People: Goodbye, Vegas; hello, gold road

The Rocket Man bid farewell to Las Vegas this week after five years and 241 shows at Caesars Palace – but said it won’t necessarily be a long, long time before he returns.

Wearing a bright red shirt that matched his piano and a coat emblazoned with “Las Vegas Pirates” on its back and “Captain Elton” on its right sleeve, Elton John rolled through his hits Wednesday and reflected on his time at the Colosseum, a stage he famously shared with Celine Dion, Bette Midler and Cher.

“Who are you going to get to fill in our shoes now?” he said. “You’ve got Bette Midler, you’ve got Cher. It’s gonna be the Village People next.”

John, 62, initially signed on for 75 shows over three years when his run began in February 2004, but the deal was expanded because of demand.

“I really have enjoyed every single moment of this engagement,” the five-time Grammy winner said after opening the show with “Bennie and the Jets.”

John’s current tour with Billy Joel has the second-highest average box office gross behind Britney Spears, according to Pollstar, the concert industry trade publication.

Hasta la vista, retirement

Arnold Schwarzenegger might be back as the Terminator despite his day job as California governor.

He confirmed in an online interview that his image from the earlier films might appear in next month’s “Terminator: Salvation,” the fourth movie in the franchise about a showdown between humanity and machines.

Money where his thumbs are

Film critic Roger Ebert and his wife Chaz have donated $1 million to his alma mater, the University of Illinois, to create the Roger Ebert Program for Film Studies Fund.

The gift was announced Wednesday during the 11th annual Roger Ebert’s Film Festival in Champaign, also known as “Ebertfest.”

Earlier that day, officials in neighboring Urbana honored the 66-year-old Ebert by placing a bronze plaque on the sidewalk in front of the house where he was born.

Colbert’s not exactly PC

Stephen Colbert had one question for a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation official: “Does Bill Gates ever talk about me?”

The host of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” helped announce a $4.1 million gift to donorschoose.org, a Web site where teachers seek money for student projects and donors choose which projects they want to support. Colbert is a board member.

Once again, a Foo father

Finally, on the celebrity baby beat:

•Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and his wife, Jordyn, have welcomed their second daughter, Harper Willow Grohl.

•Expecting their first child together: Julie Chen of CBS’ “The Early Show” and her husband, network boss Les Moonves; and Ellen Pompeo of “Grey’s Anatomy” and record producer Chris Ivery.

The birthday bunch

Actress Shirley MacLaine is 75. Singer-actress Barbra Streisand is 67. Actor Eric Bogosian is 56. Actor-comedian Cedric the Entertainer is 45. Actor Djimon Hounsou is 45. Actress Melinda Clarke (“The O.C.”) is 40. Singer Kelly Clarkson is 27.