John Katsilometes talks swimsuits with ‘Hardball’ host (and Miss America Pageant judge) Chris Matthews

Sunday, Jan. 28, 2007 | 7:30 a.m.

The half-dozen tourists who stopped Chris Matthews to ask for autographs as he walked through Caesars Palace on Friday afternoon might have wondered why the famously brusque host of "Hardball" on MSNBC was speaking so glowingly of beauty pageant contestants.

"I grew up with the Miss America Pageant. My family used to spend summers in Ocean City, N.J., just south of Atlantic City, and in those days the pageant was known as 'The Pageant,' " said Matthews, who is probably better educated about the swimsuit and talent competitions than any political pundit in the country. He is a pageant judge this year, having made the contact with the Miss America Organization through "Hardball" Executive Producer Tamara Haddad, who is on the Miss America board of directors. "It was serendipitous that Tammy runs ("Hardball") and got me into this, but I have always wanted to do this on my own."

Spending several days in Las Vegas has given Matthews an opportunity to broadcast "Hardball" live from the Strip, which he did Thursday and Friday from the rooftop terrace of Pure at Caesars (Friday's local color was supplied by Gov. Jim Gibbons and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman), and on Monday he moves to the Sky Villas at the Fantasy Suites at the Palms, where he will sit with Palms owner George Maloof.

But much of Matthews' time in Vegas is spent at the Aladdin/Planet Hollywood with the pageant. "It's 52 interviews that are 10 1/2 minutes long, and it's a serious time commitment. We went from Wednesday morning to right before the prelims on Thursday," Matthews said. "And I love the preliminaries. The talent is so good. I love the opera singers, the pianists. It's been unbelievable."

Matthews said the judges are mostly watching for "charisma, that immediate impression when the contestants walk onstage. Do you feel that charismatic moment, that 'Wow!' " When asked if serving as a Miss America judge clashed with his combative on-air image, Matthews laughed and said, "I am a man of (many) parts."

NoteMart

More rooftop interplay from Pure: Gibbons was the first Vegas guest and Goodman the last on Friday's show. After Gibbons' appearance, Goodman asked him, "Hardballs or softballs?" Said Gibbons, "I think they're softballs." Gibbons was asked by Matthews to describe the history of the Yucca Mountain nuclear project (which he was able to navigate with fair ease). Goodman, always a man in a hurry, wound up waiting nearly an hour and was on for about two minutes. He didn't have a chance to say anything about his favorite topic, the development of downtown Las Vegas ... Basking in the nationwide publicity for his club was Pure Management Group Managing Partner Robert Frey, who watched from the wings ... Show producers noticed the shot of the G-string-clad "Jubilee" showgirl on the sign outside Bally's and opted to shift camera angles away from the giant bare tush and toward the far more tame Barbary Coast sign ...

Hey, Sunshine: Count outgoing Miss America Jennifer Berry as a fan of the pageant-pegged (and Academy Award-nominated) film "Little Miss Sunshine." "Strange, dark and funny" is how the former Miss Oklahoma described the movie during a press reception at the Aladdin/Planet Hollywood on Friday night. Berry also said she feels "too normal to be Miss America," which is not a bad thing ...

And now, we dance! Not spotted amid the estimated 3,000 attendees at Friday's Inaugural Ball for Gibbons was Goodman (who cited travel fatigue as a reason for not making it to the Venetian). Bob List was the only former Nevada governor in attendance ... A Nancy Reagan-esque assist goes to Republican Party operative Sig Rogich, who, when Inaugural Ball Chairwoman Lia Roberts halted before introducing Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki, whispered, "Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki." (Rogich also followed Roberts' introduction of List with one of his own) ... In an odd fusion of genres, the Vince Falcone Orchestra, under the direction of Walter Boenig, performed Allen Jackson's "Remember When," which was the first couple's choice for the Governor's Dance ...

Sprouting up over the weekend in the downtown patch known as "Fremont East" on Fremont Street and Las Vegas Boulevard was the cocktail club Downtown, which celebrated a soft opening Saturday night ...

Polly Esther's, the multithemed nightclub being built at the Stratosphere, is targeting a March 15 opening. Co-owners Bob Watman and Drew Adelman have been in town over the past few days, and during a tour of the space Friday morning said Debbie Gibson and Tiffany would be part of the grand opening celebration. Sound quirky? That's the idea - Polly Esther's (and that's two L's in Polly, not one as I recently erred) incorporates separate clubs with '70s, '80s, '90s and contemporary themes. Gibson and Tiffany are expected to ignite some nostalgia (and that nostalgia might well be for shopping malls) for the '80s lounge, to be called Culture Club. The owners are also talking of bringing former "Partridge Family" bassist Danny Bonaduce in for the opening ...

I'm not big on the "sightings," but a few notably odd sightings of famous people over the past several days: Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Orel Hershiser, hanging out on the fringes of the sports book at Red Rock Resort during last Sunday's NFC and AFC Championship games; "Top Chef" finalist Marcel Vigneron, largely unnoticed at Tuesday's Epicurean Awards dinner at the Renaissance Hotel; and former Quiet Riot vocalist Kevin Du Brow lunching alone at Paymon's Mediterranean Cafe at Flamingo Road and Maryland Parkway ...

The plate STNSRVR from last week, which was spotted on a Range Rover, has drawn plenty of guesses as to its meaning. "Stan's Rover" and "Station Server" (for a cocktail server at a Station Casino) are a couple of interpretations. I have also heard it could be some sort of devil-worship message (which I kind of doubt). But no official word on that one, fellow tailgaters ...

"Ask me how to get your free facial!" Plate on a pink Cadillac, MKPINK.