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Entertainment
Richard Johnson

Richard Johnson: Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck nervous about announcing their engagement

NEW YORK — Jennifer Lopez will soon marry Ben Affleck, but the muy caliente couple is leery of announcing their engagement.

Bennifer did that nearly 20 years ago, then postponed the wedding four days before the ceremony, blaming “excessive media attention.”

So this time they’ll try for secrecy, if they are smart, I’ve heard.

As the not-so-secretive Lopez told People, “Before, we kind of put [our relationship] out there. We were naïve and it got a little trampled.”

My source said of the second chance, “The big hurdle was their kids, but they seemed to have conquered that hill.”

Affleck has three children with actress Jennifer Garner, while J.Lo has twins with singer Marc Anthony. “They are balancing their romance with family.”

Lopez is also balancing her career. But her next two movies are apt. She stars in rom-com “Marry Me” with Owen Wilson and then in action-comedy “Shotgun Wedding” with Josh Duhamel.

Lopez, who has been married three times, is believed to still have the engagement ring from Affleck from 20 years ago, as well as the sparkler she got from former fiance, ex-Yankee Alex Rodriguez.

“She collects engagement rings like the Gabor sisters,” laughed my source.

But this sparkler might be the last.

“The couple is beyond grateful for getting a second chance,” said my source, “and they cannot imagine being with anyone else.”

****

Now that Adele has spit the bit and canceled her concerts at Caesars Palace, other Vegas casinos are eager to book her.

“There was a big demand for tickets from million-dollar players who hadn’t gambled in Vegas in over five years,” said one gambler.

“They were coming back to Vegas just to see her. Every casino on the strip is trying to get her, at all costs, and offer her even more money than she was making at Caesars.”

Nearly 10 million viewers watched CBS’ “Adele One Night Only” in November, a bigger audience than the Oscars and the Grammys.

****

Jon Bon Jovi is a good son.

The rocker lived with his parents in his childhood home in New Jersey while he recorded his first three hit albums with Bon Jovi. Jon has often credited his 80-something year-old parents Jon and Carol (a former Playboy Bunny) for his success.

So it was no shock that Bon Jovi was at their house at the Eagle Trace Golf Club in Coral Springs, Fla., helping them move.

Bon Jovi was spotted there doing all the heavy lifting, reports Hampton Sheet publisher, Joan Jedell, who said, “Talk about salt of the Earth!”

****

The Copacabana lives on.

The nightspot on East 60th Street was immortalized in song by Barry Manilow in 1978. Its last incarnation was in Times Square.

Now the Copa is reopening on Feb. 12 at Casa Events at 627 W. 51st St.

Says the space’s elated owner Ruben Rubin Cabrera, “I am thrilled to have this venerable, beloved club in my space for people to dance the night away.”

The Copa’s 91-year-old owner John Juliano, whose family has overseen the place since its doors opened, was there when Martin Scorsese used the nightspot as a backdrop for his films “Goodfellas” and “Raging Bull.”

The Copa also hosted the debuts of actors Danny Thomas and Pat Cooper and comedy duo Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.

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The hottest club that most New Yorkers will never see is on the 100th floor of Central Park Tower on East 57th Street, known as Billionaires Row.

The club is for residents of the skyscraper known as “The Pencil” and their guests.

Its “Lifestyle Curator” is Colin Cowie, the Zambian-born party planner dubbed ‘’The Crown Prince of Hospitality’' by PARK magazine’s George Wayne.

****

Charlie Palmer, who already has five restaurants in Manhattan, is said to be taking over the eatery at the Friars Club on East 55th Street.

That was the buzz on Wednesday night as singer Nicole Henry entertained with a tribute to Whitney Houston that brought down the house.

****

Bandleader Evan Tyler, who played the weddings of Kevin Hart and Mike “the Situation” Sorrentino, donated his recent performance with his band Starlight Music at the Albany Medical Center Foundation benefit.

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