Vanilla Ice, Gary Sinise among stars heading to Las Vegas

By Melissa Arseniuk (contact)

Friday, Sept. 4, 2009 | midnight

Scott Harrison/Retina

Rapper Vanilla Ice played to the crowd Saturday, July 4, 2009, at Wet Republic at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. He comes back to Las Vegas to host at New York-New York’s Rok nightclub tonight, Sept. 4, 2009.

Courtesy Photo

Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band will perform Sunday, Sept. 6, at the Cannery Casino & Hotel in Las Vegas.

Richard Brian

World-renowned and resident DJ Paul Oakenfold during Perfecto at Rain in the Palms in July.

Leila Navidi

Santana and his band eschew costumes for their show at The Joint at the Hard Rock, and the only dancers are in the seats. The show includes some ramblings by Santana as well music from 40 years.

Justin M. Bowen

Holly Madison joins Eric Bergen of Jersey boys during the Las Vegas Celebrates the Music of Michael Jackson concert in the Pearl at the Palms Saturday.

TVT

Dennis Haskins

It has been a busy week in terms of star sightings in Las Vegas, as the latest installment of MAGIC brought everyone from Will.i.am and Justin Timberlake to The Veronicas and Kenny Chesney to town.

(Will.i.am was at Privé, JT was at Lavo, the Veronicas were at both Tao and Blush, and Chesney was at the Hard Rock).

The good news is the star sightings will continue this weekend, even after the fashionable folk pack their bags (and trunks) and leave town. And the even better news: It’s a long weekend, which effectively ups the A-list ante.

Things will get underway this afternoon as Steve Aoki kicks-off a DJ superstar-studded weekend at the Palms. Aoki will spin at Ditch Fridays but the resort’s Labor Day Weekend-long “Fabulous Fest” will also include DJs Carl Cox; Felix Da Housecat; Markus Schulz; Steve Angello; Manufactured Superstars; Miguel Migs; and Louis Puig, among others.

N9NE Group’s own, VP Michael Fuller, will also play Fab Fest, as will Palms regulars like Scotty Boy, R.O.B., Jordan Stevens and Rain’s Saturday night headliner, Paul Oakenfold.

An idol will take will over for a fallen icon at Rain tonight, as DJ Jazzy Jeff will fill the void left a week ago by the death of his fellow Philadelphia-born DJ, DJ AM.

The former “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” co-star will take to the booth just after midnight tonight.

Another ’90s throwback going on tonight will be at New York-New York, as Vanilla Ice hosts at Rok.

Meanwhile, Grammy Award winner Jermaine Dupri will return to his unofficial home-away-from-home, Privé at Planet Hollywood.

Although they’ve come to be known as Privé’s unofficial resident act, Mickey Avalon, Dirt Nasty and Andre Legacy will take a field trip of sorts tonight and venture away from their usual staple spot.

The trio will take their show off the Strip for a change and make the trek out to Red Rock Casino tonight where they will do their thing at Cherry nightclub.

Another off-Strip show going on this evening is Puddle of Mudd, which will go down poolside as part of the Hard Rock Hotel’s “Friday Night Live” concert series.

Santana will also be at the Hard Rock tonight, as his residency continues to The Joint.

The Friday night fun will continue as reality TV personality Megan Hauserman, who’s semi-famous thanks to a collection of VH1 gems like “Megan Wants a Millionaire,” “I Love Money,” “Charm School” and “Rock of Love,” will be at the newly-redesigned nightspot, the Playground.

The “Beauty and the Geek” winner will be joined by her “Megan Wants a Millionaire” co-star, Cecille Gahr.

Back on the great boulevard, meanwhile, Shwayze and Cisco will be at Jet at the Mirage, and LMFAO will host at Tao.

LMFAO will do double-duty at the Venetian hotspot this weekend, and will return to Tao tomorrow to host at Tao Beach.

As LMFAO entertain the rooftop crowd at Tao Beach, another celebrity-infused pool party will go down next door, at the Palazzo: Tori Spelling and husbandDean McDermott are set to host Absolut Saturday at Azure.

“Peepshow” starlet Holly Madison will switch her Saturday night up and head to MGM Grand after her show at Planet Hollywood. The former “Girls Next Door” star will play party hostess tomorrow night, at Studio 54.

Meanwhile, old-school hip-hoppers Naughty By Nature will be across the street, at New York-New York, at Rok.

Saturday will also include a serving of "the Ish,” thanks to a performance by DJ Class at Cherry at Red Rock Casino.

The music will continue as a classic rock trifecta takes the stage at MGM Grand. Def Leppard, Poison and Cheap Trick will play the resort’s Grand Garden Arena tomorrow night.

What’s more, country music fans will have two options tomorrow, first with country songstress Julianne Hough, who will be across the street, at Mandalay Bay Beach, and second with the one and only Reba McEntire, who will entertain at the Star of the Desert Arena in Primm.

The weekend will continue on Sunday as Bad Boy Bill hosts Sunset Sessions at Tao Beach before Erick Morillo takes to the turntables at Tao.

And pool partiers might want to get their towels ready now since another big pool party will take place on Sunday: Hip-hop collaborator extraordinaire T-Pain won’t be “On a Boat,” but he may very well wear his signature top hat as he performs at Rehab at the Hard Rock.

Actor Gary Sinise will also be in town this weekend, and will show his more musical side on Sunday as he steps into the spotlight with his band, the Lt. Dan Band, at The Club at the Cannery.

Meanwhile, Fabulous will be back in Las Vegas, and will join DJ Scene at Jet.

The big ticket of the night, however, has to be love-em-or-hate-em Canadian rockers Nickelback, who are set to play the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

And thanks to the long holiday weekend, music fans won’t have to get up early the next morning – or stop partying, either, if they don’t want to.

The weekend will continue on Monday as Lindsay Lohan’s ex, Samantha Ronson, performs at Privé.

And finally, while most of us will reluctantly return to work on Tuesday, Dennis Haskins will take the day off and throw a back-to-school party at Pure.

The actor who played Mr. Belding on “Saved By The Bell,” will put in some extra-curricular activity and party alongside UNLV students (and other university scholars who have yet to return to their campuses after the long weekend) at the Caesars Palace hotspot.

Student I.D. is not required, but proof of legal age will be checked at the door.

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.