DAVID by Max Friedland

www.davidlv.com JULY 2012

SMOKE & GIGGLES CURTAINS UP ON THE LOCAL ENTERTAINMENT BIZ

STKing IT OUT SEGAL’S THE ONE GROUP, POSITIONED FOR GROWTH

REAL ESTATE ROLLERCOASTER

ROCK INC. HEAVY METAL MONSTERS OF THE BOARDROOM

THE CURIOUS TALE OF A VEGAS HOUSING BOOMLET

CATCHING A WAVE LEVITAN’S ENDLESS SUMMER IN THE DESERT

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Las Vegas Design Center is home to the city’s most comprehensive selection of home furnishings and interior design resources. LOCATED AT WORLD MARKET CENTER LAS VEGAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, 10AM TO 5PM AND SATURDAY, 10AM TO 3PM COMPLIMENTARY VALET PARKING · LVDESIGNCENTER.COM

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July

pulse

live

think

grill

explore The month’s event listings to help plan your day or your stay devour Where to find some of the best eats, drinks and foodie happenings in the Valley desire Sin City abounds in world-class shopping ... these are a few of our favorite things discover Hot spots to go, cool things to do, hip people to see—the Entertainment Capital of the World, need we say more mingle Snapshots of the latest, greatest Vegas events

speak Local humorist, Corey Levitan attempts to find the perfect wave in the desert. Clearly he knows something we don’t. 32 know English entrepreneur, Jonathan Segal’s The One Group is betting on Vegas with the launch of two new ventures. He also has great things happening across the pond in time for the Summer Olympics. 36 taste Grill guru, Meathead Goldwyn walks us through the choices of equipment for the perfect backyard barbecue. Gas or charcoal anyone?

Real Estate Rollercoaster What’s happening in the Las Vegas market and why are there so few houses to sell? Rock Inc. From the stage to the boardroom, iconic entertainers are finding ways to make a buck. Smoke & Giggles Exploring the business side of the Vegas shows that make the Vegas green.

Stephen Sondhein & Artist Martin Kreloff The month’s spotlight on an institution of interest

on the cover Gene Simmons at the Kiss and Motely Crue Tour Press Conference at the Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, CA. on March 20, 2012.

Copyright 2012 by JewishINK LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. DAVID MAGAZINE is protected as a trademark in the United States. Subscribers: If the Postal Service alerts us that your magazine is undeliverable, we are under no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address within one year. The publisher accepts no responsibility for unsolicited or contributed manuscripts, photographs, artwork or advertisements. Submissions will not be returned unless arranged for in writing. DAVID MAGAZINE is a monthly publication. All information regarding editorial content or property for sale is deemed reliable. No representation is made as to the accuracy hereof and is printed subject to errors and omissions.

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Publisher/Editor Associate Publisher

Max Friedland

max@davidlv.com editor@davidlv.com

Joanne Friedland

joanne@davidlv.com

EDITORIALllllllll

Editorial Assistant

Brianna Soloski

Copy Editor

Pat Teague

Jeremy Leopold a

Contributing Writers

brianna@davidlv.com

Marisa Finetti Meathead Goldwyn Jaq Greenspon Corey Levitan Brian Sodoma Pat Teague Katherine Turman

ART & PHOTOGRAPHY

Art Director/ Photographer

CARLOS BANCHIK, P.E. PRESIDENT

Innovating Solutions For You ÂŠ

Steven Wilson

steve@davidlv.com

ADVERTISING & MARKETING (702) 220-6640 1432 S. Jones Blvd. Las Vegas, NV 89146 www.innovanv.com

Advertising Director

Innova is providing creative construction engineering support for the new High Roller Observation Wheel near the Las Vegas Strip.

Joanne Friedland joanne@davidlv.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS 702-254-2223 | subscribe@davidlv.com

Volume 03 Number03 www.davidlv.com DAVID Magazine is published 12 times a year.

To advertise in DAVID Magazine, call 702-254-2223 or email ads@davidlv.com To subscribe to DAVID Magazine, call 702.254-2223 or email subscibe@davidlv.com

DAVID Magazine sets high standards to ensure forestry is practiced in an environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable manner. This copy of DAVID Magazine was printed by American Web in Denver, Colo., on paper from well-managed forests which meet EPA guidelines that recommend use of recovered fibers for coated papers. Inks used contain a blend of soy base. Our printer meets or exceeds all federal Resource Conservation Recovery Act standards and is a certified member of both the Forest Stewardship Council and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. When you are done with this issue, please pass it on to a friend or recycle it.

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contributors

Marisa Finetti is a local writer, marketing professional and blogger. The Tokyoborn Finetti has called Las Vegas home since 2005. She has written for such publications as Spirit and Las Vegas and Nevada magazines and has a healthy-living blog at bestbewell.com. When she’s not writing, Finetti enjoys family time with her husband and two boys.

Meathead Goldwyn is the Barbecue Whisperer and Hedonism Evangelist behind the world’s most popular barbecue website, AmazingRibs.com

Jaq Greenspon is a noted local journalist, screenwriter and author with credits on The New Adventures of Robin Hood and Star Trek: The Next Generation. He also is a literary and movie critic, has taught and written about filmmaking but is most proud of his role in the film, Lotto Love. A Vegas resident for most of his life, his native language is Hebrew, but he doesn’t speak it anymore.

Corey Levitan is a local journalist who was laid off four months before the Nevada Press Association named his “Fear and Loafing” series the Best Local Column of 2011. He is now a freelance writer, a new dad and a pauper. With unexpected time on his hands he has become a three-time NASCAR champion, an avid shrunken head collector and is now in training to become the first eunuch in space.

Lynn WexlerMargolies has been a feature writer and contributor for magazines and newspapers, locally and nationally, for over 20 years. She writes a monthly online column entitled Manners in the News, which comments on the behavior of politicians, celebrities and others thrust in the public arena. She is the Founder and President of Perfectly Poised, a school of manners that teaches social, personal and business etiquette to young people. She is a former TV Reporter and News Anchor. Of her many accomplishments, she is most proud of her three outstanding teenaged children.

Pat Teague has been a practicing journalist, manager and editor for international and regional wire services, and has worked for several metropolitan daily newspapers. He also has worked for one of the world’s largest corporations and was one of five Southern Californians in the Los Angeles chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists honored in 2000 for career achievement.

Katherine Turman likes cats, horses, books, wine, Slayer and sideshows. In her “day job,” she produces a night time radio show for Alice Cooper. At night she works on “Louder Than Hell,” a book covering the entire history of heavy metal music, due out on HarperCollins in late 2012. She’s written for pubs including the LA Times, Pool & Spa News, Rolling Stone and ‘TEEN. She did not enlist a wedding planner for her own nuptials, and ended up catching the venue on fire on her wedding night. She’s an LA native, USC J-school graduate, and lives in a Brooklyn basement with an Abyssinian.

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feedback Dear Editor, During my visit to Las Vegas last December I picked up a copy of that month’s DAVID Magazine. I was drawn to the whimsical cover photograph of a yiddisher Santa, how very funny. Sometimes humor helps us deal with very difficult situations. Our daughter had just announced to the family that she is to marry outside of her Jewish faith. Coming from a tightly knit Jewish community in Farmington Hills, this was not easy to understand let alone accept. Your handling of such a challenging family situation, with humor and a lack of judgment has been a gift at an important time. The article represented the situation so well! I have, unfortunately mislaid my copy and would very much like you to mail me another. I got your contact information from you fabulous website. You have produced a beautiful magazine for Las Vegas, best of luck. Sincerely, Marty Roth Farmington Hills, MI

DAVID Magazine is the perfect companion for your day at the beach. Pack the July issue into your bag along with towels, snacks, sun block and lots of water. Snap some pictures while you tan and you too could win a year’s subscription to DAVID. To enter submit your photos to editor@davidlv.com

Thanks for making me smile! Joyce Harvey Henderson

UPCOMING ISSUES AUG SEPT OCT

MEDICAL MAVENS HIGH HOLY DAYS ELECTION EDITION

To the Editor, I have been reading DAVID Magazine for sometime now. I look forward to picking it up in the center where my office is. It was a great joy to me when I saw you feature Colin Cowie in your June Wedding Edition. I have been a fan of his for a long time, and I follow him closely. He is truly the very best in the field, I have all his books and can’t wait until he publishes another. I plan to use his advice when I plan my upcoming wedding.

DEADLINE - JUL 20 DEADLINE - AUG 17 DEADLINE - SEPT 21

To advertise, please call Joanne

We want to hear from you! Compliments and complaints are welcome, but only if we get them. Send them to the editor at editor@davidlv.com with “Letter to Editor” in the subject line or mail them to DAVID, 1930 Village Center Circle, No. 3-459, Las Vegas, NV 89134

702.254.2223 • CELL 702.497.2092 joanne@davidlv.com • www.davidlv.com

PHONE

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from the publisher Just off the 15 freeway snaking through the sweltering Mojave, a once lonely desert watering hole now claims the mantle of “Entertainment Capital of the World.” The city ever evolving, with dynamite and determination, defies the stereotype. The Strip’s iconic neon hucksterism now rivals the other canyon farther south. Sin City’s glitz and glamour are such that we can be forgiven for failing to consider what lies behind its façade. Service is so slick a visitor is oblivious to the reality of a military-sized workforce that makes it all happen. This month, we focus on the business behind the biz — celebrity-owned or licensed venues and those intrepid producers who cobble together the shows that keep the city buzzing. We look at a food and beverage company that’s expanding its operations, and the vision of its founder, a true believer in our sassy oasis. The explosive growth of the Valley during the not-so-distant boom years is over. Las Vegas has claimed another sobriquet, one less coveted. The entertainment capital is the foreclosure capital, too, or was. A city famous for prizefights wears multiple belts. For the last few weeks, though, real estate agents have been pounding on my door, lamenting the shortage of homes for sale. They ask if I want to sell mine. Presentations are elaborate; long-forgotten terms, such as “top dollar” and “easy finance,” litter the conversation. I asked Pat Teague to find out what is going on; his Real Estate Rollercoaster piece can be found on pages 42-45. As the mercury column in our trusty (if antiquated), wallmounted thermometer rises, the chorus of neighborhood air conditioner compressors drowns out nature’s sounds; grilling smells waft in from the backyard, heralding the dog days of summer (The ancients believed that Sirius, or the Dog Star, with its close proximity to the sun, was responsible for the estival heat.) The battle for control over the home thermostat is again in earnest. Full disclosure: I live with two women – a wife and a daughter. Their hormones or lack of (no attempt made at being scientific) require temperature levels that oscillate between arctic permafrost and the fiery pits of hell. The dance of the dials will continue for weeks. This is the time of year when I rub my long-since-callused surfer knees and wish for a wipeout. No kidding. It has gotten so bad that I dream of tumbling tethered, lungs bursting in the ocean’s brine. Corey Levitan’s Catching a Wave, pages 28-31, speaks for all of us sandpipers marooned in the desert. When the wind blows in from the west, we expand our lungs and try to fool ourselves that we hear the surf. As he, however so artfully, puts it: “We carry the beach within us no matter where we are; it is a state of mind after all.” Enjoy the sunshine, use sun block, wear a hat and drink a lot of liquids.

