Strip Scribbles: Donny, Lance surprise Mac King on his 50th birthday

Harrah's

Donny Osmond and Mac King at Mac’s 50th birthday party.

By Robin Leach (contact)

Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009 | 12:34 p.m.

Flamingo headliner Donny Osmond and Monte Carlo headliner Lance Burton were among the “hidden” guests for the surprise 50th birthday party for Harrah’s magician Mac King held at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville in the Flamingo. Mac thought he was having a business lunch with his manager and longtime business partner, producer Bill Volkner, but then hotel executives and the Strip performers surprised him with a large cake and an even larger Cher impersonator who gave him a lap dance! Also joining in the fun were comedy stars Vinnie Favorito and Jeff Hobson.

Incidentally, birthday wishes are in order for Donny, too. He celebrated his 52nd birthday yesterday while sister Marie Osmond taped an episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show that will air today. Marie tweeted that she made it back to the Flamingo with only minutes to spare last night after the flight back from L.A.

TVT

Terry Fator with a portrait of his puppets by Steve Kaufman.

*Backstage with Terry Fator at The Mirage last night after his new Christmas show, he told me that he and girlfriend Taylor will spend a week of R&R in Hawaii with her family and friends when he gets a short vacation in January. They’ll hit the North Shore of Oahu and the beaches of Maui. Terry is excited that he’ll mark his first anniversary of his 10-year, $100-million deal in March and promises to premiere a new ventriloquist doll “to blow everybody away with new technology” and that he’ll have at least 25 percent new numbers and routines going into his second year.

Meantime, pop artist Steve Kaufman just presented Terry with an amazing portrait of his four starring dolls. Terry’s stage will be decorated “every square inch” with Christmas trees, plants and ornaments today now that all the necessary fire precautions have been met.

*E! Entertainment cameras are in town working around the clock on a one-hour True Story of the girls in Tiger Woods’ Las Vegas diary. Yesterday, I tweeted that DeadSpin.com posted a mind-blowing report on two Las Vegas concierges coming forward linking another Las Vegas girl, adult actress Joselyn James, to Tiger because of her Facebook revelations.

In a stunning article this morning at AmericanThinker.com, the writers report that Tiger was first caught in his shenanigans in a church parking lot and that photos of the tryst were hushed in exchange for Tiger going on the cover of Men’s Fitness when he had an exclusive contract with Conde Nast’s Golf Digest! The article also sets out the scenario for Tiger’s wife Elin Nordegren’s new prenup receiving $55 million to stay married for the next two years. Fascinating and simultaneously shocking.

Finally, The National Enquirer is running a story about Tiger’s love child and sex tapes.

*The Light Group is wrangling gorgeous girls and handsome hunks to take part in this weekend’s pre-filming of ABC’s New Year’s Dance Party. The video footage, to be shot over two days, will be cut into the pre-tapes with host Fergie, her Black Eyed Peas, Robin Thicke, Timbaland, Selena Gomez, Orianthi and Colbie Caillat. They will broadcast from Aria at CityCenter on New Year’s Eve to Times Square.

Erik Kabik/Retna/www.erikkabikphoto.com

Carla Pellegrino and Frank Pellegrino Jr. of Rao's in Caesars Palace.

*Congratulations to chef Carla Pellegrino and husband Rao’s owner Frank Pellegrino at Caesars Palace for beating star chef Bobby Flay in The Food Network’s Throwdown With Bobby Flay last night. The challenge was to create the best “Feast of the Seven Fishes,” the Italian holiday tradition. Although the competition was intense between the two competing Las Vegas restaurants (Bobby’s Mesa Grill also is at Caesars Palace), it turned into a love fest -- or love feast, if you prefer! “We both won,” Frank said. “It was an honor to work and compete with Bobby. An incredible experience. Christmas is all about family, so this was a great win for team Pellegrino.”

*Congratulations to the concierge stars at MGM Grand on winning 12 new gold keys from the prestigious worldwide Les Clefs D’Or organization, which has less than 3,500 inducted worldwide. They were recognized for “superior service and personalized dedication of an elite, unmatched distinction.” MGM Grand now has more sets of Les Clefs d’Or gold keys than any other hotel in the world. The team has command of 13 languages among them.

