Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Jerry Seinfeld lighting up Las Vegas

By Melissa Arseniuk

Published Friday, July 31, 2009 | 7:15 a.m.

Updated Friday, July 31, 2009 | 1:49 p.m.

Beyoncé Knowles and her superstar husband, Jay-Z, are in town for the final four shows of the North American tour of Knowles’ alter ego, Sasha Fierce.

The first of the four performances took place in the Encore Theater last night and the intimate concerts will continue through Sunday night.

The official afterparty will take place at Blush tonight while the bigger, better blow-out, the Beyoncé North American tour wrap party, will go down at XS on Sunday after the show.

Jay-Z was at Tao late late Wednesday night but had to get his food to go after a phone call came in prompting the rapper/producer/former Def Jam Records CEO to rush out.

He had a late night meal next door, at Lavo, last night and this time didn't have to dash out before dessert. He and Beyoncé had a casual post-performance dinner and kept things low-key, dressed in jeans and sweatshirts while they cozied up in a corner booth.

When his bootilicious wife takes to the stage tonight, however, he will be nowhere to be seen – in Nevada, at least. The rapper will serve as the headliner at the All Points West Festival in New York City this evening.

He may soon me back, however, and who knows which of his famous friends will come with him.

Las Vegas locals may remember how he took to the stage at the Pearl earlier this month and hit Lavo (with a 30-person entourage in tow, no less) after the show.

While Beyoncé was busy with her tour and wasn’t there, NBA superstars LeBron James and Amar'e Stoudemire, rappers Fabulous and MVP, his songstress protégé, Rihanna and Melody from the Pussycat Dolls were.

It remains to be seen if any of the hot-as-hot-can-be couple’s other famous friends will come to town for this weekend’s tour wrap-up.

Recently reinvented soloist Kelly Rowland just missed her former Destiny’s Child singer and was in town, at Tao, last week.

Still, given the star-studded (and Vegas-loving) circles Beyoncé and Jay-Z tend to run in, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a few familiar faces in the audience (or at an afterparty) at Encore this weekend.

And of course there’s more going on in Las Vegas this weekend other than Beyoncé-related action.

Film and TV producer Jerry Bruckheimer is also in town, hosting his annual “Bad Boys of Hockey” tournament at the Las Vegas Ice Center. The round-robin tourney got underway last night and continues through Saturday morning.

While originally intended as more of a Pro-Am tournament, the three-day event features more of the “CSI” producer’s Hollywood heavyweight friends than actual stars, film, hockey or otherwise.

Still, there are a few famous names on the closely-guarded and not-publicized rosters, including actor Cuba Gooding Jr.

Also tonight, comedian Jerry Seinfeld returns to the stage at The Colosseum at Caesars for the first of the final two performances at the theater until later in the fall. The comic’s longtime friend, fellow actor-comedian Tom Papa, joins him tonight and Saturday.

Though Papa may not (yet) be a household name, his star ranking will likely elevate later this year when the film in which he stars alongside Matt Damon, "The Informant,” is released this fall.

As Papa and Seinfeld entertain on the Strip, our fair city’s martini-loving mayor, Oscar Goodman, will celebrate his 70th birthday downtown, at the Fremont Experience.

Later in the night, reality TV personality Megan Houserman will be at Jet for the premiere party of her new VH1 reality show, “Megan Wants a Millionaire.”

Former “That '70s Show” actor-turned-DJ, Danny Masterson, will also be in town tonight and will take to the turntables at Rain this evening. While “DJ Mom Jeans” may not be as acclaimed as the club’s resident Friday night act, DJ Am (aka Adam Goldstein), Masterson has been known to set the stage, sound-wise at least, for a good party.

His former small screen co-star, Ashton Kutcher, will put in an appearance at the Palms later this week, but he isn’t expected on site until Wednesday. Still, it would not be unheard of if Demi Moore’s fresh-faced hubby came to town a little early for a small-scale “That '70s show” reunion.

Laura Prepon was in town and spotted at Blush a few weeks ago and it’s rare when a month goes by without seeing Wilmer Valderrama sighting somewhere along the Strip.

While Topher Grace, who played Eric, and Mila Kunis, who played Jackie, are harder targets for Vegas star-chasers, it isn’t hard to envision some sort of Vegas rendezvous for the castmembers.

Saturday we have a handful of hard and classic rockers to look forward to, along with a fresh-faced trio of purity ring-wearing brothers, a Maxim cover girl and a socialite-turned reality show star (or was it reality show star turned socialite?) to look forward to.

Vince Neil, Tommy Lee, Nikki Sixx and Mick Mars will be in town to headline Crue Fest 2, which is set to go down at The Joint.

Godsmack, Theory of a Deadman, Drowning Pool and Charm City Devils will also take part in the hard-rocking festival at the Hard Rock Hotel.

Before Neil takes to the stage, however, he will stop by O’Sheas Casino to celebrate what has become the beer pong lover’s ultimate Vegas vacation destination’s 20th anniversary party.

Neil is expected to show up right around the same time they cut the cake, at about 5 p.m. In addition to his appetite, the frontman will also bring a handful of Crue Fest Two tickets to give away.

Later that night, the markedly-cleaner-cut and family-friendly trifecta known as the Jonas Brothers will be at Mandalay Bay Events Center. “American Idol”-winner Jordin Sparks and Honor Society will open for the famous siblings.

Also tomorrow night, Maxim’s model Joanna Krupa will kick off her month-long stint on the magazine's cover at Lavo and Brody Jenner will celebrate, well, just being himself, at Body English.

Both will nurse their hangovers at separate pool parties on Sunday, Tao Beach for Krupa and Rehab for Jenner.

If they’re lucky, all wounds from the night before will be sufficiently nursed and healed in time for Beyoncé’s bash at XS later that night.

So there you have it, the rundown of the best of the best in Las Vegas this weekend. Still hungry for more? Check out the Las Vegas Sun’s extensive event calendar for a complete listing of celebrity and celebrity-free events.

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].