Max Friedland max@davidlv.com JULY 2012 DAVID

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We Have Fully Furnished Homes, Condos & Townhouses For Rent... All Over The Las Vegas Valley

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pulse INSIDE explore @ 14 devour @ 19 desire @ 20 discover @ 22

Chris Botti, July 6, pg. 15 JULY 2012 DAVID

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eXplore L A S

“Mythos” Exhibition Through Aug. 23, Mon.-Thurs. 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m., free. Las Vegas City Hall Terrace Gallery, 495 S. Main St., Second floor, (702) 229-1012. artslasvegas.org “You are Here” Exhibition Through Sept. 1, Wed.-Fri. 12:30-9 p.m.; Sat. 10 a.m.7 p.m., free. Charleston Heights Arts Center Gallery, 800 S. Brush St., (702) 229-6383. artslasvegas.org

V E G A S

The Art of Conrad Collette: Impressionist Through July 8, Mon.-Thurs. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. & Fri.-Sun. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., free. Rainbow Library, 3150 N. Buffalo Dr., Las Vegas. 702-507-3710. lvccld.org Chinese Brush Painting Through July 10, Mon.-Thurs. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. & Fri.-Sun. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., free. Spring Valley Library, 4280 S. Jones Blvd., Las Vegas. 702-507-3820. lvccld.org Art in Action: Spring Break Teen Art Camp Art Exhibition Through July 15, Mon.-Thurs. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. & Fri.-Sun. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., free. Sunrise Library, 5400 Harris Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-507-3900. lvccld.org Class Act by Susanne Forestieri Through July 29, Mon.-Thurs. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. & Fri.-Sun. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., free. Centennial Hills Library, 6711 N. Buffalo Drive, Las Vegas. 702-507-6100. lvccld.org Art in Action: Spring Break Teen Art Camp Art Exhibition Through July 31, Mon.-Thurs. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. & Fri.-Sun. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., free. Sahara West Library, 9600 W. Sahara Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-507-3630. lvccld.org

3 Steven Wright Through July 14, 8 p.m., $34.95. Orleans Hotel & Casino, 4500 W. Tropicana Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-365-7111. orleanscasino.com

JULY 1

Soar by Luis Varela-Rico Through July 28, Tues.-Sat. 12-6 p.m., free. Brett Wesley Gallery, 1112 S. Casino Center Blvd., Las Vegas. 702-433-4433. brettwesleygallery.com True Stories by Nathan Douglas Through July 28, Tues.-Sat. 12-6 p.m., free. Brett Wesley Gallery, 1112 S. Casino Center Blvd., Las Vegas. 702-433-4433. brettwesleygallery.com Celine Dion Through July 31, 7:30 p.m., $55-$250. Colosseum at Caesars Palace, 3570 Las Vegas Blvd S., Las Vegas. 702-731-7110 caesarspalace.com

“April Showers Bring May Flowers” Exhibition By appointment only, free. Historic Fifth Street School Mayor’s Gallery, 401 S. Fourth St., (702) 229-1012. artslasvegas.org

Tuesday Afternoon at the Bijou Tues. through July 31, 1 p.m., free. Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. 702-507-3459. lvccld.org Cleveland Museum of Art: The Art of Adornment 11 a.m., free. Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, 888 W. Bonneville Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-483-6023. keepmemoryalive.org

Celebrating Life! 2012 Juried Exhibition Through July 11, Wed.-Fri. 12:30-9 p.m.; Sat. 10 a.m.-7 p.m., free. Charleston Heights Arts Center Ballroom, 800 S. Brush St., (702) 229-6383. artslasvegas.org “Red, White and Blue” Exhibition Through July 19, Mon.-Thurs., 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m., free. Las Vegas City Hall Chamber Gallery, 495 S. Main St., Second floor, (702) 229-1012 artslasvegas.org

Dat Phan at Improv at Harrah's Through July 8, with special guests Tim Jones & Wendy Hammers. 8:30 & 10 p.m., $29.05$44.95. Harrah's Hotel & Casino, 3475 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-369-5223. harrahslasvegas.com

64th Annual Boulder City Damboree Celebration 9 a.m.-9 p.m., free. Various locations around Boulder City. For more information, call 702-293-9256. bcnv.org

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PHOTOGRAPHIC ADVENTURES PHOTOGRAPHY CLASS: INTERMEDIATE 11 a.m., free. Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. 702-507-3459. lvccld.org PHOTOGRAPHIC ADVENTURES PHOTOGRAPHY CLASS: ADVANCED 2 p.m., free. Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. 702-507-3459. lvccld.org

Carlos Mencia, July 6

LAS VEGAS JEWISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MIXER 6 p.m. Oscar's at the Plaza, 1 South Main Street, Las Vegas. For more information, call 702-3181605 or e-mail seanhenn702@gmail.com brettwesleygallery.com

CARLOS MENCIA 9 p.m., $49. Treasure Island, 3300 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-894-7722 treasureisland.com

CLARK COUNTY ART GUILD MEMBERS SHOW Through Oct. 2, Mon.-Thurs. 10 a.m.7 p.m. & Fri.-Sun. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., free. Rainbow Library, 3150 N. Buffalo Dr., Las Vegas. 702-507-3710. lvccld.org

CTA FEATURING DANNY SERAPHINE Through July 7, 8 p.m., $38-$51. The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Avenue, Las Vegas.702-749-2000. thesmithcenter.com

SINGLE IN THE CITY: THE DATING GAME 7 p.m., $7-$10. JCC of Southern Nevada, 9001 Hillpointe Road, Las Vegas. 702-794-0090 jccsn.org

CHRIS BOTTI 8:30 p.m., $29-$85. The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park, Las Vegas. 702749-2000. thesmithcenter.com PHOTOGRAPHIC ADVENTURES PHOTOGRAPHY CLASS: BASIC 3 p.m., free. Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. 702-507-3459. lvccld.org FARM TO STRIP DINNERS Through July 7, 6 p.m. First Food & Bar at Palazzo, 3325 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-607-7777. palazzo.com

ART & WINE AT BELLAGIO GALLERY OF FINE ART 5 p.m., $30-$38, 21+. Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-693-7871. bellagio.com SUPER SUMMER THEATRE: OLIVER! Through July 28, 8 p.m., $12-$20. Spring Mountain Ranch State Park. For more information, call 702-594-7529. supersummertheatre.org

Happy INdependence day

FIRST FRIDAY 6 p.m., various locations downtown. For more information, call 702384-0092. firstfriday-lasvegas.org

301 N. Buffalo Drive 255-3444

FOSTER THE PEOPLE 9 p.m., $35, 18+. Boulevard Pool at the Cosmopolitan, 3708 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-698-7000 cosmopolitanlasvegas.com

www.thebagelcafelv.com

LAS VEGAS CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL & PASTRY SHOW 8 p.m., $25-$75. The Venetian, 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-414-1000 sincitychocolatefestival.com THE TEMPTATIONS Through July 8, 8 p.m., $34.95. Orleans Hotel & Casino, 4500 W. Tropicana Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-365-7075. orleanscasino.com

WhereTheLocalsEat.com

K.D. Lang, July 13 JULY 2012 DAVID

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Summer Blood Drive 12-5 p.m., free. Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. 702-507-3459. lvccld.org Saturday Movie Matinee: Sherlock Holmes - A Game of Shadow 2 p.m., free. Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. 702-507-3459. lvccld.org Growing Up Gypsy and Becoming American 2 p.m., free. Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. 702-5073459. lvccld.org Demi Lovato 7:30 p.m., $47.14$85.24. Planet Hollywood, 3667 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-785-5555. planethollywoodresort.com

15 Lynda Carter, July 14

Il Divo Through July 14, 8 p.m., $55$125. Colosseum at Caesars Palace, 3570 Las Vegas Blvd S., Las Vegas. 702-731-7110 caesarspalace.com Rene Hagedorn Photography Through Sept. 18, Mon.-Thurs. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. & Fri.-Sun. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., free. Spring Valley Library, 4280 S. Jones Blvd., Las Vegas. 702507-3820. lvccld.org Where Art Thou 4 7 p.m., $18. David Barton Gym at Tivoli Village, 400 S. Rampart Blvd., Las Vegas. For more information, contact Neil Popish at the JCC of Southern Nevada. 702-794-0090. jccsn.org

Jewish Geneology Society Featuring member photographs & heirlooms. 1 p.m., free. Sahara West Library, 9600 W. Sahara Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-528-4334 jgssn.org Aretha Franklin 7:30 p.m., $49.50$155. Colosseum at Caesars Palace, 3570 Las Vegas Blvd S., Las Vegas. 702-731-7110 caesarspalace.com Harry Potter Magic Show 2 p.m., free. Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. 702-507-3459. lvccld.org

Dream a Little Dream by the Vegas Artists Guild Through Sept. 4, Mon.-Thurs. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. & Fri.-Sun. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., free. Sunrise Library, 5400 Harris Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-507-3900. lvccld.org

K.D. Lang & the Siss Boom Bang 7:30 p.m., $30-$109. The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park, Las Vegas. 702-749-2000. thesmithcenter.com Steven Wright Through July 14, 8 p.m., $34.95. Orleans Hotel & Casino, 4500 W. Tropicana Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-365-7111. orleanscasino.com Aaron Lewis 8 p.m., $40.50. Paradise Pool at Hard Rock, 4455 Paradise Road, Las Vegas. 702-797-7777. hardrockhotel.com

Stephen Sondheim, A Life in the Theater: An Evening of Music and Conversation 8 p.m., $29-$85. The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park, Las Vegas. 702749-2000. thesmithcenter.com Lynda Carter Through July 15, 7:30 p.m., $15.95. Suncoast, 9090 Alta Drive, Las Vegas. 702-636.7075. suncoastcasino.com

Bill Cosby, July 20

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Dr. H.L. Greenberg, Dermatologist

The Temptations, July 7

Cleveland Museum of Art: African Art - Secular & Supernatural 11 a.m., free. Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, 888 W. Bonneville Avenue, Las Vegas. 702483-6023. keepmemoryalive.org

Meredith LeVande & Monkey Monkey Band 10:30 a.m. & 2 p.m., $3. Charleston Heights Art Center, 800 S. Brush Street, Las Vegas. 702-229-6383 artslasvegas.org Memphis Through July 22, 7:30 & 2 p.m., $27$141. The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park, Las Vegas. 702-749-2000. thesmithcenter.com

Garth Brooks Through July 21, 7:30 & 10:30 p.m., $225. Wynn Las Vegas, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-770-7000 wynnlasvegas.com

Bill Cosby 8 p.m., $59. Treasure Island, 3300 S. Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas. 702-8947722 treasureisland.com Joe Nichols 7 p.m., $30-$45. Silverton Hotel, 3333 Blue Diamond Road, Las Vegas. 702-263-7777. silvertoncasino.com

The Airborne Toxic Event 9 p.m, $32.50. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, 4455 Paradise Road, Las Vegas. 702-693-4414. hardrockhotel.com

The Scintas Through July 22, 7:30 p.m., $29.95. Suncoast Hotel & Casino, 9090 Alta Drive, Las Vegas. 702-636-7075. suncoastcasino.com Sublime with Rome & Cypress Hill 9 p.m., $53.55. Mandalay Bay Beach, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-632-7414. mandalaybay.com

At the Sinatra Club: A One Man Play 2 p.m., free. Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. 702-507-3459. lvccld.org

A Taste of Melton 7 p.m., free. JCC of Southern Nevada, 9001 Hillpointe Road, Las Vegas. For more information, contact Lynn Wexler-Margolies at meltonminischool.lynn@aol.com brettwesleygallery.com

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JULY 2012 DAVID

4/18/12 9:01 AM

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Candlelighting Tammuz/AV 5772 FRIDAY, JULY 6, TAMMUZ 16 Light candles at7:43 p.m.