*One of the world’s most amazing close-up magicians, Las Vegas’ own Steve Dacri, is rehearsing his new January act at the Las Vegas Hilton while on an East Coast pre-Christmas tour. Before leaving for shows in Boston and New York, Steve posed for his new Hilton promotional photos. He’ll appear in the Shimmer Cabaret Theater every Wednesday for a year starting the last week of January. His In Your Face will be performed with 100 audience members gathered around him as he does his wizardry just three feet from them.

*Best-selling romance author Linda Lael Miller hosts a meet-and-greet and book signing this afternoon in the lobby of the Paris. Linda is the second-best-selling author at Harlequin. The event is part of Harlequin’s 60th anniversary celebrations, with the Heart of a Woman exhibition of cover art from 1949 to 2009 on display at the Paris through January.

Palazzo

Ocean spray cranberries at the Palazzo in December 2008.

*One of the most staggering Winter Wonderland displays will be unveiled at 5 p.m. today at the Palazzo. It’s taken more than 10,000 specially developed white poinsettia plants to create a 16-foot-tall polar bear and her 6-foot-tall polar bear baby. The two weigh more than 5,000 pounds and are balanced under the falling snow on an ice float that hovers above the water. I’ll be there for the festivities led by an Ice King and Queen, who will unveil the exhibit by pouring more than 225,000 cranberries donated by Ocean Spray into a water feature at the Waterfall Atrium that links to the adjoining Venetian. All the gardens in the Palazzo have been filled with poinsettias, 25-foot silver-tipped pine trees and an 80-foot-long vine decorated in lights, ornaments and oversized pinecones and berries. The wonderland also is an effort to raise awareness of polar bears’ lost habitat due to climate change.

Star surveillance

Comedian and The Price Is Right host Drew Carey treated 32 members of his production team to Ka at MGM Grand. Afterward, Drew met the cast of the Cirque du Soleil spectacular. … Jeff Beacher brings his Beacher’s Madhouse Costume Ball Tour to the Strip for New Year’s weekend on Jan. 2 at The Mirage. Then watch for early New Year announcements of him shuttling back and forth to Los Angeles with shows.

Vegas Passport

Monica White of Vegas Passport and Chris Phillips of Zowie Bowie.

The VIP nightlife concierge company Las Vegas Passport celebrated its sixth anniversary at Blush in the Wynn. Founder Monica White welcomed the glamour girls of X Burlesque and Zowie Bowie’s Chris Phillips to the party.

Former MLB stars Steve Garvey (Los Angeles Dodgers), Tyler Houston (Chicago Cubs) and Marty Barrett (Boston Red Sox) were joined by New York Yankees pitcher Mike Dunn and San Francisco Giants centerfielder Aaron Rowand for a golf fundraiser at our DragonRidge Golf Club. The event drew 132 players in 33 teams and raised more than $72,000 to benefit the men’s baseball and women’s softball teams at the privately funded sports programs of the College of Southern Nevada, which Mike attended.

CSN

Retired Los Angeles Dodger Steve Garvey, CSN Athletic Director Tim Chambers, New York Yankees pitcher Mike Dunn, San Francisco Giants center fielder Aaron Rowand and retired Boston Red Sox baseman Marty Barrett.

Tonight’s tips

It’s a holiday show with Michael McDonald at the Star of the Desert Arena in Primm. … Country singer and Celebrity Apprentice finalist Trace Adkins is the headliner at The Pearl in the Palms’ salute to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. … The Stinson Broz return to the Hilton for another show. They have signed on with the Hilton for regular engagements, and their dates begin after Christmas. … Boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard will host all 11 bouts in the “Fight Club 3” promotion at the Hard Rock Hotel. Our nightlife and casino personalities lace up their gloves at the charity boxing tournament to raise funds for cleft charity Smile Train and Barry’s Boxing, which works with USA Boxing to give underprivileged kids the ability to enter the sport.

Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com

Beyonce.

Tomorrow’s teases

This afternoon, I’ll take a tour of the new HRH Tower at the Hard Rock Hotel, which is where P. Diddy will host the opening party of the new nightclub Vanity on Jan. 2. We’ll have the full photo report here tomorrow, plus a look at the three-day run of Dave Matthews Band at Planet Hollywood. We’ll unravel the latest news about Beyonce’s possible contract run at the Wynn and count down the final three NFR days before the new world champion is crowned.

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