Crains New York - October 29, 2012 - (Page 29)

HELLUVA TOWN INSIDE It is time for this wine Investors looking for a bargain may want to check out Acker Merrall & Condit’s November wine auctions—it’s hosting two in Hong Kong and one in New York. The market is just not as bubbly as it was a year ago, due primarily to a bursting of the Bordeaux bubble in China. “It was a bit of a gold rush,” said Acker Merrall CEO John Kapon at a recent wine tasting. He noted that the firm’s sales at auction will fall to about $85 million this year, from last year’s $110 million. In 2011, the Chinese could not get enough of the classic French Source Lunch 9/11 museum chief moves project forward PAGE 30 Out and About Village Halloween Costume Ball PAGE 31 Luck be a lady All-women poker nights have A-listers coveting an invitation to play—and build relationships bloomberg reds. Not anymore. “What’s going on in China is that credit has gotten tighter and real estate development has been reined in,” said Mr. Kapon. Château Lafite Rothschild has been the biggest loser, with values dropping by 50% compared with a year ago. “Wines that were $25,000 a case are now $12,000,” he said. Still, Mr. Kapon, who in January told Crain’s that the hot market for fine wine was sustainable, remains optimistic. At these prices, he said, “it’s a good opportunity to buy Bordeaux.” —valerie block Journey into the LES’ past Shopping is going retro. The Lower East Side Tenement Museum will soon open a 1,550-square-foot permanent exhibit, Shop Life, which re-creates a series of businesses that bustled at the museum’s 97 Orchard St. location between 1863 and 1988. Tickets go on sale Nov. 1. Visitors will find a 19thcentury German beer saloon, an 1890s kosher butcher and a 1930s auction house, among other shops. Though nothing is actually for sale, the museum is using interactive technology with audio and visual elements to make the rooms feel real. Annie Polland, the museum’s vice president of education, said, “97 Orchard Street was a place of business for more than a century. Exploring this aspect of the building’s history is an exciting new step.” The exhibit, on the ground floor, will increase the museum’s attendance capacity by 50,000, allowing it to serve more than its usual 170,000 annual visitors. —miriam kreinin souccar amantha Yanks was just 8 years old when she learned how to play poker. ¶ She spent her childhood vacations in Florida sitting in her grandmother’s kitchen playing the card game and eating Mallomars. When her grandma played poker with the ladies, Ms. Yanks, now the editor in chief of Gotham and Hamptons magazines, watched over their shoulders. ¶ Yet even though she knows when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em, Ms. Yanks has never played as an adult. On Oct. 29, she will get her first chance. Ms. Yanks was one of 40 high achievers who scored an invitation to an exclusive all-women poker night. ¶ “It was definitely a coup to get invited,” said Ms. Yanks. “I don’t know the other women who will be there because the list is a little bit secretive.” ¶ The event was started in 2010 by two financial powerhouses, Alexandra Lebenthal and her former business partner Michelle Smith, as an unconventional way to build relationships with existing clients and attract new ones.The duo hosts three or four poker nights a year, inviting A-listers in finance, media, fashion and the art world. There is now a waiting list, and Ms. Lebenthal and Ms. Smith constantly get See CARD on Page 30 S BY MIRIAM KREININ SOUCCAR FULL HOUSE Number of women’s poker events led by Ellen Leikind 50 6 2005 2012 Source: Poker Prima Divas October 29, 2012 | Crain’s New York Business | 29 buck ennis PLAYING HER CARDS RIGHT: Alexandra Lebenthal said her poker games allow her “to connect women in a unique way.”

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - October 29, 2012

IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
THE INSIDER
BUSINESS PEOPLE
OPINION
ALAIR TOWNSEND
GREG DAVID
REAL ESTATE DEALS
REPORT: BUSINESS OF LAW
THE LIST
CLASSIFIEDS
SMALL BUSINESS
FOR THE RECORD
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crains New York - October 29, 2012