SATURDAY, JULY 7, TAMMUZ 17 Shabbat ends 8:46 p.m.

SUNDAY, JULY 8, TAMMUZ 18 Fast of Tammuz Fast begins at 3:42 a.m. Fast ends at 8:35 p.m.

FRIDAY, JULY 13, TAMMUZ 23 Light candles at 7:41 p.m.

SATURDAY, JULY 14, TAMMUZ 24 Blessing of the New Month Shabbat ends at 8:43 p.m.

FRIDAY, JULY 20, AV 1 Rosh Chodesh Av Light candles at 7:37 p.m.

SATURDAY, JULY 21, AV 2 Shabbat ends at 8:38 p.m.

FRIDAY, JULY 27, AV 8 Light candles at 7:32 p.m.

SATURDAY, JULY 28, AV 9 Fast begins at 7:45 p.m. Shabbat ends at 8:32 p.m.

SUNDAY, JULY 29, AV 10 Fast of 9th of Av Fast ends at 8:21 p.m.

Kelly Clarkson, July 27

HAMPSTEAD STAGE COMPANY'S THE WIZARD OF OZ 11 a.m., free. Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. 702-507-3459. lvccld.org

ALEX & THE KALEIDOSCOPE BAND 10:30 a.m. & 2 p.m., $3. Historic 5th Street School, 401 S. Fourth Street, Las Vegas. 702-229-6383 artslasvegas.org

THE FRAY & KELLY CLARKSON 9 p.m., $75. The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan, 3708 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-698-7000 cosmopolitanlasvegas.com PIA ZADORA Through July 28, 8 & 7 p.m., $36-$43. The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park, Las Vegas. 702-749-2000. thesmithcenter.com DANCE IN THE DESERT FESTIVAL 2012 Through July 28, 2 & 7 p.m., $8-$10. Nicholas J. Horn Theatre at College of Southern Nevada, 3200 E. Cheyenne Avenue, 702-6515483 csn.edu/pac

SATURDAY MOVIE MATINEE: SAFE HOUSE 2 p.m., free. Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. 702-507-3459. lvccld.org

BARENAKED LADIES 8 p.m., $36.50$178.50. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, 4455 Paradise Road, Las Vegas. 702-693-5583. hardrockhotel.com TENACIOUS D 8:30 p.m., $54-$84.50. Mandalay Bay, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-632-7414. mandalaybay.com

SINGLE IN THE CITY: BUFFET DINNER WITH A TWIST 7 p.m., $20-$25, 55+. For more information or to register, call Neil Popish at 702-794-0090. jccsn.org

LAS VEGAS NEWS BUREAU PHOTOGRAPHS Through Sept. 23, Mon.Thurs. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. & Fri.-Sun. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., free. Centennial Hills Library, 6711 N. Buffalo Drive, Las Vegas. 702-507-6100. lvccld.org RELIENT K 6:30 p.m., $20-$23. Mandalay Bay, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-6327414. mandalaybay.com

To submit your event information, email calendar@davidlv.com by the 15th of the month prior to the month in which the event is being held.

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devour Bar Menu @ Flemings In keeping with the trend of appetizers and drinks for dinner, Fleming’s unveiled their new a la carte bar menu last month. However, the items offered on this menu are more substantial than typical appetizer fare and will leave you feeling far more satisfied. There are six items on the menu, including Prime Steakhouse Meatballs with peppercorn sauce and shitake mushrooms; Cedar-roasted Mushroom & Artichoke Flatbread, topped with two types of cheese and onion confit; and Fleming’s Housemade Burrata, served with charred cherry tomatoes, fresh wild arugula, and garlic crostinis. The menu provides affordable options for those folks seeking great food on a budget. Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, 8721 W. Charleston Blvd., Las Vegas. 702-838-4774. flemingssteakhouse.com

Chocolate and Spice Bakery From Megan Romano, former pastry chef at Aureole, comes Chocolate and Spice Bakery. Educated at Northwestern University, Romano received all of her culinary training on the job, first at Charlie Trotter’s kitchen in Chicago, and later, opening Aqua Terra in Palm Beach, Florida. Chocolate and Spice Bakery offers both sweet and savory options, many of which use Romano family recipes, like the banana vanilla bean cream pie. The bakery offers decadent desserts, veggie frittatas, sandwiches, salads, and soups. Be sure to check it out if you’re craving a sweet after dinner treat. Chocolate and Spice Bakery, 7293 W. Sahara Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-401-9279.

Orange Dreamsicle @ Riviera By now you are basking in the glow of summer, hitting a different pool everyday and working on your tan. Luckily, we live in Vegas and that means there are plenty of options for yummy cocktails to help you stay cool. This year, look no further than the Riviera Hotel & Casino pool. They’re offering more than a dozen cocktails to help you survive the heat of summer. The Orange Dreamsicle is just the right blend of Skyy Infusion Blood Orange Vodka, Coral Crush and Vanilla Cream. Tasting just like an orange creamsicle, this drink will take you right back to childhood summers in the park, with a twist. Be sure to stay hydrated! Riviera Hotel & Casino, 2901 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-7345110. rivierahotel.com JULY 2012 DAVID

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desire

Summer Sites zulily swoons over simple lines and nature-inspired colors and prints of Kate Quinn Organics. Pick up a stylish daily deal for youngsters, like this mod flower bell-sleeved dress bodysuit. zulily.com is a members-only online daily deal site for moms, babies and kids. Original price: $36, zulily price: $15.99. www.zulily.com.

Plant an herb garden in the kitchen or a wall of succulents in the courtyard with a Vertical Living Wall Planter and enjoy the fresh beauty of nature. $19 -$39. www.grandinroad.com.

Fab is the marketplace for discovering everyday design. Items are featured for a short time, like Karma Living’s line of Olympics-inspired pillows that bring the excitement and culture of the Games to the comfort of home. Original price: $100, Fab price: $40. www.fab.com.

“Canned World” by Anna and Kenneth Gray is a unique statement necklace produced by special commission. It takes about 120 hours to complete. This piece includes use of gold-filled and sterling silver metal, as well as substitution of silver leaf jasper beads by extremely rare (one deposit in the world only) and beautiful seraphinite beads. $1,750. www.etsy.com.

Paper and design come alive at moo.com, a source of business cards, post cards and mini cards. Reach out to family and friends with your unique artwork, or choose from thousands of designs. Starting at $39 with envelopes. www.moo.com. 20 DAVID TAMMUZ/AV 5772

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Stay cool this summer with a stylish entertaining accessory that’s sure to add a refreshing pop of color to the party, like this lime-colored Honey Pot Beverage Dispenser. One Kings Lane gives members insider access to designer décor, gifts, and food and wine selections at up to 70% off retail prices. Items change every few days. Retail price: $80, One Kings Lane price: $29. www.onekingslane.com.

The rubber meets the road in this hip, sporty wedge sandal by Cushe. Tap into the trend for athletic-designed heels that will take you where you want to go in comfort and style. $85. www.grandinroad.com.

Give your dining experience a new look with the Gibson Elite 16-piece Zambezi dinnerware set. Ideeli is a members-only shopping community that offers authentic luxury items at preferential prices. Retail price: $64.99, Ideeli price: $39.99. www.ideeli.com.

The Daily Gym Bag is ultimate carry-all to store your necessities and accommodate a busy lifestyle. It comes with a padded compartment for your laptop, mesh pockets for healthy snacks and a convenient removable wet/dry pouch. $108. www.lululemon.com. JULY 2012 DAVID

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discover Lake Mead Recreational Area

When it comes to water sports, Lake Mead is your best bet in Southern Nevada. Established as the Boulder Dam Recreation Area in 1936, the lake has been a source of water and recreation ever since. A little known fact about the lake is that there is a B29 Superfortress that crashed in the lake in 1948 during a test flight. There are a number of marinas where tourists and locals alike can fish, swim, use water sports equipment and sunbathe. Besides the dedicated marinas, the area has rocky coves and sandy beaches for visitors to explore. There is lodging and camping available at the lake, at Lake Mead Lodge, Temple Bar, and Echo Bay Resort. The recreation areas at the lake are open daily, 24 hours and the visitors center is open 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Lake Mead Recreation Area, 601 National Highway, Boulder City. 702-293-8907. nps.gov/lame/

New England @ Bellagio Conservatory Wish you could escape to the seashore this summer? You can, with Bellagio Conservatory’s newest display, a New England botanical delight. The display transports visitors to the east coast with a lighthouse and florals in colors reminiscent of fall in New England. Visitors can also enjoy jazz and classical musicians performing each day. There is also a carousel, egrets, floral animals, and balloons to enhance the scene. The folks behind the scenes created a lake with a sailboat and recreated Claude Monet’s famous painting Cap Martin, Near Menton out of 1,000 flowers that are placed in a six foot tall frame. The display will be there until September 9. Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-693-8865. Bellagio.com

Da Vinci-The Genius @ Venetian Once again, the Venetian is bringing a huge piece of culture to Las Vegas, this time in the form of Leonardo da Vinci. The display, titled Da Vinci – The Genius, will contain more than 200 pieces from his storied life as an inventor and an artist. Not only will there be lifesize machines, three dimensional renderings of his most famous paintings, and an in depth study of the Mona Lisa, guests will also be encouraged to interact with exhibit, pushing, pulling, and cranking on many of the machines to get a better understanding of the man and his mind. Da Vinci – The Genius, $18-$25, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. Venetian Hotel & Casino, 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-414-1000. Venetian.com 22 DAVID TAMMUZ/AV 5772

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mingle

Las Vegas Honors St. Jude childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s research hospital: An affair of the art

Four Seasons Hotel, Las Vegas Saturday, May 12 Photographs: www.marcfrye.com

JULY 2012 DAVID

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mingle

(left to right)Niki J Sands, Dorit Schwartz, Jennifer Seda, Jennifer Lier, Tanya Amid, Debora Ashton-Cooke and Michelle Perlmutter

hats off to hadassah centenial tea party

Las Vegas Country Club Sunday, March 25

(left to right)Niki J Sands, Dorit Schwartz, Jennifer Seda, Jennifer Lier, Tanya Amid, Debora Ashton-Cooke and Michelle Perlmutter

Photographs by David D. Weinstein

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live INSIDE speak @ 26 know @ 30 taste @ 34

Barbecue Whisperer, Meathead Golwyn. pg. 34 JULY 2012 DAVID

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speak

Catching a Wave Levitanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Endless Summer in the Desert

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have always loved the beach. The Coppertoned air. The churning of wave against sand. Spiking the volleyball over the net with my golden right bicep. Admit it: I had you going until that last one. I have always hated the beach. That’s not difficult when your skin burns like flash paper and hours were required to remove sand from all the places bullies kicked it. In addition, never once has exposing my chest next to an ocean made a female consider me a more likely candidate for sexual relations. There is only one thing I have always loved about the beach and that’s HAVING IT NEARBY. Before I moved to Las Vegas, there were never more than five miles separating me from one. I even grew up in a Long Island town named Oceanside — although the “-side” was apparently 1950s real-estate code for “15 more minutes south.” Later, while living in L.A., I grew comfortable enough to learn to surf — from legendary ’60s surfer/documentarian Bruce

Brown. Of course, like anything else adventurous that ever included me, it happened only once and for an article. But it was a blast, and Brown completely survived my conking him in the head with his own board.  During my desert-dwelling years, I have developed an obsession over the lack of nearby beach for me never to use. Because I can’t have it, I want it worse than ever — much like oral sex during marriage. “But Vegas has ‘beaches,’” the natives tell me, usually followed by admonishments to stop being so down on a town possessing “everything you could ever possibly want.” And so I borrowed a woody, zinced up the schnoz and officially launched my hunt for the closest Las Vegas facsimile. Several suggestions came from my Facebook friends. Sunset Park has sand volleyball courts, they pointed out, as do most of the Strip hotels. Oh, and Green Valley Ranch has a sand-bottom pool. Really, guys? Is a lack of sand really the thing that keeps Las Vegas from seeming like a beach to you?

