Entertainment

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – There's a battle royale brewing in Arizona that has little to do with the Patriots or the Giants.

In the days leading up to the Super Bowl, magazines such as Playboy , Sports Illustrated, ESPN and Maxim will rival video game publisher Electronic Arts, trading card company Upper Deck and a few others for the biggest, bestest, loudest and most exclusive celebrity-filled Super Bowl party ever.

"Over the years, it's become quite competitive among the other magazines and companies who throw parties," says Hugh Hefner, the Playboy mogul who will make the trek to the Grand Canyon State for his empire's party after a three-year absence. "It's all turned into something beyond just celebrating a football game. It's an entire weekend event."

This year, about 60 parties and events are pegged to Super Bowl XLII. Fewer than 10 of those are invite-only soirees with the main aim of wooing important advertisers and the like, the largest and most famous being the Playboy and Maxim parties. In years past, Penthouse's event was also oh-so-exclusive but tickets to this year's gala are readily available online for $500.

"Super Bowl parties are a no-brainer," says Carmen Electra, the model-actress who's attended a few Super Bowl celebrations over the years. "Everyone is looking to have a good time. Basically, all you have to do is provide a venue and a DJ and invite people. I think it's pretty simple."

Ms. Electra hosted Friday's Leather and Laces event at the Galleria Corporate Centre, which will also serve as backdrop for the Saturday Night Spectacular hosted by John Travolta and Marshall Faulk. Unlike the velvet-roped Playboy and Maxim parties, average joes can gain general admission to those events for $500. The VIP treatment, however, will set partygoers back $1,000.

With high-rolling fans flocking from New England and New York, expectations for lavish pregame parties are high. If not invited, visitors will have to pay a broker between $1,500 and $3,000 to secure a place on the list of an exclusive event, such as Playboy's oasis-themed party inside the 52,000-square-foot Rawhide Pavilion at Wild Horse Pass in Chandler.

Even some celebrities will have trouble getting in.

"We have thousands of requests," says Donna Tavoso, Playboy 's vice president in charge of putting the party together. "We tell more people no than we say yes to, which is hard. We wish we could have everyone, but you can't have an exclusive party with everyone."

This year, more attendees have asked for access to Sports Illustrated 's fete at the Barcelona supper club than any other party.