The Miami Dolphins aren't the only game in town if you crave a little glitz with your gridiron. Take the new Monday Night Football party at Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino. It runs every week no matter who's winning or losing and features more than 30 flat screen TVs, guest DJs, a tailgate food menu, ``tight end drink specials'' that we hope are more tight wad than tight end, free admission and parking and a colorful crowd of fans.

Not so far from Gulfstream is The Newport Beachside Hotel & Resort, where Kitchen 305 has become quite the command central for athletes of all varieties. On Friday, the Kitchen cooks with comedy, teaming up with NYC's legendary Catch a Rising Star to present Emmy Award-winning comedian Kevin Meaney, in town for a one-night-only standup show. Tickets $25, with dinner and drink specials. Call 305-749-2110.

If Monday night football isn't your thing, perhaps poker is. Instead of watching others play, you can participate in Beer and Burger Joint's Monday night no limit Texas Hold 'Em tournaments with the Miami Poker Society, where you can win a shot at scoring a highly coveted seat in the World Series of Poker. Ante up at 8:30 p.m. every Monday night, with the football game shown on the 120-inch screen TV.

If you'd rather sport your '80s face than your poker face, consider B&B's Friday night party Ladies and the '80s, an homage to the decade of Reaganomics, hair bands and skinny ties. From 10 p.m. until midnight the soundtrack is '80s hair band rock. At midnight, there's a decades-spanning basement favorite: the pole dancing contest with a grand prize of a free bottle of liquor. Women get free house wine all night long.

Not free but for a fantastic cause is the Florida Breast Cancer Foundation's fourth annual Shades of Pink fundraiser at the Newport Beachside Hotel & Resort in Sunny Isles from 5-10 p.m. on Tuesday. The three-in-one event features a healthy, hands-on cooking demo by Miami's own wok star, cooking expert Eleanor Hoh, a wine tasting and grand finale main event featuring two fashion shows, live and silent auctions, cocktails and entertainment. All proceeds benefit the charity, with tickets $25 for the Wok Star demo; $50 for the wine tasting with Sunbox Winery; $75 and $100 for the main event fashion show. Tickets are $125-$150. Information at floridabreastcancershadesofpink.eventbrite.com.

A laundry list of Miami promoters and club owners -- Michael Capponi, Eric Milon, Michael Martin, Navin Chatani, Rony Seikaly, Karim Masri and Nicola Siervo -- have joined forces to present the new Thursday night party at the W South Beach's poolside lounge, WET. We love how these places are either spelled in all capital letters or lack an article like the W's club Wall, which has its own party on Thursday nights featuring DJ Jared Dietch. Grammar aside, the new Thursday night party at WET will feature the usual suspects as well as a few unusual ones: cocktails, music by DJ Keidy, ``interactive performances'' (whatever that means), and the requisite VIP tables available only by reservation. Email RSVP@capponigroup.com or call 305-695-4410.

Finally, for those looking for a good excuse to dress up before Halloween, consider the Miami Children's Hospital Foundation's Diamond Ball & Concert: An International Affair, Friday at The Biltmore Hotel, where the dress code is ``chic international attire.'' Highlights include the induction of Dwyane Wade into the Miami Children's Hospital Foundation International Pediatric Hall of Fame for his work through Wade's World Foundation and performances by the All-Star Members of the Billy Joel Band (Ethan Bortnick, Brianna Kahane, Aaron Bing, Oprah Winfrey protegé Charice) as well as Flamenco, Thai, Indian and Irish dancers. The affair starts with a reception at 6:30, followed by dinner at 8 and concert at 10. Tickets available at 786-624-1831.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@