Celebs rein in on making it rain

By Melissa Arseniuk (contact)

Friday, Aug. 7, 2009 | 5:22 p.m.

You can blame the recession or just blame Brody Jenner, but making it rain sure isn’t what it used to be.

Blame DJ AM, too, if you’d like.

Rain’s Friday night resident DJ kinda/sorta/almost makes it rain on a nearly weekly basis using fake $100 bills. He’ll probably do it again tonight as he returns to the club’s turntables after a week’s absence.

The faux Bennies feature the AM’s face in the place of Franklin’s and are good for absolutely nothing. They carry no cash value and don’t provide partiers with discounts on drinks, either.

They also come up short when it comes to the exchanging-of-phone-numbers: There’s hardly any ink-free space to scribble a phone number, never mind a name.

DJ AM, whose real name is Adam Goldstein, has been distributing the funny money since he moved his show over to the Palms earlier this year.

While Goldstein was out of town last weekend and left “That '70s Show” alum Danny Masterson in charge of the party, Jenner picked up the slack.

While Jenner didn’t party at Rain, he didn’t truly make it rain, either.

Yet that didn’t stop the scattered showers of shenanigans.

Jenner partied at Body English on Sunday and made it rain … cookies. Instead of showering the crowd with Benjamins, Jenner made it rain baked goods. Fortune cookies, to be exact.

The 25-year-old socialite tossed sweet Asian delights at unsuspecting partiers from his table in the club’s VIP.

An official press release recapping the night said Jenner was joined by his manager, Phillip Chang, and “they “made it rain” fortune cookies.”

Apparently this is how Jenner and girlfriend Jayde Nicole wrapped up a weekend of partying on property at the Hard Rock Hotel.

Jenner had dinner at Rare 120 on Saturday and partied at Body English after Crue Fest 2. He then spent Sunday afternoon by the pool and hosted at Rehab before hitting Body English (and the crowd with fortune cookies) later that night.

While Nicole changed out of her bikini and into a sexy minidress before heading to the club, Jenner didn’t change. In fact, it wasn’t clear if he even mixed in a shower: He wore the same tank top to both Rehab and Body English.

And while Sunday was a hot night at the club, the temperatures didn’t compare to the heat earlier that day, when the scorching sun saw the mercury surpass 110-degrees in the shade.

Still, Jenner’s chucking cookies into the crowd may have been more offensive than his suspected-to-have-been sweaty shirt.

Despite Goldstein and Jenner’s scattered showers, some celebs still know how to make it rain like it’s 2004.

Chris Angel and Holly Madison did it back in December when the since-split couple celebrated their birthdays at LAX. The duo that was Madifreak gave partiers an early Christmas present that night and showered the crowd with $100 bills.

NHL goalie Ray Emery didn’t let the downed economy or his once-faltering career stop him from making it rain, either, when he visited the Bellagio in May. The goaltender laid down $1,000 for the stunt, despite the fact that he doesn’t cash the same sort of paychecks he once did, and unleashed a blitz of dollar bills upon clubgoers at The Bank.

Emery was once the bad boy of the Ottawa Senators but his nonstop off-ice antics saw him virtually blacklisted from the league. He did a stint in Russia but has since signed on with the Flyers -- and still does it up right when he comes to Vegas.

Rampage Jackson made it rain a month later when visited the scene of last weekend’s fortune cookie assault in a cloud of cold hard cash. The UFC fighter climbed onstage at Body English in June and threw down $1,000 of his MMA winnings for crowd.

While the star-studded rainstorms seem to have dried up over the summer, here’s hoping celebs soon return to their carefree cash-splashing ways and put an end to this funny money, fortune cookie-filled foolishness.

Melissa Arseniuk writes about Las Vegas entertainment and celebrity events. She can be reached at 702-948-7823 or by e-mail at melissa.arseniuk@lasvegassun.com.