Explaining the red carpet’s role in Las Vegas

By Joe Brown

Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009 | 2 a.m.

In recent years the red carpet phenomenon has invaded Vegas like a crimson tide. Adapted from the Hollywood days of glamorous movie premieres, these carefully staged and fully controlled walk-pose-and-shoot micro-events create instant excitement in a casino lobby, the equivalent of a fender-bender off the shoulder on Interstate 215, with passers-by craning their necks in hopes of glimpsing a recognizable celebrity. Maggie Feldman, president of Magnetic Public Relations, put together a red carpet event for demi-celeb Rumer Willis’ 21st birthday at Tao on Saturday and is planning another for Lauren Conrad this Saturday, at Tao Beach, so we asked her how she feels about seeing red so often.

How many red carpets do you suppose take place in Las Vegas each week?

Any given week in Vegas there can be from five to 10 red carpets taking place. My company manages media for celebrity red carpets on average about once per week, but there have certainly been some busy months where we have had up to eight red carpets in a month’s time.

When and how did the red carpet phenomenon catch on here in Las Vegas?

Red carpets have really become popular in the last several years, fueled both by the rise of nightclubs as an entertainment option in the city and by the entertainment media’s interest in Las Vegas. It’s a convenient way to generate photos and video for the magazines and TV shows that are so hungry for celebrity images.

What’s involved behind the scenes in putting on a celebrity red carpet?

The operations are multifaceted, from coordinating logistics such as celebrity arrival times and security; setting up logo press boards, ropes and stanchions; hiring a house photographer and video crew; and then letting the media know where and when to show up.

What is the essential point or purpose of a red carpet?

Red carpets give a celebrity the opportunity to talk about any projects that they are working on, and they help brand a venue as a celebrity hot spot. Plus, they draw a crowd of the general public, allowing them to see a star close up.

Tell us about a memorable red carpet.

At the opening of Lavo Restaurant and Nightclub last September, the actual red carpet wound around the lobby of the Palazzo and more than 30 celebrities walked — it took around two hours for them to finish giving interviews and posing for photographers.

What does the fall red carpet season look like for Vegas?

The star wattage at the joint party celebrating Tao’s fourth anniversary and Lavo’s first anniversary the weekend of Oct. 2 is going to be quite bright.