The event for East Side House Settlement, which Sanchez heads, offered a preview of the New York International Auto Show before it opens to the public today. That meant guests got to check out Porsches, BMWs and Mustangs in a crowd of 1,500 instead of tens of thousands.
"I've flown in for this for eight or nine years," said Peter Tucker, a Chicago-based broker at INTL FCStone Inc. He drives a silver BMW M3 convertible.
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David Hobert of UBS and James Lanzilotti, who also works in finance for a Japanese firm, toured the show together. Hobert said he drives a fuchsia Kia. Lanzilotti has a Bordeaux-colored Maserati.
Murray Stoltz, president of Manchester Capital Management, said he'd like his first car back, an old Honda Civic. He owns two Infiniti SUVs.
Michael Moreno, who works for an asset management company, expressed no regret at leaving behind his 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. He now drives a Porsche Cayenne.
His dream car: "An Aston Martin coupe," said his wife, Jodi Moreno, a chef and food writer.
Robert Guerrero, the principal of the branding agency KOMBIND, sent a picture of a BMW convertible to his wife.
His text message: "I promise you will own this," he said. How romantic!
McLaren Admired
The car offered in a live auction during dinner was a Jeep Grand Cherokee in silver priced at $45,900. It sold for $48,000.
The auctioneer, Courtney Booth of Sotheby's (BID), also sold a private studio session with Erick Sermon of EPMD, a producer who has worked with Jay-Z and Kanye West.
"When he started with them, they looked like all of you," Booth said. "And he can do the same for you or your kids, if you're comfortable with that."
Booth sold the music package for $10,000 and earned the respect of rapper Waka Flocka Flame, whose Rolls Royce Phantom was parked outside.
"That lady is funny," he said. "That's the star of the night right there." Booth's boyfriend -- Gus Christensen, a managing director at Evercore Partners -- agreed.
'Game of Thrones'
At the opening party for "Game of Thrones: The Exhibition" on Wednesday, guests posed for photographs on the Iron Throne and were served a lot of red meat, presumably to get them in the mood for the pseudo-medieval clothing, swords, and poison darts on display.
We were warned that even a raving fan of the HBO show would not recognize all of the objects because some of them were props from the third season, which starts Sunday.
Cast members got cozy on a couch draped in fur blankets. While Kit Harington, who plays Jon Snow, requested a gin and tonic, the drink of the evening was Ommegang Iron Throne Blonde Ale.
(Amanda Gordon is a writer and photographer for Muse, the arts and leisure section of Bloomberg News. Any opinions expressed are her own.)
Muse highlights include Guy Collins on wine; Greg Evans and Craig Seligman on movies.
© 2013 The New York Times News Service