Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Beyoncé, Pamela Anderson, Usher hit Vegas over weekend

Jay-Z, Tommy Lee, Kirsten Dunst, Brody Jenner and Cuba Gooding Jr. also on long list of performing and partying celebs

Beyonce-Wynn

Isaac Brekken/WireImage

Beyonce at the Encore Theater in the Wynn.

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Jay-Z was in concert with Ciara at The Pearl in the Palms on July 3-4.

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Jerry Seinfeld

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NBA star LeBron James partied at Tao Beach Friday night in Las Vegas.

Beyoncé Knowles and her superstar husband, Jay-Z, were in town as the North American tour of Knowles’ alter ego, Sasha Fierce, came to a close.

The final of the four performances took place in the Encore Theater on Sunday night at the Wynn.

Two official afterpartys were held in Ms. Knowles' honor, at Blush on Friday and at XS on Sunday.

Jay-Z was in town for the culmination of his superstar wife's tour and was spotted at Tao late late Wednesday night and at Lavo on Thursday night.

Knowles joined him on Thursday after her show but the rapper/producer/former Def Jam Records CEO had to leave town the following day to headline a show of his own in New York.

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.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z were just the tip of the star-studded iceberg that crashed into Las Vegas this weekend. Film and TV producer Jerry Bruckheimer was in town to host his annual “Bad Boys of Hockey” tournament at the Las Vegas Ice Center. The round-robin tourney got underway on Thursday and continued through Saturday morning.

While originally intended as more of a Pro-Am tournament, the three-day event featured 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.

Bruckheimer, Gooding Jr. and a bunch of their hockey buddies got together for some post-ice time at Tao on Thursday, partied at Body English on Friday, then nursed their hangovers and aching muscles by the pool on Saturday.

Comedians Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld were also in town, Leno at The Mirage while Seinfeld at The Colosseum at Caesars. Seinfeld’s longtime friend, fellow actor-comedian Tom Papa, also joined him for the Friday and Saturday night performances.

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, celebrated his 70th birthday on Friday at the Fremont Experience.

Many of our martini-loving mayor's favorite Strip headliners came out to see him blow out the candles, including Venetian headliner and former "Whose Line is it Anyway?" costar Wayne Brady, magician Nathan Burton and entertainers Zowie Bowie.

"24" actress Mary Lynn Rajskub had dinner at Planet Hollywood's Strip House steak house. Another notable diner at the award-winning eatery was designer Steve Madden who was in town for a shoe and accessory trade show.

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

Kirsten Dunst was also in town and had dinner at Lavo with two girlfriends. Their girls' night continued in the upper level nightclub after their meal, then moved next door to Tao at 4 a.m.

Before Dunst and her hard-partying lady friends showed up, San Antonio Spurs player Michael Finley and some friends sampled the sushi, lobster dumplings and other Asian menu items in the bistro.

Former "Darma and Greg" actress and star of the new CBS series, “Accidentally on Purpose,” Jenna Elfman was in Vegas this weekend and hit the town with her new c-stars, Grant Show (of "Melrose Place" fame), Lennon Parham, Jon Foster and Nicolas Wright. The group had dinner at Michael Mina's MGM Grand eatery, Seablue, and caught a performance of the Cirque du Soleil spectacle inspired by the Far East, "KA."

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Danny Masterson, a.k.a. DJ Mom Jeans, is spinning at Rain on Friday.

Former “That '70s Show” actor-turned-DJ, Danny Masterson, was also in town took to the turntables at Rain on Friday. While “DJ Mom Jeans” may not be as acclaimed as the club’s regular resident Friday night act, DJ Am (aka Adam Goldstein), Masterson continued his reputation for setting the soundtrack for a good party.

Taking in his set was Jenna Elfman; "Lost" actor Matthew Chandler Fox; and "It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia" co-stars Kaitlin Olson and Rob McElhenney.

Before Masterson made his way to the DJ booth he had dinner at N9NE steakhouse with six friends.

His former small screen co-star, Ashton Kutcher, will put in an appearance at the Palms later this week, but he won't be on site until Wednesday.

Usher was also at the Palms this weekend and put in an early-morning appearance at Moon on Saturday. He and two fellow night owls arrived at 3 a.m. and hung out for about an hour, according to witnesses.

Nicky Hilton and boyfriend David Katzenberg returned to what's become their go-to nightclub of choice, Blush, on Friday. Hilton has been spotted in the Wynn's swanky watering hole at least three times within the last month.

Also returning to Blush on Friday was poker legend Doyle Brunson who celebrated his 70th birthday on the ultra lounge's open-air back patio when he was in town last month for the World Series of Poker.

Saturday saw a handful of hard and classic rockers come to town, as Crue Fest 2 invaded the Joint.

Vince Neil, Tommy Lee, Nikki Sixx and Mick Mars were all there, as were fellow performers from Godsmack, Theory of a Deadman, Drowning Pool and Charm City Devils.

