Columnist Kate Maddox: A little Depp will do Las Vegas

Kate Maddox's column also appears Tuesdays and Fridays in the Las Vegas Sun. Reach her at 259-2309 or [email protected].

Yet another high-end nightclub is in the works for Las Vegas, but this time it will be off the Strip -- and possibly managed by a celebrity.

Johnny Depp is in negotiations to operate a nighttime glamour spot at the Stirling Club at Turnberry Place. Once up and running, insiders say Depp plans to make the space a popular hangout for "the social elite." In other words, the Stirling Club isn't going to open its doors to just any schmo looking for a night on the town (back to Doc Holliday's for me); patrons will have to have some clout, and a possibly a membership to the exclusive Stirling Club.

Depp doesn't appear to be bothered by all this red (velvet) tape -- he's already been to town to check out the property firsthand.

So why is the brooding actor -- who these days spends most of his time in Paris with his French-actress wife -- thinking Vegas? One source says Depp would use the ultra-exclusive spot as a "showcase to expand his nightclub business around the world." Depp's Viper Room on L.A.'s Sunset Strip has been a fabulous draw since its opening in 1993.

The Stirling Club is scheduled to open by the end of September, but only for those willing to shell out thousands of dollars for a membership. Prices start at $5,000 for the "initiation fee," plus hundreds in monthly dues.

But that money offers members much more than the opportunity to rub elbows with Depp. In addition to the nightclub, the Stirling Club will include a cigar lounge, piano bar, a one-of-a-kind spa (with virtual-reality massage rooms!), pool area with private cabanas, tennis courts and a five-star restaurant, complete with $2 million worth of Versace china and Faberge crystal.

And even if you can afford to join, you've got to be sponsored by a member or by the Stirling Club Board of Governors, an A-list bevy of names including Rita Rudner, Sue Shifrin-Cassidy, James Caan, LVCVA President Manny Cortez, Lee Majors, Phil Maloof and Jan Jones.

Caesars Palace this week released details on its new bar, Shadow, scheduled to open Friday. The lounge space will feature "concierges" who perform in silhouette behind a back-lit screen -- 17 voluptuous young ladies who look good naked and take drink orders. Will wonders never cease?

Of course, when the dance of desire is finished, the women will come out from behind the shadows and mingle with VIPs in the bar, dispense cigars and, according to a hotel spokesman, "chat" with patrons. And, sorry ladies, at this time there are no plans for any guys to strip down and shimmy behind a sheer-scrim screen (say that five times fast).

Kit Williams made it official this week. The KTNV Channel 13 reporter has decided to resign after being demoted in April. Williams had been working nonstop on the Margaret Rudin trial when she was inexplicably pulled from her beat.

Williams' last day at KTNV will be June 7. On the 11th, she takes over as Director of Community Relations for St. Jude's Ranch in Boulder City.

Seems like Quiet Riot's lead singer, Las Vegas resident Kevin DuBrow, is still going hot and heavy with local radio personality Lark Williams. On the liner notes of the '80s metal band's new CD, "Guilty Pleasures," DuBrow first thanks his mom, but then gives a special nod to Williams, whom he calls his "shining light."

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