Wednesday, June 4, 2003 | 10:26 a.m.
Playing on his penchant for fast food, Bill Clinton was famously parodied on "Saturday Night Live" making a campaign stop at McDonald's.
Good thing it wasn't The Original Pancake House at Green Valley Ranch Station Casino. The management -- and some of its more vocal patrons -- apparently don't like his politics.
A faithful and reliable VegasBeat reader reports he was inside the eatery Sunday and noticed that a signed photo of the former prez he had seen on his last visit was no longer on the wall.
When he asked why, he was told by a store manager that there were too many complaints about Clinton.
When VegasBeat called the restaurant and identified ourselves as a reporter, they were less than thrilled to discuss the matter.
First, owner Kim Freudenberger said that a photo of Danny Gans was in Clinton's place "because we rotate the photos" on the walls.
Then Freudenberger changed gears and said there were pictures of Clinton at some of the other area Original Pancake Houses.
When we said we would go take a look to see if that was true, she responded angrily.
"If you write anything about this I will call your boss and you'll get in big trouble," she snapped to VegasBeat.
A faxed request to Clinton's Harlem office in New York seeking comment (his representatives like to have everything in writing) was not immediately answered.
Hip ...
Why does VegasBeat love Las Vegas?
One reason is the Skin Bump n' Grind II pool volleyball tournament at the Palms on Thursday night.
Teams from Jaguars, Cheetahs, Club Paradise, Olympic Garden, Sapphire, Striptease, Deja Vu and the young lovelies at the N9NE group are participating.
Truly, this is an example of how it doesn't matter who wins or loses, it is just a privilege to watch them play the games. And to watch them practice, which they did at Skinny Dip Tuesday, the weekly Palms pool party.
The winning team earns a $5,000 prize.
Hip ...
A new beer goes on sale in Las Vegas today.
According to a press release, Anheuser-Busch's top brewmasters were challenged to combine their expertise and create a world-class beer.
"The result is Anheuser World Select ... which is available starting today in Las Vegas" and five other test markets, said August A. Busch IV, the company's fifth-generation president.
It is described as a "continental pilsner" designed to compete with imports.
Hooray!
It isn't called the Strip for nothing.
And while tonight's Sex on the Beach party at the Hard Rock Hotel isn't technically on the Strip, it does have an interesting little twist -- little people.
We hear that some dancing girls who are short in stature will be a part of the burlesque troupe performing this evening.
Cookin' good
We say this with the utmost respect: For a self-described "girl next door," Laurie Kendrick appears pretty hot -- and not only because she spends most of her day in the kitchen.
The Wild Sage Cafe partner (with her brother, Wes Kendrick, and husband Stan Carroll) is featured in an upcoming national magazine ad for a health insurer.
She was photographed last month in the kitchen of her Warm Springs Road restaurant (there is a second Wild Sage on West Sahara Avenue) for the Health Plan of Nevada ad.
It starts running in the regional editions of July issues of Forbes, Inc., Money, Time and others.
"Trust me, I look a lot better in the photograph than I do in person," a modest Kendrick said. "They had professional makeup people and lighting and a great photographer. They can make anyone look good."
Playing footsie
We award the ceremonial Golden Shoelace to Julie Cane, the director of guest services for the N9NE Group. She completed her first marathon over the weekend.
Cane and Pam Guardino, general manager of Desert Dodge, both ran the scenic 26.2-mile course at the Suzuki Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in San Diego.
They also raised, through sponsors, several thousand dollars for charities dedicated to leukemia and lymphoma research.
VegasBits
Hotel MGM: The Eagles -- Joe Walsh, Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Timothy Schmit -- fly into the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Aug. 9 as part of their "Farewell I" concert tour. Tickets, priced from $75 to $250, go on sale Saturday ...
No joke: There is a lucrative new journalism scholarship at Rutgers University named after Flip Wilson, the comedian who was a popular performer at Caesars Palace and the Sahara in the 1970s. He wasn't a journalist, but felt that it was a field where his money could affect blacks ...
Caketaker: We hear that celebrity Chef Emeril Lagasse has been asked to bake the world's largest cake for the 100th birthday celebration of the incorporation of Las Vegas, which occurs in May 2005. He said yes.
From Sun wires
There were no tears of joy, just the confident smile of a winner when 18-year-old Miss Dominican Republic, Amelia Vega, was crowned Miss Universe 2003.
A 6-foot-1 aspiring singer, Vega accepted the crown from outgoing titleholder Justine Pasek of Panama on Tuesday at a U.S. military base-turned-convention center in Panama City.
Asked if she was nervous when she stood alone with co-finalist Mariangel Ruiz of Venezuela after 70 other contestants were eliminated, Vega said, "No, I just said, 'God, whatever is going to be, let it be.' "
Cindy Nell, a South African tourism promoter, was the second runner-up, followed by Miss Serbia and Montenegro Sanja Papic and Miss Japan Miyako Miyazaki.
Dropping out after reaching the top 10 were representatives from Trinidad and Tobago, the Czech Republic, Namibia, Canada and Brazil. An earlier cut took out Misses USA, Greece, Panama, Angola and Peru.
Looks like he broke it: Barry Manilow is trying to get the feeling again after walking into a wall in his bedroom and breaking his nose.
But the singer, who's famous for his monstrous proboscis, is maintaining his typical self-deprecating humor about the injury.
"I veered to the left instead of the right and slammed right into the wall," Manilow said. "I may have to have my nose fixed and, with this nose, it's going to require major surgery."
The 56-year-old singer said Tuesday he'd returned to his Palm Springs, Calif., home after spending two weeks in Malibu working on longtime friend Bette Midler's upcoming Rosemary Clooney tribute album.
In the middle of the night, he awoke disoriented and walked into a wall. He passed out for four hours after the accident but was OK, his manager said.
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