Red Carpet Report: Michael Phelps, Cody Miller, Lily King, Lucy Butler, Life Is Beautiful
Our hometown Las Vegas Olympian Cody Miller, who is a member of the 2016 USA Olympic swim team battling a green-colored pool in Rio de Janeiro, has had a baby shark at our Natural History Museum named in his honor.
Olympians Lily King and Michael Phelps also received similar honors when three baby sharks emerged from the 24 eggs waiting to be hatched and raised at the museum. A mother Banded Bamboo Shark laid 24 eggs in the museum’s hatchery.
When fully grown, the sharks will be moved to Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay. For now, because the hatchery is back-lit and the eggs translucent, visitors can observe the development of the sharks as a wonder of natural science — watching them grow until they’re born.
GLOBETROTTING ACTRESS
One of the most unexpected and interesting double-life attendees at the Virtuoso travel agent’s convention at Bellagio last weekend was actress Lucy Butler, currently starring on TNT’s THE LAST SHIP. She plays the role of powerful Southern politician Roberta Price, a mix of Hillary Clinton, Carly Fiorina and Ann Richards, former governor of Texas, Lucy explained.
I met with Lucy at the new Montecristo Cigar Bar in Caesars Palace with my friends Ian and Linda Swain from Swain Tours of Australia. Lucy leads a double life acting in such shows as 24, LAW & ORDER, CRIMINAL MINDS and THE GILMORE GIRLS and running her own concierge service travel company, Where on Earth. She’s been in business since 1983 serving celebrities and showbiz leaders.
She told me that she specializes in private itineraries across the globe, specifically in London, France and my favorite Italy, so we had a lot to talk about. She travels the world annually to uncover the latest secrets of the countries. We picked each other’s brains and furiously scribbled down each other’s favorite private hotspots.
Lucy’s love of travel goes back to her childhood when her parents became one of the first volunteers for The Peace Corps, and she grew up in Malaysia. Lucy was born in San Francisco and studied in Chicago. “I love all the globetrotting,” she said.
“My acting career doesn’t detract from my travel agency business and vice versa,” she told me. “In fact, they complement each other, and, as you know in the acting profession, you are never working 365 days a year, so there’s always time between shoots to plan exciting travel around the world for people.” My Aussie pals invited her Down Under to share their favorite haunts.
AN OCEAN OF MAGIC
Multitalented dancer, actress and acrobat Elaine Alcorn moved to Las Vegas 10 years ago to become a successful female magician, a move dominated by the opposite sex. She went from squeezing into boxes of swords and escaping handcuffs to appearing in the Rio’s SHOW IN THE SKY to the revue iCandy Burlesque and performed at Rose. Rabbit. Lie.
Magic remained her passion as she worked with Las Vegas magicians Tommy Wind, Val Valentino and Jason Andrews. Now she’s landed a six-month run in CHICKS WITH TRICKS on the Costa Cruises Deliziosa ship sailing from the Mediterranean to Florida and the Caribbean.
The show was created and is produced by Connie Boyd, who also is a Las Vegas resident. She has three full-sale productions all starring female magicians, CHICKS, BEAUTY OF MAGIC and ILLUSIONS, on three ships.
NOT TO MISS
Remember that torrid TV commercial that Paris Hilton made for Carl’s Jr. when she washed her Rolls Royce and got all the soapy lather and sponges over her tight T-shirt? Well expect a similar water fight Saturday when the topless beauties of Crazy Horse III Gentlemen’s Club team up with Las Vegas Harley-Davidson Motorcycles to host a bikini bike wash.
It will cost just $5 a wash to watch them clean your hot rod, and all the money raised will go to the Douglas J. Green Memorial Foundation. The curvy creatures also will give away more than $2,000 in raffle prizes from Crazy Horse III and Harley-Davidson.
TICKET SALES
Single-day tickets went on sale this morning for the three-day Life Is Beautiful Music & Art Festival starting Friday, Sept. 23, on the streets of downtown Las Vegas. My favorites are Mumford & Sons on Sept. 23, Jane’s Addiction on Sept. 24 and Third Eye Blind and Major Lazer on Sept. 25.
Regular single-day tickets are $125, plus taxes, and VIP tickets are $295, plus taxes. For more information and the Pandora Life Is Beautiful festival mixtape, go to LifeIsBeautiful.com.
