Vdara and Crystals and Mandarin - Oh My!

Dolores O'Riorden of The Cranberries at Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort (Photo: Denise Truscello)

This week, all the buzz in town has centered around CityCenter, and rightly so. And while I chose not to attend any of this week's big openings for health reasons (a sniffle and a cough in this day and age is, well, nothing to sneeze at!) I've got it on good record that the openings at Crystals and Vdara and Mandarin Oriental were spectacular. FYI - I also missed The Cranberries concert at the Pearl at the Palms (which I've been informed was wickedly awesome), so I'm somewhat bitter.

Eva Longoria Parker at the opening of Beso at Crystals at CityCenter (Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Some of you might be surprised to know this, but I'm really not one for openings; they bear little to no semblance of the true flavor of the service or ambiance. Everyone is on their best behavior, you can't sample the real essence of anything, and it's all gussied-up. Unfortunately, nobody sends-out invitations for people to come check-out their new nightclub/hotel/casino/shop/restaurant in casual attire, two weeks after opening, once the kinks have been ironed-out. I get it, really. It's a chance to get the press there so they can, in turn, report back to their audience and build the mystique. Me? I’m all jazzed to check-out Eva Longoria Parker ’s new restaurant, Beso (it’s Spanish for kiss). It’s her collaboration with Todd English at Crystals, where a selection of ceviche can be enjoyed at a Latin steakhouse, and it’s supposed to be marvelous. Get into it!

"Hoarders" on A&E

I do wonder though, is it appropriate to be spending so much money on invitations in this market? What I mean is that Mandarin Oriental could've sent postcards with their logo and still had virtually the same RSVP list. It's Mandarin Oriental at CityCenter, for Pete's sake! They could've donated the money to charity and made a statement about environmentalism. Don't get me wrong... I simply adore this stuff. I love opening my mail to find a black lacquer box containing a Chinese fan as much as the next guy (truthfully, what young man doesn't?), and I understand having to make an impact - but who (besides me) saves things like this? That said I'm convinced that the show Hoarders is coming to get me, soon!