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NEVADA MUSEUMS RECEIVE A FINANCIAL BOOST This year’s session of the Nevada Legislature has been a good one for local museums and cultural institutions. Assembly Bill 84 gives Springs Preserve the ability to use up to $30 million in funding to develop new exhibits as well as enhance and preserve wildlife habitats and infrastructure, according to Bronson L. Mack, a representative for Springs Preserve. The funds will be allocated by the Nevada Legislature in future years. Another $3 million, from Senate Bill 501, will help Springs Preserve develop a “new science and sustainability educational center and update some of the existing exhibits in the current Sustainability Gallery,” Mack said by email. That same bill also gives $1 million to the Atomic Testing Museum to plan for a possible relocation. “We’re a victim of our own success,” says executive director Michael Hall. “So many people are coming to the museum that we’re running out of space.” Another $30 million will be allocated to the Division of Museums and History, part of the Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs. The Nevada State Railroad MuseumBoulder City will be a huge beneficiary, using the funds for a large and long-awaited museum expansion. The museum draws more than 50,000 visitors annually, and organizers hope to double that number with the creation of a 9,000-square-foot air conditioned visitors center, public meeting rooms, enclosed display building and more. “We’ll have world class railroad museum for people to come visit,” says museum director Randy Hess. “Unfortunately to do culture we need money. This was a substantial amount. I’m not a political person, but I spent a lot of time watching the legislative session.” —C. Moon Reed
WEEK IN REVIEW WEEK AHEAD EV E N T S T O F O L L OW A N D N EWS YO U M I SS E D
A view of the Book during the official opening of a “next generation casino and gaming environment” at the Linq on June 7. The environment features hologram gaming, virtual reality games, esports, arcade games and modern versions of classic casino games. (Steve Marcus/Staff)
L A S V E G A S W E E K LY
IN THIS ISSUE
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Cover story: Happy 50th, World Series of Poker DJ Diesel, Thundercat and three hot tacos Health and wellness: Cactus Joe’s nursery Sports: UNLV’s new basketball coach looks to locals Vegas Inc: Tech boosts the hospitality industry
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STORIES FROM LAST WEEK A NEW LIBRARY IN NORTH LAS VEGAS North Las Vegas has approved buying three parcels of property for a $15 million Educational and Experimental Campus that will include a new library and a 4-acre park. The purchase agreement for the lots along Williams Avenue was unanimously approved June 5 during a joint meeting of the City Council and Redevelopment Agency. Spartan Gaming LLC owns the land and agreed to sell it to the city Redevelopment Agency for $320,166. Completion of the full project is estimated for 2023 or 2024, but the library is set to open in the first quarter of 2021. BIDEN OUT FRONT Joe Biden is leading a large field of Democratic presidential candidates in Nevada, according to a new poll from the Monmouth University Polling Institute. The poll of likely Democratic caucusgoers found 36% of respondents favored the former vice president, followed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., at 19% and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., at 13%. It is one of the best polling results for Warren, who has come in behind Sanders in a number of other surveys around the country. South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg came in fourth at 7%, and Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., was fifth at 6%. No other candidate in the field of 24 broke 2%. Biden polled strongly with those who identified as moderate or somewhat liberal. FOOD DELIVERY BY DRONE? Uber is testing food deliveries by drone in San Diego, hoping to decrease food delivery times. For the time being, it is working with McDonald’s, which load food into a drone that delivers it to an Uber Eats driver at a drop-off location. The driver then delivers the meal to the customer. The company has been working closely with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to ensure safety.