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A former Desert Shores resident suggested I sample the fake beach there. So I pulled up to the subdivision’s clubhouse with my ragtop down and “Catch a Wave” blasting. From the parking lot, I observed no giant crests of water to ride in from beyond the horizon. Instead, it looked more like someone had dumped 500 truckloads of sand next to a pond and hired a lifeguard. But, hey, maybe there was more to it. Plenty of middle-aged people and kids were happily flitting about, seeming to think they were at a beach. Unfortunately, entry requires a community association card. This news was broken to me by four bronzed teenagers — three female and one male — who blocked the entrance while staring, bewildered, at the putz who brought a surfboard to a pond. I would not be welcome to demonstrate my mad waveriding skills until buying or renting a home here. And, frankly, that seems a bit excessive just for a column (especially one that will just end up with me standing there like a putz who brought a surfboard to a pond). Of course, being a writer of great self-importance, I probably could have arranged a day pass with Desert Shores officials. But what fun would that have been? Besides, if there is a perfect beach for me to find for you in Vegas, it must be one we all can use. And that rules out every hotel beach, starting with by far the best … To enter Mandalay Bay Beach, you must present a room key for either Mandalay Bay, THEhotel or the Four Seasons. And, these days, buying or renting a home at Desert Shores could be cheaper. I’ve been before, though, back when I was a tourist. It’s pretty rad — as we surfers say. There’s a wave pool to boogeyboard in, white sand at the water’s edge and a “lazy river” for innertubing. Still, if you think even the coolest chlorine Disneyland trumps the natural wonder of, say, Zuma Beach by Malibu (my favorite beach

never to use), then you can also save yourself a trip to France’s Eiffel Tower by walking down the street. The Westin at Lake Las Vegas sports a cozy, 500-foot stretch of waterfront accessible by locals for a $15 fee. It can best be described as a really nice try. It’s fluffy with imported white sand that extends beneath the water. If all you want is a peaceful place to tan, it works. But the water is eerily swamplike, suffering from a fishy smell and an almost complete lack of motion. Being absolutely still helps make it great for stand-up paddleboarding, however. In fact, Paddle to the Core founder Kathy Hoesapple commands a tent stocked with about 20 rental boards — which is why no one even blinked at the sight of me walking mine through the Westin lobby. That brings me to (how’d you guess?) Lake Mead, which costs $10 to enter. Many surprises awaited me, in addition to a back sunburn, on my first trip to Boulder Beach. First of all, it’s a very short drive — if you live in Phoenix. Also, the water here is ocean blue and extends almost to the horizon. If you squint really hard, you can pretend it’s Catalina on the other side instead of just more omnipresent mountains of dirt. In some ways, Lake Mead even beats the ocean. The water is much warmer, for one. It’s also fresh, so it doesn’t taste like the hijiki salad at Hachi when you swallow it by accident. And you don’t taste like chicken to the shark that won’t eat you on purpose because he doesn’t live here. In most ways, however, the ocean wins. The whitecapped ripples at Boulder Beach only grow to waves when it’s too windy to enjoy them. And the rocks on shore are big and jagged enough to do more damage than jellyfish to careless feet. Plus, they’re also underneath the lake. So, if you’re going to, say, jump into the water on a bor-

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rowed surfboard, then I would suggest wading at least 50 feet out from shore first or your publisher may end up having to foot the repair bill for the chip you cause in his brother-in-law’s board. (Hypothetically speaking, of course.) Yes, Boulder Beach seems, more than anyplace else in Vegas, like a beach — one that existed on Mars while that planet still had water. Let’s see, where else could that elusive great Vegas beach be hiding from me? One of my Facebook friends told me about the services offered by the Chicken Ranch, including something called a “beach fantasy.” (“Or so I was told by a friend who went,” he added.) I’ll save myself the road trip and divorce proceedings. Of course, there is no ocean-like beach in Nevada. No investigation was necessary to reveal that. But maybe I was in this for another kind of enlightenment. Maybe I should just shut up and learn how to enjoy this short and sweet thing called life wherever I happen to be at the moment. Maybe I should stop tinkling on other people’s happy delusions. Maybe it’s possible for me to bring the beach with me everywhere, in my mind. Or maybe not. Actually, there was one instant that recaptured, nearly perfectly, what I remember the beach being like for me as an adolescent: After being turned away by the Desert Shores beach patrol, while walking back to my car with my surfboard, the male bronzed teenager raised his voice to address me. “It’s probably just as well,” he said. “The surf’s pretty rough out there today.” His three bronzed female co-workers then giggled at me. — Corey Levitan

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know

Jonathan Segal An American ‘student’ puts his best foot forward in Vegas

or a moment, Jonathan Segal, CEO of the growing hospitality company, The ONE Group, reflects on of all things Rock Galaxy, a bar he opened in 1989. It was his first “high-energy concept.” The 100,000-square-foot spot on Jersey, in the Channel Islands south of England and north of France, covered quite a bit of entertainment ground. By day it was a family fun center, restaurant with lounge; and by night a club where “you were standing on the bar singing ‘Y.M.C.A.,’” Segal says. With food offerings like beer, pizza and burgers on a beach-lined island, it probably could have been replicated in San Diego or Miami. But Rock Galaxy wouldn’t blossom into a chain. It eventually

burned to the ground, leaving only memories for locals and tourists. While venues like this seem a far cry from sophisticated ONE Group offerings like STK, New York’s Asellina or the Bagatelle concept in New York, Los Angeles and a soon-to-be pool version of it in Las Vegas, it’s also representative of the tinkering and research Segal brings to his entertainment game. At one point, he offered steaks and vodka bottles at Rock Galaxy. It worked. And it demonstrated Segal’s approach: Ask questions, listen, take notes and make a move — even if it’s unconventional. Today, he’s particularly attuned to the needs of women in stereotypically testosterone-heavy environments. STK is an almost club-

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Top: STK, Las Vegas Steakhouse at The Cosmpolitan, Bottom: architectural rendering of Bagatelle Las Vegas at The Tropicana JULY 2012 DAVID

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ish steakhouse concept, with smaller portions. “You don’t need half the cow on the plate,” he says. So far, the concept is a hit at Las Vegas’ Cosmopolitan Resort and Casino. He will take his art of listening to the girls a step further when, by the end of the year, he opens Heraea (the name harkens to the first recorded women’s sport competition in ancient Greece) at the Palms, a sports bar idea, to satisfy both men and women, without that overtly male edge. Expect fine food, even three-course meals with music and DJs. And, yes, the boys can catch the game, too. “Everybody likes to party the same way. We just like different accessories when we’re partying,” he adds. Studying environments on a local and broader level are key to Segal’s success. He is at the helm of an international hospitality and restaurant company that employs nearly 2,500 people and expects $175 million in revenue in 2013. All this — 30-plus venues either built or in development — in eight short years. And with restaurants spanning some of the most discriminating locales, including New York, Los Angeles, Miami and soon London, his ideas must be unique and accessible. The hospitality “student” began at 15 as a high-school dropout, a restless teen who had battled dyslexia. Although he wanted to be a lawyer, the formal education route didn’t work. Even now, he always has an opinion to share but says he has enough humility to laugh at himself when he leaves a meeting with his tail between his legs. “The company has a manual for how to read the company manual. But at the end of the day, if there’s a better way to do something, I want to know,” Segal adds.

The itch Segal’s early years were spent following in his father’s footsteps in the hospitality business and growing up on the 45-square-mile island of Jersey. He helped run and form the hotel booking company, Expotel, and later co-created WorldPay, the predecessor of PayPal. But in 2001, he grew restless again. He tells his female friends it was akin to “being on your period for two straight months.” In November, the grouchy entrepreneur, weary of helping run empires he had created, came to New York. He rented a 100-square-foot office, bought a printer and computer and conducted business from America, while walking New York’s streets daily. “I wasn’t going to be better, faster, more clever because I came from England. So many have come from England completely (self-) consumed and failed in the American system,” he said. “America is much more disposed to adventure and trying, where we’re a little more conservative. Being off the beaten path doesn’t feel very comfortable for us.” After a year of studying the American hospitality industry, Segal realized he had about a third-grade knowledge of it and needed to rely on others to make a run at things here. Among his go-to’s is Vice President of Operations Celeste Fierro, a ONE Group veteran since the first restaurant opening in New York’s Meatpacking District.

Vegas ONE Group’s Bagatelle will open at The Tropicana, perhaps by the end of this month. Memorial Day weekend was the initial launch date, but Segal struggled with the small kitchen and ultimately went for an overhaul that delayed the opening. 32 DAVID TAMMUZ/AV 5772

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“It’s very much about the outdoor dining experience, not just five dishes at a poolside,” he added. ONE Group now owns the nightclub and dayclub portions of the Tropicana site and has put $4 million into making them perfect. Bringing a pool to a French-style restaurant is certainly ambitious. The space, formerly the RPM nightclub and several other failed ventures, needs the stability Segal has been entrusted to provide. He wants to open more Las Vegas venues, a city that affords both a crowning moment and a chance for another hospitality industry “class.” “I always said that when we go to Vegas, what we learn there we will import to other areas of the company,” he says. And what has Vegas taught the 35-year industry veteran? “It’s the way they handle repeat business and take ownership of the client,” he says, “and the outstanding competence of the busers, runners and waiters.”Segal suspects there is something beyond decades of experience behind Las Vegas’ hospitality prowess, something at the city’s soul, sublime and otherwise. “The city is predicated on dollars,” he says. “Literally, its product is money, whether in gaming, tips, entertainment, hotels … I think that inspires a tremendous amount of enthusiasm to do well.” For someone like Segal, the time is now, it would seem. For years, analysts have cited the decline in gaming revenue at the expense of entertainment. Today, non-gaming revenues on Strip properties run at roughly 62 percent, says Bill Lerner of Union Gaming Advisors. Lerner said it’s also a great time to capitalize on the sea change in dining in Las Vegas and on the Strip — a time where value is king, not a celebrity chef. “What we do need is well-priced, not particularly formal, but high-quality food and thoughtful, creative offerings, even if it’s a burger,” he says. “We need offerings that align with the pocketbooks. But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be fun, seductive and high quality.”

