Robin Thicke Blurred Lines
Editors of Conde Nast Traveler hosted its 18th Annual Hot List Party at Rose. Rabbit. Lie. in the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas with sexy model and actress Emily Ratajkowski, known for her scandalous role in the erotic Robin Thicke music video for his mega-hit “Blurred Lines.”
Emily, star of the upcoming film “Gone Girl,” wore a stunning cobalt-blue bandage dress by David Koma and high heels by Yves Saint Laurent and led a fun champagne celebration pour over a 385-glass tower with Cosmopolitan CEO John Unwin and Coastal Luxury Management co-founders David Bernahl II and Robert Weakley.
Emily told me, “Blurred Lines wasn’t the first time I went nude. I was only 80 percent naked in the video. It was liberating and empowering. Pop culture by its very definition is controversial, so I don’t really understand what all the fuss was about. There was nothing I had to be ashamed about. I like coming to Las Vegas because it’s so much fun. My mother, who is very proper, brought me here for my 21st birthday.”
During the party, Conde Nast Traveler Editor in Chief Pilar Guzman and Publishing Director Bill Wackermann toasted the magazine’s annual issue. The evening ended with a performance by “Vegas Nocturne,” the off-kilter, erotic entertainment at RRL.
Pilar told me: “The Cosmopolitan is not on the Hot 100 because it’s more than a year old, but the fact we are throwing our party here tells you what we think of it. It’s definitely one of our favorites. Every new year, hundreds of great hotels open. We considered 510 this year in 400 cities and 93 countries. It came down to our very favorite 33 as the definitive guide to the best new hotels and resorts in the world. The 2014 Hot List is the most selective ever, with just 33 Best New Hotels in the World.
“Hotels were considered according to the categories of the modern traveler: beach, design, food, family, bargain, over-the‐top and way-out-there hotels. The result is a list that takes the traveler around the world — from Kenya to Los Angeles, St. Petersburg to Phuket — and speaks to their modern-day passions and habits.”
RECORD CROWDS: Summer ended last year with a new record attendance of 10,000 guests partying on Labor Day Weekend at XS in Steve Wynn’s Encore. The record was shattered big time Memorial Day Weekend when DJ David Guetta set new attendance statistics with the Night Swim party launching the new summer season and with now-recovered DJ Avicii encouraging guests to ditch their club wear in favor of swim apparel to splash in the outdoor pool.
Large LED screens broadcast Avicii to the outdoor area along with his custom video productions. Managing Partner Jesse Waits confirmed by 4 a.m. that the club had racked up the record-breaking attendance, eclipsing the 10,000 by David last fall.
EIGHTH ANNIVERSARY: Chris Phillips, who leads the band Zowie Bowie, celebrated its eighth anniversary performing in Las Vegas with a party at Red Rock Resort last Friday, which included an official proclamation from the City of Las Vegas marking it as Zowie Bowie Day.
Attending with Chris were violinist and girlfriend Lydia Ansel, vocalists Nieve Malandra and Christina Amato, impressionist Gordie Brown, entertainer Frankie Scinta, magicians Murray Sawchuck and Doug “Lefty” Leferovich, “Jersey Boys” star Graham Fenton, Billy Hinsche of The Beach Boys, comedian/magician Mike Hammer and more.
HIP-HOP OLYMPICS: In this Olympiad year, the USA and World Hip-Hop Dance Championships (often referred to as the Olympics of hip-hop dance) return to Las Vegas from Aug. 3-10. The world’s 44 highest-ranked hip-hop and street dancers go head-to-head for the gold to determine America’s champions who then will take on the world.
America’s best dance crews (five to eight dancers) and mega crews (15 to 40 dancers) compete first in the elimination rounds at Red Rock Resort from Aug. 5-8 and then in the finals at Orleans Arena on Aug. 10 for the $20,000 first-place prize and the world title. Choreographers who have worked for Madonna, Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears will teach the dancers in Urban Moves Workshops.
