World’s Most Expensive Cell Phones

Most people enjoy having a quality cell phone, but they also recognize that cellular phones are a consumable good and will have to be replaced within in a few years. For this reason, people often do not purchase the most expensive cell phone when they purchase their mobile. Some, though, must have a costly mobile phone. The world’s most expensive cell phones were made to satisfy just that type of person.

Ulysse Nardin’s The Chairman – up to $49,500

The Chairman by Ulysse Nardin is the world’s most expensive Android smartphone, and includes both a touch screen and a physical number pad. The Ulysse Nardin name is most often associated with luxury watches and that fact shows in the Chairman’s sophisticated design. The volume controls look like watch buttons and the crown between them can actually be wound to generate power for the device. In fact, the phone features a kinetic rotor power system visible through the backplate.

Nokia 8800 Arte with pink diamonds - $134,000

Designed by Peter Aloisson, this solid 18k white gold phone features over 680 pink and white brilliant cut diamonds totaling over 21.5 carats. Some of the phone’s features are a 3.15 MP camera with autofocus and video, a music player, Bluetooth and voice memo.

Peter Aloisson’s iPhone Princess Plus - $176,400

The Princess Plus got its name from the Princess cut used on 138 of the 318 diamonds on its surface. The other 180 diamonds on the phone were brilliant-cut. In total, the phone has 17.75 carats of diamonds set in 18k white gold around its rim. The iPhone Princess Plus is worth $176,400 while the somewhat more pedestrian “Brilliants only” version sold for $66,150.

Sony Ericsson Black Diamond – $300,000

The price of this phone comes from actual state of the art technology instead of a bunch of shiny rocks—but that doesn’t mean it lacks visual appeal. OLED technology underneath the polycarbonate skin that covers the phones entire face gives the 4 megapixel screen a borderless look. The mirror finish gives the phone a sleek, futuristic look.

Vertu Signature Cobra - $310,000

This gaudy phone is so exclusive that only eight will ever be made. Designed by French jeweler Boucheron, the Signature Cobra is made with two diamonds, two emeralds and 439 rubies. For buyers who are only filthy rich, rather than obscenely rich, twenty-six of the less flashy (read: no rubies) Signature Python phones will be available for a mere $115,000. Both phones will feature the real draw—they have frikkin’ snakes on them. Awesome.

Gresso Luxor Las Vegas Jackpot – $1 million

This ultra-exclusive phone, limited to only three units, truly lives up to its name. Not only is it extraordinarily expensive, but its Egypt-inspired design will look right at home in the hands of a Vegas high-roller. The phone features 45.5 carats of black diamonds decorating the bezel and a back panel made from 200-year-old African blackwood—the most expensive wood in the world. As if that weren’t enough to ensure the Jackpot a place among the world’s most expensive mobile phones, each key is cut from a hand-polished sapphire crystal. All of these luxurious materials are set in a 180-gram solid gold frame.

The Diamond Crypto Smartphone – $1.3 million

Created by luxury accessory producer Peter Aloisson of Moscow-based JSC Ancort, this luxury smartphone’s price stems from the platinum body, the cover adorned with 50 diamonds—including eight that are rare blue diamonds. Additionally, the Ancort logo and the navigation key are made of 18k rose gold. Built on the Windows CE, this expensive cell also features a high-resolution color TFT display and a 256 bit cryptographic algorithm. This expensive mobile phone features SMS, MMS, E-mail and Internet capability, WAP, JAVA support and even a media player.

GoldVish ‘Le Million’ Piece Unique - $1.3 million

Guinness World Records certified GoldVish SA’s ‘Le Million’ Piece Unique on January 29th, 2008. The Geneva-based luxury communications company’s expensive mobile phone was designed by Emmanuel Gueit as an addition to the Illusion Collection. The phone is made of 18k white gold and set with 20 carats of VVS1 (only microscopically flawed) diamonds. The phone also features Bluetooth, 2 GB of storage, FM radio, a digital camera and MP3 playback. This expensive cell phone is available only by special order.

Peter Aloisson’s Kings Button iPhone - $2.4 million

The Kings Button iPhone is, surprisingly, a jewel-bedecked iPhone. This time, however, Aloisson had the iPhone 3G to play with—and, apparently, a bit of a bigger budget. One hundred and thirty-eight brilliant-cut diamonds line the sides of the phone, but the real prize is the home button—a rare 6.6 carat white diamond.