London Calling In the next two months, ONE Group will open several venues in England’s dynamic capital, just in time for the Olympic Games, including an American-style casual bar, restaurant and lounge at the landmark Hippodrome Casino. Don’t expect any vestiges of the Rock Galaxy there. Segal notes a design request for a 100,000-square-foot “Vegas-style” casino. “They don’t want the feel of Brighton Park or a Paris casino. They want a Vegas casino. … Vegas is an icon in America and an icon the world over. … This is the biggest invisible ‘export’ America has.” Other ventures await as well. The ONE Group will oversee room service, catering and events at the ME Hotel. And STK London and Cucina Asellina, an early-Italian concept originated in New York, also make their London debuts this year. Spending the bulk of his life on a small island between England and France didn’t provide the savoir-faire Segal wanted for operating in London. It took a jaunt across the pond to do that. “We’re a British company and I came to America to learn about a new way of hospitality,” he says, reflecting again for a moment. “But, for some reason, I never really felt comfortable in business in England. But I feel more confident now, and now it feels like I’m going home.” — Brian Sodoma JULY 2012 DAVID

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taste

A Charcoal vs. Gas Grill Throwdown Let’s Hear It From The Barbecue Whisperer

“This article is reprinted with the permission of Meathead Goldwyn from AmazingRibs.com, by far the most popular barbecue website in the world according to all the rating services. He always cooks brisket for Passover, but there is no Lipton onion soup involved. Visit his site to see how to smoke brisket, Texas style. And even though his recipes for charoses and latkes are not grilled, he has included them on the site because the rest of the world needs to know how great they are with barbecue.”

“G

as or Charcoal”? The second most asked question since “Chicken or Egg?” The flame war between charcoal grill purists and gas grill hotheads burns brighter than the debate between Mac and PC users. Let me try to sort it out with a few inflammatory thoughts. Grills are used mostly for three types of cooking: 1. High heat direct radiation cooking: food is placed directly above the heat

source for things like steaks. Usually, there is no lid over the meat. 2. Indirect heat convection roasting: Whole chickens, roasts, etc. Heat source off to the side; cooking done via warm air circulating, with lid closed. 3. Indirect heat smoke roasting: lid closed; warm convection airflow heavy with flavorful hardwood smoke. Is there a taste difference? Let’s cut to the most convincing

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argument: Probably 99 percent of the world’s greatest steakhouses grill with gas. Why? Ordinarily, charcoal makes more smoke than gas; when ashed over, though, good charcoal produces little smoke; only during low and slow cooking is the charcoal smoke noticeable in the end result. Two types of charcoal: briquets (from charcoal, fillers and chemicals) and lump (from hardwood). In grilling, a lot of smoke is produced by food drippings hitting the hot surfaces

below, or from buildup on the grates and inside of your grill. If you are using charcoal, only a little bit of it comes from that. If you are using gas, the smoke is invisible. Meat drippings are mostly water, fat, and protein, plus whatever you’ve added (marinade, sugar in barbecue sauce). When drippings hit the heat source they vaporize; some condenses on the meat, some penetrates the meat. Most gas grills cover the flame jets with metal plates, lava rock or ceramic rocks that absorb the heat

and radiate it. Drippings that hit these radiant surfaces vaporize, making smoke and steam, as with charcoal. Some new gas grills have “infrared” burners close to the meat, so more of the vapors infuse it. When propane combusts it makes more steam than charcoal, which may help keep meat moist, giving gas an advantage for some meats. But some cooks don’t like, for example, that it makes it difficult to get crispy chicken skin. If you use self-igniting charcoal, or JULY 2012 DAVID

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charcoal fluid, to start a charcoal fire, there can be an unpleasant petrochemical smell during ignition that gets into the food. To avoid it, use a charcoal chimney or an electric charcoal starter. Electric starter coils work well too, but require an electric outlet. If you use your grill for long low and slow smoke roasting, there is a more noticeable difference in flavor. Combustion gases from charcoal, when mixed with smoke from wood chips or chunks, makes a distinctive flavor typical of traditional southern barbecue. But when it comes to direct heat grilling, which is usually fast, all things being equal most folks can’t taste the difference between charcoal and gas-grilled food. Of course, most gas grills can’t achieve the same high heat as charcoal, and charcoal’s superior for getting great dark crust on steaks (no tan meat). However, if you use strong-flavored rubs, marinades and sauces, you won’t notice the difference because they hamper browning. It comes down to functionality: That’s why I own gas and charcoal grills.

wire grate with legs. It can sit on the grate, putting coals with an inch of the meat. Charcoal, especially before it’s fully lit, emits combustion gases and smoke flavors. But when fully ashed over, it produces less smoke flavor, a redolence that’s wonderful. The down side. Charcoal’s dirty and can be hard to light; it takes about 15 minutes longer to get up to temp; there can be flare-ups that can burn the food and flare-ups may be a health risk; it is also hard to tell what temp you are cooking at; the temperature cannot be turned down rapidly; during long cooks it slowly loses

heat and you need to add more charcoal; charcoal grills rarely have rotisseries; and there’s that ash cleanup. So, use gloves, shovels or tongs when handling raw coals. If you keep the charcoal dry and use a chimney, getting hot coals is easy. If you push the coals to one side of the grill and set up a 2-zone cooking environment, fatty meats like chicken skin do not drip on the coals and flare up; even if there are flare-ups, a squirt gun can contain them. Ash cleanup’s easier with some of the one-touch grills or grills that have removable ash trays. The key to all cooking is regulating heat. You need a reliable oven thermometer, and a little know-how that takes time to acquire. Alas, I have never seen a charcoal grill with a half-good thermometer, and the thermometer is never mounted near the meat, where it’s needed. The temp in the top of the dome can be quite different at meat level. Charcoal grills don’t have temperature dials, so it’s important to learn how to set up a 2-zone fire that helps regulate heat by moving meat from the hot to the medium zone; also, learn to control the fire’s energy by closing off the oxygen intake vents. Think of them as temperature dials. So there’s a bit of art to charcoal cooking, and it’s a worthwhile skill to develop. The heat’s perfect for red meats, and if you learn your instrument, it will reward you handsomely. Charcoal devotees claim it’s the flavor; I like the ritual and the thrill of playing with fire.

Charcoal pros and cons Charcoal purists wouldn’t think of owning a gas grill. No way. Top reason? They can get hotter than standard gas grills; and heat’s what you need to get steaks and lamb crisp on the outside, red or pink in the middle. We’re talking 500 degrees F, and up to 700 degrees if the coals are piled high, or brought closer to the cooking surface, using bricks beneath the grate. Hovergrill is a 36 DAVID TAMMUZ/AV 5772

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Gas pros and cons Gas grills outsell charcoal grills for two reasons: Convenience and control. Those two words alone clinch the argument for most folks. Why we love gas grills. They’re easy to start, are hot in 10-15 minutes, hold temperatures steadily and can be cranked up or cooled down fast. You can create indirect and multi-zone cooking, and they’re relatively easy to clean. Low-to-mid-price gas grills typically have a top end of 100 to 450 degrees F. More expensive grills can get up to 700 degrees F. Newer, high-end models with sear burners can get as hot as charcoal. Temp control. They excel at holding a steady temp, but aren’t perfect. A dial setting of 1 may equal 275 degrees F on a 70-degree day, but it can be 225 degrees F on a cool, windy or rainy day. Or 300 F on a hot day. If your grill’s got two or more burners it’s easy to have two or more heat zones. Maybe a hot zone for meat, medium for veggies and low for finished foods. Don’t rely on the thermometers that come with the grills, even the high-end ones. Get a good digital oven thermometer and a good digital meat thermometer.

Most gas grills use metal plates, lava uncover05_2012.indd 1 4/16/12 rocks and ceramics to radiate heat, so there are no open flames, no flare-ups. Cleanup is easier because drips are usually vaporized, and there’s no ash. But the gassers suffer from carbon and grease buildups that must be scraped or pressure washed every few months. Gas jets and venturis also can clog. Spiders, even wasps, like grills, too. Some people discard the lava rocks or ceramics every year. But my brother-in-law makes the world’s finest swordfish on a crappy old gas grill with lava rocks he’s been The first time that Nico and Franny met they gave each using since the last ice age. other quite a fright, and Nico even escaped through Franny’s parents bedroom window. Nico was twenty Accessories. Gas grills have accessories six at the time, and Franny was seven. A few months or are accessory-ready (for a rotisserie, say, later, when Franny’s parents Noa and Amnon decide or night lights, storage drawers, etc.), and to separate, Nico and Franny have no choice but to they often have side burners for warming tolerate one another. or cooking. 1 in every 3 couples get divorced. Infrared and sear burners. If you like 40% of kids live only 1 biological parent. your meat crunchy on the outside and There are good chances of finding love (+ a kid) rare to medium rare on the inside, the temp at which it is most tender and juicy, An independent Israeli film is looking for financial help. We are short $50,000 to then most gas grills just don’t cut it. Pay finish this important project An investment of $5,000 attention to that italicized word. Many will buy you a 0.5% share in the film of the more expensive gas grills now have “infrared” burners off to one side. It’s a Edna Zulli haeden@gmail.com bit of a misnomer; they use a gas flame Producer Tel. 97252 2250 492 to superheat a ceramic or metal plate

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that radiates as much as twice the heat. In the 700-degree range, the kind of temp steakhouses have. Alas, most infrared burners are big enough for one or two steaks at a time. GrillGrates also can be added to most any gas grill and can improve the cooking characteristics significantly. Infrared/sear burners may be perfect for steaks, but they are much too hot for direct heat cooking of most fish and veggies. Even with steaks, you need to keep an eye on food over direct infrared. They can incinerate in a hurry. Infrared burners can sometimes be used for rotisserie cooking and can even be used for indirect heat cooking. Smoking. Some high-end gas grills also have smoke boxes for wood chips, but for most gas grills you need to make foil packets or put pans of wood under the cooking grate near the flame. Though not recommended, I often throw aromatic woods down near the burners on my Weber gas grill. Most gas grill lids don’t seal well, however, so a lot of the smoke is lost, and more wood is needed than on a tighter grill. Price. Because the mechanisms are more complex, gas grills tend to cost more than comparable charcoal grills. They’re also hard to put together, with more parts to break or be replaced. Two types of gas. Liquid propane or natural gas. Liquid propane (LP) gas comes in 20-pound steel tanks. Keep a full backup tank on hand. Propane gas is ideal for grills because, when pressurized, it compresses and turns to liquid, making it easy to store in tanks. It also contains more cooking energy than natural gas as measured in British Thermal Units (BTU). Compare: 2,500 BTU to a cubic foot of propane; 1,000 in a cubic foot of natural gas.

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Which to buy? I have gas and charcoal. Almost all my birds, fish, veggies, pizzas and breads go on my LP gas grills; almost all my red meats go on my charcoal grills. If you want no fuss no muss, go gas. If you can afford it, get an infrared burner and a side burner. If you’re willing to put in a bit more time to gain mastery of your tool, then go charcoal. Look for one that let’s you raise and lower the coal. Or you could buy the Smoke Hollow Combo, which does both. Personally, I¹m waiting for one that cooks with logs, charcoal, pellets, gas, infrared and microwave.

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Real Estate Rollercoaster

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The Curious Tale of a Vegas Housing Boomlet By Pat Teague

JULY 2012 DAVID

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y most assessments, Las Vegas is expected to remain mired in an economic ditch until 2017 — or even longer. Tow trucks won’t get us out; neither will presidents. So why, then, is the area experiencing a housing construction mini-boom amid a financial slide that’s likely to rival the 1929-39 Great Depression for longevity? And why are existing homes triggering nocturnal reconnaissance drives, 7 a.m. bidding wars on courthouse steps and multiple offers at the site? Why are foreigners so bullish on buying U.S. homes, particularly in Las Vegas? Where are the skilled construction workers now that they’re needed? It’s complicated. First off, it’s part of an odd dynamic that makes up the Valley’s residential real estate sector these days, a mélange of good luck, bad luck and life’s own little wink-and-nod phenomenon: unintended consequences. John Restrepo, who’s been providing economic analysis in Las Vegas for more than two decades to Nevada’s decision makers, is the principal at RCG Economics LLC. The New Orleans native is a straight shooter: He gathers data, reads a ton, discerns patterns, applies a dose of experience, a dollop of common sense and makes his call.