City Council Ward 2 candidate Victoria Seaman receives a hug from campaign manager Tom Letizia during an election watch party at her home on June 11, 2019. (Steve Marcus/Staff)
ELECTION RESULTS RESHAPE LAS VEGAS CITY COUNCIL Voters in Las Vegas elected three new representatives to the Las Vegas City Council on June 11 in one of the biggest shake-ups to the body in at least a decade. Former city employee Brian Knudsen was elected to represent Ward 1, former Republican Assemblywoman Victoria Seaman was elected in Ward 2, and former Democratic Assemblywoman Olivia Diaz was elected in Ward 3. Knudsen beat Robin Munier, former liaison and special assistant to the ward’s previous councilor Lois Tarkanian. Knudsen won 2,191 votes, or about 53 percent of the vote, to Munier’s 1,943 votes. Three-term Ward 1 representative Tarkanian had hit her term limit this year. Diaz beat neighborhood activist Melissa Clary in what turned out to be the closest race, winning 1,359 votes to Clary’s 1,285 votes. Diaz will replace outgoing two-term Councilman Bob Coffin, who did not seek reelection. Seaman came out on top in a special election for Ward 2 that coincided with Tuesday’s general election, winning 2,984 votes, or almost 40 percent of all votes. The real estate agent was one of seven candidates vying to replace former one-term Ward 2 Councilman Steve Seroka, whose abrupt resignation in March prompted the city council to call the special election. Knudsen, Seaman and Clary will be sworn in as councilors on July 3, joining sitting elected officials Mayor Carolyn Goodman, Ward 4 City Councilman Stavros Anthony, Ward 5 Councilman Cedric Crear and Ward 6 Councilwoman Michele Fiore. —Miranda Willson
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he trees grow in Asia. They reach about 50 feet in height, and their leaves have traditionally been used as a stimulant and as medicine. The humidity and soil of their native environment mean they aren’t equipped for the desert life of Nevada. ¶ The leaves, though, are popular here and elsewhere in the U.S. as a selfadministered pain relief and addiction treatment. Some states have made it illegal. Nevada has not. ¶ It’s called kratom. Let’s take a look at what this plant is, what it does and what the debate around it entails.
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WHAT IS KRATOM? Mitragyna Speciosa is a member of the coffee family, an evergreen tree that contains opioid properties. Commonly referred to as kratom, the plant’s leaves are traditionally chewed to produce stimulant effects. Think of it as a shot of espresso in plant form. Chewing too much, too quickly, or taking a large enough dose in another way can make the plant’s opioid properties kick in.
OPIOID PROPERTIES Opioids and opiates are different. Opiates are derived from the opium plant. Opioids are anything else that triggers the same brain receptors as opiates. But not all opioids are created equal. Cheese contains casein proteins that stimulate those receptors, the same exact ones as morphine, though at an extremely reduced rate. Fentanyl is also a synthetic opioid. See the range? Kratom is much closer to the cheese level of opioid receptor stimulation than the fentanyl level. Doses of more than 15 grams can have a more pronounced opioid affect, but Kelly Dunn, owner of Urban Ice Organics in North Las Vegas, said the natural form of the plant is very mild. Extracts, which Urban Ice does not produce or sell, can have more of an effect, he said. Dunn has an issue with calling it a “high.” “[It’s] similar to caffeine. Can you get high on a cup of coffee? Yeah, but you’re not going to be impaired,” he said.
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WHERE DOES IT COME FROM? Southeast Asia—Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia are the plant’s indigenous homeland. Kratom is illegal in Malaysia and Myanmar and only allowed for medicinal use in Thailand, but since the trees are native, stopping consumption is difficult. It has been used for millennia by rural workers to increase productivity, reduce pain and, in some cases, as a poultice on wounds. In the U.S., people use it as a painkiller and as a self-administered addiction cure. “A lot of people come into kratom as an off ramp to addiction,” Dunn said.
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CONSUMPTION Chewing on the leaf itself is rare in the U.S. because the plant does not grow here naturally. It’s available in capsule form and as a powder, which consumers can use to make tea or add to other food. The plant has a bitter flavor and takes effect about 30 minutes after consumption.
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IS IT DANGEROUS? Most deaths associated with kratom also are associated with other drugs, and the FDA came under fire in early 2018 for associating kratom with such instances. Gasca said taking large quantities of kratom is not advised, but not dangerous. “If you take it in large quantities, you’re going to get a stomachache. That’s probably going to be the biggest physical response that you experience,” she said. Kratom mixed with other products can be dangerous because consumers don’t know what they’re consuming. It’s an issue Dunn is passionate about, and says that buyers should have the right to know what they’re getting. “The industry needs some guidelines. We need some regulations,” he said. “We need some enforcement, too.” Dunn said minors shouldn’t consume kratom, which he compared to other readily-available products like energy drinks. “I feel the same way about 5-Hour Energy, Monster Energy,” he said. “I cringe at the idea that we have kids and teenagers buying those.”
