Photo courtesy of Musashi Ono

Robin Antin is at it again. A new Pussycat Dolls recording group is on the way. And these sexy singers have some big stilettos to fill. The girls are replacing the five original members, who had hits with songs such as “Don’t Cha,” “Buttons,” “Stickwitu” and “When I Grow Up,” but have all left the group over the past few years.

Antin, who founded the Pussycat Dolls as a burlesque troupe in 1995, understands their departure. “It’s a platform,” Antin says. “As much as the other girls, especially [former lead singer] Nicole [Scherzinger], were the face of the Pussycat Dolls, I have to let them go and live their dreams so they can find what their destiny is. Now it’s time to do it again.”

So meet the new Dolls. Antin recruited Lauren Bennett from Paradiso Girls, who will share vocals with Girlicious’ Chrystina Sayers. Rounding out the group is former Los Angeles Lakers Girl Vanessa Curry, Paula Van Oppen from So You Think You Can Dance and ex-Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Erica Jenkins.

Antin calls the two-year selection process “Pussycat Dolls boot camp” and adds, “I have five very special, incredibly beautiful and talented girls.”

Bennett, who was featured on LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” and Cee Lo Green’s “Love Gun” track, has a voice that, Antin says, is a “cross between Aretha Franklin and Adele”— plus, “she can dance. She has such swagger.” Meanwhile, Antin compares Sayers’ “big, belty, pop sound” to that of Rihanna, and says Van Oppen will likely rap on the album, which she expects will be released by the end of the year.

As for the Dolls’ new sound, “My motto is, don’t fix what isn’t broken. The Pussycat Dolls are sexy and gorgeous, and the music is fun and has an urban pop vibe. It’s going to fit the same mold.”

And as if that’s not enough, Antin is teaming up with Nigel Lythgoe and Kim Kardashian, who will work as an executive producer, on a reality show that will follow the launch of the band.

But will a Pussycat Dolls reincarnation work? “When people see the girls in action and hear our music, everyone is going to fall in love with them. People will be blown away. It’s the exact right recipe for the new Pussycat Dolls.”

Photo courtesy of Caesars Entertainment

If you can’t decide which of the three dozen or so treatments to try on your next visit to Qua Baths & Spa at Caesars Palace, why even try? Let Qua’s therapists create your personal Hourglass treatment: a unique combination of facials, body treatments, hot stones, aromatherapy, chakra balancing and energy work in a single one-, two- or three hour session in one treatment room.

“Here you can mix and match different modalities and healing techniques,” explains Shannon Stringert, Qua’s spa director. “It’s a great way to experience as much of our treatment menu as possible in one visit.”

Photo Courtesy of Caesars Entertainment

Although Chef Michel Richard says he’s “not making unusual dishes,” his menu says otherwise: Lobster burger, cheese puffs and onion carbonara are among the “usual” items.

The James Beard Award-winning chef founded Central (pronounced “sen-TRAHL”) in Washington, D.C., and recently opened Central Michel Richard in Caesars Palace. He calls it “an American bistro but with my French accent.”

“I am not trying to change the world,” he says with a chuckle. “I just want your mouth to dance with pleasure when you eat my food.”

Here, Richard shares his thoughts on dining and other pleasures of Las Vegas.

Where does Las Vegas rank in the echelon of food cities? Las Vegas is one of the top cities for cuisine. I love being in Las Vegas. So many of my friends and fellow chefs have restaurants here too.

You brought Central from Washington, D.C., to Las Vegas. How does the restaurant and crowd differ? Washington, D.C., and Las Vegas are naturally very different but the same. Both cities welcome visitors from around the world, and both have visitors and locals who love and appreciate good food. But the energy in Las Vegas is like no other city.

What’s your favorite thing about Las Vegas? I love the energy and pace of the city. To keep up, we have to go, go, go. And I get to feed a puzzle of people from all over the world.

