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Celebrity Gossip From Las Vegas With Robin Leach | Luxe Life Digest

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Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Paris Hilton & >
Thursday, October 19, 2006
October 2006
Willa Ford's New Dance; Jenny McCarthy's Halloween; Gordie Brown's Opening Night
A Spooktacular Celebrity Halloween Photo Tour
Celeb Halloween Pics: Dennis Rodman, Tera Patrick, Criss Angel, Amazing Jonathan, Gene Simmons, More
Farewell to the Stardust; An X-Girl Photo Special; Fox News at PURE; Hot Halloween Weekend Events
Paris Hilton Sneaks Into Vegas 24-Hours-Early to Make Out With Criss Angel -- LUXE LIFE UPDATE
Paris Hilton Continues Love Affair With Vegas & Criss Angel; Rodman Sells Himself on eBay
'Oceans 13' and 'CSI' Film Downtown; The Sirens of TI Turn 3; Vegas Hotels Are A-Changin'
Roy Horn's Road Back; Monty Python in Vegas?; Prince Parties at PURE
Paris Hilton Has a New Man, While Sister Nicky Dumps Hers; Plus, Britney Disses K-Fed
Girls Gone Wild Watch: Nicky, Paris, Britney
Jenna Jameson Goes Hollywood; Vince Neil Comes Home; Plus, the Hottest Weekend Events
Britney Spears' Night Out; New Beatles; Letterman at Playboy Club; Sexy Halloween Happenings
Paris Hilton & Britney Spears Are Back in Vegas -- LUXE LIFE BREAKING NEWS
Michael Mina's Sexy Stripsteak; Nick Lachey's Upcoming Restaurant; Liberace Goes to Italy
Injured Lakers Leave Vegas Losers; MS. America Judges Announced -- LUXE LIFE NEWS
Exclusive Interview with Liza Minnelli; Bellagio's Living Painting; A-Rod Parties at PURE
Basketball Bonanza: the Lakers, the Kings, the Maloofs and a $6K Burger -- LUXE LIFE SPECIAL EDITION
Ashanti and Michelle Trachtenberg's B-Day Parties; Eva Longoria at PURE; Mike Tyson the Gigolo???
The Romantic Adventures of Paris Hilton and George Maloof -- LUXE LIFE BREAKING NEWS
Lindsay, Paris and George Do Vegas: Who's in Love and Who Won $127K? -- Luxe Life Exclusive Photos
Stallone, Streisand & Wayne Newton Are Coming to Vegas; Plus, the Hottest Weekend Events
Liza Minnelli Back in Vegas; Amazing Johnathan Prepares for Halloween; Meet the Gladiator Goddesses
Siegfried & Roy Talk About the Future; Gordie Brown Opens at Venetian; Elton Back in Vegas
Britney Spears to Divorce? Lindsay Lohan & Harry Morton Make-Up? -- LUXE LIFE BREAKING NEWS
Hollywood Stars Invest in Vegas; Fantasy Girls Calendar; Pam Anderson & Kid Rock Back in Public
The Playboy Club Opens -- LUXE LIFE SPECIAL EDITION
The Hilton Sisters' Wild Vegas Weekend -- LUXE LIFE SPECIAL EDITION
Andre Agassi's Grand Slam for Children -- LUXE LIFE SPECIAL EDITION
Andre Agassi, the Hilton Sisters, Hugh Hefner and the Playboy Club -- A LUXE LIFE PREVIEW
Paris & Nicky Hilton Invade Vegas; Andre Agassi's Grand Slam; Plus, More Hot Weekend Events
Cooking With Superchef Joel Robuchon; Vegas Restaurant Rankings; The World's Most Expensive H2O
Double (D)own at the Playboy Club -- LUXE LIFE SPECIAL EDITION
Shanna Moakler Punches Paris Hilton -- LUXE LIFE BREAKING NEWS
Inside the New Playboy Club; Comedy Fest at Caesars; Eva Longoria's Fiancee Troubles
Roy Horn Vows Siegfried & Roy Will Perform Again -- LUXE LIFE BREAKING NEWS
Rita Rudner Returns; Siegfried & Roy Are Honored; Dennis Rodman Strips; Willa Ford Dances
More From the Diva/Club Wars; Is Janet Jackson Mad at Paris?; Plus, Clint Holmes' Tearful Farewell
Harrah's Gets Billion Dollar Buyout Offer -- LUXE LIFE BREAKING NEWS
Mariah Carey vs. Janet Jackson; PURE vs TAO -- LUXE LIFE SPECIAL EDITION & PHOTO TOUR
« October 2006 Archive
Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Michael Mina's Sexy Stripsteak; Nick Lachey's Upcoming Restaurant; Liberace Goes to Italy




In This Issue:
  • Nick Lachey talks about his upcoming steak restaurant with partners Nicky Hilton and Wilmer Valderama.
  • Chef Michael Mina opens Stripsteak and talks to Robin about his illustrious cooking career.
  • 'Burn the Floor' will extend its run at Luxor, and more dancing shows are on the way.
  • Liberace pumps gas, walks a dog and visits the Leaning Tower of Pisa.




