One of the largest online gaming organizations, opened an onsite VIP club in San Jose, Costa Rica, and invited celebrities to join in the celebration.
Carmen Electra and the Pussycat Dolls provided the musical entertainment while a slew of stars came to play and party.
Kelly Hu taught Bai Ling how to play roulette and the gang from That '70s Show could be seen at the sports book.
The club is for gamblers to enjoy a visit to Costa Rica. In addition to the live gaming area, the VIP club also includes a spa, manicure/pedicure facilities, gym, sauna, restaurant and bar.
As for why the celebrities were important to the opening celebration, the Company CEO David Carruthers said, "Well, there's no party without show and we like to put on a good show. We are the number one online and telephone wagering company in the world. It's only right and fit and proper that we actually put on a show for our customers and let them see and meet some of the people that maybe they'd like to and in different circumstances they might not be able to."
On party night, the club was transformed into a collection of exotic theme rooms, including a Garden of Eden with loinclothed beauties, a bondage room complete with dominatrix and slave, and an office with a dancing maid entertaining an executive. Normally, these rooms would be offices available for meetings, but tonight they were more conducive to cleavage.
A smoky entrance to the show area impeded vision briefly, but when the smoke cleared, you could see Carmen Electra and the Pussycat Dolls entertaining guests who danced in a drained pool. Electra wore pigtails and led her 10 dancers in a cabaret set to mild-tempo music, swaying around the stage in a kicking chorus line of exposed midriffs. Guests danced to her music in a drained swimming pool. Though she was happy to support the website, Electra saw the evening more as a musical opportunity than one for gambling.
"What was more important to me was being able to perform," she said. "I was actually hired to do a show on stage, Pussycat Dolls, so that's why I'm here. I'm not a gambler. I never have been. I like to watch everyone else gamble and then I just go shopping with the money I saved."
Carruthers explained why he felt Electra was the right performer for his gala opening. "It would be rude to say she's an up and coming star, because she's already a star. But I think her route to stardom and fame has really only just begun. I've had a sneak preview of the show tonight because I've watched the rehearsals yesterday. It's amazing. It's very fitting forour club. We're very happy to have Carmen with us and I'm sure she'll be back."
The following celebrity guests shared their thoughts on gaming as they entered the bash:
Michael Rosenbaum - "I gamble, but I'm not a big gambler. I know how to. I know how to lose my money. Everybody likes to take a little gamble sometimes. I like to win money. I don't like to lose it. So, if I win money, I'm in a good mood. If I lose it, I'm in a bad movie. Hopefully tonight, I'm going to win it."
Brande Roderick - "It's important I think to have something that you like to do, a hobby, something that's fun. It's a game, it's exciting and anything that gets you excited and thrilled is a good thing."
Kelly Hu - "You know, it's a rush. There's a lot of ways to get a rush in life and gaming is definitely one of them. You can swing from trees in the rain forest or you can play roulette."
Kari Wuhrer - "I love the rush. It's sort of like a drug without the hangover, unless of course you've lost a lot of money. But if you allow yourself a certain amount that you can lose, then it's pretty exciting. My mom once gave me three numbers and a color [for roulette] and I put 100 dollars down and I won 10 grand and we split it. It was amazing.
Sometimes I'll sit down and do the blackjack but I have ADD. I don't have the patience for it necessarily, so I love when things spin and stop."
Bai Ling - "Gambling I think is kind of like life. You gamble for the moment. I did a tournament in the Las Vegas Film Festival, so I learned blackjack. I think it's like reduced life in a very small place and you have to go with it."
The CEO concluded by explaining why gambling has been one of the few internet business to survive. "I've been in gaming for 26 years now. I joined a company in the United Kingdom when I was 18. I spent my whole life in the business. This is probably one of the three businesses in the world that are recession proof because it's entertainment. It's recreational and it's entertainment. There will always be somebody that wants to pursue some leisure activity. [With online gambling,] the customer can place his bet at his convenience. He can place it in the office before he leaves. He can place it at home. He can place it on the telephone because we offer telephone wagering as well as online wagering and both interactive mediums are combined. You have one account, one password and you can bet on the telephone or the internet."