Goldstriker iPhone 3GS Supreme - $3.2 million

Stuart Hughes of Goldstriker International is known for giving luxury devices such as phones and video game consoles the “Supreme” treatment—covering them with gold and diamonds—and the iPhone is no exception. The iPhone 3GS Supreme features a casing made from 271 grams of solid 22k gold and a screen trimmed with fifty-three 1-carat diamonds. The home button is covered with a single rare 7.1-carat diamond. That’s not all, though—the iPhone 3GS Supreme comes in a chest carved from a single block of granite and sports Kashmir gold and an interior lining made with Nubuck top grain leather.

Stuart Hughes iPhone 4 Diamond Rose Edition - $8 million

If you thought his iPhone 3GS Supreme was impressive, check out the latest iPhone from Stuart Hughes–the iPhone 4 Diamond Rose Edition. Hughes has recreated the infamous antenna band that wraps around the sides of the latest iPhone, as well as the backplate, using rose gold. The band is adorned with 100 carats of flawless diamonds, and the Apple logo is formed with fifty-three more diamonds. Once again, the home button gets the most love–it’s made of platinum and features a rare 7.4-carat pink diamond.

The phone comes in an imperial pink 7-kilogram chest cut from a single block of granite and lined with nubuck top-grain leather. It also comes with an 8-carat flawless diamond that can be used in place of the pink one.

Source: The Most Expensive

Top 10 best Golf Course in the World

Lets check the Top 10 best Golf Course in the World:

No.10 Canadian Rockies - Banff Springs Golf Club

Under the gaze of the grand Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel -- which makes Batman's stately Wayne Manor look like a starter home -- the Banff Springs Golf Course is marvelous. Framed by striking snow-capped peaks, the Stanley Thompson design, which was built for a record sum of $1 million in 1927, is a gem.

With stalwart courses like Silvertip, Stewart Creek, Kananaskis, Canmore, and Jasper Park in the vicinity, the Canadian Rockies is golf glorious. The Fairmont hotels in Banff and Jasper are worth a visit in and of themselves.

No.9 Whistling Straits - Kohler, Wisconsin

After providing a dramatic PGA Championship, Whistling Straits is a must-play for thrill-seeking golfers, as danger lurks on most every shot. This isn’t golf for the faint of heart. With several holes overlooking Lake Michigan, the scenery is as terrific as the golf is spellbinding.
With three other courses, including the magical Blackwolf Run, Kohler, Wisconsin, is now one of the world's premier gold heavens.

No.8 Half Moon Bay Golf Resort - Half Moon Bay, California

Set against the dramatic cliffs of the Pacific Ocean and just minutes from San Francisco, Half Moon Bay Golf Links features 36 holes of pure championship golf.

The Old Course is an American parkland-style layout originally designed by golf legend Arnold Palmer. The Ocean Course is an Arthur Hills linksland design that is nationally renowned for its dramatic closing holes that stand above the Pacific. The course plays delightfully hard and fast, with creative shot-making rewarded in spades.

If you need a tune-up on your game, the Moon Mullins Golf Academy will get you right. And for the non-golfer in your party, the amenities and accommodations at the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay rival the pleasures of the golf itself.

No.7 Pinehurst Resort - Pinehurst, North Carolina

Nestled in the Sandhills of North Carolina, Pinehurst is as charming and grand a golf resort as you’ll find. With eight championship courses, the magnificent Course No. 2 is the masterpiece of genius golf architect Donald Ross.
The classic mounded greens (which are similar to those of Ross' boyhood course, the Royal Dornoch in northern Scotland ) are truly a marvel and will have the rare honor of hosting both the 2014 men's and women's U.S. Open. Pinehurst is pure, American golf.

No.6 Pebble Beach Golf Links - Pebble Beach, California

Author Robert Louis Stevenson once called California’s Monterey Peninsula the world’s greatest meeting of land and sea. The golf there is just as wondrous as the mesmerizing seascapes, especially at the Pebble Beach Golf Links.
In addition to holding the pole position on most every traveling golfer's bucket list, Pebble Beach is flat-out joyous golf heaven. With other standout courses, like Spyglass, Spanish Bay, Poppy Hills, Bayonet and Black Horse, the Monterey Peninsula is rife with golfing treasures. 

