VegasBeat -- Timothy McDarrah: English studied at Hard Rock

VegasBeat appears Sunday through Friday in the Las Vegas Sun. Timothy McDarrah can be reached at [email protected] or at (702) 259-4096.

WEEKEND EDITION

May 29 - 30, 2004

We're not much for nightclubs anymore, preferring a "Law & Order" rerun to the booze-fueled mayhem that we've pretty much outgrown.

However, Body English, the new club at the Hard Rock Hotel that opened Friday night, is worth getting off the couch for.

The private pre-opening party Thursday night featured the familiar: Robin Leach and Canyon Ranch Spa boss Michael Boychuk sitting in a roped-off booth sipping champagne, and 'N Sync-ers Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick trolling the dance floor for female companionship.

It also featured the unusual: good music. Instead of that hateful thumping of techno-house-industrial and hip-hop, the blend was a jumpy mix of tunes ranging from Soft Cell's "Tainted Love" to OutKast's "Hey Ya."

The club also featured the unique. Hotel scion Harry Morton was peddling a $1,000 martini. It features a diamond-and-ruby-topped swizzle stick that you can take home with you.

Plenty of buzz at Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic Airways party at ghostbar (Palms) Thursday night celebrating the addition of a fourth weekly flight between London and Las Vegas.

Seems that Branson's plans call for a daily run between the two cities, the addition of a Vegas-to-Manchester direct flight and possibly the establishment of Vegas as the hub for his new Virgin USA airline.

News reports have said that New York or San Francisco are the other candidates to be the new carrier's home city.

Finally, "conversations have started" about moving forward on a Virgin hotel on the Strip as part of Branson's travel package company, Virgin Vacations.

Toby Keith knows his wine. After he cleaned up at the Country Music Awards on Wednesday night, he celebrated at Charlie Palmer Steak (Four Seasons).

Among other selections, he splurged on a $2,000 bottle of 1959 Chateau Margaux.

"All of his selections were educated and appropriate to the course," a source said. "He singlehandedly shattered the stereotype I had that all those country singers only drink beer or Jack Daniel's."

The Rio is having a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday for its new convention center.

To mark the occasion, they sent members of the news media a bag of cement mix.

Just add water and stir.

From Marilyn Monroe singing "Happy Birthday" to President Kennedy to Richard Nixon's Oval Office meeting with Elvis Presley, and stars such as Barbra Streisand headlining benefits for John Kerry, presidents and celebrities go hand-in-hand.

Now there's a new book out called "Celebrity-In-Chief: How Show Business Took Over the White House," by Alan Schroeder.

In it, Schroeder writes, "Dinners with the President and Mrs. Ford were as cherished for their post-party merriment as for the events themselves.

"It was Betty Ford's dancing that captivated onlookers at a gathering in 1976. The honoree, President Talbot of Liberia, had gone home for the night, leaving the rest of the guests to let down their hair.

"As the Marine Band played, the first lady and comedian Marty Allen launched into what the Washington Star described as a show-stopping 10-minute solo dance performance to Carole King's 'I Feel the Earth Move.' All the other dancers moved to the sidelines to watch them, as they danced what Marty later said was 'free style rock.' "

Allen, a Suncoast headliner and Las Vegas resident, said: "When we stepped off the dance floor everyone applauded, and President Ford said, 'That was great, Marty.' "

Add one more name to the list of Las Vegas celebrities-in-residence.

We hear that Leonardo DiCaprio is buying a place in Andrew Sasson's new Panorama Towers condo project just off the Strip.

Welcome to the jungle, Leo.

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