His real estate prescience back in the go-go years of ’06 and ’07 wasn’t exactly welcome news to a lot of locals making money hand over fist. They were in no mood to be told the party might end soon, and that — by the way — there would be one hell of a mess to clean up afterward. Neither Restrepo nor anyone else apparently had any inkling just how big that slowdown would be — and what a Mardi Gras-style mountain of refuse there would be to bag up in its aftermath. The garbage haul, as it were, nearly sank us all. “We knew there were some early warning signs in … ’06, and maybe into ’07,” Restrepo says, “that things were getting a little fluffy and frothy and that a correction would occur. And we told our clients that.” He remembers dropping some serious hints, during his frequent presentations at the time or in media interviews. “I said, ‘Listen, this is getting too frothy. You can’t have these kind of super-high housing prices relative to the household incomes. There’s going to be a correction. And there are some things out there that are indicating to us that there’s going to be a correction, both

economically and market-wise.’ But I didn’t predict this collapse. I thought maybe a 20-30 percent correction, worst-case basis. I didn’t know it was going to do 60-70 percent,” Restrepo acknowledges. “Even those moderate kind of … soft warnings I sent out … back in the day in Las Vegas, even saying that, you were viewed as some type of heretic, you know what I mean? Because ‘We’re Vegas, baby.’” As Restrepo remembers it, home prices were jumping 25-30 percent annually in 2004 and 2005. “That’s when I started saying, ‘Wait a minute. This is not sustainable – even under the very best of circumstances.’ “Had I known how cancer-ridden, so to speak, the subprime lending market was, my warnings and my concerns would have been much greater. I just had no idea. But, as I said, even with the moderately mild warnings or observations I was making at the time, I was viewed as some kind of crazy … Dr. Doom. “And a lot of the national economists, that were outside and weren’t so blinded by the light, so to speak, in Vegas, were sounding warning signs about some of these hot markets like us – and Phoenix and Southern California and Florida. But, you know, no one wanted to talk about those kind of things here in Vegas because it was ‘inconvenient,’ and not polite cocktail conversation.” Fast forward to now. The Valley isn’t exactly on Easy Street, particularly with predictions from soothsayers like UNLV economist Stephen P.A. Brown. The director of the university’s Center for Business & Economic Research believes the area won’t see “full employment” (a jobless rate of about 5.6 percent) again until 2017-18. The reality is that our unemployment rate is more than 11 percent, he says, with perhaps about the same number of people officially out of work as there are who long ago gave up looking and aren’t even counted now. Many dismayed construction workers quit the business and left town, or switched careers, causing some of today’s harried builders to struggle to find framers and the like. Las Vegas still leads the country in the number of homeowners whose “underwater” properties are worth less than the lender is owed on them. Brown says if you drop the near-negative equity homes into that same pool, the “underwater” number rises to nearly 66 percent – meaning two out of three domiciles. And our local economy still remains a two-legged stool, for the most part, balanced on gaming and tourism, yet wobbly from longterm unemployment and real estate’s vagaries, particularly in the commercial sector. On the plus side, tourism has been up of late, with annual numbers this year close to the record 39.2 million visitors who came in 2007. But the arrivals seem to be gambling less and eating more. And the smaller gambling win is a reflection of the battered national economy, Brown says, a segment Vegas can’t control. “Southern Nevada’s economy is in a slow recovery,” he told a group recently at The Venetian. “It is likely to continue growing.” Hollywood has done its part for the city, churning out comedies that virtually sanctify our excesses. Some have been a tourism boon, no doubt, suggesting the obvious: A Vegas trip is still a veritable rite of passage for millions. But, away from the Strip, the once warm and fuzzy confines of the Vegas residential real estate world, formerly the province of ordinary folks seeking their “American Dream,” occasionally exude the cold reality of a speculative transaction. Many buyers these days come with real estate investment trust cash, from Asia, Canada, Mexico, Europe and India, seldom looking for a place to take root and deposit their own families. The attraction?

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Sliding home prices and a dollar that’s lower against some foreign currencies add up to big bargains for the overseas crowd, including our North American neighbors. Last year, non-U.S. buyers snapped up $82 billion in American residential real estate, just under 9 percent of the total sold, according to a national realtors group. The chance for profit, to buy on the cheap and convert a home to a rental property – wagering that its value will climb over time – is classic speculative capitalism. And the market presence of speculators and investors can prop up and even encourage marginally higher home prices in the recession-wracked Valley. In the future, some prospective foreign buyers also may be eligible for a permanent U.S. resident visa if they invest up to $500,000 on a single family home or condo, should a bill co-sponsored by Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, become law. (Many countries have similar statutes.) As Schumer puts it: “This is a way to create more demand without costing the federal government a nickel.” Buyers could bring a spouse and children under 18, but would have to return to their native country if they sold the property. They also would have to go through a separate procedure to get a work visa, and would not be taking visas away from existing programs, Schumer says. Meanwhile, many erstwhile American homeowners find themselves looking for work and unable to make their mortgage payments. In the past, they could have expected to face foreclosure proceedings. Today, some go into “strategic default,” skipping monthly mortgage payments for up to two years and waiting for the lender to take some sort of action short of foreclosure; or they try to become renters in a house they once owned. Why not foreclose? The foreclosure option in Nevada has been taken off the table for many lenders, thanks to Assembly Bill 284, a market game-changer in effect since last October. Co-sponsored by Las Vegas-area Democrats Marcus Conklin, William Horne and Marilyn Kirkpatrick, the revised statute increased civil penalties to not more than $5,000 for mortgage lending fraud, and made it a Class C felony (formerly a gross misdemeanor) for making a false representation concerning a title to a property. It got the immediate attention of lenders, who became far more reluctant to initiate foreclosure proceedings (and robo-signings) than in the past, when some owners were strong-armed out of their homes. As a result, the number of foreclosed properties coming to market has dwindled to a relatively tiny number (258 in April, according to SalesTraq, reportedly the fewest in two decades). Short sales, where the lender allows the homeowner to dispose of the property for less than is owed on it (but potentially still being responsible for any “deficiency” amount, and banned from buying a home for two years), became the new foreclosures. People with cash began snapping up properties as the foreclosure inventory lagged, hoping to grab a bargain while the supply lasted. “Basically, we’re seeing a classic case of supply and demand,” said Kolleen Kelley, president of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors. “Our local housing supply is going down, primarily because banks are putting fewer homes on the market. As a result, prices are going up.” Not dramatically, perhaps, but up. In May, for instance, the median price of a single family home edged up 0.1 percent from April and 1.6 percent from a year earlier, to $128,000, the GLVAR reported. The median price of a condominium or townhome (properties with either no or scant land attached) was $62,000, up 3.5 percent from April but still off 1.2 percent from May 2011.

Still, some people say there is a “shadow inventory” of homes that are still being held back, and that prices could fall once lenders put some of those houses back on the market a year or so from now. Restrepo says the strangled supply of available resale homes is all due to AB 284. And he says that bill also has stoked the uptick in new home building — the most robust in years — with construction sites sprouting in Henderson, Vegas and North Las Vegas, and around Clark County, and applications for new home permits up 40 percent over 2011, according to Home Builders Research. Some people always like a new home, Restrepo says, just because it’s new. But others are there, he adds, because they’re priced out of the resale market, where “Cash is king.” With the prospect of possibly going to prison, or facing large civil fines, lenders took one look at AB 284, Restrepo says, “and they shut everything down.” “It was a good (legislative) idea, with unintended consequences. It made the foreclosure process basically dry up,” he adds. “I wouldn’t be surprised – and I would recommend it – that they revisit the law, hopefully in 2013,” he says, “and modify some of those criminal penalties and change those to civil penalties so that

the banks and lenders (can release some homes) … (Even that) may slow the process up, but not as dramatically as (the prospect of) criminal (penalties have), obviously.” “So what’s happened now (is) you’ve got a situation where the homebuilders — I wouldn’t say are having a banner year – are doing a lot better now than they were at this time last year because, in my opinion, of that AB 284.” As president of the Valley’s big realtor association, Kelley recognizes many of the same signs as Restrepo. “We’re seeing a shortage of inventory. House prices have increased over the last four months. We’re seeing multiple offers on a good portion of the properties, and new home sales have just exploded,” she says. Despite the dearth of available resale homes, which are cheaper compared to their replacement costs, and the scramble for brand new dwellings, and the higher prices that follow, Kelley says Vegas remains a huge bargain compared to other cities. The economy may be in a ditch for years to come, but the residential real estate sector is moving ahead steadily. JULY 2012 DAVID

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Rock Inc.

Rockin’ Out… and Cashin’ In… By Katherine Turman

ISS was one of the first bands to put the word “business” into “music business.” Sure, over-the-top theatrics and enduring rock anthems like “Rock and Roll All Nite” put butts in arena seats, but KISS bassist/singer Gene Simmons – born Chaim Weitz in Haifa, Israel – knew there was more he could tap into. Much more. Simmons, 62, as known for his business acumen and blunt talk as he is for his long tongue and demon makeup, quips: “I never knew there was so much money out there.” “In all seriousness, though, this has never really been about money,” he says. “The irony is that the band and everybody accuses

as if it’s bad. [But it’s] about being businessmen, which I think, is the most ethical behavior to have – to have a business ethic.” With the rise of digital music, the demise of brick-and-mortar record stores and negligible CD sales (not to mention that bands no longer get big advances and label support), how’s a rock star supposed to make a living these days? For many, the answer is licensing and branded business ventures. That may include alcohol, restaurants, and in the case of the KISS brand, everything from caskets to mini golf to condoms to wine and a line of gear from the FOX Family Guy TV show (which the perfect-for-car-

toons band has guested on several times). For the record, there are (count ’em) 3,000 licensed KISS items. While Simmons is more ambitious – and successful – than many of his ilk, former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar also has made a killing with his non-musical ventures, especially since selling 80 percent of his tequila company, Cabo Wabo Enterprises, to Davide Campari-Milano in 2008. “The tequila business pays for me to still be in the music business,” Hagar acknowledges in his autobiography. “That’s the great gift of Cabo Wabo. The only people that sell records anymore are brand-new little pop

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Kiss By Monster Mini Golf, Las Vegas

bands that kids buy. That breaks my heart.” Shep Gordon, restaurateur and manager of shock-rocker Alice Cooper, who owns Cooperstown sports bar and restaurant in downtown Phoenix, worked with Hagar in the early days of the booze biz. “Jimmy Buffett had Margaritaville. Sammy asked me to get involved in his restaurants,” recounts Gordon. “I went down to Cabo, tasted the tequila he was serving in bottles and said, ‘Let’s follow the highway Buffett has paved.’” Like Buffett, Hagar exemplifies the partyboy beach life, and one of the Red Rocker’s latest ventures is the Hawaiian-grown Sammy’s Beach Rum. Hagar has five Sammy’s JULY 2012 DAVID

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Cabo Wabo at Planet Hollywood

