- Former NBA player Shaquille O'Neal hosted a wild bash two days ahead of Super Bowl LIV called Shaq's Fun House.
- This year's party came five days after the death of Kobe Bryant, O'Neal's longtime teammate on the Los Angeles Lakers.
- I got a press pass to attend the Friday night bash in Miami, and it was the wildest party I've ever been to in my life.
- I danced, rode carnival rides, and took full advantage of the six-hour open bar and free food like sushi, short rib sliders, and funnel cake.
- I even got access to a VIP booth with free-flowing Champagne and other bottles that I was told cost $50,000 to rent for the night.
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At 10:30 p.m., I was bored and getting rained on as I stood by the red carpet outside of Shaq's Fun House in Miami, wondering if any other celebrities would walk the carpet after the NBA legend himself had passed by.
But by 2 a.m., I found myself partying in the VIP section with free-flowing Champagne, vodka, and tequila, rubbing shoulders with high-rollers, while Diddy performed onstage. Half an hour later, I was riding a merry-go-round with a cotton candy cocktail in my hand. It was one of the wildest and most unexpected nights of my life.
Shaq's Fun House, the recurring party hosted by retired NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal, is described as "part music festival, part carnival, part circus," so I was expecting a pretty rowdy night - but it far surpassed my expectations.
This year, it was a Super Bowl pre-party taking place the Friday night before Sunday's big game. The bash featured a six-hour open bar, food including as sushi, funnel cake, and sliders, carnival rides, and performances by Diddy, Diplo, Pitbull, Tiesto, and Dababy, and the host, O'Neal, DJed a set. There were several tributes to O'Neal's longtime teammate Kobe Bryant, who was killed in a helicopter crash just five days earlier along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others.
Two days before his party, O'Neal announced on social media that he would donate the proceeds of the bash to the families of those who died in the helicopter crash, as well as the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Foundation.
Tickets for the event started at $400, and VIP tickets that included access to O'Neal's exclusive VIP lounge started at $2,000.
I got a press pass for the exclusive party - here's what it was like to attend Shaq's Fun House in Miami on Super Bowl weekend.