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 By
Judy Thorburn
Entertainment Reporter/Film Critic
Las Vegas Tribune
Owner/Editor in Chief/writer
www.theflickchicks.com
There is no way I could write about all the parties and hot spots that
were rockin’ with celebrities and excitement on New Year’s Eve right
here in Las Vegas, the entertainment capital of the world. But, I will
share some info on a couple of events including the celebrity filled
Pre-New Years Eve bash that marked the opening of one of the most
anticipated and hottest new night spots in Las Vegas, and the black tie
extravaganza that yours truly attended.
Jay Z's
40/40 Club Debuts at the Palazzo
On Sunday evening December 30, the Grand Opening party was held inside
40/40 club, the third location of hip hop mogul and entrepreneur Jay-Z’s
venture into sports, entertainment and nightlife. His other two
nightclubs are in New York and Atlantic City. Situated inside Las Vegas’
new Palazzo Hotel and Casino (the sister property of the Venetian which
is next door) on the strip, the 24,000 square feet, $20 million 40/40
club is an upscale multi level blend of sports bar and lounge featuring
85 plasma screens, five bars serving “top shelf” wines and libations,
and stadium (or bleacher) style seating of leather couches situated in
the main room and throughout the venue for guests to experience the
ultimate in sports viewing and entertainment. The venue also offers a
luxurious dining area serving all-American fare with a Latin accent and
five VIP rooms for more privacy.
Jay Z
Photo Credit: Judy Eddy
Beyonce
Photo Credit: Denise Trusecello
Mary J. Blige
Photo Credit: Judy Eddy
Alex (A Rod) Rodriguez
Photo Credit: Denise Trusecello
Charles Barkley
Photo Credit: Denise Trusecello
LeBron James
Photo Credit: Ed Graff
Photo Credit: Stephen Thorburn
Of course, the man of the hour, Jay Zee was in
attendance at his club’s gala opening event along with main squeeze,
superstar singer Beyonce (rumor has it that the couple recently tied the
knot in Paris, but they have denied it). Other guests included Jay Zee’s
celebrity friends from the world of sports, entertainment and music
including Mary J. Blige, Kanye West, Cindy Margolis, Michael Urie (Ugly
Betty), Charles Barkley, LeBron James and Alex (A Rod) Rodriquez.
New
Year's Eve Extravaganza at Emerald Dream Ball
As for New Years Eve, my husband and I spent the countdown to 2008 at
the Rio Hotel where we attended the first annual Emerald Dream Ball
black tie extravaganza hosted by fashion designer Lana Fuchs and her
husband Victor that paid tribute to 13 breast cancer survivors from all
over the country.
The evening’s festivities started at 9 p.m. with cocktails & hors
d’oeuvres and a silent auction pre-show reception at Fiore Steakhouse
before guests were escorted into Club Rio to enjoy music, entertainment,
a fashion show, and fine cuisine.
Alison Sweeney (dark blue dress) surrounded by breast
cancer survivor honorees
Photo Credit: Judy Thorburn
Omarosa with mother
Photo Credit: Dianne R. Davis
Female Impersonator Frank Marino with cast members of
La Cage
Photo Credit: Dianne R. Davis
There was also a red carpet laid out in front of the
entrance to Club Rio for the arriving special guests that included the
13 women who were being honored as well as celebrities: actors Alison
Sweeney, Melissa Gilbert, Ian Ziering, John Melendez, choreographer Cris
Judd, Pamela Bach Hasselhoff, former “Apprentice” contestant, Omarosa,
William Romeo, Frank Marino who was accompanied by several female “diva”
celebrity impersonators (dragged to the hilt as Cher, Reba MacIntyre,
Britney Spears, Diana Ross) from the cast of La Cage who later performed
for the crowd, and my good friend, one of Las Vegas’ top movers and
shakers, food and beverage mogul Michael Politz.
Motorcross Star Robbie
Maddison Breaks World Record at the Rio
While I was partying inside on New Years Eve, outside a world record was
being broken in the parking lot- turned action sports venue of the Rio
All Suite Hotel and Casino. Motorcross star Robbie Maddison succeeded in
breaking the motorcycle distance jumping world record by jumping 320
feet, the length of a football field. Maddison holds two other world
records including the longest bike jump at 221 feet and the longest bike
trick at 246 feet.
