VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: Club known as Tangerine has appeal

Wednesday, April 21, 2004 | 10:26 a.m.

Treasure Island ain't done yet.

The hotel has upgraded its moniker (incorporating TI), revamped its pirate show into the sexy "Sirens of TI," added a sleek new lounge (Mist) and is working to attract a hip, adult clientele.

Next on the agenda is Tangerine at TI, which is the working name of the first Strip-front, open-air nightclub.

Some sources indicate that Tangerine is merely a cover name for what will eventually be the Girls Gone Wild Cantina and Dance Club.

As we reported last month, that is the name of a new chain of clubs being opened by Coyote Ugly (New York-New York) bar owner Jennifer Worthington and Joe Francis, who produces the soft-core "Girls Gone Wild!" videos of young women exposing themselves.

Worthington confirmed her involvement with the current TI activity, but said that the hotel and her Coyote Ugly partner Robert Frey were her only partners in the new venture. The new club, she said, was "totally unrelated" to Francis' project.

She said Tangerine would feature a burlesque revue and it would be open afternoons as well as evenings. However, she declined to go into much detail, saying it was premature to discuss anything at this point.

A hotel spokeswoman also declined comment on the project, saying only that the new entity would be open by midsummer.

Some other hot spots, including Curve (Aladdin) and Risque (Paris Las Vegas) have balconies that face the Strip.

But Tangerine, or whatever its eventual name will be, is the first entity that actually will be entirely visible from the celebrated thoroughfare, and vice versa.

The hotel's Battle Bar, which fronts Siren's Cove and Las Vegas Boulevard, recently closed its doors as part of the conversion.

Return

Former KLAS Channel 8 reporter Casey Roebuck might be coming back to town -- as a publicist.

She was spotted last week leaving the office of The Venetian's new communications director, Lisa Johnson. In March, Johnson left KLAS for the casino job. One of her best friends at the station was Roebuck, who has been working at an Oklahoma television station since her November departure.

A published report said Roebuck was let go by KLAS when she claimed a sick day to go see her boyfriend, Keith Burns, of the country duo Trick Pony.

Pipes down

One of the top Frank Sinatra impersonators, Boston native and former postal worker Bobby Barrett, is temporarily out of commission.

Barrett, a regular performer at Casa di Amore on East Tropicana Avenue, has throat issues -- no surgery will be required -- and will be out of action for the next two months.

Windy past

Wolfgang Puck's Las Vegas-based director of catering, Kimberly Gora, watched "The Apprentice" with special interest. She used to date the show's eventual winner, Bill Rancic, when both lived in Chicago a few years back.

Also, according to The Hollywood Reporter, NBC is discussing an "Apprentice" spin-off that would follow Rancic, 32, over the next year as he handles his winning job, overseeing construction of a $700-million, 90-story Trump International Hotel and Tower in his hometown of Chicago.

Band back

The news we reported a few weeks ago is now official -- Lon Bronson's All-Star Band will be opening May 15 at the Golden Nugget.

The band will be performing two shows a week in the 400-seat Golden Nugget Cabaret Theatre, midnight Saturdays and 10 p.m. Mondays.

For diehard fans, Bronson told us, the band will perform at an open-to-the-public dress rehearsal at 10 p.m. on May 10.

VegasBits

Ace: Tennis star Serena Williams was on location at Mandalay Bay on Tuesday for a Marie Claire magazine photo shoot and interview ...

Player: Ben Affleck was back at the Bellagio on Tuesday, playing poker in the finals of the World Poker Tournament no-limit hold 'em event. The tourney, which will be televised by the Travel Channel, wraps up Friday ...

Film fans: CineVegas Film Festival creative board chairman Dennis Hopper and his pal Kelly Lynch are hosting a reception Thursday night at the famous Chateau Marmont in Hollywood. The fete is for CineVegas 2004 honorees Jack Nicholson, Sean Penn, Robin Wright Penn, David Lynch, Julian Schnabel and Bruce Conner. The film fest runs from June 11 to June 19 at the Brenden Theatres (Palms) ...

Champs: Robin Leach, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and Pat Morita ("Happy Days," "The Karate Kid") are hosting "Bubble-icious" on April 29, a champagne-tasting event at the Hard Rock Hotel pool that is part of the UNLVino festivities. Tickets and info for all the UNLVino events are found at UNLVino.com ...

Click: Las Vegas native and resident Denise Truscello is heading to France. She has been tapped as one of the official photographers of the Cannes Film Festival, which takes place from May 12 to May 23 ....

Sizzling: Simon Kitchen and Bar (Hard Rock) Chef and partner Kerry Simon and Olives' (Bellagio) Todd English are part of a photo feature on alluring chefs in the current edition of In Touch magazine, the new celebrity glossy. The Vegas pair are pictured alongside the buff Rocco DiSpirito ("The Restaurant") ...

Hit: Former light-middleweight boxing champ Terry Norris and a large entourage were sipping Cristal at OPM (Forum Shops at Caesars) the other night ...

Sold: An antique white, 1910-era A-Day Birdcage upright piano formerly used by Caesars Palace headliner Elton John was auctioned off over the weekend for $164,500. The piano, signed by John and lyricist Bernie Taupin, is pictured on the cover of John's "Empty Sky" album and had been on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland. An Indianapolis collector sold the piano to a European buyer during the auction, held at Heritage Gallery in Dallas ...

Age: "Taxi" and "Who's The Boss" star and regular Orleans headliner Tony Danza turns 53 today ...

Vrrooom: A $1.4 million Enzo Ferrari is now on display at the Auto Collections at Imperial Palace. The latest 12-cylinder make from the Italian luxury carmaker is one of only 399 made in the 2003 model year. The sleek machine is on display through May 15 ...

Change: Leesa Dillon's position at KTNV Channel 13 Action News is assistant news director, not news producer. We gave her the incorrect title last week.

From Sun wires

Serpico blows whistle: Frank Serpico is blowing the whistle on a new book by an NYPD detective that downplays police corruption.

"The cops I know in the city say the corruption is there," the 68-year-old Serpico said by phone Tuesday from his home outside Albany, N.Y. "It's business as usual."

In the book "Blue Blood," Bronx detective Edward Conlon says "Serpico" -- the 1973 hit movie starring Al Pacino as a cop crusading against police graft -- was too kind to its subject.