Las Vegas Weekly

July 8, 2008 · 7 AM

Marriage to Mariah is fine, Cannon says at Audigier opening

By Robin Leach

Nick Cannon poses on the carpet before hitting the Christian Audigier party at Treasure Island.

Photo: Scott Doctor

If fans were expecting superstar singer Mariah Carey to be on the arm of her new husband, TV comedy host Nick Cannon at the opening of the new Club Audigier they were disappointed. She wasn’t anywhere to be seen. If fans were expecting the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, to be in fashion designer’s Christian Audigier’s VIP section at his new nightclub at Treasure Island they were disappointed. He wasn’t anywhere to be seen. If fans were expecting George Clooney’s former galpal, hometown model Sarah Larson, to be there as the just announced “new face” of the Audigier couture line they were also disappointed. She was out of town -- and that’s set off its own stack of speculation!

Jaime Pressly at the CA opening.

Instead, the singer in Christian’s celebrity contingent was Johnny Hallyday, a French pop idol who was at the top of the charts in the ’70s and ’80s. However, sexy actresses Jamie Pressly (with DJ hubby Eric Cubeechee) and Bai Ling did show along with comedy actor Damon Wayans, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and sports stars Jermaine O’Neal (Indiana Pacers), Patrick O’Bryant (Golden State Warriors) and Tyron Brackenridge (Kansas City Chiefs) -– and that was it, folks! Sorry -- I forgot actor Jeremy Jackson, who is best remembered playing David Hasselhoff’s son on the long-ago Baywatch TV series.

Photo: Pure Management Group

A couple of heavyweights: former champ Mike Tyson and Christian Audigier.

The first highlight of the night was when the fashion guru made his grand entrance into the packed party on the famed Sirens pirate ship and took a VIP table on the outdoor patio, where he tossed out his Christian Audigier branded hats to clubgoers. The second highlight was when Cannon was finally persuaded to come out onto the red carpet for anxiously awaiting photographers. The invading celebrity contingent of gossip gurus pummeled him with questions about his “missing” new wife, Carey.

Cannon showed his wedding ring to the curious correspondents and declared, “Married life is good,” as he denied gossip reports that its already on shaky ground. “It’s amazing -- the best thing that’s happened to me,” he even told my People magazine columnist colleague, Mark Gray. The couple only met six months ago, and were married in the Bahamas two months ago.

Nick raced the carpet in a 60-second sprint, but wound-up twisting the turntables for two hours, playing rock, techno and hip-hop favorites. When he played “Dey Know” by Shawty Lo, Nick shouted the lyrics and raised his hands and emphasized, “Big Ups to all my haters.”

Photo: Pure Management Group

Damon Wayans makes his way in.

Earlier, Audigier led all the celebrities upstairs in the Social House Asian-themed restaurant into a private dining room for dinner before the opening. Poker prince Phil Helmuth was there, enjoying the Kobe beef with Reisling wine, but he didn’t go onto the opening party. Nick worked up such a sweat at the turntables that he stopped in at Social House for a late-after-midnight re-fuelling.

Next night, San Diego Chargers star linebackers Shaun Phillips and Stephen Cooper celebrated Cooper’s 29th birthday at the new club.

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