Former “Beverly Hills, 90210″ star Ian Ziering has officially joined the cast of Chippendales at Rio Las Vegas as a celebrity guest host, and he’s definitely made a splash with his charisma and new physique.

Ian Ziering makes it look easy.

Said Ziering, “When Chippendales called, my first thought was of Chris Farley and Patrick Swayze on ‘Saturday Night Live.’ I weighed the pros and cons, but couldn’t come up with any cons. I have more facets than Steve Sanders [on '90210']. This is another role for me.”

Ziering, Jaymes and James (of “Amazing Race” fame).

The actor donned the show’s signature cuffs and collar, and showed off some new-found buffness, the result of three months of training.

“I told my wife about Chippendales,” says Ziering, “and I asked her what she thought of my dancing in front of a whole bunch of screaming women. And she said, ‘That’s not too different from the ’90s.’ There was some pandemonium back then, but I wasn’t pulling my shirt off or
gyrating my hips.”

Once he decided to make the leap and join the Chippendales show as a guest host, he committed to a strict fitness regimen, saying, “I have a two-year-old and a newborn at home, so it’s been tough the last couple of years to find the time to concentrate on myself. For the last three months I’ve been eating right and going to the gym twice a day. Sometimes it’s tough to anchor yourself to a foundation of accountability to make it happen.”

All the hard work’s clearly paid off.

Ian Ziering, holding his own with the guys of Chippendales.

As if there were any doubt of the sex appeal of the Chippendales, listen to what Ziering said of his journey to get in shape for his Chippendales premiere: “It’s been an amazing journey for my wife and I, because as I’ve lost weight, she’s responding more. Because she just gave birth April 25th, and I’m ready for that response and that kick-up in attention and intimacy, so it was perfectly-timed.”

Ifyouknowwhatweresayin’.

Trivia: Ian Ziering’s daughters were born on the same day (April 25), two years apart.

What’s been the most surprising thing about performing with the world-famous Chippendales?

“When I first came to see the show, I wasn’t sure what to expect. That ‘Magic Mike’ movie had been out, and that was scandalous and kind of raunchy. But Chippendales is such a well-produced show. This is Las Vegas entertainment at its finest. The show’s flirty, not dirty,” says Ziering.

This photo of Gavin seems fairly gratuitous.

As for his upcoming projects, easily this blog’s favorite is “Sharknado.” In chatting about it, Ziering got to display his self-depricating humor, saying, “Oh, god, it’s a horrible movie. It’s one of those movies where you can’t turn the channel. The visual effects are amazing, though. There are sharks falling out of tornadoes onto land. I had fun.” He is not making this up.

This would be the precise moment when a Las Vegas blog got a man crush on Ian Ziering.

Another upcoming film, “Snake and Mongoose” is about drag racing culture. Ziering also did a pilot for HGTV about celebrities and their pets (airs June 15), called A-List Pets.

Unrelated: A fan favorite, Jace, has been sidelined from Chippendales for a few weeks due to a hand injury. He didn’t want to miss the fun of Ian Ziering’s debut, though.

Ian Ziering’s easily one of this blog’s favorite Chippendales guest hosts to-date, and seems to relish the gig, including joining the guys for choreographed dance numbers and other popular segments in the show.

As gratuitous photos go, this one of John is likely to be very popular with certain segments of our audience. You’re welcome.

He’ll be in Chippendales at Rio Vegas through June 30, so don’t miss it!

The Rio Las Vegas and New Capital Ventures have announced a joint effort to bring a new zipline attraction, the VooDoo Skyline, to the hotel in late summer, 2013.

The heart-stopping zipline will launch 400 feet in the air, from the popular night spot, VooDoo Lounge. Daredevils will ride at speeds up to 33 miles-per-hour to another tower at Rio, the Ipanema Tower.

Let us say, with all due respect, “Aieee!”

The new ride should provide some of the most spectacular views of The Strip in all of Las Vegas. Assuming your eyes are open. Which this blog’s won’t be.

Unlike most ziplines, the VooDoo Skyline will accommodate two riders at a time. Another unique feature is that on the attraction’s return trip, guests will ride an additional 800 feet to the starting point, facing backwards, for a total ride distance of nearly one-third of a mile.

Actually, it’s more accurately called a “zip ride.” Ziplines don’t go backward, can’t accommodate two people (seated), and a zip ride can’t get stuck halfway to its destination as ziplines sometimes can.

This photo shared on Rio’s Facebook page shows the view from the zipline launch point. What is wrong with people?

