Palms Place to open without Britney

After two meetings with owner George Maloof at Palms, an international media storm of speculation formed around whether Britney Spears was planning a comeback at the casino. Maloof,  exclusively on the Buffet, described those meetings as being about their friendship with no business being discussed.

On Saturday, Maloof's Palms Place opens officially. This much anticipated opening is striving to attract global media attention. One person who has a strong interest in the opening getting a lot of coverage is Spears' business manager, Larry Rudolph. Rudolph is an owner of Sunset Tan at Palms Place. Speculation has been that, with Spears being a friend of Maloofs and connected to Rudolph, we could expect her to be in Vegas on Saturday night. I e-mailed Rudolph and asked him if Spears planned to attend the opening. His answer was unequivocal: "She's not coming to Vegas this weekend."

Here, from the media press release, is the list of more modest celebrities expected to attend, the biggest names being Jessica Simpson and Luke Wilson:

"Ashley Scott (“Jericho”), Eve, Donald Faison (“Scrubs”), Jessica Simpson, Ian Ziering (“Dancing With The Stars”), Lauren “Lo” Bosworth (“The Hills”), Lauren Conrad (“The Hills), Lisa Rinna (“Dancing With The Stars”), Luke Wilson, Michael Vartan ("Monster in Law"), Pete Wentz, Robert Iler (“The Sopranos”), Romany Malco ("The Love Guru"), Sarah Larson, Stephen Colletti (“The Hills"), Verne Troyer ("The Love Guru")."

(photo by Sarah Gerke)