The scene: GQ magazine’s Tuesday night bash...

The scene: GQ magazine’s Tuesday night bash for January cover-boy Pat Riley at the grand opening of the China Club, 1600 N. Argyle Ave., Hollywood. The Lakers’ coach-fashion plate-Chrysler Plymouth spokesmodel is as hotly sought a personality as his players these days. (But are we to believe those reports that he was up for the Kurt Russell role in “Tequila Sunrise” or is that an over-imaginative publicist’s work?)

The buzz: The night actually was three parties--a GQ bash, a Riley salute and a peek at the China Club, expected to be one of Los Angeles’ hottest ’89 night spots. It’s on the site of the old punk rock club Cathay de Grande, newly refurbished with blue walls, industrial gray carpets, Pirelli-rubber staircases and a handsome wooden bar. The place was so new it had the air of fresh paint.

Who was there: Riley; GQ editor-in-chief Art Cooper and publisher Michael Clinton; Sylvester Stallone and bodyguards; actress Dyan Cannon; mogul Michael Eisner; actor Treat Williams with Dana Delany; actress Teri Garr; actors Brian Dennehy, Scott Baio, Peter Scolari and Dean Stockwell; broadcast personality Wil Shriner; sportscaster Pat O’Brien; sportscaster-turned-KCBS anchorman Jim Lampley; singer Julie Brown. No Lakers players were visible.

Justine Bateman watch: The party girl nonpareil was downstairs with that other party girl, Allee Willis.

Dress mode: Anything went for women; natty suits for the men. A few guys had their hair slicked back, Riley style.

Overheard: Mucho mano-a-mano talk, most of it unprintable. “Check out the blonde. She wouldn’t even talk to guys who make our kind of money.”

Entertainment: Dancing to good Motown. Dancing to awful ‘70s hits. Watching over-muscled bartenders do dizzying backhanded catches with the beer before opening it and forking it over. A live band, Boys Town, went on at 10 o’clock, but by then guests were heading out the door.

Chow: Nouvelle Chinese. Chicken on a stick, doughy things that were half potsticker, half knish; delicious beef ribs.

Favors: GQ shopping bags with T-shirts and the January issue inside. Early arrivals got postage stamp-sized lapel pins, miniature replicas of the magazine cover.

Triumphs: The party buzz indicated that the China Club is a hit. The real test will come when another New York transplant club, B.C., opens soon.

Glitches: At times the action was faster and more furious than on the Forum hardwood. Full-court presses with drinks and lit cigarettes made circling the room tough, if not impossible.