Friday, May 7, 2004 | 10:43 a.m.
Censors, FCC watchdogs, free speech advocates and potty-brained radio fans, man your battle stations. Howard Stern is coming to town.
"It's Vegas, man, it's like anything goes," Stern show regular and comedian Artie Lange told Las Vegas Sun pop culture expert Kirk Baird this week. "Las Vegas is definitely a good match for Howard Stern.
"The shows are going to be absolutely berserk."
Scheduled guests on the broadcasts, which originate from the Hard Rock Hotel from Tuesday through Thursday, range from KKK Grand Wizard Daniel Carver to Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman to strippers from Spearmint Rhino.
Typically raunchy sketches planned for the show include a "Buttaface" contest ("She has a great body -- but her face") hosted by Rob Schneider and a "Family Feud"-type game pitting flamboyant homosexual men against a homophobic family from the South.
Can you say "10-second delay"?
Lange described the remote broadcasts as a "Howard Stern convention."
"It's like the Howard version of a 'Star Trek' convention, only the people, hopefully, are a little cooler. It's just a great time," Lange said.
"We're going to be gambling. We're going to do a drinking show where we all get drunk. We're doing karaoke, with everyone on the show doing karaoke and the band Train is going to be our house band.
"It's going to be great."
Lange will be returning to Vegas over the summer for a stand-up appearance in "Beacher's Comedy Madhouse," the Hard Rock Hotel show, on July 24.
Joey's in
It's taken a little while, but "Zumanity" has found its footing, says show star Joey Arias, the Mistress of Seduction in the adults-only Cirque du Soleil show at New York-New York.
"A flower doesn't open up the minute you put it into the ground," Arias told us. "In the last couple of weeks, the element of cabaret that we have been aiming for with the show has taken root."
Arias said that no one in the show was discouraged after its early lukewarm -- and worse -- reviews.
"Nobody was freaking out. Critics are critics. Most of us don't read the papers -- and some of us can't!" Arias cracked.
Arias also said that he is starting to feel like a part of the fabric of Vegas.
"Before I came here I knew nothing about Las Vegas besides Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Elvis and Siegfried and Roy. Now, I know a lot more and I really love it here -- except for the weather. The desert air is a killer, though I have learned to adapt. I have humidifiers and ionizers all over the house. "But this city is really a hotbed of new things that are bubbling up everywhere."
Before coming to Vegas, Arias was an enthusiastic night crawler and scenester in New York City for many years. Much of the debauchery he encountered was chronicled in a column he wrote for Paper magazine.
On Thursday, Arias will be hosting a book signing in the Zumanity Theatre for "The Art of Conversation," a book featuring celebrity interviews and other writing he did for Paper (see Jerry Fink's story about the book on page 11E).
Dress up
The Riviera may be old -- it celebrates its 50th anniversary next April -- but it surely isn't old-fashioned.
It has just booked "The World's Most Beautiful Transsexual Contest" for July 22-24 at the Royale Pavilion.
Magic boy
"Count the Cash," the new daytime game show that is looking to establish itself at Greek Isles, has added magic.
Mark Bennick, whose stage name is The Prince of Magic, is to our knowledge the youngest magician professionally performing in Las Vegas. He is 18 years old.
Bennick warms up the Greek Isles studio audience before the game begins.
His first big gig was in the showroom at Fitzgeralds.
We would not be surprised to see his name on his own Vegas showroom one day.
Winner is...
Restaurateur Bradley Ogden, his son and chef Bryan Ogden, manager John Cunin and the Caesars Palace team are headed to New York for theJames Beard Foundation's culinary awards Monday.
The Bradley Ogden restaurant at Caesars Palace has been nominated Best New Restaurant by the famed New York-based culinary organization -- the only Las Vegas restaurant nominated in a national category.
VegasBits
Trumped: After meeting with Goodman today, developer, TV star, best-selling author and casino mogul Donald Trump has a lunch scheduled with dealmaker Jack Wishna and developer Phil Ruffin. Wednesday night Wishna celebrated his 46th birthday with his wife, Donna, and their pal Wayne Newton ...
Watch: Look for star Las Vegas Sun columnist Jeff German on "Entertainment Tonight," at 7 p.m. Saturday on KLAS Channel 8. He appears on a segment featuring the Ted Binion murder case. German penned the definitive book on the case, "Murder in Sin City: The Death of a Las Vegas Casino Boss" ...
Stars: Monte Carlo headliner Lance Burton performed onstage with Tom Hanks at "We Sparkle Night -- Take III," a benefit at the Gindi Theatre in Bel Air, Calif., on Monday night. The event was a vaudeville variety show that raised funds for children's programs at the We SPARK Cancer Support Center in Sherman Oaks. Ed Begley Jr. and Phyllis Diller also performed ...
Snap: Jennifer Love Hewitt, very much grown up from her "Party of Five" days, is on the cover of the latest VEGAS Magazine. Compelling photos of her are also inside the glossy ...
Sweet melody: On Saturday afternoon, the public is invited to listen to selections by the Greenspun Junior High Chamber Choir and Advanced Women's Choir while sampling Ethel M Chocolates. The two choir groups will perform a variety of songs in front of the new Ethel M location at The District at Green Valley Ranch ...
Bouquet: The May issue of Gourmet magazine has a nice blurb on 55 Degrees -- Andrew Bradbury's upscale wine boutique at Mandalay Place.
From Sun wires
Bardot in court: French film legend Brigitte Bardot , 69, defended herself in a Paris court Thursday against charges that she incited racial hatred in a best-selling book, which speaks out against people of mixed race and the "Islamicization of France."
Martin sued: Ricky Martin's former manager has filed a $63.5 million lawsuit in San Juan, Puerto Rico, against the singer for breach of contract. Angelo Medina claims he was to have continued managing Martin's career in Puerto Rico but not internationally, but the singer broke all ties.
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