The love fest continued after Brooks spoke at the after-party at Bally's Diamond Lounge.

The evening had its somber side: Rich Affannato and lead Tony Danza showed up at the party with minutes-old buzz cuts.

Affannato, who plays the flamboyant Carmen Ghia, was honoring his mother, who couldn't attend because of her recent cancer diagnosis. Danza and the company rallied around Affannato.

BIG NIGHT

Las Vegas generosity was on full display again Saturday, with another $12 million in donations raised for the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute at the "Keep Memory Alive" fundraiser.

Let us count the ways:

• A tour of Italy with chef Mario Batali in the role of tour guide brought $220,000.

• A playhouse designed by acclaimed architect Frank Gehry went for $350,000.

• Five dinners by a combination of star chef Tom Colicchio, Guy Savoy, Wolfgang Puck and David Robins fetched $550,000.

• Lunch with Teri Hatcher of "Desperate Housewives" added $50,000 to the total.

• Michael Buble and his musicians, which were the evening's featured entertainment, donated their checks and covered their own travel expenses.

• Lorraine Bracco and Steve Schirripa of "The Sopranos" struck a chord when they agreed to host dinner at Rao's in New York and threw in a copy of the final "Sopranos" show autographed by all the cast and a baseball bat used in one of the scenes. Two bidders agreed to pay $150,000 each. Schirripa got another $5,000 after a spirited bidding contest for emcee Robin Leach's black wool tuxedo sweater with sequins.

The big buzz of the night was generated by illusionists Siegfried & Roy and boxing legend Muhammad Ali.

Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn announced they will come out of retirement next year to perform their tiger and lion show at Larry and Camille Ruvo's gala benefit.

Ali attended to raise awareness for Parkinson's disease. The brain institute is adding researchers for Parkinson's, which Ali has suffered from since the early 1980s.

SIGHTINGS

At CatHouse (Luxor) on Saturday for the surprise birthday party for "Sin City" co-director/comic book writer Frank Miller: Rosario Dawson, Jamie King, "Sin City" co-director Robert Rodriguez with fiancée Rose McGowan, "300" star Gerard Butler, "24" star Louis Lombardi and "Spanglish" beauty Paz Vega. ... At LAX (Luxor) on Saturday: Actresses Rachael Taylor and Vega, former big leaguer Barry Larkin, Butler and illusionist Criss Angel. ... At Pure (Caesars Palace): Actress Rachael Leigh Cook, singer Enrique Iglesias and Mike Tyson. ... Brandon Flowers of The Killers and his wife, shopping in the baby department at Target in Henderson on Saturday. ... NFL great Dick Butkus, puffing on a stogie while walking through the Forum Shops at Caesars over the weekend. ... At Tryst (Wynn): Steven Jackson of the St. Louis Rams. ... Bracco of "The Sopranos," visiting Jerry Lewis at his home on Saturday. He was filming a scene for "X Burlesque" (Flamingo Las Vegas) with co-producers Angela and Matt Stabile. ... Tommy Smothers, in the crowd at Bobby Slayton's show Friday at Hooters.

THE PUNCH LINE

"Happy Chinese New Year! It's the year of the rat. I'm so stupid, I'm still writing year of the pig on my checks." -- David Letterman

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