VooDoo Skyline is a collaboration between the Rio and New Capital Ventures partners Joe Shortal and Jonathan Borchetta, and Stan Checketts, who has created more than 200 amusement rides around the world for companies such as Disney and Six Flags.

Checketts even designed what at one time was the world’s fastest roller coaster, the Dodonpa coaster in Japan. Bottom line: This guy knows adrenaline.

Here’s another Stan Checketts effort that may provide a taste of what’s to come at Rio.

VooDoo Skyline is slated to operate seven days a week, from noon to midnight each day. Pricing and other details are yet to be announced. Read more at the Las Vegas Review Journal.

CBS News caught up with former “Beverly Hills 90210″ star Ian Ziering to chat about his upcoming stint as host in Chippendales, the saucy male revue at Rio Las Vegas.

It’s pronounced “eye-uhn,” not “ee-uhn.” You’re welcome.

Through the miracle of the Interwebs, you can view the aforementioned news segment via this handy link.

More gratuitous photos of Ian Ziering may also be found at VH1.com.

Ziering will join Chippendales as the show’s celebrity guest star for four weeks, June 6-30, 2013. Find out more, and don’t miss it.

After a stand-out season on NBC’s “All-Star Celebrity Apprentice,” Rio Las Vegas headliner Penn Jillette has been named a finalist in what’s sure to be a clash of the Titans, all for the sake of charity.

This blog is completely objective, let’s just say that up front.

For the show’s final competition of the season, Penn and country singer Trace Adkins have been tasked with creating their own flavor of ice cream.

On May 13, outside the Walgreen’s adjacent to Planet Hollywood at Harmon Center, Penn was joined by “Jubilee!” showgirls and other Las Vegas performers to launch his ice cream flavor, Vanilla & Chocolate Magic Swirtle.

Penn arrived via a small carbon footprint vehicle. It also happened to be a high calorie footprint vehicle, but let’s not get bogged down in details.

Trace Adkins’ flavor, Maple Macadamia Mash-Up, is not nearly as good as Penn’s flavor, despite this blog having no real basis of comparison, because we didn’t try that one. If you want an unbiased opinion about things, please visit another blog.

What we do know is Penn’s ice cream is vanilla-based, with salted caramel swirls and pieces of chocolate mixed in. Even if we weren’t biased, this blog would love it.

Can we please get past the speech-making to the ice cream giving-outing? Thanks.

After a few remarks, Penn and friends dove into the serious business of handing out ice cream samples to members of the crowd. Caesars Entertainment purchased 200 pints to get the party started.

Insert gratuitous photo of showgirls here.

At the ice cream social, Penn was joined by Opportunity Village clients, his Rio co-star, Teller, as well as Paris headliner Taylor Hicks, comedian George Wallace (Flamingo Las Vegas), comedy-magician Mac King (below, Harrah’s Las Vegas) and Blue Man Group.

Trivia: Before becoming a headliner on The Strip, Mac King was an expert pointer.

The competitors’ ice cream flavors will be sold at Walgreens and Duane Reade locations nationwide through May 18.

The “All-Star Celebrity Apprentice” winner will be announced May 19, 2013.

Teller would agree: Being a Vegas magician is rough.

George Wallace seemed in his element, giving out ice cream as gleefully as the cash he sometimes gives away at his Flamingo shows. Note to ourselves: Attend more George Wallace performances.

George Wallace is as serious about generosity as he is about comedy.

If Penn Jillette can sell more ice cream than Trace Adkin, who is probably a very nice person, other than being on the losing end of a Vegas versus Nashville throw-down, Walgreen’s will award $100,000 to Opportunity Village, a Las Vegas-based charity that serves those with intellectual disabilities.

Paris headliner Taylor Hicks hangs out with two Opportunity Village clients.

The ice cream sales will also help determine who will be named the “All-Star Celebrity Apprentice,” and if Penn wins, another $250,000 would go to Opportunity Village.

If Penn doesn’t win, this blog agrees to eat an entire pint of ice cream. We’re selfless like that.

Penn’s playing for Opportunity Village has already brought in a whopping $400,000 to the organization. The Southern Nevada nonprofit provides vocational training, community employment, advocacy, arts and social recreation, among other services. They also do this. Find out more at OpportunityVillage.org.

Here are a few more photos from the “All-Star Celebrity Apprentice” festivities on The Strip.

Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino has just unveiled 380 redesigned suites, called Samba Suites, in its Masquerade Tower.

