STRIP SCRIBBLES
*Now California’s roaring rains—that drenched race-fans and drivers and caused a 24-hour delay until yesterday’s final 87 laps—have ended, our hotels are filled with NASCAR enthusiasts in advance of the weekend high-speed challenges out at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Check back to Luxe Life this coming Friday for the full three-day weekend rundown of all the superstar drivers and entertainment excitement.
However, a weeklong celebration is already underway at The Orleans. Tonight there’s an opportunity to win 25 VIP passes to attend a private VIP cocktail party there on Thursday with Jeff Gordon. Tomorrow, four racing simulators will be set up there so you can experience the thrill of driving in a NASCAR race.
Thursday there’s autograph sessions and meet-and-greets with star drivers all over town: 2007 Jack Daniels Chevrolet driver Clint Bower will be at the Orleans; Kurt Busch will be at Sierra Gold Tavern, 6515 South Jones Blvd., 7-9 p.m.; Tony Stewart will be at Home Depot, 6025 South Pecos Road, 5-7 p.m.; Kasey Kahne appears at the Stratosphere Hotel & Casino, 5-7 p.m.—but you must obtain entry wristband at the casino at 12-noon on Wednesday and Thursday; Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, David Ragan, Jason Keller will all be helping raise funds for the Speedway Children’s Charities with their NASCAR Driver Auction at Sam’s Town from 6 p.m. onwards. It all wraps up Sunday night with two-for-one tickets to see Kenny Wayne Shepherd when you turn in your NASCAR ticket stubs.
*Two of our favorite Vegas chefs will go grill-to-grill competing in the first annual Internal Star Chef Challenge that I will MC today for the Epicurean Charitable Foundation as part of International Hospitality week being held here. It’s a culinary showdown at the Convention Center against Hawaiian chefs Fred DeAngelo and Chai Chaowasaree—and it all came about because the Hawaii Restaurant Association head, appropriately named Gail Ann Chew, couldn’t get chefs in New York and San Francisco to take on their challenge. Our unfazed heroes here are Martin Heirling from Sensi in the Bellagio and Anthony Amoiroso, Michael Mina’s executive chef—also at the Bellagio.
I’m going to run it like the Iron Chef battle we presented on the Food Network. I’ll name the “secret ingredient” and then give the kitchen kings just 45-minutes to prepare three entrees and one desert for the judges’ panel. It’s fast and furious and tempers heat up as high as the temperatures in the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat!
*Gorgeous actress Nikki Cox decided to get over the disappointment of her just-cancelled NBC-TV show Las Vegas by laughing out loud at Bette Midler’s new Caesars Palace show. She took husband, comedian Jay Mohr along for the “glitz, hits and t**s” spectacular.
*He was the youngest of the HBO TV Sopranos stars, but Robert Iler dropped his “tough guy” reputation when he played guest-doorman and host at Prive’s party for him in the Planet Hollywood resort casino.
Meantime, actor Seth Green showed up at TAO in The Venetian with six friends for his regular upper-level skybox table where they selected Grey Goose to party into the early hours.