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Wednesday, August 04, 1999
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Delmonico keeps license as stars trek to commission
Robin Leach's randy antics at a Venetian restaurant bring a stern reprimand to the eatery.
By Dave Berns
Review-Journal
The meeting could have been mistaken for a chic New York party or a Hollywood movie opening, the sort of celebrity-filled event that draws paparazzi and crowds of gawking signature collectors.
There was Oscar winner Robert De Niro, who attended Tuesday's session of the Clark County Commission, for the licensing of the Hard Rock's Nobu Japanese restaurant, an upscale eatery in which De Niro is a partner.
There was Black Entertainment Television boss Robert Johnson, whose Tres Jazz nightclub received a liquor license to operate in the soon-to-open Paris hotel-casino, from where he plans to beam live performances on his cable TV network.
But the figure receiving the greatest media attention was celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse, a host of his own TV cooking show whose Delmonico Steakhouse at The Venetian was reprimanded by county commissioners for permitting a bawdy night of Memorial Day partying by longtime TV shouter Robin Leach.
A contrite Lagasse repeatedly apologized to commissioners, who could have suspended or yanked his restaurant's lucrative liquor license.
"In a nutshell, it happened, and I take responsibility. I'm sorry," he said. "I have never ever seen or had anything happen with such unexpected behavior.
"We have zero tolerance for this behavior. We always have, and we always will."
By a 5-0 vote, commissioners serving as the Clark County Liquor and Gaming Licensing Board issued an administrative reprimand, which essentially places Lagasse's high-end eatery on probation for 12 months.
Commissioner Bruce Woodbury did not vote, saying a partner in his law practice represents The Venetian. Commissioner Myrna Williams was not present.
A six-week county investigation by the Clark County Business License Department found that Delmonico managers participated in the raunchy partying, as Leach's five female companions exposed themselves.
The randy episode violated a county ordinance forbidding nudity at businesses with liquor licenses.
The inquiry began after an employee complained to organizers of Culinary Local 226, which is engaged in a contentious battle with Venetian executives to organize the 3-month-old megaresort. Union organizers referred the worker to county investigators.
"Some of the females physically touched each others' breasts," according to the county report. "While this activity was ongoing several employees, including restaurant management staff, applauded and vocally encouraged continuation of the activity."
Investigators said Leach snapped several photos of the scene, which took place in a glass-enclosed room that was fully visible through a window to kitchen workers and partially visible to customers.
Venetian boss Sheldon Adelson was eating with his wife, Miriam, in a room at the opposite end of Delmonico, but was unaware of what was happening after Leach's 8:30 p.m. arrival, according to the report.
Investigators found that four Delmonico managers helped spread whipped cream on the women in Leach's group, at least one of whom climbed naked atop a dining-room table for eight.
"Although several management employees stated that they believed the situation had 'gotten out of hand,' no direct effort to stop the activity was made until food substances were applied to the kitchen windows and restaurant property was thought be in jeopardy," according to the report.
Managers asked Leach and his companions to leave between 11 and 11:30 p.m.
The former host of the "Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous" TV show did not attend Tuesday's hearing. A Leach spokesman said his client was traveling outside of the United States and was unaware of the meeting, but county commissioners criticized the 57-year-old for not attending.
"It would seem at the very least," commissioner Mary Kincaid said, "he would be here to make a public apology."
Leach, who was working as a restaurant consultant to The Venetian, was suspended by the megaresort's management shortly after the incident came to light. According to the terms of the reprimand:
--If a similar incident occurs again and Delmonico executives fail to take action, the county Business License Department immediately will refer the case to the Clark County district attorney's office.
--The restaurant must implement a crisis-management program for employees
As he left Tuesday's hearing, the normally talkative Lagasse, who is known for his signature shout, "Bam," when seasoning food on his Food Network TV show, said he was relieved the situation was resolved without the loss of his liquor license.
Tuesday's action does not affect The Venetian, which leases space to Delmonico, or Lagasse's other Las Vegas restaurant, Emeril's New Orleans Fish House at the MGM Grand.
"I just want to get on to running a great restaurant," Lagasse said. "Of course, it's very embarrassing."
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Printable version of this story
Actor Robert De Niro, left, and BET Holdings Inc. Chairman Robert Johnson, who is boss of Black Entertainment Television, chat Tuesday at Clark County Commission Chambers. Both men received liquor licenses; De Niro for the Nobu Japanese restaurant at the Hard Rock Hotel and Johnson for a jazz club at the soon-to-open Paris.
Photo by Jeff Scheid.
Restaurateur Emeril Lagasse apologizes to county commissioners Tuesday for a lewd incident involving television personality Robin Leach at Lagasse's Delmonico Steakhouse.
Photo by Jeff Scheid.
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