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Robin Leach: Luxe Life

What's your story? If you are a celebrity in Vegas, Robin Leach wants to know.

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December 31, 2008
For Kaptain Robbie Knievel, there’s no rehearsal before Mirage volcano jump
January 1, 2009
NYE08 Photo Gallery: Lance & Denise, Donnie & Danny and DMC
January 2, 2009
Exclusive: Robbie Knievel overruled Fox TV execs in his Mirage volcano jump
January 1, 2009
New Year’s Day: Celebrities and stuntmen usher in 2009 on the Las Vegas Strip
December 31, 2008
Strip Scribbles: Miss America contestants count down to the crown on TLC

Recent Posts

January 6, 2009
Restaurant Roundup: Switch moves walls and ceilings; Botero offers inside and outside dining; Guy Savoy opens Krug champagne parlor
January 6, 2009
Strip Scribbles: Olympic swimming ace Michael Phelps and girlfriend frolic in Lavo’s playground
January 6, 2009
Entertainment and sports celebrities are living the life of XS
January 6, 2009
Partying in pajamas at the Palms at Kerry Simon’s new brunch
January 6, 2009
Music, sports and entertainment icons and tech titans head up the CES parade
January 6, 2009
Bottoms up! Beer pong world champions net $50,000 at the Flamingo
January 6, 2009
Morning Call: David Spade buys a round of drinks for his audience … of 700!
January 5, 2009
Exclusive Interview: Robbie Maddison is on the mend from injury and says of NYE jump: ‘I was terrified’
January 5, 2009
It’s final curtain in Las Vegas for Stomp Out Loud, Mamma Mia! and Raw Talent Live
January 5, 2009
Strip Scribbles: Nightclub shakeups start New Year’s war; is Ray J buying one?

Archives

November 18, 2008 · 2:18 PM

Death-defying stuntmen plan live ESPN, daredevil New Year’s Eve at the Paris

By Robin Leach

Robbie Maddison at his record-breaking Rio jump.

Photo: Garth Milan/Red Bull

Vegas DeLuxe update to our item this morning in Morning Call: Two of the most dangerous stunts ever planned for live television are set to be ESPN’s Vegas highlights for New Year’s Eve.

Action sports star and freestyle motocross rider Robbie Maddison will attempt to jump to the top of the 96-foot-high replica of the Arc de Triomphe entranceway to the Paris resort hotel. His crazy buddy Rhys Millen will attempt a complete back-flip of an off-road truck.

First reports that Vegas DeLuxe heard this morning was that both men would perform the stunts so that Strip viewers could see them in action at the Paris. The initial story of a jump over the resort’s Eiffel Tower replica was somewhat erroneous.

I set off a flurry of dawn check calls and now have some definite answers. Last-minute negotiations were underway this morning so lawyers could sign off on the final contract form for the official announcement later today by the Red Bull folks as exclusive advertising sponsor.

Robbie, who hails from Australia, will try to jump to the top of the Arc de Triomphe at the Paris from a ramp set up in the resort’s driveway -- and then separately will jump from it!

Rhys will do his truck back-flip out on desert scrubland near the Strip and safely away from crowds -- but his stunt will be shown on large screens back at the Paris.

The ESPN death-defying daredevil stunt goes in head-to-head competition with Fox’s New Years Eve plans to have stuntman Robbie Knievel jump the new Mirage volcano attraction, which opens just a little farther north on the Strip on Dec. 8. Again, negotiations are continuing currently to finalize that contract. (Click HERE for our previous Mirage volcano and Robbie Knievel jump coverage.)

Last year for ESPN, Robbie Maddison succeeded in jumping the length of a football field set up in the parking lot of our Rio opposite the Palms. Rhys, a New Zealand movie stunt driver, was to have attempted the first ever back-flip of an off-road racing truck but broke several vertebrae during the televised practice run. Ratings were so huge for the stunt that ESPN officials decided to make it even more ambitious, more spectacular and even more dangerous this year!

Joan Lynch, VP of ESPN’s content development, confirmed the green-light for the stunts: “Both will be aired from Vegas without tape delay. We have confidence in them both. Appropriate safety precautions will be taken. If something goes wrong, we can quickly cut away and there would be no exploitation.

“Robbie not only needs to jump high and precisely to complete his stunt, but then he’ll jump off the arch, which is just as dangerous if not more dangerous.

“Our show last year, New Year No Limits, brought in more than 5 million viewers. Watching a ball drop might be fun, but it doesn’t leave you on the edge of your seat. This does! We didn’t expect Rhys to return, but he wanted to prove the truck back-flip stunt could work.”

ESPN will, however, briefly cut away to New York for the Times Square midnight drop, which also will be shown on the giant screens at the Paris.

— From Vegas Deluxe

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Cocktail of the Week

Cocktail of the Week Dec 31, 2008
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The Bearded Clam

A verrry distant cousin of the Mojito, the Caipirinha and the Batida is the Bearded Clam, created by Frankie's Tiki Room by bartender Alice Hartling. In a pint glass, muddle ...
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