Readers of the prestigious London Sunday Times have decided a Vegas resort casino is the best hotel in the world. It beat out properties from as far afield as Dubai, Singapore, the Maldives in the Indian Ocean and Antigua in the Caribbean, which ranked in the Top 5. The readers represented in the voting had visited 108 countries, flown on 46 airlines and stayed in 1,772 hotels.

So high praise indeed and many congratulations to MGM’s Bellagio hotel for winning the ultimate award! One voter reported, “Sleeping at the Bellagio is like being on beds of marshmallows.” Italy was named the “best European country” and Australia was ranked “best worldwide country” with America close behind in second place. Although the Bellagio won as best, Vegas itself didn’t get mentioned in the “best worldwide city” rankings, but New York and San Francisco placed No. 1 and No. 3. London was named “best European city.”

Starchef Alessandro Stratta who already runs the top-ranked, five-star, fine-dining Alex at the Wynn has now opened a sleek casual Italian trattoria there.

Corsa Cucina has been transformed into the new Stratta serving up the best of regional Italian cooking, and opens its doors this week. Said the celebrated chef, “Alex is uptown and Stratta is downtown—a bustling restaurant with a totally different vibe of fun and good food. Its very soulful and very representative of what I consider to be the best of regional cooking. We apply the same spirit and cooking techniques that we use at Alex but in a very approachable way focusing on flavor and tradition. We use the same flavorful 0live oils from Tuscany and Liguria, the same San Marzano plum tomatoes that make the best sauce in the world in Alex but Stratta is far more down to earth. Our signature dishes at Stratta include roasted prawns with beans, wood-fired pizzettes, clams casino with peppers and pancetta and homemade pastas.”

Ten years ago when he cooked at the Palace Court here in Caesars Food and Wine magazine tapped him as “best new chef.” Last year in New York after creating several successful restaurants around the country he was honored by Bon Appetit magazine as 2007 Restaurateur of the Year. Now acclaimed chef Laurent Tourondel has returned full circle and has just opened his new award-winning BLT Burger at The Mirage!

Burgers?, you sniff. Oh yes, but the best burgers in the world apparently if his famed restaurant in Manhattan is the standard. It is the biggest and most successful burger joint ever opened in Gotham and diners lineup for blocks for their bite! Says Laurent, “I’m excited to bring it to The Mirage. It’s exciting to come full circle. We’ve got a variety of burgers including beef, American Kobe lamb and Atlantic salmon all served on soft buns with tomato, red onion, iceberg lettuce, pickles, ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise. The beef patties are a combination of certified Black Angus sirloin, short rib, chuck and brisket. Our specialty burgers include the Tex-Mex, a 7-ounce burger with jalapenos, chili, avocado, salsa, jack cheese onions and sour cream. Our Lamb Tandori Burger is a slightly spicy Colorado lamb topped with mint-cilantro yogurt sauce, cucumber, olives, red onion and tomato. Our Stripper burger is a 7-ounce beef burger is served with lettuce, tomato, onion, and bell pepper, but no bun! The signature Meatball Burger is composed of ground veal, pork and ricotta and served with garlic pomodora sauce. Though burgers take center stage Laurent serves up eight-different types of fries and has an array of classic and spiked milkshakes! The 198-seat restaurant celebrates the DNA of the burger with a circular open central grill surrounded by glazed red brick tile. A 16-seat yellow-glazed lava stone bar features overhead TV screens for sports events. A 16-foot floor-to-ceiling brown- and white-panoramic photomural of the surrounding Sierra Nevada landscape dominates the curved rear walls. Mirage president Scott Sibella commented, “Burgers, fries and shakes prepared by a chef as talented as Laurent are a sure hit and BLT Burger is a wonderful addition to our restaurant offerings and having eaten my way through all the burgers I know it will be a great success!”

The Venetian starchef Thomas Keller is regarded as being at the top of America’s best chef rankings.

