VegasBeat - Timothy McDarrah: Bootlegger has Moore bang for buck

Monday, Aug. 2, 2004 | 10:41 a.m.

The BBC was over at the Bootlegger Bistro on Friday night filming old-school entertainer Sonny King's performance. Cameras also caught comics Joey Villa and Peter Anthony and rising singing star Mark Giovi .

The best moment, among many, was Anthony coming up to the microphone and saying he was going to sing "Desperado" -- and that he wanted to dedicate it to Archie Moore.

Well, maybe you had to be there. And to be old enough to know that Archie Moore was a world-champion heavyweight boxer. But the audience exploded in laughter.

The Bootlegger's nightly shows continue to be perhaps the best deal in town. For the price of a dinner that you were going eat anyway, you get an amazing show and a different act each night of the week.

Traveling band

Music is his love. But softball seems to be his passion.

When he is not onstage at various venues around the nation, Kenny Loggins is on the field, often against teams from his host venue.

On Saturday, Loggins and crew faced off against Ira David Sternberg and his team from the Las Vegas Hilton at Lorenzi Park.

Sternberg, the former communications chief for Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt, now has that job at the Hilton.

Sternberg reports that his staffers, plus Ardy Sarraf -- who plays Paul McCartney in the Fab Four tribute show at the hotel, and Paul Terry, who does Ed Sullivan -- beat Loggins and company, 19-15.

Hilton hitting stars were Lou Dorn, the hotel's general counsel, Jay Kornegay, the director of the Race and Sports Book, and operations veep Julius Kazen.

Loggins, who was pitching, left the game at the end with a sprained ankle.

"But I think it was mainly due to the fact that we beat his team," Sternberg joked.

Guest stars

Tonight's episode of Fox's "The Casino" (at 9 on KVVU Channel 5) will feature cameo appearances by several Las Vegas entertainers.

Clint Holmes, Sheena Easton, Ronn Lucas, Frank Marino, Lance Burton, Steve Rossi and Mac King join Tom Breitling and Tim Poster at a dinner in Stefano's restaurant at the Golden Nugget.

Also, Fox will begin airing new episodes of the show on Sunday and Monday evenings starting Aug. 15. The season finale is scheduled to air Aug. 29.

So happy

Wolfgang Pucks's Forum Shops eatery Chinois is offering a special Happy Hour promotion through the end of September.

Happy Hour beverage prices -- every day except Saturday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. -- are $3 for a beer and $5 for a cocktail.

That is hands down the most we've ever seen a place charge for a Happy Hour drink. And we have done our research on this.

Party night

Despite being severely understaffed that evening, KVVU Channel 5 did manage to get its 10 o'clock news on the air Saturday night.

Seems that much of the staff was partying at station general manager Susan Lucas' 50th birthday bash (which featured some creative limbo dancing), while another group of Channel 5 employes was at N9NE (Palms) celebrating morning anchor Cher Calvin's 30th birthday.

Also, marketing exec Stephanie Davis of MGM MIRAGE celebrated her birthday with pals at Marrakech Restaurant on Paradise Road.

VegasBeat

Deal: Drew Carey was a big winner playing blackjack in the Hard Rock Hotel's high-roller Peacock Lounge on Friday night. One source put his take in the mid-five figures ...

Cards: Tobey Maguire and Gabe Kaplan ("Welcome Back Kotter") drew most of the stares from fans at the World Poker Tournament event at The Mirage over the weekned ...

Dance: Actress Jessica Biel ("7th Heaven") partied at Body English (Hard Rock) on Friday night. Ice-T was there Saturday.

From Sun wires

Jobs has tumor removed: Steve Jobs, the charismatic chief executive who is the driving force behind both Apple Computer and Pixar Animation Studios, said Sunday he has undergone a successful operation to remove a cancerous tumor from his pancreas.

Jobs, 49, said in an e-mail to Apple employees that he will take the month of August off to recuperate, and expects to recover from the rare but treatable form of pancreatic cancer. He plans to return to work in September.

"I have some personal news that I need to share with you, and I wanted you to hear it directly from me," Jobs said in the message, which he sent from his hospital bed. "I had a very rare form of pancreatic cancer called an islet cell neuroendocrine tumor, which represents about 1 percent of the total cases of pancreatic cancer diagnosed each year, and can be cured by surgical removal if diagnosed in time (mine was). I will not require any chemotherapy or radiation treatments."

Hung in Asia: William Hung, who shot to instant fame as a reject on the U.S. talent show "American Idol," has debuted in Asia at a Macau casino.

Accompanied by sexy dancers in red tube tops, the Hong Kong-born singer belted out his most famous hit -- an off-key rendition of Ricky Martin's "She Bangs" -- at Kam Pek casino in Macau, local media reported Sunday.

"I don't mind having some people ridicule me," Hung, 21, was quoted as saying in the South China Morning Post.

Clinton considers 'SNL': Former President Bill Clinton could be a host of "Saturday Night Live" this season.

At least, that's what the folks at NBC are hoping.

TV Guide Online quotes anonymous sources saying that Clinton has been offered the gig if he wants it.

A decision is expected this week.

Meanwhile, Clinton is scheduled to appear Tuesday on the "Late Show With David Letterman." Clinton last appeared on Letterman's late-night show on Sept. 11, 2002, the first anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Thanks to Blair: More than a dozen celebrities, including Bono, Jude Law and Bob Geldof, have signed an open letter thanking Prime Minister Tony Blair's government for its promise to boost aid to poor countries.

"It's unfashionable to congratulate politicians in public but we're going to do it anyway, to say thanks for increasing the funds available to tackle world poverty now and for committing to reach the U.N. aid-giving target by 2013 at the latest," said the letter, published in today's Independent newspaper.