NASCAR, poker, spring break collide in Vegas

Las Vegas may not be the center of the universe.

This week, however, Neon Nirvana becomes the center of three separate universes: NASCAR, poker and spring break.

Naturally, television cameras will be on hand to capture it all.

NASCAR Weekend coverage begins Friday and continues through Sunday, while NBC's National Heads-Up Poker Championship, at Caesars Palace, also follows a Friday-Sunday schedule.

MTV's Spring Break, meanwhile, launches its four-day party Sunday at the Palms.

And now for the details ...

Ante up: It's a lucky seventh go-round for NBC's National Heads-Up Poker Championship -- the sixth at Caesars Palace. (The first Heads-Up tournament took place at the Golden Nugget.)

Some 64 entrants, from poker aces (including defending champ Annie Duke) to celebrities (Don Cheadle and ex-NFL star Emmitt Smith) join the competition for a share of the record $1.8 million purse. (This year's buy-in for invited players is $25,000; the winner takes home $750,000.)

With its one-on-one format, the Heads-Up Championship "remains the most prestigious tournament for both pros and celebrities," according to Mori Eskandani, president of Las Vegas-based Poker PROductions , which produces the tournament for NBC.

Accordingly, viewers who tune in for six consecutive Sundays, starting April 17, will "see a slew of the who's-who of poker," Eskandani promises. (If you'd like to catch the action in person, the viewing gallery at Caesars' poker tournament room is open on a first-come, first-served basis.)

After all, "everyone wants to watch the best," says Tim DeKime , director of sports operations for NBC Sports. And the tournament's Vegas setting doesn't hurt, he adds, because "I think there's some cachet in being in Las Vegas."

Start your engines: Race cars will be rolling, and so will cameras, at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, starting Friday, as NASCAR Weekend gets under way.

Cable's Speed channel will televise all practices and qualifying runs Friday -- along with several other shows, including Friday's "Trackside Live," to originate from the Speed Stage located outside Turn 3. Las Vegas native -- and former NASCAR champ -- Kurt Busch is the scheduled guest.

Overall, Speed plans 13 hours of programming from Las Vegas; coverage continues Saturday morning with a two-hour pre-race show before the Sam's Town 300, which ABC will carry live. (It's one of only three Nationwide Series events on ABC's schedule, according to Jeff Motley, the speedway's vice president of public relations.)

At 7 p.m. Saturday, KVVU-TV, Channel 5 will air its annual "Saturday Night NASCAR" show live from the speedway. Which makes perfect sense because Sunday's big Sprint Cup race -- the Kobalt 400 -- also airs live on the channel. It's preceded by Speed's "NASCAR RaceDay" -- and followed by Speed's "NASCAR Victory Lane."

Break time: MTV's Spring Break gets its four-day party started Sunday, taping concerts, pool parties and other events to air in April on MTV, MTV2 and mtvU.

It's hardly MTV's first Palms foray. MTV's "The Real World" taped its 12th season at the Palms. (The show's latest season debuts on MTV next week, spotlighting another favorite Las Vegas party spot: the Hard Rock Hotel.)

Quick hits: Two Vegas-based reality series are expected to wrap principal production this week: Spike's "The Ultimate Fighter" is scheduled to complete its 13th-season shoot Tuesday, and E!'s "Holly's World" is finishing up a second season at Planet Hollywood Resort, but it's expected back for reshoots in the coming weeks. Also on the schedule: the British documentary "Impersonators" and Animal Planet's "Tanked."

Carol Cling's Shooting Stars column appears Mondays. Contact her at (702) 383-0272 or ccling@reviewjournal. com.