Beach Bar & Grill locations nationwide. Stephen B. Kauffman, president of Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum, says the eateries “came before the rum, much like the Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, came before Cabo Wabo tequila.” The rum is sold in about 25 percent of the U.S., but should be available nationwide by mid-July. Says Kauffman, “We are selling all we can produce. We expect this to be much bigger in volume than the tequila.” This will make multimillionaire Hagar able to afford even more private planes, and give him the ability to support his lesslucrative but more beloved musical endeavors. As with Simmons and other rockers with branded ventures, “Sammy is involved in all aspects of the business,” says Kauffman. “He is hands-on and is somewhat of a creative workaholic. He calls me night and day with ideas and new concepts. And he’s usually right-on with his instincts.” Ditto Simmons and another musician who put down Las Vegas roots, Mötley Crüe frontman Vince Neil. One of his band’s biggest hits is “Girls, Girls, Girls” – and,

yes, the band used to dress like girls – sort of. “We’d walk down the street in our high heels and dog collars, down Santa Monica Boulevard (giving out fliers to) anything and everything. It worked. It got people to come to see us. Then once people saw us, they wanted to see us again. That really started the word of mouth.” All that banter eventually translated into platinum records, world tours and a welldocumented decade (plus!) of decadence. At 51, Neil still lives the strip club ‘n’ tattoos lifestyle that put his band on the map, and wisely lends his name to those ventures. Veteran entertainment reporter Robin Leach asked the singer about Déjà Vu Presents Vince Neil’s Girls, Girls, Girls, which opened recently in Vegas: “It is a dream come true. I don’t know why I waited so long. It’s just a natural for me. Of all the business adventures I’ve invested in, this will be my favorite.” In 2006, he opened Vince Neil Ink, a tattoo shop on the Strip, which recently closed as did his rock bar, Feelgoods, named for Crüe’s Dr. Feelgood record, although the eatery’s West Palm

Beach, Fla., location is open for rockin’ patrons. Other Mötley ventures have included hits and misses. In 1998, Mötley Crüe opened S’Crüe, a store on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. It closed in less than a year. Though Neil has had two drunken-driving convictions (including a 1984 crash that killed a friend), he’s still involved in the booze biz, with the 2007 launch of his Tres Rios Cantina (and bar at the LVH Las Vegas Hotel & Casino); a Vince Vineyards winemaking venture, plus his annual “Off the Strip Poker Tournament.” Neil plans to expand his “tits and tats” ventures beyond Nevada: “I’ve always wanted to have a strip club. It’s … a dream come true. I’ve been going to strip clubs my whole (adult) life, so I might as well own one,” he told the Las Vegas Sun. “In the next two years, we’ll have at least two more clubs open, hopefully more, and I’m looking for club spots right now, in New Orleans and elsewhere where I tour.” Rough life, Vince! If Mötley- and KISS-related endeavors appeal to the wilder, darker side of baby

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Margaritaville at the Flamingo

boomers in Vegas, then another rock legend is more sunny-side up. Jimmy Buffett came to Vegas 30 years ago as a starving artist: “I was headed out to Los Angeles for an audition with the New Christy Minstrels to see if I could make it in the music business,” he recalls. “If I’d joined that group, maybe there would be no Coral Reefer Band, no Margaritaville and no ‘5’o’clock somewhere in the world’ slogans.” Back in Vegas a little more flush, he’s now cashing in with the first-ever Margaritaville gaming salon at the Flamingo (after winning a gaming license from the state), with another recently opened in Biloxi, Miss. He’s also got 12 Margaritaville café locations, three “Air Margaritavilles” in airports and a beach hotel in Florida. Buffett says: “It all turned out pretty well. I certainly can’t complain about how things turned out after losing my first audition.” Neil, Buffett and Hagar are certainly proponents of the brands they back with their names. Alice Cooper’s Cooperstown – with its slogan, “Where rock and jocks meet” – is a natural for Cooper, a beyond-avid golfer and huge baseball and football fan. How-

ever, it’s difficult to imagine Simmons having a mad passion for mini-golf. But, as it’s been shown, more than almost any other fan a KISS lover will buy just about anything. Luckily for Simmons and his brethren, Cooper manager Gordon feels there’s really no limit to the amount of licensed and branded ventures for a band or artist. However, Gordon believes “there are the wrong types of products; KISS cigarettes wouldn’t be a good thing.” Brand identity lawyer Vic Sapphire concurs: “As Billy Idol famously said on the MTV bumpers in the ’80s, ‘Too much is never enough.’ However, artists and their advisers need to be honest about the type of act they are and think strategically about whether too many brand extensions at once may burn out their audience and shorten their music careers in the process. It really comes back to having a plan early on in one’s career.” Simmons’ plan was always about more, more, more – the logo for his late ’80s $immons Records label was a dollar sign, and he signs his name “$.” Simmons received the Lifetime Achievement award from

Forbes at the magazine’s “The Entrepreneur Behind The Icon” event. And, as Simmons told students at the London Business School:“Capitalism is the best thing that ever happened to human beings.” He’s living proof. The grand opening of Kiss by Monster Mini Golf in March this year represents one of several brand-new KISSrelated businesses, which include Simmons’ new Rock & Brews bar/restaurant in El Segundo, Calif. (the first of five slated to open), his A&E reality series, Family Jewels, not to mention Cool Springs Life Equity Strategy, a life insurance premium financing strategy that “protects everything that you’ve worked so hard for,” using a combination of bank loans and insurance products. His new wife is sure to be pleased about that. Simmons, famously against tying the knot, once said: “Marriage is completely out of the question. I’ve never been married, I refuse to be married. Marriage is a beautiful institution, but you’ve got to be fucking nuts to be in an institution. And I’m not there yet.” He got to matrimony after many years, JULY 2012 DAVID

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Sammy Hagar

marrying former Playboy Playmate Shannon Tweed, mother of his two children, after 28 years of non-wedded bliss. The 2011 nuptials were at the Beverly Hills Hotel, near the couple’s home. But for KISS fanatics who want to follow in the rockers’ boot steps down the aisle, there’s a Hotter than Hell wedding chapel in the Monster Mini Golf complex. A stage, fashioned after KISS’ Love Gun album cover, is replete with theatrical quality lights, sound and fog machines. The invitations mimic concert tickets, and the chapel provides a “tour manager” on the wedding day to make sure the hitching comes off, well, without a hitch. And for $250, the ceremony can be performed by Pastor “LV Gene Simmons” – in full stage regalia, of course. Besides his wedding, 2011 was a momentous year for Simmons in another way. He visited his native Israel. He described the trip as a “life-changing experience,” and despite his huge success in the U.S., says, “I’m Israeli. I’m a stranger in America. I’m an outsider.” Simmons and his mother, Hungary-born Flóra “Florence” Klein (formerly Kovács) immigrated to New York when the future rock star was 8. She and her brother, Larry Klein, were the only members of the family to survive the Holocaust. Simmons’ father, Feri Witz, remained in Israel. During his 2011 visit, Simmons met his half-brother Kobi and triplet half-sisters Drora, Sharon and Ogenia. Simmons, who speaks Hebrew, and as a child attended the Yeshiva Torah Vodaath in Brooklyn, has said he wants KISS to perform in his home country. With new KISS-related ventures seemingly launching on a weekly basis, Simmons’ unabashed ambition has never flagged. In 1996, when the four original KISS members reunited after 14 years apart — they hadn’t yet such a glut of products available — Simmons’ credo was still: “Always more. More money, more good tunes, more fame, more women. Once you’re the champion polevaulter of the world, and nobody else comes close, aren’t you at home trying to break your own record?” he asks. “I’m not in competition with anybody. I’m in competition with myself. It’s the striving, the hunt, not the kill. I want more. It’s called living.” As this first generation of rock stars ages — most classic rock bands are in their late ’50s and ’60s — more and more will certainly look to licensing and branded ventures to capitalize on the name, minus the exhaustion and expense of mounting a concert tour. Still, this summer sees Möt-

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Above: Vince Neil’s GirlsGirlsGirls. Right: Vince Neil.

ley Crüe and KISS on the road together. Simmons stresses that he’s ever vigilant in protecting every item bearing the KISS brand. “The idea is, like an animal, you have to spray your turf,” he says. “If we’re not out there (selling items), the bootleggers are. I have too much pride in KISS shirts, KISS music, to let somebody else determine what my T-shirt is going to look like. Ultimately, if I work my balls off and there’s a dollar to be had, I should be the one who gets it, not somebody who didn’t work for it.” According to therichest.org, Simmons’ net worth is $300 million, so he’s apparently his due. KISS guitarist/singer Paul Stanley may not have the overriding ambition or acumen of his Demon bandmate, but he’s a big part of the equation. “For a bunch of guys who have been hailed as marketing geniuses, the only thing that we can take credit for is having very acute hearing,” Stanley says. “When fans ask you for something, you’re an idiot not to give it to them.” JULY 2012 DAVID

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Smoke & Giggles Exploring the Business Behind the Biz By Jaq Greenspon

If it costs me my very last dime If I wind up broke up, well I’ll always remember that I had a swingin’ time “Viva Las Vegas” words & music by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman Vegas is not a place to come to learn. — Kevin Burke

o matter where you are in the world, people know Las Vegas. Every major city in Europe has a casino named after our fabled town. And if you mention you’re from here, it gives you an instant cachet, as if you had rubbed shoulders with gangsters, learned how to figure odds in high school math classes and played poker for extra pocket money. If America is the dream, Vegas is the Inception-like dream within the dream. It’s an extraordinary place and fuels the desires of a vast multitude of people. As a tourist, it offers mysteries and adventures, things not to be spoken of Monday morning at the water cooler. As a local, it offers access to fine restaurants

and 24-hour bowling. But there is one thing it offers everyone, across the board – Las Vegas offers possibilities. For an entertainer, Vegas is Mecca, Lourdes and the Wailing Wall all rolled into one. Sure, if you can make it in New York you can make it anywhere … except Vegas. Vegas isn’t a sure thing even if New York is eating out of your hand. Long-running shows on Broadway have a hard time filling seats in the mega-casinoencased showrooms. And, yet, there are more than 100 shows now calling Las Vegas home. Tourists can find themselves part of an audience in almost any type of entertaining diversion, anytime from the early afternoon through the late evening. JULY 2012 DAVID

