Vegas News Bits for August 16, 2007

Just a few quick Vegas notes of interest for you today:

• The Hollywood Reporter says that actress Cameron Diaz will be getting married to actor Ashton Kutchner in Vegas. Wait…isn’t he already married to Demi Moore? Yes he is, but this other marriage will only be for the upcoming film “What Happens in Vegas…” where the two play strangers who discover they have accidentally gotten married following a night of too much partying after one wins a jackpot on the other’s quarter. Sounds confusing, but I’m sure it’ll be funny. And for those who like playing “Six Degrees Of” games, Demi is not only married to Ashton, but co-starred in “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” with Cameron. At any rate, expect some of the movie to be filmed in Vegas – if I get any word on shooting dates, I’ll let you know.

• Racket Magazine is presenting a night of live music at the Rainbow Bar & Grill this Friday (August 17), with Eric Himan and opener Phoenix. There’s no cover and Racket editor PJ Perez will be on hand dispensing copies of the August issue featuring a profile of Himan. The Rainbow is located across the street from the Hard Rock Hotel, so there’s no excuse not to come over after the Fountains of Wayne show at the Hard Rock pool. And as a teaser, you can hear some of Himan’s tunes at his MySpace page.

• If you didn’t catch the season finale of “Hell’s Kitchen” season three, then you may not know that contestant Rock Harper is the grand prize winner. He gets $250,000 cash and will become the head chef for the next twelve months at the new Terra Verde Italian restaurant that will open at the Green Valley Ranch resort. Rock will be introduced to the Vegas community with a special party at his new restaurant within a few weeks.

• As part of the Luxor changeover from its Egyptian theme to something more contemporary, the Pharoah’s Feast Buffet has now been renamed…well… MORE, The Buffet. I’m told that operating times and prices remain unchanged. MORE…couldn’t they come up with a better name than that?

• The Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority reports this week that nearly 3.3 million people visited the city in June, which is up 4% from last year’s June totals. This puts the total amount of visitors for 2007 at just under 20 million. And yet the monorail still isn’t crowded.