John Katsilometes on Kenny Guinn’s whereabouts and James Cameron’s larger-than-life theme park proposal

Tuesday, March 14, 2006 | 7:11 a.m.

Leaving in a hush, Gov. Kenny Guinn is headed for Afghanistan. Then he's off to Iraq and Pakistan.

A source tells the Las Vegas Sun that Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt has been notified that Guinn is out of state and she will be working from his office in Carson City today.

The nature of Guinn's trip has not been disclosed and the Defense Department preferred to keep his plans under the radar until this morning.

NoteMart

The man at the mic peered out at a cluster of reporters in the darkened Colosseum at Caesars Palace and said, "For me, it's basically Christmas morning."

And when you are James Cameron, that means a tall stack of toys.

The Academy Award-winning director and onetime king of the world has thrown his star power and multimedia genius behind the proposal by Harrah's Entertainment and Asian developer Keppel Land Ltd. to secure one of two gaming licenses up for bid in Singapore.

Cameron is the mastermind - executive producer by title - of the indoor iPort theme park at the "integrated resort" to be called Caesars Singapore, which would be constructed on Singapore's Marina Bay. The earnestness of Harrah's attempt to seize the Singapore license was reflected in the appearance by Cameron, who, along with Thinkwell Design and Production Chief Creative Officer Craig Hanna and Harrah's Chief Executive Gary Loveman, spoke at length about the wave-of-the-future iPort project.

Standing 16 stories high and split into five levels, the attraction is designed as if a five-area theme park were assembled pancake-style. "Less a place than a total experience," to use Cameron's words, iPort is housed in a million-square-foot building and would be an ever-flexible fortress of high-tech entertainment.

"It's all about themed attractions and action-filled movies, and you'll be able to go from one attraction to another," Cameron said. "It'll be rides, live-show elements, interactive hands-on attractions with some 3-D projection."

An atrium running through the center is called the "Media Canyon," which runs from the bottom to the top of the structure. Cameron and crew promise dozens of major attractions, rides (based on major motion pictures, including Cameron's "Titanic") that give the look and feel of the most advanced video games, and with dining and retail that keep with the cutting-edge theme. Two "video cyclones" that run from floor to ceiling and incorporate high-resolution LED technology are also planned.

Sounds great, and the trio onstage was certainly a confident bunch, though the competition is stiff - among those Harrah's is slugging it out with are MGM Mirage and partner CapitaLand Ltd. (which happens to be Southeast Asia's largest developer), and Las Vegas Sands Corp. But Harrah's does have a dazzling and detailed proposal (and James Cameron) on its side ...

Star power: He's long been linked to Las Vegas, but Robert Goulet actually has Canadian roots and is to be honored with a star on Canada's Walk of Fame on June 3 at Toronto's Hummingbird Centre. The 75-year-old Goulet was born in Lawrence, Mass., to French Canadian parents, Joseph Georges Andre Goulet and Jeanette Gauthier. He spent much of his youth in Edmonton, Alberta.

Others being honored include Alex Trebek, Paul Shaffer, Brendan Fraser, Eugene Levy, Jane Arden and Pamela Anderson ...

No equine before its time: The South Coast Equestrian Center opens Wednesday with the Silver Dollar Circuit, a showcase of quarter horses (really fast horses, not really small horses) in a variety of performance disciplines ...

Those kids and their crazy titles: Opening Friday is Nippers Pool Bar at Hooters Casino Hotel. Nippers opens with a poolside celebration lasting throughout the weekend called "ShamROCK & Roll Weekend," which will include a $1,000 "Teeny Weeny Green Bikini Contest." Love the teeny weeny bikinis ... but in green? ...

As the legendary Ray Stevens once said, "Everything is ...": Vanity plate on a convertible Mercedes-Benz: BUTIFUL.