VegasBeat — Columnist Timothy McDarrah: Engagement tale is automatic

Friday, Feb. 20, 2004 | 4:29 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.

WEEKEND EDITION

Feb. 21-21, 2004

It is a Las Vegas love story that would bring a tear to Erich Segal's eye -- but this one has a happy ending.

Back in the day -- 1993, to be exact -- Jessie Pound was a sixth grader at Thurman White Middle School on Galleria Drive in Henderson.

She had a crush on classmate Chris Findlay, scion of the Findlay Automotive Group. But since she was 11, and he was 12, their relationship was hardly romantic.

That changed a few years later when she was dumped by a boyfriend on the eve of the senior prom -- and Findlay stepped up and asked her to go to the Green Valley High School formal.

They've been together ever since. And today Findlay, a salesman for Findlay Toyota, and Pound, an account executive who handles clients such as VEGAS Magazine and Clint Holmes for the powerhouse publicity firm KirvinDoak Communications, are engaged to be married.

Findlay popped the question over the Valentine's Day weekend.

"I don't know the size (of the ring), but it is princess cut, because Chris says that I am his princess," Pound told us as she showed off her ring at the "Mamma Mia!" anniversary party at the Foundation Room (Mandalay Bay) on Thursday night.

No wedding date has been set.

A VegasBeat regular called the other day with a most unusual sighting -- Siegfried Fischbacher at the Tropicana.

Not the Strip hotel, but the historic nightclub in Havana.

Was it a vacation? Was he even really there? Not sure.

Siegfried's manager, Bernie Yuman, did not return phone calls and e-mails seeking comment or confirmation. His office said he was traveling.

Siegfried's spokesman David Kirvin said it was against his policy to comment on Siegfried's "personal travel."

Looking good: In an interview that aired Friday morning with Flo Rogers on KNPR 88.9-FM, noted restaurant designer Adam Tihany said he is going to be redesigning the Buffet at The Mirage.

Some of Tihany's work includes Mandalay Bay's Aureole, with its famous wine tower, and MGM Grand's Seablue, which has a cylindrical fish tank in the front.

Folk music icon Janis Ian has been booked to play Whiskey Pete's Showroom in Primm on March 25.

In 1966, when she was 15, Ian's career exploded with the release of her controversial tale of teenage interracial love, "Society's Child." The self-penned song topped the charts and created a storm of controversy that generated an appearance on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" and coverage in Life, Time and Newsweek.

Her debut album, 1967's "Janis Ian," earned her the first of nine Grammy nominations.

Jerry Bussell of the Nevada Department of Homeland Security will be joined by the Scintas, Holmes, "Real TV" host John Daly and the casts of "Midnight Fantasy" and "Thunder From Down Under" at the Third Annual American Red Cross/IGT Golf Classic at the Red Rock Country Club.

The March 15 event -- and dinner and silent auction the evening before at the Foundation Room -- is a benefit for the private relief agency.

For information regarding sponsorships or to register as a foursome, call the Las Vegas Red Cross office at 791-3311, ext. 3022.

Working 90 minutes a day leaves a lot of time for other things, like shopping.

New Caesars Palace headliner Elton John has been doing exactly that. There were Rocket Man sightings last week at Neiman Marcus at the Fashion Show mall and at the Virgin Megastore in the Forum Shops at Caesars.

The Monte Carlo's headline illusionist, Lance Burton, will be featured on Fox Magazine tonight at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. It airs locally on Cox Cable channel 21.

In December we wrote about the glamour shots on the website created by, and devoted to, KVVU Channel 5 morning news anchor Cher Calvin.

At the request of her station's management, the website was recently taken down, Calvin tells us.

Now the only way to see the alluring broadcaster is to get up in the morning and watch.