What makes this city unique when it comes to dining? It’s a twenty-four-hour town, so it only makes sense to make my food available around the clock. It’s fun food at any hour.

Everyone raves about it, so tell us about your fried chicken. I’m in love with the chicken: crisp, crunch! I love the grand crunch. We use larger bits of bread, like plump snowflakes, and this creates a larger surface area that crisps as it cooks.

Best food cure for a hangover? My fried chicken…cold.

Who is your favorite entertainer in Las Vegas? Elton John and Céline Dion.

How do you spend your free time in Las Vegas? I love seeing the sights on the Strip.

Best place to catch a drink after a hard day’s work? I know it sounds self-promotional—but Central is a great place to grab a cocktail and people watch. Our gorgeous bar is RIGHT THERE in the busy main lobby at Caesars Palace. It’s in the middle of all the action.

Video pending

Photo by Balazs Toth/Shutterstock.com

“In a shortened season, it’s going to be almost a war of attrition,” explains Todd Fuhrman, Caesars Entertainment senior race and sports analyst, of this year’s 66-game NBA season. “It will be a sprint to the finish.”

And with more games per week and fewer off days, the season “could take a [physical] toll on veteran teams,” says Fuhrman, but he warns that those who do survive could be dangerous in the playoffs. “They’re not going to have the same condensed schedule in the playoffs, so you can throw out some of the things you’ve seen in the regular season.”

Fuhrman offers these handicapping fundamentals to consider before stepping up to the window at the sports book.

Bench Depth Sure, star power helps, but “they can’t do it alone.” Look for a team with “good, steady guard play and bench depth,” he says, adding that “if a team’s second unit isn’t there, they will give back leads,” putting pressure on the starters to perform flawlessly.

Free-Throw Shooting When betting favorites, Fuhrman says, put your money on a good free-throw-shooting team; they are more likely to cover the spread late in the game. “The difference between laying four points and a game going three or five is going to be a couple of made or missed free throws.”

Buckle-Down Defense “You always want to look at defensive efficiency as much as anything else—to see which teams can get stops when a game is going down to the wire. If a team can’t keep the other team from scoring in crunch time, it’s not going to be a good betting scenario.”

Inside Play vs. Long-Range Shooters
“Look for teams that can score in the paint because a team’s shooting percentage from inside six to eight feet will be a heck of a lot higher than if they’re settling for 18- to 20-foot jump shots on a routine basis.”

Are Seedings Overrated?
”Don’t get caught up with playoff seedings” this year, Fuhrman says, and he points to the shortened 1998–99 season as an example. That year, the New York Knicks were an eight seed and beat the top-seeded Miami Heat in the first round. It could happen again. “Over a 66-game schedule [this year] it may take some teams a little longer to hit their stride. So teams that finish fifth or sixth may be the third-best team in the may be the third-best team in the conference. It’s a different game.”

Photo courtesy of Fendi

Legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld is going back in time with a quirky collection that’s a throwback to the 1960s. Fendi’s spring/ summer 2012 collection includes a bevy of unique geometric cuts and stripes, and even features a selection of sunglasses reminiscent of lab goggles.

The longtime innovator of fine-leather goods has more big news to share. With the recent opening of its freestanding boutique in The Forum Shops at Caesars, Fendi unveiled the U.S. debut of its exclusive stand-alone Shoe Salon. While the décor of the shoe haven blends seamlessly with the rest of the 3,000-square-foot shop, it has its own nook with footwear priced between $200 and $1,000.

Since its founding in 1925, Fendi has not ceased to amaze, and its new Vegas boutique is no exception. The shop’s pièce de résistance is its perfectly symmetrical coffered ceiling: a replica of the dome of the Pantheon. The original Italian architectural masterpiece was constructed in 27 b.c.; Fendi’s reproduction was built in Rome by skilled artisans using the finest materials, then exported to Vegas. Its oculus, a round skylight at the top of the dome, was engineered so that light moves throughout the retail floor as the Earth rotates.

