Ronda Churchill/The Associated Press
Usher performs during Sony’s presentation at the International Consumer Electronics Show on Jan. 8, 2009, in Las Vegas.
Friday, Aug. 7, 2009 | 9:06 a.m.
No Doubt, with lead singer Gwen Stefani, kicked off its summer tour Saturday night, May 16, 2009, at Tiger Jam 12 in Mandalay Bay Events Center.
Gavin Rossdale performs at the pool at The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, June 5, 2009.
The stars will be quick out of the gate tonight and will put on a strong showing on Saturday, but it looks like the weekend’s celebrity sightings will come to a rather quiet close on Sunday.
Things will get started at the Palms tonight as Greenspun Media Group sister publication Vegas Magazine throws a party for its cover boy, Usher, at Playboy Club. The red carpet event is closed to the public and will begin at 7 p.m. but the club will open the floodgates later on in the evening.
Though it’s not clear where Usher, who has been recording new tracks at the Recording Studio at the Palms all week, will party later tonight, both Moon and Rain are viable options if he decides to leave Playboy Club but stay on-property.
Meanwhile, Simon, N9NE and Nove Italiano are all possible dinner spots, so keep your eyes peeled if you’re in the vicinity tonight (or for the remainder of the weekend).
Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale set up camp Thursday at the Hard Rock Hotel and were spotted checking out the resort’s new Paradise Tower. The couple had their kiddos, Kingston and Zuma, with them as they checked into the hotel in advance of tonight’s No Doubt show at The Joint.
Stefani and her bandmates will take to the stage around 10 p.m., after openers Panic at The Disco and The Sounds sufficiently get the party primed.
The hotel hasn’t announced any official afterparties, but Wasted Space and Body English are the two most obvious picks for fans hoping to party in the presence of pop-punk-ska-rock royalty.
Local music fans and would-be groupies may remember how Tommy Lee headed to Body English last weekend after his showing at Crue Fest 2. Celebrity gossipers will recall Lee’s appearance, too, as he brought on-again/off-again ex-wife and former Playmate, Pamela Anderson, with him and the hot-and-heavy pair put on quite the show.
The train of porn stars will continue this weekend, too, as multiple AVN award-winner Kirsten Price will roll through town.
The Wicked Pictures star will be at the Palms, so fans would be wise to watch for her this afternoon at Ditch Fridays and later on tonight at Moon.
She will also host at Ghostbar tomorrow.
Also appearing in Vegas this evening is rapper Busta Rhymes, who will host at LAX at Luxor.
Meanwhile, two throwbacks will also be in town, Gladys Knight at the Orleans and Tom Jones at MGM Grand.
Gladys Knight says one of her goals is to educate young women who want to pursue careers in the entertainment business.
Knight performs in her off-Strip show through Sunday while Jones will be appearing nightly at the Hollywood Theater until Aug. 12.
Grammy Award-winning songstress Estelle will get things going Saturday as she hosts an afternoon of poolside fun at the Palazzo.
Two of her famous friends, Ali Landry and Natasha Henstridge, will also be there.
The appearances at Azure are all part of Absolut Saturdays, which means the 21-plus crowd will be well-served with plenty of tasty cocktails during the event.
Another songbird, Diana Krall, will be in Las Vegas Saturday and will take to the stage at the Pearl.
Other Saturday night performances will include Lit, who will be at Green Valley Ranch; “Rock Star INXS” finalist Suzie McNeil, who will perform at LAX; Country bad girl Gretchen Wilson, who will dazzle the Star of the Desert arena out in Primm; and hard-rocking classic rockers Judas Priest and Whitesnake, who will do their best to shake the Thomas & Mack Center to its core.
Meanwhile, Rashard Lewis will be at Studio 54 where he will do his best to celebrate his 30th birthday while trying to forget the steroid scandal he suddenly found himself in yesterday. The NBA suspended the Orlando Magic power forward for 10 games on Thursday after it was revealed that he tested positive for an elevated level of testosterone.
Despite his frustrations (he maintains the positive test results came from an over-the-counter supplement he took last year) the scandal won’t stop him from partying at MGM Grand Saturday night.
Rounding out Saturday night’s long list of entertainment is Playboy’s former entertainer of the year, 1994 Playmate of the Year-turned-autism advocate Jenny McCarthy.
The former “Singled Out” co-host will host at Pure on Saturday but it remains to be seen whether or not her boyfriend, Jim Carrey, will join her at the Caesars Palace nightspot.
While no major appearances have been announced for Sunday, savvy stargazers know that Simon’s brunch is glitterati ground zero for morning-after celebrity sightings. Meanwhile, Mr. “Birthday Sex” himself, Jeremih Felton, will be at Jet on Monday night.
Of course the official and announced-in-advance appearances outlined above are just a sampling of what all will go down across town this weekend. Be sure to check back on Monday for a more complete celebrity wrap-up detailing who was where and when.
Melissa Arseniuk writes about Las Vegas entertainment and celebrity events. She can be reached at 702-948-7823 or by e-mail at [email protected].
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