Way better than Miss America, as it includes the possibility of nudity. (Photos by Scott Harrison | Retna)

February was a good month for Meghan Beck. The Miss Playboy Club of February 2009 was named Miss Playboy Club of the Year on February Eve Sunday night when former Girl Next Door Bridget Marquardt was on hand to crown Beck.

Each of the monthly winners from 2009 were there, plus Marquardt’s boyfriend, Nick Carter, who looks like Henri from Cheers, who was going to steal Woody’s girlfriend. That would make Hef the Woody Harrelson in this metaphor, which means if Woody can find a way to equate himself with Bob Guccione, he’ll hit for the porn cycle.

By Jason Scavone

Still the only heavyweight that matters to us.

Jet honors the top 20 most influential locals tonight with their Local Heavyweights. We’re waiting for like, a Local Bantamweights, or a Local Flyweights before we make our move. The prize for that is a can of Schlitz in a brown paper bag and a half-off coupon at the Imperial Palace buffet. We think this is our year, though. Click for more words and pictures »

By Jason Scavone

Super Bowl III MVP, Miss Virginia Caressa Cameron. She had a great game against the Colts. (Photos by Scott Harrison | Retna)

Not even a dancing Rush Limbaugh could stop the Miss America train from a-rollin’ Saturday night at Planet Hollywood, where Miss Virginia Caressa Cameron took the tiara. We think Miss Puerto Rico kind of got robbed, but whatever. When we get our Fantasy Miss America League up and running, we’re still going to take her ahead of Kyle Orton, who’s completely overrated.

It was the backdrop for a big weekend for Mario Lopez, who’s emerged as the new dude-face of Miss America. On Friday he had dinner at Strip House with nine friends, including Eva Longoria’s mother, Ella Eva Mireles Longoria. That’s … kind of weird. To be hanging out with your friends’ moms. We’re pretty sure if we tried to hang out with some of our friends’ moms they’d still yell at us for like, leaving our bicycle in front of the driveway, or eating all the good junk food on a sleepover 20 years ago.

Lopez also brought his girlfriend, Courtney Mazza, to Prive Friday night

By Jason Scavone

Now appearing in the T-Z section of Wikipedia’s Famous Venezuelans. (Photo by Isaac Brekken)

Have you ever been to any event that involved custom T-shirts that ended well? Family reunions. Terrible bachelorette parties. Group The Price is Right outings. Wilmer Valderrama’s birthday party. With the possible exception of scoring some sweet, sweet Plinko time, no one’s enjoying any of these things.

Yet Valderrama’s friends surprised him with shirts as he celebrated his 30th Saturday night at Eve, after doing dinner at Beso. Miss America judge Vivica Fox turned up with friend Regina King after the pageant was over. It’s just too bad the Kill Bill actress couldn’t get Tarantino to come in for the judging. As if he weren’t weird or awkward enough judging American Idol, we’d love to see what would happen when he was locked in a room with a bunch of women in formal shoes. He’d probably combust so fast there’d just be a Quentin-shaped shadow on the wall, like he was at Nagasaki.

By Jason Scavone

Electra in electric blue. Someone needs to give her an eel to make this image complete. (Photo by Jacob Andraziak)

Floyd Mayweather still isn’t budging on the whole Manny Pacquiao thing, so apparently he spent Friday night sizing up Carmen Electra as a possible opponent. Sadly, he opted to get in the ring with Sugar Shane Mosley instead.

While Electra hosted at Crystals’ Eve, her fiance Rob Patterson of Otep and formerly of Korn ran the turntables for a crowd that included Cardinals QB of the future Matt Leinart, the Most Excited By The News Of Kurt Warner’s Retirement Man In America. With Nicole Eggert over at Tabu, it’s really a shame that David Hasselhoff was nowhere to be found all weekend.

Electra and Patterson had dinner downstairs at Beso before heading up to the club. She was staying at Vdara where she ducked into the lounge at Bar Vdara before heading over to Eve.

By Jason Scavone

She’s also available for groundbreakings. (Photos by Erik Kabik. Additional photos by Scott Harrison | Retna)

Eastwick’s Lindsay Price cut the ribbon at Palazzo’s Laguna Champagne Bar Saturday night, officially opening the swankified center bar/lounge that was converted to a bubbly hotspot late in the fall. And really, where else could you go to hear three chicks with electric string instruments churning out Zeppelin’s “Black Dog?” Nowhere, that’s where.

Before things picked up, Jamie Kennedy and Jennifer Love Hewitt shared a bottle of Dom Perignon, although they abandoned their perch fairly quickly. They also bagged dessert at Lavo. For her part, Price declared it a girlfriends’ weekend after doing lunch at Morels and before checking in at SushiSamba and Lavo and a Sunday lunch at First.

By Jason Scavone

If you’re going to throw your friend a birthday party, you’d damn well better buy hats.

The bad thing about being Kirsten Dunst’s friend is having to watch a Bring It On/Spider-Man every weekend. The good thing about being Kirsten Dunst’s friend is she’ll just bring you to Vegas for your birthday.

Dunst treated her best friend Jessica to a birthday party at Lavo inside Palazzo to party Friday night with local girl Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley and boyfriend Johnathan Rice, who you might remember as Roy Orbison in Walk the line, assuming you spent the whole time you watched that movie looking for other Sun Records guys. After they wrapped up dinner, they went to the club until around 3 a.m. before they bounced over to Tao, where Dunst requested a soul set from DJ Reach.

On Saturday, the party continued with lunch at Dos Caminos and dinner at Tao. She connected with Chingy, who was also in for dinner before he went to do a set in the club that included “Holidae In.” Also hanging out was The Bachelor’s Andy Baldwin.

By Jason Scavone

Ben Stiller, seen here shortly before murdering six co-eds in Central Park just because they had blonde hair.

Ben Stiller hit up Nove Italiano at the Palms Saturday night, because apparently there was a weekend break in between shooting another Night at the Museum and even more Fockers movies. You know what he needs to do more of? Movies about drug-addled TV writers. Or just drug-addled people on the set of ALF. Either way.

Also at the Palms over the weekend was Mark Sanchez. The Sanchize was at N9NE Steakhouse Friday and Saturday night, spending some time at Moon Saturday evening and heading over to Encore to do XS Friday night where he signed footballs at his table. Matt Leinart was also at N9NE on Saturday after spending his Friday at Tao cozying up to a blonde. They’re saving a spot for Tim Tebow next year in the January 2011 Really-Hyped-Quarterbacks-Who-Actually-Aren’t-That-Good Dinner, Prof. Ryan Leaf, Emeritus, Presiding.

By Jason Scavone

Tom Felton is in this pic. He just nicked Daniel Radcliffe’s Invisibility Cloak. /nerdjoke’d. (Photos by Erik Kabik | Retna)

This is how you do it. Right before she has to go get yelled at about running and baby carrots and whatever, former Baywatch girl Nicole Eggert celebrated her 38th birthday and the end of her pre-Celebrity Fit Club freedom with a big-ass cake at Tabu inside MGM Grand Saturday night. It’s like celebrating your last night before going into prison by not getting raped.

The cake was supposedly low calorie, but look at that thing. It’s like someone stole it from the Wonka Factory. Also turning up for the party was Tom Felton — Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter movies — because, well, why not Draco Malfoy? Alan Rickman had a thing to do that night and Emma Watson had a dentist appointment early the next morning.

By Jason Scavone