*Check out this story with accompanying photos at VegasDeLuxe.com.*
An explosion of mega-talent will match the flare of the fireworks celebrations across the Las Vegas Valley for the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Jay-Z and Jamie Foxx go head-to-head for two consecutive nights, and basketball baron LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers hosts a 12-hour-plus party to claim the title of Best Nightclub Champion. Even Holly Madison, the new showgirl next door, is on the fiery fireworks and party patrol!
It might just well be the biggest all-star, sparkling lineup of the year, except for what might lie ahead on New Year’s Eve. Las Vegas has pulled out all the bottle-rocket stops to fire up the red, white and blue holiday with song, dance and comedy, and there’s not another city in America with this VIP extravaganza. You’ll be able to watch the fireworks from several vantage spots at the open-air restaurant terraces along the Strip, but the real explosion is in the Roman candle stars of entertainment that we’ve set spinning. So let’s push the plunger on the pyrotechnics with what we affectionately call around here the ultimate TNT edition of the ROYAL ROBIN RUNDOWN:
Friday, July 3
*Hip-hop music and fashion mogul Jay-Z stars at The Pearl in the Palms with the beautiful and talented Ciara in two nights of shows. Following the concert, Ciara will host her official after-party at Jet in The Mirage.
*Direct from hosting the BET Awards, singer, actor and comedian Jamie Foxx brings his Intuition Tour to The Rogue Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel for two nights, and who knows which guest stars from his album might drop by for duets.
*One of the funniest comedians on the circuit today with his unique brand of hysterical humor is Jeff Dunham, and he’ll have your neck red from the wild humor for two nights at The Colosseum in Caesars Palace.
*Andrew Dice Clay is another comedy king firing on all cylinders, and I caught his act last week at the Steve Wyrick Theater in Planet Hollywood and urge you to let loose and marvel at his freewheeling, foul-mouthed filthy rants -- and of course the naughty nursery rhymes.
*The laughter continues after her Madame Tussauds wax figure unveiling when Kathy Griffin takes on the D-List at Mandalay Bay.
Party patrol
NBA superstar LeBron James is on all-day party hosting duty at Tao Beach in The Venetian and then Lavo in the adjoining Palazzo by night, while MTV reality star Audrina Patridge only has the night shift at the Bank in the Bellagio.
*It’s a blast from the past and back to my music days in New York during the 1960s when Jay and the Americans come a little bit closer at the Cannery. I knew them when they landed the first Beatles U.S. tour as the opening act!
*Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr., former lead vocalists of The 5th Dimension, go up, up and away to the Suncoast for three nights. They’ll let the sunshine in as they perform hits from their 15 gold and three platinum records, and they are truly one of the nicest couples in showbiz.
*Comedy king Bill Maher brings his political commentary and acidic humor to The Orleans for three nights.
*The All-American Rejects will give you hell at Mandalay Bay Beach. … Credence Clearwater Revisited brings back some of the yesteryear hits at the now-40-year-old Las Vegas Hilton. … Hip-hop legend Warren G joins forces with DJ Reflex for a midnight performance at Pure in Caesars Palace. … Idolized has a three-night run at the South Point. … Downtown at Fremont Street Experience, Janis Joplin’s Original Band Big Brother and the Holding Company kick off the free concert weekend. Each night, there will be the Viva Vision Virtual Fireworks show on the big screen, plus the Don McLean American Pie and tribute to Queen between acts.
Saturday, July 4
*It’s an incredibly busy day for Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington. He’ll host an autograph signing at his Club Tattoo grand opening in Planet Hollywood from 2 to 4 p.m. At 8:30 p.m., Chester will lock and shackle daredevil magician Steve Wyrick into one of Chester’s side project Dead by Sunrise’s equipment boxes for a death-defying stunt (see the story posted earlier this morning). To celebrate Steve’s success -- we hope -- and the Club Tattoo opening, Chester will then present a free acoustic performance from Dead by Sunrise in the Steve Wyrick Theater. Finally -- and phew! -- everyone heads to Prive in Planet Hollywood, where Chester will host the rest of the midnight hours!
*Happy romantic duo Karina Smirnoff and Maksim Chmerkovskiy of Dancing With the Stars will celebrate Independence Day with an Azure Pool Party in the Palazzo. Expect them to cut a couple of quickstep moves on the red carpet, and then I’ll try to pin them down on the date of their Las Vegas wedding this year!
*The Uncle Sam Comedy Jam at The Orleans Arena stars Mike Epps, Earthquake, Leslie Jones and Arnez J.
*Two headline names from the music industry not only host the Independence Day Barbecue, but it’s Hammer time and ice, ice, baby, when MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice perform their hits at Wet Republic in MGM Grand.
*Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter The Dream appears with fiance Christina Milian for a three-song performance at Jet.
*The porn princesses from Vivid add their own fireworks to Studio 54’s party at MGM Grand. Heating up the nightlife in their next-to-nothing, dangerously low-cut tops and micro mini skirts will be former Penthouse Pet Sunny Leone, Monique Alexander, Meggan Malone and the 2009 AVN Best New Starlet Nikki Jayne.
*Hoobastank will rock the block downtown on Fremont Street. … Cool down in the waters of Mandalay Bay Beach while listening to Mystic Roots onstage under the stars. … HardNox will make fireworks of their own when the duo performs at Pure. … Blonde bombshell and E! News correspondent Ashlan Gorse hosts a sexy red, white and blue Fourth of July party at Cathouse in the Luxor. … Fremont Street Experience’s free Fourth of July American Pie party continues with The Grass Roots.
*For fireworks, check out the Freedom Extravaganza at The M Resort. The hotel also is creating an old-fashioned food fair for the day, and Nitro, with sexy singer Gabriella Versace (Lance Burton’s longtime girlfriend), will perform.
Sunday, July 5
*Peepshow topless beauty Holly Madison will be bikini-bound when she hosts the all-day Tao Beach party, and I’m told that some of her topless dance cast from the Planet Hollywood burlesque cabaret will join her for the fun.
*Daredevil Carey Hart presents a rock wrap-up to the holiday weekend in his Wasted Space at the Hard Rock Hotel with Magna-Fi and special guests Underground Rebels and John Zito’s Electric Church.
*There’s a triple lineup of comics as Shayma Tash hosts at the Harmon Theater next to Planet Hollywood. K.T. Tatara, Sandra Valls and Shawn Pelofsky unleash their comedy at the Tickled Pink show and promise to offend everyone equally.
*The holiday weekend wraps at Fremont Street experience with the Class of ’69 onstage and a hippie-bus street party and psychedelic ride.
Monday’s teases
We’ll have spywitnesses and photographers up and down the Strip all weekend long to bring you the full Fourth of July wrap-up. … Sexy Carmen Electra arrives to make her starring striptease debut in Crazy Horse Paris at MGM Grand, plus a night with Nelly at Jet and later in the week Andre Agassi’s return to tennis!
Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground. Read more of Robin's stories at VegasDeLuxe.com.
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