Welcome to Kimo’s Vegas… The Players Edge!!

Photo op... the 52 Miss America contestants (including Hawaii’s Nicole Fox) and more than 10 former Miss Americas will be in town for the January 24^th, 2009 Miss America Pageant. Watch it live from the Planet Hollywood on TLC, Oceanic Cable 331 and in HD on 1331.

Every guy knows that size does matter… UFC President Dana White said that 14,103 people went to the MGM Grand Garden Arena for UFC 92 (the biggest fight of 2008) making the total take at the gate $3.47 million. He’s also said that if Georges St. Pierre beats BJ Penn a match with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva could develop but he doesn’t believe that a similar match up will happen if the Hawaii Champion wins. He told ESPN "Is he tough enough to do it? Absolutely, is he talented enough to go up there and do it? Absolutely. Does that mean he should do it? Absolutely not, he doesn't have the frame to carry that kind of weight and it just makes no sense." We’ll see what happens after the winner of UFC 94 is declared on January 31^st.

Not only did Ausaf Umar Siddiqui rip his company off for $65 million dollars but he is also one of Top 5 deadbeats in the history of the Las Vegas bad check unit. In three years he’s lost over $165 million dollars. In 2005 he paid $120 million (more than 200 times his annual salary) to two Vegas casinos. His poison, $100,000 bets on the Baccarat table. 

Missing from the Vegas scene on New Year’s were Steve & Elaine Wynn. The cities first couple hosts their annual NYE party for 1,200 close friends at their Idaho retreat.

The newest club in Vegas opened New Years Eve in what’s called the Wynn’s sexy little sister “Encore”. XS is also the home to the most expensive drink in all the land… order a “Black Pearl” and the club charge your platinum $10,000. No problem justifying this baby (if you’re name is Madoff or your last name is Hilton) because you’ll get two glasses of the most expensive cognac Louis XIII Remy Martin Black Pearl mixed with an extremely rare Dom Perignon Enotheque champagne and a small memento to commemorate your moment of extravagance either a ladies 18k gold chain and black pearl pendant or a set of men’s sterling silver cufflinks with black pearls.

Frank’s daughter Tina said that 12 restaurateurs have asked the Sinatra Family for permission to open a restaurant bearing the Chairman of the Boards name but they only allowed Steve Wynn to do it at Encore because "he was his friend, and he loves and protects us."

On display (but not for sale) at the grand opening of Encore, the largest diamond ever set by Cartier the 231 carat Wynn Diamond, a birthday gift from her husband Steve. I wonder what she’ll be getting this year… how do you top a gift like that.

Perhaps he’ll be interested in the 850-pound “Bahia Emerald” that’s worth over $370 Million. Stolen from a secured vault in South El Monte the 180,000 carat stone was found in a Las Vegas warehouse. The rock contains one of the largest emerald spires in the world and is the second largest of its kind known to man.

Get more Kimo’s Vegas here online at Around Hawaii, and in both issues of MidWeek.

© 2006 www.KimosVegas.com Kimo Akane