The touring festival's second stage acts were without a second stage on Saturday so they got the night off and partied in The Joint's luxury sky boxes as the others did their thing.

Meanwhile, many of the musicians popped by the second floor parties after they finished onstage.

Also spotted roaming the second level of The Joint during Crue Fest 2: Pamela Anderson, Tera Patrick, Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul, Ashley from VH1’s “Rock of Love Bus” and “Charm School,” Carrot Top, and members of the Avenged Sevenfold crew.

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Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson at Body English during the early morning hours of Aug. 2.

After the show, the on-again/off-again couple that is Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson turned heads at Body English. The once-married couple, who have two sons together, left tongues wagging as they flirted, kissed and full-out made-out in the nightclub before heading up to party in one of the mega suites in the resort's recently-opened sky tower.

Also at Body English on Saturday: Las Vegas' very own Ne-Yo, Cuba Gooding Jr., Brody Jennerand his girlfriend, former Playmate play thing Jayde Nicole, and Elijah Kelley.

While Jenner and Nicole had dinner at Rare 120 before hitting he club, they along with Ne-Yo and Kelley reunited the following day to spend some quality time by the pool at Rehab.

Jenner and Nicole returned to Body English on Sunday night were they, along with Jenner's possibly penny-pinching manager made it rain... fortune cookies.

(Perhaps Jenner needs to cash-in on a sex tape scandal like his big sis, Kim Kardashian, before he can really make it rain.)

Neil, meanwhile, showed no shortage of cashflow this weekend and stopped by a few of his other, non-musical money makers while he was in his hometown.

He was at O’Sheas Casino on Saturday afternoon where he signed some autographs outside his namesake tattoo shop, Vince Neil Ink. The appearance was in conjunction with the 20th anniversary of what has become the beer pong lover’s ultimate Vegas vacation destination.

The Crue frontman also did an on-air with KOMP 92.3-FM before heading back to the Hard Rock for show time. After the concert he headed over to his new "rock bar and grill" on West Sahara Avenue, Feelgoods.

Neil got up onstage and performed a few songs for the crowd of surprised fans (including Carrot Top) during the after-hours appearance and returned the following night, too, for the hotspot's official grand opening party.

A far-cleaner-cut and family-friendly crowd gathered on the South Strip on Saturday: The Jonas Brothers took to the stage at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. “American Idol”-winner Jordin Sparks and Honor Society opened for the famous and purity ring-wearing siblings.

Over at Jet, meanwhile, DJ Apl.de.Ap of the Black Eyed Peas set the soundtrack for the night. The hp-hopper opened with the Peas’ track “Bebot” and also played the group's hit, "Boom Boom Boom" during his otherwise mostly-electronic set.

The DJ also played for a few hours the following day at Bare, where fellow notorious lady-lovers Tommy Lee and David Spade checked out the scantily-clad scenery.

Earlier that afternoon, Melissa Rivers was seen at the Palazzo as she had a South of the border-style lunch at Dos Caminos. Rivers and her table of friends reportedly ordered a range of Mexican menu items, including the house's signature guacamole, tortilla soup, chicken quesadillas and asada tacos.

Maxim’s current cover model Joanna Krupa kicked off her monthlong stint on the magazine's front page a short walk across the casino floor, at Lavo, later that night.

Friends including "Deal or No Deal" stunner Jenelle Moreno; Harrison Forbes of "Pet Talk" and Polish violinists, The Alizma Triplets joined her for dinner, then drinks in the nightclub.

The picture-perfect beauties Krupa and Moreno recovered from the night that was at Tao Beach the following day.

"Dancing With the Stars" champion, Cheryl Burke was also in town over the weekend and checked out Holly Madison on Saturday night at the early showing of "Peepshow" at Planet Hollywood.

Actor Hugh Jackman also took a peek at "Peepshow" this weekend, and was spotted amongst the crowd during Friday night's late show.

Burk went backstage after Saturday's performance to meet the cast and chat with the show's curvaceous star then moved over to the Palms where she partied at Moon.

Madison left "Planet Holly," aka Planet Hollywood, on Sunday and went to the Palms, too. The former small screen reality show queen grabbed brunch at her favorite Sunday hotspot, Simon, at Palms Place.

Professional boxer Zab Judah was also seen hanging out at the resort on Sunday, at Playboy Club later that night.

Simon's sister restaurant at the Luxor, Cathouse, hosted Sunday night party of its own, as "Paris Hilton's My New BFF" season 1 winner Onch Movement hammed for the cameras alongside fellow wannabe celebrities Stephen Hampton, Arika Sato, and Nicole Marie Whote.

Also enjoying a Sunday night out in Las Vegas was “So You Think You Can Dance” choreographer Shane Sparks, who toasted he end of the weekend with a few friends at Blush.

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].