“They say nowadays what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. This book shouldn’t stay in Vegas, but be everywhere. Even in Kutztown, PA.”
– David Brenner
Comedian
Contents
Excerpt
Chapter One ~ Hey Big Spender
Welterweight boxing champion Floyd Mayweather, Jr. walks into Tryst nightclub (Wynn) holding bundles of cash to "make it rain" with, a practice Mayweather is regularly known for. Photo: Courtesy Tryst
The Gilded Age of Las Vegas arrived about the same time as boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
He stood out as the perfect poster child for a wildspending era that makes the Roaring Twenties look tamer than a church social.
Nobody rolls like Mayweather. One night in October 2007 said it all, when he showed up at Wynn Las Vegas in his Maybach, with his entourage right behind in a Mercedes SLR McLaren and a Rolls-Royce Phantom, each worth about $500,000.
Around Mayweather’s neck were twin diamond pendants shaped like boxing gloves and studded with rubies. In his back pocket was $15,000 to $20,000 in cash, “rain” money to shower on the chichi crowd at Wynn’s Tryst nightclub.
He’s no lightweight at the strip clubs, either. On another night, Mayweather dropped $50,000 in tips at one of his favorite skin joints.
Anyone who spent much time at OPM (now Poetry), a hotspot at the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace, likely shared in Mayweather’s largesse. “I’ve seen him (make it rain) at least 20 times in the last couple years,” said Branden Powers, Poetry’s marketing director and part owner.
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“With me it’s entertainment,” Mayweather told me on the eve of his December 2007 fight with Ricky Hatton.
“We’re in the entertainment capital of the world,” Mayweather said. “Why not bring something different to the sport — flash and flair.”
“When you watch Floyd Mayweather,” he said, “you don’t just see a guy who entertains — a guy that’s flamboyant — but also a kid who has a heart and who gives back to the community, to kids who are less fortunate.”
Said Powers, “I’ve seen him buying out Nike Town, with 20 to 30 bags of shoes in tow.”
With all that flash and cash, some worried that he was courting trouble.
Not Powers. “He travels with more muscle than John Gotti did.”
