Red Carpet Report: 35 billionaires to play Cirque poker tournament for $32 million
It reads like a scene from a James Bond script: Thirty-five of the world’s richest people each pony up more than $1 million for the highest-stakes poker game ever. Our Cirque du Soleil’s One Drop water charity organization has invited the billionaires to play in the largest buy-in tournament ever. It starts at noon Friday, Oct. 14, and the winner could walk out with a staggering $32 million! An extravaganza like none other on Earth.
From the Euro 1 million buy-in, E 111,111 from each entry goes to One Drop, and the remaining E 888,889 goes into a pool. The event with Cirque founder Guy Laliberte hosting will be at the elegant Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco, site of many 007 films.
Jeweler Richard Mille will make a ceremonial bracelet hand-crafted from platinum for the winner as the world’s most valuable trophy. Las Vegas regular DJ Erick Morillo will perform at Heart Ibiza restaurant-nightclub being re-created in Monte Carlo’s Buddha Bar and Jimmy’z open-air nightclub.
Cirque’s next ONE NIGHT FOR ONE DROP fundraiser here with casts from all of the Las Vegas shows is set for March 3 at Zumanity Theater in New York-New York. On Oct. 15, One Drop’s “Walk for Water” will be a “Harvest Festival” at Springs Preserve with Mayor Carolyn Goodman, DJ Ibray, Prodigy and Bishop Gorman Percussion Program.
BRITNEY’S BIOPIC CASTING
Actress Natasha Bassett will play the role of our Planet Hollywood headliner Britney Spears in the biopic being produced for Lifetime that the pop princess has tried to quash. Buzzfeed reported today that Nathan Keyes will play Britney’s first beau, Justin Timberlake, and Clayton Chitty is Kevin Federline.
Peter Benson landed the role of Britney’s now Las Vegas-based manager Larry Rudolph. Britney’s mother and father, who are here regularly, are in the film with Nicole Oliver as Lynn Spears and Matthew Harrison as Jamie Spears.
When the Lifetime biopic was revealed last month, one of Britney’s business reps told me: “Britney Spears will not be contributing in any way, shape or form to the Lifetime biopic, nor does it have her blessing.”
SLOT BUSTS!
It was a disgraceful performance by zany props comic Carrot Top and yours truly when we wound up with equal low scores at the TournEvent for Charities slot tournament at the Global Gaming Expo on Tuesday on the Ninja Fruit video games by Everi. Only George Wallace did worse than us.
Dating duo Lacey Schwimmer and Frankie Moreno placed first and second, with Penn & Teller right behind them in the round that disqualified us. Unfortunately, Lacey and Frankie were KO’d in the finals. I won $1,000 for Keep Memory Alive and Carrot Top the same amount for Ronald McDonald House. The $10,000 winner was Fern Cross of San Diego. Contributing videographer Richard Corey was onsite for his video posted on YouTube.
‘SEXXY’ CONGRATULATIONS
The eight topless temptresses led by bombshell star, choreographer and creator Jennifer Romas celebrate their 400th SEXXY show at Westgate Las Vegas tonight. When she was given just three weeks to stage the production over the holidays in 2015, nobody figured that SEXXY would be around for long. Jenn beat the odds. That means 6,400 barely there costume changes for 6,400 dance routines. Her gorgeous girls have gone through 240 pairs of shows and ripped off 1,212 white T-shirts.
They’ve gone through 30 boxes of double-stick tape for pasties and used 72 cans of Firm Grip for stripper pole antics. Jenn estimates that 280 bottles of Sally Hanson spray tan have been used by her dancers. She laughed: “The one thing that will remain a secret, though, is the number of gallons of water I’ve poured in the bathtub for my tub routine that I’m still performing nightly!”
WHITE HOUSE GUESTS
NASCAR star Kyle Busch and his wife, Samantha, were guests this morning of President Barack Obama at The White House. They were given a VIP tour of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. before meeting with our nation’s leader. Kyle, who was raised in Las Vegas, presented the president with a helmet from Las Vegas Motor Speedway race days.
CELEBRATION LINEUP
Entertainer Dennis Bono continues his 16th year of broadcasting and has lined up several stars for his taped show at South Point on Thursday. The lineup: New Bally’s headliners The Bronx Wanderers, a family of five musicians and singers re-creating hits from the 1950s and ’60s; The Checkmates star Sonny Charles; Vanessa LeGrand, new resident singer in Grandview Lounge at South Point; Frank LaSpina; and Barbara Brighton, who performs Saturday at The Orleans.
NEXT YEAR ALREADY?!
No sooner does this year’s fourth Life Is Beautiful Music & Art Festival end after three days of music, art, comedy and cuisine than organizers set Sept. 22-24, 2017, for the fifth anniversary. This year’s lecturers included RuPaul and Bill Nye. Presale tickets go on sale Thursday(!).