Leach gives inside view; stars all for team in Vegas

                    

	Lamar Odom with rapper Ali Vegas at Odom's post-game party at Jet Nightclub at the Mirage Chris Farina/WireImage.com
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LAS VEGAS -- I've never taken part in a red carpet line before a game. Usually these star-studded affairs are reserved for award shows and movie premieres, but then again I'm at the NBA All-Star Game in Las Vegas and any premonitions (or inhibitions) I may have had 72 hours ago have long been thrown out the window. Since I'm walking on uncharted territory here I decide to partner up with someone who's dealt with his fair share of celebrities over the years -- Robin Leach.

My "champagne wishes and caviar dreams" friend lives in Sin City these days and covers the exploits of celebrities for his aptly named blog, "Luxe Life" and the NBA All-Star Game hasn't given him much of a chance to rest this week.

"This is five times bigger than anything we've had here," he says. "It's been non-stop since New Year's Even but this is the craziest it's ever been."

Robin will be the first to tell you that he doesn't know much about sports. In fact, the extent of his interest in coming to an NBA game is schmoozing with friends such as Shaquille O'Neal and Mark Cuban. "I only know the big names," he says. So while he wrangles in the big celebs, I help him out with the athletes. Our first mix of athlete and celebrity comes when David Hasselhoff gives Boris Becker a big hug as they enter the arena around the same time. "Oh god," says Robin. "The two biggest stars in Germany are here."

After we finish chatting with "The Hoff," Deion Sanders, who is speed walking through the red carpet comes over to Robin and shakes his hand. "You're a legend," he says. "I've watched you for years, you're a legend." While Robin graciously nods his head and thanks Deion he turns to me as soon as he leaves and asks, "Who was that?"

"You're kidding, right? That was Deion Sanders," I tell him.

"I don't know him," he says. "I only know the big names."

While athletes like "Prime Time" don't ring a bell with Robin, we both agree that an NBA team needs to -- and in due time, will -- come to Sin City. In fact, the topic came up in almost every conversation we had with the various celebrities we ran into.

Here's a sampling of what some others think about Vegas being home to an NBA team in the near future:

James Denton: "I don't understand what the hold up is. You hear about the gambling issue or conflict but I've never understood that. Then again I'm not a gambler, but I think it would be great. I don't know why they don't have one yet. I think it would be great for the fans."