Nina Hartley

My colleagues have been eagerly awaiting last night's party at the Playboy Mansion - and I was doing everything I could to prepare them for a letdown, predicting that there would be no appearance from Hef or the playmates.

Well, I was right. Sort of.

Hefner indeed ignored us, choosing instead to play gin rummy inside the mansion while we partied in his backyard among his spider monkeys, peacocks and ducks. He wasn't missed. Turns out Playboy parties are heavily stocked with local young women who are shuttled in to drink and eat with schlubs like us. If you're thinking this sounds scandalous, it's not. They get free grub in a luxurious setting and the guests get eye candy. (The five or six I had the courage to talk to couldn't have been nicer).

There was a sprinkling of celebs: I talked to adult film superstar Nina Hartley, supermodel Janice Dickinson and reality star Adrianne Curry, who said she had sworn off dating (not that I was asking).

Check out my video with some new friends in Hef's Game Room: http://www.startribune.com/video/126328233.html