His Per Se restaurant in New York and his French Laundry in the Napa Valley have been hailed as brilliant masterpieces by worldwide food critics. In fact he’s the only American chef with two three-star restaurants. Ever since he opened his casual French dining bistro, Bouchon at The Venetian, it’s also been applauded.

Now as a result of its Vegas success he’s opening his first ever Bouchon restaurant in Beverley Hills, and none other than the city commissioners themselves made the deal. They’re housing Thomas’ restaurant in the city-owned Garden Building alongside the new Montage hotel. It will be an 11,000-sqaure-feet 2–storey wonder that includes both the Bouchon restaurant and the Bouchon bakery. Our good friend and regular Vegas visitor Adam Tihany will design the building.

It was easy to tell the star attractions apart at the LAX nightclub in the Luxor, one half of them all looked exactly the way rockers should and the other half all looked the way sports star should!

The heavy metal contingent was represented by Godsmack lead vocalist Sully Erna and the trim athletes were represented by NBA star forward Jermaine O’Neal of the Toronto Raptors. Other leather lovers included Dave Navarro and Perry Ferrell from Jane’s Addiction after their Red Rock concert and Mindfreak magician Criss Angel. Other sports stars included New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis, Charlotte Bobcats power forward Sean May, former Baltimore Ravens player Kordell “Slash” Stewart and Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Gorgeous Lisa Angeline, who won the Miss LAX beauty contest earlier this spring hosted her own party there with a bevy of beauties and poker pros Nenad Medic, David Williams and Theo Tran celebrated a friend’s birthday.

Meantime, a little north up the Strip at sister Pure nightclub LA Clippers star forward Al Thornton partied both on the main stage and the more private Red Room with some lovely ladies. Sean and T.J. also hit Pure for Moet champagne while on their nights of revelry. New England Patriots player Paul Francisco was spotted soaking up the sun at Pure’s Venus Pool Club in Caesars Palace but none of our spies reported seeing him “out on the town” later.

*We’re about a month away from the debut of the new Raw Talent Live show opening at the Sahara. Today (WED) Siegfried & Roy’s producer friend, Nicole Durr wraps up the casting at the New World School of Arts in Miami, and also donates $10,000 from her philanthropic foundation Angel’s Warriors. Nicole will pick her final singers, dancers and performers for the 75-minute production fusing dance with live original music and high-tech video illusions and 700 extravagant costumes!

*Three upcoming dates for you to circle please: Siegfried & Roy will sponsor yet again the 18th-annual K9 trials for the Metro Police at the Orleans Arena on Sunday, Oct. 19, and it’s the best way we know to thank the patrol officers and their dogs for being our local heroes and dedicating their lives to keeping our community safe. … Our Deadly Seven all-girl punk rock group called by Jerry Springer as the “most dangerous band in the world” premiere their gore-fest in their first visit to Hollywood on Aug. 2 playing at Safari Sams. Riot police will be on hand to protect fans during the wild and unpredictable out of control show. … And next Tuesday, for something completely different, drag-queens Frank Marino from La Cage at the Riviera and Larry Edwards who is Hot Chocolate at Krave promote their brand new cookbook Cooking Doesn’t Have to be a Drag at the Get Booked store on South Paradise. The 120-page book has over 50-unique photos, over 100 recipes and quotes from more than 20 guys that become gals with their lipstick, makeup and crossover wardrobes.

*Star Surveillance: New York Knicks player Stephon Marbury grabbed a table right on the dance floor at the Blush boutique nightclub inside the Wynn casino resort so he could be close to the action.

