John Katsilometes talks with the stars of the Fox News Channel team who visited Vegas amid a particularly busy news cycle

Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2006 | 7:26 a.m.

Fox News Channel anchor Shepard Smith visits Las Vegas three or four times a year, and this week he's back with his "Studio B" and "Fox Report" programs, which aired live from the Pure rooftop outdoor deck at Caesars Palace. Joining him was another Fox star, Greta Van Susteren, whose "On the Record" also aired live from Pure on Monday. The network was in town as part of a nationwide tour celebrating its 10th anniversary.

"I think Vegas is great to kind of escape into a fantasy world," Smith said after delivering "Studio B."

There has been no such escape for Smith and crew this week - dropping in on a story where a U.S. congressman who is a gubernatorial candidate has been accused of assaulting a Strip cocktail waitress in a Las Vegas garage has made that impossible. And with O'Sheas and the Imperial Palace serving as a sun-splashed backdrop, Smith frequently reported updates to the Rep. Jim Gibbons/Christy Mazzeo saga during the noon telecast.

"There is no other option but for this to become a big story. It's a high-profile state and a high-profile office," Smith said afterward in one of Pure's outdoor bungalows. "I know there are a lot of people who will find (Mazzeo's) allegations interesting because of the timing, and that can make things difficult for voters and difficult for (the media). But you do have a candidate for a major office who is walking a woman who has had too much to drink to her car. If nothing else, voters are going to wonder why he did that."

Smith said the release of surveillance tapes from the parking garage outside McCormick & Schmick's restaurant might lead to further confusion. "The tapes might be interesting and they might be illuminating," he said, "or they might be disruptive. I know - I work in the tape business."

NoteMart

For her prime-time program, Van Susteren taped interviews with Celine Dion and Harrah's exec Don Marrandino and chatted live with Wayne Newton. "I'm the accidental anchor. I never thought this would become a career - I went to law school, and I have always felt I'd have that to fall back on. I didn't think I'd have any shelf life at all." Van Susteren, who says the Vegas figure she has been attempting to interview for years is Elton John. "His manager must hate me," she said, laughing. She noted that Fox News has been the No. 1 cable news network while she has been there and before that she was at CNN when it was No. 1. "It's coincidental - make sure you say it's coincidental - but I came over from CNN in December of 2001, and that's the last time CNN was No. 1. And Fox has been No. 1 ever since, so I have that going for me." Coincidentally ...

During Saturday's performance closing the Stardust showroom, Steve Lawrence told a Levitra joke remarkably similar to one used by cutting-edge comic Robert Schimmel. Both versions lead in the same way - that Levitra commercials warn to call a doctor if the effect lasts more than four hours. That's where the two versions split. From Schimmel, "After four hours, I'm not calling a doctor - I'm calling a hooker!" From Lawrence, "After four hours, I'm not calling a doctor - I'm calling the McGuire Sisters!" ...

The Black Mountain Institute signed a significant figure in the history of American politics for its second lecture - former Richard Nixon counsel and Watergate figure John Dean. From 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesday at UNLV's Moyer Student Union Theatre, Dean will read from his new book, "Conservatives Without Conscience," and discuss the current state of politics. BMI is the new professional passion of former UNLV President Carol Harter ...

Pirate car! A gray Mazda 3 with the plate PIR8CAR, is that.