HOW IS THE PLANT REGULATED? IS IT ADDICTIVE? Addiction centers and kratom acolytes disagree on this topic. Research around kratom is lacking, and anecdotal reports show that many users have not had addictive experiences with the drug. The Mayo Clinic says it’s not effective in treating an opioid addiction because of its own addictive effects, while other studies and organizations stop short of calling the drug addictive outright. In other words, more research is needed. Rebecca Gasca, a lobbyist with the American Kratom Association, said the plant is not addictive. Assemblyman Jim Wheeler, R-Minden, who sponsored a kratom-related bill in the past legislative session, said the plant is reported to help with addiction.
On the federal level, kratom is not regulated. The Food and Drug Administration warns against consuming kratom in any form until further research is done. In August 2016, the DEA tried to temporarily ban kratom by using its emergency scheduling powers to define the plant as a Schedule I drug. Thousands signed petitions to stop the scheduling and won. Six states and Washington, D.C., have banned the plant. As of now, there are no regulations on the books regarding kratom in Nevada, but that may soon change. Wheeler and Assemblyman Steve Yeager, D-Las Vegas sponsored a bill—passed by both legislative houses and sent to the governor for signing—that would require vendors to make sure the product is not mixed with another substance to the point of being “injurious to a consumer.” It would also ban sales to minors. Wheeler said the bill is about consumer protection and to ensure buyers get what they’re paying for. “What we do in this building is watch out for Nevada,” he said.
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PHOTOGRAPHER CHRISTOPHER DEVARGAS MODEL BRIT TANI RAEL / TNG MODELS HAIR/MAKEUP TAI SHANE
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By Case Keefer
oyle Brunson and Bryan “Sailor” Roberts, two eventual world champions of poker, are in midconversation, facing away from the camera. Other poker-playing peers are chomping on cigars or obscured behind colleagues wearing cowboy hats in the back of Binion’s Horseshoe. As with many historic photographs, it’s immediately evident that most of the depicted subjects don’t comprehend the gravity of the moment. The picture was taken at the conclusion of the 1970 World Series of Poker (WSOP), after seven out of the roughly 30 assembled gamblers had voted Johnny Moss the best all-around player, and therefore by default, the game’s first world champion. The captured moment still wields influence—current World Series of Poker executive director Ty Stewart has a print of it displayed on a poster board in his home. “I like to have that inspiration, something to look back on,” Stewart says. “So much of poker is behind closed doors, and that’s OK, but our role is to bring it out into the light.” The 50th-annual World Series of Poker began in late May at the Rio with the set of 89 championship tournaments running through mid-July. The Main Event—the $10,000 buy-in that annually determines the overall champion to follow in Moss’ footsteps—begins on July 3 and lasts 10 days, with the final table airing live on ESPN. The 2019 series also marks the 15th year since Caesars Entertainment purchased the WSOP from Binion’s and moved the event from a cramped Downtown casino floor to a spacious convention center just off the Strip. Much has changed with the relocation. Around 8,000 players are expected for the Main Event, a tournament that once drew as few as six entrants. Plumes of cigarette or cigar smoke are no longer the foremost table hazard, replaced by overly loud headphones on the heads of some players. The ringing of surrounding slot machines has ceased, giving way to a 24/7 chorus of shuffling chips. But Stewart, who’s in his 14th year as a WSOP executive, hopes the spirit remains intact, and he’s not the only one. The same picture he displays also hangs at the local home of Daniel Negreanu, the third-winningest WSOP player ever in terms of earnings with $17.2 million in prize money. “I’ve just always loved the history,” Negreanu says. “When I started out, the World Series was just a dream to be a part of. Now I’m lucky enough to have the luxury to be able to play in all the events I want, but it’s still what I look the most forward to, because it still brings all the best gamblers to one place.”
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Jack Binion displays more than $3 million in cash during the 15th World Series of Poker, April 24, 1984. (Ken Jones/Sun File)
♥♠♦♣ Concentrating the world’s best gamblers in one place was always the intention of the World Series of Poker, which has origins dating back further than the widely cited 1970 start date. In essence, the first WSOP was held the year before in Reno, when Holiday Hotel owner Tom Moore invited all the top poker players to his property for a weekend he dubbed “the Texas Gambling Reunion.” He hoped the high rollers would boost his casino’s bottom line during an otherwise slow period. They didn’t, as players like Brunson and Binion’s Horseshoe proprietors Benny Binion and Jack Binion stayed glued to the poker tables instead of the more-profitable-for-the-house table games. When Moore made it clear he wasn’t interested in making what had turned into a poker marathon an annual event, the Binions swooped in and co-opted the same basic format for their own casino in Las Vegas. “They could not possibly imagine how successful that idea would be and what kind of tree would grow from that little seed,” Brunson wrote in his autobiography, The Godfather of Poker. “I don’t think anyone could have.”
