WARRIORS VICTORY PARADE STOPS IN VEGAS

Hours after the Golden State Warriors’ victory parade through Oakland on Thursday, a planeload of them arrived in Las Vegas to take the NBA title celebration into overtime. The players included NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. Teams owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber also made the trip.

They flew to Las Vegas on a private jet provided by MGM Resorts International and were greeted with a champagne toast at a private hanger by Jim Murren, MGM Resorts chairman and CEO, before boarding buses for Aria, their host hotel.

At Aria, they were greeted by fans, members of the UNLV men’s basketball team, coach Marvin Menzies, UNLV president Len Jessup, and the Rebels’ cheer team.

“It was a great opportunity not only for our players to get to shake hands with the NBA champs, but also to showcase Las Vegas for the best of the NBA,” said Jessup, via email from the university.

A year ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers flew to Las Vegas hours after they clinched the NBA title in Game 7 in Oakland. They were hosted by Wynn Las Vegas and partied at the resorts’ nightclub XS before heading to Cleveland for the victory parade.

Some team members plan to attend the Andre Ward-Sergey Kovalev boxing rematch Saturday at Mandalay Bay, it was learned. Ward is from Oakland.

Others reportedly had plans to take in the Electric Daisy Carnival this weekend. It annually draws 120,000 a night at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Guess you could say the Warriors victory parade might include a victory lap at the Speedway.

The scene and heard Celine Dion has rescheduled two shows that were cancelled by the May 22 Manchester Arena terrorist attack. She will be doing her shows in nearby Leeds, England. The 21,000-seat Manchester Arena has been closed since the incident and won’t reopen until September. She was to perform in Manchester on June 25 and August 1…

The lineup of celebrities roasting veteran entertainer Dennis Bono at the inaugural Deana Martin Celebrity Roast has been announced: Robert Davi, Clint Holmes, Robin Leach, Rich Little, Tony LoBianco, Frankie Scinta and Bono’s wife, Lorraine. The roast is being held at The Showroom at the South Point on June 26 at 6 p.m. The after-party/birthday party will be held at 8 p.m. at the Grandview Lounge. Bono turns 70 on July 1…

An after-fight party hosted by Kovalev will be Saturday at Chateau Nightclub & Rooftop at Paris Las Vegas. Admission: $40.

On this day… June 16, 2009: U.S. Sen. John Ensign, a one-time Las Vegas veterinarian and a rising star in the Republican Party, admits to having an affair with a campaign staffer whose husband is his best friend. The subsequent furor over coverups and payoffs to hide the scandal forces Ensign to resign in 2011...

June 17, 1960: El Rancho Vegas, the Strip’s first resort and the city’s biggest hotel when it opened in 1941, is destroyed by a fire. Betty Grable and Harry James are on stage when the blaze breaks out – apparently by accident – but there are no injuries.

Sightings Rap star Kendrick Lamar, performing at the 16th birthday party of Dana White III on Saturday at the Brooklyn Bowl at The Linq. White’s father, the president of the UFC, had the two-story music venue closed for the bash. Invitees bowled, played cornhole and root beer pong. There was a cotton candy machine, a hot dog stand and a nacho bar. Guests included UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.

The punch line “Dennis Rodman is in the middle of what is planned to be a four-day trip in North Korea and he brought gifts on this trip for his BFF Kim Jong Un. He brought a variety of soaps wrapped in cellophane. He brought a mermaid jigsaw puzzle. Two nondescript number 91 jerseys. This is like a sad yard sale or terrible flea market.” – Jimmy Kimmel.

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