Teal and orange hues are used throughout these 600-square-foot suites, which also feature patterned carpets, dark wood furnishings, brushed chrome fixtures and a 32-inch flat screen TV. The rooms also have upgraded bathrooms.

No relation to the "Sealy samba." Probably.

Click here to view a larger image.

Today’s useless trivia: Samba is a Brazilian style of music and dance, using a 2/4 tempo and a sung chorus to a batucada rhythm, with various stanzas of declaratory verses. Which this blog totally knew off the top of its head, by the way. The musical instrument most closely identified with samba is the tamborim, which this blog would not be able to recognize in a line-up, even under duress.

Here’s something we do know. Samba Suites at Rio Las Vegas start at $69 a night. The new-room smell is included at no additional charge. Go check some rates, already.

A lucky player at Rio Las Vegas was just dealt four aces with a three on a $25 Super Double Double Bonus 5 play video poker machine.

Honestly, we have no idea what most of that means, but we do know it resulted in the following.

Mwah.

Thanks to the team in the Rio’s high limit salon for passing along the photo.

Note: Actually kissing a video poker machine is not recommended. At least not on the first date.

Former “90210″ star Ian Ziering will join the bounty of beefcake at Chippendales this summer for a guest hosting gig.

Ian Ziering (Ian is pronounced “EYE-ahn,” not the usual “EEE-ahn,” by the way) will guest host the popular male revue from June 6 to June 30, 2013, Thursdays through Sundays, at Rio Las Vegas.

Ian Ziering is flanked by "Amazing Race" alums Jaymes Vaughan and James Davis.

Thanks to Scott Harrison for the photos.

Along with his pecs, Ziering is expected to show off some of his “Dancing with the Stars” moves. The actor appeared in season four of the popular dance-off. Take a gander.

Says Ziering of his upcoming stint at Chippendales, “Actors and performers never know what their next job will be, and when I got the call from Chippendales, my jaw dropped as it came on the heels of TMZ calling me fat on national TV. I am passionate about health and fitness so I’ve kept in shape, and dancing is something I’ve always enjoyed, so I figured why not?”

Ziering adds, “Hey TMZ, I’ve got two front row seats for you!”

Ian Ziering and friends at a recent wingman convention.

Other hunky Chippendales guest hosts have included Joey Lawrence, Jake Pavelka (“The Bachelor”), Ronnie Magro (“Jersey Shore”) and Jeff Timmons (of 98 Degrees).

Find out more about the genetically-gifted men of Chippendales, one of this blog’s favorite shows in Vegas, and we don’t care who knows it.

Royal India Bistro is the newest culinary offering at Rio Las Vegas, and serves up some seriously authentic Indian dishes you won’t soon forget.

Let the salivating begin.

Royal India Bistro replaces the former Gaylord India restaurant, in the same location at Rio Vegas.

The interior of the restaurant is newly-redesigned, brighter and with charming decor flourishes reflecting Indian culture.

We'll get to the food. We're trying to set the mood.

We love the new look of the place.

Fancy, but not too fancy.

Authenticity and freshness appear to be the top priorities at Royal India Bistro. Restaurant manager Phulpreet Singh (“Phul” for short, pronounced “full,” which will become increasingly relevant as your meal progresses), says, “We have focused on north Indian cuisine, centered around the Punjab region of India.”

Every dish at Royal India Bistro is a cultural adventure all its own, drawing upon the experiences of the restaurant’s staff and time-honored food preparation techniques. See the menu.

“One of the unique aspects of our restaurant is our use of clay ovens,” says Singh. “Our naan and other breads are baked fresh, on-site. It’s very hot, more than 450 degrees. Our bread is made-to-order.”

The naan dough is stuck to the wall of the super hot ovens for baking. Heaven in the making.

Honestly, this blog would be perfectly happy with a meal of Royal India’s naan alone. It’s otherwordly.

“We make a traditional naan bread from northern India, with garlic and papadum (smashed, sun-dried garbanzo beans),” says Singh.

It is difficult to overstate this blog's affection for the naan.

Oh, all right. Take-backs on the “naan only” thing. The restaurant’s Chicken Tikki Masala, easily its most popular menu item, is perhaps the best we’ve had in Las Vegas.

We watched as our Chicken Tikki Masala was prepared, and every dish has a dizzying number of ingredients, each more colorful, and tasty, than the last. The chefs at Royal India Bistro are as much alchemists and chefs.

Slogan: "So good, your face will bribe you to return."