A slew of other sports players continue to make hip-hop record mogul Jay-Z’s tricked-out 40/40 club at The Palazzo their home away from home. In the crowd we found Nick VanExel of the
San Antonio Spurs, Jamal Crawford of the New York Knicks, Marcus Camby of the Denver Nuggets, Sebastian Telfair of the Timberwolves, and retired NFL Colts player Charles Wilson. … Baltimore Ravens star Terrell Suggs chose Victor Drai’s After Hours club center strip at Bills Gamblin’ Hall where former NBA player and University of Arizona alumnae Sean Rooks held court. Now here’s the rundown of VIPs and stars players seen at the NBA Summer League games at Thomas & Mack to date: Boxing champ Floyd Mayweather, Jr. joined NBA owners Paul Allen and Donald Sterling in the crowd taking in the games presented by EA Sports along with the following basketball idols: Ron Artest (Kings, Pacers, Bulls), 
Quentin Richardson (Suns, Knicks, Clippers), 
Nick Van Exel (Lakers, Nuggets, Spurs, Trail Blazers, Warriors), 
Stacey Augmon (UNLV ’91, Hawks, Pistons, Trail Blazers, Hornets, Magic, Nuggets), 
Leon Powe (Celtics), 
Marcus Camby (Nuggets, Knicks, Raptors), 
Stephon Marbury (Suns, Knicks, Nets), 
Bryon Russell (Jazz, Lakers, Wizards, Nuggets),
Mike Brown (Jazz, Timberwolves, Sixers, Suns), 
Patrick O’Bryant (Warriors, Celtics), Shareef Abdur-Rahim (Kings, Atlanta, Portland, Vancouver Grizzlies), 
Maurice Evans (Magic, Pistons), 
Kevin Martin (Kings), 
Beno Udrih (Kings, Spurs), 
Anthony Parker (Raptors), 
Sean May (Bobcats), 
Gabe Pruitt (Celtics),
Gerald Wallace (Bobcats, Kings), 
Danny Granger (Pacers), 
J.R. Smith (Nuggets),
Andre Iguodala (Sixers),
Howard Eisley (Jazz, Knicks, Mavericks, Timberwolves, Nuggets, Suns), Jersome Williams (Knicks) and Jay Humphries (Suns, Jazz, Buck). … Check our TONIGHT’S TIPS below for today’s NBA match-ups.

*I guess we got off light in the first round of 600 Starbuck store closings. The coffee giant only decided on five to be shut in the Vegas suburbs. None were affected on the Strip and the one at the Planet Hollywood Resort still holds the No. 1 title of ?busiest money earner” in the entire nation.

Don’t forget the locals opening of Carey Hart’s Wasted Space’rock lounge at the Hard Rock Hotel complete with the inaugural industry night to be ghoulishly known as “Mommy’s Little Monster” party. … Howard Jones is at one with the electronics poolside at the South Point while DJ Girl 6 twists those wheels of steel. … And the NBA Summer League continues at Thomas & Mack with Spurs vs Knicks at 1 p.m.; Kings vs Mavericks at 3 p.m.; 76ers vs Wizards at 5 p.m.; Timberwolves vs Lakers at 5:30 p.m., Grizzlies vs Clippers at 7 p.m. and Cavaliers vs Rockets at 7:30 p.m.

Just who has cornered the market in Vegas on the beauty pageant business? Vegas stars join forces in the fight against America’s current economic crisis with unique campaign to get more tourists back to Sin City. Luxe Life also welcomes Donny & Marie Osmond to their new home away from home. The Mamma Mia! musical cast welcomes the new Mamma Mia movie to town and we’ve got a sneak peek tour of The Donald’s new spa that is way beyond luxury and lavish!

Our brand-new multi-media Web site is on its way with daily 24/7 breaking news updates for all the luxury lifestyle secrets of Vegas plus all the latest celebrity happenings. Meantime, read Luxe Life every day, both here at lasvegasmagazine.com and at lasvegasweekly.com. Our weekly Luxe Life wrap-up is heard on the ABC radio network to 300 stations around the world.

When visiting Vegas, be sure to see Las Vegas Magazine in your hotel suite featuring a print edition of Vegas Luxe Life, and an incredible directory of attractions, shows and restaurants.

VEGAS—THE ONLY PLACE TO PLAY!

