By: Jackie, Two Rivers, Wisconsin
A.B. Replies: You're in luck. Finding stars in Vegas is easy, especially if you've been trying in vain to find a famous person here in Hollywood.
The annoying thing about Los Angeles is the celebrities are spread all over the place. Let's just say you want to stalk three celebrities--oh, I don't know, like, Angelina, Christina and Scarlett--and you don't want to waste your whole day in the process.
In L.A., that would go something like this: You'd have to motor to the Raffles L'Ermitage and get someone to distract security while you break into the supersecret VIP suite. That's like three hours right there. Then you have to get back in the car and drive to Forty Deuce and hope Snake isn't working the door, because that's another 40 minutes gone forever--and then you have to fight traffic all the way over to Tokio and just pray that the Star Shoes crowd hasn't gotten there already and eaten all the spicy tuna.
It's a pain in Los Angeles. But not so in Nevada.
In Vegas, stalking a star is like shooting retarded, underfed fish in a dimly lit barrel--a barrel with a $20 cover, or maybe a $100 blackjack table minimum. The densely packed Strip is where to find most celebrities at play. Plus, the Strip is conveniently accessible by tram.
The first hangout you should hit--if you weigh less than 109 pounds, of course, and if the bouncer lets you in--is Tao, a restaurant and club at the Venetian. The bistro has the requisite giant Buddha statue, a gently flowing waterfall, obnoxious door staff and $88 Kobe beef. The club has earned a ton of bile from ordinary folks who were treated rudely--Google the place, and you'll see what I mean--but if you want celebrities, this is the place.
"I saw Lindsay Lohan there two weeks ago," says Matt Brimhall, vice president of marketing for Vegas 888, an upcoming condo project set to break ground later this year. "She was wearing the dark glasses and had an entourage, in a private area where a group of people were taking care of her."
Jessica Simpson also visited Tao recently. Per People, Simpson hit Vegas one mid-February day to promote her new shoe line--I like to describe it as "office admin by day, buckle bunny by night"--and dined at Tao after her workday ended.
Another place to try is Prive, the high-roller boîte at the Bellagio. According to Brimhall, Paula Abdul just sits in there and chats with people.
"We ran into her there, and we started talking to her," Brimhall tells this B!tch. "She was very nice."
And very rich, apparently. You can't hang at Prive without placing a hefty blackjack bet at one of the tables, Brimhall says.
Other places to stake out the stars include the Palms and Hard Rock hotels. I once caught Paris Hilton checking herself out in the glass doorway leading to the Palms' pool, while sister Nicky snapped at a security guard. Also try Jet at the Bellagio (Kid Rock hosted a party there on New Year's Eve) and Pure at Caesars Palace, where Paris celebrated her 25th birthday on Feb. 18.