Meat used in the various dishes is prepared on skewers, placed in the aforementioned clay ovens. A great way to sample the restaurant’s flavorful meats is The Sizzler with lamb chops, Tandoori chicken, Seekh kabobs, garlic chicken and chicken tikka kabobs. It’s a monster, so bring a friend!

It's called The Sizzler because it comes out sizzling. Please try and keep up.

Vegetarians will be happy to find a healthy selection (see what we did there?) of specialty dishes, such as the Navratan Karma (below), with vegetables and farmers cheese and nuts, cooked in a cream sauce. We loved it, and we are not even a vegetables person.

Good Karma.

The restaurant offers a buffet lunch, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., that’s well worth a look.

The buffet area, replete with awesome.

Of course, one does not live by naan alone! Probably.

The restaurant’s intimate bar has a Happy Hour, 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., featuring lots of cocktails with “ini” at the end, such as the Mangotini (picture below), Appletini and Hibiscus Martini.

We have no idea if the Mangotini is a traditional Indian cocktail, but by the time you're done, you won't care.

Check out the full menu on the Royal India Bistro site, or find out more on the official Rio Las Vegas site.

Yes, you can dine at the bar. We know how you are sometimes.

Enjoy more photographic goodness from our visit to Royal India Bistro, a delicious diversion just 2.6 minutes off the Las Vegas Strip.

They’ve been stars in Las Vegas for decades, and stars around the world even longer than that. Now, Rio Las Vegas headliners Penn & Teller have their very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Hollywood Walk of Fame attracts more than 10 million people a year. Yes, we counted.

Thanks to Bob Freeman for the pic from the Apr. 5, 2013 ceremony in L.A.

In the photo with Penn & Teller are (to Penn’s right) Leron Gubler, President and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, Councilman Tom LaBonge (to Teller’s left), magician David Copperfield (behind Teller), soap star Lisa Rinna and (between Penn & Teller) Trey Parker, one of the creators of “South Park.”

Unrelated: For all you sticklers out there, yes, that sign says “ATM Machine,” one of the most criminal redundancies in the history of ever. But let’s try to stay focused.

Penn & Teller's star bears a comedy/tragedy mask symbol representing theater/live performance. Other categories are film, TV, music and radio.

Congrats to Penn & Teller, and you can catch Penn Jillette on “Celebrity Apprentice,” or the duo live in their record-breaking show at Rio Las Vegas. In Las Vegas. Because it would be weird to have a Rio Las Vegas in Butte, Montana.

As if a 20-year, record-breaking residency at a Las Vegas hotel weren’t enough, comedy-magician Penn Jillette now has another item to beef up his resume: There’s a spider named after him.

Jason Bond, Director of the Auburn University Museum of Natural History, recently discovered the spider and named it the Atomic Penn Jillette spider. The scientific name is “Aptostichus pennjillettei.” Yes, there will be a quiz.

If we had discovered this spider, it would now be named the "AIEEEEEE!" spider.

The Atomic Penn Jillette spider is quarter-sized, rust-colored and native to Nevada’s nuclear testing site. The spider was named after Penn because, among other things, he’s an outspoken advocate of scientific skepticism.

Arachnophiles will immediately see the similarities between the Atomic Penn Jillette spider and Aptostichus atomarius, mainly because of all the free time arachnophiles have due to not being busy with things like “being invited to parties” and “girlfriends.”

Read more about the Atomic Penn Jillette spider, and its discovery by Professor Jason Bond, at the Las Vegas Review Journal. See Penn & Teller at Rio Las Vegas.

Comedy-magic team Penn & Teller recently welcomed guests to their theater at Rio Las Vegas for a celebration of their 20th anniversary as headliners in Las Vegas.

Penn & Teller, in the correct order, no less.

The duo began their successful run in Vegas back in 1993, and have been at Rio Las Vegas for the last 12 years.

To thank their friends and supporters, Penn & Teller put on a short show on Feb. 8, 2013, doing three segments featuring bits they had in their show when they first arrived on The Strip.

What could possibly go wrong?

Wait for it.

Do you know Penn & Teller at all?

When we asked Teller (who never speaks onstage) to reflect upon the 20-year anniversary, he stated, “Twenty years is just a little more than half the time we’ve been working together, so, it really doesn’t seem like all that much time.”

Some would disagree! With the announcement of a new, six-year contract extension, Penn & Teller will have the distinction of being the longest-running headlining act at an individual hotel in the history of Las Vegas.