  • For the first time, pop-singer Nick Lachey (pictured) has begun talking about the new 702 Aspen steak restaurant he's opening with co-investors Nicky Hilton and his pal Wilmer Valderama at the Luxor next year. "I'm the taste tester, I think. That's what they've designated me for. I have been told I will have to taste every dish on the menu before the official opening. Anything I don't like gets kicked back. And what's left, I promise everyone it will really be great," he said. Nick, who will be appearing at the Luxor in November for 2 concert dates, will make the official announcement about the restaurant project then. Meantime, he commented: "It's one of those opportunities that comes along and you think 'wow this is different' and it's something that excited me. It's also exciting to be partnering with Wilmer and Nicky and the PURE management team. I'm very happy to be a part of it with those guys who I enjoy working with. I'm sure it will be a success. I'll make sure the food is really good and then it'll be a success." Nick says that his new lovemate, MTV VJ Vanessa Minillo will join him at the Luxor for his shows on November 11 & 12 and that Luxor and PURE executives will give them a tour of the space now under construction. While Nick has included a new love song in his act dedicated to Vanessa, he also takes a smack in another song at former wife, Jessica Simpson, lamenting that they never should have made their reality TV series, blaming it for the first rift in their marriage.

    TASTE-TREAT TEMPLE

    Obviously, Michael Mina's new Stripsteak is not an every day steak house.

    Michael Mina's new, and first steak restaurant, Stripsteak at Mandalay Bay is a $7-million visual stunner and a temple of top-taste treats. It's his 4th Vegas restaurant and the first combination restaurant and ultra-lounge in town! Staffed by some of our city's most beautiful mini-skirted female servers, his menu also contains some stunning attractions: one of the only two bottles of scotch in the world; 200-years-old and costing $25,000! Individual shots of the 1805 Scotch are a mere $700 a glass!!! He has 118 different single malts, chilled with 2-by-2 inch ice cubes, for diners to choose from but the highlight is the 121-proof Johnny Walker blue label! His own steak favorite is the 8 oz. Ribcap for just $62. But, if your wallet bulges bigger, then try the ribeye kobe priced at $170 or bust-out and go for the $195 Filet Mignon kobe.


    LEFT: The sexy servers at Stripsteak. RIGHT:
    The 121-proof Johnny Walker blue label.

    At the VIP opening party, hometown hero and tennis champion Andre Agassi, his good friend and financial business partner; fellow celebrity chef Todd English, Mandalay president Bill Hornbuckle joined Michael's high school friends he'd flown in for the Cristal champagne celebration! Said Bill: "Michael is a brilliant chef and we're thrilled to have him. His understanding of exceptional cuisine and his versatility make him a star attraction for our resort." A Japanese design firm, SuperPotato, created the unique restaurant with four projectors that throw images of flowing water onto large ceiling panels, a 3-sided glass bar plus a large picture window so diners can peek into the kitchen with its two imposing mesquite wood-fired grills. With go-go-dancers, hammock-swinging bikini beauties and body-painting models on hand for the opening, the restaurant and lounge had the stamp of success firmly imprinted on the world's most unique nightspot.


    LEFT: Michael Mina and Andre Agassi at Stripsteak's opening. RIGHT: Agassi and Hew Burney.

    As the debut wound down, my old friend Michael took time out for the one exclusive interview of the night:

    RL: Why did you finally decide to do a steak restaurant?

    MM: I have always enjoyed cooking meat and being involved with meat. I grew up in the center of Washington State and it was very much farm country. I have always enjoyed doing plays on classic American dishes and just American cooking. A steakhouse is an extension of one of the forms of American cooking. I think the demographic of people that come through Las Vegas, probably a fair majority of them enjoy steak and so almost every casino has a steakhouse in it.

    RL: This is somewhat top of the line. On the menu you have $170 for a rib eye cut. $195 for a filet mignon cut, is this what people want when they come to Vegas?

    MM: Well, those are just items that are imported from Japan. The border just opened up again so it is Kobe. Looking at the menu as a whole, the direction that we wanted to go was more of it being somewhat familiar items and then when they receive the items. It is about quality and the product and how it is treated and that to me the biggest thing is how you treat the steaks and work with the meat. We have our own dry age process where we dry-age all of our meats and then we have the wood-burning grills where week cook everything over mesquite, which is not very common in Las Vegas. There are barely any places here that I can name that actually cook over wood. We slow cook a lot of our meats in butters and oils before we grill them on the grill.

