'll dish. It is also available online at Knews970.com. Also, we're back with Melanie & Tom on LITE FM, KMZQ 100.5-FM on Friday at 7:30 a.m.

From Sun wires

Bo Diddley did what he does best, singing and playing his guitar. Five members of Congress did the best they could, playing his backup group. Wednesday's jam session on Capitol Hill commemorated the birth of recorded sound 125 years ago, when Thomas Edison invented the phonograph.

Skater's wife has child: World champion figure skater Scott Hamilton has earned a new title -- Dad.

Hamilton's wife, Tracie, gave birth to the couple's first child, Aidan McIntosh Hamilton, late Tuesday at a Los Angeles hospital, six years after Hamilton was successfully treated for testicular cancer.