John Katsilometes talks with Shapiro about Sober Day USA

Tuesday, May 2, 2006 | 7:27 a.m.

Robert Shapiro is a boxing aficionado and former fighter who is still known to lace up the gloves on occasion - he recently suffered a few chipped teeth after taking one in the chops during a sparring session.

So it is no surprise that soon after his son, Brent, died suddenly in October after a party in Hollywood, Shapiro came back firing.

In the months since Brent Shapiro, a senior at USC who was on the dean's list, died at age 24 just hours after drinking a few beers and ingesting half of an Ecstasy pill, Robert Shapiro has organized the Brent Shapiro Foundation for Drug Awareness. On Monday, with the assistance of Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman (no talk of Bombay Sapphire on this occasion), Shapiro launched Sober Day USA.

Shapiro hopes to make Sober Day USA - already recognized in Nevada, Alabama, Idaho, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, New Mexico and Oregon - an annual day of recognition for chemical and alcohol addiction. Shapiro said he chose Las Vegas (which isn't the first city that springs to mind when discussing sobriety) to make an important point.

"One of the reasons we're here is because of that reputation. We want to show you can have a good time, party, but not have to use alcohol and drugs, and you can do that anywhere - including Las Vegas," Shapiro said Monday morning before a program unveiling his foundation's public service announcements was to begin at the Bellagio's Monet Ballroom. "We're having a party tonight for the Foundation at one of the hip boutique hotels in L.A. (the Standard Hotel) with a lot of celebrities, and there will be no drugs or alcohol."

Through his long and often highly publicized career as an attorney (which of course includes a role on O.J. Simpson's legal team) and by confronting his own son's struggles with drugs and alcohol, Shapiro is keenly aware of the issues and stigma surrounding addiction.

"It is a disease, and it doesn't matter if you have it because of genetics or acquired it later in life. My son was an example - he had 18 months of sobriety until that night, and now he's gone because nobody knew what to do about it," Shapiro said. "We need to get this issue out in the open and talk about it. That's what the foundation is all about - we say, 'Be aware, we care.' "

Shapiro said the foundation is not to be used as a treatment center, but rather as a clearing house to raise awareness through media and through public service announcements about the dangers of drug and alcohol addiction. The foundation's Web site, www.brentshapiro.org, encourages visitors to tell their own stories of how addiction has scarred their lives, or the lives of friends or loved ones.

The key figure is obviously Shapiro, who for the second time since his son's death will visit "Larry King Live" for an hourlong discussion at 6 p.m. Thursday. The foundation's public-service spots, which show a sobbing Shapiro recounting his son's final hours, will be aired that night.

The testimonials pack a punch. As he viewed the PSAs Monday morning with Shapiro - a friend of 35 years - at his side, Goodman was left speechless and simply shook his head.

NoteMart

On the move: On May 10 the Plaza is hosting a fundraising dinner, wine tasting and silent auction to benefit the Neon Museum's La Concha motel project. The event is scheduled to run from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.; KLAS Channel 8 reporter George Knapp is serving as master of ceremonies. The Neon Museum is just a few thousand dollars short of its financial goal to move the La Concha lobby from the Strip to the museum site, where it would be converted into ... a lobby.

A tour of the museum's Boneyard is also offered, with a free shuttle taking guests from the Plaza to the site of famous Las Vegas signs. Call 387-6366 for information ...

Grand designs: Over the weekend students from the International Academy of Design and Technology and the Institute of Las Vegas designed rooms for four prominent Las Vegans at the Las Vegas Home Improvement and Decorating Show at Cashman Center. Students designed a home-theater room (equipped with a poker table) for O'Sheas comic Vinnie Favorito, a bedroom for Harrah's headliner Clint Holmes, a tea room for soon-to-be Harrah's headliner Rita Rudner and a recreation room for Channel 13 meteorologist Bryan Scofield ...

Pappa-larity contest: This might (we can hope) be the last on the Monopoly-Las Vegas dustup I helped cause a few days ago. To refresh: Monopoly is inviting fans from around the country to vote (at www.monopoly.com) on landmarks from 22 U.S. cities to be used for a new board game due in August. Las Vegas is represented by three landmarks that are actually not within its city limits - the Strip, Hoover Dam and Tropicana Avenue.

Goodman criticized the choices, but on Monday Clark County spokesman Erik Pappa sent an e-mail saying, "We're thrilled that the makers of Monopoly have picked three landmarks in unincorporated Clark County for their new board game. While the Las Vegas Strip, Tropicana Avenue and Hoover Dam are not within the confines of the city of Las Vegas, they are nonetheless fine representatives of all that makes Southern Nevada a great place to live, work and play." ...

Deal me in: While gazing at silent-auction items at the "Tiger Jam IV" fundraiser, poker ace Phil Ivey didn't hesitate when asked for his favorite Vegas poker room. "Bellagio," he said. "I play there all the time." ...

Making headlines: A clever headline in the latest Advertising Age trade publication, atop a story about the sagging ratings for "The Apprentice," which stars New York (and Las Vegas Strip) real estate mogul Donald Trump: "YOU'RE TIRED" ...

Cracked up: A sign at the Cracked Egg on Rainbow Boulevard near Interstate 215 reads, "Unattended Children Will be Given an Espresso and a Puppy" ...

Warp back to one: A black BMW 740I with the vanity plate BEMEUP.