Duke goes all-in against Rivers

Poker player Annie Duke said she can accept Donald Trump's "Celebrity Apprentice" choice, but she's remains outraged by Joan Rivers' personal attack against poker players.

"I don't feel like I was robbed," said Duke, during an interview with a Las Vegas radio station Wednesday, three days after the "Apprentice" finale on NBC.

"The thing I'm most upset about and I really feel bad about," she said, is having Rivers label 70 million poker players as "mafia."

"I don't feel I did anything to incur that wrath," she told deejays Dave Farra and Jason Mahoney on KXTE-FM 107.5 (Xtreme).

"I didn't get pissed when she called all poker players white trash, and I didn't get pissed when she denied she called all poker players white trash. I truly got pissed when she called all poker players mafia."

At one point, Rivers called Duke "Hitler" and apologized to Adolf Hitler.

"I'm pretty sure in Germany that's illegal, and you can go to jail," Duke told the deejays.

Duke said a "Beat Joan Rivers" charity poker event is being planned at the Hard Rock Hotel, with participants playing against a Joan Rivers impersonator.

MONACO HIDES FROM BURGLAR

Merrill Wetter, 50, faces arraignment next week for allegedly breaking into a Planet Hollywood resort penthouse and taking $4,500 from "General Hospital" star Kelly Monaco, who hid behind a bed during the burglary.

According to a Las Vegas police report, Wetter wasn't the stealthiest criminal to come down the pike.

A week before the incident, Wetter had stayed in the hotel for 30 days between March and April before he was evicted after security saw him "following a money cart in the casino."

And he apparently forgot what every aspiring crook should know about Las Vegas: There are cameras everywhere. The police report says surveillance footage shows Wetter as the only person observed on the 50th floor, where Monaco was staying.

Monaco, who co-stars in "Peepshow," was awakened by loud noises at her door about 3:15 a.m. on April 23.

After breaking through the door, the burglar found Monaco's purse and took $2,000 in $100 bills and about $2,500 in Planet Hollywood chips.

Hotel security recognized the bald, 285-pound man, who had an arm in a cast, as a previous guest and informed police, who contacted cab drivers who had taken the man to several casinos.

He was found less than an hour later in a room at The Venetian, in possession of cash and chips, the police report said.

Wetter pleaded not guilty April 28 to charges of burglary, home invasion, trespassing and defrauding an innkeeper.

'PEEPSHOW' HIRES HOLLY?

Holly Madison recently met with the "Peepshow" brass, showed 'em her credentials, and came away with Monaco's job, we hear.

Hugh Hefner's former No. 1 girl will co-star opposite Spice Girl Mel B in the adult cabaret show at Planet Hollywood Resort. Monaco never planned to go beyond her three-month contract.

"I can't say anything right now," said Madison, when reached Wednesday.

Today she's leading what's being billed as the world's largest bikini parade -- 300 in all, covering 50 years of swimwear -- to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Welcome to Las Vegas sign.

Mayor Oscar Goodman will read a proclamation announcing that summer has officially begun in Las Vegas -- a month before the official start.

THE SCENE AND HEARD

No one's willing to discuss it, but there's an insurance issue involving Danny Gans and his deal with Encore at Wynn Las Vegas that suggests Gans had concerns about his health.

SIGHTINGS

Flamingo headliner Donny Osmond, getting a tour of the Agassi College Preparatory Charter School on Wednesday by Andre Agassi.

THE PUNCH LINE

"Only buy things that are essential, like golf courses and beauty pageants." -- From David Letterman's "Top Ten Donald Trump Financial Tips."

Norm Clarke can be reached at (702) 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com.