Michelin to debut ’09 guide at Wynn

The Michelin Guide has chosen Las Vegas for the Oct. 22 debut of its 2009 U.S. edition, with Wynn Las Vegas hosting the star-studded gathering.

A number of top honorees in the guide and culinary personalities will be present for the invitation only red-carpet cocktail reception at the Wynn.

Jean-Luc Naret, worldwide director of the guides, will host the event, which will include star presentations to the top restaurants in the United States in such cities as New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Last November, Michelin selected the Wynn as the site to announce the star winners for Las Vegas and Los Angeles, first-time additions to the prominent guide.

However, the accidental posting of the ratings on Michelin's Web site took some luster off the event, which may have influenced Michelin's decision to return to Las Vegas with an even more prestigious event.

Three Wynn restaurants scored Michelin stars in the 2008 guide: Alex Stratta's Alex was one of three Las Vegas eateries with two stars, along with Guy Savoy at Caesars Palace and Julian Serrano's Picasso at Bellagio.

Joel Robuchon at the MGM Grand was the only three-star recipient in Las Vegas or Los Angeles.

Wynn's Daniel Boulud Brasserie and Richard Chen's Wing Lei were one-star winners.

Wynn Las Vegas also was awarded Five Red Pavilions, Michelin's highest rating for resorts

"The fact that Michelin decided to have the awards ceremony here is particularly delicious," said Steve Wynn, who developed Wynn Las Vegas.

Naret said Wynn Las Vegas was selected because it "offers a variety of spectacular event spaces" and Las Vegas "continues to attract top international culinary talent, and even more exciting than those already established are the new, young chefs these big names bring in."

CIRQUE DU O.J.

Two of the most famous courtroom reporters of their time are covering what might rank as the biggest trial in Las Vegas history.

Vanity Fair's Dominick Dunne is in failing health but plans to be on hand to chronicle O.J. Simpson's most serious brush with the law since his 1995 trial, when he was accused of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.

Simpson's trial on charges of armed robbery and kidnapping begins today at the Regional Justice Center.

Joining Dunne, who turns 83 next month, will be Linda Deutsch, special correspondent for The Associated Press and the news agency's lead courtroom reporter since she covered Charles Manson's trial in 1970 in Los Angeles.

Deutsch, who covered Simpson's eight-month trial in 1995, has booked a suite on the Strip for six weeks.

Dunne was famously on the receiving end of a Frank Sinatra "hit" in the mid-1960s. While dining at The Daisy, an upscale Los Angeles restaurant favored by celebrities, Dunne was tapped on the shoulder by the restaurant's captain.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Dunne," apologized the man, "but Mr. Sinatra made me do this." With that, Dunne was punched in the face. Sinatra, who was seated nearby with his daughters Tina and Nancy and fiancée Mia Farrow, had paid the captain $50 to send Dunne a message.

SIGHTINGS

Simpson, watching the San Diego Chargers-Carolina Panthers game Sunday with a group of friends including former Buffalo Bills teammate Sherman White at John Cutter, the newly opened bar and grill in Summerlin at the Las Vegas Beltway and Charleston Boulevard. ... Backstage chatting with Cher after Saturday's show: country star Tanya Tucker and Diane Warren, who wrote Cher's classic "If I Could Turn Back Time." ... Former NBA standout Steve Kerr, teaching Olympic swim star Michael Phelps how to shoot in the Hardwood Suite at the Palms' Fantasy Tower. His weekend at the Palms included a spray tan at Sunset Tan at Palms Place and dinner with a party of 44 at Nove Italiano in the Fantasy Tower. ... Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., singing Motown hits and dancing to disco at Cafe Martorano (Rio) on Saturday night with a party of 25 people celebrating a friend's birthday. ... Billy Morrison, former bass player for The Cult and current band member of Camp Freddy, performed a DJ set at Wasted Space inside the Hard Rock Hotel on Saturday.

THE PUNCH LINE

"(Sarah Palin) looks like the hygienist who makes you feel guilty for not flossing." -- David Letterman

Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com.