Paula brings pluck to Poker Party

Paula Deen threw her Poker Party & Casino Night on the first night of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival last week at at Miami Beach's Paris Theater. The setup was old-school Vegas, complete with tunes from the Rat Pack with videos of Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. on the big screen.

The gambling -- all for fun for charity, of course -- was a great touch. Deen said she wanted a relaxing party where people could participate and not just stand around and drink, and her choice was right on the money. Well, play money.

''My God, I just got back from Vegas,'' Deen said in her sweet Southern drawl. ``When they told me they wanted to do a poker party I was literally all in.''

''I come [to South Florida] once a year and I love Joe's Stone Crab, but we do a lot of eating amongst us in the tents,'' Deen said. ``So I get to go out one time and that's always to Joe's Stone Crab.

``And when I think of Miami, oh my gosh, I think of Miami Vice. I used to love that show, but I just think of beautiful water. My room tonight, the moon was coming out, the room was on the water, and I immediately thought of Moon over Miami.''

A good selection of celeb chefs were on hand at the poker party, including Guy Fieri (host of the show Guy's Big Bite on the Food Network), and Giada De Laurentiis, who came by around 11:30 p.m. and looked divine in a black dress that showed off her ''baby bump'' (she's due in two months). Also there: Ming Tsai, chef of the renowned Blue Ginger outside of Boston (he also won an Emmy for his show East meets West); Cat Kora, from Iron Chef America; baseball legend and Marlins coach Andre Dawson; television personality Gordon Elliott, who produces Deen's shows; and Miami's favorite drag queen Elaine Lancaster, who performed for the star-struck audience.

News Added: 25 February, 2008

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