VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: Magazine paves way for name recognition

Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2004 | 10:26 a.m.

For sale: the streets of Las Vegas.

One of the prizes in a contest sponsored by Jane magazine is getting a Las Vegas street named after you, with a ceremony presided over by Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman.

In exchange, the glossy paid the city $2,000.

Other prizes include a trip to Las Vegas and prizes from contest sponsors adidas, A/X (an off-priced Giorgio Armani clothing line), Diesel clothing, Converse and others.

Starting today Goodman appears in an ad for the contest on the magazine's website and in the magazine's March issue, which hits newsstands Wednesday.

Mayoral spokeswoman Elaine Sanchez confirmed the details to VegasBeat.

She added that the proceeds go to the Make-a-Wish Foundation, a charity that grants special requests to terminally ill kids.

Sanchez said it is not the first time a street has been renamed as part of a gimmick, citing the blocklong Hugh Hefner Way in front of the Palms. That ceremony took place in September during activities celebrating Playboy's 50th anniversary. The renamed streets keep their new monikers indefinitely.

But that is not all the mayor has cooking this week. On Thursday he appears on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" in a segment taped last month in Hollywood.

On Friday he makes an especially dignified appearance when he dresses up as a hot-dog-on-a-stick and sells lemonade on the corner of Sahara Avenue and Rainbow Boulevard to make good on a Super Bowl bet with Mark & Mercedes, the morning hosts on KMXB 94.1-FM.

Then on Saturday morning Goodman is scheduled to appear on NBC's "Today."

When does he find time to govern?

"The mayor is a multitasker," Sanchez said.

Poker fun

You know you've hit the big time when "Saturday Night Live" makes fun of you.

This past weekend, the show featured a hilarious parody of a Las Vegas celebrity poker tournament -- at the shuttered Binion's Horseshoe.

Cast members dressed as Geraldo Rivera, Carrot Top, Gene Shalit and Tammy Faye Messner (the one-time Tammy Faye Bakker) played a few marvelously silly hands. Carrot Top, for example, would hold up two putting irons and say, "I've got two clubs."

Then the language turned a little too blue for a family newspaper.

'Idol' return

Las Vegas resident Erskine Walcott Jr. is back on tonight's episode of "American Idol."

He is in the first round of eight contestants who will be judged by viewers. The results will be featured on Wednesday's show.

The delightfully humble 24-year-old son of a "Legends in Concert" performer (his father, Erskine Walcott Sr., is one of the Four Tops) told us in a phone interview from Hollywood that he is not even the best singer in his family, and would not tell us if he has a girlfriend.

"My sister Adrienne, she lives in Atlanta, she can really sing. She has that whole Aretha (Franklin) vibe, " Walcott told VegasBeat.

Then we moved onto something important.

"Do I have a girlfriend? Oh man, what can I say? Look, you all watch the show and that question will get answered for you."

Walcott said he has been nervous each time he performed for judges Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson, but has learned to use it to his advantage.

"I get these nervous bubbles in my stomach, but at the same time I try to use that energy as my motivation -- something to put the fire under my butt."

Does he think he can win the competition?

"I am surely going to represent Las Vegas to the fullest, but this competition is really tough," Walcott said. "Everybody has amazing voices and personalities. It boils down to who is going to shine at the right moment."

"American Idol" airs at 8 tonight on KVVU Channel 5.

Knot of fun

Valentine's Day -- Saturday -- is the biggest wedding day of the year in Las Vegas. One of the most interesting weddings we've heard about is the Carla Carlini and Alex Mills nuptials.

He is a computer systems analyst. She is the news director for the KFBT Channel 33 news at 7 p.m. and the KVWB Channel 12 news at 10 p.m. They are tying the knot high above Las Vegas -- in the Fuji blimp.

She wouldn't tell us how she corralled such a unique altar.

Afterward proud parents Vincent and Joan Carlini of Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., are tossing a party for about 200 folks at the Monet Patio at the Bellagio overlooking the hotel's pools.

"This proves you can put a big wedding together in a short amount of time and run a newsroom," Carlini told us.

Honeymoon plans? "Not now ... I'm in a ratings period. So that will have to wait," Carlini said.

VegasBits

Scene: Las Vegas talent agent Jaki Baskow and her friend, "Crossing Over's" John Edwards, took in Celine Dion's show Sunday night ...

Good cause: George Wallace, Ronn Lucas and Chrissi Scinta are confirmed so far to perform Saturday at an Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease) benefit at the Showroom at The Venetian. It is being organized by producer David Saxe, whose father was diagnosed with the disease in 2001. Tickets range from $50 to $100 and are available by calling the box office at 933-4230.

Curve: Former major leaguer, movie actor ("The Long Goodbye") and acclaimed author Jim Bouton ("Ball Four") will be at Borders Books in Summerlin one week from today to sign copies of his latest tome, "Foul Ball: My Life and Hard Times Trying to Save an Old Ballpark." It is the story of Bouton's effort to save Wahconah Park, a vintage minor-league park in Pittsfield, Mass. ...

Kerry: A staffer with Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry called Las Vegas Sun cartoonist Mike Smith the other day and asked for copies of some recent Smith cartoons featuring Kerry that had appeared in the Sun and in USA Today ....

From Sun wires

Ross convicted: Diana Ross was convicted in Tucson Monday of driving under the influence and ordered to spend two days in jail.

The diva, who telephoned into the city court hearing from New York, pleaded no contest to DUI. Two related charges were dropped.

Tucson Magistrate T. Jay Cranshaw found Ross, 59, guilty of DUI and sentenced her to serve 48 hours in jail before March 9 and to complete at least 36 hours of alcohol-abuse treatment by Aug. 9.

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