I caught up on the phone with radio personality and comedian Artie Lange over the weekend. I've written so much about Lange, people in Vegas now get in touch with me hoping to get messages to him. This makes me call him and we talk and I write more. If it keeps going like this I am a little concerned that I am going to become Boswell (Ninth Laird of Auchinleck) for a dude who doesn't even know who Samuel Johnson is. I don't want that job. My expertise is not what it should be when it comes to Artie Lange. I still haven't seen Lange's standup comedy or his movies or heard the Stern show since he joined it. But if what Lange told me pans out, that will change.

Lange said he is currently negotiating to appear early next year at a new venue at the Palms to perform standup. Lange says the ink isn't dry on this deal and even the exact dates aren't yet clear. But, according to Lange, "My intention is to do this. I think it will all come together. I want to get out to Vegas again."

As we spoke, Lange was in good spirits as anyone who just sold out Carnegie Hall (according to Lange, in under three hours) would be. But what is most interesting is that Lange told me the standup deal at the Palms, if it happens, would be produced by Jeff Beacher. Beacher, of course, was the headliner at Palms rival Hard Rock Hotel. But the sale of the Hard Rock to a corporate owner (Morgans Hotel Group), as noted earlier on the Buffet, meant that Beacher's Madhouse needs a new home.

Not that Beacher hasn't been busy. Beacher will be opening a new bar (Beacher's Rockhouse) on Aug. 29 at Imperial Palace. But Beacher has yet to announce where (if anywhere) he plans to put the Madhouse. The Palms is a logical fit. Also, according to Lange, the Palms is finishing construction on a new theatre with about 3,000 seats and that would be a perfect fit for Beacher's Madhouse. We will see. Meanwhile I can't help but note that while Dr. Johnson lived a long, productive life, poor Boswell wound up ravaged by alcoholism and venereal disease.

When Artie Lange finally came to Las Vegas a couple weeks ago I never expected to hear from him, and I didn't. I interview celebrities all of the time and they invite me to come hang out or to meet them or whatever. They never mean it.

The first time I got caught out on that reality was by Ray Charles. We had a phone interview shortly after I moved to Las Vegas for some concerts he was doing at The Orleans. At the end of our phone conversation, Charles told me to come backstage to meet him after the show. I dutifully went to the side door when the concert was finished, having bragged to my date that we were about to meet Ray Charles. I proudly told the security guard that Ray Charles had invited me back. Can you believe he didn't take me at my word?

Anyway, since that day, I learned that those invitations are only sincere if a backstage pass is included inside the envelope that contains my concert ticket. Outside of bands that are actually friends of mine, only once has the "Come back and say 'Hi' to us" offer been sincere, and that was from the late Joe Strummer. And that just covers the rock stars. Movie stars are even more disingenuous, inviting me to call them on their cell numbers, which they never offer me.

So even though Artie Lange said he would give me a ring when he made it to Vegas, I never actually expected he would call. His trip here was short, I already wrote my article and, hey, let's face facts, I'm not a cute girl. But last week my phone rang from a blocked number and, with my usual courage, I did not answer it. When I checked the message it was a long and friendly greeting from Artie Lange apologizing for not having the time to hang out or call me during his rush trip here. He said he'd get with me next time. The guy even left his home number and told me to call him if I ever make it to New York. No celebrity I have ever interviewed in my career has ever been that friendly and social. I am beginning to see why his fans are so attached to him. Who has seen his movie yet? How is it?