Call this a "Kings"-size win for Sacramento's newest riverfront inn.

The luxury Le Rivage hotel has just signed a partnership deal with the Sacramento Kings that gives the hotel an edge with visiting NBA teams.

It's already paying off.

"We've booked the (Los Angeles) Lakers and the Orlando Magic and I think the (Dallas) Mavericks are coming, too," says Bob Leach, developer of the 101-room hotel and adjoining Scott's Seafood Grill & Bar, which sit alongside the Sacramento River, south of Sutterville Road.

Other teams are likely to follow suit, Leach says, reserving up to 40 rooms – some with extra-long, 7 1/2-foot beds – each night they're in town.

As part of the partnership deal, Le Rivage contributes a nominal amount to the Kings' marketing budget. In return, Kings staff recommends the hotel to visiting NBA teams.

While the agreement covers only the Kings, Leach anticipates it will lead to visits from musicians and other Arco Arena performers.

The hotel, which opened in February, has already hosted some celebrity guests, including actress Rumer Willis and singer Jessica Simpson, who stayed with an entourage during her State Fair performance. Simpson got the VIP treatment, including "a doggie bed and biscuits for her pooch," Leach says.

Other high-profile guests included members of the Stone Temple Pilots, the recently reunited '90s rock group.

Leach admits he's not an STP fan. "I'm too old to know them," he says. "I assume they're a band, right?"

But Leach does know his NBA players and looks forward to their arrival this season. Especially the Lakers, whose star Kobe Bryant once had a much-publicized food poisoning experience while staying in a downtown hotel.

For Bryant's upcoming visit, Leach says, "I'll make sure our cheeseburgers are top of the line."

Condo mentality

The developer of a midtown condo project has pulled the plug on sales, opting to lease his units.

"There's just too much uncertainty in the marketplace," says Jeff Kraft, head of Habitat Construction in Roseville and builder of the recently completed, 42-unit lofts complex at 16th and H streets.

Sales started six months ago. A few people were in contract to buy units, Kraft says, but no one closed escrow, even though prices were reduced.

"When you're in this kind of market, it's not just price. It's getting the financing and consumer confidence," he says.

Leasing began this week, with monthly rents ranging from $1,050 for a studio to $2,800 for a two-bedroom penthouse. Four have already been snapped up.

Kraft has a novel strategy for finding renters: A "bailout program" for people who lost their home to foreclosure and typically wouldn't qualify for an upscale apartment.

He'll let them rent units – at a 10 percent premium. If they stay current on payments, their rents will drop to normal levels in six months.

"It's a mutual bailout," he says. "I help them. They help me."

His vote counts

Lots of celebrities are making get-out-the-vote election ads. How effective are they?

That's the question Us Weekly put to Sacramento ad expert Lex Matteini.

In the magazine's current issue, Matteini rates TV, print and video spots made by Christina Aguilera, Jessica Alba, Halle Berry and others.

He likes the one with Aguilera singing to her baby. One with Alba wearing a Hannibal Lecter-esque mask leaves him perplexed.

The spot is eye-catching, he notes, "but is it about preventing cannibalism?"

Matteini, a brand strategist with the Runyon Saltzman & Einhorn PR agency, has some experience with national celeb spots.

How does he like being cited in a national entertainment mag?

"It ain't the Harvard Business Review," he says, "but it's fun."

Reach Bob Shallit at (916) 321-1049. Back columns: www.sacbee.com/shallit.

Reach Bob Shallit at (916) 321-1049. Back columns: www.sacbee.com/shallit.