Vegas is going once, going twice

Las Vegas is growing into a serious auction town. The company Propworx informed me Monday that it's looking for a Vegas hotel to host an auction (this year) of truckloads of memorabilia from every season of TV's "Stargate" series. "Stargate" stars would come, too.

And Propworx is looking for a Vegas hotel (this year) to auction off director Kevin Smith's memorabilia. That show already has a name: "Kevin Smith Sells Out: The Official Askewniverse Garage Sale," playing off Smith's company name, View Askew Productions.

Those conventions would join two other biggies.

From June 14-25, Julien's Auctions sells 22 furniture lots from Michael Jackson's English home -- the house decorated for his ill-fated final concerts.

Julien's will even re-create the home at Planet Hollywood. That'll be a madhouse.

And if you read my Monday column, you know that in August, Propworx is auctioning 600 items from "Star Trek" movies and TV shows during the Hilton's "Star Trek" convention, with 70-plus set pieces from the Hilton's sadly defunct "Star Trek: The Experience."

An auction source says Vegas could become the go-to auction city for pop culture. Why? Our hotels are well-oiled machines that handle auctions better than hotels in other cities.

Also, Vegas has a fun factor and a built-in tourist base. And many auction buyers and national journalists would rather hit auctions here than in Los Angeles and New York.

MURRAY, JEWEL ARE EASY RIDERS

The other day, I asked bull-riding hero Ty Murray whether there's anything we don't know about him or his wife, Jewel.

"Me and my wife ride BMW motorcycles. We just take long, cross-country trips," said Murray, who's headed to Vegas for this weekend's Professional Bull Riders World Finals and World Cup, which he helped found, at Thomas & Mack Center.

Murray rides a BMW 1200 GS. Jewel rides a 650 GS. These are comfortable touring bikes that can go off-road.

I asked whether they plan full itineraries or they wing it and look for Motel 6's along the way.

"We've done a little of both. We try to find nice places along the way. It's definitely an adventure every time we set out."

They've road-tripped Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, California and great swaths of their married state of Texas. They're doing Colorado this summer.

They have little microphones in their helmets so they can hear each other. What music is playing in his helmet?

"I probably listen to anywhere from Tom Petty and John Mellencamp to Jerry Lee Lewis and Hank Jr. to Joss Stone -- to Jewel. Yeah, I'm a fan."

ME, ME, ME

I'm this week's guest on "The Ugly Couch Show," where we list our favorite video games of all time. (That's me and hosts Paul Mattingly, Barry Robb, Todd Bristow and Jeff Gunter.) There's also a perverted puppet. Check it out at UglyCouchShow.com.

And video is up on my blog from the "Star Trek" sale this past weekend.

SIGHTINGS

Heidi Montag showed off her gargantuan monster chest Saturday at Aria's pool. See photos on my blog post "5 Ancillary Uses for Heidi Montag's Shiny Boobs." It's a good one. ... Gavin Rossdale performed for Conde Nast Traveler's Hot List Party at club Haze in front of wife Gwen Stefani, plus Kate Beckinsale and hubby/director Len Wiseman and Chris Evans. ... Avril Lavigne, Juliette Lewis, Laura Prepon and Brody Jenner did up Mario Barth's King Ink club and tattoo parlor Saturday at Mirage. ... Matt Sorum of Velvet Revolver (and formerly of Guns N' Roses) got sweet with girlfriend Ace Harper at the Sugar Factory on Sunday.

Doug Elfman's column appears on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. E-mail delfman@reviewjournal. com. He also blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.