On the illuminated sales floor, Fendi will carry an extended collection of women’s accessories and shoes, as well as men’s accessories and casual wear.

Peter Lik’s first photograph was of a spider web covered in dew, taken with a Kodak Brownie camera he received from his parents when he was eight years old. Today, the self-taught photographer from Melbourne, Australia, is one of the most acclaimed panoramic-landscape photographers in the world. And with the exposure of his television show, From the Edge with Peter Lik, he’s one of the most well-known. “Every morning, I just want to jump out of bed and photograph nature,” he says. “There is so much to see in the world.”

In words almost as evocative as his images, Lik describes the photographs seen here.

“Heaven on Earth”
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

The Grand Canyon has to be one of the most photographed places on Earth. I was compelled to capture the grandeur of such an epic place. After doing a heap of research, I found a remote four-wheel-drive track to the North Rim and decided to take the chance. The drive in was brutal. Four hours later, I arrived at the North Rim. Late afternoon light blasted the cliffs, and the stormy skies added a magical touch. I stood on the edge and shot roll after roll until it was completely dark. No one else was around. It’s a moment I’ll never forget.

“Inner Peace”
Oregon, USA

Standing beneath the canopy of this Japanese maple tree was an incredible feeling. I was in awe as the late afternoon light backlit the delicate leaves. Every branch told its own story. I used a really wide-angle lens to reach out to as much of the tree as possible. I put my camera on the ground to give me a strong perspective to shoot up into the skies. As the sun sank toward the horizon, the tree came to life with an incredible display of color, shape and texture, its rays burst into a star within the tree.

“Eternal Beauty”
Antelope Canyon, Arizona

Nature is so beautiful in so many ways. Deep in the walls of this canyon, I felt an amazing presence. I was well underground, close to nature’s heart and soul, staring up at the most beautiful sculpture I have ever seen in my life, carved entirely by nature’s hands of time. The red rocks provided an incredible red reflector, highlighting this phenomenal piece.

“Sacred Sunrise”
Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Timing is critical. I knew that in early spring, the sun would rise in the exact perfect location behind this arch—all I needed was the weather to cooperate. I had made several pilgrimages to the arch, only to be greeted by clear, bland skies—my biggest fear. On the fifth morning, things finally changed. I set up my camera in the crucial spot, and waited with my heart racing. The skies lightened as the sun cracked the horizon. The moment was perfect. The arch lit up with an amazing glow, and it felt good to finally capture what I was chasing.

All Photos Courtesy of Peter Lik Galleries

Video Pending

By Jacquelynn D. Powers

Spring is here—and with it comes a bounty of tender, fresh produce. Think peas, asparagus, squash blossoms, yellow peppers, morel mushrooms, ruby-red grapefruit and luscious strawberries. Las Vegas’ celebrated chefs are using this treasure trove of seasonal crops in creative dishes; and with the freshest ingredients, the flavors literally burst off the plate. This is the tastiest time of the year to dine.

Photo courtesy of Chef François Payard/
Payard Pâtisserie & Bistro

Chef François Payard / Payard Pâtisserie & Bistro

Caesars Palace

The Dish: Strawberry Cheesecake Napoleon

“Strawberries are one of our most popular items to use in spring, as well as summer, because that is when they are at their best,” says Payard. “The strawberry cheesecake napoleon is a great combination of a seasonal fruit with a smooth cheesecake and flaky layers of puff pastry.”

Photo courtesy of Chef Wolfgang Puck/Spago

Chef Wolfgang Puck / Spago

The Forum Shops at Caesars

The Dish: Asparagus with Brown Butter Breadcrumbs

“My favorite vegetable is asparagus—both the large green variety and the white ones, which we import from Austria,” says Puck. “They’re so versatile for soups and salads, or just simply to serve warm or cold. Nothing says spring quite like the first harvest of asparagus, and I love this classic Austrian-style dish because it’s so easy to make. I blanch the asparagus for a few minutes in boiling water, then immediately transfer the spears to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. This is a great technique for bringing out the bright colors of any vegetable and bringing both the taste and texture close to the peak before the final few moments of cooking.”

