Ellen DeGeneres Has a Thing for Thongs

By Mark Gray

11/21/2008 at 11:35 AM EST

Lots of people bring a lucky charm to Las Vegas – a rabbit's foot, a picture of the kids.

Ellen DeGeneres brings her lucky thong.

"It has an ace, king, queen, jack and 10 on it," she joked with the audience at the taping of her upcoming variety show Ellen's Even Bigger Really Big Show at Caesar's Palace on Thursday.

"Ironically that's a straight."

Apparently, the comedian has a thing for thongs. Last September, DeGeneres, 50, kicked of a new season of Ellen by telling the audience she was wearing one for the first time on TV. It was also her first appearance since her marriage to actress Portia De Rossi.

DeGeneres's new one-hour special, set to air Nov. 29, features gymnasts, dancers and an 8-year-old singer whom Ellen predicts will be "a big star". "If your like me you're going to have a lot of questions after some of these acts," she joked about the bizarre line-up.

"Last year [the special] was called Ellen's Really Big Show, but this year it's bigger," she said. "I've gone up a bra size."

DeGeneres also doled out advice on how to win big in Vegas: cheat, swipe chips from the dealer and don't waste money on the buffet. "There nothing wrong with those french fries people leave on their room service carts in the hallway," she said.

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