Monday, Feb. 2, 2004 | 10:24 a.m.
Hard Rock Hotel owner Peter Morton is a suit-and-tie kind of a guy. Hotel President Kevin Kelley usually has an open collar with his clean Oxford shirt. His hair is short and he is well-groomed.
But their conservative looks belie the fact that rock 'n' roll blood flows through their veins.
In a rebellious spirit that was happily reminiscent of the 1960s, the Hard Rock Hotel defied an NFL order to shut down its big-screen Super Bowl parties.
"We said that we were going to have some fun, and that's just what we're doing," Kelley told VegasBeat moments before the Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots kicked off Super Bowl XXXVIII at Houston's Reliant Stadium. "We're not going to disappoint our customers, who are here today to watch some football and have some fun."
Kelley said he did not expect NFL lawyers to bum-rush his hotel and shut down the parties, one inside The Joint and one inside the Festival Hall ballroom. The Joint party was for invited guests; admission was required for the Festival Hall event.
"We'll see what happens, if anything, and deal with it when the time comes," Kelley said. "I don't know why the league and the city of Las Vegas can't just get along. We can do a lot more together than we can apart."
Late last week the so-called No Fun League sent cease-and-desist letters to several Las Vegas hotels.
The league does not approve of hotels and other facilities selling tickets to view what the league was providing for free -- the Super Bowl telecast.
The NFL argues that it is simply an economic issue -- large gatherings are not taken into account in the ratings, which are used to determine advertising rates. So the league prefers as many viewers in private homes as possible.
The NFL mandated that no monitors larger than 55 inches, measured diagonally, could be used for public viewing.
Among the Vegas hotels that canceled parties were The Orleans, Palms, Sam's Town, Tuscany and Stardust.
Hot stuff
"It's 'chili' in here," said Nate Tannenbaum, the popular bow-tied KTNV Channel 13 weatherman.
Indeed it was. He was one of the local media personalities judging a chili contest at the Tuscany before the big game Sunday.
The other arbiters of taste included Tannebaum's TV colleague, anchor Ross Becker, KVBC Channel 3 anchor Kendall Tenney, and from the new KVWB Channel 21 "Las Vegas News at 10," anchor Rachel Smith and entertainment reporter Guy Farris.
The shindig was hosted by KXPT 97.1-FM DJ Steph McKenzie.
Update
On Jan. 22 we reported on the case of Matthew Cusick, an HIV-positive "Mystere" acrobat who was fired by Cirque du Soleil because of health concerns.
On Friday, Cirque announced a proposal to "re-integrate" Cusick, which it would discuss during a coming federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission mediation session.
Neither Cirque nor a spokesman for Lambda, the national gay rights group that had filed the federal complaint on Cusick's behalf, were reachable to comment on the case Sunday night.
Magic suit
The former owners of an island in the Bahamas have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas against illusionist David Copperfield, according to Las Vegas Sun and In Business Las Vegas reporter Alana Roberts.
The former owners are alleging Copperfield used two phony frontmen in a "strawman" scheme to purchase the island for about $46 million in December.
John Melk of Florida and Janet Melk of Illinois filed a lawsuit Jan. 15 seeking more than $75,000 in damages. It alleges fraud and misrepresentation, along with tortious interference with economic advantage.
Copperfield's Reno-based attorney, Bruce Laxalt, said in a statement a similar lawsuit was filed in the Bahamas.
VegasBits
Movie man: Actor and director Mel Gibson, his wife, Robyn, and their daughter Hannah were in the audience at the Chieftains concert at UNLV on Saturday night ...
Feast: Since Celine Dion was ill and canceled her weekend shows, producer David LaChappelle and his crew got some extra prep time in for the Elton John "Red Piano" concerts, which start Feb. 13. LaChappelle and five others had dinner Sunday night at Bradley Ogden (Caesars Palace), dining on scallops, gnocci and cod, and washing it down with a Silver Oak cabernet ...
Straw: Troubled baseball star Darryl Strawberry was at the Forum Shops at Caesars club OPM on Saturday night. No cause for alarm, however. He was drinking only bottled water and happily signing napkins for the many fans who approached him. Former San Diego Chargers star Natrone Means also hit the club ...
Rockers: Kelly Osbourne, Dennis Rodman, Jeff Beacher, Arte Lange and the Rev. Bob Levy were at the Super Bowl party at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel ...
Loser: A witness said that TNT basketball commentator and former NBA star Charles Barkley went through at least $10,000 in 15 minutes as he went back and forth -- several times -- between the roulette wheel and a minimum $100 blackjack table in the high-roller area at Mandalay Bay on Friday night ...
Return: New York Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter partied at Light (Bellagio) on Friday and then again on Saturday night. Joining him Saturday were Leonardo DiCaprio, Lucas Haas, Jamie Foxx, Jason Giambi, Frank Thomas and Barkley ...
Looking good: Recording artist Foxy Brown got the full treatment at Canyon Ranch Spa (Venetian) on Friday ...
Meal: Rocker Tommy Lee had lunch Friday with some friends at Bahama Breeze on Flamingo Road. Neither Pink nor Pamela Anderson was among the group ...
Dinner: Former Georgetown hoops coach John Thompson had dinner Friday night at Sazio inside The Orleans.
From Sun wires
Head of the crass: The chief federal regulator of broadcasting said today he is outraged by the Super Bowl halftime show which wound up with singer Justin Timberlake tearing off part of Janet Jackson's costume, exposing her breast.
Timberlake blamed a "wardrobe malfunction," but Federal Communications Commission chief Michael Powell called it "a classless, crass and deplorable stunt."
MTV, which produced the show, and CBS, which broadcast it, both said they had no idea that their halftime show Sunday night would include such a display.
In a statement, Powell said, "I am outraged at what I saw during the halftime show of the Super Bowl. Like millions of Americans, my family and I gathered around the television for a celebration. Instead, that celebration was tainted by a classless, crass and deplorable stunt. Our nation's children, parents and citizens deserve better."
"I have instructed the commission to open an immediate investigation into last night's broadcast," he said, vowing it would be "thorough and swift."
Injured game show host for $200: "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek hopes to resume taping his quiz show Tuesday after escaping serious injury when he fell asleep at the wheel of his pickup truck on a rural road.
The 63-year-old television host was driving alone in Templeton, Calif., Friday when his truck drifted off the road, sideswiped a bank of mailboxes and sailed over an embankment into a ditch.
Manilow hospitalized: Singer Barry Manilow was hospitalized in Palm Springs, Calif., after suffering from chest pain because of stress, his publicist said.
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