Photo courtesy of Chef Mathieu Chartron/
Restaurant Guy Savoy

Chef Mathieu Chartron / Restaurant
Guy Savoy

Caesars Palace

The Dish: Peas All Around

“This dish is a perfect start to the meal. It’s light and you can taste the peas under many different textures,” explains Chartron. “It’s a refreshing dish for springtime. With the coming of spring, it’s time to use green vegetables. I like using morels and asparagus for the spring season. And it’s best to keep dishes light and simple.”

Photo courtesy of Chef Paul Del Favero/Mesa Grill

Chef Paul Del Favero / Mesa Grill

Caesars Palace

The Dish: Fried Squash Blossoms with Ricotta, Roasted Corn, and Sweet and Hot Yellow Pepper Sauce

“When squash blossoms are in season, this dish is a must-make because the squash blossom is a sign of spring,” says Del Favero. “Pretty simple but completely impressive, it’s a play on an Italian classic. The roasted corn and the yellow-pepper sauce give the blossoms a Southwestern kick. We keep the batter thin—you want it translucent so that you can see the veins of the delicate squash blossoms.”

Photo courtesy of Chef Michael Wolf/Serendipity 3

Chef Michael Wolf / Serendipity 3

Caesars Palace

The Dish: Crab-Cake Salad

“Our crab-cake salad shows off the quality of the crab itself. There is no filler and hardly any binder, just luscious lump crab,” Wolf says. “The jumbo lump crab literally comes apart on your fork with each bite. The salad shows off the lush red color of Texas ruby-red grapefruit at its seasonal peak. The classic herb vinaigrette is made with the spring season’s freshest herbs. All together, the sweetness of the crab and early season yellow corn combined with the tanginess of freshly harvested frisée and mâche make this the perfect spring salad.”

Photo Courtesy of Alex Bailey/Rankin/©2011 Universal Studios

Charlize Theron flipped her glamorous image once again to earn Golden Globe and SAG nominations for her devastatingly real portrayal of a blowsy, psychotic, binge-drinking writer of teen romances in Jason Reitman’s dark indie comedy Young Adult.

In her next movie, she’s back to flaunting her stunning beauty as the iconic Evil Queen in Snow White and the Huntsman. Of course, the wicked monarch is bent on destroying the fair princess played by Kristen Stewart of Twilight fame.

The tall, willowy, vivacious blonde admits that the royal wardrobe of ornate gowns made her feel queenly, but also a little trapped. “I could barely move in some of the costumes because they were so heavy, not to mention the corsets I had to wear,” she remembers. And then there was that crown. “It was intimidating,” she says with a grin. “You had to be careful of the sharp points. I realized that if I bent down, I could poke somebody’s eyes out with it.”

The toughest challenge came on Theron’s first day of filming. “I had to say those words that everyone in the world knows,” she says. “‘Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?’ But I got through it, and then it was on to torturing little birds and eating their tiny hearts out. And I can’t tell you what I do to poor Kristen Stewart.”

After deliberately playing a string of plain or downright ugly women, getting royally glammed up is a change of pace for Theron. Her portrayal of physically and emotionally scarred prostitute Aileen Wuornos, the murderous subject of Monster, earned her an Oscar for Best Actress.

Looking back, she reveals that playing unattractive roles was part of her game plan to make a mark in Hollywood. “When the emphasis is on your physical assets, you can get typecast as a sexpot,” she says, “and then people have a hard time seeing you as anything else. I am who I am. I can tell you right now, on my top 200 list of what’s important in my life, beauty doesn’t make it.”