    RL: How fascinating it is to see the flames coming up from the kitchen because the fire dept. had to come in here and give you special instructions on how to cook like this?

    MM: It is the hoods. In Las Vegas you have to have hoods that have water flowing through them and the water scrubs the hoods and the flames coming up. So it is just a special kind of hood and there is a cost associated with it,but to me it is worth it. To me the most important thing about a steakhouse is how the meat is cooked.



    RL: How do you make certain that people walk away saying that was the best steak I ever ate?

    MM: Well, once again, that is the goal and you start with the product. All of our meat is all natural and we have all natural angus thatis corn fed and all natural American Kobe and all natural Japanese Kobe and we take it and we slow poach a lot of out meats in butter and oil a nice olive oil and we finish it on a wood burning grill so our meat stay tender and juicy but still has the char and the flavor of the wood.

    RL: So the food is the biggest attraction to this place, but in a sense this is a rock and roll hang out. The music is playing loud and it is an ultra lounge combined with restaurant and the most gorgeous serversI have ever seen in my life. Was that a deliberate intention for Strip Steak?

    MM: Yes, I think we did it to have energy. This is a little bit different of a restaurant then I am used to. The intent was to look at the demographic where you are opening and Mandalay Bay is fun. It has the best clientele; they are young and fun and kind of clubby type of bars and we thought there was room for this in the casino.

    RL: You have mixed steak with seafood and a little Japanese. What was the mission statement for the restaurant that you set for yourself?

    MM: Once again, it all came down to having seafood as well as the best steaks on the menu, and a lot of it to me was to have these wood burning grills and to have a piece of seafood cooked on these with the vinaigrette on it just becomes my own personal favorite thing. The Japanese influence is great. I just got back from Japan so I have a little more right now, but I fell in love with their approach and letting the products speak for them selves.

    RL: There is an irony there. When you think of Japan you think of sushi and sashimi you don't really think of steaks, but they are the master's of that cuisine as well?

    MM: Absolutely. When they set their sights on anything they want to perfect they seem to do whatever it takes.


    Michael Mina in the kitchen at Stripsteak at Mandalay Bay.

    RL: Vegas is still in my opinion the number one restaurant capital in the world, but still not the number one by a lot of people. Yet our food is better, our service is better. Where do you place Vegas at the moment in terms of visitor's appreciation and where the city is held in esteem for people in the industry?

    MM: Well I think that what is going on now in Las Vegas. What you see is everybody, when they are building a new restaurant or a hotel that is going to have food and beverage in it, the first place they come is Vegas, so that says something. I am not going to rank it as a city, but it definitely says something that everybody comes here when they are building something. But the trend that started in Vegas is the bigger bustling louder restaurants and now you see that in New York and other cities.

    RL: Let's go back to when you were still at school and you were watching a funny little TV show.

    MM: I was 16 and I was watching you on 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous' and I had been cooking for 2 years and I didn't know that I could make a career out of it and you were doing your show, interviewing Jeremiah Tower at Stars in San Francisco. I just woke up the next day found out where I could go to cooking school. I love San Francisco and ended up going to cooking school after watching your show.

    RL: Did you leave your heart in San Francisco or are you more committed to Vegas these days?

    MM: San Francisco is home and it always will be, but I love Las Vegas too. The energy in the dining rooms is totally different then it is in San Francisco, and my whole company is set up here, and so the MGM/Mirage team has been so good to me and have given me a platform that anyone would kill to have.

    RL: So, with 4 restaurants now and 3 hotels MGM, Mirage, and Mandalay, do you want to do more? Is there something else to conquer here in Vegas?

    MM: Well, there are always things. Las Vegas doesn't seem to be slowing down and as long as I am involved with MGM/Mirage, whatever they show interest in me being involved in something I enjoy coming up with new ideas and concepts.



    RL: Go back to when you were 16, did you ever think that you could accomplish what you have and how did that journey reach such a successful conclusion?

    MM: You know, I never thought I could accomplish what I did; I didn't even know that you could make a career out of being a chef back then. But I have been a very driven person all my life and I definitely am a person when I set my mind on something and as I learn more I started setting my sight. I worked with Charlie Palmer and when I was younger I worked in New York and that really realized what level I would like to take this to. I have been very driven and it is one of those things that you start to surround yourself with really good people and then things become a lot easier.

    RL: You have cooked for kings and queens and for Laura Bush, is it stressful cooking for that A+ level of people?

