Hot Vegas

George Clooney's biz partner insists the actor was NOT pounding shots before his nuclear blowout with casino mogul Steve Wynn -- and tells TMZ, "We weren't drunk."

As we reported, Clooney and Wynn (left) locked horns earlier this month at a fancy dinner in Vegas after Wynn called Obama an a-hole. Clooney shot back, calling Wynn the a-hole ... then stormed out.

Wynn claims things exploded because Clooney was slamming tequila -- but Rande Gerber, who was at the dinner -- insists, "No shots were had" ... and it was NOT a heated political debate.

Gerber says, "This wasn't about politics. It was about George standing up for a friend."

FYI, Clooney and Gerber (Cindy Crawford's husband) are partners in a tequila company called Casamigos. They were meeting with Wynn to discuss future business at Wynn's hotels, which already serves the brand.

George Clooney stormed away during his fancy Vegas dinner with hotel tycoon Steve Wynn after Wynn called Prez Obama an asshole.

It sounds like an epic dinner. According to Wynn ... Clooney got drunk on tequila shots and when Wynn attacked the President ... he says George hurled an F-bomb and left.

Clooney says Wynn was railing over the Affordable Care Act. He says "I said that the President was my longtime friend and then he said, 'Your friend is an asshole.'" Clooney adds, "At that point I told Steve HE was an asshole and that I wasn't going to sit at his table while he was being such a jackass."

Wynn told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, "When he's [George] drinking, he considers himself a close personal buddy of the President."

Wynn passes a lot of it off to alcohol, saying, "Clooney's fun to be with when he's sober ... If you have a chance to drink with him, you want to get there early, and don't stay late."

For Clooney's part he says there were 9 people at the dinner 2 weeks ago at Botero restaurant at Wynn's Encore hotel, adding, "It had nothing to do with politics and everything to do with character."

Age 'aint nothing but a number ... even when a 103-year old lady wants you to swing your crotch around while wearing a pair of skivies.

The guys at the "Thunder From Down Under" show in Las Vegas treated Hilda Eveleyn Kottman -- a minor internet celeb -- to a special dance Friday night in the V.I.P. lounge.

We're told the guys had to make a special trip to her section ... because Grandma Evelyn would take too long getting to the stage.

Mexican music icon Juan Gabriel was rushed to a Vegas ICU Monday morning -- where he was diagnosed with a bad case of pneumonia.

According to his rep, the 64-year-old had woken up with an intense fever and congestion.

Gabriel -- one of the best-selling Latin recording artists of all time -- had performed a 3-hour set just the night before at Mandalay Bay resort. According to his rep, the pneumonia has forced the singer to postpone 3 shows in California this week.

Chumlee from "Pawn Stars" was quite the popular guy this weekend ... hanging with a bevy of beauties at Rehab pool at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas.

He's lost about 75 lbs. in the last year, and stars on a super popular reality show, but we're sure the girls were totally into him for his personality.

Hillary Clinton got the George Bush treatment in Vegas Thursday -- an unidentified woman threw a shoe at the former Secretary of State during a speech ... and TMZ has obtained crazy video of the incident.

Clinton was speaking at Mandalay Bay for the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries when the assailant threw the shoe at her.

Watch the video to see what happens -- Clinton dodges it like a champ and then has some hilarious words for the audience.

The shoe thrower was escorted out of the hotel immediately -- and law enforcement sources tell us, she's currently in custody with the Secret Service.

You'll recall, George Bush famously dodged not one -- but TWO -- shoes thrown at him by an Iraqi journalist in 2008.

So 2 doctors walk into a bar, buy it, they try to get on "Bar Rescue," one of them taunts the wife of the show's host, diagnosing her with a "Grade A va-gee" ... and then sue because the host beat the crap out of him.

Stop us if you've heard this one, but if not, here's the lawsuit. Dr. Paul Wilkes bought Sand Dollar bar in Las Vegas with another doctor. They weren't doing so well and made a play to get on the popular Spike TV show.

According to the lawsuit, a producer got in touch with them and said the way to get on the show was to act outlandish. As part of the audition process, producers sent host Jon Taffer's wife, Nicole, to Sand Dollar. Dr. Wilkes says he was goaded to hit on Mrs. Taffer.

Nicole ordered a Sex on the Beach at the bar, when Dr. Wilkes bellied up and dropped cheesy pickup lines, including ... "Probably my most impressive trick is just from looking at the bend of your arm. I can tell you what your vagina looks like."

The good doc went on ... "So, if you bend your arm, and go like that, that's like Grade A va-gee. If someone bends their arm and it's all like jacked up and, then, like you know they have the elephant ears, which is foul."

Jon Taffer then made HIS move ... according to the lawsuit, Taffer had been watching the filming outside and came rushing into the bar, called Dr. Wilkes a pervert and a scumbag, and then smashed the drink Wilkes was holding into his face.

Wilkes claims when his friends tried restraining Taffer he threw a haymaker at him ... which apparently was too much because Taffer began hyperventilating and fell to the floor." Dr. Wilkes says he now has migraines, nausea, vomiting night terrors and crying spells.

But there's a slight problem -- we pulled the clip from the episode Wilkes is referring to and unless the editors at "Bar Rescue" are magicians, none of it backs up his battery claims. Watch it for yourself.

Mantecore -- the white tiger that mauled Roy Horn ... has died after an illness.

The 380-pound tiger severely injured Horn on a Las Vegas stage back in 2003, leaving him partially paralyzed. Siegfried & Roy claimed then and continues to maintain it was NOT an attack. Instead, they say, Roy was having a mini-stroke and Mantecore saved his life by dragging him offstage.