Qua Spa¹s 5,500-square-foot workout facility
at Caesars Palace.
Photo courtesy of Caesars Entertainment

High-endurance exercises can have a high impact on your overall health, says Gunnar Peterson, celebrity fitness trainer. Peterson has toned some of the most fabulous bodies in Hollywood—including Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez and Kim Kardashian—and says doing a high-endurance exercise for 30 minutes three times a week will lead to “a reduction in body fat, improved skin tone, better sleep and an overall improvement in your mood.”

To get started, Peterson suggests jumping rope, running or in-line skating. These activities increase your heart rate and maintain it at an elevated state, all while working the biggest muscle groups in the body. Just how many calories these exercises burn depends on many factors like weight and age but Peterson is quick to point out that any of the three mentioned above will “burn more than you would on an elliptical machine.”

If you are just starting a fitness routine, it’s best to begin working out two to three times a week. As you get more comfortable with the exercises, increase your workouts to four to five times a week. Within three weeks, you will see some of those amazing results.

But Peterson says one of the most important words to remember when getting in shape is “change.” To avoid boredom and opting out of your workout, he suggests changing your routine. “Vary your workouts, your duration, the intensity and the music,” Peterson advises.

So, with such a short amount of time required, there is really no excuse not to get up, get out and get in shape. As Peterson says, “It’s only thirty minutes!”

Photograph by Robert John Kley

With his smoldering good looks and powerful voice, Josh Strickland is a force onstage. The South Carolina native first gained exposure on the second season of American Idol, and then starred as Tarzan in the Disney production on Broadway. Now, Strickland has found a home in Vegas as the male lead singer in PEEPSHOW. One of Strickland’s favorite scenes in PEEPSHOW is “Feeling Good”—a sexy and sophisticated take on Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater. “The performance is a beautiful number that is all about how you have to let someone go, but always want them to come back to you.”

Strickland treats every night like opening night. So this means prepping his voice with vocal exercises—“singers are always making some kind of sounds to get our voices warm”— and treating and protecting his throat from the dry desert heat with the proven cure: warm tea, Neti pot and water.

But once he’s onstage, Strickland connects with the audience, channeling a little of himself into each show. “I am a performer. It’s in my soul, so wherever I go, I find myself wanting to entertain and be fun and outgoing. That’s just who I am.”

Photo by Danny Inglewood

Mimosas and Bellinis are mere child’s play when it comes to champagne cocktail construction. Eddie Perales has elevated the art of champagne concoctions, creating a collection of unique sippers for the Seahorse Lounge at Caesars Palace. Perales uses everything from watermelon syrup and agave nectar to muddled blueberries in his quest to up the taste quotient of these Moët & Chandon Impérial signature drinks.

“I wanted to create a destination where people can come and enjoy champagne with a whole portfolio of flavors,” says Perales, director of beverage for Caesars Palace. “The effervescence of the bubbles adds a sparkle and takes the cocktail to a whole other level. You add a little nectar or syrup and it makes that cocktail pop.”

Photo courtesy of The Forum Shops at Caesars

Launching to a fanfare of praise from both critics and consumers, The Forum Shops at Caesars brought to life the idea that shopping should be an experience for all the senses. Exclusive designer boutiques were paired with unique design elements: an indoor sky with lighting that evolves from dusk ’til dawn over the course of an hour; a cobblestone streetscape; “living statues”; elaborate architecture; ornate fountains. It even became home to Las Vegas’ first celebrity-chef restaurant, Wolfgang Puck’s Spago, which blazed the way for other chefs and restaurateurs to follow.

Simon Property Group, Inc., the nation’s largest public real-estate company, opened The Forum Shops at Caesars on May 11, 1992, unveiling 70 opulent stores in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip. Just as fashion is ever-changing, so is this shopping haven. In 1997, an expansion added 35 new shops and two restaurants, plus a 50,000-gallon saltwater aquarium. In 2004, the Phase III addition brought in 60 more stores and restaurants, a reflecting pool and the first three-level, freestanding spiral escalator in the United States.

