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World Poker Tour
Mike Sexton, Michael Phelps and Vince Van Patten at the World Poker Tour event at the Bellagio on Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012.
Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012 | 6 p.m.
Antonio Esfandiari celebrates his birthday at Marquee in the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on Monday, Dec. 10, 2012.
Robin Leach and the Royal Flush Girls at the World Poker Tour event at the Bellagio on Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012.
It was the shock stunning elimination of the poker year! For the past three years, the game’s great Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari has made it to the Final Table of the World Poker Tour. In fact, he won it outright in 2012.
Even with good friend and Olympic champion Michael Phelps cheering him on, Antonio, who started with the chip lead, was ousted. Instead of hauling off more than $1.2 million and the cup, the Magician took 4th and $330,000. A week earlier in Montreal, Michael brought gold medal luck, but it vanished here when he even sacrificed a trip to Prague to stay here for Antonio. Antonio, Michael and friends dined at Fix during the poker weekend at the Bellagio.
Newcomer Ravi Raghavan won the big prize in the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic. More than 500 entrants started the game at the Bellagio to generate a nearly $5 million prize pool. Now the WPT heads to Asia for the first-ever WPT event in China. Poker prince Phil Hellmuth is on a family trip with his parents to the Great Wall of China before play starts there Friday at MGM Grand Sanya resort on Hainan Island.
Meantime, Antonio celebrated his 34th birthday at Marquee in the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on Monday night. The poker pro, who is ranked No. 1 for all-time tournament poker winnings, was presented with a magic hat cake decorated with playing cards and poker chips as he partied at a VIP table on the dance floor with Michael and friends while listening to the sounds of DJ Eric DLux.
FIRST-PLACE WIN: It took maturity, poise and consistency for hometown driver B.J. Baldwin to come from behind to capture the SCORE Overall and SCORE Trophy Truck season point championship for the five-race 2012 SCORE Desert Series. He battled back from a rare did-not-finish in Round 2 in Laughlin after stopping to assist his father, MGM CityCenter chief Bobby Baldwin. For B.J., 33, it was his third SCORE Trophy Truck season point championship win but his first SCORE Overall point title.
He entered the season finale at the Baja 1000 in third place but drove solo brilliantly over the rugged 1,121.55-mile course down Mexico’s Baja California to finish far enough ahead of Las Vegas’ Rob MacCachren and Mexico’s Juan C. Lopez to add to his Trophy Truck titles won in 2006 and 2008.
B.J. originally placed 2nd in the 45th anniversary race, but a protest of apparent winners Gus Vildosola Sr. and Gus Vildosola Jr. resulted in a 90-minute penalty for Vildosola Racing, and that gave B.J. the historic victory and 407 points for the season.
NEW SHOW, NEW HOME: In a new two-year deal, Australia’s sensational singing group Human Nature has found a new Las Vegas home at the Venetian starting Jan. 19. They’d called the Imperial Palace home since arriving on the Strip from Down Under in 2009. Las Vegas resident and Motown superstar executive Smokey Robinson masterminded their stay here. They will be performing five nights each week in the 742-seat Sands Showroom.
NEW TV: Motley Crue hometown rocker Vince Neil is flying high with a new aerial reality TV show that starts filming early in the New Year. He will celebrate his pilot’s license taking to the friendly skies with his entourage to visit jet-set playgrounds. The show also will star his blonde bombshell girlfriend Las Vegas makeup expert Rain Andreani.
Yet another new Las Vegas-based TV series, this one starting on the CW on Dec. 15, is being trumpeted: “Beauty Rocks Vegas” with rockers and their model gal pals.
TONIGHT’S TIPS
Legendary rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd headline “Chopper Live: The Revenge” on Discovery from the Hard Rock Hotel with father and son Paul Teutul Sr. and Paul Teutul Jr. with “Outlaw Garage” star Jesse James and “Fast N’ Loud” stars Richard Rawlings and Aaron Kaufman.
The Oak Ridge Boys play the downtown Golden Nugget.
Nightlife czar Jack Colton presents the 2012 Nightlife Entertainment Awards at Pure in Caesars Palace.
Cowboy Bill Martin and O’Brien & Valdez head up Rodeo Week at Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club in MGM Grand.
Greg Vaccariello is the headliner all week long at Sin City Comedy Club in Planet Hollywood.
“The Last Comic Standing” Season 1 winner Dat Phan and Marc Price headline Harrah’s Improv through Sunday night.
TOMORROW’S TEASE
It’s 12-12-12 and our city goes romantic with magical weddings, our brave troops and veterans receive a royal salute at the Venetian, plus, the amazing story of Pamela Anderson and Criss Angel’s send-off of their pal Jesus “Half Animal” Villa attempting a 310-mile run on stilts from Las Vegas to L.A.
Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.
Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.
Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.
Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas dares to be different. From the hotel’s red reservations desks to fine art found throughout the resort, The Cosmopolitan’s signature style is helping to pave its own path on the Las Vegas Strip.
Upon entering the resort, you’re greeted by pillars of video boards playing video art by Digital Kitchen and David Rockwell Studio exclusively produced for The Cosmopolitan. Just beyond that, you’ll find all your favorite casino games on the resort’s 100,000-square-foot casino floor.
The Cosmopolitan’s rooms standout as the resort’s most unique feature. About 2,220 of The Cosmopolitan’s 2,995 rooms have 6-foot deep terraces that span the length of the room, a first at a modern Strip hotel. Other in-room amenities include soaking tubs, kitchenettes and quirky accessories like artsy coffee table books.
The dining experience at The Cosmopolitan isn’t something you’ll find at other Strip resorts, either. All of The Cosmopolitan’s 13 restaurateurs are new to the Las Vegas market. You’ll find American steakhouse fare in a modern setting at STK, top-notch sushi at Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill and the freshest fish flown in from the Mediterranean daily at Estiatorio Milos.
Whether the sun is up or down, Marquee Nightclub & Dayclub is the place to find the party at The Cosmopolitan. The venue is a dayclub/nightclub, complete with a pool and cabanas outside and three different rooms with three different vibes inside.
If nightclubs aren’t your thing, you can grab a drink at one of The Cosmopolitan’s five other bars, like The Chandelier, which is encased in 2 million dripping crystals.
Inspired by the beautiful villages of Europe, the AAA Five Diamond Bellagio overlooks a Mediterranean-blue, 8 ½-acre lake, where fountains perform a magnificent aquatic ballet choreographed to music and lights.
Within Bellagio are award-winning dining experiences including two AAA Five Diamond restaurants, Julian Serrano's Picasso and Le Cirque from the renowned Maccioni family.
Bellagio is home to an impressive collection of luxury retailers including Louis Vuitton, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Tiffany & Co., Breguet, Prada, Fred Leighton, Chanel, Dior, Fendi, Bottega Veneta, Hermès and OMEGA.
A world-class art gallery, the exquisite Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, the stunning “O” by Cirque du Soleil, a luxurious spa and salon, dynamic nightlife at The Bank, Hyde Bellagio and Lily Bar & Lounge and an elegant casino all add to the extraordinary Bellagio experience.
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