Dinners made by Giada auctioned for $220K
THE bidding war prompted an exhausted Tom Jenkin to say, “That’s going to be some expensive spaghetti.”
Worth $220,000, specifically (gratuity not included).
The live auction at Saturday night’s Nevada Ballet Theatre Woman of the Year gala at Wynn Las Vegas pitted a pair of Vegasville power couples against each other for a group dinner to be prepared by Giada De Laurentiis — Jenkin, a top executive with Caesars Entertainment, and his wife, Trish; and Switch founder Rob Roy and his wife, Stella.
The auction lot that sparked the wild bidding war was listed in the gala’s program as a dinner to be prepared by an anonymous chef. When De Laurentiis, the night’s Woman of the Year honoree, stood and announced she was the mystery chef, the bidding took off.
With Giada and ace auctioneer Chet Buchanan extolling both couples, the Jenkins and Roys bidding volley escalated quickly from $10,000, to $50,000 and finally halted at $110,000. De Laurentiis said she would cover both dinners for a total of $220,000, which is believed to be the highest live-auction bid ever at the NBT gala, held annually since 1985.
De Laurentiis, one of the Strip’s leading restaurateurs and culinary celebrities, launched her first Vegas restaurant, Giada, at Cromwell in 2014. She said before the program that Pronto, her second venture, is scheduled to open Saturday at its Caesars Palace location just across from Rao’s and Mr. Chow.
“I spent the last two days there, and I’m very confident we can have our soft opening next Saturday, and our grand opening on Feb. 10,” De Laurentiis said. “I have been fine-tuning all the details, like making sure we have chargers throughout the space and coat hooks — all the little things that make the world of difference.”
Our Jewel moment
Folk and poetry artist Jewel was the night’s unbilled guest performer. She told the audience that she could not stay for the entire program because, “I have bronchitis,” then performed a stirring, a cappella version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” as a tribute to De Laurentiis.
Clint’s Grammy rendezvous
Clint Holmes’ dual Grammy nominations for “Rendezvous” were topped by a seven-time award winner.
Randy Newman was honored Sunday for “Putin” in the Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals category. Holmes was nominated for two songs from his recent “Rendezvous” release, “Every Time We Say Goodbye,” his duet with Jane Monheit ;and “I Loves You Porgy/there’s A Boat That’s Leavin’ Soon For New York” from “Porgy and Bess,” which he sang with Dee Dee Bridgewater.
The award was presented in a ceremony before Sunday night’s CBS telecast from Madison Square Garden in New York.
Holmes spent the weekend in and around New York, attending Grammy functions as the suspense for Sunday’s announcement mounted.
“The experience kept getting deeper and more meaningful,” Holmes said Sunday in a text message. “At the Grammy parties, I realized 20,000 tracks are submitted (for consideration for nomination), so to have two nominated from our CD is really something special.”
He added, “It also made the disappointment a little stronger than I anticipated. But all in all, an unforgettable life experience.”
At the risk of employing a cliche, Holmes’ nominations were themselves a victory. Nearly 45 years have passed since his “Playground in My Mind,” his lone Top 40 Billboard Hot 100 hit, reached No. 2 on the charts. And at age 71, he earned his first Grammy nominations — two ofthem—inthesamefield.
Grammys’ Oct. 1 tribute
Eric Church, Maren Morris and Brothers Osborne ,all of whom performed at Route 91 Harvest, site of the Oct. 1 mass shootings that killed 58 music fans and injured hundreds more, performed Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven” at the 60th Grammy Awards show.
The lineup was announced this month, but the song was not.
The number opened with Morris announcing, “We want to honor the memory of the music-loving souls whose lives were so cruelly taken from us lost their lives on Oct. 1,” and Church, who headlined the first night of the Las Vegas event, adding, “May they all rest in peace.” The singers’ voices wavered as they were backed by video panels showing the names of the 58 victims.
Who Was Where
Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez on Saturday at Yellowtail Japanese Restaurant & Lounge at Bellagio … Karl “The Mailman” Malone on Wednesday at Carlos Santana’s rock show at House of Blues at Mandalay Bay. Malone was with Muhammad Ali’s longtime manager, Gene Kilroy.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@ reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @ Johnnykats1 on Instagram. As of 9 p.m. Sunday:
1. COMMENTARY: FBI went to great lengths to plot against Donald Trump
“This is bad. This is the worst scandal in U.S. history. The FBI may never recover. Faith in government may never recover. The Democratic Party will never recover,” writes columnist Wayne Allyn Root.
2. Steve Wynn resigns as RNC finance chairman amid allegations
Steve Wynn stepped down Saturday as Republican National Committee finance chairman amid allegations of sexual misconduct. “The work we are doing to make America a better place is too important to be impaired by this distraction,” Wynn said in a statement.
3. East Las Vegas man shot dead while working on truck
Las Vegas police said the 42-year-old man was working on a Dodge Ram pickup outside his mobile home on the 1200 block of Lamb Boulevard when someone came up and shot him several times at close range.
4. Man killed in North Las Vegas ‘high-speed’ crash
One man was killed early Sunday after a “high-speed” crash in North Las Vegas.
5. Australian aircraft aborts takeoff, catches fire in Las Vegas
No serious injuries were reported after an
Royal Australian Air Force aircraft aborted its takeoff and caught fire Saturday morning at Nellis Air Force Base, officials said.