VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: Vegas VIPs usher in a Golden era

Monday, March 8, 2004 | 10:42 a.m.

"This is now going to be a casino owned by a couple of guys -- the way it was meant to be," Andre Agassi was telling us Sunday night at the primo party to commemorate Tom Breitling and Tim Poster taking over the Golden Nugget.

"Old Vegas needs to be honored, but new Vegas has to be incorporated into it. That is what's going on here. For me, being a proud second-generation Las Vegas resident, it is great to see something like this -- to see this part of the city come alive again," said Agassi, a minority party in the new Golden Nugget ownership group. "Tim and Tom hope to inject a spirit into downtown that hasn't been seen in a long time.

"I mean, Tim was literally dealing cards at a table the other day. Where else in this city do you see something like that?"

The spirit was evident at a cocktail party before a special performance by Jewel and Tony Bennett in the hotel's relatively intimate Grand Ballroom. The show was a benefit for the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation.

"These two have a real sense of history," Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt said of Poster and Breitling. Interjected her companion, radio host Dennis Bono: "And they have a passion for the hotel and for old Las Vegas that is absolutely contagious."

There was at least one notable convert to downtown enjoying the evening: Mena Suvari ("American Beauty"). "This is my first time in downtown Las Vegas," Suvari told "Vegas Minute" correspondent Brandi Williams. "The old marquees, the architecture ... It is all really quite stunning. It is like stepping back in time. I love this hotel. They have the old and the new, and they are putting it all together."

The event, and the ultra-exclusive afterparty in a top-floor suite, drew some national media and an array of personalities, including Nevada Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, Perry Rogers, Bob Stupak, Nevada Democratic Party Chairman Terry Care, poet and National Public Radio commentator Dayvid Figler, scenester Michael Shulman and 24-year-old Canadian singing sensation Matt Dusk (a crooner who has signed to perform a series of dates at the Golden Nugget).

All business

This time, it was nothing more than a business trip to Las Vegas for pop princess Britney Spears.

She was in town for about 36 hours over the weekend for her Saturday concert at MGM Grand Garden Arena -- a little more than half the time that she was married in Vegas earlier this year.

Sources say that she was under strict orders from her manager -- and her mother, who was also in town -- not to go to the Palms, and in general not to leave the MGM grounds, which she apparently didn't.

But that doesn't mean she was grounded -- she hit the Playboy party at Studio 54 -- inside the hotel -- after her sold-out show (see Spencer Patterson's review of the concert on page 2E of today's Accent section).

Also at the private Studio 54 soiree: Teresa Earnhardt (the widow of Dale Earnhardt; she was in town for Sunday's NASCAR race), Howie Mandel, hockey great Mario Lemieux and, of course, Robin Leach.

Reality nights

Two Vegas nightclubs and two producers are vying to be the first to get a reality show about their clubs launched.

Genre genius Mark Burnett ("Survivor," "The Apprentice," "The Casino") is working with the Hard Rock Hotel to chronicle the relaunch of Baby's, the bawdy basement room that shut in January for an overhaul. It is slated to reopen with a new name and a new look over the Memorial Day weekend.

And John Padon of VTV -- the new Vegas cable and satelite television channel -- has given the greenlight to a show about the doings at OPM, the club inside the Forum Shops at Caesars. Shooting is scheduled to begin on Friday.

Both producers are planning to call their show "The Nightclub."

National honor

Las Vegas public relations firm KirvinDoak Communications was named PR Week Magazine's 2004 Boutique PR Firm of the Year and runner-up for overall Agency of the Year at the annual awards ceremony at the Tavern on the Green in New York on Thursday night.

PR Week is regarded as the bible of the communications and marketing world, and KirvinDoak beat out firms from across the nation.

"It's very gratifying to be recognized for this national award from Las Vegas, where it may be easy to underestimate the high level of public relations that is practiced in this market," partner Dave Kirvin told us. "It's a true reflection of the work of our entire staff and the great clients we have, who give us the opportunity to do the kind of work that gets noticed."

Kirvin's clients range from Rita Rudner to MGM MIRAGE to the new Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center.

VegasBits

Presidential: First daughter Jenna Bush was spotted partying at Rain (Palms) on Friday and Saturday nights. Also at Rain on Saturday: "The Sopranos" star Jamie-Lynn Discala (Meadow Soprano), who stopped in after hosting a private screening of the show's season opener at House of Blues (Mandalay Bay) ...

Shopper: Anna Kournikova was spotted trying on T-shirts at the Gap (Forum Shops at Caesars) around 7:30 Saturday night. "She was with a guy who was wearing one of those bucket hats (like occasional companion Enrique Iglesias favors), but I couldn't make out who it was," a fellow shopper told us ...

Show go: Tom Cruise and his children Connor and Isabella attended the 7:30 p.m. Saturday performance of "O" (Bellagio) ...

Diners: NASCAR drivers Michael Andretti and Sterling Marlin dined at the steakhouse N9NE (Palms) on Saturday night. Lance Bass was in on Friday ...

Teacher: "Buffalo" Jim Barrier was a hit at Mendoza Elementary School on Thursday. As part of Nevada Reading Week, he read to third and fifth graders and was swamped afterward by about 150 students seeking autographs. Buffalo spent more than an hour after classes with the students stressing the importance of education ...

Music fan: Jazz great Wynton Marsalis was in the crowd at Clint Holmes' Harrah's show one night last week ...

Trekkers: "Seinfeld's" Jason Alexander is slated to be the guest at the party marking the opening of the new "Borg Invasion 4D" attraction at the Las Vegas Hilton on March 17. Scott Bakula ("Enterprise") will be at the March 18 public opening.

From Sun wires

Gooding gets Image award: Receiving the NAACP's Image award for his portrayal of James Robert "Radio" Kennedy was particularly sweet for Cuba Gooding Jr., who was stung by criticism that his portrayal of the mentally disabled man was too negative.

"I'm proud of the performance because the man's mannerisms were very indicative of the character that I portrayed," Gooding said after receiving the best actor in a motion picture award in Los Angeles on Saturday night.

Kennedy became an inspiration first for the football team at T.L. Hanna High School and then the entire community.

Bush marries: Presidential brother Neil Bush,who divorced his wife of 23 years in a messy split last year, has married a woman who once volunteered for former first lady Barbara Bush.

Bush, 48, married Maria Andrews on Saturday in Houston in the mansion of longtime Bush family friends, the Houston Chronicle reported Sunday.

About 150 guests joined the newlyweds after a small family ceremony that included former President George Bush and Barbara Bush. President Bush and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush did not attend.