Silent night is party night for Jewish singles

Jewish people in Las Vegas are free to do whatever they want on Christmas Eve -- as long as it involves a movie theater, a Chinese restaurant or a casino.

"There's nothing else that's open," said Rabbi Yitzchak Wyne of the Young Israel Aish Synagogue.

Young Israel Aish, by the way, is hosting its own Chinese meal.

"Chinese food on Christmas Eve has become a tradition," Wyne said, "and we Jews don't stray from tradition."

Another popular yuletide institution for members of the tribe is gathering at the family gatherings of Christian friends.

"Whoever cooks the best dinner wins," joked Neil Popish, program director at the Jewish Community Center.

For Jewish singles, ironically, the only night Pure or Tao probably wouldn't have a line in front sees nearly every club on the Strip shuttered. For the past 14 years, there has been exactly one option for action: the Bagel Ball.

"Multiple marriages have resulted because of meeting at the Bagel Ball," said Popish, who has run the party for the past two years. (Serendipitous grooms include Las Vegas apparel resellers Scott Post and Les Lazareck, co-hosts of the Bagel Ball for its first dozen years.)

This year, for the first time, the Bagel Ball has competition, from two national competitors: the Matzo Ball, which started in Boston 22 years ago, and the Ball, which launched 14 years ago in New York.

"It's the one night of the year when it's an otherwise dead night," said Paul Steinmetz, national events director for the Matzo Ball. "So we know we can exploit the hell out of the fact that that club would be empty."

Although Steinmetz wouldn't reveal the specifics of his deal with Prive, Popish called his with Lavo "very generous." The Palazzo hotspot is not charging its usual rent -- only a guaranteed bar bill of $8,000.

"If we get 350 people, we're gonna make that guarantee," Popish said.

But is the Las Vegas Jewish singles community big enough to support three essentially identical events?

Organizers of all three claimed not to know about the other two until after theirs was already planned. (Oy, Vegas!)

"I'm not gonna get too concerned," Popish said. "We're gonna get a big crowd. We always do.

"And there's nothing I can do."

Contact reporter Corey Levitan at clevitan@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0456.