Robbie Maddison's World Record Breaking Jump
Backstreet
Boys Treat NYE Guests at Body English with Surprise Performance
New Year's Eve guests in Body English nightclub at Hard Rock Hotel &
Casino were treated to a surprise performance from best-selling male
vocal group of all time, Backstreet Boys. Nick Carter, Howie Dorough,
Brian Littrell and A.J. McLean were invited to the Las Vegas hotspot to
host the evening and countdown to 2008. Shortly after toasting the new
year with the crowd, the guys took the stage for a 30 minute set mixing
songs from their latest CD "Unbreakable" with fan favorites like "I Want
It That Way", "Shape of My Heart" and closed with "Everybody
(Backstreet's Back)" to a thrilled audience. Afterward, the group stayed
on celebrating with family, friends and fans until the early morning
hours. Near the end of the party, Littrell and McLean climbed onto the
bar for an impromptu encore song.
Back Street Boys at Body English
Other
current and upcoming “happenings” in and around Las Vegas include:
Tickets are now on sale for “3 Redneck Tenors – A New Musical
Adventure”, which opened on January 3 for a series of limited
engagements inside the Atrium Showroom at the Luxor Hotel.
Combining overalls and tuxedos, this one-of-a-kind musical comedy
follows three singing cousins from their modest beginnings in Paris,
Texas, all the way to their triumphant debut at New York’s famed
Carnegie Hall. 3 Redneck Tenors is a foot stompin’, knee slappin’,
uproariously funny musical redneck romp, with tunes from Elvis to
Puccini, soul to pop and country to opera and features a cast of veteran
Broadway and opera stars, including John Wilkerson, Alex Bumpas, Matthew
Lord and Dinny McGuire. Over the past three years, the national touring
show has performed in over 100 cities throughout the United States and
received considerable praise.
3 Redneck Tenors can be seen during the following dates: January 3-7,
February 6-12. Performances are scheduled for Sunday – Friday at 8 p.m.,
and Saturday at 9 p.m.
Tickets priced at $30, $40 and $50 plus tax and fees are available at
all Luxor box office locations or online at
www.luxor.com To charge by
phone call (800) 557-7428 or (702) 262-4400.
The CineVegas Art House Screening Series returns to Las Vegas’ Galaxy
Neonopolis movie screens beginning January 10 and will feature
independent, underground, foreign and documentary films each week.
The first film is director Brian De Palma’s REDACTED at 7 pm on
Thursday, January 10, which will also serve as a fundraiser for Nevada
Public Radio. A fictional story inspired by true events, REDACTED
follows a small group of American soldiers stationed at a checkpoint in
Iraq, alternating points of view of these young men, members of the
media and the local Iraqi people. Following the screening, Nevada Public
Radio’s Dave Berns will moderate a panel who will discuss the film.
CineVegas will continue to screen REDACTED until Thursday, January 17.
On Thursday, January 17, CineVegas will hold a special screening of MR.
UNTOUCHABLE at 7 pm at Galaxy at the Cannery, benefiting Power 88.1 FM.
MR. UNTOUCHABLE is the true-life story of a heroin junkie turned
multimillionaire drug-lord. CineVegas will continue to screen this film
until Thursday, January 24. *** Please note that all screenings of MR.
UNTOUCHABLE will be held at Galaxy at the Cannery, located at 2121 E.
Craig Road, west of Losee Road.
The remaining screening schedule for January and February is as follows
with additional screenings to be announced at a later date. All
screenings take place at the Galaxy Neonopolis unless otherwise noted:
January 18 – 24: In JOE STRUMMER: THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN, Draws on both
a shared punk history and the close personal friendship that developed
over the last years of Clash frontman Joe Strummer’s life. Director
Julien Temple’s film is a celebration of the musician before, during and
after the Clash.
January 25 – 31: From legendary French director Jean-Luc Godard, PIERROT
LE FOU follows Ferdinand (Jean-Paul Belmondo) as he flees his bourgeois
existence with his babysitter and ex-lover, Marianne (Anna Karina).
Taking it on the lam to the south of France, the couple becomes an
existential Bonnie and Clyde, battling gunrunners, gas station
attendants, and American tourists as they come face to face with their
own roles as characters in a pop-cultural landscape.
February 1 – 7: WEIRDSVILLE tells the story of a pair of slackers who
get in way over their heads when they try to dump the body of a dead
girlfriend in the basement of a drive-in movie theater where a satanic
cult performs ritual sacrifices. From Allan Moyle, director of the cult
classic PUMP UP THE VOLUME, this bizarre film stars Scott Speedman, Wes
Bentley and Taryn Manning.
February 8 – 14: KURT COBAIN ABOUT A SON, is an intimate and moving
mediation on the late musician and artist Kurt Cobain told entirely in
his own voice without celebrity sound bytes, news clips, sensational
angles or attempts to mimic grunge aesthetic.
