Proving once again that Hollywood Poker is all about the celebrity experience, we sent our lucky winner of the Invite-A-Friend exclusive draw for a 'Spend Oscar® Night with the Stars' prize package out to Hollywood. They got to spend an evening on the red carpet, complete with airfare, accommodation at the Beverly Hills Hilton, the “Night of 100 Stars” black-tie gala, and limo transportation. Want to hear about how it all went down? Read on.
My Hollywood Poker Experience - Shane McIlhenny
When I first heard that I had won a contest to be flown out to Beverly Hills for the "Night of 100 Stars", I was skeptical to say the least. How could I, one of the unluckiest people on the planet, win such a great prize? After the initial feelings of disbelief faded, I was curious to learn more about what exactly I had won. The package included: $1,100 for airfare, 2 nights at the Beverly Hills Hilton, tickets for 2 to the "Night of 100 Stars" black-tie gala, and a fully-stocked limousine which provided transportation to and from the event (not to mention all around Hollywood, but I'll get to that).
My friend and I decided to fly out on the Friday night before the event, since we have friends from college that live in the Los Angeles area (for those keeping score at home, that's 2 tickets from Newark, NJ at $225 a piece... $450 of $1,100 spent). After a late arrival on Friday, we make plans to rent tuxes for the occasion on Saturday (2 tuxes at $120 each = $240... $410 left to spend) and then it's off to a restaurant called Geoffrey's, a swanky, upscale eatery on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu (meal for 4 = $330... $80 left for drinks at the event). Sunday consists of a little pool time at the Beverly Hills Hilton, where I purchase my first $12 gin and tonic (even by New York city standards, this is pricey, but since it's on Hollywood Poker, it's all good!). The weather is great and a little swim hits the spot right before the big event.
My friend and I head back from the pool to the room where we don our tuxes and head out to the big event. The limo, a white stretch by Chrysler, picks us up around 4:30 to take us to the venue, the very ritzy Beverly Hills Hotel. Like I said, this limo is fully stocked with beer, liquor, soda... basically everything you could want. We arrive at the event and it's just like you would imagine an exclusive Hollywood party to be: beautiful people, hot cars, more or less everything exudes money and wealth. After getting past security, we head down the red carpet right behind N'Sync members Joey Fatone and Lance Bass (don't ask how I know their names), a row of photographers lined up along the left side. Strangely enough, none of them snapped my picture; I guess they were not informed that I was one of 3 winners of this contest! The dinner/event are very high-class, there's an open bar (very key!), and I begin to recognize a lot of faces - Dave Foley from Kids in the Hall and Celebrity Poker Showdown, Bill Pullman from Independence Day, Lou Diamond Phillips (btw, very nice guy).
The Oscars are really an afterthought, as my friend and I concentrate on taking in the sights and exploring the venue. Once the award ceremony finishes, the other winners and I are still looking to take in the L.A. experience. We call the limo (again, I will mention it is fully stocked) and head to Sunset strip and a place called Standard. I have been to a few of the bars on the Strip but never to this one... friends in NJ told me it was a good time. We stayed there for around an hour and then decided to hit another spot called Dragonfly, still looking dapper in our tuxedos. This turned out to be a very fun place, with an 80's cover band playing and Michael Strahan of the Giants in a VIP booth. Even though my friend and I had to catch a flight at 8am the next morning, we had to live it up and ultimately arrived back at the Hilton around 3:30... let's just say the wake-up call came very early the next morning.
So, all in all, it was a very memorable time... my friend and I got a taste of what it is like to be a celebrity and had a great time doing it! Thanks again to Hollywood Poker for the opportunity, specifically Mark and the gang. They made this a trip I will never forget!
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