John Katsilometes on a new club with potential but for now still seems like work in progress

Sunday, March 18, 2007 | 7:24 a.m.

After an opening party over the weekend that featured appearances by Deborah Gibson, Tiffany and Danny Bonaduce, the new Stratosphere nightclub Polly Esther's will have to stand on its own - in platform shoes.

The multifaceted 30,000-square-foot club is an adventurous trip through time, but seems a bit short on decor and personality. Only one of the four themed sub-clubs, the namesake Polly Esther's with its happy 1970s motif, seemed finished during Friday night's opening party. The room offers a vintage lighted dance floor, mirrored disco ball, dozens of 1970s-era photos (including a shot of Reggie Jackson in a Baltimore Orioles uniform, which is rare in that he played just one season for the O's), and a "Brady Bunch" display with Alice's middle square open for photo ops. Polly Esther's power to drive the party was evident in the dance moves of former Las Vegas Mayor and Arizona Charlie's Decatur General Manager Ron Lurie during Frankie Valli's "Grease."

But the three other venues are relatively tame. Culture Club, the '80s room, seems barren. Looming above Club 2000, the contemporary-themed club, is a vast black-painted wall that's looking for someone, maybe Las Vegas artist Dray, to provide some visual flair. A white Ford Bronco is the centerpiece of the lacking-in-character 1990s room NerveAna (as a companion noted, were we that superficial in the '90s?). One sighting in that room: Las Vegas City Councilman Gary Reese, who looked healthy after his recent bout with pneumonia but opted not to dance.

Other club quibbles: The Monica Lewinsky mannequin looks nothing like the real thing (matronly mannequins must not be easy to obtain), though the stained blue dress is a noble effort. A "Six Million Dollar Man" lunch box is displayed in the '80s Culture Club room - the show was popular during the '70s - and one of the '70s drinks is called Purple Rain. That's an '80s reference. Maybe they just weren't thinking. Or maybe I am showing my age.

NoteMart

Following up on Friday's item about Flamingo Las Vegas headliner George Wallace, who has a sudden interest in the physiological stability of Sly Stone: Wallace has brought in relentless vocalist Earl Turner (most recently of Palace Station) for a limited engagement running through Saturday. Turner, for years one of our favorites, performs a set and seamlessly turns the stage over to Wallace, who has signed Sly and the Family Stone for an appearance on March 31. Wallace said he's also working on a deal to bring Eddie Murphy into the Flamingo Showroom for a similar engagement, which is a good way to "test the product out." Murphy could put together quite the multimedia production. ...

High on the headpin - and on life: In a crazy bit of timing worth noting in this cradle-of-information column, on Monday during my noon visit to the Rio's hip new bowling club, Lucky Strike, word was passed along that Pure Management Group PR rep Judy Stone (whose company manages Lucky Strike) had just given birth to 5-pound, 5-ounce, 18-inch-long Jonah Shai Stone. Jonah was born at 11:33 a.m. Monday. He is the first child for Judy and her husband, Las Vegas attorney Leonard Stone. ...

Vegas moment: After navigating the roadways of Las Vegas for 11 years, I witnessed for the first time Saturday a pedestrian being hit by a vehicle. It happened on the corner of Fourth and Bridger streets, near Wee Kirk O' the Heather wedding chapel. A Jeep Liberty turning onto Bridger knocked over a man crossing the street as he pushed a wheeled cart carrying a small duffel bag. The man wailed, as did the two sisters who scrambled out of the Jeep to check on his condition. Fortunately he didn't seem to be seriously injured (but was concerned that his hat had been knocked free). There were several other witnesses to this accident, at least a half-dozen motorists at that intersection, but no one else bothered to offer help. Just another day on the streets of Vegas.

Vanity time: Friend in the field reports MBITION on a black Honda Civic.