February 15 – 28: The CineVegas Art House Screening Series will present
a mini festival showcasing the works of David Lynch, one of the world’s
most original and compelling contemporary directors. The series will
include LYNCH, the new documentary that gives a rare glimpse into the
fascinating mind of this legendary director compiled from over two years
of footage. CineVegas will also bring to Las Vegas a new 35 mm print of
ERASERHEAD, Lynch’s newest film INLAND EMPIRE and some of Lynch’s
shorts, which are rarely seen in a theater setting.
February 29 – March 6: A contemporary drama set in Washington D.C., THE
WALKER centers around Carter Page (Woody Harrelson), a well-heeled and
popular socialite who serves as confidant, companion and card partner to
some of the capitol’s leading ladies. Carter’s loyalty is tested when
his dearest friend (Kristin Scott Thomas) finds herself on the brink of
a scandal that could destroy her reputation and her husband’s career.
Tickets to all screenings are $8.75 for adults Sunday through Thursday,
$9 for adults Friday and Saturday, $6 for bargain matinee and $6 for
children, students, senior and military. Tickets may be purchased at
Galaxy Theatres Neonopolis, located at 450 East Freemont Street. For
more information, please call (702) 992-7979 or visit the CineVegas
website at
www.cinevegas.com/screenings
On January 12, Hats! An original musical based on the Red Hat Society,
which consists of more than a million ladies over the age of 50 that
wear red hats to signify that they have greeted middle age with
enthusiasm and verve, will debut in the main showroom at Harrahs. 12
original songs were written for the show by 13 Grammy-Award winning
composers and lyricists, including Melissa Manchester, Pam Tillis, and
Kathie Lee Gifford. Performances for Hats! is at 6 p.m.
On January 14, The Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art will be closing the
exhibition “In the Master’s Hands: Picasso’s Ceramics – Treasures from
the Estate of Pablo Picasso. However, beginning February 8th through
October 15, 2008, the gallery will showcase the best of “American
Modernism”, an exhibition organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,
that will feature masterworks by American modernists such as Georgia
O’Keeffe, Stuart Davis and Marsden Hartley. The new ticket prices are
$17 for patrons 13 and older $12 for military and $10 for children 6 to
12 years of age. Admission is free for children 5 and younger. Pricing
for Nevada residents, college students and seniors 65 and older remains
the same at $14, $12 and $14, respectively.
Flamingo Las Vegas headliner George Wallace has chosen the legendary
funk band WAR to share the stage January 25-26, 2008. Performing at
10:00 p.m. WAR will rock audiences with their eclectic fusion of rock,
funk, jazz, Latin music, R&B and even reggae. War’s enduring musical
career which started back in the 1970s has garnered the band over 50
million in record sales with classic hits including “Lowrider,” “Spill
the Wine,” “Why Can’t We Be Friends,” “Cisco Kid, “Gypsy Man,” and
“Summer”. Tickets are $86.35 inclusive and can be purchased at the
Flamingo box office. For more information call (702) 733-3333 or visit
www.FlamingoLasVegas.com
Comedian Artie Lange, best known as a regular radio personality on “The
Howard Stern Show,” will bring his hilarious stand-up routine to the
Mandalay Bay Theatre Friday, for one night only, February 1 at 8 p.m.
and 11 p.m. Tickets now on sale are priced at $67 and $45 (includes tax
and handling fees) and are available at any Mandalay Bay box office.
Guests must be 21 years of age to attend. To charge by phone with a
major credit card, call the Mandalay Bay box office at (702) 632-7580.
The multifaceted Studio at the Palms, which raised the bar for the music
and entertainment industry in Las Vegas, just celebrated its first year
anniversary. The Studio has emerged as a major destination for music
producers and major artists like Timbaland, Mary J. Blige, The Killers,
Paul McCartney and Andrea Bocelli with accomplishments in 2007 that
included hit records, live concert recordings from The Pearl Concert
Theater and involvement with the MTV Video Music Awards. Chart Topping
Releases and Live Recordings at the Studio included Celine Dion’s Taking
Chances, Britney Spears’ Blackout, Bone, Thugs and Harmony’s T.H.U.G.S.
and Maroon 5’s It Won’t Be Soon Before Long which reached number one and
recently received Grammy nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best
Pop Performance by a Duo or Group for the single “Makes Me Wonder.”
For more information on the recording studio, visit
www.palms.com
I’ll be back next week with more of what’s “happening” in and around Las
Vegas.
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