Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: Maloof turns Palms into poling place

The end of the world as we know it? Hardly.

It is just the latest in Las Vegas accommodations: dancer poles in your hotel room, for when guests call in the strippers.

Today the Palms introduces what hotel owner George Maloof described to VegasBeat as the Bachelor and Bachelorette Party Suites.

"People were always abusing the regular suites with their bachelor parties, so we decided to create something special for them, in a relatively safe and controlled environment," Maloof told VegasBeat Tuesday.

"A lot of people come to the Palms to party so we are doing what we can to accommodate them."

Located across the hall on the 28th floor from the "Real World" suite (which has recently been the site of parties hosted by Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx and Grammy nominee Avril Lavigne), the two luxury suites offer a plethora of amenities.

The suites will rent for $1,500 per night on weekends and a mere $1,000 midweek.

"These are the ultimate playrooms," Maloof said.

They each feature plasma flat-screen TVs, a high-end sound system, Murphy beds, a wooden dance floor, a disco mirror ball and LED mood lighting that changes colors -- depending on the mood you want to strike -- at the touch of a button.

But clearly, the piece de resistance in the suites are the dancer poles, a staple in strip clubs everywhere.

In-room poles are an idea that has been around for some time, but until now no one has pulled the trigger. "We think it is a good match for most of our clientele," Maloof said of the hotel's young and hip frequenters.

How many can the rooms sleep? Maloof said it all depends on how friendly the guests are with one another.

"People who want to celebrate their last days of freedom now have the ultimate bachelor pad," Maloof said. "The most attractive feature in the room is its complete privacy -- the staff here has been sworn to secrecy."

Good luck on that one, Mr. Maloof. Trust me on this -- everybody talks.

That's how columns such as this stay in business.

Honor roll

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas ain't exactly part of the Ivy League just yet, but its students do rack up nice national honors from time to time.

At the Harvard Club in New York City the other day, UNLV junior Ian Jankelowitz was presented with the Elie Wiesel Ethics Prize for an essay he wrote.

Jankelowitz's winning essay -- selected from nearly 600 submissions -- was titled, "From Oppressed to Oppressors: The Ethical Issues of Post-Holocaust Jewry in Apartheid South Africa."

You can read it at eliewieselfoundation.org.

Wiesel himself presented Jankelowitz with the award.

Party people

The suits from Microsoft visiting Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show know how to have a good time.

Bill Gates' company has contracted with promoter Scott E. Rodder and his SER Productions to create a special VIP Party Pass to guarantee admission for top Microsoft representatives at hotspots Light, rumjungle, Curve, BiKiNi's, House of Blues and Coyote Ugly.

Not only does the card guarantee admission to the exclusive clubs, but the card holder gets cut-to-the-front-of-the-line privileges, too.

Also, Roy's on Flamingo Road is offering a free appetizer or dessert to Microsoft diners.

The pass is a promotional tie-in to the new Windows XP Media Center Edition.

Don't be cruel

Elvis Presley would have been 68 today.

Unlike the 25th anniversary of his death last year, no major local celebrations are planned.

However, Elvis impersonator Tom Stevens is doing a special show at the Suncoast Showroom on Thursday; at the Riviera's Le Bistro Theatre Trent Carlini still performs in a fab Elvis show nightly at 10; and Jim Le Boeuf and the Naturals do a weekend afternoon Elvis show also at the Riviera.

Graceland lawyers make sure that the Elvis tribute artists no longer use the Presley name in their show titles. For example, Le Boeuf used to call his show "A Tribute to Elvis" until lawyers for the King's estate stepped in.

VegasBits

A public memorial service is taking place Friday for Sahara owner and Las Vegas casino titan Bill Bennett, who died Dec. 22. The doors at UNLV's Artemus Ham Hall open at 10 a.m. ...

The contest to name Siegfried & Roy's three Royal White Tiger cubs (two males and one female) starts today. Winners get $1,000 donated in their name to the Clark County School District -- and their names mentioned in this column. Fax your entries to 895-9945 or e-mail [email protected]. Deadline is Jan. 20 ...

Yes, cocktail waitress Monica Rizzolo who works at the Palms' High Roller Lounge is the daughter of Crazy Horse Too owner Rick Rizzolo ...

Tripadvisor.com today names its best worldwide hotels. The respected website names Bellagio as the best in the United States. The top rating is based on positive articles and reviews across the Web ...

"Sopranos" star and former Riviera entertainment director Steve Schirripa is on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" this evening to plug his new book, "A Goomba's Guide to Life" ...

Freshman congressman Jon Porter has tapped ex- John Ensign staffer Brooke Allmon to head up his Las Vegas office ...

The New York Times ran a huge Sunday feature on Las Vegas' newest convention facility, which opened Monday at Mandalay Bay. The piece (a version of which ran in Monday's Las Vegas Sun) quoted the head of NYC & Co. (formerly the city's Convention & Visitors Bureau), Cristyne Lategano-Nicholas, saying that other cities were becoming "helpless" to compete against Las Vegas for convention business, because of the great new facilities in the city ...

When Robin Leach was plucked from the audience to play Mr. Big at the "Ba Da Bing" interactive dinner show at Gustav Mauler's Sazio restaurant at The Orleans on Sunday night, the audience exploded in laughter when it recognized him ...

On the other side of The Orleans Sunday night, Jack Jones -- who just completed a Tony Bennett tribute album -- was joined onstage by singing impressionist Bob Anderson, who does a mighty fine Bennett, among other voices. Anderson just ended his run at the Stardust and is developing several projects.

archive