Benefit show set for slain dancer
A benefit show featuring Las Vegas entertainers is planned for next Wednesday at the Crown Theater at the Rio to help the family of slain dancer Debora Flores Narvaez.
Proceeds from the benefit and an after-party at the Artisan will go toward defraying the cost of transporting Flores Narvaez's remains to Puerto Rico, her homeland, for burial.
Organizer Joe Love, a local events promoter, said the benefit will begin at 11 p.m. and move to the Artisan at 2 a.m.
Police say Flores Narvaez's ex-boyfriend Jason "Blu" Griffith, a former dancer in Cirque du Soleil's "Love," killed her last month, then dismembered and buried her body in cement.
Flores Narvaez was an ambassador for the Washington Redskins before moving to Las Vegas, where she was working in the adult revue "Fantasy" at Luxor at the time she went missing in December.
Her death has helped raise awareness of domestic abuse.
Marlene Richter, executive director of The Shade Tree, said that "we saw people we had never seen before or asked for help before" go to the center to escape violent relationships.
Richter said that included an out-of-state woman who was taken there after her friends saw media reports on Flores Narvaez's slaying.
FROSTING ON THE CAKE
A sentimental evening ended on a deliciously sweet note at Alex restaurant at Wynn Las Vegas.
Chef Alex Stratta saved a special surprise for Elaine Wynn at the end of her dinner party in his honor Friday, the night before the restaurant closed.
Stratta had pastry chef Jenifer Fournier and her staff create a two-tiered chocolate cake with gold frosting and real red roses to reflect the Oscar de la Renta outfit Wynn wore on the opening night of Wynn Las Vegas on April 28, 2005, her birthday.
The birthday party included a dance with Australian actor Hugh Jackman, who performed for a star-studded guest list, and a surprise appearance by Wynn's favorite opera star, Renee Fleming, who descended the red-carpeted staircase at Alex à la Barbra Streisand's grand entrance in "Hello Dolly."
Among the many foodies who showed up Saturday for the last dinner was local attorney Marc Risman.
It was a sad occasion, he said, to see Stratta's gem, which Elaine Wynn helped design, go the way of classic yesteryear icons such as the Palace Court and the Bacchanal, both at Caesars Palace; the Monte Carlo Room at the Desert Inn; and the House of Lords at the Sahara.
"They were restaurants that distinguished Las Vegas," Risman said. "Their décor, service and cuisine were unique to this community for special occasions and international high rollers and at one time defined the heart and soul of the city's gourmet claim to fame."
Still standing are Joel Robuchon at MGM Grand, Guy Savoy at Caesars and Michael's at South Point.
SIGHTINGS
Andre Agassi, having lunch at The Country Club at Wynn on Tuesday. ... Thunder From Down Under men at STK (Cosmopolitan) Monday. ... Charlie Sheen, on stage at "Drew Carey's Improv-a-ganza" at the MGM Grand on Sunday.
THE PUNCH LINE
"Congratulations to the new Miss America, 17-year-old Teresa Scanlan. You can tell she's still a teenager by her talent -- texting while driving." -- Jay Leno
Norm Clarke can be reached at (702) 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find more sightings at www.normclarke.com.