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Brunson also recalled that Benny Binion saw potential in the WSOP, however, and that informed a set of fateful ensuing decisions. The 1970 event went roughly the same route as the 1969 Texas Gambling Reunion, with a series of cash games followed by a vote to determine the best player. And then Benny Binion decided a change was necessary. The World Series of Poker needed a more decisive way to crown a champion and attract media attention. Benny Binion introduced the tournament format still used today in 1971, when Moss prevailed again over five other competitors. In 1972, Moss bowed out of the seven-player field early, and a final three of Brunson, Amarillo “Slim” Preston and Puggy Pearson emerged. Brunson had a chip lead but was allowed to cash out of the tournament in a move at the time blamed on a stomachache. But in his book, Brunson later revealed the real reason for his forfeit: He didn’t want any publicity as the champion, so the players struck a deal allowing Preston, who sought fame, to prevail. The 1972 tournament remains one of the most controversial moments in the history of the WSOP—and an undeniable one in terms of impact. Brunson wrote that he believed the event would have ceased in a few years without Preston, who became a celebrity through a number of talk-show appearances, including as a recurring guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Tales like Preston’s have gripped WSOP newcomers ever since. “I had a lot to learn about the history of the WSOP,” Stewart says, reflecting on his decision to commit to work exclusively on poker in 2005. “But I was happy to do that, and I quickly found it fascinating.”
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♥♠♦♣ Under Stewart, the WSOP has used “where dreams are dealt” as one of its main slogans—implying that anyone can win any given event. That promise wasn’t fully realized until the WSOP was nearly a decade old. Although the number of entrants increased every year following Preston’s win and media tour, established professionals were victorious in the first eight Main Events, including Brunson going back-to-back in 1976 and 1977. That changed in 1979, when a California advertising executive, Hal Fowler, outlasted a field of 54 players to win the $270,000 first-place prize. He never cashed in another WSOP event, but he laid the groundwork for many winners to come. The largest jump in participation in the WSOP’s first 20 years came in 1984, when the field expanded from 108 to 132 players in the aftermath of Tom McEvoy’s win. Unlike Fowler, McEvoy was a professional, but he was a relatively unknown one from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and he became the first player to win without putting up the full $10,000 entry fee. In 1983, the WSOP had introduced satellite tournaments, where players could win their way into the Main Event field at a lesser cost. McEvoy beat out nine other players in a $1,000 mini-tournament and eventu-
Doyle Brunson (seated), January 1978 (Sun/File)
ally turned it into the $580,000 Main Event winner’s share. In his postgame interview after defeating fellow up-and-comer Rod Peate heads-up, McEvoy called out the established poker pros—mentioning Brunson by name—as having new competition. “Two little-known players made the pros sit up and take notice,” commentator Curt Gowdy signed off the CBS special broadcast. “They also brought some new excitement to the World Series, proving once again that the hometown Friday-night poker player does have a chance for his moment of glory in the rarefied air of high-stakes poker.” CBS gave the WSOP its first television visibility through the early 1980S, but the event got its biggest boost when it switched to ESPN in time for what many still consider the greatest feat in Main Event history. Johnny Chan won the tournament in 1987 and 1988,
later immortalized in 1998 cult-classic film Rounders, before finishing second in 1989 to then 24-year-old Phil Hellmuth, the youngest-ever champion at the time. “I was 16 years old and saw the clips of Phil Hellmuth and Johnny Chan on ESPN and got goose bumps,” Negreanu says. “It was so real, and I had such an affinity for it. I wanted to get there.”
