Las Vegas Weekly

April 30, 2011 · 11:45 AM

Rich, famous attend Steve Wynn, Andrea Hissom’s pre-wedding party

By Robin Leach

Best man Clint Eastwood, center, with Andrea and Steve Wynn on April 30, 2011.

Photo: Brittany Hanson

High winds didn’t dampen the fun and festivities of Steve Wynn and fiancee Andrea Hissom’s pre-wedding white party at his Strip casino resort the Wynn last night. Several of the world’s richest men flew into town, and it looked just like an episode of my long-ago TV show Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous.

For mogul Jean Pigozzi, it was the conclusion of a fairytale romance that began on his yacht, Amazon Express, where Steve and Andrea first met three years ago on the French Riviera. Jean is the owner of the world’s largest collection of contemporary art and also is known for his photography, as he records everything with a camera because he’s dyslexic.

Justin M. Bowen

Steve Wynn meets with the media in a villa at Wynn Las Vegas on Wednesday, April 27, 2011. Wynn will be marrying Andrea Hissom on the property this weekend.

One of Britain’s richest men, billionaire retail fashion mogul Sir Philip Green, who keeps a 208-foot, $40 million yacht Lionheart on the French Riviera and was there during the first Steve and Andrea dates, also attended.

Steve’s longtime financial friend Wall Street bond guru Michael Milken and his wife Lori were among the guests. Michael helped raise the original money for Steve to start the massive Strip expansion of his casino hotels when he built the Mirage 20 years ago before selling the collection to MGM.

Hotel moguls Donald Trump, with wife Melania, and Sol Kerzner from the One & Only group, which includes Atlantis in the Bahamas and land on the Strip opposite Steve’s properties, arrived on their private jets, and Priscilla and Lisa Marie Presley were part of the festivities.

Las Vegas was well represented at the party at LaTour ballroom, moved there due to heavy winds whipping around the Wynn pool. Siegfried & Roy’s longtime manager Bernie Yuman was there with singer Steve Lawrence. Greenspun Media Group’s Commander-in-Chief Brian Greenspun attended with lovely wife Myra, along with Niche Publishing head honcho Jason Binn.

Hollywood heavyweights included Steven Spielberg, Brett Ratner (who directed and produced Steve’s TV commercials to launch the Wynn and Encore), Jeffrey Katzenberg and Sylvester Stallone with wife Jennifer Flavin. Clint Eastwood will act as best man today, reprising the role Steve had when Clint wed Dina Ruiz. Senior Editor John Katsilometes covered Steve’s wedding press conference Wednesday at the Wynn in his The Kats Report.

Motivational mogul Tony Robbins, fashion guru Tommy Hilfiger with wife Dee and Wynn board director Ron Popeil, the TV marketer and inventor of kitchen food machines, also were guests. Star Chefs Paul Bartolotta, Alex Stratta (currently competing on Season 3 of Bravo’s Top Chef Masters), Jet Tila and David Walzog, all of whom have successful restaurants with Steve, prepared the cuisine for guests, with an emphasis on Steve and Andrea’s vegan diet.

Entertainment was a lavish spectacle starring Wynn resident headliner Garth Brooks with wife Trisha Yearwood, the cast of Twyla Tharp’s Sinatra: Dance with Me, which recently completed its run at Garth’s resident home the Encore Theater, and members of the Las Vegas Arts Academy.

Photo: Tom Donoghue/DonoghuePhotography.com

Andrea Hissom and Steve Wynn on the 2011 Keep Memory Alive Power of Love Gala red carpet at the Bellagio on Feb. 26, 2011.

More than 500 couples partied past midnight. Today’s civil wedding ceremony is a small, private affair in a chapel at Wynn. The celebration continues tonight with a black-tie party, followed by tomorrow’s farewell brunch. Steve has said there won’t be a honeymoon just yet.

VegasDeLuxe.com will continue to have coverage of our royal wedding all weekend. Heartiest congratulations to the newlyweds!

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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