Party train

Friday, Jan. 24, 2003 | 10:07 a.m.

Adversaries and even a few associates dismissed Bob Vannucci when he opened the famous Copa Room of the legendary Sands Hotel for a gathering to watch Super Bowl XVI in 1982.

Until then, it was de rigueur for hotel and casino executives to charter aircraft and fly their high rollers to and from the NFL's marquee game. That practice, however, was becoming increasingly costly.

Vannucci, then the vice president of marketing of the Sands, devised a way to keep expenses down and big spenders in town.

"Everyone thought, 'That Bob is crazy.' " Vannucci said.

More than 600 people crammed into the 450-seat Copa Room.

"That pretty much started the pattern," said Vannucci, now the president and chief operating officer of the Riviera. "The rest of The Strip properties picked it up."

Vannucci continues to set the pace in Super Sunday bashes.

The hottest ticket in town this weekend will be at the Riviera, where about 2,700 guests -- 800 will receive exclusive invitations -- will watch Super Bowl XXXVII in the 46,000 square-foot Royale Pavilion.

Five days before the extravagant event, Vannucci beamed.

"It's like sitting in a stadium, and I think that's why so many people like coming here," Vannucci said. "It's like going to the game. It's a show, and a lot of fun."

Admission costs $135, but don't figure on getting a ticket by the time this is being read. A scant handful remained when Vannucci was interviewed Tuesday, which says plenty about an event that receives no publicity.

"We don't advertise, and it sells out each year," said George Staresinic, director of advertising and public relations for the Riviera. "It's all word of mouth."

Eleven sky boxes that seat 20 have been rented for $750 apiece, a separate fee from the individual admission price. Five huge television screens, each 15 feet by 20 feet, will be strategically placed throughout the main room, as will six 50-inch monitors.

It is the priciest of the smorgasbord of Super Bowl-related events that the city's hotels will stage during a weekend whose festivities rival New Year's celebrations.

Roger Craig, Danny White and Hall of Famer Deacon Jones will sign autographs and offer analysis. Each attendee will receive a Super Bowl souvenir gift bag, and a buffet will consist of a variety of food at six different stations.

The Riviera won't just settle on beer, wine and soda, or simple stadium fare, for its patrons, either, like most of its competitors.

Open bars will be strategically placed around the Royale Pavilion. Hot roast beef, corn beef brisket, grilled chicken breast and bratwurst will be available at a deli station, and the appetizer station will include barbecue baby back ribs and crab cakes

Memorabilia that will be raffled includes items signed by former New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath, former San Francisco quarterback Joe Montana, former Chicago linebacker Dick Butkus, Oakland receiver Jerry Rice and Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick.

Raider-colored balloons will loom over a goal post at one end of the room, while Buccaneer-colored ones will mushroom over the other one.

"It's a great afternoon," Staresinic said. "We've gained the reputation for having the best party, and the game is almost secondary. A lot of times, people leave the party saying, 'Hmm, what was the score?'

Most of the other parties around town will cost less than half as much to crash, and they generally consist of common stadium grub, cheap beers and souvenir football pitchers or T-shirts.

Former Oakland defensive lineman Greg Townsend will appear at the Orleans ($35), the game will be shown in the no-smoking Brendan Theatres at the Palms ($39.99) and a jersey signed by Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon will be raffled at Santa Fe ($27.50).

Hall of Famer Tom Mack, former Los Angeles Rams quarterback Vince Farragamo and Cliff Harris, who played on the 1978 Super Bowl-champion Dallas Cowboys, are the featured guests at the Stardust ($50).

At the Riviera, the line will start forming by noon. Staresinic will, as usual, open the doors earlier than 1:30 p.m., when the party is supposed to start.

Preparation started two weeks after last year's Super Bowl, when Vannucci, Staresinic and their staffs met to review the previous party, highlighting what worked and eliminating what didn't go well.

In recent years, appearances by a full high school band were nixed because they were too noisy. Cheerleaders will also limit their routines to only one a quarter, because many patrons enjoy watching new commercials that debut during a Super Bowl broadcast.

In September and October, Vannucci and Staresinic determined what prominent former players were available and whom they would woo to their show. Only former Chicago Bears running back Gale Sayers has made a repeat appearance.

Craig, White and Jones will receive between $7,500 and $10,000 apiece, which includes weekend accommodations and also involves kibitzing at a VIP function for a few hours Saturday night.

The real work is accomplished the week before the game, when the teams are set, color patterns must be chosen and decorators work into overtime to ensure that the pavilion will be presented in super fashion, to say nothing of the distribution of more than 2,700 tickets.

"People might say, 'Holy cow, 135 dollars!' Well, we built it this way and our reputation is of having the best Super Bowl party in town," Staresinic said. "There are a lot of intangibles that go along with it, and you know it's big when the employees look forward to it.

"It just carries its weight, and it's one of the few parties, maybe the only one, that mixes high rollers with the public. You might be sitting next to a guy who just spent $25,000 in the casino, and Joe Blow from down the street is cheering and high-fiving right with him."

Staresinic, 48, moved to Las Vegas from Cleveland in 1964. A Browns fan, he lost considerable passion for his team when owner Art Modell moved the original Browns to Baltimore.

Vannucci, 55, left New York in 1967 and has followed the Rams since they played in Los Angeles and wore white horns on their helmet logos. "Since I was a little kid," he said, with a pile of paperwork on his desk and a secretary on the other side.

A busy chief executive, perhaps. With his Super Bowl party only days away, though, Vannucci could not hide his enthusiasm about the grand idea that he spawned 21 years ago.

"Right now, we're just trying to figure out how to get all those people in there," he said. "We will have to look at the ballroom for more room next year, but I can't wait. I cannot describe to you what it will be like. It will be wild."