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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

People: Love was in the cards for Pam


Associated Press Pamela Anderson
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
From Wire Reports The Spokesman-Review

Sometimes gambling pays off. Even when you lose.

Pamela Anderson, for example, says she and Rick Salomon hooked up during a poker game.

“I left the table and Errol (Lyon, Anderson’s driver) played in my place,” the 40-year-old ex-“Baywatch” star told OK! magazine. “I came back to find myself $250,000 in the hole to Rick!”

So Salomon – best known for making a sex tape with Paris Hilton – struck a flirty deal.

“Rick, being the gentleman, said he would wipe my debt if I gave him a kiss, so I have to thank Vegas for our relationship switching gears!” Anderson said. “It evolved into spending every day – then nights – together.”

The couple married on Oct. 6 in Las Vegas. Anderson was previously wed to Kid Rock and Tommy Lee. Salomon’s ex-wives are actresses Shannen Doherty and E.G. Daily.

Oprah addresses weighty issue

Oprah Winfrey, 53, says her thyroid gland has caused problems. “My body was turning on me,” she told the October issue of O, the Oprah magazine. “First hyperthyroidism, which sped up my metabolism and left me unable to sleep for days. (Most people lose weight. I didn’t.) … Then hypothyroidism, which slowed down my metabolism and made me want to sleep all the time. (Most people gain weight. I did! Twenty pounds!)”

He wants to buy fava beans

Even stars with the stature of Anthony Hopkins are sometimes forced to scramble for their paychecks. The Oscar-winning actor is suing Merchant Ivory Productions, accusing it of failing to pay him $750,000 for his work in a film called “The City of Your Final Destination.” He is seeking compensatory damages of $750,000, as well as interest, attorney fees, and any other money that an arbitration panel “may deem just and proper.”

No good times for Goodman

John Goodman has joined the mass of celebs undergoing rehab. The former “Roseanne” star, 55, star of such films as “The Big Lebowski,” “The Flintstones” and “The Babe,” was treated for an undetermined time at Promises Treatment Center in the Los Angeles suburb of Malibu, “Entertainment Weekly” reported Wednesday.” For my family and myself, I voluntarily took the necessary steps to remain sober the rest of my life,” Goodman said in a statement issued by publicist Stan Rosenfield.

Gordy’s dancing in the street

A section of the street where the Motown sound originated has been renamed after the music label’s legendary founder, Berry Gordy. The Detroit City Council unanimously voted to rename a section of West Grand Boulevard as Berry Gordy Jr. Boulevard, Councilwoman Martha Reeves said in a release.

The birthday bunch

Actor John Lithgow is 62. Singer Jeannie C. Riley is 62. Singer-keyboardist Karl Wallinger of World Party is 50. Singer Jennifer Holliday is 47. TV host Ty Pennington (“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”) is 43. Singer Todd Park Mohr of Big Head Todd and the Monsters is 42. Actor Jon Favreau is 41. “South Park” co-creator Trey Parker is 38. Comedian Chris Kattan (“Saturday Night Live”) is 37. Singer Pras Michel of the Fugees is 35. Actor Omar Gooding (“Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper”) is 31. Country singer Cyndi Thomson is 31.