Teller keeps the audience on pins and needles. Mostly the needles thing.

Penn, never one to be politically correct, had a surprising take, “We’ve been here longer than anyone else because a tiger didn’t bite our head off.”

Penn schmoozes with Mac King during a cocktail party.

Fellow magician, and Harrah’s Las Vegas headliner, Mac King (above), was in attendance at the celebratory event at Rio, and had a unique take on Penn & Teller’s influence.

King said, “I’ve been married 27 years. Before we were married, I was living in L.A. and she was living in Kentucky. I flew her out to L.A. to see a magic show at the L.A. Stage Company. It was the Penn & Teller show. My thought was, if she didn’t like that show, I wasn’t going to date her anymore.” So, technically, not only have Penn & Teller been one of the most successful acts in the history of the Las Vegas Strip, they are also, apparently, a great litmus test for romantic compatibility.

Remember, it's not a gratuitous showgirl photo if there was an actual showgirl there.

One of our favorite moments at the anniversary event was meeting a certified comedy legend, Marty Allen.

Allen, pictured below, was part of an iconic comedy team, Allen & Rossi (with Steve Rossi), and appeared 40 times on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” including on the same episode as The Beatles (their second time on the show). Allen was also a regular on classic game shows like “Hollywood Squares” and “Password.”

Comedy royalty. Penn. Marty Allen. Teller.

There’s more to come from Penn & Teller, to be sure. The timeless team will soon receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and Penn Jillette will soon return to reality TV in an all-star edition of “Celebrity Apprentice.”

Congratulations to Penn & Teller on an epic run and for ensuring laughter, mystery and irreverence will continue to be a part of the entertainment landscape in Las Vegas.

Sports betting is like a world all its own, and Las Vegas is the only place in the world where you can walk in and place a legal bet on sporting events. Unless that’s not true, in which case it sounds like it could be true, and that’s close enough, right?

Anyway, there’s no busier day in sports books, in the world, than on the day of the Big Game We Can’t Name Specifically. You know the one. The one we can’t say because of the lawyers. But it’s the national pro football championship event spectacular thingy. And it’s happening February 3, 2013. Unless that date is trademarked, too, in which case all hope is lost for humanity.

We didn't say it! It's a photo of an officially-sanctioned merchandise kiosk.

We’ll say right up front, this blog is not a sports betting expert. And by “not an expert,” we mean, “We know almost exactly nothing about sports betting.”

We do, however, know sports betting experts. We popped into the sports book at Rio Las Vegas to chat with David Pemberton, Director of Specialty Games, about some of the fun bets, called “prop bets,” surrounding the Big Game We Can’t Name Specifically.

Based upon his interaction with this blog, David Pemberton may be the most patient person in Nevada.

Right off the bat, we asked David for some bets everyone can make money on, guaranteed. Apparently, those don’t exist. Who knew? However, this didn’t deter us from learning more about prop bets.

“A lot of the prop bets are the same from year to year, but each game has its own custom bets,” says Pemberton. “We compile information from a variety of sources to determine the odds. The odds change, based upon betting patterns, right up to game day.”

Fact: People who work in sports books have large brains.

David Pemberton was kind enough to give us a crash course in prop bets. Prop bets are bets on things like “Which team will score first in the game?” and “Total touchdowns scored in the game.” Odds makers use math and research this blog doesn’t even remotely understand to determine the likelihood of the various outcomes.

What makes betting on the Big Game We Can’t Name Specifically so entertaining is the virtually infinite number of wacky bets on things like “Will the team that scores first win the game?” or “Will the jersey number of the player to score the first touchdown be more or less than 27 1/2?”

It gets even better! Try this one: “Total yards of the shortest successfully-made field goal in the game.” Or “Will either team score in the final minutes of the first half?” There’s even a prop bet for “Will either team score three consecutive times without the other team scoring?” There also one for “Will the Ravens convert a fourth down attempt?”

There are even bets related to specific players, a group of bets where bettors seem to do particularly well, Pemberton says: “Total receptions by Michael Crabtree,” “Will Frank Gore score a touchdown?,” “Total rushing yards by Ray Rice,” etc.

This is how our brain saw sports betting before our Pemberton crash course.

This blog’s favorite weird bet involves a player who, we’re pretty sure, doesn’t even play football: “Which will be greater on Feb. 3, LeBron James points or the 49ers points?”

Prop bets can be made at the sports book right up to the opening kick-off, then betting is closed. At least until halftime, when more betting is allowed for the second half of the game.

