Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

CELEBRITY SIGHTINGS:

NBA players, Playboy bunnies, musicians shine in Las Vegas

Hugh Hefner, Warren Moon, Limp Bizkit in Las Vegas for weekend

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Holly Madison begins her run as Bo Peep in Peepshow at Planet Hollywood on June 22.

There was no relief from the heat, or the red-hot star sightings, in Las Vegas this weekend.

The weekend was a celebrity-spotter's smorgasbord: The city was crawling with NBA players, Playboy bunnies, hip-hoppers and rockers, while a few small-screen personalities scurried about town, too.

The parties started on Friday with a pair of musicians-turned-nightclub-hosts: “pop champagne” hip-hopper Ron Browz was at Jet and a newly single, Janet Jackson-less Jermaine Dupri returned to serve as guest DJ at Privé.

Meanwhile, country supergroup Lonestar lit up the sky of the Star of the Desert Arena in Primm.

Earlier in the day, "Dancing with the Stars" champion Mark Ballas and girlfriend, former "American Idol" contestant Joanna Pacitti hit the rooftop deck with friends at Tao Beach.

The hot reality contest couple relaxed on a daybed and sipped frozen lemonade as they soaked in the rays before continuing their Tao-filled day with dinner at the mainfloor bistro.

The couple was also spotted in the audience of “Jersey Boys” that night.

New Orleans Hornet James Posey also went to Tao on Friday, apparently to celebrate a friend's birthday.

Posey partied with about a dozen others and while he himself enjoyed several rounds of tequila, he reportedly sent a bottle of champagne over to a group of girls who caught his attention out on the dance floor.

Over at The Bank, meanwhile, Denver Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey was spotted as he hung out in the VIP area.

A the Palms on Friday, former NFL wide receiver and Olympian Willie Gault, partied at Ghostbar, while actor Corey Feldman lived it up at Moon.

The former child star was at Ghostbar the night before, and lounged by the pool at Palms Place on Friday afternoon before rallying his crew for another night at the club.

Also putting in some serious time at the Palms this weekend were current July-August Playmates of the Month, Karissa and Kristina Shannon. The identical blondes kicked off a 48-hour stint in Las Vegas on Friday afternoon with an autograph signing and meet-and-greet event at the Playboy store, then checked out Madame Tussauds Wax Museum with Hugh Hefner's ex, Holly Madison later that afternoon.

The twins went to see Madison's show at Planet Hollywood, "Peepshow," on Friday night before heading back to their home base, the Palms, to host the 10:30 p.m. performance of Playboy Comedy.

The sisters followed up their first Hefner-free night in nearly a year with another autograph signing on Saturday at the Playboy store’s Palms location, then reunited with Hef, who flew in to Vegas with yet another girlfriend of his, Crystal Harris.

While the Playboy mogul took Harris and two other stunning blondes to see "Peepshow" on Saturday (and back to Madison's dressing room after the show), the Shannon twins stayed back at the Palms, where they reassumed their hostessing roles at Playboy Comedy for both the 8 and 10:30 p.m. shows.

Earlier that day, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony made a surprise appearance at Wet Republic. The group's members gave an impromptu performance and revealed to the bikini-clad crowd that their new album, "Uni5," will be out on Sept. 22.

Singer Layzie Bone was spotted at another pool party the next day, too, at Rehab at the Hard Rock Hotel.

The Palms was be the place to be on Saturday for NBA sightings, as the tail end of summer league brings a range of players past and present together for a few hands of cards for a good cause.

The 2009 Sports Dream Foundation charity poker tournament saw several dozen basketball players take to the tables: Kelenna Azubuike (Golden State Warriors); Greg Anthony (former UNLV star, retired Chicago Bulls and current ESPN/ABC basketball analyst); Jerryd Bayless (Portland Trail Blazers); Mike Conley, Jr. (Memphis Grizzlies); Daequan Cook (Miami Heat); Baron Davis (Los Angeles Clippers); Ike Diougu (Indiana Pacers); TJ Ford (Indiana Pacers); Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies); Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers’ number one draft pick); Al Harrington (New York Knicks); Antawn Jamison (Washington Wizards); Nathan Jawai (Toronto Raptors); Fred Jones (Los Angeles Clippers); Corey Maggette (Golden State Warriors); Shawn Marion (Miami Heat); JaVale McGee (Washington Wizards); retired NBA legend Sam Perkins; Paul Pierce (Boston Celtics); Tracy McGrady (Houston Rockets); Jermaine O’Neal (Miami Heat); and former NBA player, Bonzi Wells, who currently plays overseas, in the Chinese Basketball Association league.

