Archive for February, 2010

Carrot Top celebrated his birthday dinner with some friends at Simon at Palms Place on Thursday night.  He enjoyed the Big Eye Tuna and the Junk Food Platter for dessert.

Sources close to me have informed that Bradley Ogden inside Caesar’s Palace is changing concept’s and becoming a Steak House. Luckly, Ogden will still be the namesake and the new branding will be Bradley Ogden Steak House.

FaceBook Page:

Carlos Buscaglia posted on his face book a fond farewell to fiamma after 7 years and a denial from MGM yesterday to eater.com that Carmellini was not taking over Fiamma’s kitchen from Buscaglia. Thank You eater.com for picking up our Carmellini / Fiamma report.

We at ReportOnVegas.com are not surprised that the “powers” that be are denying rumors…. Because that’s what the do here in Vegas.. Most people call it Lying! The problem with lying is that you must continue to deceive but, in sin City the truth always prevails and here you have it: Directly from Fiamma Chef Carlos Buscaglia’s facebook page:

Carlos Buscaglia http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1536708867&ref=mf

“To all my fiamma family and customers. There are things that we never want to let go of, people we never want to leave behind. letting go isn’t easy, it’s the beginning of a new life. Thank you all for an amazing 7yrs.. My last day is march 27. Hope to see everybody before my last day.. party day will be posted soon. ”

Thank you Carlos for your support of the industry and staying true to your brand while you built a business for others.

CHEF ANDREW CARMELLINI GOES TO THE MGM GRAND

New York Chef / Restaurateur Andrew Carmellini who just recently took over the kitchen of what was New York’s Ago, in the Greenwich Hotel. Carmellini’s urban Italian cuisine established at NYC eatery A Voce gave rise to Carmellini as  one of New York’s leading Italian chefs honing his skills from his tenure at Café Boulud.  Chef Andrew Carmellini has been courted for years to come to Vegas by Steve Wynn himself and another attempt was for Carmellini to have The First Restaurant space in the defunked St. Regis Tower of The Venetian .  Our inside sources at MGM told us that Carmellini has finally made his deal and this deal is for Carmellini to take over the current space that Steven Hanson’s Fiamma restaurant is located inside the MGM Grand.   Word on the re-naming and re-branding of Fiamma is not out yet.. But, remember we told you first…

Friday night celebrities, sports stars and pop culture notables took over
TAO and LAVO in Vegas.

At a table nearby, UFC fighter Tito Ortiz along with Donnie Wahlberg of New Kids on the Block, and Marlon Wayans.

Also spotted, Entourage star Kevin Connolly with several players from the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers, skater Tony Hawk and Indy driver Ryan Hunter Ray, model Joanna Krupa, A.J. Buckley from CSI, Shaun Sipos and Nicholas Gonzalez from Melrose Place, Heroes star James Kyson Lee and members of the Washington Redskins.
The celeb filled weekend at Tao and LAVO continued on Saturday night.  At TAO, Paris Hilton celebrated her 29th birthday.  Joined by boyfriend Doug Reinhardt, parents Rick and Kathy and a group of friends, Paris walked the red carpet wearing all white, with a dress by Preen, Christian Louboutin shoes and carrying a purse from her own Paris Hilton Collection line of handbags.  She topped her ensemble with  Chanel earrings, a gift Doug picked up for her in Paris. She chatted about her new album, new fragrance and upcoming TV projects, and when asked about wedding bells she said, “We’ll see what happens in the future but right now we are so happy to be together and we are really in love.”

The group dined under the watchful eye of TAO’s famed Buddha on a feast of Asian specialties.   All gathered around when a tower of cupcakes(a gift from mom Kathy) was brought out to the table and the restaurant joined in singing “Happy Birthday”. After dinner the birthday girl commanded a VIP table in the nightclub and immediately began dancing to the sounds of DJ Vice.  The parade of sweets continued with a giant cake in the club from Gimme Some Sugar and Paris got on the microphone, thanking everyone for coming to TAO to celebrate with her.  DJ Vice played her single “Stars are Blind,” and her parents even got of the mic, telling the packed crowd how much they love TAO and thanking everyone.  Perez Hilton also stopped by the table to wish his namesake a happy birthday and was greeted warmly by the entire family.

Former NBA pro Charles Barkley, who turned 47 on Saturday continued the party he started at TAO on Friday by taking over a VIP table in the nightclub, and former NFL player Jamie Sharper and his brother Darren Sharper of the New Orleans Saints were spotted at another VIP table on the dance floor.

