A Brit break might factor in to Spears’ return to Axis
April 4, 2017 - 8:33 pm
The word out of VegasVille is that no celeb unturned shall be overlooked when it comes to promotional campaigns, whether musical, athletic, culinary or artistic.
Read on, fans of all kinds:
PAUSE FOR SPEARS?
Britney Spears may take an extended break after her current Planet Hollywood contract closes on Dec. 31, her manager Larry Rudolph said Tuesday
Such a pause could pave the way for a possible relaunch (and even re-titling) of her “Piece of Me” production. Spears opened the show in December 2013. Next year marks the 20th anniversary of her mega-hit “Baby One More Time,” which could serve as a handy theme for a revamp.
LIFE IS GOLDEN
Officials from Life is Beautiful and the Vegas Golden Knights have been busy recruiting Strip celebs and other boldface names for their respective marketing efforts. LiB returns Sept. 22-24, but filmed scenes for a promotional video Tuesday at Mirage’s Love Theatre with Carrot Top, performers from all Strip Cirque du Soleil shows (except “O”); Flamingo Las Vegas headliner Piff the Magic Dragon, Louie Anderson, Blue Man Group and Melody Sweets of “Absinthe.”
The Golden Knights won’t drop the puck in October, but the “Bold in Gold” campaign — with Vegas celebs holding a hockey stick and wearing the team’s home garb — is in full swing. The list includes Washington Nationals star Bryce Harper,the Eagles’ Don Felder and Chicago Cubs star Kris Bryant. The team is in talks with Steve Aoki, Brandon Flowers, Backstreet Boys, NASCAR star Kurt Busch and several resident superstar DJs (including Tiesto, Marshmello, Armin van Buuren.
A suggestion from the Unsolicited File: Make some calls to Carlos Santana, Mike Tyson and Frank Marino. Oh, and Don Rickles, for obvious reasons … #HockeyPuck
ZADORA FOR THE WIN!
Life is funny. Not Life is Beautiful, but real life. You go long stretches without writing the name Pia Zadora, then, bang: Zadora is suddenly ubiquitous. She makes the column once more by winning the NCAA Tournament celebrity bracket contest at Westgate Las Vegas. Zadora finished first in a field of 17 competitors. Rounding out the top five: Ex-N.C. State and Utah Jazz star Thurl Bailey, “Dancing With the Stars” pro Tony Dovolani, Anderson, and “Sexxy” creator and star Jennifer Romas.
Zadora, who concedes she is far more a fan of jazz (lowercase) than any basketball team, picked 45 games correctly over the course of the tournament. On Tuesday, I called her and said, “I can’t believe you won this contest.”
“Neither can I,” she responded.
Zadora’s son, Jordan, is an avid sports fan and actually made the picks. She won $5,000 for the UNLV F.O.C.U.S. program, which provides post-secondary education for students with learning disabilities, including autism. Jordan is on the autism spectrum.
“What really means the most to me is for Jordan to present this check to the organization,” Zadora said. “For him to say, ‘This is for you. I helped my mom win it,’ is a wonderful thing.”
F.O.C.U.S. is launching an online fundraising campaign on Saturday; go to unlvcoe.org/focus for info.
WHO WAS WHERE
On Friday at Spears’ show: Ricky Martin, who opens at Park Theater on Wednesday night, with his family. Also in the mix: Jenna Dewan Tatum and a group of friends in the theater’s VIP scene. Saturday, it was Howie Dorough and Brian Littrell of the Backstreet Boys. Spears summoned Dorough to the stage to take part in “Freakshow,” a moment captured on the Backstreet Boys’ Instagram page. Also at the show Saturday: Country pop star Jessie James Decker, in the coveted VIP area … On Sunday, pop star Leona Lewis, celebrating her 32nd birthday at “Magic Mike Live” at Hard Rock Hotel … Saturday night at Rod Stewart’s show at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, actress Toni Collette. … Love the Mob Museum sightings, especially where matrimony is involved: On Saturday, country star Jerrod Niemann surprised a bride and groom in the museum’s famed Kefauver Courtroom with a take on his new single, “God Made a Woman.” The bride, L. Suni Hawksworth, and groom, Patrick Gary, were in town from Portland, Oregon.
Note: This version of the column corrects the first name of Pia Zadora’s son, Jordan.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. He also hosts “Kats! On The Radio” on KUNV 91.5-FM and KTNV Channel 13. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.