The Strip (excerpt)

Thursday, May 24, 2007

(Vegas Magazine – May 2007, excerpt from pg. 42)

From comedy I delve into debauchery as I dropped in on Jet nightclub’s one-year anniversary party. The hot celebrity playground at the Mirage celebrated its birthday with major star power, such as Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli, who attended with her father, Rafael, and her boyfriend, the biggest male star in the world, Leonardo DiCaprio. A regular at Jet, DiCaprio has a signature way of avoiding being spotted and harassed. I’ve seen him at the club several times now, but never without a red baseball cap dipped over his unmistakable face. I can still see you, Leo, and I hope you get the Oscar next time.

Other celebrities partying at The Light Group’s gem establishment were 300 star Gerard Butler, Blood Diamond star Djimon Hounsou, Luke Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Entourage favorite Kevin Connolly, actot Lukas Haas, Gregg Bello, former Miss Nevada USA Katie Rees, George Maloof, adult film actress Stormy Daniels and Paradise City star April Rawlings. I overheard Connolly recounting his play during the second-annual Jet Nightclub Celebrity Poker tournament at the Mirage Poker Room. Apparently he should have called his hand early on. Not surprisingly, DiCaprio, who’s known as a Texas Hold ‘Em shark, made it to the final round before being knocked out.

Meanwhile, I was hanging out in the VIP section next to some of the Mirage’s high rollers along with The Light Group’s Alex Acuna. The suited-up spokesman for Sin City’s premier nightlife conglomerate represents the new generation of Vegas movers and shakers, for whom nightlife is just as important for the city as the casinos. As we made our way past a couple of Russian women who were taller than either of us, we got a chance to look over the packed house while kicking back a few colorful cocktails and assess the new age of nightlife in Vegas.

“This one-year anniversary is huge. It’s an example of what we can do given the resources of a huge casino like MGM Mirage. Take the people behind The Light Group,” Acuna said, momentarily distracted by a woman wearing an outfit that was more like lingerie that anything else. “We’re young, we’re edgy, we’re funky, we’re fun. We know what celebs want, we evolved around celebrities, but we also take care of locals. But most importantly, we bring in this beautiful clientele.” Acuna pointed to a blonde bombshell at a VIP table. “See what I mean?” he laughed. Now I know why so many high-rolling guys choose to roll here.