Pemberton says, “Our second half betting is very popular. Everybody rushes to the windows during the halftime show. We’re writing tickets until the very last minute. During the game, people can cash as the results come in, so you don’t have to wait until the game’s over to collect.”

If you’re baffled by all the bets, ask a sports book team member for assistance. Just avoid waiting until the last minute, because things get crazed on Big Game day. Bets similar to the Rio’s prop bets can be found in sports books across Las Vegas, including the ones at Caesars Entertainment casinos, because they pay this blog’s salary.

One of the easiest ways to bet on the Big Game We Can’t Name Specifically is to use a “parlay card.” It’s kind of the keno of sports betting (with better odds), or like a Pick 4 bet in horse racing. You choose one of two options for multiple bets (up to 10 bets at once). Heck, even this blog took a stab at it. We’ll let you know how it goes.

Trying to copy this blog's parlay card could very well the worst financial decision of your life.

Here’s some inside scoop that could give you a little edge: Take a look at the prop bet for “Which will occur first, a score or punt?” It’s been a punt for the last three Big Games. Another pattern: “Will there be a special teams or defensive touchdown scored in the game?” Yes, for the last three years. “Will either team score in the last two minutes of the first half?” That’s happened in the last three years, too.

Is sports betting an art or a science? We say both. So, who you rooting for in the Big Game We Can’t Name Specifically?

A new video game, “World Series of Poker: Full House Pro,” based on the world’s most recognizable poker tournament, will come to Xbox 360 and Windows 8 in spring 2013.

The new game is touted as “the most visually-stunning digital poker game on the market.”

Complete with WSOP bling.

The World Series of Poker, of course, happens each year at Rio Las Vegas. The most recent winner, 24-year-old Greg Merson, won $8.5 million of real-world money. (The video game version is “for amusement purposes only,” of course. The good news: At least you won’t have to deal with the IRS.)

Here’s a preview of the new “World Series of Poker: Full House Pro” game, in all its chip-flippin’ glory.

“World Series of Poker: Full House Pro” expands upon the popular Xbox Live Arcade hit, “Full House Poker.” Players can build their bankrolls and compete against opponents from around the world, creating their own chip tricks and playing against backdrops inspired by real-world casinos in Las Vegas and elsewhere. Yes, in one part of the video, participants are even playing in The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace. Hey, it could happen!

Just like the real Final Table at the Rio. Just with fewer craps tables nearby. Sad face.

The game will feature a single-player mode, single-table games and full-blown tournaments. To give the game an added element of realism, “World Series of Poker on ESPN” announcers Lon McEachern and Norman Chad provide the play commentary.

Get more details at the official World Series of Poker site.

Twenty years ago today (Jan. 14), Penn & Teller did their first headlining gig in Las Vegas. At Bally’s!

We asked him about this historic occasion, but Teller had no comment.

These days, of course, these infamous comedy-magicians can be seen at Rio Las Vegas.

You can also catch Penn Jillette on an all-star installment of “Celebrity Apprentice,” starting March 3, 2013 on NBC.

During its transition from The Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood to downtown Las Vegas, the recently-closed Krave nightclub will temporarily take up residence inside Crown Theater and Nightclub at Rio Las Vegas, starting Jan. 18, 2012.

Not to be confused with a proposed supertall skyscraper called Crown Las Vegas, which we didn't know about until six seconds ago.

Unrelated: Read more about the supertall skyscraper thingy.

Krave was one of the premier gay nightclubs in the country, and will open as Krave Massive (see below) in downtown’s Neonopolis later this spring. Learn more here, or visit Krave Massive’s official site.

Krave Massive, which owners claim will be the largest gay nightclub in the world.

Until its move to Neonopolis is complete, Krave will operate as “Krave at Crown,” open each Friday and Saturday night, 10:30 p.m. to 4:00 a.m.

Neonopolis is already home to Krave’s sister nightlife extravaganza, Drink & Drag, where the majority of staff members are drag queens.

Drink & Drag is full of surprises.

The Krave club at Rio will bring over many of the same team from the location at The Miracle Mile, and will feature some of the town’s best DJs, including Michael Graves (reader pick for “Best DJ” in the 2012 “Best of Las Vegas” issue of the Las Vegas Review-Journal), Lightknife, Mikey Francis, Dave Aude and DJ Irene.

Krave at Crown will also have its signature go-go-dancers, voted “Best Go-Go Dancers” for 2012 by the staff of Las Vegas Weekly.