At least Rampage never charged the mound after a pickoff attempt.
Gary Sheffield and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson were both at Lavo inside Palazzo last night, which is a special and dangerous kind of mix-and-match for your crazy. You know how if you’re on antibiotics and you drink booze it just kind of blasts you into outer space? That’s got to be the kind of effect Gary Sheffield has on Rampage when they’re together in the same room. We’re shocked none of the furniture got broken.
When will we ever get over this red booze/blue booze divide?
Republicans will tell you to vote with your head. Democrats want you to vote with your heart. Us? We want you to vote with your liver.
SushiSamba at Palazzo offers up a two-party system of its own with the Maverick and the Obamarama — cocktails designed to grease the wheels of civic duty. Tonight, SushiSamba locations across the country will be keeping running tallies of which drink gets more votes. Although, much like in Chicago, multiple votes will not only be tolerated, but encouraged.
The Maverick is muddled strawberries and sugar with vodka, triple sec and guava juice shaken and poured into a cocktail glass. The Obamarama is muddled lemon and sugar with Pearl blueberry vodka, blue curacao and guava juice, shaken and poured on the rocks in a wine glass and topped with club soda. So you get two choices that are remarkably similar with a few subtle differences? Well this is nothing like an actual American election at all. Click for more words and pictures »
We’ve been beating the drum as far back as September that the choice was clear in this election. That you needed to vote Apollo/Lando ‘08. Well, for a while, we were a lone voice in the wilderness, but not anymore. Now there’s one man who agrees with us: Billy Dee Goddamn Williams. So, haters? The line to begin sucking it forms to the left.
For your Election Day partying Lavo at Palazzo has an election results soiree from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Planet Hollywood is broadcasting CNN’s election coverage starting at 3 p.m. on their Miracle Mile video screens. The Eagles of Death Metal do a free Election Night show tonight at Beauty Bar, and your “I Voted” sticker can nab you freebies from The Cupcakery or tickets to the George Wallace show at The Flamingo. On Thursday, Poetry at Caesars Palace is planning an Obama victory party. No matter who you choose, we hope you cash in on the promise of abortions for some, miniature American flags for others.
Nelly with cake shaped like … the Brady Bunch station wagon? (Photo by Hew Burney | SpyOnVegas.com)
Nelly kicked back his 34th last night at Lavo inside Palazzo with dinner downstairs before heading up to the nightclub to get a Ford Flex cake shortly after receiving a Ford Flex as a birthday gift. For our birthday, meanwhile, we got a Funkmaster Flex CD, so it’s pretty much the same thing. Not joining Nelly, was girlfriend Ashanti, who he recently revealed actually was his girlfriend.
Joining the celebration were boxer Vernon Forrest, St. Lunatics member Murphy Lee, Kevin Federline, who was jumping into the booth to share Patron shots with DJ Vice, and poker player Antonio Esfandiari.
Don’t be fooled by Will.i.am’s Obama pin. All the Peas are voting Apollo/Lando. (Photo by Bryan Haraway)
Amy Smart and Will.i.am took over at Lavo inside The Palazzo Saturday night for a GetOutTheVote.org party. The Black Eyed Pea spun for the crowd before everyone retreated to a table as DJ Reach took over. Someone needs to pull Clark County voter records to see how significant the impact was. Has to be about a 200 percent gain, we figure.
Also at Lavo on Saturday were Believe holdovers Neil Patrick Harris and boyfriend David Burtka, AJ Buckley, Jonathan Togo , Christina Hendricks and boyfriend Geoffrey Arend, and Justin Long. They had dinner, went outside for a hookah and then went upstairs to the club. The very thought of Christina Hendricks shaking it is enough to send bedridden old men into fits. The same crew saw Love at The Mirage along with Adam Shankman, Keir O’Donell and Joey Kerns.
Sunday saw Smart at Tao inside The Venetian having dinner with a group of 10. Earlier, it was Smart’s turn to take in a show of Love.
The Pianist is an uplifting musical comedy, right?
Adrien Brody was at Lavo inside Palazzo last night for dinner with Simon Rex and two friends. Also downstairs at Lavo was Dan Akroyd, who unfortunately wasn’t wearing his proton pack. That’s woefully unprepared for a ghostbuster this close to Halloween. Dr. Spengler should give him some sort of reprimand.
Director Steven Soderbergh was upstairs in the nightclub with a large group of the cast and crew of the upcoming The Girlfriend Experience, which is written by Brian Koppelman and David Levien, who also wrote Rounders and Ocean’s Thirteen (which Soderbergh directed). Large parts of the flick, though, will be improv. Soderbergh and Brody worked together on King of the Hill, so does this mean they’re reuniting on the largely guarded Girlfriend? Either way, that’s two Oscar winners in one club for the night, which is pretty solid. Now everyone else is going to have to scramble to haul in a few Cable Ace Award winners.
