Columnist Kate Maddox: Bellagio weighs in with Light

Kate Maddox

Friday, Nov. 30, 2001 | 9:39 a.m.

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

Is Las Vegas ready for yet another high-end, luxury nightclub? Bellagio is banking big-time the answer is yes. Or at least maybe.

The multimillion-dollar Light is scheduled to open Dec. 26, following months of construction in a space adjacent to the hotel's sportsbook. But Light isn't shooting for the Utopia, Studio 54, Ra crowd, according to owner Andrew Sasson. Instead the club is targeting the honchos, men with money to spend and the women who love them -- or at least love hanging out with them.

Sasson is a 30-ish English-born nightclub aficionado. He already has successful properties in Manhattan and the Hamptons, but he's certain his Vegas venture will be just the ticket for those scenesters who like to dress up, spend, spend and spend some more.

"(Light's) for the customer who wants to put on a suit and be treated to an upscale night out in Las Vegas," Sasson said. Light will operate on a strict reserved-table system, with patrons spending by the bottle instead of forking over a hefty cover charge or membership dues, a la Foundation Room. (Of course, bottles start at around $250 a pop, with a one bottle minimum for a table of four. Yikes.) So if you want to sit at one of the 37 plush, Cristal-accessorized tables surrounding the bar and dance floor, you're looking at a few hundred bucks for the privilege.

Should you choose to enter with the rest of the general (but still dress-code appropriate) masses, make sure you're a woman, or a couple. If you're with a pack of guys you'll probably be turned away. Sasson hopes to ensure a balanced-gender nightclub experience by blocking heavily-testosteroned groups of himbos.

The club itself is a sleek combination of wood and deep-red drapery with soft lighting, modern furniture and a small, intimate dance floor area.

And speaking of clubs, Turnberry Place's private Stirling Club kicked off opening festivities Thursday night. Residents of the luxury high-rise apartments were treated to dinner and a first look at Stirling's facilities.

A private bash for the approximately 500 Las Vegas locals (and non-Turnberry residents) who ponied up at least $5,000 in initiation fees, plus a couple hundred in monthly dues to join Stirling, is scheduled for Wednesday. The grand opening, for VIPs and wanna-be members, is slated for Dec. 14.

The Stirling Club is an 80,000-square-foot facility with a nightclub, spa, cigar lounge, private this, private that, pamper here, pamper there. You get the point.

Which celebrity-friendly local eatery is losing two of its best and brightest due to inter-office romance? After years of working side by side, the new couple (one of whom recently received a high-profile promotion) are giving notice and starting over together back East. So if you happen by and notice the absence of the place's statuesque general manager -- that's what happened.

Phyllis McGuire, Rich Little, Clint Holmes, Lance Burton, Steve Lawrence, Eydie Gorme, Bill Acosta and Bob Anderson were among those toasting Robert Goulet at a surprise birthday bash this week. One partygoer said a lively singalong lasted into the wee hours of the morning.

And is it me or does Roy Horn, of Siegfried & Roy, look a little like kd lang's long-lost twin in the new issue of Harper's Bazaar? The fresh-faced duo (whose images, in true supermodel fashion, appear to have been slightly touched by the old magic airbrush) are featured in an artful, multipage spread co-starring white lions, baby tigers and elephants. Oh my.