Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/124284
F ront Runners George Maloof, Carrot Top, and Penn Jillette at the Vegas magazine launch party in 2003. fabulous years three's company IN 2003, THE CITY'S TOP HOTELIER, FUNNIEST COMEDIAN, AND MOST ECCENTRIC MAGICIAN WERE VEGAS ROYALTY—AND GUESTS OF VEGAS MAGAZINE'S LAUNCH PARTY. BY KATRINA CONCEPCION 20 PHOTOGRAPHY BY SETH BROWARNIK I t was undoubtedly one of the most star-studded Vegas bashes of 2003: the June 26 launch party for our very own Vegas magazine, a publication committed to celebrating the success, style, and stars of Sin City's elite. It was held at Palms Casino Resort and had an enviable guest list that included then-burgeoning celebrity socialites Paris and Nicky Hilton, Playboy and Baywatch babes Carmen Electra and Pamela Anderson, JC Chasez of 'N Sync, and the nowlate award-winning actor Michael Clarke Duncan, to name a few. Pictured above with the Palms's George Maloof are comedian Carrot Top and magician Penn Jillette, making identical funny faces for the camera. (Carrot Top became a headliner at Luxor just two years later; in January, Penn & Teller graced the cover of Vegas and celebrated 20 years of performing in the city.) Guests started off at the nightclub Rain, before moving outside to the pool, then called Skin. The Palms was fresh off a promotional blast, given that the 12th season of MTV's The Real World, which had recently concluded, was filmed there. The 3,000-square-foot Real World Suite became a huge hit, with viewers lining up to book the infamous backdrop to the show's shenanigans. (It still rents for upward of $11,000 per night.) Ten years later, the Palms is experiencing a renaissance thanks to a $50 million renovation; Carrot Top, whose muscle mass has grown as much as his fame, is still working his prop comedy at Luxor; and Penn & Teller just signed another six-year extension to their contract at the Rio. As for us, Vegas magazine's splashy debut was a sign of things to come. From our glossy pages to our lavish events, we sparkled through a landmark decade, and we're toasting many more ahead. V VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 020_V_FOB_FR_MAY/JUNE_13.indd 20 4/19/13 9:57 AM