THEY JUST WANT MORE PORRIDGE.

There are a couple of Thanksgiving-timed food drives going on in the clubs to follow up on Mist’s drive last night. First up, Poetry at Caesars Palace is collecting non-perishable food items tonight and offering free VIP admission and your first drink free, plus the club will match all donations. Members of the Las Vegas Kings football team will be on hand everything will benefit the Caring 4 Kids Foundation.

Then, if you’re riding the altruism high on Sunday, The Bank at Bellagio is doing Cocktails for a Cause to benefit The Shade Tree. For every drink, get a raffle ticket. For every shot get two tickets. For every bottle, get 10 tickets. For every ticket turned in, The Bank donates a can. A winning ticket will be drawn at 2 a.m. with the winner netting a weekend stay at Bellagio, including dinner for two at Fix, and a Sunday night table at The Bank. Finally, you can start pounding shots of Maker’s Mark the way God intended: Guilt-free.

By Jason Scavone

Randy Marsh would have loved this.

Poetry at Caesars Palace is holding a Barack Obama victory party tonight with no cover and free champagne at 10 p.m. We never did check in to find out what their plan was if McCain would have won the election. It probably would have gone down just the same. Click for more words and pictures »

By Jason Scavone

A crowd gathers to watch the door close on the Forum Shops Friday night.

Poetry at Caesars Palace rallied Friday night to bring patrons and staff down to the entrance of the Forum Shops to stand silent witness to the closing of the door that separates the casino from the mall on weekends. The shuttering of that door is the main sticking point in a lawsuit the club filed against Caesars charging racial discrimination.

Around 80 people gathered, starting at the club and walking through the Shops to the entrance. As the plastic gate shut the mall off from the casino, there were a smattering of boos, but otherwise no reaction from the crowd. Afterward, employees led everyone outside through a service alley back to the club’s front entrance.

“I think (Caesars was) a little concerned and a little worried. I definitely think it’s the first few seeds that are being planted,” Poetry’s Branden Powers said. “It’s definitely not our last attempt. We collected close to a thousand signatures already on the NAACP complaint form. Click for more words and pictures »

By Jason Scavone

Back on Jan.8, Poetry, the predominantly black nightclub above Chinois inside Caesars Palace’s Forum Shops, filed a racial discrimination suit against Caesars and Simon Property Group, the company that operates the Shops.

Central to the complaint is the fact that Caesars closes the entrance between the Forum Shops and the casino on weekends around 1 a.m. — the busiest time of the week for the club. This forces customers to come and go through an access hallway to get to and leave the club. Additionally, the club charges the air conditioning doesn’t function properly and the landlords have dragged their heels on fixing it; and that Poetry is required to hire off-duty Metro police officers to provide security where Pure does not.

On Friday night, we stopped by Poetry to take a look around. It was a busy night at the Forum Shops, and the club had a decent crowd around 12:15 a.m. Walking through the upstairs, industrial-type fans were in place near the club’s balconies to boost circulation. Later in the night club owner Mike Goodwin would say the AC units designed to cool the club required 150 gallons of water per minute to operate properly. He showed us a photo of the unit’s diagnostic screen that said it was only doing 25 gallons per minute. Click for more words and pictures »

By Jason Scavone

Poetry owner Mike Goodwin has sent a letter to customers urging them to contact Caesars Palace and Simon Property Group in regard to the closing of the entrance between the casino and the Forum Shops. The letter also cites issues with the air conditioning at Poetry, which was addressed in the complaint the club filed against Caesars and Simon on Jan. 8. Read the full letter here.

The letter reads in part:

I am extremely opposed to Simon Property Group’s and Caesars Palace’s decision to close the primary entrance to the Forum Shops during Poetry’s hours of operation. I apologize that you are required to enter from an outside entrance through a back door and walk down a dirty hallway before entering the Forum Shops. … (I)t may be necessary for Simon Property Group and Caesars Palace to hear from you, the customer. Sometimes results are seen when individuals unite to make their voices heard.

