Columnist Kate Maddox: Wynns revved up for Le Reve

Kate Maddox

Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2001 | 8:38 a.m.

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

It was really just by chance (and a rather expensive and obsessive addiction to fashion magazines) that I came to learn the "secret" name of Steve Wynn's latest casino/resort.

A spread in the October issue of Harper's Bazaar, on newsstands now, features some of Vegas' most stylish women of influence: Elaine Wynn, Camille Ruvo, Lynn Weidner, Sheryl Goldstein, Donna Baldwin, Melina Crisostomo and Jo Ann Sturm. The women are posed and poised among their favorite landmarks. (Weidner kicking up her heels at the Jimmy Choo boutique is hands-down the best photo -- but I digress.)

In between dishing fashion tips and dispelling the myth that all local women wear sequins and headdresses to work, Wynn spilled the beans. According to the article, the new Desert Inn project will be called Le Reve (translation: "the dream") in honor of a Pablo Picasso painting she and her husband own.

The erotic portrait of Picasso's sleeping teenage mistress was completed in 1932 and sold at auction in 1997 to an anonymous buyer -- it was assumed to have been purchased by Wynn -- for $48.4 million. The sale was one of the most expensive art transactions in history.

The snooty fashionistas at Bazaar can poke fun at Vegas' backward style as much as they want ... they still liked it here enough to book two of our legendary stars for a photo shoot.

Siegfried & Roy prepare for their close-up next week, when the venerable glossy returns with models and photogs to shoot the Magicians of the Century. The 12-page, black-and-white spread will be the main attraction in the December issue.

David Saxe, the producer of "Showgirls of Magic" at San Remo and "Melinda, First Lady of Magic" at Venetian, is opening the doors of both shows to rescue personnel for free throughout the month of October.

Firefighters, police officers and EMTs are invited to see either production gratis, as a sign of continued support and gratitude from yet another member of the Las Vegas entertainment community. Locals can also benefit from a special two-for-one deal, which will also last throughout October.

Some of the pricey items up for auction at Saturday night's Andre Agassi Grand Slam for Children include face time with such stars as Lance Armstrong, Kenny G and Charles Barkley. Guests at the black-tie, preconcert dinner (some of whom have shelled out tens of thousands of dollars for a stageside table) will have the opportunity to bid on a personal training session with Armstrong in Spain or a one-on-one basketball lesson from Barkley. And those who are getting married can purchase a wedding-day solo from hornman Kenny G.

The most recent Grand Slam event, held in 1999, raised more than $3.9 million for local kids' charities.

Who would have known Monti Rock III could draw such a crowd?

Rock, the flamboyant Vegas bon vivant who once reigned supreme as a Disco King in the '70s, hosted "Midnight with Monti" at Olio! Friday night. Two hundred people, including David Copperfield, Clint Holmes, Frank Scinta, Rick Michel, Bob Anderson and Buddy Greco, packed the restaurant's tiny screening room to the gills for a singalong with Monti.

Highlights of the show included Anderson spoofing Rock with a dead-on impression, and Rock repeatedly cracking jokes with his sidekick -- a stuffed cat named "Pussy."