Tuesday, May 20, 2003 | 11:42 a.m.
Reunited ... and it feels so good.
VegasBeat has learned that former partners and Planet Hollywood founders Keith Barish and Robert Earl are talking about getting back together to take over and run the bankrupt Aladdin.
Earl, a restaurateur, and Barish, a Hollywood producer ("The Fugitive"), founded Planet Hollywood in 1991 with celebrity partners Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone.
Barish sold his interest months before Planet Hollywood filed for bankruptcy in 1999. In 2001, along with his son, Chris Barish, and British club entrepreneur Andrew Sasson, Barish opened Light, the Bellagio hotspot.
Now sources confirm Barish and his son are "having discussions" with Bellagio about selling their interest in Light back to the property -- a prelude to joining with Earl if his current bid to take over the bankrupt Aladdin is successful.
Earl heads a partnership called OpBiz that includes Starwood Hotels and Resorts and Bay Harbour Management. The group is seen as the leading candidate to take over the 2,587-room Strip property with its "stalking horse" bid of $635 million.
Sasson -- Lizzie Grubman's former boyfriend -- is not part of the Aladdin deal. Calls to both Barish and Sasson weren't immediately returned Tuesday.
King kid
The Hard Rock Hotel is issuing a limited-edition chip featuring Lisa Marie Presley. It is available starting at 10 a.m. Friday -- and Presley is making a rare personal appearance at the hotel to help introduce the chip.
Elvis' 35-year-old daughter has agreed to play blackjack for a half-hour with 10 winners of a radio station promotion, and she will pose for photos with the group.
The hotel explicitly says the rest of us "can look from afar, but cannot take pictures with her or get autographs."
Thursday night Presley is part of the nationally televised VH1 "Divas Duets" show with Queen Latifah, Celine, Jewel, Chaka Khan, Whitney Houston (and her duet partner, and husband, Bobby Brown) and special honoree Stevie Wonder at MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Simon says ...
George Maloof wasn't around, so I suggested that Melvin Simon give him a call. They could console each other.
In addition to the Palms casino, Maloof and his family own the Sacramento Kings, who were eliminated from the NBA playoffs by the Dallas Mavericks over the weekend.
In addition to owning the also-ran Indiana Pacers, Simon and his brother, Herb Simon, run Simon Property Group Inc., the biggest mall developer on earth in terms of sales volume.
Several Simons were at Spago on Sunday night, where they showed off some grand expansion plans for their Forum Shops property at Caesars Palace.
"We have had an amazing success here in Las Vegas," Mel Simon told VegasBeat. "And we're looking to continue with it and capitalize on it. We are going to have 400 feet of spectacular frontage on Las Vegas Boulevard and some spectacular new stores -- about 50 of them."
The Forum Shops expansion is scheduled to be completed in time for holiday shopping next year.
Among the additions will be jeweler Harry Winston, a branch of the famous Miami restaurant Joe's Stone Crab, the high-end shoe and fashion accessory emporium, Donald Pliner, Casa Fuente cigars and O.J. Simpson's favorite shoemaker, Bruno Magli.
The Spago event featured typical Vegas understatement.
Guests were greeted by a live white tiger on a thin leash purring hellos, and a naked woman with chocolate on her upper torso was lying on the dessert table, allowing guests to scoop some sweet stuff off her with marshmallows or fresh fruit.
Afterward the extended Simon real estate clan and The Rouse Company President Anthony Deering (developers of Fashion Show mall) ate at -- where else? -- Simon Kitchen and Bar at the Hard Rock. (There is no relation.)
'Idol' chatter
Now that the NBA and NHL seasons are about over, the NFL is months away and baseball is dull, oddsmakers focus their forecasting prowess on other pressing matters.
Such as "American Idol."
Now down to two players, the three-night finale of the popular competition concludes Wednesday.
Johnny Avello, the director of race and sports book operations for Bally's/Paris Las Vegas, likes Ruben Studdard over Clay Aiken.
Aiken is listed at even, after opening at 4-to-1. Studdard also opened at 4-to-1, and has become a 4-to-5 favorite.
"I had Ruben and Clay as the favorites when there were still 12 people on the show," Avello said Monday. "From the beginning they were head-and-shoulders better than the rest."
And what are the odds anyone will remember these guys a month from now?
"Two-to-one they will both have successful careers. Ruben as a singer and Clay on Broadway," Avello said.
Fore dinner
That was a seemingly odd coupling at the chef's table inside Bradley Ogden's eponymous eatery at Caesars Palace on Saturday night. Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones sat with famed rocker Alice Cooper after they had all seen Celine together.
Cooper is an accomplished golfer (he has a 4 handicap) and was talking golf with his host for the weekend at Michael Douglas & Friends Celebrity Golf fund-raiser at Park Place's ultra-private Cascata course.
Shortly after Douglas left, another celebrity duffer had dinner at Ogden's: Clint Eastwood and his wife, Dina Ruiz.
We have to hope the meal made Clint's day.
VegasBits
Book 'em: Former Las Vegas Mayor Bill Briare is writing his memoirs. He served three terms, starting in 1975 ...
The mouths that roared: The new Siegfried & Roy-inspired animated series, "Father of the Pride," has cast John Goodman, Orlando Jones ("Drumline"), Cheryl Hines ("Curb Your Enthusiasm") and television comedy legend Carl Reiner as the starring character voices. The show, "starring" S&R's white tigers, debuts on NBC this fall ...
Cents-less: The club Risque was charging a $50 admission to rapper 50 Cent's party at the Paris Las Vegas club after his House of Blues performance Saturday night. Despite promises to the contrary, Mr. Cent never showed at the party ...
Home run: Las Vegas resident Marie Gartland, 75, appears on "Live With Regis (Philbin) and Kelly (Ripa)" today. Gartland is one of five finalists from 2 million national entries hoping to win a new house in the Regis & Kelly/KB Home Giveaway. "I haven't been to New York in more than 50 years. I'm sure a lot has changed and I can't wait to see it," Gartland said.
From Sun wires
Prosecutors on Monday charged Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland with two felony counts of possession of heroin and cocaine.
Weiland, 35, of Los Angeles, was released Sunday after posting a $10,000 bond. Arraignment was set June 2.
Officers stopped Weiland just before midnight Saturday to investigate a traffic violation since Weiland was driving without his headlights on, Burbank (Calif.) Police Sgt. Tracy Sanchez said Monday. It was then that officers allegedly noticed Weiland had narcotics in the car and arrested him.
Run on: Oprah Winfrey has had second thoughts about retiring.
Winfrey extended her contract with King World Productions by two more years, taking "The Oprah Winfrey Show" through the 2007-2008 television season, and agreed to make more shows over the next few years than planned, it was announced Monday.
At her last contract extension, Winfrey, 49, had said she would quit her show after the 2005-2006 season.
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