Wednesday, December 14, 11:05 p.m. "Gotcha!" The press photographer adjusts yet again and this time moves the women entirely around to catch another angle, another shot. "Smile, ladies!" On the next pass, he hands off his precious apparatus to someone else to snap a frame of himself with the beauties. A photo of five beautiful women at a charity event is common and expected. But five beautiful models dressed to the sequined hilt, dancing and holding onto each other in that touchy-feely way girlfriends do, and all in the name of goodwill towards Man is ... well, either an audacious spectacle or the start of a damn good night. Our Casanova photographer has already made his decision and displays a wide grin as the flash goes off yet again.
Tonight, perhaps for the only night in the endless Las Vegas nightlife calendar, there are no complimentary guest lists, no one is favored and everyone—even the ladies—is created equal. Not even New Year's Eve offers that sort of bold indifference to rank and money. That's because two clubs have chosen tonight to remember that December, no matter where you live, can be a cold and lonely time without a little compassion. At the door, revelers turn over not a cover charge but a generous donation of money, a new toy, and in some cases, a new leaf. By the end of the night, both the Starbucks and the MGM Grand gift shops will have been stripped of all plush toys by last minute gift-givers.
At the Empire Ballroom, figures from radio's Backyard Boogie Show, UltraNightlife.com and ANM Entertainment have spent hundreds of hours putting together a benefit for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The red carpet was rolled out and support rolled in from the likes of Carey Hart of Hart & Huntington Tattoo Company and the cast from Inked, Fornarina women's fashions, The Drummer KC, and six local DJs, including Hollywood, Michael Toast, Miss Joy, and Dakota. As the crowd files in, no one says a negative word when they are invited to the cashier to make their donation. Tonight, thousands of dollars will be raised for the foundation.
Outside of Tabú Ultralounge, a mountain of new, unwrapped toys is growing, piled up high and stuffed into shopping bags. At the door, a pinstripe-suited Santa's helper collects my toy and adds it to the display. VIP tables and bottles of Grey Goose have been doled out to sponsors and supporters by Chris Parsons of VegasExposure.com, who mixes and mingles like the perfect host.
Parsons has been organizing Toys For Tots benefits for over five years, first in Chicago and last year in Vegas at Ivan Kane's Forty Deuce. This year, the event was moved to Tabú to accommodate the much larger crowd and MGM's Ray Davila was more than thrilled to have the ultralounge host. "The goal of the event was to have every nightclub participate," explains Parsons. "We chose Tabú because it was the venue we felt absolutely everyone would want to come to."
In addition to the panel of 17 clubs and nine media sponsors represented as guest hosts, John Moreschi of Grey Goose went way above the call of duty by donating all the bottles, and by appearing with a van full of toys. "Not only did he donate the product but he was one of the biggest aids in promoting tonight," Parsons gushes. "He really went out of his way to bring in all his contacts."
While Wingman Tang does the Robot to the mashed-up sounds of DJ Create, Parsons and the Vegas Exposure crew begin the task of filling their 15-foot U-Haul with donations. We settle into our booth and find that Santa is our neighbor. Soon, St. Nick will remove his tunic and tuck it into the back of his wide belt, allowing his white beard to flow over his thin, tattooed chest. I'm just grateful no children are present.
Hoping for some wings, I help myself to a Red Bull from a heavy ice bucket made from actual ice. "I triple-dog dare you!" Tang challenges, parroting the weasel-y boy in the nauseating perennial A Christmas Story. I close my eyes, thrust out my tongue, and mid-giggle, press it to the frosty cube. The very second I feel the ice melt under my breath I see a flash bulb pop through my eyelids. Blind and confused, I open them to find photographer Hew Burney standing there with a serene smile, the damning evidence flickering on his digital camera screen. "Gotcha!"
Xania Woodman thinks globally and parties locally. And frequently. E-mail her at
[email protected].
Xania's Hot Spots for December 22 – December 28
Thursday, December 22
Light: Official Cal Berkeley Vegas Bowl afterparty
Tao: Maxim Model Summer Altice's birthday
Voodoo Lounge: Voodoo Risin' presents Santa Does Voodoo
Friday, December 23
Ice: Cameron Cartio
Saturday, December 24
Ice: Sharam of Deep Dish
Krave: Bagel Ball with a performance by Fa-cock-ta
Sunday, December 25
Seamless Lounge: Seamless Afterhours at 4 a.m.
Monday, December 26
Foundation Room: The Last Call of 2005 party
Tuesday, December 27
Tabú: Open Decks with DJs Jose 2 Hype and Justin Hoffman
Wednesday, December 28
Tangerine: Moonshine with DJ David Christian
For more Hot Spots and weekly parties visit
www.TheCircuitLV.com and sign up for Xania's free weekly newsletter.