Amanda Bynes, Courtney Love, Paris Hilton to heat up Las Vegas

By Melissa Arseniuk

Friday, Oct. 2, 2009 | 8:07 a.m.

Take a deep breath, Las Vegas: There are a lot of birthday candles to blow out this weekend.

The Mirage is turning 20; PT’s is celebrating 27 years; Ashlee Simpson-Wentz has made it a full half-century; Tao is toasting its fourth birthday; and Lavo is about to mark a year of success and excess on the Strip.

All these birthdays mean three things: Lots of cake and lots of candles -- and lots of celebrities, too.

And, since it’s the weekend and we’re in Vegas, there’s more of the latter just because, well, it’s the weekend and we’re in Vegas.

The star sightings will start this afternoon with Mick Fleetwood, who will be at the International Vision Expo and Conference at the Sands Expo and Convention Center. The Fleetwood Mac drummer will be signing autographs and posing for photos, in the Revolution Eyewear booth (that's booth #20063), from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Paris Hilton will be at Vision Expo today, too, and will promote her new line of sunglasses while she’s at it. The heiress will appear at the Gripping Eyewear booth (#18103) today, but the blonde ambition’s endorse-a-palooza won’t stop there: Hilton will take her fashionable show on the road, to the Hard Rock Hotel, where she will strut her stuff in a poolside fashion show later tonight.

In addition to her sunglasses, Hilton will model her handbags and footwear, too (and might smell of a certain namesake perfume, as well, while she’s at it). The invite-only fashion show/poolside party will last two hours, and is scheduled to start at 8 p.m.

Also this evening, Mayor Oscar Goodman will join Golden Gaming, Inc. founder/chairman/CEO Blake L. Sartini at PT’s Pub on Spring Mountain Road for the chain’s 27th anniversary celebration.

In addition to our martini-loving mayor’s 5:30 p.m. appearance, patrons will be given a free glass of wine, a well drink or domestic pint at 9 p.m. to mark the chain’s 27th year of operations.

Around that same time, Howie Mandel will step into the spotlight at MGM Grand as he kicks off a string of appearances at the Hollywood Theater. The “Deal or No Deal” host and stand-up veteran will appear at the resort through Oct. 14.

Also at MGM Grand tonight is Christina Milian and The Dream, who are scheduled to co-host at Tabu.

Meanwhile, Mario Barth's "Biggest Tattoo Show on Earth" will get under way today, across the street from MGM at Mandalay Bay. The three-day ink fest will feature a sizeable collection of celebs, including Tommy Lee, Jack Osbourne, Mark McGrath, Evan Seinfeld, and Duff McKagan.

The tat-loving stars kicked things off last night with a celeb-infested party at Rumjungle, and the partying won’t stop ‘til the show wraps up on Sunday.

And yes, while they’re primarily in town for the tattoo show, many of the VIPs will also lend their star power to the Mirage’s birthday party, which will go down at Bare Pool later on tonight.

Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash is headlining the 20th anniversary party, dubbed “Slash and Friends.” The axeman’s so-called friends include fellow GNR bandmate Matt Sorum and previously-mentioned fellow drummer Tommy Lee; Hole’s unladylike leading lady, Courtney Love; Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry; Maroon 5 hottie Adam Levine; Pussycat Dolls’ stunner Nicole Scherzinger; musician/screenwriter Rob Zombie; Led Zeppelin drummer Jason Bonham; and Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick.

What’s more, Keifer Sutherland will serve as master of (the star-studded) ceremonies.

The third A-list birthday party going on tonight will go down at the Palazzo, as Tao’s little sister, Lavo, will have a birthday party of its own, as it turns 1 year old.

While the restaurant-nightclub hasn’t released a list of confirmed guests for this evening’s party, everyone knows the eatery and upper-level bar is a celebrity hotspot, so we know the place will be crawling with VIPs.

And they’ve made star sighting prospecting easy for us, too, since the mile-long guest list for tomorrow night’s party at Tao has been released. More on that in a minute.

Another notable personality who will be in town tonight is none other than newly reinstated late night comedy king, Jay Leno. He will perform his stand-up at the Terry Fator Theatre inside the Wynn tonight, and on Saturday night, too.

And finally, Good Charlotte frontman Joel Madden rounds out tonight’s celebrity line-up, as he returns to Planet Hollywood to serve as guest DJ at Privé.

