Paris Hilton close to finding a new boyfriend?

Heavily edited reported by Las Vegas’ Robin Leach

[Paris Hilton] has been seen so often the past three weeks at XS in Steve Wynn's Encore that the buzz all around is that she's struck up a special friendship with nightclub czar Cy Waits.

My sources in Las Vegas say: “Cy has been heard at dinner telling his friends that Paris is ‘the most beautiful girl on the planet' and how much he loves being around her. No one has ever seen Cy so happy. He lights up when someone brings up her name.”

Sources close to the blonde beauty tell me: “Paris and Cy have been friends for years now, and things seem to be heating up. Her friends say she likes Cy but wants to take things slow. She's not ready to get into a relationship now, but she wants to see where things go.”

One friend close to the two of them said: “We're thrilled to see Paris so happy. We can tell that Cy really likes her for her, and that's so different than it's been with other guys. He treats her like a princess, and to him, she's always the only girl in the room. She likes the way he treats her. He's self-made and has his own thing going on, unlike her douche-bag ex-boyfriend (Doug Reinhardt), who was just totally using her and riding her coat tails.”

The Paris and Cy dates supposedly heated up the weekend that Encore Beach Club and Surrender nightclub opened. Paris had asked me to send her a rundown list from VegasDeLuxe.com of the events that same weekend as the big fight UFC 114. She was in Las Vegas on an all-girls' weekend, and although she was at Tao in The Venetian while staying in The Mirage, she wound up in Cy's Botero restaurant and XS. All also are partners in Drai's new W Hotel nightclub in Hollywood, where Paris has been seen since its opening this year. Insiders say that's where the two met up again and the flirting started.

With global business interests worldwide, the sexy socialite flew off to Egypt but promised to return to Las Vegas last weekend for her girlfriend nightlife queen Allison Melnick's birthday party at Lavo in the Palazzo.

[Paris] was again seen with Cy and spent considerable time over two consecutive nights at XS before returning to Hollywood for the MTV Movie Awards.

“Paris will be in town to attend Nicky's boyfriend David Katzenberg's party at Lavo on Saturday night for his new hit show on MTV The Hard Times of R.J. Berger,” one of her Las Vegas pals told me.

“Paris is such a force that she has literally boosted Las Vegas' earnings. People from all over the world would do literally anything to party with Paris, or just watch her. As Ke$ha would say, ‘The party don't start till she walks in,' ” one close Paris watcher told me.

Nightlife spies told me last weekend: “She now has a regular spot at Victor Drai's exclusive VIP table. She was here both nights dancing and partying. Victor has known Paris since she was a little girl and loves her like family. I'm sure he also doesn't mind all the attention and excitement that Paris creates with her presence wherever she is.”

Also there was rapper Too Short, and both he and Paris got on the mic to get the party started and to say hi to all the partygoers. “The crowd went wild when Paris got on the mic. There's something about that girl. It's hard to explain. She's amazing! I wish I was her BFF!” one partygoer told me.

As one Strip observer sagely noted: “Paris is definitely an icon like her idol Marilyn Monroe and will be celebrated forever. Las Vegas loves you, Paris. See you soon!”

One of her girlfriends told me: “Paris captivates people. She has this certain quality only few people in the world have. She has star power like no other. Her fans are die-hard. They love her to death. She is a phenomenon! But she's also very sweet and down to earth, a kind soul.”