Celebrities paid to heat up Vegas clubs

By RYAN NAKASHIMA and RAQUEL MARIA DILLON, Associated Press Writers Fri Aug 31, 3:29 PM ET

LAS VEGAS - Three years ago, as Paris Hilton was about to turn 24, the celebutante got a sense of her worth to the nightclub industry in Las Vegas.
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She had celebrated her previous three birthdays at Light, the Bellagio hotel-casino nightclub run by the Light Group. But for her 24th, another company swooped in with an offer that trumped the standard private jet to and from L.A., a free stay at a luxury suite, a sumptuous dinner and, of course, free booze.

The hotel heiress would get a big paycheck — Light was told $200,000 — just to party, but it had to be at PURE, a rival nightclub at Caesars Palace run by the PURE Management Group.

Her people let the Light Group know that their former deal was off.

"We said, `OK, well listen, we're not here to tell you not to make money,'" said a former Light executive, who did not want to be identified talking about industry specifics.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070831/...IczLBSXSYE1vAI