Saturday, October 25, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Correction: On October 20 and 25, the Norm! column reported that Ben Affleck purchased and drank wine at MonAmi Gabi at the Paris Hotel. We have been advised that Mr. Affleck did not purchase or drink wine at the restaurant. The Review-Journal retracts these Norm! items about Mr. Affleck in their entirety.

NORM: Arts fund-raiser raises eyebrows

Shaquille O'Neal rocks RA. Mayor Goodman helps tally $25,000. Stephanie Boixo goes for $1,750. Alex Rodriguez at ESPN Zone.

There are fund-raisers, and there are Las Vegas fund-raisers.

This one had a finale that steamed up the windows at the Icehouse Lounge.

With Mayor Oscar Goodman and wife Carolyn among the crowd of 400, the "Chicks for Charity" bachelorette and bachelor auction took a decidedly racy Vegas turn at the end when two amorous ladies were put up for bid as a package deal.

The frisky couple got the bidding jump-started with a Britney and Madonna copycat kiss. And when the bidding lagged one of them flashed the audience in a scene straight out of "Girls Gone Wild."

According to an auction brochure, one of the participants was a "hairstylist by day, lapdancer by night." A date with the canoodling duo sold for $1,600, one of the highest bids of the night.

Lunch with the mayor went for $3,100 while his chief of staff Stephanie Boixo, a vision in a dark business suit, fetched $1,750.

Dawn Gearhart, who wore a T-shirt with "Stalker" emblazoned on it and, according to her bio, works for the State Bar of Nevada when she isn't collecting ex-boyfriends, brought the highest bid at $4,000.

When the bidding ended, the mayor's wife attempted to address the by-now rowdy crowd at the $30 all-you-can-drink event, which raised $25,000 for the Las Vegas Arts District.

When the crowd wouldn't tame down to listen to the first lady, the miffed mayor shouted, "The only people talking now are people who can't score!" That silenced the yahooligans.

Ah, just another night of high society in Sin City.

Gadgetman scores

Anyone who has spent more than 10 minutes around Ira David Sternberg knows gadgets are his passion.

Imagine his near-catatonic bliss when he found an open-air market in Shanghai last week while accompanying Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt on a 10-day, 30-delegation tourism trip to China.

Sure enough, Sternberg, Hunt's press secretary, returned with a trophy: a Chairman Mao wrist watch he bought for $4.

But by the end of this week, Chairman Mao's "arms" were moving slower than Beijing traffic.

Affleck update

Ben Affleck's PR and legal team, as well as Mon Ami Gabi execs, have all been in contact with me about my Monday item on Affleck's recent dinner at the restaurant. They all deny -- (It's) "a lie" -- that Affleck, imbibed wine at the pricey Paris eatery and want me to correct the item. I'm always glad to give both sides of the story.

The Scene and Heard

Marquee message at Mimmo Ferraro's restaurant on W. Flamingo: "Alitalia Is Awful." Owner Gino Ferrarosays it's his way of getting a pound of flesh for all he's gone through on recent trips to Italy.

Pop singing legend Michael Jackson will be making special appearances at the Art of Music in Desert Passage today between 5 and 7 p.m.

The group Aerosmith plans to attend today's qualifying action at AC Delco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals.

CBS' "60 Minutes" is airing a segment on Yucca Mountain at 7 p.m. Sunday (KLAS-TV, Channel 8). Word has it Mayor Oscar gets in the last word. Like that never happens.

Sightings

Texas Rangers superstar Alex Rodriguez, joining 100 patrons in the ESPN Zone (New York-New York) Thursday night in a screening room to watch Game 5 of the World Series. While taking photos and signing autographs, he was rooting for the Yankees because of his friendship with New York shortstop Derek Jeter. ... Shaquille O'Neal, deejaying at RA nightclub at the Luxor early Friday. Teammate Derek Fisher came along. ... Joe Perry from Aerosmith, jamming in the Nightclub at The Stirling Club on Thursday night. ... Aerosmith, Kiss and their entourage, getting a private performance of "La Femme" at 1 a.m. this morning. ... Comedian Yakov Smirnoff took in "La Femme" earlier. ... Andre Cointreau, president of Le Cordon Bleu Paris and a member of the Cointreau liqueur and Remy Martin Cognac dynasties, Thursday at the opening of the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Las Vegas in Summerlin.

The Punch

Line

"This film cost $31 million. With that kind of money, I could have invaded some country." -- Clint Eastwood

Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or norm@review

journal.com.