I just got back from the Luxor's gym. I had never been to a resort's gym before, and I thought that getting a start on my New Year resolution would be smooth. Actually, the Luxor's gym is nothing special. I was surprised.  There are just some machines, weights and televisions. Nothing there seems as state-of-the-art as my local gym. I used an older elliptical machine. Well, who goes to the Strip to work out?

Now getting ready to face the madness.

Access to the Strip is being cut to traffic as exits on the I-15 are closed off and the evening is starting. Tonight I am going to see the Goo Goo Dolls and then to LAX where the Hilton sisters are hosting.

I want to wish all of you a very happy 2008!
(Photo by Sarah Gerke)

I am now checked into the Luxor. The Luxor was sold out last night, and, according to the woman who checked me into my room, is likely to be sold out again tonight and, of course, tomorrow.

 

I am getting ready to rush over to the Venetian's Palazzo for the opening of 40/40; the big event is officially happening despite the delays that have affected the opening of the actual Palazzo. The needed permits have been issued.

 

From 40/40 I am off to the Bank, the new nightclub at the Bellagio, and then the Foundation Room atop Mandalay Bay and finally Tera Patrick's burlesque show at Forty Deuce.

 

Meanwhile, I have a journalist friend going to tonight's Van Halen concert. I have heard alarming reports about Eddie Van Halen's performance and condition at the group's earlier show.

I am just waking up from a late night at the Hard Rock. I forgot that one of the great joys of Vegas is witnessing other people's domestic strife. Cab lines are especially good for this: people waiting in the cold, arguing, and, of course, other people's yelled phone calls!

 

Divorcing guy in the cab line: "Jenny, just take it all. OK, I don't want to fight anymore. I'll be home in few days, and you can just take everything!"

 

Elevators are great spots for this sort of eavesdropping as well. Heading down from my room at the Hard Rock to the casino last night, I heard a man attempt to offer his girlfriend the following compliment: "You look so hot tonight. You look like a stripper!"

 

I only wish I could offer you her diatribe of obscenities that followed. It was a packed elevator, too. So there were about 10 of us looking at our feet uncomfortably during the incident while enjoying every moment.

I just saw Jenna Jameson and Tito Ortiz in the lobby of the Hard Rock.

She looked too thin and withered to be Jenna and he looked too fat and round to be Tito, but together they are unmistakable.

(Photo by Richard Abowitz)

I am blogging from my room at the Hard Rock. Being here brings back so many memories. My very first trip to Las Vegas, I stayed here. I never even saw the Strip that trip. I was in town for a job interview with the Las Vegas Weekly, and the Hard Rock was ample evidence that Vegas could be a great home for me. And it has been, for going on 9 years. In fact, thanks to concerts by Red Hot Chili Peppers, Guns & Roses and Velvet Revolver, I have started a few years at the Hard Rock. And, it seems the perfect place to start my New Year's weekend adventure.

 

Of course, nostalgia is a dangerous thing in ever-changing Vegas. In a few hours, I will be going to the opening of Cathouse at Luxor. Cathouse chef Kerry Simon used to be the proprietor of Simon here at the Hard Rock.

 

AGO, a restaurant associated with actor Robert DeNiro, will be opening here to replace Simon. AGO is not set to have its grand opening until February. But according to people here at the Hard Rock, there may be a soft opening this weekend. I will try to check it out, if that is the case.
(Photo by Richard Abowitz)

Getting into the doghouse in Los Angeles seems to have driven Mischa Barton out of the CatHouse in Las Vegas.

In a move that was a surprise to no one, Mischa Barton, who was arrested earlier this week for a suspected DUI, will not be appearing to host the opening of CatHouse restaurant at the Luxor tonight.

CatHouse has artfully blamed the press for the cancellation, noting that "because of the media attention currently surrounding Mischa Barton, CatHouse has decided it is best for all parties involved that Mischa does not appear at tonight's grand opening."

It isn't getting arrested that is the issue -- only that the arrest was noticed too much by the media. And it was clearly noticed by media all over the country.

But isn't getting media attention the job of a celebrity host?

Anyway, CatHouse has certainly already benefited from all the will-she-or-won't-she appear speculation in the press.

Good work, Mischa Barton!

Photo courtesy AP

The problem with opening something new on deadline is that there are factors out of your control.

This is especially true when you are trying to open something new inside something newer.

For example, if you are Jay-Z planning a grand opening for your club in a resort that isn't open.

 

Yesterday I was supposed to get a sneak peak at Jay-Z's 40/40 club at the Venetian's Palazzo. But the proper safety and occupancy permits had yet to be issued to the resort, delaying its ability to host events.

In fact, whether 40/40 can have its grand opening at all as planned on Sunday is clearly going to go down to the wire.

 

Two days ago the Palazzo sent out a letter to the media noting that the casino's grand opening is now set for the middle of January and that its soft opening (when the resort actually opens, without fanfare, to get the kinks out for a few days) has been delayed to an unspecified date.

Oddest of all, the Venetian announced that no photographers are allowed to shoot pictures at Palazzo until the grand opening.

In fact, if the Sunday night opening of 40/40 does take place, press have been instructed to "refrain from taking any videos or photos outside the designated red carpet area."

 

So, instead of a tour, I had a short one-on-one interview with Jay-Z yesterday afternoon in a conference room at the Venetian. It was a good consolation prize, though I was given only five minutes.

Major celebrities really have it easy when it comes to charming reporters.

All it took for Jay-Z this time was for one of the best-selling music artists, known for a business acumen as sharp as his lyrics, to walk across the room in a T-shirt offering an unpretentious handshake along with "Hi, I'm Jay."

I was totally impressed. You can see, even in a short conversation, why Jay-Z is so comfortable in so many environments: boardrooms, mean streets, studios and posh resorts. The man carries himself with such ease and confidence, appears thoughtful in answering questions and connects without any sense of being on autopilot or giving previously contrived answers.

 

Jay-Z told me he actually had wanted to open 40/40 weeks ago. He compromised on the New Year's weekend date. "Our first date was the 20th (of December)." On the other hand, he does not seem terribly concerned about the construction problems or possible delays. "Things go like they go in a natural progression. It is for the best."

 

Jay-Z told me that now is supposed to be an introspective period in life for him. He just stepped down as label head at Def Jam, and he was hoping to figure out over the coming days what his plan is for the next five years.

"This is supposed to be my vacation, but I am here instead." Still, he did not seem unhappy in the least to be in Las Vegas. "I've never spent New Year's in Vegas, and I am a fan of Vegas. So, it should work."

 

Even a five-minute interview can provide some interesting side drama.

Waiting is a large part of my job. For example, a dozen reporters were lined up for these one-on-one interviews with Jay-Z yesterday. I usually bring a book. This time, I had a translation of Ovid's "Metamorphoses" that I was interested in reading because, instead of reproducing the original Latin's dactylic hexameter, the translator put the poem in iambic pentameter. 

 

Jay-Z immediately noticed the book, and we had a brief discussion about scansion -- talk about surreal experiences -- after which I immediately gifted the book to him.

I know Jay-Z can afford his own library, but the idea of the music and business mogul pondering his next moves through the prism of Ovid's stories of love and change seemed so perfect.