That’s the name of the day, today, June 16, in Las Vegas.
The town’s Partyer-in-Chief, Mayor Oscar Goodman, declared it such in celebration of the uber-bendy, adult-acid-trippy Cirque du Soleil’s 25th anniversary. To honor the day, the name of the Strip has been changed — with plausibly confusing street signs and everything — from Las Vegas Blvd. to Cirque du Soleil Blvd. And at 1 pm today, outside Bellagio, some 300 people will be walking around on stilts as part of the festivities and a six-city worldwide effort to break the Guinness record for stilt-walking.
More than 90 million people have seen Cirque shows, which explains why its creator, Guy Laliberte, is the 261st richest man in the world, with $2.5 billion in net worth. He is also, of course, a poker player … much to the delight of Bobby’s Room and the regulars on High Stakes Poker. Without a doubt, both directly and indirectly, he has been a valuable contributor to the poker economy.
Also this week, Laliberte’s lawyers are protesting the release of a new, unauthorized biography that details some of the ballerest Dionysian fests in Vegas that only the creator of Mystere could imagine — A-lister orgies with the finest food, booze, drugs, music … and hookers flown in from Montreal.
In September, Laliberte, 49, plans to take an arguably well-earned vacation by traveling to space via Russian rocket for 12 days.
Click below to read more about what Guy Laliberte was allegedly doing when he wasn’t playing poker:
(Or click here to see David Benyamine win a $1.2 million pot from Laliberte.)
During the parties, global business leaders, politicians, and Hollywood stars were entertained by Cirque du Soleil performers, and provided with millions of dollars of fine food and wine. Author Ian Halperin, who quotes dozens of former guests, details heroic displays of debauchery. “Everything you wanted was available at Guy’s parties,” said Myra Jones, a Milan-based fashion model who attended several of the events. “Drugs, the best music spun by famous DJs flown in from Europe and the USA, and the wildest sex you could ever imagine.”The book claims that Laliberté’s assistants invited busloads of prostitutes from his native Montreal to the parties, which were attended by the likes of Robert DeNiro and Sir Paul McCartney. Mere B-list guests were required to sign a confidentiality agreement before attending.
“It was beyond crazy; it was complete insanity for hours. Everyone was so beautiful and so free,” said Angie Everhart, a Playboy model. “If there was a straight person in the house they must have freaked out watching everyone else trip. They would have thought they were the one on drugs.”