Where to go for the big game

Three days from now the local government and business community will have to answer scores of telephone calls from employees stricken with sudden illnesses that are bound to run their course in roughly a day or so once the Super Bowl XL flu wears off. As with any serious affliction, the affected workers will surely seek treatment at the appropriate facility, and several establishments are ready to open their doors in their time of need.

Choosing between which of them becomes the next issue, as hotels, restaurants, and bars have put together a number of party packages to lure the fans off the streets to try their treats.

The Saipan Tribune has made the calls and seen the halls in advance of Monday madness, and is saving you the game day runaround with a preview of eight establishments and their part packages.

Saipan World Resort

According to event planners at the Saipan World Resort, those who believe that bigger means better need look no further than their Royal Taga Hall A in Susupe, where the players will punt, pass, and kick at nearly true to life size on the screen.

“Truly, in Saipan we have the biggest screen,” said event coordinator Das Krishnan.

While others measure up with inches, the World Resort monster screen measures in feet with an estimated 10’x 15’ screen. The prize packages will be big as well, as the World Resort will be giving away $500 in cash, 10 pool passes, a number of World Buffet giveaways, and a complimentary room stay.

The list continues to include free T-shirts to the first 50 fans who take their seats, mugs, and hats, but most of the football fans will come to get their fill of Coor’s Light and Pepsi while they cheer their team on the giant screen.

The doors open at 8am and guests can start eating from the breakfast buffet right away. The morning fare will be on display until 10am, when the staff will replace breakfast with snacks that will last through the end of the game.

While you can wait until the day of the game to take your seat, tickets are on sale now for $15 at World Resort.

Saipan Grand Hotel

The folks at Saipan Grand Hotel aren’t going at it alone, as they are teaming up with Miller Lite, Pepsi, Shell Marianas, and Saipancell Communications to host what they believe to be the mother of all parties.

Organizers aren’t holding anything back as they will be hosting fans in two on-property locations—Club V and the Southern Cross. Each of the venues boast large viewing areas, but Club V will have the entire wall above the stage that usually supports some of the area’s top bands during TGIT nights.

In addition to all of the big screens are the big promotions, and Saipan Grand is offering a slew of “Touchdown Prizes” that include $550 in cash, a phone from Saipancell, and a complimentary night’s stay at the Saipan Grand Hotel.

The treasure trove also includes free T-shirts for the first 50 fans that pass through the doors, coupons for Club V for use upon future trips to the nightclub, and tokens for the Whimsy Arcade.

Event coordinator Lance Razon was proud to say that Saipan Grand will be among the first to open its doors at 7am, and they will treat partygoers with an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet as well as all-you-can-drink Miller Lite and Pepsi products throughout the game for only $12.

Fiesta Resort & Spa

Aside from offering great food, Coor’s Light and Pepsi products, and big game atmosphere, the folks at the Fiesta Resort & Spa are planning to challenge their partygoer’s passing potential. After the teams march into the locker room at halftime, event coordinators will pull five unsuspecting “quarterbacks” from an expected crowd of upwards of 100 people to show their ability to throw a football through a 17” diameter target from 20 yards away for $300 cash.

According to event coordinators, the target will be roughly the size of a professional tight-end, and the gathering crowd is expected to add a little game time pressure during the toss.

Fiesta has also signed local spinster DJ Rico to keep the fans happy during the commercial breaks, and plan to give away a number of cash and prizes throughout the game.

The cost to enter the Hibiscus Hall is a festive $12.XL per person, and local monsters of the Marianas gridiron will get an added 10 percent discount for wearing their Commonwealth Football League jersey to the party.

The doors open to all at 7:30am, and the first 50 fans will receive a free T-shirt for their punctuality. While the organizers tout the biggest screen on Saipan, they also boast football’s favorite fare.

Pacific Islands Club

If watching the Super Bowl on Saipan is your idea of exciting, the Pacific Islands Club and Miller Lite are about to expand you horizons as they are teaming up with Pepsi to send one lucky winner and a friend to the 2006 Pro Bowl in Hawaii during Monday’s party at Charley’s Cabaret.

According to event coordinator Catherine Chapman, PIC is one of the forefathers of football parties, and they plan to rock southern Saipan with 11 television sets and a big screen on center stage. Whether you get up for another frosty beverage, grab some food, or to high-five a buddy, Chapman said that you won’t miss a beat as the game will be visible throughout the facility from the coin flip to the awarding of the Vince Lombardi trophy.

In addition to the pair of tickets and round trip airfare and accommodations to the all-star game in the land of the luau, a chosen few will win a portion of $500 in prizes including an assortment of restaurant gift certificates, water park passes, complimentary hotel stays at the PIC, and more.

There’s even more in the works as the first 50 entrants will receive free T-shirts, hats, chairs, and more from Miller Lite. With all of the prizes up for grabs, it’s possible that football fans might forget all about the food and frolic—although it’s highly unlikely.

The doors open at 7am, with the breakfast buffet open for business from 7:30am until 10:30am. Fermented goodness will be ready for the masses as soon as the law allows and will flow freely throughout the game.

