Usher, Aoki check into Tiesto’s RW set
IT has become an inevitability at Vegas resort openings. Everyone is trying to get to Paris. Paris Hilton, the resort heiress, former reality show phenomenon and current
DJ, held forth at the Resorts Worlds Las Vegas opening Thursday night. During a set at the Ayu Dayclub pool deck, Hilton donned a turquoise-colored, “Toxic”-inspired outfit in support of Britney Spears during the red-themed event.
Extolling a “Free Britney” vibe, Hilton also shouted out to Spears, “This is for someone I have been thinking of a lot today,” and continued to pump the EDM behind her “Paris Hilton” Macbook Pro.
Spears this week urged a Los Angeles judge to end the conservatorship managed by her father, Jamie, and give back control of her life. Hilton is a longtime supporter of Spears. The Hilton family, including Paris’ parents Rick and Kathy Hilton and her sister, Nicky, all were in attendance at the opening party.
Afterward, incoming Colosseum at Caesars Palace headliner Usher, superstar DJ Steve Aoki and headlining comic (and vaunted roastmaster) Jeffrey Ross were among the stars jamming a VIP cabana. This crew convened just as Resorts World star DJ headliner Tiësto took the stage a little after the 11 p.m. fireworks show and dazzling LED display on the tower.
It’s wasn’t quite Beacher’s Madhouse, uppercase, but it was a kinda Beacher’s madhouse as former Vegas stage star, producer and promoter Jeff Beacher was in the thick of the mix.
Beacher says he is retired from live entertainment, for the moment, his most recent project the Beacher’s Madhouse annex at the MGM Grand (now the Jabbawockeez’s theater). But Beach is still front and center as an associate of Hilton, and has worked behind the scenes with Resorts World President Scott Sibella to set up the resort’s partnership with the cryptocurrency exchange and custodian Gemini.
Beacher also co-hosts a podcast with Kelly Osbourne. As we have found over the years in Vegasville, Beacher always finds a way to take up residency in the hurricane’s eye, and that was the case Thursday. He escorted both Hilton and Usher to the party. I feel we have not seen the last of Beacher in Vegas.
Sense of selfie
Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis lost count of how many selfies and photos he posed for during the opening. Easily more than 100. This influx escalated precipitously after the doors opened to the public at 11 p.m. The wave crested at a late-night dinner at Wally’s with Westgate Las Vegas President and General Manager Cami Christensen and CPA Larry Delson.
Early in the night, Christensen and Delson snapped their own selfie whenever Davis was asked to pose himself. They stopped at around 40, and this was about an hour before the public descended on the hotel. “It went on and on, for hours,” Christensen said. “But M.D. loved it.”
The Operators
Circa co-owner Derek Stevens was caught in full chat with Gov. Steve Sisolak and first lady Kathy Sisolak at Gatsby’s Cocktail Lounge (and a hat tip to my friend and colleague Eric Gladstone for nabbing a photo of Stevens and the Sisolaks in summit mode). “Extraordinary,” was Stevens’ one-word review of the resort Friday morning.
Mandalay Bay and Luxor President and COO Chuck Bowling and Cosmopolitan President and CEO Bill Mcbeath also were on the scene.
Mcbeath and Sibella have taken parallel paths in the Vegas hospitality industry. Both are Las Vegas natives and graduates of the UNLV College of Hospitality. As Mcbeath said, “I am impressed, and I’m happy for Scott. Tonight is his Super Bowl.”
Mcbeath also was with MGM Growth CEO James Stewart, and Caesars Entertainment CFO Bret Yunker, who moved to Caesars as Eldorado Resorts took ownership of the company.
I had an interesting chat with Yunker about his company’s now-vacant entertainment venues. There seems no plan in place, yet, for those spaces. But Yunker emphasized that Caesars will keep “Entertainment” in its title, which is good to know. Changing that logo could be costly.
Around the horn
Also spotted at the opening, on the heavily populated pool deck were a range of superstars and newsmakers. Kris and Kendall Jenner walked past New York-new York headliner Terry Fator and his wife, Angie. Adam and Bri Steck of SPI Entertainment and powerhouse Vegas attorney Mark Tratos were on the perimeter, in the Bacardi cabana zone.
Producer David Saxe (of David Saxe Produtions) and his wife, Alana, were on the edge of the Usher-aoki-hilton gaggle. So were Mat Franco of The Linq Hotel and his wife, Tianna. Remarkably, Saxe and Franco had not met until Thursday night. They need to get out more.
And, chatting it up as he was out of character, was Sam Wills, aka Tape Face at Harrah’s. He and sidekick Christina Balonek were at, but not in, the pool.
RC out there
Rene-charles Angelil, the artist son of Celine Dion, debuted as a DJ headliner before Hilton’s arrival, which preceded Tiësto. We didn’t see this performance, for which there was no advance notice, sadly. Angelil released the adult-themed “Casino5” in January.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section.
His “Podkats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal. com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal. com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @Johnnykats1 on Instagram.