“Las Vegas has truly undergone an impressive transformation with the retail experience,” says Maureen Crampton, the shop’s director of marketing. “More than showcases for clothing, shoes, cosmetics and gadgets, the city’s shopping centers have become theater spaces and attractions themselves. The Forum Shops was instrumental in changing the shopping dynamic of the city.”

The iconic retail venue has continued to evolve and thrive, becoming a mustshop destination for celebrities and both international and domestic fashion lovers alike. “We have become such a renowned shopping icon, some customers wait to conquer their shopping desires here,” Crampton says.

Photograph by Andrew Matusik/FOX

Star chef Gordon Ramsay refuses to wilt when the stress level threatens to boil over—in fact, the hotter it gets, the better he likes it. And the better we like what comes out of the kitchen of this multiple-Michelin Award winner, whose salty tongue and spicy temper are forgotten in the sweetness of his cuisine.

Ramsay is one of the world’s great chefs, but his award-winning cuisine is only part of what’s made him famous. The salty-tongued Scot, who’s known for losing his temper in the kitchen when things don’t go well, has built an international food empire that counts a string of successful restaurants honored with multiple coveted Michelin stars; three popular Fox TV series—with another on the way—and 18 books. It’s all driven by a pursuit of perfection, he says.

At 45, Ramsay thrives on being at the top. “I don’t wake up and worry,” he says. “Chefs are competitive. We want pressure. I’ve likened it to being a sports star or playing in a rock band. I love that unsafe scenario where I walk into situations that are packed with jeopardy. I’m definitely a pressure junkie. It only gets stressful when you can’t handle it. If I relaxed too much, I’d probably die.”

Vegas: A New Frontier
After conquering New York and London, Ramsay is about to unleash a culinary assault on Sin City with his newest restaurant, Gordon Ramsay Steak, at Paris Las Vegas. “First, I had to prove myself in the Big Apple,” he says. “It’s true that if you can make it in New York you can make it anywhere, and I did with my place at the London Hotel. We won two Michelin Stars in six months. Now I’m ready for Vegas, where it seems nearly every top chef in the world has a restaurant. I get excited when I think of the thousands of guests we’re going to cook for. You’ll experience London in Vegas with a bit of Parisian chic thrown in. My steakhouse is an eclectic, modern European-style restaurant.”

Ramsay knows that Vegas is the place where fun begins. “I really love the shows. My first was seeing Céline Dion at Caesars. I went there with an attitude like, ‘OK, this is not going to be like watching Coldplay,’ but I was blown away.”

Ramsay knows times have been tough in Las Vegas, like they are everywhere else. “It’s been a #^@* time for everybody the last couple of years. Now, we’re sort of navigating our way out of this recession. I’m just glad to see Vegas bouncing back. The city represents that feel-good pick-me up destination where you can go and completely relax whether you’re gambling or having a bloody-good dinner.”

Ramsay, who had his heart set on being a professional soccer player before he was permanently sidelined by a knee injury, credits his mum with igniting his love affair with food. “She was an amazing cook in a little bistro in Stratford-upon-Avon right next to William Shakespeare’s theater,” he remembers. “I would drop in after soccer practice and go, ‘Can I lick the spoon?’ My talent for cooking came from my love of eating. It helped me identify what was good and what was bad.”

He continues, “Now, when a young chef comes to work for me, I never begin by teaching them how to cook. First, they need to learn to taste. How can they expect to cook a dish perfectly if they don’t know exactly how it should taste? So I blindfold them—which is a little bit ridiculous, I admit— and bring a plate and have them try to identify everything on it. You have to train your palate.”

Audiences are entertained by his top-rated TV shows, from Hell’s Kitchen to MasterChef and Kitchen Nightmares— especially when he directs a profanity-laden outburst at some unfortunate contestant. But Ramsay, who hosts and is executive producer, hopes the shows encourage audiences to explore cooking in their own kitchens.