Las Vegas Weekly

March 21, 2010 · 1:51 PM

Photos: This Bud, bracket, brawn and band are for you at the Hard Rock

By Don Chareunsy

Forrest Griffin at the private UFC party at Vanity in the Hard Rock Hotel on March 19, 2010.

Photo: Charlie Chareunsy

By Don Chareunsy, Vegas DeLuxe editor

The Hard Rock Hotel and Bud Light teamed up beginning Wednesday in celebration of the Hard Rock’s new HRH Beach Club and Skybar and five days of festivities titled the World’s Largest Pool Party. The party kicked off Wednesday with a larger-than-life NCAA Basketball Tournament bracket on the facade of the new HRH Tower with continuous updates.

Along with thousands of Bud Light drinkers partying poolside throughout the weekend, the schedule included a private reception hosted by UFC featuring a meet-and-greet and autograph-and-photo op with fighters Frank Mir, Forrest Griffin, Tyson Griffin, Gray Maynard and Martin Kampmann at Vanity on Friday night. The men were happy to talk with fans and pose for photographs, and Forrest Griffin and Kampmann are surprisingly tall. Thanks to my brother Charlie Chareunsy for taking the photos of the five fighters on Friday night.

A female UFC fan from Chicago waited excitedly in line to talk with the mixed martial artists and pose for photos with them. “I really love UFC,” she exclaimed, and then showed off a few fight moves of her own and told Charlie and me that she’s a big fan of Antonio Nogueira, who attended the same high school as hers in Chicago years earlier. Nogueira and Mir were the coaches of The Ultimate Fighter Season 8, and shortly after the season ended, the two men fought in UFC 92 for the interim heavyweight title, with Mir defeating Nogueira in a second-round TKO.

Last night’s highlight was a private concert performance at The Joint by The All-American Rejects, whose hits include “Dirty Little Secret,” “It Ends Tonight,” “Move Along” and “Gives You Hell.” Scheduling conflicts prevented this journalist from attending the concert, which was being recorded for later airing on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Mike Sundet, senior director of Bud Light, said in a press release, “With St. Patrick’s Day, Spring Break and March hoops taking place the same week, we couldn’t think of a better time to bring 3,000 adult Bud Light drinkers together to celebrate at the World’s Largest Pool Party.”

As part of the Hard Rock’s $750 million expansion in the past two years, this year brings a new all-suite HRH Tower, Vanity Nightclub, Reliquary Spa and more than 40,000 square feet of additional casino space.

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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