Dan Gross: 'Diceman' on how he cometh to 'Entourage'

ANDREW DICE CLAY says he considers "Entourage" creator Doug Ellin "my Quentin Tarantino."

What the comedian means is that he hopes that Ellin's casting of him for a recurring role on the final season of the HBO series is the equivalent of what Tarantino casting John Travolta in "Pulp Fiction" did to kick-start Travolta's career.

Dice, who headlines Atlantic City's Tropicana July 30, recorded two comedy specials at the Spectrum, and his former fiancee Eleanor Kerrigan is a South Philly native. She still tours with him and his new wife, Valerie Vazquez, and Dice calls her the "best stand-up I've ever had open for me."

On "Entourage," Dice plays "a heightened version" of himself, and the role came about through a screenwriter friend, now his manager, Bruce Rubenstein, whom he says he ran into after 14 years and who told him that Ellin was a huge fan. Rubenstein hooked the two of them up, and, as Dice says, Ellin told him "I want to blow you through the roof. Now is gonna be your moment again." Dice says that Ellin, a former stand-up, wanted to put Dice into the "Johnny Bananas" cartoon that Kevin Dillon's character Johnny Drama is going to be making this season.

"I'm like the Rocky Balboa of stand-up," said Dice. "No matter how many times I've gotten knocked down I really do have this unbreakable will. I owe it to myself and the fans to tour again. And I could use the cash.

"When you make all that money, it goes in one hand and out the other," Dice said.

Who flies in from NY? U2

U2 flew in by private plane for their show Thursday at Lincoln Financial Field and got a police escort from PHL to the venue. They also left immediately following the show to fly back to New York.

Eagles about at 'Style' party

Eagles Jeremy Maclin, Omar Gaither, Moise Fokou and free-agent Marcus Harris were among guests at Philadelphia Style magazine's "Best of Style" party Thursday at the Crystal Tea Room, hanging by the Chelsea Hotel cabana. Former Eagle Vince Papale, with wife, Janet, was also guests, as were Fox 29's John Bolaris and Karen Hepp, NBC 10's Harry Hairston, Jillian Mele and Justin Pizzi, CBS 3's Anne-Marie Green and Erika von Tiehl and 6ABC's Alicia Vitarelli. SugarHouse Casino sponsored a gambling room, where funds went to benefit the F.O.P.'s Survivors Fund for the families of fallen officers.

Good guests for talk-show class