Roy says of the tiger, "We spent many hours together and he never failed to bring me great joy and wonderment. It was my great honor to be beside him at the end. He is now playing with his siblings in white tiger heaven."

A cast member from Thunder From Down Under -- the Las Vegas male strip group -- was hit in the face by a ricocheted bullet after the group confronted an intruder in their dressing room.

According to KVVU in Las Vegas, the cast discovered a man rifling through their belongings in their locker room at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino. The cast confronted the man and pushed him out of the locker room and into a courtyard.

It was then, the station says, the man pulled out a gun and fired a shot in the air. The shot ricocheted off of a wall ... and hit one of the cast members in the face.

Police say the victim's injury was minor and the shooter was taken into custody by police.

No abs were harmed during the ordeal.

"The Bachelor" star Juan Pablo is already suffering from delusions of grandeur -- insisting he's big enough to host major nightclub events around the country ... WITHOUT mentioning his claim to fame, because that's exactly what he demanded.

TMZ has obtained the flier for Juan's upcoming club appearance at The Pool After Dark in Atlantic City on March 29th -- and NOWHERE on the flier does it mention "The Bachelor."

Looking at it, you'd think Enrique Iglesias canceled and the club was forced to hire a cheap replacement.

And it's no accident -- sources tell us, Juan specifically instructed the casino NOT to associate him with "The Bachelor" in any press releases or fliers.

And his ludicrous demands didn't end there -- we're told Juan agreed to a 15-person meet-and-greet on the condition no one asked about his reality show stint. Same rule goes for reporters looking for interviews.

Best part -- he's getting around $20,000.

"Rowdy" Ronda Rousey is totally down to get in the ring with the WWE's finest at WrestleMania ... but she'll only appear with her posse.

Rousey and her roommate/UFC fighter Shayna Baszler posted a video of the two mixing it up in the ring last week -- the rumor mills went wild ... and we're told she'd be stoked to wrestle a legit match at WrestleMania.

Sources close to Ronda say she's busy with movies and real fighting ... but if WWE honchos wanted to make it happen they can get the ball rolling by hiring her crew -- the Four Horsewomen -- Baszler, Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke.

We're told the fighter is saying WrestleMania XXX in New Orleans next month would be out of the question ... but if the WWE is interested, she'd be down to make it happen at next year's event in SF.

Anthony Davis did the unthinkable for his 21st birthday ... he woke up WITHOUT a hangover -- TMZ Sports has learned the NBA superstar didn't take a single sip of alcohol at his b-day party.

Davis celebrated the big 2-1 on Tuesday ... and to celebrate, his friends and teammates threw him a party at Desi Vega's Steakhouse in New Orleans on Monday night ... before hitting a local sports bar called Walk-Ons.

We're told 95% of Anthony's New Orleans Pelicans teammates attended -- along with his friend (and fellow Red Bull endorser) Lolo Jones.

But when the clock struck midnight, and Davis was legally allowed to booze ... we're told Anthony stuck with iced tea and sodas -- and told employees he was serious about sobriety because he wanted to be fresh for practice in the morning.

Pretty mature for a 21-year-old.

Fun Fact -- We're told New Orleans rap legend 5th Ward Weebie also came out to Walk-Ons and performed at Anthony's party ... and even led the crowd in a rendition of "Happy Birthday."

He might be the welcher-weight champion of the world ... 'cause TMZ Sports has learned Antonio Tarver was sued over unpaid gambling debts by TWO VEGAS CASINOS before his problems with the Wynn.

According to court docs, Tarver got into some trouble with the MGM Grand and the Bellagio back in 2009 after taking out a heavy-duty gambling marker at each hotel and failing to pay it back.

MGM Grand says ... Tarver borrowed $100k but only paid back $10k
Bellagio says ... Tarver borrowed $50k but only paid back $5k.

They sued -- and according to court records, both casinos got their money back two years later.

But Tarver didn't learn his lesson. As we previously reported, the 45-year-old was locked up for allegedly skipping out on a $200,000 gambling marker from the Wynn stemming from 2012.

Tarver suggested his friend would help him repay the debt -- as long as he gets back in the ring and starts boxing again.

We spoke to Tarver's reps who insist the guy does NOT have a gambling problem.

Wanna bet?

And yesterday outside of Crustacean in Beverly Hills, Iron Mike offered up some incredible free knowledge to the embattled boxer -- it's the best piece of advice we've heard in a long time!!!

10:34 AM PT -- TMZ Sports has now obtained the original criminal complaint filed against Tarver in Nevada in 2013 ... which shows he was charged with fraud and theft for taking out the money in 2012 and never paying it back.

According to the criminal complaint, both charges are felonies ... which means Tarver could be facing some real slammer time.

Former boxing champ Antonio Tarver never paid back $200,000 in gambling markers to the Wynn Las Vegas from a gambling binge in 2012 ... so says a lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports.

Tarver was arrested in Florida over the weekend on a warrant out of Nevada -- the arrest documents were vague about the nature of the alleged offense.

Now, we know ... Tarver is the target of a criminal investigation for allegedly not settling several gambling markers he took at the Wynn during a 4-day gambling binge in July 2012.

According to the Wynn, Tarver took out $50k on July 24, 2012 ... another $50k on July 26 ... and $100k on July 27 ... totaling $200k.

WHAAAT! Things got way too hot for Lil Jon in Vegas last weekend -- some hot blonde chick twerked her ass off at his table ... and the rapper decided she needed to chill ... with a glass full of ICE CUBES.

The video was shot Sunday night inside XS Nightclub -- it's pretty wild ... and Lil Jon obviously knows talent when he sees it ... because the girl in the clip has serious skills.