Celebrities: Fight-watching, betting and making Vegas money

LAS VEGAS — Celebrities are taking sides in the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao matchup just like everyone else. Unlike most of us, some of the stars are close friends of the fighters, can scoff at a US$100,000 (S$133,019) wager or a US$10,000 ticket and will get to be centre stage on the Las Vegas club scene during a weekend where watchers are willing to pony up $50,000 for a table.

It’s impossible to list all of them, but here are some headliners:

JAY-Z APPEARANCE NOT A PERFORMANCE

Got a spare US$5,000 to US$50,0000 for booze? Superstar rapper and music streaming service provider Jay-Z is commanding some of the highest prices to reserve table-side bottle-service for his appearance at the Marquee nightclub at The Cosmopolitan. General admission tickets cost US$250.

But here’s the thing — it’s just an appearance not a performance unless he feels so inclined to pick up a mic on a whim.

The club has been selling tickets to its outdoor pool deck that night (US$150 for women, US$250 for men) but there’s no guarantee Jay-Z might even wander outside.

Other celebrity non-performing “hosts” during the fight weekend? Sunny poolside appearances are expected from Justin Bieber at the Hard Rock Hotel (US$75 for women, US$150 for men) and Puff Daddy at the SLS Las Vegas’ Foxtail Pool Club (US$40, US$50).

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES

The cost of glimpsing a celebrity nightclub performance goes from realistic to out-of-this-stratosphere back down to earth in just three days.

A Friday night show by frequent Vegas visitor 50 Cent at Drai’s Nightclub in the Cromwell costs a US$40 or US$75 cover charge, and table reservations require spending a minimum of US$1,000 to US$10,000.

By Saturday night, Chris Brown commands US$100 and US$200 cover charges at the same poolside club with tables ranging in price from US$2,000 for a small four-person table far from the stage to at least US$20,000 for a table in the middle of the action.

Sunday night, the club hosts rapper Busta Rhymes who came to fame in the 1990s with “Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check”. Tickets? US$20 and US$30.

Others taking to a nightclub stage include:

Actor and performer Jamie Foxx who is expected to belt out the fight’s national anthem earlier performs at The Bank at Bellagio later that night with a dance floor table for 12 people costing at least US$10,775.

Lil’ Wayne at SLS Las Vegas’ Foxtail Pool Club for US$137-US$220. A premium pool cabana? You’d have to spend at least US$14,010.

Las Vegas resident Snoop Dogg at Tao nightclub at The Venetian for a roaring 1920’s “Snoopadelic Cabaret” For US$30 to US$90.

Nicki Minaj at Chateau in Paris Las Vegas charging a US$275 cover for her rooftop performance, or US$80 for a view from inside where there’s no guarantee the performer will venture.

Others still: Big Boi from Outkast at Aria’s Liquid Pool Lounge, Ludacris at the Hard Rock Hotel, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis at Mandalay Bay’s Light nightclub and Nelly at Paris Las Vegas.

YOU CALL THAT A BET?

Edited outtakes from a video filmed for an HBO fight promo shows Puff Daddy challenging actor Mark Wahlberg, a Pacquiao fan, to a US$100,000 wager that Mayweather would win the fight.

“Why so low?” Wahlberg retorts, raising the wager to US$250,000, sealed with a clinking of water bottles.

No word if Wahlberg is invited to Puff Daddy’s invite-only pre-fight Friday night party at Lavo at The Palazzo where he’s hosting Showtime and celebrities including Mark Ronson of “Uptown Funk” fame and former football star and current television personality Michael Strahan.

Puff Daddy follows up the party with a poolside presentation of his Ciroc-based cocktail concoction “The Champ” at the Foxtail Pool Club at SLS Las Vegas Saturday where cover charges cost US$40 and US$50.

KISS OFF, PACQUIAO

Rockers Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons agree: Mayweather should emerge victorious tomorrow (May 3, Singapore time). From the red carpet for the 32nd annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards in Los Angeles, both said they hope Mayweather and Pacquiao give it all they’ve got.

“I just think Mayweather has the power to knock him out and Pacquiao has been out, you know, in the last few years,” Stanley said, adding that for the kind of money they’re getting, that he hoped they truly go toe-to-toe. “That’s what people want to see. This isn’t supposed to be a tactical match. This is supposed to be a brawl.”

FROM ZERO TO HERO?

The celebrity consensus is pretty well divided on who will win, but Michael Bearden, musical director for the Michael Jackson documentary This is it, said it’s undefeated Mayweather’s fight to lose, unless the fighters take a more scandalous route.

“The only way I can see Mayweather losing is if they just want to make so much more money and they throw it and they do a rematch,” he said from the red carpet of the ASCAP Pop Music Awards show in Los Angeles. “But (Mayweather) likes that zero on his record, too, so I don’t see him wanting to let that go for money.”

YOU DON’T WANT TO MAKE HIM ANGRY

The “PacMan” has a fan in the Hulk. Actor Mark Ruffalo who plays Bruce Banner-turned-Hulk in the Avengers: Age of Ultron had to be reminded on a red carpet for the movie’s premiere by co-star Jeremy Renner why the upcoming weekend would be a doozy, sports-wise, but he said he would be watching Pacquiao.

“Freddie Roach is a friend of mine, too,” he said of Pacquiao’s trainer.

TAKING SIDES

Mariah Carey, the Las Vegas Strip’s latest resident celebrity performer holding court at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, made her boxing allegiance known on Instagram and Twitter with “#TeamFloyd” attached to a photo of herself with Mayweather, posing for a selfie.

But like any debate on social media, the post didn’t sit well with Manny Pacquiao’s fans or those not keen on Mayweather.

Days later at her grand Caesars Palace arrival, Carey was more diplomatic.

“I am a fan of both,” she said.

Will she be ringside?

“I really do want to attend. We’ll see.” AP