When the West Coast ballgames are glowing over the MacBook Air keypad, the sports book at Palms feels a might cozy. Womb-like, even. I'm writing from there now, trying to duck the shoeshine guy who always tracks me down when I'm around here.
It's a night of recreation. That's why I am here. But not quite yet. So, we note:
• "Fantasy" producer Anita Mann confirmed today what Angelica Bridges confirmed Sunday night, which is Bridges will not be a member of the show's cast after her final performance Saturday. This was never an ideal fit for the show or for Bridges, but Mann and Bridges have been graceful as both sides have arrived at that conclusion. "I love Angelica dearly. She's a wonderful person and an amazing mother," Mann said during a phone call today.
I caught up with Bridges on Sunday night at the Vegas magazine "Black Book" party at Bellagio's Caramel nightclub, where she reiterated that she is a fan of the show and says she is grateful to Mann for giving her a chance to take the stage in a Strip production. "Anita is the sweetest person," said Bridges, who recently had asked Mann to curtail her performance schedule from six to five shows per week. "This has been difficult for her, I know that." Mann has brought Lorena Peril, most recently of "Sin City Bad Girls" at the Hilton, to perform as the show's center vocalist. Peril is scheduled to start Monday; Bridges' run began in October. In case you're wondering, Peril will not be topless in the performance.
Brad Garrett and Matt Damon walk the red carpet during Ante Up for Africa at The Rio on July 2, 2010.
• Brad Garrett twice popped into his Brad Garrett Comedy Club at Tropicana this weekend, Saturday and Sunday nights, to perform a set following appearances by Don Barnhart and Jeff Capri. In a text message (which is rapidly supplanting a formal news release in our rapidly changing information dissemination process), Garrett said he would occasionally pop into the club when he had time. He lives in L.A. and hits town to play poker and check on his comedy room. His next scheduled dates to headline the room are Sept. 7-8.
Early returns on business there are that it is a lot better when Garrett is booked than when he is not, a trend that needs to abate if the rangy comedian will succeed at the Trop. For an idea of his passion for the nightclub, catch this cover story in the current issue of Las Vegas Weekly.
Olivia Newton-John.
• How do you know you're in a strange conversation? When Olivia Newton-John asks, "Have you lost any weight yet?" Newton-John presented this question as we talked Friday afternoon at the Venetian, when she was in town with her husband, "Amazon" John Easterling, for the annual "Amazon Summit," which was a showcase of talks centered on the preservation of the Amazon Rainforest that ran Friday through Sunday.
Newton-John asked this because as she sat down for our brief interview, she was eating a slice of apple and offered me the same. "It's vegan!" I said, and told her I was living vegan — for no logical reason, it seems — for the summer. She asked about the weight and said anyone who goes vegan will lose a few pounds (between five and 10 in this case), which she experienced several years ago when she went vegan for six months.
Newton-John says she's amused at the upcoming "Grease Sing-Along" film adaptation of the classic film starring her and John Travolta. "It could turn out to be like — oh, the great musical starring Susan Sarandon. The name, I can't remember ... Wait — 'Rocky Horror!'" Newton-John said. She once noted the adult content in some of "Grease's" lyrics and script (which is why Marie Osmond turned back the role of Sanda Dee), but now says, "Compared to some of the stuff out there today, it's really tame."
For her next film, Newton-John plays a neo-hippie mother in, "Score: A Hockey Musical," which is out in October. Something else I learned during this session: Newton-John once got a little, um, pixilated, at a nightclub during a tour of Japan and was coerced into singing at the karaoke machine. What did she sing?
"It was something by the Carpenters — Karen Carpenter was a friend of mine," she recalled. "I think it was, 'Close to You.'"
• Shawn Marion played just one season at UNLV before bolting to the NBA, and as hard as it is to believe, he's spent 12 seasons as a pro. He's now a member of the Dallas Mavericks, who he says will be "stacked" this season, even as the Miami Heat and — oh yeah — the defending champion Lakers are devouring all the off-season attention.
Shawn Marion at the Shawn Marion Foundation Celebrity Poker Tournament at the Palms on July 24, 2010.
Marion was in town this weekend for (among other reasons, including a club appearance at Tao) his Shawn Marion Charity Celebrity Poker Tournament at the Palms, a benefit for his charitable foundation. The organization raises funds and awareness for single-parent families. Prior to the tournament, Marion said he continues to follow the Runnin' Rebels with the team's iPhone app.
"I love what Coach (Lon) Kruger is doing," he said. "It takes a while to make your imprint on a program, between three and five years, and this is Lon Kruger's program now. Everyone in the league knows that. UNLV has a lot of respect around the NBA."
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats.
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