Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2003 | 10:33 a.m.
Tuesday after Labor Day. Summer is over. All is quiet in Las Vegas.
As if!
A surprise 39th birthday party for Palms owner George Maloof made sure it was anything but a quiet Tuesday night.
Maloof insists he was taken aback when he returned to the hotel after having dinner with his mother -- and saw a "Happy Birthday" message on the Palms' Flamingo Road marquee.
He knew something was up when Tara Reid greeted his car.
"My mother told me that my little nephew was here -- that's how she lured me back," Maloof told VegasBeat moments before Lance Bass handed him a birthday watch worth as much as the gross national product of a few Third World nations.
"I was tired and wanted to go home and relax, but that obviously isn't going to happen for a while," Maloof said.
Then Robin Leach took the stage in front of a crowd of specially invited guests at Skin Pool Lounge and introduced Maloof and members of his family: matriarch Colleen Maloof, brothers Gavin, Joe and Phil Maloof and sister Adrienne Maloof-Nassif, the mother of baby Gavin.
Among the many faces we recognized were supermodel Rachel Hunter, baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, N9NE Group exec Michael Morton and fellow Vegas casino Presidents Mark Juliano (Caesars Palace) and Kevin Kelley (Hard Rock Hotel).
Leach introduced JC Chasez, who performed a spirited 30-minute set before Leach returned to the stage with Adrienne and George Maloof, a birthday cake -- and Chasez's former 'N Sync pal Bass. They all sang "Happy Birthday."
Because of the heat, everyone moved into Rain in the Desert -- where Candlebox's lead singer, Kevin Martin, was on stage, soon to be followed by Puddle of Mudd.
Channel changes
Veteran Las Vegas television personalities Ron Futrell and Rikki Cheese are starting a new gig Monday as co-anchors of a revamped KTNV Channel 13 morning show.
They replace the current team of Christine Chang and Rob Piercy, who move to reporting roles and remain "valued members of the Channel 13 team," KTNV News Director Craig Hume told VegasBeat.
Futrell has 20 years of Las Vegas broadcast experience as a sports reporter, and shined during a brief fill-in as news anchor over the summer for evening anchor Ross Becker.
Cheese joined the station this year after many years at KVBC Channel 3. She has been absent from the local airwaves since leaving the station in 1999.
Meanwhile, KVVU Channel 5 has hired Josh Talkington from a Florida station to co-anchor the morning show with Cher Calvin.
Good line
Mark Price, who played the nebbishy Skippy character on NBC's '80s series "Family Ties," is now a stand-up comic, and he was part of Dat Phan's lineup at the Improv at Harrah's the other night.
Price went on a riff about the ad slogan, "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas."
"And I bet you Kobe (Bryant) wished he had come to Vegas," Price cracked to uproarious laughter.
Price also diplomatically ignored a few catcalls of "Yo! Skip! Seen Mallory lately?"
On the show, Price's character had a mad crush on Justine Bateman's character.
Missing
The Las Vegas office of national infomercial producer Ben Kalb was burglarized last week.
Among the missing items were numerous samples of three different infomercial products -- Chef O'Matic, Velform Contour Wrap and the Restform Pillow.
"I am always on the lookout for new people to try these products, so if any of the burglars or any of their friends want to offer a testimonial, let me know," a cheerful Kalb told VegasBeat. "If you lose weight with the Contour Wrap, cook a fabulous meal with the Chef O'Matic or get a great night's sleep with the Restform Pillow, I want to hear from you!"
VegasBits
Love connection: Supermodel Tyra Banks and NBA star Chris Webber had a tres intime lunch at Spago (Forum Shops at Caesars) on Labor Day. The super-friendly duo shared some wine; she had mushroom soup and an iceberg salad and he devoured a lamb pizza ...
Show man: Celebrity restaurateur/Chef Nobu Matsuhisa was in the front row of Friday night's performance of the racy "Zumanity" at New York-New York ...
Oh, Mamma: Music legend Darlene Love and her sister Edna Wright -- leader of the '70s group Honey Cone -- caught "Mamma Mia!" Saturday night and went backstage to meet the cast afterward ...
Head turner: Kyle Lowder -- who plays the rebellious Brady Black on the popular soap opera "Days of Our Lives" -- spent the holiday weekend at Stratosphere. He hit all the rides and the revolving restaurant, and got the full treatment from Lisa Reynolds at the Roni Josef Salon ...
Spinning: Underrated entertainers Andy Kim and Ron Dante -- he sang the 1969 Archies hit "Sugar, Sugar" -- are guest DJs Thursday afternoon on KQOL 93.1 FM. Call 792-5665 between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. to talk to them or make a request. They play the Royale Pavilion at Riviera on Saturday ...
Cookin' good: Playboy model and new "X" show star Shauna Sand is now an honorary pastry chef at Stephen Hanson's hot new Fiamma Trattoria (MGM Grand). Hanson presented Sand with a white jacket after her dinner there with Leach and "X" producer Angela Sampras on Monday night.
From Sun wires
It wasn't quite the birthday in paradise Cameron Diaz was hoping for.
Diaz, the world's highest-paid actress, said she broke her nose Saturday -- on her 31st birthday -- during a surfing mishap off Waikiki Beach in Hawaii.
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