No.5 Bandon Dunes Golf Resort - Bandon, Oregon

In the classic baseball movie Field of Dreams, Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) hears a voice whisper: "If you build it, they will come.” Following that advice, Bandon Dunes Golf Resort has built four of the Earth’s finest layouts -- Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes, Bandon Trails, and Old Macdonald -- in remote southern Oregon. Golfers now flock there to tee up.
Assume your golf attire, walk the courses, keep the ball low, and play the game as it was intended to be played.

No.4 St. Andrews - Scotland

With enticingly sinister bumps, knobs and hollows, the Old Course at St. Andrews is golfing gold heaven that gives players the thrill of lifetime. Every grate golfer in history has walked those hallowed fairways and, as a public course, you can too. Plus there are six other admirable links-style municipal courses in the Auld Grey Toon.

With the breeze from the North Sea, the spires of cathedrals serving as aiming points and footprints of golfing ghosts from centuries past, St. Andrews is the pinnacle of golfing heaven.

No.3 Celtic Manor Resort - Newport, Wales

Set in the verdant countryside of Wales is the majestic Twenty Ten course at Celtic Manor Resort. The host of the upcoming 2010 Ryder Cup features spectacular holes along the floor of picturesque Usk Valley.

Known as the "Gateway to Wales," the lovely landscape is dotted with trees that look as if they've been rooted through the ages. Peaceful lakes encroach on ripping fairways and dangerously sloped greens. Toss in the cheerful Welsh hospitality, incredible spa and the lavish comfort of the five-star resort, and you may never choose to leave.

While there, don't miss having drink in Merlins bar, just off the resort lobby. It's one of the world's best watering holes

No.2 PGA National Resort & Spa - Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 

With its storied golf history, which includes hosting the 1983 Ryder Cup, the 1987 PGA Championship, nearly two decades of the Senior PGA Championship, and now hosting the PGA Tour Honda Classic, PGA National’s Champion course is a jewel. The splendid Jack Nicklaus design boasts the infamous “Bear Trap,” one of the most difficult three-hole stretches in golf.
In addition to the famed Champion course, The Palmer, Haig, Squire, and Estates courses are all high-caliber and well worth a play. PGA National has the unique distinction of being the world;s only golf resort to feature both the David Leadbetter Golf Academy and Dave Pelz Scoring Game School.
And if all that wasn't enough, the spa is home to Waters of the World, a collection of pools featuring the world's rarest healing minerals.

No.1 Mission Hills Resort Shenzhen - Shenzhen, China

Is bigger better? With Mission Hills Resort Shenzhen, the answer is “definitely.” Stretching across the lush, rolling hills of Shenzhen and Dongguan in southern China, Mission Hills is China’s highest-rated golf club, and the largest golf club in the world, according toGuinness World Records.
With 12 exceptional courses designed by giants of the genre, like Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman and Schmidt-Curley (probably the hottest international design company), it's time to tee it up on any layout at Mission Hills for an experience of Chinese golf heaven.
As an extra enticement, their spas are some of the best in the world.

Source: AskMen

Interesting Facts about Top 10 things to do in Patagonia

Cerro Torre Los Glaciares National Park Patagonia Argentina

Coastal treasures, ancient forests, dazzling glaciers and incredible wildlife – Patagonia has captured your imagination, but where do you start? We have cherrypicked a few Patagonian delights from the latest Lonely Planet Argentina guidebook to get you started:

1. Whale-watch in Puerto Madryn

Patagonia offers some of the world's best whale-watching and Puerto Madryn is the place to glimpse them. The warm,  enclosed waters along the Golfo Nuevo, Golfo San José and the coastline near Caleta Valdés are prime breeding zones for southern right whales between June and mid-December. A standard whale-watching trip lasts an hour and a half, but longer excursions are available too.

2. Outdoor adventures in El Chaltén

El Chaltén's surrounding mountains are prime hiking, rock climbing and horseback riding territory so if you are into outdoor adventure, this is the spot for you. Think mountain traverses, mountain ascents and rock-climbing classes. You can go horse-riding to the pretty valley of Río de las Vueltas or take a more challenging ride up the Vizcacha hill followed by a barbecue on a traditional ranch. There are also ice-climbing courses and ice treks available.

Perito Moreno Glacier Patagonia Argentina

3. Dinosaur discovery at the Palaeontology Museum

Showcasing the most important fossil finds in Patagonia, this natural-history museum offers outstanding life-sized dinosaur exhibits and more than 1,700 fossil remains of plant and marine life. The three-hour guided visits are a walk through time, along a well-designed nature trail past a wealth of exposed fossils dating as far back as the Tertiary, some 40 million years ago. Speaking of dinosaurs...

