It wasn’t long ago Michael Jordan drew flack for visiting an Atlantic City casino during the basketball season. Do we give Dennis Rodman a pass? INC. hears Rodman, who visited Las Vegas last season, made several appearances last week at Hollywood Casino in Aurora–and we don’t think he was there for the Blood, Sweat & Tears show.
More Dennis: No question where Dennis headed after Saturday’s game–his new club on W. Ontario, which saw the Bulls’ brass (Jerry Krause, plus wife Thelma, and Phil Jackson) mingle with players Bill Wennington, Ron Harper, Luc Longley, Steve Kerr, and Toni Kukoc. A sign outside said “Proper Attire Required” and, based on what we saw, that means feather boas, sequins, and low-cut dresses. Oh, and bring a cell phone. We noticed a lot of party-goers were using them.
Dennis, who imported a troop of Las Vegas showgirls for this night, wore a T-shirt and what could be best described as floral pajama bottoms. Bill Marovitz, who set up Rodman’s interview earlier this year in wife Christie Hefner’s Playboy magazine, was on the scene. The club opens to the public Tuesday.
Playing hurt: Tom Arnold was at the Rodman party. He took the red-eye from his “Tom Show” set in L.A. to see his beloved Iowa football team lose Saturday at Northwestern before heading to the Bulls’ game. Arnold, grand marshal of last year’s Hawkeye homecoming parade, has been to several games this season.
Arnold sat in the snowstorm at Ryan Stadium with fans. It was against doctor’s wishes. He’s been shooting his WB network show all season with Ed McMahon with a paralyzed vocal cord, which affects his voice. He requires regular treatment on the set from the same surgeon who’s worked with Michael Jackson. “I hope I don’t turn into a soprano,” Tom joked.
As you like it: CEO Ray McCaskey’s new Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Illinois building proved to be an excellent venue Saturday for Chicago’s Shakespeare Repertory Theater’s black-tie gala. This was the first major charity event in the gleaming high-rise. Though no announcement was made by artistic director Barbara Gaines, we predict you’ll hear in the next few days that details are finalized for the Shakespeare company to move into a new Navy Pier theater.
Upcoming 1: U.S. Treasury Secretary Bob Rubin is here Monday with U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun to release a report she requested on the strengths and weaknesses of the U.S. financial service system–with plenty of references to Chicago’s futures exchanges.
Upcoming 2: Intrepid TV reporter Carol Marin speaks at a Chamber of Commerce event Thursday in Cicero–the same community that’s been a frequent target of her investigative reports. Wonder if Mayor Betty Loren-Maltese will slip a few ringers into the audience.
Horse feathers: Gov. Jim Edgar’s reputation as a friend of horse racing is evaporating. We hear Gentleman Jim got into an undignified exchange the other day at Hawthorne Racecourse, where a trainer berated the guv for not preventing Arlington from closing.
Monday birthdays: Daisy Fuentes, 31; RuPaul, 37; Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, 39; Danny DeVito, 53; Tom Seaver, 53; Lorne Michaels, 53; Lauren Hutton, 54; Martin Scorsese, 54; Gordon Lightfoot, 59.
Daley news: Mayor Richard Daley is the cover boy in the new issue of Library Journal, which picks him as its first-ever politician of the year. We don’t know if he meant the Bears, but Daley told the journal going to the library on Sundays is a good alternative to football.
EAVESDROPPING
“On a personal level, Jesse Helms seems like a very good human being, or at least to me. I don’t know how he is with other politicians.” The Dalai Lama, in George magazine.
