Wednesday, March 31, 2004 | 10:54 a.m.
VegasBeat appears Sunday through Friday in the Las Vegas Sun. Timothy McDarrah can be reached at [email protected] or at (702) 259-4096.
Next stop for Amazing Johnathan is the Riviera.
The comic magician told the Las Vegas Sun's Jerry Fink that he has reached a deal on a one-year contract to perform in the La Cage Theatre at 10 p.m. six nights a week (off Tuesdays).
The targeted opening date is April 14.
AJ also confirmed our earlier report that he had been negotiating with the Hard Rock Hotel.
But he said he liked the potential at the Riviera.
"They keep their acts for a long time, like for 20 years," AJ told Fink, referring to such long-running shows as "Crazy Girls" and "An Evening at La Cage."
The entertainer made a name for himself at the Golden Nugget, and left there in 2003 for Flamingo Las Vegas. After a spat with management, he returned to the Nugget this year, but left after only five weeks.
Firing off odds
Bally's/Paris Las Vegas oddsmaker Johnny Avello has weighed in on a couple of TV shows.
On "The Apprentice," Avello likes Amy Henry to hear Donald Trump eventually tell her, "You're hired!"
Henry is a 2-to-1 favorite, followed by Bill Rancic (5-2), Troy McClain (4-1), Nick Warnock (6-1) and Kwame Jackson (8-1). On "Average Joe: Adam returns," Avello has installed Stephanie Cahn as a 5-to-1 fave.
Our pick, Heather Caton, who manages the Canyon Ranch Spa at The Venetian, was sent home on Monday night's episode. Avello had placed her in the middle of the pack at 8-1.
As always, odds are posted for entertainment purposes only.
Also, there is a nice feature on Avello in the April VEGAS Magazine, which is out now. Rebecca Romijn-Stamos is on the cover.
Media
The cover story in the April issue of influential Wine Spectator magazine is about the Las Vegas dining scene.
It's the first cover since 1999 and only the second ever for Las Vegas in the upscale glossy. The article calls Vegas "The most dynamic dining city in America."
The mag also teased that Chef of the Century (as voted by the Gault-Millau restaurant guide) Joel Rubochon will open a private dining room at the MGM Grand's exclusive 29-cottage Mansion.
Its Top 10 local restaurants: Picasso (Bellagio), Piero Selvaggio's Valentino (Venetian), Aqua (Bellagio), Aureole (Mandalay Bay), Le Cirque (Bellagio), Renoir (Mirage), Bradley Ogden (Caesars Palace), Nob Hill (MGM Grand), 808 (Caesars Palace) and Circo (Bellagio).
Shockingly, Olive Garden, voted the city's best Italian eatery in a reader's poll in another local newspaper this week, did not make the Wine Spectator list.
Feeling the blues
Even on a jaunt to see Mom back in New York, the VegasBeat celebrity radar works overtime.
Dan Aykroyd was on our Continental Airlines flight from Newark, N.J., to McCarran International Airport on Monday afternoon. He was traveling to Vegas for meetings about a local venue for "The Blues Brothers Revival," a new musical written and directed by Victor Pisano.
Pisano is married to Judy Belushi, the widow of original Blues Brother John Belushi. The new show begins previews in Chicago on April 9 and is expected to head to Vegas, among other locales.
After the plane ride, Aykroyd went to the Hard Rock Hotel, where he immediately went to the Pink Taco for a late solo lunch.
Thursday, Aykroyd will be in Hollywood, Calif., when a John Belushi star is unveiled on the famous Walk of Fame.
VegasBits
Party: Bob Mancari, the director of player development at Bellagio, is having a birthday dinner at the hotel's Monet ballroom Saturday night, and then a celebration at Light. Celeb clients -- including Michael Jordan, Ben Affleck, Bruce Willis and Matt Damon -- are expected ...
Attitude: Mr. T attended a pair of Las Vegas Wranglers hockey games over the weekend. Before Friday's game he gave the Wranglers players a pep talk just minutes before they took the ice. He told them that when he was doing "Rocky III," he would eat an onion before the ring action to look mean and to let Sylvester Stallone know he was tough ...
Dinner, show: Legendary record exec Clive Davis and family had dinner at Spago (Forum Shops at Caesars) before seeing Elton John's show at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on Friday night ...
Visit: Boy George is finally coming to Las Vegas. He'll play DJ and perform at ICE Las Vegas on Saturday night. He had to cancel an appearance at the club a few months back when Rosie O'Donnell wouldn't allow the visit -- it was during rehearsals for "Taboo," the since-closed Broadway play that starred George and was produced by O'Donnell ...
Corner pocket: Noted pool shark and "Law & Order" fixture Jerry Orbach gets inducted into the International Billiards & Home Recreation Hall of Fame at a Las Vegas Hilton dinner on Thursday night. Maybe he'll address media reports that he is leaving the show after 12 years. Westin Casuarina headliner David Brenner gives the keynote address at the billiards expo that morning ...
Goes on: Celine Dion turned 36 on Tuesday. She celebrated quietly at home with her family ...
Block: Jennifer Lopez is expected in town later this week. She guest stars in the season-ending episode of "Will & Grace" called "I Do, Oh, No, You Don't," which is set in Las Vegas. The episode airs April 29 ...
From Sun wires
Maybe they're amazed: Paul McCartney capped a ski vacation at Lake Tahoe with an impromptu performance at the same Sierra Nevada restaurant where he entertained surprised diners last year.
"Unfortunately, you have an unscheduled guest here at Moody's," the former Beatle said when he took the stage Monday night.
About 70 people crowded around as McCartney sang the jazz standard "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" with the George Souza Trio. Then, he asked the band to play the blues rocker "Kansas City" and he altered the lyrics into a tribute to "Tahoe City."
"I'm going to Tahoe City, going to get me some skiing," he sang as the patrons joined in for the refrain.
McCartney, 61, made a similar appearance last February at Moody's Bistro and Lounge in the old Truckee (Calif.) Hotel built in the 1870s. He said Monday that it was becoming his "annual residency."
"It was awesome," said David LaPlante, 34, Reno, who took in the scene with his wife, Jessica.
"I'm a little young to be a die-hard fan, but he's Paul McCartney, a living legend ... and he's sitting 15 feet away from you in a restaurant in Truckee."
You really like me: John Kerry collected the support of Hollywood stars such as Meg Ryan, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Costner and Barbra Streisand during a fund-raiser that capped a two-day swing through California.
Kerry thanked the crowd in Beverly Hills, Calif., for helping him raise more than $3 million and "reclaim the capacity and the quality of our own democracy in the United States of America."
Other stars who attended the Tuesday event included Don Henley, Jason Alexander, Helen Hunt, Henry Winkler, Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Peter Boyle, Quincy Jones, Tobey Maguire, Ed Harris, David Spade, Owen Wilson, Christina Applegate, Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, Sharon Stone, Lucy Liu, Ben Stiller, Oliver Stone, Paul Reiser, Harvey Keitel, Dustin Hoffman, Melissa Gilbert and Gary Shandling.
Selling point: Usher's new album "Confessions" sold approximately 1.1 million copies in less than a week, making it the highest-selling album debut since 2001 and a record-setter for an R&B artist, Arista Records announced.
"Confessions," which was released March 23, features the No. 1 single "Yeah!"
"My feeling has always been that 'Confessions' would be a landmark album for me," Usher said in a statement.
'N Sync's "Celebrity" sold approximately 1.9 million copies in 2001.
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