It was past 3 a.m. this morning, with the clock ticking towards 4 a.m. before the final nine poker players were decided for November’s ultimate World Series of Poker showdown.

Two Canadians, one Russian and one Dane will compete against five Americans for the $9.2 million grand prize here in Vegas before Thanksgiving, and not one star-name poker prince or local hometown champion remains in the war!

Two California players, Kelly Kim of Whittier and David “Chino” Rheem of Los Angeles will go up against Craig Marquis from Texas, Ylon Schwartz from New York City and Dennis Phillips from Missouri. Darious Suharto and Scott Montgomery represent Canada, Ivan Demidov hails from Moscow and Peter Eastgate from Denmark is the remaining player.

At exactly 3:25 a.m. today Dean Hamrick from Michigan left the table with almost $600,000 in 10th place as he was eliminated. Over 6,840 players at the Rio all-suites casino hotel had begun the hunt for poker’s richest prize.

WSOP officials had decided to take a near four-month break in play for the finals. Head-honcho Jeffrey Pollack told me, “It will generate extraordinary anticipation and excitement. It will stand alone as its own super-event. It doesn’t get lost in all the other coverage. It gives everybody an opportunity to get to know the best nine players in the world this go-round. The build for this event will be phenomenal, and next year, our 40th, it will be even bigger and better. This year has already been a record for us, and the interest keeps growing: 55 events over 47 days at the Rio with 58,720 players from 118 different countries.

“Play will commence Nov. 9, continue through Nov. 10. In the pre-dawn hours of Nov. 11 we will know the winner and we’ll have the entire play edited down for broadcast on ESPN TV within 24-hours.”

Sexy Sarah Larson has really hit the big time with a rumored whopping $500,000 offer to pose for Playboy according to inside-word that’s reached us at Luxe Life. The former N9ne Group cocktail server at Moon and the Playboy Club had her life changed early last summer. Bachelor movie heart-throb George Clooney spied her while attending the CineVegas premiere there of his Oceans 13 casino heist movie and the twosome turned up vacationing in Europe and together at film festivals and on movie location sets.

As the romance neared the one-year mark he took her on his arm to the Oscars and even his friends predicted she would be the one girl to finally get his marriage proposal.

It certainly looked as if his bachelor status was about to end as she even moved into his Hollywood home temporarily. However, just as suddenly he stuck to his single-status MO and the romance ended. Sarah threw herself into a successful modeling career that she’d begun while dating him. She’s allegedly even designing her own line of lingerie with Max Azria in addition to just becoming the new face for hip French-designer Christian Audigier, who just opened his own new nightclub at Treasure Island.

The former Fear Factor reality TV-show contestant is said to be excited about showing off her body for Playboy and isn’t concerned about going nude for the magazine. But she wants it to be classy and not in anyway offend her former beau. We should know by month’s end if she says YES to bare all or NO, and the secret’s safe with the movie superstar! We next get to see Sarah, clothed, when she hosts a night at the Tao nightclub in The Venetian on Friday night of next week, ironically that’s directly opposite the new Christian Audigier nightspot!

Nightclub rivalry of another kind involves the world’s No. 1 porn-star princess. Torrid Tera Patrick made headlines with a unique deal at the Hard Rock Hotel, but it’s since clouded over with casino executives saying there was no plan to have her dance with the Helles Belles in the gaming pit there. Instead, they said she would present her shows with a series of dates in their Body English nightclub.

However, she turned up at the rival Privé nightclub in the Planet Hollywood Resort and posed for these sexy and sizzling photos.

She put on “quite the show” to prove she’s the top porn star in the business, according to our spywitness. “She got physical with a whole group of her female friends and the crowd went wild with approval when she kissed and danced with the femme fatales wearing her new lusty line of lingerie!” Tera and rocker husband Evan Seinfeld ordered up shots of Patron Tequila and Grey Goose for the wild-on party and topped it all off with champagne, thankfully! Now to find out whether she’s going exclusive with one club over the other or will play the entire Strip!