• Cigar Bar at the Ritz Carlton

• Thirsty Camel lobby bar at the Phoenician

• Troon North

• Troon Country Club

• Grayhawk Golf Club

• The Boulders Resort

• Desert Mountain

• Forest Highlands, Flagstaff

Tournament - January 2004

          The Tuesday night Celebrity Dinner at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess is a tough ticket to get. It is hosted by the Thunderbirds, the male group of influentials who put on the Open. The biggest deals in town or just in town for the tournament come. Some of the celebs golfing in the Pro-Am attend. The cocktail hour is pretty heady with dressed up whose its even wanting to mingle with the movie stars.
          At the Phoenix Open, you can meet lots of people in the sky boxes, corporate tents and in the Greens keeper tent. The 2003 attendance at the Phoenix Open was about 477,000, down from over 500,000 last year because the final round this year was on Super Bowl Sunday. The highest concentration of celebrities, golfers and the power elite with the least amount of meat market frenzy and the poshest bathrooms at the Phoenix Open is in the Clubhouse. The Tournament of Players Clubhouse overlooks the 18^th green. Only special badges gain you access unless you're a PGA Tour player, family member or their guest.
          The Monday and Wednesday Pro-Ams preceding the Tournament are good bets to spot celebrities, tour players and those who've paid high dollar to golf with them

          Toby Keith hosted the last two or three years. The Detour is put on by Grayhawk Golf Club and KMLE Country 108. Before KMLE came aboard, KNIX used to co-host it with Clint Black at the same location. It's a great place to go shoulder-to-shoulder with country music artists. I hate to say I was impressed when I went to say hi to Toby Keith. I asked if he remembered me and he gave me a hug and smiled, "Sure! You're the one that gets people hooked up!"
        It's $150 to get into the Tuesday night jam session with Toby and a crew of other great country music artists, unless you're a guest of one of the sponsors or the golfers. Without the backstage pass, you don't get in. Last year, the Tuesday night jam included Mark Wills, Phil Vassar and at least eight more top names. It's a rare event where the celebrities are actually hanging out and receptive to meeting everyone. Maybe because it's not a madhouse. It's in a big tent on the south side of Thompson Peak Parkway. Athletes and heavy hitters hang out until about 9 pm and then they disperse to other social gathering spots. 

        Bidders and vendors attend the opening night gala. There are always a lot of men with money there to have a good time and quite the smattering of beautiful women who I think especially like men with money. Yes, who doesn't. I just hate the obvious effort to get at it.

       Hollywood celebrities, professional athletes, rock stars, legends from the world of professional racing and over a hundred thousand car collectors and enthusiasts go to Westworld in Scottsdale for the annual Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction. Some of the cars being auctioned sell for well over $100,000. Often the millionaires are out-of-towners. But the Valley has its share of well-heeled car buffs.

           I asked one of my clients where he'd recommend someone meet a single millionaire. He said, "At my house." Which I laughed at and asked if I could use his name. You know that answer. I felt stupid he had to point it out to me and wondered why I hadn’t thought of it sooner.  

           So the number 10 spot as the best place to meet a millionaire in the Valley…at the homes of my (SPIES) clients!