Shepard Smith coming to Vegas for Fox anniversary tour

If you're going to throw an anniversary bash, Vegas is the place.

Just ask Fox News' Shepard Smith, who brings "Studio B" and "The Fox Report" to Caesars Palace on Tuesday as part of a six-city tour celebrating the channel's 15th anniversary.

The newscasts go live from Pure at noon and 4 p.m. local time.

For someone who's reported from "war zones, hurricanes and school shootings," Smith notes, Las Vegas ranks as a definite improvement. (He should know: He and Greta Van Susteren broadcast from Caesars in 2006 to celebrate Fox News' 10th anniversary.)

"You go there and you get a lift," he says of Las Vegas. Besides, "I like getting out of the studio," Smith adds. "The reporter in me is always talking to people."

As for what he plans to talk about, Las Vegas' fortunes will inspire interviews and discussions on "Studio B" and a produced state-of-the-city "Fox Report" piece.

"It's not as easy as 'Things are better' and it's not as simple as 'Everything's terrible,' " Smith observes of Southern Nevada's current economic climate. And while things are "not good" in Las Vegas, "better is better than worse -- and that's worth reporting."

Flying high: The documentary "The Invisible Highway" returns this week, visiting a variety of Strip landmarks the production originally focused on in March, reports Kim Houser-Amaral, the Las Vegas-based location manager who's coordinating the shoot.

Among the stops on "The Invisible Highway" four-day itinerary: New York-New York's Statue of Liberty, The Mirage waterfall, Luxor's Sphinx and Obelisk and the Forum Shops at Caesars' Trevi Fountain.

In the documentary, the Las Vegas versions of the international landmarks will appear alongside their around-the-world inspirations, showing how air travel makes it possible to go from one to another in hours rather than weeks -- and how Las Vegas serves as the ultimate hub for the world's tourists and conventioneers.

On the line: With major league baseball heading into the homestretch and the NFL season under way, six veteran Las Vegas "Linemakers" have plenty to discuss during a weekly sports-betting show for the new Velocity channel.

Based at the South Point, the half-hour show, airing Fridays, features longtime oddsmakers Richie Baccellieri , Lou D'Amico , Rick Herron, Vinny Magliuo , Jimmy Vaccaro and Kenny White handicapping the action with experts and guests.

Reality bites: And the reality-TV projects just keep coming. The latest additions to Las Vegas' lineup: an untitled show focusing on the action at (and the employees of) Paris Las Vegas' Chateau Nightclub and the tentatively titled "Forever Young," about dynamic mother-daughter party duos, which is reportedly based at the Palms and shooting through late October.

Also rolling along: the Food Network's "Top Chef Masters," expected to wrap this week at locations including the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign; Lifetime's "Vegas Rocks," based at The Jewelers' Western Avenue location through mid-October; Oxygen's "Bad Girls Club," scheduled to shoot through Oct. 5; and History's "American Restoration," going through November.

Quick hits: The locally produced feature "After Romeo and Juliet" expects to wrap this week at locations ranging from Las Vegas to Nelson, while another local feature, "Little Monsters," continues shooting this weekend at UNLV and private offices and residences.

The Chicago-based "190 North" visits various attractions, from casinos to the neon boneyard, for a Las Vegas-themed episode airing in November.

And entertainers Marie Osmond and Justin Timberlake also are expected to be in the camera's eye, shooting footage for their respective charities: Children's Miracle Network and the Shriners Hospital for Children Open.

Carol Cling's Shooting Stars column appears Mondays. Contact her at (702) 383-0272 or ccling@reviewjournal. com.