Mariah Carey, Vince Neil bring star power to Las Vegas

By Melissa Arseniuk

Monday, Sept. 14, 2009 | 8:01 a.m.

Mariah Carey kicked things off on Friday with the first of two two-night stands at the Pearl Concert Theater.

Mimi performed on Friday and Saturday night but if you didn’t catch her this weekend, do not despair: She’ll be back next month for a second set of shows.

Allen Evangelista from "The Secret Life of the American Teenager," was in town, too, and was spotted at Lavo with a handful of friends.

Collective Soul was over at the Hard Rock Hotel that night, as the '90s rockers played the hotel’s second-last Friday Night Live concert series of the season.

Mickey Avalon was back in town for another round, too, this weekend, after rocking Cherry nightclub at Red Rock Casino over Labor Day. Avalon returned to his regular home-away-from-home, Privé at Planet Hollywood, on Friday, after having dinner at the resort's go-to spot for steak, Strip House.

Former NBA star Gary Payton was also at the award-winning PH steakhouse on Friday, while retired NBA player Spud Webb was spotted at a VIP table at Rain with a large group of friends.

The stars from “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” descended upon MGM Grand on Saturday afternoon to mark the grand opening of the hotel’s new, 12,000-square foot CSI-themed exhibit, CSI: The Experience.

Marg Helgenberger, George Eads, Jorja Fox, Robert David Hall, David Berman, Liz Vassey, Wallace Langham and Eric Szmanda were all there, along with the show’s creator, Anthony E. Zuiker, and fellow executive producers, Carol Mendelsohn and Louis Milito.

Later that night, Vince Neil was at the Rio to kick start some skin art at the grand opening of his newest tattoo shop, Vince Neil Ink.

The entrepreneurial-minded Mötley Crüe frontman christened his first bar and grill in the city, Feelgood’s, last month.

While Tommy Lee, Mick Mars and Slash weren't at the Rio this weekend, Neil’s other group, the Vince Neil Band, performed as part of the grand opening festivities.

Across the street at the Palms, meanwhile, acclained DJ Z-Trip was honored at Ghostbar after being voted “America’s Best DJ for 2009" by the readers of DJ Times Magazine.

Rain's own accalimed resident DJ, Paul Oakenfold presented Z-Trip with his impressive hardware before the two grabbed a pre-performance dinner at N9NE Steakhouse and heading to Rain, where they performed separate sets later that night.

Pussycat Dolls founder Robin Antin, MTV alums Daisy Fuentes and "Downtown" Julie Brown, singer Deborah Gibson and Jonathan Antin from Bravo's "Blown Out" were also at the Palms on Saturday, where they caught a performance by Ms. Antin's latest pet project (and Fuentes' boyfriend), Matt Goss.

Pussycat Dolls lead singer Nicole Scherzinger was also in the so-called “Gossy Room” on Saturday. She joined the British singer onstage for a few numbers before heading over to the Luxor for her official Saturday night appearance at LAX nightclub.

Goss and the others, meanwhile, headed up to Playboy Club for some post-show cocktails.

Scherzinger wasn't gone from the Palms for long, though: The PCD's leading lady returned to the resort later that night and re-joined a different party at Rain.

She joined Oakenfold in the DJ booth and proceeded to convince him to let her mix a few tracks of her own while she was there.

As the Pussycat played at the Palms, Pure went to the dogs: Bow Wow hosted the Saturday night party at the Caesars Palace hotspot.

"Desperate Housewives" actress Andrea Bowen was also on the Strip on Saturday, and was spotted at the Venetian with her brother, who was celebrating his 21st birthday. The pair were among the audience during the early showing of "Blue Man Group" where Bowen sent her sib a special b-day message on the show's LED screens.

Later, friends and family moved the party to Tao, where they enjoyed a dinner of dumplings, fried rice, spring rolls and plenty of sushi. They eventually headed up to the club afterward, after Bowen's brother, Cameraon (who is also an actor), officially turned 21.

Meanwhile, famed boxer Evander Holyfield was next door, at Lavo. "The Real Deal" was spotted in the lounge drinking Long Island iced tea and dancing with friends on Saturday, and was seen across the casino floor, at Dos Caminos, on Sunday.

The weekend came to a close with a Beatles revival and Latin America’s answer to Bob Dylan. Cheap Trick covered the Fab Four's legendary album, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" at the Las Vegas Hilton while Guatemalan singer-songwriter Ricardo Arjona performed a Spanish-flavored show at The Joint.

While Arjona's show was a one-night-only affair, Cheap Trick will remain at the Hilton for a handful of showdates, with performances scheduled tonight and tomorrow night, in addition to Sept. 17, 18, 19, 21, 22 and 23.

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].