My design business took me to Las Vegas for a night and a day. I can't tell you what it's all about yet because it really isn't anything until it really becomes something, and if I told you everything, you wouldn't need to come back Monday to find out more. I'm not a Vegas kind of guy. As far as I'm concerned, what happens in Vegas can stay in Vegas. As I don't gamble, enjoy shows, or whore around, I spend my time looking at what my design idols build when developers throw bushels of money at their projects. The story of a guy like me being flown out here to design something bodes well for the economy. A town built on gambling hasn't thrown too many building dice for over a year. Old projects with money in the pipeline have been built through the recession, although some are a little late and some a little less extravagant. New work has been as scarce as the crowds at the tables. My flight and the Las Vegas airport were packed, as a big fight brought all the players to the dessert.

True Blood wrapped its second season, The Vampire Diaries debuted, and we've got the release of second installment of the Twilight series, New Moon, coming in November. You can always check out the fangbanger cruise set to tour Alaska and parts of Seattle early 2010. But if you can't wait that long (and who can), pop in some fangs and dress up like a (slutty) vampire for Veuve Clicquot Yelloween at the Venetian's Tao and Lavo nightclubs on October 31.

In his Panopticon writings from 1787, philosopher Jeremy Bentham described a prison with a column serving as an all-seeing eye at its center. Inmates lived in constant fear, aware of the possibility that they were being watched at all times—that, as George Orwell wrote of Big Brother in his prescient 1984, “Every sound… was overheard and except in darkness, every moment scrutinized.”

I woke up, had my cup, and I dragged a comb across my head, and I read the news today (and yesterday) -- oh boy,about a lucky man who made the grade, and though the news was rather sad, well I just had to laugh ... The Jon B-Mike Satsky URL story had heads shaking and tongues wagging as the blogs took pleasure in what appears to be a lowlife clubland grift. Jon B is by all accounts a very successful club operator with a number of properties and a lot more coming in the near future. He is absolutely dedicated to defining himself as an honest, intelligent, and gifted club/restaurant operator. But the blogosphere is buzzing with negative reports of a below-the-belt hit on Iron Mike Satsky. According to the reads, the Greenhouse gang took the provocateurnyc.com domain and had it direct people to the Greenhouse website. Provocateur is the new spot my designer pal Lionel Ohayon is producing for Mike and partner Brian Gefter. Mike and Brian had a winner over at Stereo before it was shuttered. After my successful mediation last week between Chichi212.com queen Brittany Mendenhall and Unik Ernest, who she called the "MC hammer of nightlife." I was feeling very Bill Clintonesque. I called Jon B and said, "You have your new restaurant, Juliet, named after your mom, with top chef Todd English, and it just seems ridiculous to have this petty game play out online." He agreed and told me to come meet him at Juliet.

The Boom Boom Room, the hipster aerie on top of the newish Standard Hotel is the talk of the town as Fashion Week comes to a close. What happens to the space after this week when the Fashion Flock flutter away is subject to much rumor and speculation. The story that I kept hearing was a collaboration between man about town (but currently in Rome) Paul Sevigny and Rose Bar pharaoh Nur Khan. I repeated the rumor in a throw-out-the-line-see-what-fish-I-would-catch gambit in a post a couple days ago. Nur and I finally talked and he told me "Paul and I are flattered, and this is news to us. We've been discussing a project together, yet I'm focused on Rose Bar." Paul, of course, is killing it over at Avenue with his Tuesday night there a smash success. He's even blowing up the Thursday there as well. Yet, the story still makes sense. I absolutely believe Nur, but if not him, who? The question is whether an operator is needed at all, or will a good doorperson, well trained staff, and a beautiful room with views for miles and miles and miles be enough to drive the place and therefore the hotel.

UPDATE: Joao has actually moved on from Le Royale -- see here for details on his new gig.

Upon his arrival in New York, Joao Daniel started working in restaurant kitchens hoping to become fluent in English, but he ended up picking up more Spanish than he anticipated. Like most newcomers, he eventually started hitting the club scene, and surprisingly, this was where he honed his language skills. His nightly activities quickly snowballed into a profession. Now the charming Brazilian has his weekly schedule consistently booked with hosting gigs on Monday nights at Le Royale,Wednesdays at 60 Thompson, Thursday through Saturday at Pink Elephant, and Sunday nights at The Eldridge. He's also in on the Saturday and Sunday pool parties at Hotel Gansevoort. Joao gives us the scoop on where we should be going out.

I got this story secondhand -- and like sweaters I get that way, it's bound to have a few holes in it. It seems that Bungalow 8 was closed for ten days, and excuses like “Amy isn't around” and “They were taking a break or renovating” were thrown out for their adoring public. A source with some chops told me it was the collapse of parts of the roof that caused the closing. Plexiglas panels came detached, and in a sky-is-falling late night incident, the party came to a stop. Repairs were long overdue, and staff did their best to control the elements with strategically placed buckets and such. Amy is indeed traveling some, but my source revealed that with only about a year and a half left on her lease, Ms. Sacco has decided to ride it out. She has some money put aside from the sale of her West 23rd Street boîte as well as a flow of consulting fees from the Griffin, the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, and the "Living by Amy" condo project on John Street. Bungalow 8 London, which according to another source isn’t hitting its marks, is still another revenue stream for the queen of nightlife.

The new BlackBook Guides for iPhone has been released -- an in addition to tons of new features, fixes, and improvements, it also features the premiere of our new Access program. The red key symbol on any listing means you can access free, custom perks at that location by showing off the BlackBook app on your iPhone. From a special store discount to a comped cover charge, the list of perks is growing fast. Check it out now! Full press release after the jump.

My partner Marc Dizon is the lead designer for the new restaurant/club Griffin, which is opening in the old PM space in the Meatpacking District. A hard date for the opening isn't set yet, but somewhere around the third week of April seems feasible. The management team consists of Josh Kaiser (Pink Elephant), James Hinojos (Lesly Bernard), Rachel Uchitel (Tao Vegas), and Hector Longoria (Cain). Josh is still in the Pink Elephant mix while he puts the Griffin staff through an intense training schedule. They wouldn't confirm it, but a friend tells me that the Milk and Honey and Little Branch crew are doing the drinks. The management team are volume-club veterans, so I believe there will be speed when there is a need.

As a self-respecting woman -- or, for that matter, a New Yorker (one who, naturally, is trying to stand her fiscal ground in these tough economic times) -- I’m the first to say that eating disorders are unattractive on a physical, medical, and emotional level. However: this is The Big City, sweetie, and sometimes a girl’s got to stop, look around at all the gorgeous people surrounding her, and put down the pomme-frites, possibly followed by a pull-the-trigger trip to the commode. That being said, everyone loves going out to dinner here, and does it often. It’s an unavoidable part of our culture, and a way for us to leave behind the nightmares of work and stress in place of good conversation, good friends, and a stomach/liver satisfied with food/tasty libations (the ones we keep down). So here's a time-tested list of ten places where I’ve had a thrill without eating anything, where Shaq-sized Amazon beauties are found sipping glasses of champagne or drowning their hunger with empty vodka calories.