Pauly D talks Rehab, hair gel and what he’s going to call Snooki’s baby

By Allison Duck

Thursday, March 15, 2012 | 5:28 p.m.

His name is Pauly DelVecchio, you know him as Pauly D, and he’s gone from aspiring Rhode Island DJ to internationally known reality TV star, courtesy of MTV show Jersey Shore. He has parlayed this success into support for his budding DJ career (including a nomination for America’s Best DJ in 2010) and two Las Vegas residencies. He spent the last year and a half spinning at venues at the Palms, and now the hair-gelled, muscle-bound party boy has made the move to Hard Rock, where he’ll entertain the masses at Vanity and Rehab Pool this summer.

What can you tell us about your upcoming reality show?

People will be able to see my friends who I grew up with and see what my life is like on a day to day basis as a world famous DJ. We filmed all over. A lot is back at home in Rhode Island where I’m from and a lot out here in Las Vegas, since I’m here a lot. We went to Puerto Rico, and I was on tour with Britney Spears. We also went to LA and New York, so there was a lot of travel during the show.

Does the show include footage from your previous residency at the Palms?

Yes, they’ve got me DJing at the Palms a lot, at Rain Nightclub and the pool.

Now that you’ve done a few gigs at the Hard Rock, what do you think are the differences between the Palms and Hard Rock?

I think this was my next step. Hard Rock is legendary out here, and the Rehab Pool is the most legendary pool in Las Vegas. I am really looking forward to the pool. That was one of the selling points for me. Once they told me Rehab Pool wanted me, I said I was there.

It seems that you kind of stick to the MTV hotels out here—places where Real World has filmed. Have you ever considered another property altogether?

A lot of people were trying to get me. I had the residency at the Palms for almost a year and a half and when that was up, I had a whole lot of options of which casino I wanted to go to. I ended up here because I really like what it has to offer me. I love Vanity. I love the pool. It’s just a coincidence that it happened to be another place where MTV has filmed.

Do you have nicknames planned for Snooki’s baby yet?

Man, I don’t know. We’ve called Snooki everything—Snooks, Snicks, Snickers. I guess the baby will be Lil’ Snicks.

So, are you going to duke it out with the other guys to see who gets to be the baby’s godfather?

Oh man, I’m going to be the godfather of that baby. I told her and she said yes. I’m already on lock.

Justin Bieber strayed a bit from his signature hairstyle, have you considered anything new since your blowout gained such popularity?

I thought about it, but I can’t do it. I think I would miss it too much. I enjoy doing it. It’s me. It’s unique. It takes about 25 minutes.

That’s not too bad.

For a guy it kind of is (laughs). But I don’t want to cut it.

What’s the one hair product that you can’t live without?

Spiker hair gel. It’s the only stuff that can actually do this. To do it, I’ve got to blow-dry; I’ve got to hairspray; I’ve got to gel. It’s a process. Then I have this special comb that I comb it up with while I blow-dry at the same time.

I’ve been wondering since I started watching the show, do you wake up and it just looks the same as the night before?

I always take a shower and redo it in the morning. It gets smushed in the back at night.