By Jason Scavone

In a complaint filed Jan. 8 in Clark County District Court, the nightclub Poetry has leveled charges of racial discrimination against Caesars Palace and Simon Property Group, which operates the Forum Shops.

Poetry, a predominantly black club, is accusing Caesars and Simon of attempting to deter business at the venue. At the heart of the complaint is the accusation that beginning Aug. 17, 2007, Caesars has closed the entrance between the casino and the Forum Shops after 1 a.m. every weekend save one.

According to the complaint, 70 percent of Poetry’s business arrives through that entrance and a vast majority arrive after 1 a.m. Customers are allegedly required to enter the club through a service hallway or back alley, and that “Further, considering that the great majority of hallway or an outside back alley to gain access to the property when no other tenants’ restaurants and other places of public accommodation only through ’service entrances.’ OPM’s patrons are African-Americans, forcing them to use the back hallway is particularly degrading, and reminiscent of African-Americans historically being permitted to access restaurants and other places of accommodation only through ’service entrances.’ ”

Also noted in the complaint is the accusation that Poetry has been required to hire Metro police officers to provide security at certain events, whereas Pure has not.

When Chris Rock, who was in town over Labor Day weekend, entered the club through the service hallway, he’s reported to have joked, “What is this, the colored folks-only entrance?”

The suit seeks unspecified damages and an injunction against Caesars and Simon interfering with Poetry’s business. No hearing date has yet been set. Caesars hasn’t yet responded to a request for comment on the complaint.

By Jason Scavone

Stop pawing at the screen, hipsters.

County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly will be at Poetry inside Caesars Palace Friday night. We know what you’re thinking. We were excited, too, at the idea of watching a politician get his groove on. But, Weekly will host the Back 2 School Shoe Drive starting at 10 p.m. They’re asking for new children’s shoes, boys and girls up to size six. Donations will benefit kindergarten through fifth grades and will be distributed throughout Clark County School District.

Look, you really weren’t going to wear those Hello Kitty Reeboks anyway, so you might as well do some good with them.

By Jason Scavone

Also, there will be crap to stuff in the purses, too. (Photos by Erik Kabik | Retna)

Radio station KVEG 97.5 FM gave away 60 purses and a chance to meet Ashanti Friday night at Poetry inside Caesars Palace. In between taking pictures with fans, Ashanti herself grabbed a couple of handbags, which she’ll be making Nelly hold while she goes shopping in the near future.

By Jason Scavone

This would’ve been the greatest day of the 10th grade EVER. (Via EricaChevillar.com)

Pure at Caesars Palace welcomes 10th-grade social science teacher-turned-Playboy-model Erica Chevillar for a birthday celebration tomorrow night. That career move from high school teacher to Playboy model really worked out for everyone involved. Except the 15-year-olds who were only making it through their ninth-grade year with the thought that they were going to get Ms. Chevillar next year.

At The Joint inside Hard Rock Hotel, Jack White side-project The Raconteurs take the stage fresh off their appearance at Coachella today with opening act Birds of Avalon. The actual birds of Avalon? Finches. Little-known fact.

Also Saturday at Ceasars, this time over at Poetry, the Sugarhill Gang will be doing it old-school. We suspect there’s a chance “Rapper’s Delight” will be played.

By Jason Scavone

Whitney must have let him come out and play. (Photo by Erik Kabik)

Over at Poetry inside Caesars Palace Saturday night, Ray J made an appearance during Too Short’s birthday celebration. Short did 30 minutes on the mic, and Memphis Bleek did an impromptu set of his own. Rapper Mr. Fab was there, as was Rolls Royce with manager and point guard Gary Payton, Baltimore linebacker Terell Suggs, Jacksonville running back Fred Taylor and Denver wideout Brandon Marshall. Spanky Hayes of Wild ‘n Out was also at the club, neither rapping nor rushing for 100 yards.

By Jason Scavone