Models by day, professional poker players by night.
No, that's not the plot for a Las Vegas episode, it's a new website,
www.bombshellpoker.com, that gives at-home gamblers the chance to ogle hot babes while counting their cyber-chips. Only available to PC users, members also can e-mail the models, win dates or go to photo shoots. The site even includes Playboy-like bios. Tara Rice (32-25-34), for instance, surprisingly finds smelly men to be a turnoff; Karen Lynn (36C-26-36) likes men with a sense of humor; while Ali Ray (35D-23-35) loves to shop at Bebe. Sorry, strip poker is not one of the games offered.
From Vegas, With Sarcasm
Las Vegas in the national media this week:
• "I think we should have had you move there, maybe headline a show at the MGM Grand."—Campaign manager Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) to presidential candidate Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) when the West Wing election comes down to Nevada, which finally hands the election to Santos over Republican Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda).
• "Barry Manilow to Sing at Las Vegas Hilton Through 2008"—"What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right? Just want to make sure the rest of us are clear on this."—Entertainment Weekly's Hot List.
• "You appeared on Lifetime's Intimate Portrait: Doris Roberts. I can't wait for the DVD, will you give me the intimate outtakes now?" / "Oh, just the back rubs, the sponge baths, and the occasional one-nighters to Vegas." —EW's "Stupid Questions with Ray Romano."
•"The most piquant (interview) is a 1966 glimpse of (Las Vegan) Monti Rock III, a no-talent of the sort that doesn't exist now, a parody of a long-haired rock star who was treated like a real one by (Merv) Griffin and his baffled big-band-reared guests. Still the host's ebullient generosity toward even a put-on artist is utterly charming."—EW review of The Merv Griffin Show compilation DVD.
'Oh For Heaven's Sake'
The Weekly would just like to take this moment to underscore the most astute comment ever made about Vegas politics, the G-Sting trial and former Commissioner Erin Kenny's practice of blowing bribester Michael Galardi, uttered by an unknown woman in the G-Sting courtroom and quoted by the R-J's Adrienne Packer. That pretty much sums it up. Kudos.
R-J Shows Uncanny Objectivity
Kidding, of course. In the April 10 edition, the paper of record displayed head shots of the gubernatorial candidates to accompany a news story. The photos were lined up looking something like this: Grinning mug of Bob Beers, grinning mug of Jim Gibbons, grinning mug of Jim Gibson, somber mug of Lorraine Hunt, and screaching harpy, squinty-eyed, mid-sentence, crazily unflattering snapshot of the "polarizing" Democratic candidate, Dina Titus. We know it was probably difficult to find a grinning mug of Titus, becuase she's only held office in Nevada forever. Oh for Heaven's sake. Strangely, in the next day's paper, under a headline that says, "Titus admits web site error" the R-J managed to find a perfectly lovely mug shot of the state senator. Hmm.