We’ve never heard her music, but we are instantly fans.

Nadia Ali is at Tao Beach to do her song “Rapture” as part of Hedkandi with Hedkandi US resident DJ KC Anderson. Enjoy it while you can. The string is running out on pool season. Once it hits football season, it’s harder and harder to motivate yourself to go outside on a Sunday for any activity that doesn’t involve grilling sausage outside a stadium, anyway. Click for more words and pictures »

By Jason Scavone

We’re in the same boat, dude. Everywhere we go broads are always lifting up our shirt and drawing on us in lipstick.

No, it wasn’t Tom Cruise. Co-star of the Rumer Willis/Audrina Patridge/Briana Evigan vehicle Sorority Row (clocking it at a solid 34 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), Julian Morris, was at Tao Beach yesterday with a few friends. We’re guessing there is a 100 percent chance Morris agreed to do that movie when he found out he’d be hanging around on set all day with Briana Evigan and Audrina Patrige. Who could blame him? You stand a better-than-average chance of meeting one of My Two Dads that way.

Meanwhile over at Planet Hollywood, Miss America Katie Stam was having dinner at Strip House.

By Jason Scavone

She’s determined to bring back grunge.

Lauren Conrad is hosting at Tao Beach at The Venetian this afternoon. What the hell are we going to do as a city when The Hills goes off the air? Who will host our parties and pool days at the drop of a hat? Who will fill our insatiable lust for vapid television come to life? It’s kind of depressing to think about. Click for more words and pictures »

By Jason Scavone

Chuck Liddell should start his own Piper’s Pit for the UFC. We’re just saying. (Photos by Denise Truscello)

Long before Brock Lesnar got down to business beating the bag out of Frank Mir, and then took a bizarre left turn right the hell away from business to flip off the crowd at UFC 100 Saturday night, Chuck Liddell, Ryan Bader and Jens Pulver hosted an afternoon at Tao Beach Friday. They brought along a strong MMA contingent, including Aaron Simpson, Noah Thomas, Eric Lawson and Bill Smallwood.

You would think a guy named “Smallwood” in the fight game would want to change his name, but whatever.

That night at Lavo, Tito Ortiz was there with Jenna Jameson — decked out in black leather pants and a pink shirt. Dana White was over at Tao. We’re kind of surprised the two of them would be on the same property, even if they split up the clubs there.

By Jason Scavone

LeBron or DMC? You decide! (Photo by Al Powers)

If it were us, we would’ve been sending Dwight Howard nonstop sarcastic text messages during the NBA Finals about how we could have at least made it to Game 6. But LeBron James is probably classier than we are. Still, he got a consolation prize this weekend when he hosted at Tao Beach and Lavo.

King James started Friday at the pool, drinking Moet Rose and frozen lemonade before hitting up the Jay-Z show at The Pearl. Then it was back to Palazzo for dinner at Lavo, where Jigga and Rihanna turned up with a crew of 30. We’re still shocked that, for all the mysterious celebrity deaths we’ve had lately and all the cash and influence Jay-Z has that nothing bad has happened yet to Chris Brown. Unless Jay is just biding his time, waiting a couple of years for the heat to die down, which would be some serious Godfather stuff to pull.

The combined group of 50 or so dominated the VIP area, dancing for the now-obligatory Michael Jackson set. You know what’s never getting played in these day-and-night MJ medleys? “Ben.” Enough with the “PYT” and the “Dirty Diana.” Let’s get the song about a rat up in here. Rihanna left early, but Jay-Z stuck around with Amare Stoudemire, Fabulous and Melody Thornton of the Pussycat Dolls. Click for more words and pictures »

By Jason Scavone

Nelly got Cedric to wear something other than a fedora? The Entertainer must love “E.I.” (Photo by Erik Kabik | Retna)

After Ante Up for Africa, Lavo at Palazzo drew in a few of the celebs for dinner, including Cedric the Entertainer, Kenny Smith, Montel Williams and Dean Cain. That’s two strikes Dean Cain has against him: He’s still living under the threat of the Superman curse, and now he’s rubbing elbows with Cedric, who didn’t do Bernie Mac any favors in the long-life department.

Meanwhile over at Tao, LeBron James had dinner with a crew of 15. James is hosting at Tao Beach today and Lavo tonight, where he’ll probably be giddy all day long from the thought of having Shaq as a teammate. Not that having an aging Shaq on the floor is spectacular or anything, but we’d be completely psyched to hang out with him after the game so you could listen to him drop stuff like “yo mom so fat she stopped at the curb and her belly jay-walked.” Seriously, it would never, ever get old. We’d be calling Shaq up at 4 a.m. just to see what he had to say.