4. Walk with the pre-historic

The Dinosaur route in northwest Patagonia is a wonderful adventure. The skeletons of the biggest dinosaurs ever to have walked the planet are, palaeontologists insist, buried in this region's red-rock badlands; and discoveries to date in the area have forced scientists to rethink established theories.

5. Penguin-watch at Punta Tombo

Punta Tombo has a colony of more than half a million Magellanic penguins and attracts many other birds, most notably king and rock cormorants, giant petrels and black oystercatchers. Most nesting areas in the 200-hectare reserve are fenced off: respect the limits and remember that penguins can inflict serious bites. Trelew-based travel agencies run day-long tours but may cancel if bad weather makes the unpaved roads impassable.

6. Explore Cueva de las Manos

The incredible rock art of Cueva de las Manos (Cave of the Hands) was proclaimed a Unesco World Heritage site in 1999. Dating from about 7,370 BC, these polychrome rock paintings cover recesses in the near-vertical walls with imprints of human hands, drawings of guanacos and, from a later period, abstract designs. Free guided walks are given every hour by knowledgeable staff. There is an information centre and a basic confitería, but it is best to bring your own food.

7. Stay at a ranch
Estancia Telken offers a welcoming stay in the pretty countryside of Los Antiguos. This 1915 working sheep and horse ranch 25km south of Perito Moreno has about 210 square kilometers of horseback riding and hiking possibilities, including a worthwhile meander along a creek bed up to the basalt plateau Meseta de Lago Buenos Aires.

8. Escape from it all in Camarones
Camarones takes home the gold for Patagonia's sleepiest coastal village. Empty beaches are perfect for strolling and the sociable townsfolk are masters of the art of shooting the breeze. It is also the closest hub to the lesser-known Cabo Dos Bahías nature reserve, where you can visit 25,000 penguin couples and their fuzzy chicks. The very helpful oceanfront tourist office offers maps, good tips on scenic outings and lodging information.

9. Watch glaciers at Parque National los Glaciares
Glaciar Perito Moreno is the stunning centrepiece of the southern sector of Parque Nacional Los Glaciares. Locally referred to as Glaciar Moreno, it measures 30km long, 5km wide and 60m high, but what makes it exceptional in the world of ice is its constant advance - it creeps forward up to 2m per day, causing building-sized icebergs to calve from its face. In some ways, watching the glacier is a very sedentary park experience, but it manages to nonetheless be thrilling. The main gateway town to the park's southern sector, El Calafate is 80km east of the glacier by road. This is where you will find all the operators for tours and activities too.

10. Dive into watersports
With interesting shipwrecks and sea life nearby, Madryn and the Península Valdés have become Argentina's diving capitals. Lobo Larsen and Scuba Duba are both quality PADI-affiliated operators and the former offers a special excursion for first-time divers. More into windsurfing or kayaking? In high season a hut next to Vernardino Club de Mar offers lessons and rents out regular and wide boards and kayaks by the hour. South of Muelle Piedrabuena, Playa Tomás Curti is a popular windsurfing spot.

Source: BBC Travel

Top 10 of Maxim's Hot 100 List 2011

Check Out Top 10 List of Maxim's Hot List 2011

Model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, 24, tops Maxim's Hot 100 List for 2011. The Victoria's Secret model took over Megan Fox's spot from last year. Of the title, Whiteley said, "[It] is a huge honor. It's a great title to have for a year and you can have some fun with it, I think."

Actress Olivia Munn came in at number two on the Maxim list.

Singer Katy Perry has become more than just a performer -- she is now also a certified Maxim sex symbol. 

Cameron Diaz came in at number four on the Maxim Hot 100 list.

 

It's been a big year for "Black Swan" star Mila Kunis, who came in at number five on the list, and wowed audiences with her stunning beauty as an outgoing ballerina.

 

Photos of Victoria's Secret model Bar Refaeli in a bikini are not hard to find. Perhaps that's why she came in at number six on Maxim's Hot 100 list for 2011.

Actress Anne Hathaway reigns supreme at number seven on the list.

It has certainly been the year of Natalie Portman, from her riveting role in "Black Swan" to her announcement that she'd soon be a mother, so it's no wonder that she also claims a spot on the Maxim list.

"How I Met Your Mother" star Cobie Smulders stripped down for Maxim's December cover, and has landed in the magazine yet again at number on the Maxim Hot 100 list.

