Las Vegas Weekly

August 24, 2009 · 11:29 AM

Party Photo Galleries: Lauren Conrad, Mena Suvari, Ludacris and Will.i.am

By Robin Leach

Lauren Conrad, center, with her friends at Tao Beach.

Photo: Denise Truscello/WireImage

It was a major weekend of stars shining brightly in Las Vegas as they played, performed, partied -- and even worked -- and Vegas DeLuxe has all the photos and the full rundown:

Lauren Conrad comes down from The Hills

The Hills reality star beauty Lauren Conrad made it an all-girls, nonstop 72-hour weekend at The Venetian and Palazzo -- and Mom came along, too! First stop for the seven-girl group was at Sushi Samba in the Palazzo. Lauren kept it casual in jean shorts and a white T-shirt. She drank from the cocktail tree of cucumber martinis and lemon Samurais and then ordered up miso soup, assorted sushi rolls, sea bass and yellowtail for the group. The waiters remarked that the group was nice and polite, and our contributing photographer Scott Harrison was onsite for photos.

Lauren was due to host a party at Tao Beach in The Venetian, but surprise dark clouds, high winds and a sudden heavy shower forced the red carpet festivities to be moved into Tao nightclub. On the carpet, Conrad proclaimed everything was great with boyfriend actor Kyle Howard. Later, she made it back to her VIP cabana and posed with her mom Kathy Conrad for photographer Denise Truscello. Female fans carried copies of Lauren’s new book L.A. Candy, and she graciously autographed them before lunch was brought to her plush cabana.

L.C. also celebrated the bachelorette party of her cousin Cheryl with a dinner at Tao. The ladies sipped lychee martinis and feasted on specialties from the kitchen, including satay bass, Kung pao chicken and vegetable dumplings, finishing with a platter of desserts. After dinner, they adjourned to a skybox in the nightclub for champagne toasts, vodka cocktails and dancing.

To cap off the weekend, Lauren and her girl gang hit Lavo for yet another bachelorette party. Although at the back of the restaurant in the Palazzo where I also was having dinner, bride-to-be Cheryl was impossible to miss. She modeled crazy items from the Tao Group’s Bachelorette Party Bag, including jewelry and accessories that glowed with a bright red light. The fun continued as the night went on, and they took over a VIP table at Lavo’s boutique nightclub dancing all night long to the sounds of DJ Eric DLux with the appropriate toasts and screams of pure Vegas bachelorette bliss.

Mena Suvari’s romance at Azure pool

Stunning actress and model Mena Suvari and fiancee Simone Sestito also spent their 48-hour vacation weekend at the Palazzo and The Venetian. The hug-and-kiss-a-lot engaged couple checked into their luxurious Siena Suite and then dined at Tao in the next-door Venetian with friends. Mena and Simone ordered the chicken satay and Surf and Turf rolls featuring lobster and Kobe beef.

Not even the surprising intermittent rain showers and high winds kept the contented couple away from the Absolut fashion show and party at the Palazzo’s Azure pool. Mena first had her hair styled at the Canyon Ranch Spa Club. She glowed in a green flowing sundress and happily flashed her dazzling engagement ring .In their poolside cabana, they weren’t shy about showing they are very much in love by giggling and kissing.

They were joined by friends for cocktails and lunch by Wolfgang Puck at Azure. They chose the smoked salmon and caviar topped pizza, gourmet burgers, fries and grilled chicken. Despite the feast, Mena then revealed her perfect 10 figure in a matching green and white bikini.

Ludacris at the Palms; Will.i.am at Rain

Renowned hip-hop and rap artist Ludacris turned his poolside Palms concert into a mini Vegas vacation weekend. He first dined at N9NE Steakhouse with six friends. They sat at one of the main restaurant’s larger booths and enjoyed the rock shrimp to start. For his main course, Ludacris ordered the sea bass special along with George’s creamed corn and lobster mashed potatoes. For dessert, he indulged in the s’mores. Ludacris took photos with fans and went into the kitchen to visit chef Barry Dakake before leaving.

After dinner, Ludacris put on a high-energy poolside performance that had the crowd going all night long. Watching and grooving from the upper pool deck was professional skateboarder Jake Brown, who was in an entourage of 20. Later, Ludacris wrapped up his night at The Playboy Club playing blackjack with a friend.

He also checked out Rain, where multi-platinum group Black Eyed Peas, sans the fabulous Fergie, was with a group of 20 friends at a VIP table on the stage near the DJ booth. Will.i.am served as celebrity guest DJ after resident DJ AM with a well-received 45-minute set.

As if that electrifying star power wasn’t enough, two other band members surprised the crowd performing several impromptu hit songs. Spotted in the crowd were pro poker player Michael Matusow and a lady friend who hit the rooftop Moon nightclub afterward for late-night drinks.

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.

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