Country Stars descend on Las Vegas

(Photo is from Ana Dobrijevic/Cirque du Soleil)

Reba McEntire, Kelly Clarkson and Ronnie Dunn with the cast of "Love" at the Mirage hotel Saturday night.

Carrie Underwood went to see Cher's show at Caesars Palace on Saturday night.

Toby Keith was spotted in Pure in Caesars Palace and at Simon at the Palms hotel.

Justin Timberlake was spotted at Mix Lounge in Mandalay Bay with Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flatts.

Kenny Chesney was spotted with his girlfriend and family Friday dining at Nobu in the Hard Rock Hotel. Later, at Charlie Palmer Steak in Mandalay Bay, he joined Carrie Underwood, Kelly Pickler and Flatts singing Jackson Browne, Elton John and Billy Joel songs.

Toby Keith, partying with friends at Studio 54 in the MGM Grand.

Read more about the star filled weekend in the Las-Vegas Review Journal /Norm Clarke.

Can a Doorman in Las Vegas Make $500,000-a-year?

Getting into a Vegas nightclub often takes clout -- or big bucks. Vacationers routinely hire VIP services to help bypass hours-long lines at hot clubs.

Norm Clarke, man about town and author of the popular Vegas Confidential column for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, has written a bombshell article saying that the IRS is looking into what door staff at Pure make. It could be as much as $500,000 a year, he writes, since wannabe clubgoers routinely slip doorstaff big bucks in hopes of getting past the velvet rope and Pure has huge capacity (more than 2,000).

Clarke writes that authorities raided Pure headquarters Wednesday and took computers. He has heard of door staff pocketing as much as $10,000 a night before sharing tips with fellow staffers.

Read the entire article HERE.

Sinsational Celebrity Tales by Norm Clarke

I'm sure this will have some wild stories of all kinds and from lots of names that you will recognize.
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Pre Order Vegas Confidential: Sinsational Celebrity Tales Norm Clarke's newest book, Vegas Confidential: Sinsational Celebrity Tales ($12.95, Stephens Press, February 2008), dishes up a feast from Sin City's Ace Insider on celeb's club hopping, spending sprees, outrageous behavior, big wins and huge losses.

Discounted pre-orders are $9.95 and include free shipping.

Richard Branson's Next Challenge

Cara Roberts photo

On a day when his luck nearly ran out, like his friend Steve Fossett's, British billionaire Richard Branson moved a step closer to joining the superheated Las Vegas casino business.

Branson, the founder and chairman of Virgin Group, confirmed Wednesday that he's working on a Las Vegas deal.

"We had some meetings today and I think Virgin will be flying over Las Vegas within a couple years," Branson told me during a red carpet interview at Tryst nightclub at Wynn Las Vegas.

Rumors have been flying for several years that Branson, one of Europe's most successful entrepreneurs, has plans to take on Las Vegas .

Meanwhile, with his injured hand heavily bandaged and still sore from another bruising stunt, Branson, 57, was counting his lucky stars.

In one of his most dangerous outings of all, Branson survived a wild and windy 407-foot plunge from the top of the Palms' Fantasy Tower.

"I've never done a stunt like that before," said Branson, who took such a beating that his tuxedo pants were torn apart. "That was my first fall like that. I've done some mad things but I've never done anything quite like that."

Tricky 20 mph wind gusts kept slamming him into glass and concrete during his fall. He was wearing a full-body harness connected to a cable.

" You're going 100 mph and you're banging against the wall. It was slightly unnerving. But I'm well, everything's fine."

Read the rest of this story in the amazing Norm Clarke's column.

BRANSON INJURED IN SUCCESSFUL STUNT AT PALMS

British billionaire daredevil Richard Branson suffered a cut hand and bruises during an 80-second per feet descent Wednesday from the 407-foot mark of the Palms’ Fantasy Tower.

A shaken Branson limped away to his room to change clothes after his pants were ripped during the wind-plagued stunt. Gusts of 20 miles per hour nearly caused Branson’s latest adventure to be postponed, a member of his team said.

Just before his descent in a full-body harness, Branson outstretched his arms and took the plunge from a perch near Moon nightclub near the top of the tower.

He was lowered by a high-speed cable winch, which was similar the same one used in Spider Man films.

Branson did not address the media, because of his medical needs.

— NORM CLARKE, Vegas Confidential from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Not My Normal Kind of Post but Here is Britney Spears News

Britney Spears' disastrous appearance in Las Vegas killed a pending multimillion, 30-market tour deal, according to an insider.

"Everyone was waiting on that. The wild card was how she performed," said the source, an executive who was close to the deal with Live Nation, the world's largest producer of concerts.



"Everyone said 'no way.' She blew it bad," said the source.

Spears had hoped to launch her comeback, after a four-year hiatus, at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 9 at the Palms. Instead, she's not only back to square one professionally, but her continuing personal unraveling may have placed her on the music industry's radioactive list for some time.



This comes from Norm Clarke's column in the Las Vegas Review-Journal

Michael Jackson Moves into Prince of Brunei's Home

by Jeremy Pond
Review-Journal-->

Music legend Michael Jackson has moved into a sprawling, $60 million, 100,000-square foot Las Vegas compound owned by Prince Jefri Bolkiah of Brunei in the upscale, gated-community Spanish Trail.

Jackson made the move over the weekend, after his six-month lease expired on a $1 million luxury home on Monte Cristo, a couple houses away from the residence of NBA star Gary Payton.

A source who viewed the house vacated by Jackson said the 10-bedroom home was "filthy," with the interior so messy it appeared it hadn't been cleaned in months. Piles of junk were left on the curb outside the home and two Christmas trees draped with ornaments were still in place inside the house.

Jackson left a suite at The Mirage in even worse condition after a lengthy stay several years ago.

Bathrooms and bedrooms at the home on Monte Cristo were left in squalor, with children's handprints on many walls, stains on carpets and garbage left in sinks.

"They left the Christmas trees up like it was still December," said my source.

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Read more of this wild lifestyle of Michael Jackson and read of the excess of Prince Jefri at Norm Clarke's website.

Criss Angel Locked Into Luxor in Las Vegas

Illusionist Criss Angel, the first headliner to team up with Cirque du Soleil, has signed a 10-year contract at the Luxor, with a 5-year option that could extend it to 15, it was announced late Tuesday.

Angel's 4,600-show run with Cirque begins in the summer of 2008.

The announcement by Luxor president Felix Rappaport came during a party celebrating the opening of Angel's third season of "Mindfreak," the hit series on A & E.

Earlier in the day, Angel appeared to escape from a cement box suspended 40 feet above Times Square in New York after it crashed to the ground.

The big mystery was how he got out of the box without being seen during his 24-hour stay.

Norm Clarke was the source for this story