Star Search: Buyer Beware For Pricey Super Bowl Parties

Super Bowl party promoters in North Texas "woo the willing by promising big-name celebrities, showing up at hip parties and all the crazed star-spotter has to do is fork over a cover charge that snakes well into three, four, even five figures," according to Michael Granberry of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. Consumer advocates "say such invitations should carry with them two words emblazoned in neon: Buyer beware." TicketLeap Dir of Business Development John McGlinn, whose company sells admission to Super Bowl parties, said that "booking a celebrity for an appearance, however fleeting, can fuel the fire of a party's ticket sales." McGlinn: "It might be nothing more than Paris Hilton waving from the VIP booth, wishing everyone a great night." But he said it does not necessarily mean getting "an autograph or a handshake." McGlinn "recommends such Web sites as www.thrillist.com or www.urbandaddy.com or even the official Web site of the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee, www.northtexassuperbowl.com, to ferret out the legitimate from the larcenous" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 2/3). Super Bowl parties are already underway in North Texas, and THE DAILY presents a roundup of some of the festivities.

WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT? The Jordin Sparks Experience charity event was held at the Sheraton in Arlington. The singer joined others onstage to do the Cupid Shuffle. Other "light-hearted moments in the evening" included Bears DT Tommie Harris "teaching a gray-haired gentleman at his table some dance moves" (DALLASNEWS.com, 2/2)....About 70 guests came out to sample Packers CB Charles Woodson's wine line, Twentyfour Wines, at Kenichi, a sushi restaurant in Victory Park. It was the "last of three wine tasting events Woodson hosted in Dallas, the first at Ocean Prime in Uptown and the other at Veritas Wine Room" (DALLASNEWS.com, 2/2). 

THIRSTY THURSDAY: The three day Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam begins at Grand Prairie's Verizon Theatre. Model Marisa Miller will host the show, and several NFLers are expected to attend. Proceeds from the concert series will benefit the NFL's Youth Education Town in Ft. Worth (DFW.com, 1/31)....EA Sports Madden Bowl XVII will be held at The Glass Cactus in Dallas. NFLers will compete against one another to "test their digital football skills in the new Madden NFL 11: Online Team Play." But afterward the party "really gets started," with several players and musician Cee-Lo expected to attend (ESPN.com, 2/2)....The Welcome to Dallas Super Bowl Party will be held at Zouk Nightclub in Dallas....The Bud Light Hotel Super Bowl Party at Aloft Hotel in Dallas will feature bands The Fray and Lifehouse....Diddy's Super Bowl Bash will be held at Dallas' Main Street Event Center and will feature rapper Jermaine Dupri....ESPN's Ron Jaworski will host Jaws Cigar Party at Reata Restaurant in Ft. Worth (THE DAILY)....Bengals WR Terrell Owens will host T.O. Takeover, a party at the Grey Goose Lounge in the Dallas Arts District. Tickets start with "Celebrity Open Bar ($150), allowing VIP admission and a chance to rub shoulders with the celebrity guests." The prices go up to $5,000, which "gets you 20 Celebrity VIP Bar tickets, 4 Super Premium bottles and a table next to" Owens (DFW.com, 2/1).