Columnist John Katsilometes: Comparison shopping at the Wynn’s Esplanade shops

Monday, Dec. 12, 2005 | 8:21 a.m.

Fabulous Las Vegas runs Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday in the Las Vegas Sun. Reach John Katsilometes at kats@lasvegassun.com or at (702) 259-2327 or (702) 812-9812.

I flipped the price tag and stared at the number: $500. I pulled the tag closer to my face -- thinking maybe one or both zeroes would vanish -- but the price did not change: $500.

Then I asked a sales representative, "Is this right?" She said yes, $500 was indeed the correct price, and appeared bemused that I found that price to be a bit excessive for an umbrella.

But this was at Louis Vuitton at the Wynn Las Vegas Esplanade shops, and the polyester-blend umbrella with the hard-wood shaft and handle encased in genuine cowhide was priced right at $500.

Other holiday shopping highlights during the first Christmas shopping rush at Wynn Las Vegas:

* A blue and red silk tie featuring the finely stitched Ferrari logo, from the Ferrari Store: $195. A ball cap fixed with the Ferrari logo: $32.

* Costume jewelry offered exclusively in the Chanel Las Vegas boutique, including a necklace with charms shaped like an ace of spades, a die, a Chanel logo, the No. 5, and a dollar sign: $575. The necklace, paired with a matching charm bracelet: $1,200.

* A cotton tank top at Dior, featuring a sketch of Libertines frontman Pete Doherty and the message, "This is how much I care, you can turn around, break hundreds of hearts in a single instant, something I can never comprehend": $155.

* At Wynn: The Signature Shop, Titlist golf balls stamped with the Wynn Resort and Country Club logo. $5 apiece, $60 for a dozen, $120 for 24 (you get the point, stay on the fairway).

* My favorite: A Wentworth wooden jigsaw puzzle of Sandro Botticelli's painting "Birth of Venus" at the Wynn Gallery Shop: $64.95.

NoteMart

Quiz time: Slyvester Stallone's next "Rocky" installment, "Rocky Balboa," culminates with a big bout in Vegas. But it is not the first Stallone rags-to-riches saga to careen to a close in our fair city. Stallone played a man whose first name was Lincoln in what movie that also climaxed in Las Vegas (answer below)?

Graci! Graci tanto! During Saturday's performance at Lake Las Vegas Resort, Andrea Bocelli was joined onstage by songwriter/ producer David Foster while showcasing material from his upcoming album, "Amore," due in February. But Bocelli also gave a nod to his Vegas surroundings by performing the Elvis Presley classic, "Can't Help Falling in Love."

The "Amore Under the Desert Stars" was taped on the Lake Las Vegas floating stage for the PBS series "Great Performances," scheduled to air in March ...

He's mad -- mad I tell you!: Jeff Beacher has announced auditions for his theater-of-the-absurd production "Beacher's Madhouse" at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel. The auditions are set for Jan. 31, 5 p.m., at the Joint. Beacher is looking for dancers (primarily experienced go-go dancers), female hosts, variety acts and karaoke practitioners.

A sample of what Beacher is looking for from his variety acts (quoting from his press release): "Off-beat acts, little people, magicians, stilt-walkers, contortionists, jugglers, crazy costumes ... you name it, we want it!" ...

Answer: That would be the 1987 offering, "Over the Top," in which Stallone's Lincoln Hawk reaches the big arm-wrestling championships in Las Vegas and wins (or doesn't) the world title.