"Winter's Bone" actress Jennifer Lawrence scored the number ten spot on the Maxim Hot 100 list.

Source: Maxim

10 Notable US Sex Scandals

 Sex Scandals of The Powerful

In 2007, French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn became the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund. According to a maid at the Sofitel New York Hotel, he sexually assaulted her on May 14, 2011. 

Strauss-Kahn was removed from an Air France flight at Kennedy Airport and arrested that same day, moments before the plane would have taken off and flown him back to France. Two days later, he was charged with multiple felony counts, and if he’s convicted of all of them, he could be sentenced to almost 75 years in prison. 

John Edwards

North Carolina senator John Edwards had served only a portion of his one term in the US senate before running for president in 2004. He lost the nomination, but was selected as Democratic nominee John Kerry’s running mate. The duo was dubbed “Kedwards,” a la “Bennifer” and “Brangelina,” and went on to lose the election to incumbent president George W. Bush. His wife, the late Elizabeth Edwards, was considered his best political advisor. 

After Edwards’ unsuccessful 2008 bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, a story broke in The National Enquirer that he was having an extramarital affair. It turned out to be spot-on. Not only had Edwards had an affair with filmmaker Rielle Hunter, but he had fathered a child with her as well. Edwards has since reduced his profile considerably, and it is not known if he plans to return to the national stage.

Eliot Spitzer

Eliot Spitzer was the governor of New York State, and fellow Democratic governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico had once hailed him as the "future of the party." However, the honeymoon ended quickly. After his January 2007 inauguration, he began making enemies both in the state legislature and on Wall Street. By the time his first year in office was finished, he had lost much of his support. 

In March 2008, The New York Times reported that Spitzer had patronized a prostitution ring called The Emperor’s Club. From there, Spitzer’s hold on public office quickly unraveled. Within two weeks he had resigned, and was replaced by Lieutenant Governor David Paterson. Since then, Spitzer has made inroads as a political commentator and hosts his own show, In The Arena, on CNN.

John Ensign

John Ensign was a Republican senator from Nevada who took office in 2001. He resigned in May 2011 after revelations that he was having an affair with Cynthia Hampton, the wife of one of his top aides. The aide, Douglas Hampton, confronted Ensign about the affair in 2008, and the senator pulled strings to place him with a lobbying firm, despite the fact that senior aides are prohibited from lobbying for a year after they leave their jobs. 

An investigation by the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) revealed other improprieties on Ensign’s part, including sexual harassment. Ensign finally came clean about the affair in June 2009 and stepped down from his post as chairman of the Republican Policy Committee. He resigned his senate seat on May 3, 2011. A report filed by the Special Counsel to the Senate Select Committee on Ethics accuses Ensign of a number of violations related to the affair. He could be the target of federal prosecutors.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

The Austrian-born bodybuilder won the Mr. Universe title at the age of 20, but he wanted more. Hollywood beckoned. Schwarzenegger went on to become one of the most bankable action movie stars in the world, with the success of The Terminator, Commando and Total Recall. However, in 2003 he became governor of California, his most impressive role yet. 

“The Governator” served for over seven years, and left office in January 2011. Then, on May 9, 2011, he and wife Maria Shriver announced that they were separating after 25 years of marriage. The Los Angeles Times revealed that the actor and politician had fathered a child out of wedlock ten years earlier with one of their family’s household staff, and while it’s too early to tell what kind of an effect this revelation will have on Schwarzenegger’s future, he asked that his family be respected and left alone. "While I deserve your attention and criticism,” he said in a statement, “my family does not. "

Mark Hurd

Mark Hurd is the director of the Oracle Corporation, but he is best known for his last job, CEO of Hewlett-Packard. He joined the company in 2005 and immediately made his presence felt by laying off 10% of its employees. He then responded to the recent recession by cutting salaries across the board, including his own, which he slashed by 20%. However, the company became an industry leader once he took over, so few questioned his methods. 

In August 2010, Hurd resigned from HP following allegations of sexual harassment, and he received a severance package of almost $35 million. However, Oracle Corporation CEO Larry Ellison, a close friend of Hurd’s, was incensed, and sent a letter to The New York Times claiming, “HP had a long list of failed CEOs until they hired Mark who has spent the last five years doing a brilliant job reviving HP to its former greatness.”

