Monday, May 1, 2006 | 7:25 a.m.
For a brief moment Saturday night, all those PGA tournament championships and all that wealth, fame and acclaim did not matter to Tiger Woods.
Woods spoke to several hundred energized fans Saturday night at the House of Blues during the pre-concert VIP live and silent auction fundraiser for "Tiger Jam IX" at Mandalay Bay. As Woods described how, in the days and weeks following 9/11, he yearned to expand his Tiger Woods Foundation to include state-of-the-art learning centers, he paused and gave a deep sigh.
"Excuse me. Whew," Woods said, glancing skyward as his voice halted. "You know, it's tough for me to be up here and be excited without the person who made this possible, whose heart and soul made this foundation a reality. That's my dad.
"I wish he could be here, but he can't. He's at home fighting. I wish you could be here, Pops."
The concert hall, which had fallen silent, burst into applause.
Earl Woods is battling cancer in Los Angeles. The 75-year-old former Green Beret is unable to attend any of Woods' tournaments or special events.
In March, Woods made an unscheduled cross-country trip two days before the Players Championships at the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Verde Beach, Fla., to visit his seriously ill father.
"Sometimes you don't feel like you've done enough," Woods said of his nine-year-old charitable foundation. "You always want to do more, and this is in his honor."
NoteMart
More from the show: Serving as the master of ceremonies for the "Tiger Jam IX" concert at Mandalay Bay Events Center was master thespian Samuel L. Jackson. In his second Vegas appearance in April (the first being the VIP party at Red Rock Resort), Sting put on a dynamite show, and opening act Anna Nalick impressed with her soaring vocals.
Celebs who lent their time to the event included Teri Hatcher of "Desperate Housewives"; onetime rap mogul MC Hammer; Andrew Firestone (the bachelor on ABC's "The Bachelor"); Chris Harrison (host of "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette"); Miss Universe 2005 Natalie Glebova; "Dancing With the Stars" finalist Stacy Keibler; Cheryl Burke and Drew Lachey, champions of "Dancing With the Stars" (Burke offered dancing lessons and dinner as a live auction item); James Lesure of "Las Vegas"; Jerry O'Connell of "Crossing Jordan" and "Man About Town"; and poker ace Phil Ivey (who also offered lessons during the auction; the top bidder was someone named "Woods").
Supplying the adult beverages for the VIP party was Southern Wine and Spirits of Nevada, represented by Larry Ruvo and Michael Severino, and hey, who is that sitting three seats down from me? It's jeweler Mordechai Yerushalmi, owner The Jewelers of Las Vegas, which has 16 Southern Nevada stores. And no list of emboldened names would be complete without lanyard-wearing celeb pursuer Robin Leach ...
Heart and sole: Making an appearance Friday afternoon at his namesake store at the Forum Shops at Caesars was shoe designer Donald J. Pliner. The event was a benefit for the Public Education Foundation; 20 percent of every shoe sold during the day was donated to the Foundation. Pliner, who also used the event to show off his spring/summer collection, called Las Vegas "the world's greatest mall. For me, this is the No. 1 place in the world to sell anything."
Pliner's list of celebrity clients includes Justin Timberlake, Carmen Electra, Beyonce, Mark Wahlberg and Shaquille O'Neal. One of them (O'Neal) is impressive for his size; Pliner showed me a size-22 pressed-leather dress shoe ordered by the 7-foot-1-inch Miami Heat center. A pair of such shoes costs around $750.
Those on hand for the afternoon event included shoe aficionados Lynn Weidner, Glynda Rhodes, ex-Nevada Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa, Lori Rogich, Christina Bird and Jodi Fonfa ...
March in April: How does the March of Dimes raise money? Gotta ask. As he crossed the finish line during Saturday's March of Dimes WalkAmerica event in downtown Las Vegas, Youth Ambassador Andrew Harris made his way to a Metro officer and asked if he would buy a bracelet to support the March of Dimes. The officer didn't have the $5 for the bracelet, but the walk still raised more than $600,000 ($3,000 from Harris, the top youth fundraiser), an all-time high for the event in Southern Nevada. More than 2,000 walkers participated ...
Food for thought: Over the weekend I heard from someone who would know such stuff that Divine Bar, which boasts two popular and trendy bars/restaurants in New York, is looking to expand to Vegas and that the Forum Shops at Caesars is the preferred locale. Whatever the case, the owners were in town scouting the scene over the weekend.
A more certain slice of news is that Tom Colicchio's second Craftsteak will open in New York on Tuesday. His flagship Craftsteak is at the MGM Grand; the restaurant is known for its $110, three-course Kobe beef tasting menu ...
The band, or the expression of affection?: Vanity plate on a Mitsubishi Diamante in Summerlin: KISSFAN.
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