Article: Miami Herald on SuperBowl XLI Parties

Posted on Sun, Jan. 28, 2007


PARTY CENTRAL
From private to public, high-dollar to free, there is no shortage of Super Bowl parties in South Florida this week.

rsantiago@MiamiHerald.com

Watch out, Playboy. A lot of party planners are going bunny hunting.

J.Lo and Marc Anthony's private, fireworks-studded Saturday night Super Bowl party at South Beach's Lummus Park -- featuring concerts by the duo and another superstar couple, Beyoncé and Jay-Z -- could upstage the bunny's AmericanAirlines Arena gala event, annually touted as the No. 1 Super Bowl party.

''Upstaging Playboy is tough, but someone has to do it,'' said Loren Ridinger, whose company Market America is a co-sponsor of the party along with Ocean Drive Magazine. She really knows how to throw a party -- in 2005, she made international headlines after hosting a $500,000 bat mitzvah for her daughter.

Though Playboy estimates its party costs at $1 million, Market America estimates its gala will cost twice as much. Unfortunately, this is an invite-only soiree -- most of us won't get the chance to see how many party favors a cool $2 mil can buy.

All over Miami-Dade and Broward, venues large and small are competing for your Thursday, Friday and Saturday night partying dollars.

Virtually every club in South Beach is offering top DJs, open bars, food and celebrities -- who, according to the guest lists, plan to be party-hopping all night long.

Penthouse -- Playboy's longtime newsstand rival -- is hosting a $1,000-per-head party at South Beach's Mansion featuring Penthouse Pet Aria Giovanni, a concert by Snoop Dogg, the DJ skills of Kid Capri and Irie, and more than 30 of its centerfolds.

''If you are coming for the food, you are coming for the wrong reasons,'' joked Penthouse owner Marc Bell in a phone interview.

And nearby, Nikki Beach -- with its ''Beach Bowl Weekend'' -- is offering afternoon and evening parties Friday and Saturday, featuring hip-hop stars Kayne West, Ludacris and Nelly. A package for all four parties costs $1,500.

You can pay those high prices a few days earlier in Broward.

The same is true for the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, located near Hollywood, which has become Broward's Super Bowl party central -- and gets the celebrations started a few days earlier.

On Monday, at Hard Rock Live!, the casino kicks off ''Opening Ceremonies: A Salute to South Florida's Super Tradition'' -- a $7,500 per table event honoring former NFL players who starred in South Florida Super Bowls, followed by a Hootie & the Blowfish concert.

On Friday, St. Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk hosts a $100-$150 bash at the complex's Park Sports Club that includes an open bar with all proceeds benefitting the Marshall Faulk Foundation, a charity for inner-city kids.

''It will be a friendly, informal party where people can chat and drink with the players, listen to some music, and maybe watch some game highlights,'' Faulk said on the phone.

Also on Friday at Hard Rock Live! is the NFL Alumni Player of the Year awards show featuring a concert by Hank Williams Jr., best known to football fans for singing the old theme song for Monday Night Football. Tickets are available from $100 to $200.

And an event that is sure to excite Chicago Bears fans is the Super Sunday Brunch with Dick Butkus to be held poolside at the hotel Sunday.

Nightclubs in the casino's entertainment complex -- Pangaea, Gryphon and Passion -- are hosting events Wednesday through Saturday nights, featuring everyone from Prince to Diddy to centerfolds. Tickets go from $20 to $100.

But, thankfully, the Super Bowl is not just for the super rich or hooked-up VIPs. Chain restaurants and pubs like Hooters are offering celebrations that will only set you back the cost of booze and food.

At all Hooters locations, fans have a chance to win a 30-inch Samsung High Definition TV if they come to the restaurant to cheer on their favorite team Super Bowl Sunday.

And the Original Steakhouse and Sports Theatre, with locations throughout South Florida, will have 10 8-by-6-foot TVs showing the big game.

''No admission -- and we expect to get packed,'' said a woman who answered the phone at its Fort Lauderdale location.

A Super Bowl block party featuring a midnight concert by LL Cool J takes place Friday in the Miami Deisgn District at the corner of Northeast Second Avenue and 40th Street. It begins at 6 and is free to the first 5,000 who arrive.

But Lauren Malone, spokeswoman for Playboy, is not worried any of these parties will threaten the success of her bunny bash.

''It's harder to get into our party than the actual Super Bowl,'' sniffed Malone.






 

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