Las Vegas Weekly

August 10, 2010 · 5:54 PM

Strip Scribbles: Jessica Alba hosts party for bachelorette at Palazzo

By Robin Leach

Jessica Alba, third from left in the front row, and friends at Azure Pool at the Palazzo.

Photo: IS Photography/imagesofvegas.com

Actress Jessica Alba planned a bachelorette party over the weekend at the Palazzo for her friend Jacqueline. Jessica, Jacqueline and the girls stayed in the Lago Suite, dined at Tao in the adjoining Venetian and Lavo in the Palazzo, pampered themselves at Canyon Ranch SpaClub and celebrated poolside at Azure Pool.

Jessica, who is married to Cash Warren and the mother of baby girl Honor Marie Warren, born in 2008, surprised the bachelorette with a cake from Gimme Some Sugar.

Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay celebrated Shark Week with a 10th anniversary milestone when the attraction welcomed its 10 millionth guest. Julian Ruvalcaba was the lucky winner and received the grand prize package, which includes a two-night stay at Mandalay Bay, tickets to Disney’s The Lion King, Shark Reef Aquarium annual passes and dinner at chef Michael Mina’s Strip Steak.

Julian, from El Paso, was visiting Shark Reef Aquarium with his wife, Isela Garcia, and their children Mariana, 8, and Julian, 1, when they learned of their timely visit. “This is our first trip to Shark Reef. We decided to come because some friends highly recommended the aquarium,” Julian said. “This is a great prize package, and we’re excited about all of it, but mostly about our return trip to Las Vegas!”

Jim Maddy, president and CEO of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, said, “On behalf of the AZA, we congratulate Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay on achieving two great institutional milestones. Over the last 10 years, Shark Reef Aquarium has provided awe-inspiring animal encounters to each and every one of those 10 million visitors, imparting an educational and entertaining experience.”

*The Venetian and Palazzo presented its third annual Carnival of Cuisine on Saturday, with more than 20 restaurants showcasing dishes to 1,750 Grazie members and guests at The Venetian Ballroom. Bouchon Bakery featured an all-dessert station, Zine Noodles and Dim Sum offered pork and shrimp shu mai and chicken and vegetable pot stickers, First Food & Bar served hot dogs with mango salsa and chorizo chili, Pinot Brasserie had classic French escargot with beurre blanc, frisee and truffle vinaigrette, and Valentino presented penne all’matriciana with shrimp. The afternoon also included cooking demonstrations, jazz and Ketel One, Patron and Absolut cocktails.

*Caesars Palace President Gary Selesner hosted a party to celebrate the recent nuptials of his daughter, model and TV personality Lisa S., to Hong Kong actor Daniel Wu. They celebrated with a gala of their closest family and friends all weekend long at Caesars Palace, and headliner Matt Goss performed. One of the ice sculptures was created in the image of Hong Kong’s skyline.

*The Preferred Hotel Group is hosting an event at Trump International Hotel next Tuesday on the pool deck for a group of luxury travel executives in town for the annual Virtuoso Travel Mart. The travel heavyweights, who are all staying at the Bellagio, are here for Saturday’s World Travel Awards at Gold Lounge in MGM CityCenter’s Aria.

*The inaugural 2010 Vegas Rocks! Magazine Awards honoring local and legendary rock artists are Aug. 22 at the Las Vegas Hilton, with a lineup that includes Dee Snider, Flavor Flav and members of Motorhead, The Scorpions, Deep Purple and more. The awards, with the theme “I Wanna Rock,” marks the sixth anniversary of the magazine and will be hosted by magazine founder and CEO Sally Steele. The show features a dozen local awards.

Paul Shortino (Rough Cut/Quiet Riot), Jake E. Lee (Ozzy Osbourne), Ron Keel (Keel), Jimmy Crespo (Aerosmith) and Otis Day (Otis Day and The Knights) are scheduled to appear, and other celebrities set to attend, present or perform include Thomas Ian Nicholas, Nick Oshiro (Static X), Tony Franklin (The Firm), Chris Frazier (Whitesnake), Kerry Simon, Mario Barth, Gregg Giuffria (Giuffria), Steel Panther and Zowie Bowie.

*That crazy character popping up on red carpets to interview celebrities is a custom-designed puppet known as Louie brilliantly operated and ad libbed by Joe McGreevy, formerly of Henson’s and Avenue Q. Louie has a fake back-story that he used to be a big-time lounge singer but is now a has-been. He drives an ice cream truck by day and is trying to get his act back into a lounge. For now, he has to interview entertainers for VegasLiveShow.com because it’s as about as close to the limelight as he’s going to get!

STAR SURVEILLANCE

Scrubs star Donald Faison and girlfriend CaCee Cobb, Jessica Simpson’s ex-assistant, checked into the Palazzo last night for an early week vacation. … Singer Amerie performed at Pure in Caesars Palace on Saturday. Dressed in a black Herve Leger skirt and silver Givenchy heels, she arrived with a large group that included her fiance, and they enjoyed Patron, Belvedere, Veuve Clicquot and Fiji Water with lemon slices. After her performance, which included her hit “One Thing,” Amerie and her entourage hung out in the VIP area and was congratulated by Jerryd Bayless of the Portland Trail Blazers. … Singer Montell Jordan partied at Rehab at the Hard Rock Hotel.

TONIGHT’S TIPS

Tattoo titan and The King of Ink Mario Barth will be on hand for his new industry party Inked Out at his privileged platinum parlor opposite Jet in The Mirage. Get inked or just hang and groove to the music of DJ Ear Waxx. … Twitter users and followers get their own Tweet Up party from chef Geno Bernardo at his Nove Italiano in the Palms for nearly 4 hours. Tweet and get a free Red Bull arrival cocktail, plus gorgeous Jenny McCarthy gives a winner tickets for her Midsummer Night’s Dream party this weekend at Palms Pool. … Kivi Rogers, Gene Pompa and Zach Risen are at The Improv at Harrah’s through Sunday.

TOMORROW’S TEASES

An advance look at the big summer action film The Expendables as Sylvester Stallone and his co-stars head to Planet Hollywood for a red carpet and screening. The film also stars hometown and UFC hero Randy Couture. Plus, another photo gallery from behind the scenes of the 2010 Miss Universe Pageant.

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.

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