John Katsilometes catches up with James “Bucky” Buchanan and Chip Lightman, who are set to take over a 35-year-old Las Vegas restaurant

Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2006 | 7:15 a.m.

Flamboyant Las Vegas attorney and sometime reality TV star James "Bucky" Buchanan usually eats lunch at Chip Lightman's Courthouse Bar & Grill in downtown Las Vegas. Lightman, who for a time managed Danny Gans and has owned the Courthouse for six years, has long been eyeing another Las Vegas restaurant, Coachman's Inn on Eastern Avenue at Desert Inn Road.

When Lightman told Buchanan about his plans to buy the Coachman's Inn, Buchanan said, "That sounds like a fun idea." Soon they were partners, and recently purchased the Coachman's from Steve Murphy and Shirlee Helton, who have owned the business since 1989.

"We want to make it nice, but keep it old Vegas, too," Buchanan said Monday afternoon. "I'm really looking forward to branching out."

Lightman plans to take over in January. Buchanan will become a partner in March, after he secures a Nevada gaming license.

"Bucky eats in my restaurant every day," Lightman said. "Now he can eat in our restaurant."

NoteMart

Buchanan's "Las Vegas Law" reality show, which aired 12 episodes on Court TV this year, remains in limbo as the network sorts itself out after being purchased by Time Warner. No matter. During the summer Buchanan was filmed during one of his passions - big-game hunting - in the jungles of the South African province of Zululand. He felled a rare Monarch elephant that weighed about 1,500 pounds and was approximately 70 years old (or, near the end of its life). Buchanan donated the meat from the giant animal to members of the Zulu tribe, who descended on the kill and took whatever they could carry. The hunt was pricey - the tag alone cost Buchanan $65,000. Highlights from the spectacle should air in a half-hour documentary on Versus, which until Sept. 25 was known as Outdoor Life Network, in late November or early December ...

A Cigar Aficionado story from early 2004 describes how eager-to-please Palms owner George Maloof caters to his more important customers. "VIPs are issued his phone number and 24-hour access. One called and asked for a late-night snack from In-N-Out Burger; George jumped in his car and filled the order himself." The Carl's Jr. spokesman and TV commercial centerpiece might not be so quick to hit the In-N-Out drive-thru today ...

Jim Seagrave, for 18 years the head of PR at the Stardust (and a Las Vegas resident since 1962), was called on Wednesday night and informed of his future: He was told to leave the Stardust on Thursday and report to the Orleans on Friday morning, which he did. The Stardust closes on Nov. 1 and for months Boyd Gaming has been trying to relocate Stardust employees to its other properties ...

Esquire magazine's political endorsements for Nevada's major offices, listed in the magazine's current edition, are Dina Titus for governor, John Ensign for U.S. Senate and Shelley Berkley, Jon Porter and Dean Heller for Congress ...

Acclaimed architect Frank Gehry will be on hand at the Bellagio's Fontana Lounge from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday for a Keep Memory Alive fundraiser in conjunction with Tiffany & Co. The event will feature cases displaying Tiffany Blue Boxes filled with treasures designed by Gehry, who is Tiffany's newest jewelry designer and who also designed the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute. Golden padlocks will be fastened to each box, and keys to open the cases can be purchased for $50 or $100 (the $100 keys also give guests a chance to win jewelry from the Frank Gehry Collection). All of the money will go to the Brain Institute ...

Put away the chaps, hang up the saddle: "Bareback," the "Bonanza" meets "Skintight" adult production at Harrah's, has closed. Its last performance was Sunday ...

During an appearance Monday on "Lunchtime With Ira Live From the Las Vegas Hilton" (which airs at 11 p.m. Thursday on KDWN AM-720, so there's a plug for ya), veteran sports book manager Jay Kornegay said this NFL season was one of the most unpredictable he has ever seen - in terms of business at the book, and in terms of results on the field. Some weeks are slammed, others slow, and as he said Monday "The good teams are a lot better than the bad teams this year." ...

We learn on the streets: Traveling south on Paradise Road on Sunday, I pulled alongside a large Chevrolet truck lugging one of those roving billboards advertising Onlinetickets.com. Blaring from the rig's sound system was the Kenny Rogers song "Lady." Inside the cab, a driver who looked a lot like (but was not, in fact) Rogers seemed to be singing the song into a microphone. He was either singing or lip-syncing the song, to great affect. And the license plate on the truck read TICKETS ...

They finally won Sunday: A reader checks in with a Ford Mustang convertible, silver in color, with the plate R81DERS.