After two years of political campaigning that’s been the equivalent of having a small child following you around every waking moment saying, “Vote, vote, vote, vote, VOTE, vote, vote,” maybe you’re still only vaguely aware that there’s an election going on. But there totally is. We swear.
Crank 2: High Voltage actress Amy Smart knows there’s an election, though, and she wants to share. She’ll host a party for GetOutTheVote.org with Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas Saturday at Lavo inside The Palazzo, who will spin a set with DJ Reach.
Then on Election Night, Lavo and Executive Lounge will have a results party where movers and shakers will gather at 5:30 p.m. in all its administration-changin’ glory.
What would really put a nice twist on the process, though, is if Penn Jillette — who’s not entirely a fan of voting — were to hold an anti-election party. Now that would be a good time — no one would care about the results because no one had a horse in the race and there would be magic. Take that, boring victory parties.
We sincerely hope Kerry Simon got Dee Dee Ramone’s quiche lorraine recipe from Robert Knight. (Photos by Erik Kabik | Retna)
The James Beard Foundation Taste America Gala was all over The Venetian and The Palazzo this weekend, drawing Beard Award-winning chefs from all over the country, including Patrick Connolly, R.J. Cooper III, Traci Des Jardins, Jardiniere, Jean-Louis Gerin, Donald Link, Shawn McClain, Adam Siegel, Holly Smith, Robert Stehling, John Sundstrom, Celina Tio and Fabio Trabocchi.
Ludo Lefebvre of Lavo was one of the host chefs, cooking up a storm for pastry gurus Francios Payard and Gregory Gorreau, Todd Williams of Bradley Ogden, Frank Savoy, son of Guy Savoy and Chef Olivier Dubreuil who heads up the kitchens of The Palazzo and The Venetian. Other host chefs included Charlie Trotter, Luciano Pellegrini, Zach Allen, David Burke, Long Nguyen and David Robins.
You’d think with all that talent there you’d be able to get one good bowl of Beefaroni, but apparently no one studied at the Culinary Institute of Boyardee.
Quick! Say something snarky about Audrina Patridge! (Photo by Bryan Haraway. Additional photos courtesy)
The Soup host Joel McHale headed over to Lavo inside Palazzo after wrapping up his show at Mandalay Bay Events Center Friday night with his wife and several friends, closing down the dining room. He was there on the same night The Hills spinoff The City’s Erin Lucas was with a group of girlfriends and her boyfriend for her birthday. We imagine she spent the whole night terrified that McHale would see her and get enough material for the next three episodes of The Soup.
Fellow show host Craig Ferguson was also there, doing a much less funny dinner than McHale later in the night.
Also celebrating a birthday at Lavo was Matt Dallas of Kyle XY with a bunch of dudes and one girl for dinner before going upstairs to the nightclub proper. Former President Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer was back in the club for the second time this week, dancing with his girl. You know what people connected to politics should do more of? Dancing. Click for more words and pictures »
We suspect Ludo Lefebvre will win the Most Inked James Beard award. (Photo by Al Powers | SpyOnVegas.com)
The James Beard Foundation holds its first-ever Las Vegas Taste America Gala this weekend with dinners at Palazzo’s Restaurant Charlie and Venetian’s Valentino tonight and the Gala proper tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Palazzo.
Tonight, Charlie Trotter will throw down for a 15-course reception and dinner menu complemented by rare wines from a mystery winemaker, who, we assume will show up in a Zorro mask with a bunch of grapes in one hand and a sword in the other. Beard Award winner Luciano Pellegrini will do a cocktail reception at 7 p.m. followed by a six-course truffle and wine pairing dinner at Valentino.
Then, tomorrow, hosts Susan Ungaro, president of the James Beard Foundation and Charlie Trotter will host as Palazzo and Venetian chefs Zach Allen, David Burke, Olivier Dubreuil, Ludo Lefebvre, Long Nguyen, Pellegrini and David Robbins will present a four-course dinner that will also include cuisine by Beard Award winners Patrick Connolly, R.J. Cooper III, Traci Des Jardins, Jardiniere, Jean-Louis Gerin, Donald Link, Shawn McClain, Adam Siegel, Holly Smith, Robert Stehling, John Sundstrom, Celina Tio, and Fabio Trabocchi.
A cocktail reception and silent auction kicks it all off and a live auction and dessert reception follow. We’ll be thinking about that when we’re ordering Chinese take-out from the questionable joint near our place.
11.6.08 