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So how does one go about becoming part of this industry? How do you find your name on the marquee and your talent glowing in the spotlight of adoration, basking in the applause of yet another sold-out crowd? Get help. That help can come in a variety of guises. Vegas mainstays Penn & Teller are now hosting a show for British television titled Fool Us. Groups of talented magicians each come onto the stage and do some sort of magic trick in an attempt to “fool” the duo. If these magicians succeed (and it’s not easy) the prize isn’t cash or appliances or a year’s supply of Rice-a-Roni. It’s an allexpenses-paid trip to … you guessed it … Las Vegas – to perform the winning effect on the Penn & Teller stage at the Rio, before a P&T audience. Anything to perform in Vegas, right? The more traditional route, however, involves something different. “You need two elements,” explains Kevin Burke. “You need a show that is ready to go and you need a producer who knows how to produce a show in Las Vegas.” Burke would know. He holds the title of hardest-working entertainer in Vegas, and he’s not shy about telling you how he got the sobriquet: “I’m the only entertainer in Las Vegas history to star in two completely different solo shows that are both running full schedules at the same time. Nathan Burton was doing variety spots (running between two different showrooms at opposite ends of the Strip to do magic numbers in ensemble shows). Nobody has ever run two Kevin Burke full-schedule solo shows at the same time.” His shows are Defending the Caveman at Harrah’s and Kevin Burke: Mind Blowing Comedy downtown at The D (formerly Fitzgerald’s). Both have been running simultaneously for four years, and both are produced by John Bentham. As far as Burke is concerned, it’s his partnership with Bentham that makes it all possible. “I suppose I could learn John’s job, given time and intensive training, but I could never do John’s job. I don’t have the temperament or the instinct. I’m blessed to

have him as a partner.” “Vegas is a small town,” explains Seth Yudof, founder of the Vegas-based production company UD Factory. “It’s important to align yourself with the right people. It’s good if those people are wired in and know the community here.” Yudof is precise in his choice of words, differentiating producing elsewhere to producing in Las Vegas. “The perception is that Vegas is very big, because there’s giant buildings everywhere that everyone sees. But it’s such a close-knit community, especially within the circle of entertainment or of nightlife or whatnot. There’s no one answer for every show, whether it’s ticket brokers or time shares or special marketing techniques … you just need to make sure you have people that know the land.” The importance of this knowledge cannot be stressed enough. In a place like Vegas, performers are a dime a dozen. But a producer, a good producer, is worth his weight in gold. “He’s negotiating ad rates in publications outside of The D,” answers Burke when asked about what Bentham does for the comedy mindreading show downtown. “He’s dealing with the ticket brokers; he’s doing all of the accounting that goes along with those ticket brokers. There’s the taxes that have to be paid, the salaries that have to be paid. Yes,” he laughs, “his ongoing work is more essential than mine, really. I got a guy who comes in on Wednesday nights, my night off, and does a show in my place. John’s part is more essential to this than mine.” All kidding aside, Burke’s statement really brings up the main issue of what’s happening in the Las Vegas entertainment scene: What is the best way to approach a show from the business side of things? What role does the performer play in the production? How, in this economic climate, do you open and sustain a show? One of the first myths to dispel is that the casinos are backing the shows. “There is no quality control like there was 10-20 years ago,” laments Arian Black, a magician who

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Beckett Studios

has had two casinos hosting her magic show Secrets. Shows “used to be a loss leader in the casino,” she says. “It was something they would give (away) tickets to their high rollers. Yes, they would sell tickets, but it was something they were never ever worried about making money on because they knew the value of having a really good show. It drew people into their casino. It was something people talked about and something that they got great advertising with.” “Yeah, I heard rumors of those days, too,” Burke says, laughing. Listening to Black, whose show once occupied the same room as Burke’s Mind Blowing Comedy does now, you can tell this is something she’s passionate about. And from a performer’s point of view, what’s happening in the casinos is quite worrisome. “Because it’s run by corporations, and they don’t want any type of loss leader (on) their books, they now have changed those showrooms,” she explains. “Now it’s whoever can pay the most for the showroom. With showrooms, they let people compete. ‘Well, you know, this other person wants the showroom and they’re willing to pay this or they’re willing to spend this much on advertising.’” Yudof ’s company is partnering with Sin City Comedy producers John Padon and Kevin Kearney to open a 300 seat showroom on the mezzanine level of Planet Hollywood at the end of the month, being anchored by Sin City Comedy. But there are still time slots Arian Black available for up to three more shows. So with a string of successful launches under his belt, he gets what Black is saying. But as a producer, he puts it more into a business context. “We need to know that you have sufficient funding to market (your show). Generally, no one asks for a specific dollar amount, but they ask that there’s ample enough of a campaign.” At the same time, even if you have the money, there’s more to it than that. “We’re going to be renting the time slots out to some producers, and we’re considering producing one

or two shows on our own also,” says Yudof. “Our goal is to put shows in there that are good. I don’t want this to be a revolving door of shows, like some other theatres in town. We want to have solid shows that stay for a while. We’re trying to come up with interesting ideas that will stand out. Whenever a small venue opens up it gets populated with a hypnosis show, a comedy show, and an afternoon comedy/ magic show. You know what I mean? It’s a formula of low cost shows that just appear whenever a small venue becomes available, and I’m just trying to avoid that.” “Good” is the operative word here. In the glory days of Vegas, back in the ’50s and ’60s, your entertainment choices were much more limited. You had your headliners, your Franks and Deans, who were in the showrooms, hosted by maître d’s holding their hands behind their backs before leading you to a front row or back aisle, depending on what folded currency greased the palm. And in the lounge, there was Rickles or Prima making you laugh or dance. All told, you had a couple of shows per hotel and you only had a few hotels. Today is very different. “We’ll have 2-4 shows,” continues Yudof. “But there are about 100 shows in Vegas, and that’s a problem. Night clubs are over-saturated too. That’s part of why I said we don’t want to throw in another show. We want to find shows that we think will genuinely attract people. If you can stand out, then there will be people there.” “On any given night,” agrees Burke, “your audience has the choice of going to see Elton John or a Cirque show or Phantom of the Opera or Jersey Boys or Donnie and Marie, or Saturday night they could have gone out on Fremont Street and seen Dennis DeYoung from Styx play the music of Styx for free. Nowhere else in the world do you have that level of choice as an audience member. Your show has to be f…..g good. You have to be ready when you get here.” Burke sums it up: “You don’t perform the show for the first time on your opening night in Las Vegas.” This is what a producer faces when trying to put on a JULY 2012 DAVID

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Seth Yudof

show in Las Vegas. “The sheer volume of shows and noise and clutter that you have to cut through to get people to even know about your show … it’s enormous,” he says. “And there’s negotiating rates with publications, ticket brokers and taxi tops and billboards and all the things that you need to do. The ‘vacation club’ places that sell you time shares. There’s just all kinds of people that need to be dealt with.” Yudof concurs. “People just don’t realize the money, the funding you need to set aside in order to give your show enough time to gain momentum. By the time you pay for theater rent and marketing and, especially if it’s a union room, your crew costs, you need four to six months of funding put aside. Some of the shows come through here, ticket brokers don’t jump on board right away, until they know a show is going to stick around. You’re not going to get great deals on advertising if the publications don’t think your show’s gonna stick around. Why would they give you a discount if you’re only gonna be there for three weeks? You have to wait out that period of people getting familiar with your show, brokers finally picking up your show, getting your marketing to become affordable. I’ve seen a lot of shows open and close. Just when they’re catching on, they ran out of money.” And it’s not just the obvious costs. The hotels, in addition to charging rent for the room (and some charge for in-house advertising) there’s also a per ticket fee, which can be as much as $10 a piece, even for tickets that are purchased off property, at discount ticket brokers. These costs, by necessity, get passed along directly to the consumer. Black, who has been waiting for a new venue to open for the past two years, is concerned about this. “People are coming to Vegas, they don’t have the money they used to. They have a certain amount that they’ve allotted for gambling, they have a certain amount for the convention or the holiday they’ve planned and then they have this extra left over for restaurants and shows. People are actually saving (up) money to go see shows in today’s market.” So what’s a producer to do? Be as prepared as possible. Make sure your show is ready to go from day one. Burke, whose Defending the Caveman will pass Phantom of the Opera as the longest running Broadway show in Vegas history later this year, had already been performing the show for four years on the road before Bentham produced the popular Vegas edition. His Mind Blowing Comedy (which will also have a new name later this year) had been road tested as well. “The only thing that can substitute for a strong producer is an unlimited pile of cash,” Says Burke. “If you have a Gringott’s Vault full of gold, then… But even that won’t substitute forever, it’s just temporary. Eventually your cash will run out. There’s a difference between opening a show and being able to advertise a show and making the show be able to pay for itself. Sheldon Adelson has said he lost $20 million on Phantom of the Opera. There has to be a producer/show combination. That’s how I work with John.” Unfortunately, I think what it takes to put a show up in Vegas is it takes a lot more business acumen, Vegas based business acumen than it does creativity,” agrees Yudof. “The days are all but gone of clever ideas being the reason a show is successful. It’s all about knowing how to move tickets and how to operate on a lean budget, or budget that makes sense for your size show. There are a lot of crappy shows that make it a long time, and there’s a lot of good shows that just don’t make it.”

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grill An Artist’s Portrait Martin Kreloff shares the inspiration behind his recent painting of Stephen Sondheim. show him photos of his namesake that my partner Tim and I had taken when he turned 13 replete in his Bar Mitzvah regalia. Sondheim loved the pictures and asked to keep one! I was of course ecstatic!

DAVID: Did you ever encounter Mr. Sondheim again? KRELOFF: Well…turns out Mr. Sondheim put our cat photo on his refrigerator! Our mutual friend, music composer John Bucchino, spotted the photo while at Sondheim’s home and the story rekindled! He sent me the dearest note and I in turn sent him one of my prints created for the Miami Film Festival. DAVID: How exactly have Sondheim’s lyrics and music influenced your art?

Two weeks ago Martin Kreloff had a dream. He was painting a portrait of musical theatre’s best known and perhaps greatest lyricist, Stephen Sondheim. Not one to waste the inspirational moment,he prepared a fresh canvas for paint. He hopes to present the finished work to his subject on July 14th when he appears at The Smith Center. Born in New York City and painting since the age of 12, Kreloff is no stranger to renown himself. His hard edge style paintings enjoy international recognition, hanging in public collections and museums, including New York’s Museum of Modern Art. DAVID: The question begs…what’s the deal with the dream?

KRELOFF: I first became aware of Sondheim when I was 13. It was 1957 and I saw West Side Story on Broadway. I was enamored! Next I saw Gypsy.....this time my world was changed forever. Those amazing lyrics…I must have listened to the cast album hundreds of times. They became an inextricable part of my life…actually defined my life and my art, to this day. I went to every Sondheim musical thereafter, each time influenced by his brilliance. I even named my large, chubby white cat Sondheim.

KRELOFF: Stephen Sondheim’s body of work reflects the soundtrack of my life. His music and lyrics have informed so many of my life and art decisions. In 1980 I began a series of paintings on an East Meets West theme. The first painting in the series featured a Geisha coupled with Disney’s Huey, Dewey and Louie in hot pink swim tubes. It’s titled Pacific Overtures. Now my worlds begin to collide. The next image I paint is a Geisha with the Disney ostrich from Fantasia as a hat. The title is Does Anyone Still Wear a Hat? from Company. There was a story in New York Magazine in 1994, entitled Is Stephen Sondheim GOD? Well, in terms of my life, his influence cannot be overstated. DAVID:How does it feel to have captured your hero on canvas? KRELOFF: I’m thrilled to have captured the iconic Stephen Sondheim, and especially pleased to feature the piece for DAVID Magazine. While I painted I wore my ear buds and listened to those magical musicals for at least eight hours a day. The pure rapture of A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Follies, and Passion, alongside the raucous fun of A Funny Thing Happened is truly inspiring. Creatively I feel like I’ve always known him. As for the dream…I had the feeling that I was being channeled to paint this definitive portrait of my hero, The Great Stephen Sondheim. An honor to be sure!

DAVID: That’s profound. Did you ever get the chance to meet Mr. Sondheim? KRELOFF: YES! In 1993! It was thrilling! My pal, the great Broadway producer Barry Brown, invited me to an AIDS benefit at The Long Beach Civic Light Opera and introduced me to Mr. Sondheim. We talked, and as the conversation ensued I shared that I named my cat after him, which he thankfully found amusing. I then proceeded to 58 DAVID TAMMUZ/AV 5772

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