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Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Keep Memory Alive
Boxing legend Muhammad Ali and his wife Lonnie Ali appear onstage during Keep Memory Alive’s “Power of Love Gala” celebrating Muhammad Ali’s 70th birthday at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012. The event benefits the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health and the Muhammad Ali Center.
Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012 | 4:52 p.m.
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Power of Love gala
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KSNV coverage of the Power of Love gala to celebrate Muhammad Ali's 70th birthday and raise money for Alzheimer's research, Feb. 18, 2012.
Boosted by a $1,500-per-plate minimum price for a seat and a $1.1 million bid on a pair of famed boxing gloves, the Keep Memory Alive “Power of Love Gala” honoring Muhammad Ali's 70th birthday Saturday night raised more than $11 million.
Proceeds from the star-studded, nearly-six-hour gala benefited the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in downtown Las Vegas and the Muhammad Ali Center in the boxer's hometown of Louisville, Ky.
A crowd of 2,000 stars of entertainment and sports (especially boxing) and assorted dignitaries turned out for one of the city’s greatest nights of philanthropy and celebrity.
A highlight of the evening was a bidding battle between Station Casinos and UFC exec Lorenzo Fertitta and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. The prizes were a the gloves Ali wore in his 1965 heavyweight title defense against Floyd Patterson and a poster from that fight.
After the bidding appeared to have closed with Fertitta having won the lot with a $750,000 bid, Jones lofted a $1 million offer. Fertitta countered with $1.1 million.
A two-hour version of the show will be broadcast at 4 p.m. on KXNT Channel 13 and again at 10 p.m. on ESPN 2.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWithTheDish.
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