Floyd Mayweather Jr., also had an early celebration for his birthday. The boxer, who turns 33 on February 24th was feted with a dinner by family and friends on the mezzanine level of the restaurant.

Brian Baumgartner from The Office dined at TAO with friends, as did Law and Order’s Chris Noth, aka Mr. Big from Sex and the City. Noth was later spotted in a sky box overlooking the nightclub, while Baumgartner joined the owner’s table on the dance floor.

Comedian Jay Mohr and wife, actress Nikki Cox visited TAO Nightclub before heading to check out the nightclub at LAVO.

Saturday night at LAVO, a number of celebs dined at the Italian eatery. Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks and Neil Patrick Harris from How I Met Your Mother gathered a group of friends for a dinner that included Sea Bass and dessert of Oreo Zeppole, along with LAVO’s signature Pomegranate Lemonada cocktail.

Giuliana and Bill Rancic enjoyed a romantic dinner for two with wine, while nearby Kelly Bensimon of the Real Housewives of NYC dined with friends before heading up to the nightclub. Survivor host Jeff Probst also dined at LAVO.

Rapper and hip hop artist Wale, who hosted in the nightclub, began with dinner in the restaurant. Feasting on Italian favorites from the kitchen, Wale and friends warmed up for the club with shots of Tequila. Once upstairs he surprised the packed club, hopping up onto the LAVO catwalk and entertaining the crowd with a 20 minute set.

At LAVO inside The Palazzo, gossip blogger Perez Hilton hosted a celebrity Tweet Up. Never one to shy away from controversy, Perez wore a John Mayer t-shirt and also campaigned to be American Idol’s next judge – even offering to work for the first year for free to prove his value. The “Queen of All Media” enjoyed dinner at the Italian eatery with Holly Madison and Laura Croft of E!’s new show Holly’s World before heading upstairs to host in the nightclub. Also spotted dining at LAVO was Lauren “Lo” Bosworth, of MTV’s The Hills, along with her sister. They joined Perez, Holly and Laura upstairs in the nightclub after dinner.

Also spotted at LAVO, Jared Padalecki of CW’s Supernatural celebrating his bachelor party. He will marry costar Genevieve Cortese next week in Idaho.

At TAO, Slash played host.  After enjoying dinner at TAO Asian Bistro with wife Perla and friends, the rocker adjourned to the moat sky box overlooking the entire club.  DJ Reach wasted no time, welcoming him with a long set including old Guns and Roses favorites along with songs from his solo album dropping in April. Reach played Slash’s new song “By the Sword”, with Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother and a remix of “Paradise City” with Fergie and Cypress Hill.  Poker pro Phil Hellmuth joined Slash at his table in the nightclub.

Rapper T-Pain dined at TAO and hit the club as part of the Poker Stars event held earlier in the evening.

Andrew Dice Clay and a friend had Sunday Brunch at Simon at Palms Place. He enjoyed an Egg White Omelet and a bagel. For dessert they enjoyed the Junk Food Platter.

“Eva Longoria Parker Day”

February 20 – Eva Longoria Parker celebrated “Eva Longoria Parker Day” with family and friends, and was presented with a prestigious award to acknowledge her outstanding entrepreneurial success at the Latin Chamber of Commerce 35th Installation Celebration at Eve, her CityCenter nightclub in Las Vegas.  Chairman of the Clark County Commission Rory Reid and Las Vegas Councilman Ricky Barlow each presented her with a proclamation on the red carpet to declare the day in honor of Longoria Parker, who was recognized as the sole woman restaurant and nightclub owner on the Las Vegas Strip.

Longoria Parker looked ravishing in a grey leather Bagdley Mischka dress and black YSL pumps as she walked the red carpet outside of Eve nightclub with her very proud parents, Ella and Enrique Longoria.  Also in attendance was Nevada’s First Lady Dawn Gibbons, Chairman of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce David Lizárraga, Nevada Senator Steven Horsford, Congresswoman Shelley Berkley, Clark County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly, Assemblyman William Horne, the Latin Chamber of Commerce’s chairman Luis Valera and president and CEO Otto Merida, and ARIA at CityCenter President and COO Bill McBeath.

At the event Longoria Parker was presented the prestigious “Premio de Oro –
Distinguished Business Leadership” award, to honor her commitment to expand opportunities for women- and minority-owned businesses. She commented that it was an honor to receive the award and she was proud to make a difference in both the Las Vegas and Latin community, attributing much of her success to the women role models in her life – her mother, grandmother, aunts and three older sisters.

