Flowers preparing move back to Las Vegas

Thursday, Sept. 21, 2006 | 7:29 a.m.

What: American Heart Association Auction and Art Show

When: 6 to 9 tonight

Where: Showroom of Findlay Cadillac Saab, 993 Auto Show Drive, Henderson

Admission: Free

If you're playing the "where are they now" game and the celebrity in question is Gennifer Flowers, then the answer is Las Vegas.

Flowers, her name forever linked to former President Clinton, pops up on the guest list for tonight's art show and auction benefitting the American Heart Association. And she's getting ready to move back to Las Vegas to resume her singing career.

Flowers gained international fame - or infamy - in 1992 when she announced she had been having an affair with then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton.

"I will have to deal with (the notoriety) on some level for the rest of my life," Flowers, 56, says.

She has sought fame as an entertainer since the age of 20. After the affair Flowers continued to pursue her career, but she has spent a lot of time appearing on talk shows.

"I do get tired of questions about it. It's not how I planned to go down in history."

Flowers and her then-husband, Finis Shelnutt, lived in Las Vegas in the late '90s. "I fell in love with the place," she says. But she wasn't here much - spending most of her time on the road performing and being a guest on talk shows.

She and her husband moved to New Orleans in 2000 and lived on the top floors above her new nightclub, Kelsto. "It became a tourist destination," she says.

The couple began divorce proceedings and Flowers bought a home near the French Quarter shortly before Hurricane Katrina devastated the Crescent City. "I had only been in it two weeks when Katrina hit," she says.

She spent much of the last year putting her home and life back in order. Now, she is preparing to move back to Las Vegas and resume her entertainment career. But she'll have fond memories of her nightclub.

"It gave me a chance to let people get to know me for who I really was," Flowers says.

Flowers will be joined at tonight's fundraiser by impressionist Bill Acosta, comedian Steve Rossi, actor Dick Van Patten, celebrity watcher Robin Leach and Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt and her husband, Dennis Bono. Las Vegas media personality Lark Williams will host the event.

A number of well-known artists - including Ruel James, Michael Fatali and Carlo Beninati - have donated pieces from their collections for the auction. Las Vegas artist Terry Ritter, renowned for her representations of Las Vegas showgirls, has donated her newest work, "The Heart Goes On," to the show.