Jessica Simpson first headliner at new Snoqualmie Casino

Hear the latest about Jessica Simpson?

No, not about her hairdresser protecting her from paparazzi outside a Hollywood restaurant earlier this week, resulting in his getting a cut on his face that required stitches.

No, not the news that her latest film, "Major Movie Star," which is No. 1 at the box office in Russia (!), is going straight to video here in America.

No, not the fact that her latest single, "Remember That," from her Top 20 country album, "Do You Know," is tanking.

No, the latest doesn't involve her new perfume, Fancy, or her highly publicized romance with Tony Roma, quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.

The latest is that the ditsy blond singer/actress is the star attraction tonight at the new Snoqualmie Casino, inaugurating the showroom of the plush, 170,000-square-foot facility, which had its grand opening late Thursday night.

Simpson is the impossibly beautiful, perky starlet who endeared herself to America in the early 2000s as the subject of MTV's smash reality show, "Newlyweds," with her then-husband, hunk/pop singer Nick Lachey.

She inadvertently made one of the most memorable dumb-blonde jokes of all time on that show when, flummoxed by the concept of Chicken of the Sea tuna, innocently asked about her sandwich, "Is it chicken or tuna?" She made a similar comment about Buffalo wings — "Buffaloes have wings?" — which landed her a TV ad spot for, natch, Buffalo wings.

Simpson is more that just a cute, likable celeb. She can actually sing, as best demonstrated by her hit cover of "Take My Breath Away," originally the love ballad from the "Top Gun" soundtrack.

When her pop career stalled some three years ago, she smartly moved over to country, where she has enjoyed several hit albums and singles.

Also set to play the new Snoqualmie Casino are Wynonna on Nov. 26 and Sergio Mendes on Nov. 28.

Patrick MacDonald: 206-464-2312

or pmacdonald@seattletimes.com