Jeremy Piven hoping to get lucky in Las Vegas

ISPhotography - imagesofvegas.com

“Entourage” actors Kevin Dillon, Rex Lee, and Jeremy Piven at the grand opening of Stadium at the Palazzo on Sept. 25, 2009.

By Melissa Arseniuk

Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009 | 6:59 a.m.

If luck be a lady, Jeremy Piven is looking to lock that lady down.

The “Entourage” actor, who is known for his, ahem, luck with the ladies, said that to him, luck is being with someone special.

“I think luck would translate into being in a relationship,” he said on Friday during the grand opening of Emeril Lagasse’s new spot at the Palazzo, Stadium.

Alas, the 44-year-old is single. As such, according to his metric, Piven hasn’t been all that lucky lately.

Rather than down and out, however, Piven was out and about this weekend as the apparent search for his lucky lady continued.

While he wasn’t betting on it, he said he was hoping to hit the relationship jackpot in Las Vegas.

“Anything is possible,” he said. “Hopefully I can manifest that.”

The actor was joined by “Entourage” castmates Kevin Dillon and Rex Lee as he mixed and mingled with the VIP crowd Stadium’s opening night party. While the party wrapped up around 9 p.m., Piven continued his diligent search upstairs at Lavo.

The Palazzo hotspot is a favorite of fellow ladykiller David Spade, who is known to frequent both Lavo and Tao when he is in town.

“We went there (to Tao) twice out of my three nights … and it was great,” Spade told the Sun back in March.

While Spade’s legacy is legendary in itself, the comedian said there is more sizzle than steak to his alleged womanizing. Instead, he suggested Piven is the one who enjoys record-setting success with women, and said Piven’s skirt-chasing overshadowed his “by a long shot.”

Meanwhile, the “Entourage” star was smug and said it would be inappropriate for him to judge.

“I don’t know David …” he said, looking away and allowing his voice to trail off into the Las Vegas night air.

Meanwhile, he said his on-screen character, Ari Gold, is looking to take on Donald Trump, not David Spade, during this week’s “Entourage” season finale.

“The episode is ripped straight from the headlines and I’m going to dispose of some agents in such a way that whenever anyone talks or makes a reference to firing someone, they will use this footage,” he boasted.

“Ari Gold will take on The Donald in this particular case because he will dispense of some people in a totally original, aggressive, yet safe kind of way,” he said. “I can’t tell you how I do it, but I can tell you there’s going to be some paint involved.”

After playing the same role on the popular HBO series for six seasons, he said fans are often surprised to learn he is very different compared to his high-strung small-screen persona.

“And, as you can see, I’m not Ari Gold,” he said, calm, cool and collected. “People are like, ‘Why are you so calm? Where’s Ari? Bring Ari out..’ ”

“Sean Penn told me once to play a character that’s tired … so I think I’m going to take his advice,” he mused.

And after years of non-stop working, Piven is ready for a rest.

“I’ve never really taken a break in my professional life,” he said, noting that he’s realized that it’s OK to take some time off to enjoy life away from the cameras.

In terms of upcoming projects, the self-proclaimed workaholic isn’t sure what he will do next.

“I haven’t quite figured it out yet,” he said. “I just got done promoting ‘The Goods’ and … there’s a lot of stuff that I want to do.”

While he declined to talk specifics about future projects, he hinted that he will continue to explore his options while “Entourage” is still on the air.

“I’m very comfortable doing different forms, whether it’s drama or comedy,” he said, adding, “I think they can both coexist at the same time.”

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.