Whispers With Gina Glickman

The Whitehouse Has a New President

There's a new White House in town, and it's not in Washington D.C., it's in Hampton Bays! Say "Hello" to your new President, radio personality and entrepreneur, Vic Latino. Vic is the new co-owner with his longtime partner Joe D'Onofrio, of the 100+ year-old massive space that was CPI and now Latino and crew have transformed the historical space into a 45,000-square-foot, sleek, late night pleasure zone called, The Whitehouse Nightclub. The ginormous venue was completely gutted and renovated with two dance floors, two DJs, an all-night shopping boutique that houses a vast array of shoes from Hampton Shoe Vixen and Sweet Anezka's Lingerie, a sophisticated Lingerie shop that carries designers like La Perla and Cosabella. The club also houses two restaurants including a full sushi bar and gourmet pizzeria. Vic was adamant when he told me, "I want everyone to feel like a celebrity in here!" Latino is certainly qualified for the job. Born and bred on Long Island, Latino grew up in Holbrook and graduated from Sachem High School and SUNY Plattsburgh. He's paid his dues on air, having completed a successful six-year run that ended in November of '06, as 103.5 WKTU's late night jock, and now reigning on XM Satellite, Channel 81. Latino is involved in several projects including part owner of Mateo's Restaurant. Yet, Latino is so dedicated to his latest club venture out East, that this past Memorial Day weekend he even put his family to work, including his sister, Melissa, brother, Jason and Dad, Jose, who were all right by his side. The WH celebrated it's grand opening this past holiday weekend and delivered some big talent to the Hamptons, thanks to Latino's friends, who happen to be famous. This past Saturday evening was hosted by "Girl Next Door" TV reality star, Kendra Wilkinson. Sunday, the club was even more packed and partygoers lined up in droves to celebrate. At 11:30 p.m., Latino turned to his staff and gave a signal, "I'm on my way out to pick her up." The "her" Latino was referring to is none other than Ms. Stacy Ann Ferguson, a.k.a. Fergie from The BEPs, who's been a friend of his for many years. At 12:30 a.m., Fergie busted through the front doors of the club rock star style, surrounded by an entourage of at least twenty people consisting of her bodyguards, friends and family. The nearby clubbers went wild as they spotted The Dutchess, who was blowing kisses and signing autographs. Dressed in all black, Fergie was sportin' her signature hairstyle, long honey blonde spiral curls parted in the middle, and shared, "I had a nice Memorial Day barbecue today, turkey burgers, turkey franks, potato salad, the whole nine." The petite superstar worked the crowd with ease, posing for photos and in a relaxed, soft voice, almost a whisper, told me, "I just came here to hang out for a day. We're passing through on my tour and we have a day off, it's Memorial Day weekend and when you're near the Hamptons, you kinda just wanna go." Fergie smiled and went on, "Cause I can get into the parties now, alright? I don't have to wait on the line, yeah!" Fergie certainly doesn't wait on lines anymore, now they line up to just get a glimpse of the humble artist who can certainly afford couture, but still keeps it real by shopping at second hand stores, "I love shopping. This tour, we'll go to thrift shops in every city. I got about twenty tee shirts in Philly." 1:15 p.m., the Dutchess was escorted to the Celebrity VIP level, which is directly across from the VIP area and overlooks the dance floor. The Dutchess settled into her first class accommodations, complete with a tower of Cristal. It was girls' night out for Fergie, whose fiance, actor Josh Duhamel, was replaced by her best friend, Eileen Grund. Security almost booted singer Samantha Cole from Fergie's table, until they realized Cole is a longtime friend. They both toured together years ago and were neighbors in LA. Cole gushed, "You haven't heard nothin' yet, wait 'till her next album, Fergie can really sing!" About fifteen minutes later, Fergie stood up, walked over to the balcony, pulled an Evita and waved down to her fans as they roared back, "We love you, Fergie!" DJ Robbie Rivera kicked off Fergie's visit with her hit single "Glamorous" and The Dutchess started to join in for a sing along with her fans below. As the DJ transitioned into "Fergalicious," the masses kept screaming their lungs out! Now, even though Fergie continues to tour her hit solo album worldwide, she still plans to reunite with the BEPs soon and revealed, "The experience has been amazing. You know, of course, I miss the guys. I mean, I love them, but we're touring at the end of the year so it's not a big deal."

As for the WH lineup this coming Saturday, expect to see the one and only Flavor Flav on the dance floor and, coming up later this summer season, Kevin Dillion from HBO's hit show, "Entourage," will host. Plus, Jay Z's artist, Rihanna, will make an appearance, too. And, Latino promises, "You never know what tricks we'll have up our sleeve." If he continues to deliver like this past weekend, his popularity as President of WH just may win him another term. Log onto www.whitehousenightclub.com for more upcoming events.

Until next week-- Life is short, you only live once, so party on!

Entertainment & Feature Correspondent, Director, Writer and Producer, Gina Glickman can be seen Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends starring on News 12 Long Island's "What's Hot in the Hamptons" and log onto www.Hamptons.com for more celebrity action with Gina, on "Main Street" series.

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