As if that wasn’t enough, NFL Hall of Famer Warren Moon; Richie Incognito of the St. Louis Rams; Chip Vaughn of the New Orleans Saints; and light heavyweight champion boxer Antonio “Magic Man” Tarver also took part in the event.

Also on Saturday, Fred Durst, Wes Borland and the rest of Limp Bizkit’s original line-up give a free show at the Pearl.

Durst and his new wife, Esther Nazarov, took in "O" at the Bellagio on Friday night after having dinner at Prime Steakhouse. On Saturday, however, Durst and his bandmates took their significant others to Simon after the show for some upscale, post-concert cuisine.

After dinner, drummer John Otto and Leor Dimant, a.k.a DJ Lethal, headed up to the VIP at Moon where they drank Ketel one with eight others.

Elsewhere at Moon that night was Carolina Panther Richard Marshall; Washington Wizard Antawn Jamison; Golden State Warrior Kelenna Azubuike; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin; Warren Moon (who partied at Jet the night before); and actor/comedian Kevin Hart.

Moon was spotted over at Lavo the night before as he and some friends enjoyed a traditional, meatball and rigatoni-filled meal.

He reportedly had a pomegranate lemonade cocktail or two before he and his party moved upstairs to the nightclub.

Paul Pierce of the Bostic Celtics and Tracy McGrady of the Houston Rockets, were spotted at the Palms on Saturday night as they dined separately at N9NE Steakhouse.

Pierce was also seen out by the Palms pool on Friday as he took in the scene at Ditch Fridays.

Tracy McGrady of the Houston Rockets was also spotted poolside that day as he and five friends hung out in a cabana before heading over to N9NE for dinner.

The shooting guard was also spotted out on the town, at Tao, on Friday.

Former UNLV Runnin’ Rebel Shawn Marion of the Dallas Mavericks also enjoyed dinner at N9NE on Friday.

Singer John Mayer had sampled the city’s culinary offerings this weekend, too, and enjoyed dinner at Wolfgang Puck’s Spago inside The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the B52s entertained the masses inside the casino, at Pure; Keith Urban played Mandalay Bay; Jewel performed at Aliante Station; and comedic cover and parody group, the Dan Band, took to the stage at LAX.

Singer Ryan Cabrera partied at the Bank on Saturday night. Among the friends at the table: magician Steve Wyrick.

Meanwhile, “90210” hottie Dustin Milligan celebrated his 24th birthday at Privé, while “Daisy of Love” star, Daisy De La Hoya, hosted the B-52-filled night at Pure.

Also celebrating a birthday in Las Vegas on Saturday was actress Natalie Martinez, who had the difficult task of playing Justin Timberlake’s love interest in his music video for “Senorita,” and marked her 25th at Tabú.

The third and final famous birthday in Vegas that night belonged to "All My Children" star Ambyr Childer, who blew out the candles on her 21st birthday with co-star Leven Rambin at Jet.

Robin "Show Me Love" Carlsson, aka "Robyn" brought the weekend to a close with an appearance and mini-performance on Sunday afternoon at Tao Beach.

Meanwhile, Jon Beason and Chris Harris of the Carolina Panthers and Miles Austin of the Dallas Cowboys made a splash at a another, bigger, off-strip pool party, at Rehab.

As temperatures surpassed the 110-degree mark, Austin helped cool down the sweltering crowd by spraying them with champagne from the VIP stage.

Also on Sunday, “Young and the Restless” stars Christian LeBlanc, aka Michael Baldwin, and Tracey E. Bregman, aka Lauren Baldwin, served as real-life witnesses to an authentic wedding at MGM Grand. The nuptials were for held for two contest winners who tied the knot in a very public, TV friendly fashion after winning a Y&R contest.

Actor-comedian Pauly Shore had dinner at Lavo on Sunday night, while another actor-comedian who has since turned Strip headliner and Lavo regular, Wayne Brady sipped vodka and cranberry cocktails upstairs in the nightclub.

As the sun set on another weekend in Las Vegas, a handful of pro athletes raised their glasses at the Bank, including New England Patriot Junior Seau, Denver Nugget Kenyon Martin, Denver Bronco Champ Bailey and kickboxing sensation Brad Morris.

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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