Celebrities emerge in poker lawsuit
Andrew Sasson, the force behind the Light Group's Las Vegas nightlife empire, is among celebrities being sued in a bizarre legal case involving claims of illegal poker games.
Other names that surfaced in the FBI investigation included Tobey Maguire, Gabe Kaplan, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, according to reports by Star Magazine, Radar Online and TMZ, DiCaprio, Affleck and Damon are not being sued.
The lawsuit was filed against jailed hedge fund manager Brad Ruderman by unnamed trustees who are seeking the return of high-stakes winnings on the grounds the money was won illegally in Los Angeles.
Host of the poker games, Ruderman was convicted of operating a ponzi scheme that defrauded investors, who reportedly lost $25 million.
With Ruderman's company now in bankruptcy, the reports say trustees are looking for money to pay his victims and other creditors.
DESTINATION: VEGAS
Two United Kingdom delegations landed all-expenses paid trips to Las Vegas under very different circumstances: one celebratory, one solemn.
The first group arrived Tuesday at Planet Hollywood Resort. Leyton Orient, an East London soccer club, is here because Chairman Barry Hearn made good on a promised trip to Las Vegas if the players would secure a crucial draw against Arsenal in February.
They battled to a 1-1 tie that forced a replay at Arsenal's 60,000-seat stadium, which was worth $1 million to Hearn's club. When Hearn walked into the jubilant clubhouse afterward, Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas" was blaring.
Leyton Orient will be celebrating the club's best season in 30 years.
The other delegation coming soon will celebrate the life of British Royal Marine David Hart, who was killed a year ago in Afghanistan by a Taliban bomb.
A combat medic, Hart took out $403,800 in life insurance that stipulated $161,500 for a Las Vegas vacation for 32 friends and family members.
RAMSAY RUMBLINGS REVISITED
Last September it was reported here that "amid rumblings that Caesars Palace is considering leasing out all of its restaurants -- moving away from partnerships -- recent sightings of fiery Scottish chef Gordon Ramsay at Bradley Odgen restaurant at Caesars has tongues wagging."
Ramsay confirmed our early reports with this week's announcement that he will have a steakhouse at Paris Las Vegas. He'll be filming his popular "Hell's Kitchen" reality show here as well.
Now comes word that investors are being courted for Ramsay's move into the Bradley Ogden space in 2012 after the Paris steakhouse is up and running.
The hardboiled chef sounds like he's a master negotiator as well. When he opened an eatery in West Hollywood three years ago, he was quoted as saying: "Vegas? I don't want to play my card in Las Vegas. It's materialistic."
MAY I RECOMMEND ...
Las Vegas nightlife options include some tough choices for the party-beyond-dawn crowd this weekend: Shaquille O'Neal's retirement party at the Palms' Moon nightclub Saturday; Britney Spears starting her hosting duties at 1 a.m. Saturday for the grand opening of Club Nikki, at the Tropicana's new Nikki Beach; and the massive Electric Daisy Carnival, the three-day rave at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
THE PUNCH LINE
"As hard as I've tried, I don't know how to not be adorable." -- From David Letterman's Top Ten Little-Known Facts About Justin Bieber
Norm Clarke can be reached at 702-383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com. Follow Norm on Twitter @Norm_Clarke.