Following the ceremony, Longoria Parker dined with her parents at her celebrated steakhouse Beso. She sipped her favorite cocktail – Beso’s signature pear and elderflower white sangria – and enjoyed her amazing tortilla soup, guacamole (a recipe that was passed down from her grandmother), and the whole fish branzino. Longoria Parker headed back upstairs to Eve nightclub where she topped off the night with some dancing,
a surprise visit from Jeff Beacher’s Oompa Loompas, and very special cake and champagne toast in celebration of “Eva Longoria Parker Day.” Also in attendance was celebrity blogger Perez Hilton.

CELEBRITY SIGHTING: Vinnie Paul and Carrot Top at Cabo Wabo Cantina

Legendary heavy metal drummer, Vinnie Paul, and Carrot Top made for an unusual pair at Sammy Hagar’s Cabo Wabo Cantina at Miracle Mile Shops last night where they enjoyed live rock and roll by the Sin City Sinners. Instead of margaritas, Paul drank Vodka and water with two limes, while Top enjoyed whiskey on the rocks.

Queen Kwong been featured on two NIN tours, she has the support of guitar legend, Dave Navarro, and all before she has released a full length album. Queen Kwong, aka Carre’ Callaway, is based in the heart of Los Angeles.  She is an avid cat lover, heartfelt lyricist, and a combination of sweet, sexy, fury on stage.  She released her EP, Love is A Bruise, on January 12 of this year and it is already getting attention overseas.  Her music was just recently featured on BBC 6 and has even started to gain attention in Austrailia. Each song on her debut EP shows her musical breadth and highlights her raw musical talent.  Her vocals are haunting one minute, sweet the next, sarcastic, but always powerful.  “Pet” is the single on the EP, but “The Thin Line” is just as equally compelling in its own right. With all that she has accomplished so far, the sky isn’t even the limit for Queen Kwong.

MAGIC International hosted the S.L.A.T.E. party at Vanity nightclub inside the new HRH Tower at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. PEEPSHOW star Holly Madison was spotted enjoying the festivities while Josh Madden, brother of Benji and Joel Madden (Good Charlotte), tore up the turntables as the special guest DJ.

HARD ROCK HOTEL & CASINO “The JOINT” RECEIVES THE 21ST ANNUAL POLLSTAR CONCERT INDUSTRY AWARD

Brand new $60 million venue recognized by industry leaders

The Joint has been named Best New Major Concert Venue by Pollstar Magazine. Music industry leaders vote each year on this prestigious award and last night recognized the venue as setting new standards for the live music experience. The venue opened with five sold out shows in April 2009 and has had continued success ever since. “We are so pleased to see that all of the thought and effort we put into the design of the venue has come to fruition,” said Paul Davis, Vice President of Entertainment of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. “We are grateful to have such amazing partners in AEG who have worked so hard to bring so many great shows into the new Joint.”

The Pollstar Awards were held last night at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles. AEG Live is the exclusive booking agent for the venue and received a total of six awards for its various divisions. In addition to The Joint’s award, AEG won Music Festival of the Year -Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, International Arena of the Year-O2 Arena, Theatre of the Year-Nokia Theatre L.A. Live, Nightclub of the Year-Club Nokia, and Talent Buyer of the Year-John Valentino. “We’re all so happy that the Joint was awarded the Best New Venue by our peers in the live entertainment business,” said Bobby Reynolds, Vice President of Booking of AEG Live Las Vegas. “The venue is indeed spectacular, and along with the team at the Hard Rock, we’ve developed the best live music programming in Las Vegas.”

Rocker Tommy Lee took over house night at Blush Boutique Nightclub on Wednesday at Wynn Las Vegas to host the King Baby Studio grand opening after-party. Lee showed up to the hotspot shortly after 11 p.m. with his girlfriend, German-born singer Sofia Toufa, and a bright red lip print on his cheek. Lee entertained clubgoers by playing a drum machine and providing video mixes on the Blush screens alongside DJ Aero who manned the turntables. Enjoying the electro house set were

King Baby owner Mitchell Binder; legendary skate boarder Danny Way; DJ Scotty Boy and guitarist SmittyonSteel. Lee smoked cigarettes and switched from drinking a vodka cranberry early on in the evening to swigging champagne from the bottle late in his set. Lee left the club at 1 a.m.