Haute Event: Cheryl Burke at Tao; Newt Gingrich and MC Hammer at Lavo

Cheryl Burke hosts the Tao A Go Go contest at Tao Nightclub.

On Thursday night, Cheryl Burke hosted Tao A Go Go, where 50 contestants competed for $15,000. Burke, a two-time winner of “Dancing with the Stars,” dined at Tao Asian Bistro at the Venetian before heading upstairs to the nightclub to serve as master of ceremonies. After taking over a VIP table on the dance floor, Burke chatted with Olympic star and former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant Apolo Anton Ohno, who was at the next table over.

As the competition heated up, three finalists took to the Tao cat walk to show off their moves.  Burke hyped the crowd as they narrowed it down to two dancers, who took shots of Hpnotiq Harmonie before competing in the final round. Heidi Riego took home the grand prize of $10,000 while last year’s winner Donyell Browne took second place.

At Lavo at the Palazzo, Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich dined with his wife and other guests in the private dining room. Also spotted dining at Lavo was MC Hammer, who enjoyed chicken parmigiano. Gingrich invited Hammer into the private area to say hello.

At Marquee Nightclub at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Drew Carey was seen in the Boom Box room joined by Kathy Kinney, who played Mimi on “The Drew Carey Show.”

Click on the photos below to enlarge.

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