The cost to hang out with emcee Dennis Tababa and the Clubmates is $15 for adults and $10 for children. Tickets are on sale now and are available at the front desk.

AJ’s Restaurant and Bar

For those looking for a smaller setting with a little more class than a typical beer hall, then stick around Susupe for the ice cold Asahi and a Mexican style buffet at AJ’s Restaurant and Bar.

The beachside bistro famous for their cigar selection and sunset reflection will once again roll out the twin big screens to take their previous positions held during the Rose Bowl, as the two huge tubes will compliment their wall mounted counterparts to allow bar side viewers complete game coverage without leaving the comforts of their seats and stools.

AJ’s will not be venturing alone, as they have teamed up with Carmen’s Safeway and Dial Rent To Own to offer the best to their patrons.

For a modest entrance fee of $20, football fans will have their fill of all you can drink Asahi Super Dry and Asahi Blue to help wash down the morning breakfast and lunch buffets.

After serving the early morning coffee, juice, doughnuts, sausage, and scrambled eggs, AJ’s will continue the tradition of quality with a hearty Mexican-style feast that will include a green salad, chili pot, jalapeño chili with beef, boneless chicken with chipotle salsa, beef “tinaktak” in flour tortillas, BBQ short ribs, Mexican rice, nachos, and salsa for lunch.

The food is served when the doors open at 8am, and all of the guests will receive tickets good for a number of door prizes and raffle prizes between the quarters.

Hafadai Beach Hotel

The king of beers is hosting the king of parties as Budweiser and Bud Light are bringing Bud Bowl 2006 to the Hafadai Fiesta Hall for another year of giant-sized gridiron gladiators on the big screens of Garapan.

While organizers will have a number of prizes up for grabs throughout the game, the grand prize is the enormous 52” HDTV that comes complete with a 600-watt Pioneer home theater package.

In order to have a chance at winning, you first have to run down to Marpac in Gualo Rai to register for a Bud Fresh Awards Card, and come to the party with a Budweiser bracelet from Joeten Susupe—the same bracelets that come with the purchase of Bud Family products.

If you are one of the lucky few chosen, you will have a chance to enter in the Bud Bowl Challenge, where you will compete with others to pull the most Bud Bucks out of the air chamber for the equivalent of placing the Hollywood Theaters in your living room.

Organizers are expecting to get record-setting numbers for this year’s party—partly due to the door prizes, T-shits, and the additional lighted necklaces, helmets, noisemaker, Thunder Sticks, hats, and the Bud Bowl 2006 footballs and beanbag chairs.

“Last year we had just under 400 people, and this year we hope to have even more here,” said event coordinator Jojo Camacho.

According to Camacho, Hafadai staff will try to remove some of the tables between 10-10:30am in order to allow for more people to view the game with a few hundred of their friends and fellow fans.

The boys from Budweiser will put the cans in your hands at 10am by law, and keep you satisfied with the taste that won’t fill you up and never let’s you down until the end of the game.

The cost to enter the Fiesta Hall is $15, and includes an all- you-can-eat breakfast buffet throughout the game.

Hamilton’s Bar and Restaurant

A crowd of familiar faces is expected to gather at one of Saipan’s historic watering holes as the family orientated staff at Hamilton’s Bar and Restaurant will once again open its doors to the friends of football for the big game.

For the first time in 2006, a number of people will celebrate the coming of a Monday morning with beer and cheer as the folks at Ham’s usher in Super Bowl XL in one of Saipan’s favorite home-style hangouts.

Island sages and newbies alike will watch the game on anyone of five televisions—including a big screen—with the same type of crowd that they were used to back home.

Twenty dollars gets you in the door, all you can eat at both the breakfast and lunch buffet and your first drink. While all of the details have not been released, the returning crowd can expect more of the same drink specials and in-game activities that have developed into local tradition on high in Gualo Rai.

There’s no telling what kind of additional specials that event coordinator Rick Northen will throw into the mix, but there’s never a dull moment in the home of “The Chief.”

Godfather’s Bar

Whether beer or booze, if you are looking to watch the Super Bowl with a different kind of family, the wise guys at Godfather’s Bar in Garapan have an offer you cannot refuse.

After chipping in $20 for the Vig, “family members” will get all they can eat from the breakfast and lunch menus and all they can drink until the game is over. Unlike the other establishments around island, the party at Godfather’s Bar doesn’t limit football fans to beer with their entry fees. According to event coordinator and proprietor, Scott Dottino, patrons can order “whatever they want” when they come into the bar.

While top shelf will come at a premium, service will not, as respected guests of the “Godfather” will order from the breakfast and lunch menus instead of from a buffet. Dining on the Don’s tab also includes a view of the giant 54” big screen TV that will compliment the seven wall mounted screens like a pinky ring compliments a shark skin suit.

In addition to the top quality eats and fermented treats, Godfather’s Bar will also be giving away a number of door prizes during the game. Whether you’re a made man or a man on the street, doors open at 8am, and Dottino welcomes everyone to “Come here and get whacked.”