    MM: Absolutely. First they are particular about what they are going to eat, so you have you have to gear yourself around what they want because they are used to that being the situation for them. Secondly I think that I have been extremely fortunate with the people I have been able to meet in this business and it is mind boggling. I have been fortunate enough to meet 75% of my idols when I was growing up and cook for in my ownrestaurants where they are in my home so you feel much better about approaching them and so there is a stress level, but I have been very fortunate.

    RL: If you hadn't become a chef where would you have been?

    MM: I would have liked to go into advertising; I like the creative part of that or a sports writer.

    RL: Is every night an opening night as a chef?

    MM: My favorite part of my job is service. Everything we do in the daytime, office work doesn't motivate me, and service motivates me. Walking into a restaurant and having it bustle and seeing the energy of the customers and the staff. I can be in any mood and walk in and service is service. In a lot of sense it is an opening night because every night is so important. I am trying to create memories for people.

    SEXY BIRTHDAY

    The 'Fashionistas' is currently celebrating its 2nd anniversary of sexy, erotic theater at Krave.

    Congratulations to the 'Fashionistas' on their 2-year anniversary. Adult film-director John Stagliano, who wrote and produced the musical at the Krave Theater in Aladdin's Desert Passages from his best-selling xxx-movie, led his cast and crew to showcase many of the erotic dance scenes that's been acclaimed "the most erotic show in Vegas ever," despite the fact there's no nudity!!! Naughty named libations from Rock 'n Roll Wine, Menage a Trois, 7 Deadly Zins, Virgin Vines, Naked, Two in the Busy were sampled during the special show

    BALLROOM DANCING

    'Burn the Floor' has been burning up the Luxor box office, so it is extending its run.

    Due to ever building ticket sales, the Luxor is extending the run of its 'Burn the Floor' dance show through Thanksgiving -- ending Sunday, November 26, The high-energy, 70-minute show brings together ballroom dancing and rock 'n' roll, featuring a variety of dance styles, including salsa, samba, cha cha, tango and rumba, all with a sexy, modern edge. More than 3-million people in 32 countries have seen the international dance sensation.


    Scenes from 'Strictly Ballroom' which will open soon at the Golden Nugget.

    What ever did 'Dancing with the Stars' spawn? Two more ballroom dancing shows and a separate dance musical are getting ready to open downtown. 'Strictly Ballroom' will break-in a 600-seat newtheater at the Golden Nugget with the 60's dance musical 'Shag With a Twist,' set for the old showroom in the Plaza. "Ballroom" comes from British producer Jon Conway who will share some of the cast members in back-to-back nightly performances with his 2nd late night Golden Nugget show 'Cover Girls,' an adult-risque version of 'Dirty Dancing' that is like a glossylingerie magazine coming to life, complete with a 3-D cyberspace couple appearing in an spicy x-ratedmovie but who's actions are controlled by the audience with seat-devices The London casts have all just arrived here to start rehearsals.

    STRIP SCRIBBLES

    Liberace made it to Italy during the Where is Liberace contest, put on by iloveliberace.com.

    Even I entered the Liberace cardboard cut-out challenge. We had the glittering king of glitz and glamour at the ice-locker of rumjungle, gazing at the Vegas skyline from atop MIX at TheHotel but the winner, Christi Rogers of Virgin claimed the prize of a Liberace themed weekend in Vegas for photographing the cutout pushing up the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy! ...


    More of the entries in the Where is Liberace contest on iloveliberace.com.

    Once again 'LOVE' at the Mirage is attracting VIPS: 'Spiderman' actor James Franco took lovely Alison Melnick and actors Joel Michaely and Eli Gesner to the show and got an advance peek inside the new Beatles Revolution ultra-lounge and bar setto open just prior to Christmas, featuring Cirque performers as cocktail entertainers! At the next show poker-playing actress Shannon Elizabeth arrived with friend Kira Abbott. ... Julius Caesar was on hand yesterday to welcome the PRIDE fighters to his Palace, where they are training for Saturday's showdown.


    PRIDE fighters Mark Coleman and Fedor Emelianenko are welcomed to Caesars Palace by its namesake.

    TONIGHT'S TIP
    One more night to catch the gorgeous girls of 'La Femme' up-close when they party at Tangerine in the Treasure Island.

    TOMORROW'S TEASE
    The Beatles 'LOVE' musical from Cirque du Soleil at the Mirage hasbeen one massive hit and now comes the "new" Beatles album plus we've got the absolute finite word on all the Halloween horror happenings and an exclusive chat with poker prince Doyle Brunson in a top pair with new TV poker shows coming up double-aces.

    CONTACT US
    You can expose your good or bad sides with an email to robinsvegas@aol.com. To ensure you don't miss one more exclusive edition where the spin stops here too, click here or at the 'Alert Me' up top if you'd like to know the split-second we post the brand new Luxe Life.

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