Also at Tao were Matt Dillon at the owner’s table and Laker Trevor Ariza up at a cabana in Tao Beach. Did Trevor Ariza ever call out Lance Armstrong on a time trial, though? No. No he did not.

By Jason Scavone

Still as good at tennis as she ever was. (Photos by Denise Truscello)

Who knew ping pong had such a big celeb following? Outside of Tom Hanks, we mean. Hundreds of — Ping pongers? Ping pongists? Ponglatarians? Whatever. — were at The Venetian this weekend to compete for $100,000 in the Hardbat Classic. Alabama 23-year-old Jack Baker won the biggest prize in the history of pong, eclipsing even the case of Miller High Life that was won by Terry Stanford in a 1978 match against roommate Mark Whitman, which had heretofore been the highest-stakes table tennis match in history.

The Classic also drew a strong celebrity contingent, including one-time tennis player Anna Kournikova, 30 Rock actor Judah Friedlander, Antonio Sabato Jr., Autumn Reeser, Brittny Gastineau and boyfriend Jorge Perez, Rooney frontman Robert Schwartzman and actor Jonathan Schaech

Sabato Jr. got things started on Friday at Tao Beach, which later saw Big Love’s Aaron Paul, take over a daybed. Sabato had dinner with Reeser, Paul, Schwartzman and Gastineau, with Schaech a table away, at Tao. All of them moved up to the club after dinner where DJ Reach did an hour-long Michael Jackson tribute. Click for more words and pictures »

By Jason Scavone

Please God, don’t let them get their own show. (Photo by Erik Kabik. Additional photos by Kabik, Scott Harrison | Retna)

Well, we suppose technically Audrina Patridge was only here in a supporting role, but how many birthday cards would Mark Patridge Jr. have gotten if he were just another spiky-haired dude in the club? Exactly. 23. Your calculations are impressive.

Elder statesman of the Patridge clan, Mark Sr., along with Audrina’s ex-boyfriend Corey Bohan and 20 or so of Mark Jr.’s friends partied at Tao Beach Saturday during the day — where Steve Wynn was also in a cabana. Who knew Steve loved The Hills so much? Then again, he clearly enjoys the work of Bret Ratner, so we suppose it can’t be too much of a stretch. Click for more words and pictures »

By Jason Scavone

DJ Tiesto is so good he doesn’t even need the wires connected to spin. (Photo by Hew Burney | SpyOnVegas.com)

Rehab at the Hard Rock Hotel got DJ Tiesto on the decks yesterday, carrying over from Memorial Day last weekend when he did two days at Jet and The Bank. He rounded it out with an outdoor show for the pool party, although we hear the dense layers of hair gel at Rehab wreaks havoc on the acoustics.

Peepshow’s Mel B was at Tao Beach Saturday afternoon for the release party of US Weekly’s Hot Bodies issue, strutting around with oh-God-that-chick-looks-way-too-much-like-a-dude bodybuilder abs. Shane West from ER was also at the party. Benji Madden turned in a late appearance. Later, at Tao, Ving Rhames of Pulp Fiction turned up sans ball gag for a friend’s birthday. West was in a group of 20 that included Evan Rachel Wood.

Rich Sommer — Mad Men’s Harry Crane — had dinner at Lavo inside Palazzo Saturday night. Bethenny Frankel was there for the second night in a row, hanging out with Brittny Gastineau before they went upstairs to the club. Click for more words and pictures »

By Jason Scavone

Did they sign some kind of lifetime contract where they have to dress alike? (Photos by Erik Kabik | Retna)

Two of the three Girls Next Door, Kendra Wilkinson and Holly Madison, were at MGM Grand’s Wet Republic on Friday in dueling pink bikinis, joined by Wilkinson’s fiance Hank Baskett, who was not wearing a pink bikini. Although we’d have loved to have seen Donovan McNabb’s face if he did. The three of them took pictures with fans while Wilkinson and Baskett laid on an extra thick layer of PDA. But, better that than if she did it with Hef. Although if we ever saw Hef in the pool we’d be worried Hume Cronyn and Wilford Brimley were lurking around trying to get younger.

Wilkinson went to see Ka at MGM Grand where she had to wade through autograph-seeking fans as she tried to get to her seat to the point where she needed an escort to get away until the house lights were down. Under the cover of darkness, she was able to finally sneak into her seat. This is why you should never go anywhere when you’re a celebrity without a few ninja smoke bombs on your person.

Meanwhile, Tao Beach saw Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings taking his turn with the fans.

By Jason Scavone