Friday, Nov. 15, 2002 | 10:25 a.m.
VegasBeat appears Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in the Sun. Timothy McDarrah can be reached at [email protected] or at (702) 259-4096.
Thanks for the memories, Bob Hope.
Now Wayne Newton is the choice to entertain American troops stationed in war zones over the holiday season.
Last Christmas Newton, country singer Neal McCoy and several Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders toured U.S. military facilities in the Middle East. They were such a smash that Gen. Tommy Franks just called Newton and asked him to do it again over the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. And when Franks calls, people listen.
He is in charge of U.S. military operations for 25 nations in Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East. His mandate from President Bush is to place and arrange American combat troops on the ground in Afghanistan with a mission to herd, trap and finish off al-Qaida fighters.
This year Franks has arranged for Newton, McCoy and more Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders to be joined by comic Paul Rodriguez for the USO Tour.
The group will perform several shows in Bahrain and Kuwait, sign autographs, mingle with servicemen and women and generally work to boost morale in the tradition of Hope, who was a fixture at overseas American military bases for decades.
For security reasons, exact dates and locations of the performances would not be confirmed.
Newton said he was asked by the USO not to discuss the tour, but added that he was both "honored and thrilled" to be asked to again participate.
Motown marriage?
Newest rumor making the rounds about possible nuptials involving Kid Rock and Pamela Anderson: It'll happen in May, in his hometown of Detroit.
Perhaps the most over-reported nonmarriage in Las Vegas history did not happen after his concert at MGM Grand Garden Arena last Saturday night.
And while Kid Rock may not have been married in Las Vegas, he was immortalized in another manner: The Hard Rock Hotel has three new chips bearing his image, in $5, $25 and $100 denominations.
Smoke in
New York is on the verge of being the city where no one is allowed to smoke.
So some cigar folks are coming to Las Vegas this weekend to introduce their new label.
On Saturday night in the posh Fontana Lounge at Bellagio, Peter Arnell and Steve Stoute are rolling out their Zino Platinum Cigars.
They have day jobs in other businesses. As a record exec Stoute helped produce Emimen's first record and albums by U2 and Limp Bizkit. Arnell is a "brand strategist" who has worked closely with Donna Karan, among others.
They say their new rolled tobacco leaf is "a fusion of time-honored cigar tradition and current pop culture and lifestyle trends."
Ahhh. Advertising.
Jethro's (radio) slot
Today is VegasBeat's regular fortnightly Friday afternoon radio appearance on KNUU 970-AM (K-NEWS).
We are appearing right after one of our favorite personalities ever -- Max Baer Jr., who played the bumbling Jethro Bodine on the classic sitcom "The Beverly Hillbillies."
Baer is promoting a progressive penny slot machine called "Towering Clampett's Cash," which is based on the TV series.
Baer, son of the late heavyweight boxing champ Max Baer, made a ceremonial first pull on the machine Thursday at Texas Station. He is also introducing the machine Saturday afternoon at Green Valley Ranch Station Casino and Monday at Palace Station.
For rent
Speaking of New York, there is a pretty interesting apartment for rent there.
At a local watering hole the other day we ran into Stephen Sorrentino, the gifted entertainer opening for Dana Carvey at Paris Las Vegas tonight and Saturday.
Sorrentino has been so busy with commitments elsewhere (he hosted the Reno Film Festival last weekend, for example) that he has decided to rent out his Big Apple pad.
The two-bedroom spread is on West 53rd Street in Manhattan, right across from the Ed Sullivan Theater, where David Letterman tapes his show each day.
Sorrentino took the place over from its most recent tenant, Pia Zadora.
Interested? Find Sorrentino after one of his Paris shows this weekend.
Lounge act
Catherine Zeta-Jones to the December Elle magazine: She has a burning desire to sing onstage.
"I am a completely frustrated lounge act," she said. "I really want to do a show in Vegas, it's like my last bastion. But I don't know if the world is ready for it now. I have to plan it."
TV party
KVBC Channel 3 usually airs the weekend edition of "Access Hollywood" at some ungodly hour, such as 2 a.m. on Sundays.
But because this week's episode is called "Las Vegas, Baby!" the show will air at a more reasonable time -- at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
The show visits many local spots made famous by TV shows and movies filmed there, features interviews with stars from the hit TV show "CSI" (set in Las Vegas), goes onstage with Penn & Teller and checks in at local hot spots such as Rain, Studio 54, ghostbar and Light.
Check out ...
Britney Spears at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Wednesday afternoon, prepping for a movie role as the daughter of a NASCAR driver ... supermodel Naomi Campbell and Leonardo DiCaprio at an otherwise closed Light at Bellagio on Thursday discussing their Saturday night Big Smoke event with co-owner Andrew Sasson (whose former girlfriend, Lizzie Grubman, is about to get out of jail for running over some New York clubgoers last summer) ... Jerry Lewis on NBC's "The Today Show" Wednesday talking about how he reconciled with Dean Martin and plugging his current project, a memoir ... Robin Leach, "X" producer Angela Sampras and the show's star, Rebecca Scott, at Bally's rolling out Leach's new American High Roller cigar; the band is a Treasury Department-approved oversized $100 bill that the smoker i s supposed to use to light the stogie ... Joey Travolta, John Travolta's gray-haired brother, at comic Joh! nny Dark's show at Riviera Comedy Club late Tuesday ... ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Dave Navarro, David Spade, Tara Reid, Donnie Wahlberg and Carmen Electra among the early arrivals Thursday at Palms for its one-year anniversary festivities this weekend ... Palms owner George Maloof gets the party started at 1 p.m. today when he cuts into a giant birthday cake; the public is invited to have a slice.
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