Photo of the Day (04.03.10)

People watching is an underappreciated travel pastime. In between sampling local delicacies, seeing the sights and taking countless posed photographs in front of funny street signs, we should all take more time to just observe the people who occupy the places we visit. Flickr user penton42 did just that when he spotted this gentleman in Santiago de Cuba. One is left to contemplate if this young man’s hairstyle is a celebration of his love for the iconic men’s magazine, a commentary on his life as a lothario or just something his barber thought up without ever telling him. Whatever the reason, it’s excellent penmanship.

Seen anyone with JUGGS or Perfect 10 shaved into their heads? Submit your images to Gadling’s Flickr group right now and we might use it for a future Photo of the Day.

Playboy makes a play for South Beach hotel

There’s a whole new kind of sexy coming to Miami’s hotel scene.

Rumor has it, Playboy wants to buy out the struggling Sagamore hotel giving the Playboy Bunnies and of course, paying hotel guests, a new place to call home (at least for a night).

The Sagamore, located on trendy Collins Avenue, has apparently missed its last three mortgage payments, and Playboy wants to come to its rescue. And why not? The Sagamore has prided itself as an artsy, luxury South Beach hotel complete with 93 one- and two-bedroom suites, a penthouse and 900-square-foot bungalow suites with spiral staircases and connecting bedrooms, which I can only imagine mirrors something similar to the Playboy mansion.

At the news of the Sagamore’s $31.5 million foreclosure lawsuit, Playboy put plans in motion to market a version of its popular Las Vegas Playboy Club in South Beach. Playboy founder and icon Hugh Hefner, and his brood of beauties, are said to be adding their own redecorating on the hotel suites. Guests willing to pay a premier could sleep in a redesigned Hugh Hefner suite.

What are the chances Hef brings his riveting E! TV Show “The Girl’s Next Door” to South Beach? Seems likely… if plans for the Playboy takeover go forward, the Sagamore will trade in its lavish art scene for bunny-clad waitresses and VIP lounges, according to reports in Florida’s Sun Sentinel.

No official announcement has been made but you can be sure we’re watching this transaction closely. If the Playboy financing goes through, things could get even steamier on South Beach.

Photo credit: Caballero, Miller/Getty

Party with Hef at the Playboy Mansion for Halloween

If haunted houses, ghost hunts, cemetery tours, zombie pub crawls and other usual Halloween attractions just aren’t sexy enough to make your holiday complete, if you want more girls and less gore, and if you’ve got $1000 to drop, make plans now to attend the Kandy Halloween Party at the Playboy Mansion.

I was always under the impression that you had to be an invited guest (or a lowly “Tunnel of Love” ride attendant as my husband was for the party in 1999) to attend. That’s not the case. A $1000 ticket and a costume (which is mandatory) will get you access to “1,000 of the sexiest girls in the world”, plus Hef and some Bunny-loving celebrities.

The party will be held on October 24th and tickets cost $1000-$2000 per person, unless you want to roll in some serious style. Then you’ll need to shell out about $10,000 for a table or cabana, table service, Crystal, seating for 8-10 people, and a Kabana girl to attend to your every need.

I wonder if November’s cover girl, Marge Simpson, will be there.

[via Jaunted]

Super Bowl impact on Tampa uncertain

Playboy has canceled its Super Bowl party. Sports Illustrated has done the same. And, these are just two of the events that have been flushed as team owners and corporate sponsors try to navigate a difficult financial environment.

The good news is that an estimated 100,000 visitors are expected to spend $150 million in Tampa this week, so the Super Bowl is good for something … beside monkeys in commercials. But, this is 20 percent below what they would spend in healthier economic conditions, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

For the week ahead, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has remarked that image management will be crucial. “I think the word I would use is extravagant,” Goodell told the Washington Post. “You don’t want that. We understand that. That’s not what the NFL is about. But we do want the event to be exciting.”

Meanwhile, the money engine behind this annual event is showing signs of strain. NBC has set a $3 million price tag per 30-second ad, and 10 percent of its inventory still hasn’t moved. Last year’s game reached 97.5 million viewers, making it the second-largest audience in history. The final episode of M*A*S*H retains the top spot. But, the nine most-viewed shows since 2000 have been Super Bowls.How is the media handling all this? I mean, if you haven’t noticed broadcast and print are host to unprecedented corporate carnage.

Well, the NFL says that the number of companies looking for media credentials is up, thanks to that brave new world of 24-hour news called the internet (which I guess isn’t a fad) and the fact that reporters are notorious for wanting free stuff. But, most media companies are expected to spend smaller teams.

For people who have to pay for access, the story is mixed. All 72,500 tickets were sold, most at $800 a piece. Though 1,000 Super Bowl tickets were cut to $500 each (a $200 discount), 25 percent did sell at a record $1,000 each.

So, there is still plenty of money out there, the question is going to be how far into their wallets travelers will reach. After spending more than $500 on a ticket and probably a few thousand dollars on travel, we need to see how many will add a few extravagant dinners and cigar runs to Ybor City will occur on the periphery.

For now, it looks like the grandest Super Bowl party in the world – the Super Bowl itself – will not be what it has been in past year.

[Via Washington Post]

Virgin America teams up with Entourage for inaugural and promotion

Well, Virgin American certainly has their demographic targeted. The hip startup airline just announced that they’re teaming up with HBO’s Entourage to christen one of their their Airbus aircraft “Entourage Air” and kick off service between New York‘s JFK and Las Vegas.

Yes, this is the same group that also hosted Victoria’s Secret models on one of their transcontinental routes.

Next Thursday the airline plans to host an Entourage party at a private JFK hangar with members of the Entourage crew (no specifics on whether this is going to be some B character or some of the stars), Richard Branson and other celebs for a pre launch party with Dom Perignon Champagne, hors d’oeuvres and other themed goodies.

In flight, passengers will be treated to a special pre screening of the hit HBO show and the airline will kick off special HBO features for all passengers flying on VA for the duration of the month. Later, HBO and VA plan on collaborating in other projects on the airline’s advanced inflight entertainment system.

Naturally, the party finishes off at the Playboy Club in the Palms Casino.

Truly, a magnificent introduction to a route. But will it pay off? Virgin America bills itself as the hip, edgy airline that more often than not is slightly more expensive than the competition. Can their image and inflight amenities sway you over from a legacy carrier?