Gary Hart

Gary Hart was a Democratic senator from Colorado who made his first attempt at the presidential nomination in 1984. He lost to former Vice President Walter Mondale, who went on to suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of incumbent president Ronald Reagan. Hart returned for round two during the following election cycle and announced his candidacy in April 1987. However, allegations that he was embroiled in an extramarital affair surfaced before long. 

Hart decided to tackle the rumors head-on. He dared The New York Times to see for itself whether the rumors were true by saying, " If anybody wants to put a tail on me, go ahead." The Times declined the offer, but The Miami Herald didn’t, and they soon turned up a photograph of a smiling Hart with actress Donna Rice on his lap. The photo ran in The National Enquirer, and Hart’s status as the presumed frontrunner for the 1988 nomination vanished.

Kwame Kilpatrick

Kwame Kilpatrick was the former mayor of Detroit. He first served the public in 1996 when he won a seat in the Michigan House of Representatives, and when he was elected mayor of Detroit in 2001, he was only 31 years old, the youngest person ever to the office. However, he was dogged by scandals that started off badly and only got worse. He was alleged to have held a party with strippers in the mayor’s mansion, and Kilpatrick’s wife allegedly assaulted one of them. One of the dancers was murdered one year later with a gun similar to those carried by the Detroit police. 

In 2008 The Detroit Free Press examined thousands of texts between the mayor and his chief of staff, Christine Beatty, which revealed the two to be having an affair and embarking on romantic getaways financed with taxpayer funds. Kilpatrick was charged with misconduct in office, obstruction of justice, perjury, embezzlement, abuse of power, assault of a police officer, tax evasion and fraud. He has had new criminal charges leveled against him since then, and as recently as December 2010, he was indicted on new corruption charges that could keep him in jail for 30 years. He is currently in a federal penitentiary.

Larry Craig

Larry Craig was a Republican senator from Idaho who served in that office for 18 years, and in the House of Representatives for ten years prior to that. His 28 years representing the people of the Gem State is one of the longest in Idaho history, but his reputation was permanently tarnished when he was arrested in the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in 2007 for lewd conduct. 

Several people had complained that the airport’s men’s room had been used for sexual activity, and a police officer had staked out one of the stalls to investigate. The officer saw Craig peeking into the stall, then tapping his foot as a signal that he wished to engage in sexual hijinx. He moved his foot closer and closer until it touched the officer’s foot, and then put his hand under the divider. 

Craig was arrested, but insisted that it was all a misunderstanding, that he favored a “wide stance” at the urinal and that he had put his hand under the stall to pick up a piece of paper that he had dropped. He ultimately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct and paid a $575 fine, although he always maintained that he was a victim of entrapment. Many of his senate allies urged him to resign, but he served out the remainder of his term and left office in 2009.

Jack Ryan

Before entering politics, Illinois Republican Jack Ryan worked for the Chicago branch of Goldman Sachs. When the company went public, he had a net worth of hundreds of millions of dollars, which allowed him to retire. However, greener pastures beckoned, and in 2004 he pursued the seat that was being vacated by outgoing senator, Peter Fitzgerald. He won the Republican primary and became the candidate for senate for the state of Illinois, but sadly, it was not to be. 

During divorce proceedings, records were unsealed and went public, and so did allegations by his soon to be ex-wife Jeri Ryan, better known as Seven of Nine from Star Trek: Voyager. She claimed that he had asked her to accompany him to bondage-themed sex clubs in New York, New Orleans, and Paris, and just a week after the records were made public, Ryan dropped out of the race. The Illinois GOP was forced into a last-minute scramble to find a candidate to replace him, settling on conservative activist and three-time presidential candidate Alan Keyes. Keyes won 27% of the vote, losing the election to an unknown state senator named Barack Obama.

Jim McGreevey

Jim McGreevey was the 52nd governor of the state of New Jersey. The Democrat and former three-term mayor of Woodbridge Township also served concurrently in the state senate during his first term as mayor. He had run for governor once before in 1997, but was unable to beat the incumbent, Christie Todd Whitman. However, he ran again in 2001 and won. 

McGreevey appointed Israeli Defense Forces veteran Golan Cipel as his homeland security advisor. The choice immediately raised eyebrows, as Cipel was not a US citizen and was unable to gain a security approval from the Federal government. Cipel stepped down from his position in 2002, but he threatened to sue the governor for sexual harassment, forcing McGreevey’s hand. in August 2004, McGreevey called a press conference, in which he admitted to being gay. He then resigned, effective November 15, 2004.
Source: CNBC News