STAR SURVEILLANCE
Academy Award-winning actor Nicolas Cage and friends dined at Gordon Ramsay Steak in the Paris before attending “Jersey Boys” nearby. The group shared oysters, the 18-ounce Japanese A5 Kobe filet with truffle mac and cheese and sauteed spinach with parmesan cream and Gordon’s sticky toffee pudding with brown sugar toffee and brown butter ice cream.
Actress Tiffani Amber Thiessen and guests started their dinner there the next night with a bottle of Louis d’ Sacy Champagne and after the signature beef wellington ended with the sticky toffee pudding.
UFC fighter Julianna Pena and Kenda Perez (“Best of Pride Fighting,” “Best of WEC”) watched “Absinthe” at Caesars Palace and afterward went backstage to meet the cast.
Taboo of The Black Eyed Peas returned to Hard Rock Hotel as a guest DJ at Paradise Beach’s Summer Camp session. In the crowd was pro dancer Sharna Burgess (“Dancing With the Stars”) enjoying some R&R.
MMA fighter Dan Henderson held his weigh-in afterparty at 35 Steaks + Martinis in the Hard Rock and enjoyed Copper River wild king salmon with 40 friends and family.
Across the casino, MMA announcer Bruce Buffer watched Andrew Dice Clay at Vinyl. Comedian Kevin Hart and Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings hosted at Vanity with teammate Anthony Barr in attendance.
Dan Henderson returned to dine at Nobu, while Natalie Skyy (“Sons of Anarchy”) watched Guns N’ Roses at the Joint. GNR’s current run continues through June 7.
TONIGHT’S TIPS
The Pretty Reckless and We Are Harlot are at Vinyl.
The Las Vegas Indie Film Festival starts its four-day run of movies at cinemas in town. Check out the listings at VIFF.net.
Colt Ford is at Brooklyn Bowl in the Linq.
Las Vegas singer Ryan Whyte Maloney (“The Voice”) performs at Wine Down Wednesdays at Silverton Casino Lodge.
And the Downtown Street Festival rocks Fremont East Entertainment District.
TOMORROW’S TEASE
Comedienne Paula Poundstone reveals secrets of her very personal life and why she still loves the road after 35 years of touring. Platinum-blonde bombshell Sabina Kelley has no qualms about revealing her head-to-toe tattoos in our photo special as she poses for her upcoming role in “Pin Up” at Stratosphere rehearsing with Claire Sinclair. And our overseas meeting with Las Vegas boxer Nonito Donaire as he preps for Saturday’s action on HBO from Cotai Arena at the Venetian in Macau, where I’ll be ring announcer standing in for Michael Buffer.
Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.
Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas dares to be different. From the hotel’s red reservations desks to fine art found throughout the resort, The Cosmopolitan’s signature style is helping to pave its own path on the Las Vegas Strip.
Upon entering the resort, you’re greeted by pillars of video boards playing video art by Digital Kitchen and David Rockwell Studio exclusively produced for The Cosmopolitan. Just beyond that, you’ll find all your favorite casino games on the resort’s 100,000-square-foot casino floor.
The Cosmopolitan’s rooms standout as the resort’s most unique feature. About 2,220 of The Cosmopolitan’s 2,995 rooms have 6-foot deep terraces that span the length of the room, a first at a modern Strip hotel. Other in-room amenities include soaking tubs, kitchenettes and quirky accessories like artsy coffee table books.
The dining experience at The Cosmopolitan isn’t something you’ll find at other Strip resorts, either. All of The Cosmopolitan’s 13 restaurateurs are new to the Las Vegas market. You’ll find American steakhouse fare in a modern setting at STK, top-notch sushi at Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill and the freshest fish flown in from the Mediterranean daily at Estiatorio Milos.
Whether the sun is up or down, Marquee Nightclub & Dayclub is the place to find the party at The Cosmopolitan. The venue is a dayclub/nightclub, complete with a pool and cabanas outside and three different rooms with three different vibes inside.
If nightclubs aren’t your thing, you can grab a drink at one of The Cosmopolitan’s five other bars, like The Chandelier, which is encased in 2 million dripping crystals.
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