Back to last night, I was at the Palms to watch "The Surreal Life: Fame Games" on VH1. The season was shot entirely in Las Vegas, and it is brutally funny entertainment. Local boy Robin Leach hosted the party and plays host in this TV parody of "Survivor" in which a bunch of sort-of celebrities are thrown into humiliating competition. How odd to see what Vanilla Ice looks like now. Even odder that Vanilla Ice won a competition held at Fremont Street Experience in which the celebrities vied to be chosen by tourists to be featured in a photo.

This was particularly surreal, or maybe I've just been in Vegas too long. Vegas, I am guessing, will prove to be the perfect home for this show. People here have a good sense of fame's camp value. One possible problem: Leach allowed that when this season finishes there might be no celebrities willing to be cast for season 2. But based on the debasing willingness of this group to grab on to just a little bit of the spotlight, I think, there will be plenty of volunteers.

The cast: Brigitte Nielsen, Chyna Doll, Vanilla Ice, Pepa, Emmanuel Lewis, C.C. DeVille, Ron Jeremy, Jordan Knight and Traci Bingham. Bingham joined Leach at the party,as did "Fame Games"' game-show model parody, Inga (who seemed more excited than anyone to see herself on television).

I am always amazed by Robin Leach's work ethic (even if going to parties and having fun is in his job description). I rode the elevator up to the suite in the Palms with a television producer who is one of Leach's associates. She told me Leach had arrived in Vegas from Pittsburgh at 6:30 a.m. that morning. He went from the airport directly to covering the massive Consumer Electronics Show, and immediately from there directly to a 6:30 p.m. dinner reservation. When I left a little after 10 p.m., Leach was preparing to host a party at Moon, the new nightclub at the Palms. On my way out, Leach cornered me at the door about arranging an interview with a talent agent I had introduced him to briefly a year ago. As always, he remembered every name and detail. Just a typical day for the hardest working man in Vegas media.

photo by Sarah Gerke