The celebrity watching will start once again at the Vision Expo on Saturday, where rapper Pitbull will take to the Revolution Eyewear booth at noon. Also at the Expo on Saturday will be PGA Tour golfer Kenny Perry, swing coach Matt Killen, and vision trainer Larry Lampert, who will be appearing n behalf of Transitions Optical (booth #10053). While the trio of golf pros will be chatting up Transitions lenses, they've also promised to share a few tips to help fans improve their golf game, too.

As they talk golf and glasses at the Sands, the Simpson sisters will be south on the Strip, soaking up the sun at MGM Grand. The youngest of the two, Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, is celebrating her 25th birthday this weekend and big sis Jessica Simpson will be with her at Wet Republic to get her piece of paparazzi pie (and birthday cake).

No word if the birthday girl’s hubby, Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz, will join his wife by the pool, or if his wife will make him stay home and babysit their son, Bronx Mowgli.

All we know is, we sure hope it’s not the girls’ father/manager, Joe Simpson, volunteering to suntan lotion their backs tomorrow afternoon.

That said, it’s pretty safe to say the senior Simpson sister’s ex, Nick Lachey, won’t be anywhere near Wet Republic or the sisters’ SPF this weekend – though he will be in town.

Lachey has been spotted in and around the Venetian/Palazzo (including at First Food and Bar on Thursday) and will likely stay on property, for the most part. What’s more: Current flame Vanessa Minnillo is rumored to be with him.

Another scandal-prone star, Paris Hilton will return to the site of her most recent Vegas scandal, the Hard Rock, on Saturday night as she hosts the Saturday night party at Body English.

Hilton watchers will remember the mini firestorm that erupted about a month ago when a local gossip columnist suggested the heiress was “wasted” at Wasted Space via Twitter.

Sober, tipsy, wasted or otherwise, Hilton will ensure Saturday night is a smash as she hosts “Smashtime” at Body English, along with E! personality and BE Saturday night resident Clinton Sparks.

Also at the Hard Rock on Saturday, tattoo legend Mario Barth will co-host Inked magazine’s first annual Inked True Colors Awards, which will feature a special performance by The Bronx.

He and his entourage will likely move the party to New York-New York after the awards, however, as Beastie Boys DJ extraordinaire Mix Master Mike takes to the turntables at a tattoo show afterparty at Rok.

Across the street at MGM Grand, meanwhile, AC/DC will entertain at the Grand Garden Arena.

Another, though entirely different, Australian-born act will step into the spotlight on Saturday night, too, however the second Down Under-born and bred show will go down at The Palms: Kylie Monogue will mark her return to North American soil and the North American stage tomorrow night with a performance at the Pearl.

A very different show will take place at Texas Station on Saturday, as all-American country superstar Randy Travis takes to the stage.

Also on Saturday, L.A. party boy Brent Bolthouse will bring the West coast party to Privé, where he will serve as guest DJ for the night.

And finally, the big bash of the weekend will go down at Tao, where the restaurant and club will be packed with even more celebrities than normal.

The big names on the list include actress Amanda Bynes; actor Mekhi Phifer; Dr. Allison Cameron from “House,” aka Jennifer Morrison; and “Blade” vampire Stephen Dorff.

Also on the guest list: Aaron Paul, Adam Gregory, Amanda Righetti, Beth Ostrosky, Brandi Cibrian, Carson Kressley, Clifton Collins, Danielle Panabaker, Eva Amurri, Jason Kennedy, Jennifer Gimenez, Krysten Ritter, Patrick Sebes, Selita Ebanks, Spencer Grammer, Terrence Howard, and Zachary Abel.

Naturally, the pre-released list of celebs attending the party will likely serve as a mere starting point in terms of the who’s-who’s of the party. And, considering the plethora of stars in town this weekend, it’s not hard to imagine how much the guest list stands to grow by the end of the night.

And as if the weekend’s worth of birthday bashes and anniversary soirées wasn’t enough, there will be yet another blow-out on Sunday at The Bank.

Suffice to say those attending the tattoo show’s grand finale party won’t be making it into the office first thing Monday morning: Dave Navarro is hosting the event, while DJ Skribble and DJ Slynkee will also contribute to the soundtrack.

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].