Las Vegas Weekly

January 18, 2010 · 1:04 PM

Photo Gallery: White House ‘gatecrashers’ party at Pure

By Robin Leach

White House party crashers Tareq and Michaele Salahi at Pure inside Caesars Palace on Jan. 16, 2010.

Photo: Chris Weeks/WireImage

They’re one of the unlikeliest couples to ever host a Las Vegas nightclub soiree, but when you’ve been to The White House and expect to star on The Real Housewives of D.C., it continues their 15 minutes of fame.

Tareq and Michaele Salahi made worldwide headlines as the “most unexpected visitors” when they turned up at an official state dinner at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Photos of them up close with President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were published across the globe, and the glamour couple certainly looked as if they were invited. They say they were; White House social protocol officials say they weren’t.

The Salahis have returned to Washington, D.C., and tomorrow, they will stand before a House Security Committee to be grilled with questions as to how they allegedly breached two security checks.

Over the weekend, there was added security at Caesars Palace when they arrived to host at Pure, and the planned red carpet walk for the duo was canceled due to a mob of reporters, photographers, TV and radio crews requesting credentials that would’ve overwhelmed the casino and neighboring sports book operations.

Inside Pure, Tareq and Michaele, joined by a group of friends, enjoyed Veuve Clicquot and vodka drinks all night long, although Michaele stuck with water. The vivacious blonde wore a stunning black BCBG dress, black leggings and black Manolo Blahnik boots, while Tareq went old-school Las Vegas, wearing a white Armani suit with a black shirt and black tie.

The headlining twosome went into the DJ booth briefly early yesterday morning to say hello to partygoers and urged them to donate to the Haitian earthquake relief fund at the door of Pure before departing for the evening.

It was 3 a.m. before the celebrity couple called it a night, and my pal gossip guru Norm Clarke talked with them shortly before they left. They still deny that they gate crashed The White House dinner. They told Norm that they want the story of The White House cover-up about their invitation to be told.

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.

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Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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