Columnist Kate Maddox: U2 finally tackles halftime gig

Kate Maddox

Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2001 | 8:18 a.m.

Kate Maddox's column appears Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 259-2309 or kmaddox @lasvegassun.com.

The NFL made it official on Sunday, announcing that U2 would indeed headline at Super Bowl XXXVI. Insiders who attended U2's recent concert at Thomas & Mack confirmed that it was the Vegas gig that got the band the deal.

The performance at UNLV was reportedly followed by meetings to hammer out Super Bowl details.

The Dec. 14 Vegas screening of Michael Mann's epic, "Ali," is the second in a series of fund-raisers to benefit The Muhammad Ali Center. The biopic about the life of the boxing legend premieres in Los Angeles on Dec. 12 and will be privately screened at events here, as well as in Washington, D.C., and Chicago.

Scheduled to attend the Vegas viewing at the Palms' Brenden Theatres are sporting greats Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Floyd Mayweather, Reggie Jackson, Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Sanders, Marcus Allen and Fernando Vargas. Celebs on the list include magician David Blaine, Jon Voight, Verne Troyer, Jamie Foxx and Natalie Cole.

Tickets to the event start at $100 and go up to $25,000 for a package deal that includes a photo with the champ, autographed boxing gloves, 10 tickets to the reception and 10 "Ali"-accessorized goodie bags.

Officials at Drai's After Hours are worried about the club's reputation following a near catastrophe over the weekend, which has caused ripples on the nightlife scene. After recent rumors that the late-night spot is fast becoming this year's C2K, a club-goer reportedly suffered a drug overdose early Saturday morning and spent the remainder of the weekend hospitalized.

Friends of the victim -- who works as a bartender at another Strip nightclub -- say that after apparently losing consciousness inside Drai's, the young man was taken to a private back room by club management. The friends say they were physically barred from seeing their pal by Drai's employees and that an ambulance was not summoned for "at least an hour after he disappeared (into the back,)" according to the witnesses. When the ambulance did arrive on the scene the victim was taken to Desert Springs Hospital, where he reportedly remained unconscious until early Monday.

A spokesperson for Drai's -- speaking on the condition of anonymity -- said the young man did not suffer an overdose, but rather a "massive stroke of some sort" brought on by a "heart condition." The spokesperson went on to say that Drai's employs an American Medical Response paramedic "at all times during club hours" and that the victim was "treated at the club and then taken to the hospital."

With all the new clubs popping up around town, it's only natural that a healthy sense of competition is also in the air. Last week nightclub guru Rande Gerber (aka Mr. Cindy Crawford) stopped in to get an advance look at Light at Bellagio.

Gerber, whose own WHISKEY SKY opens Dec. 18 at Green Valley Ranch Station Casino (now there's a mouthful), wasn't spying on pal/competitor Andrew Sasson's new place, per se, he was just, um, wishing his friend luck. The two nightclub entrepreneurs, both of whom have lucrative properties in New York, are said to be looking forward to this little battle of whose got the hippest late-night joint.