♥♠♦♣ McEvoy’s win may have inspired a handful of new WSOP participants, and the combination of Chan and Hellmuth might have spurred hundreds, but that paled compared to the thousands brought to the event by Chris Moneymaker. The 2003 World Series of Poker is often regarded as the most important moment in the history of the
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Chris Moneymaker gets in a quick hand of online poker in Nashville, June 2003. (John Russell/AP)
(John Locher/AP)
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event. Moneymaker, a then 27-year old accountant from Nashville, Tennessee, won the Main Event title and $2.5 million after securing his entry through an $86 online satellite victory. “I enjoyed being around for Moneymaker, but I had no idea it was going to result in the way it resulted,” ESPN color commentator Norman Chad says. “I was sort of oblivious to all that. It didn’t even feel right to me until I saw the first couple episodes of the show before we voiced it, and then, seeing the viewership increase with every episode. That’s hard to do. I remember just going, ‘That’s incredible.’” Poker had infiltrated the mainstream and soon seemed to be on ESPN at all hours. In hindsight, the indicators were readily apparent even before Moneymaker won. The proliferation of online poker had made the game more accessible worldwide, and ESPN had spruced up its production value just in time. It was the first year pairing Chad and Lon McEachern, who showed natural chemistry in the broadcast booth and are now as synonymous with the WSOP as any players. Most importantly, ESPN introduced hole-card cameras, so viewers could see what hands players were holding and better understand the betting action. “It seems impossible to say this, but I really did believe this game could turn into something like this,” Negreanu says. “I think a lot of players saw the vision and possibility of hole cards creating a boom. Because if you watch poker and don’t see the hole cards, then what are the guys doing? When you see the cards, it creates kind of an anxiety, an anticipation that isn’t available when you otherwise don’t get them.” Moneymaker proved the perfect avatar to show off the power of the nascent hole-card cameras. It made for riveting television to see everything from his mistakes—such as when he knocked out top-rated pro Phil Ivey in $8.8 milli First-place on 10 place with a far inferior hand—to his 10th p ri ze at the 2018 Main Eve brilliant bluffs, like when he got veteran nt, won by h igh-stake s cash-gam Sammy Farha to surrender the winning e profess ional John Cyn hand in a massive pot heads-up. n Moneymaker was a breakout star and poker was exploding, but beneath the glitz, there were issues. Binion’s had started a descent into financial ruin after the death of Benny Binion in 1989, with rumors spreading that the 2004 WSOP wouldn’t even take place. It ended up happening, but when 2,576 players signed up for the Main Event—a sizable increase from the 839 entrants the year before—some felt like it shouldn’t have. Binion’s didn’t have sufficient space, and Chad remembers arriving to cover the tournament and finding tables in the basement, outside and across the street. “It was fun to be at Binion’s,” Chad says. “Binion’s felt like Las Vegas … but Binion’s felt old. It felt used. It felt like no one had vacuumed the carpets since at least the lifetime of Benny Binion.”
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♥♠♦♣ Caesars (then Harrah’s) acquired the WSOP before the 2005 event, moving it to the Rio, just west of the Strip. There, it gained the room and stability it needed as participation continued to rise. That doesn’t mean everything has remained steady over time. The Main Event peaked with an all-time high of 8,773 players in 2006 before suffering a downturn of more than 2,400 entrants the following year. The tightening of online gaming laws, which have excluded satellite victors like Moneymaker in 2003 from directly winning their way into the field, has primarily been cited as the cause. But the biggest blow to the poker community came on April 15, 2011, when the U.S. Justice Department effectively shut down the online industry with a $3 billion criminal indictment. “Black Friday,” as it’s now referred to in poker circles, locked up hundreds of millions of players’ dollars amid litigation to indirectly increase the barrier of entry for WSOP events. “The world is a much different place for poker right now, and there were some dark days where I was concerned about the future,” Stewart says. “But I think it made our whole team much more motivated that we could help and put a positive face on for poker. I think that’s what we’re most proud of—that we turned a corner of where it looked like poker, the World Series of Poker, would retract, and instead we’ve been able to get to new heights.” The WSOP has set records in overall number of entrants—the combined number in all of its tournaments—in four of the past five years, peaking at 123,865 in 2018, largely because of its preponderance of smaller buy-in tournaments. The year before Caesars took over, the lowest-priced open events were a pair of $1,000 buyins. This year, there are 23 tournaments with a price tag of $1,000 or less. “We’ve sort of opened the doors to everyone, and that was a major challenge,” WSOP executive Seth Palansky says. “Everyone is protective of this event as their own, but I think we’ve found a way to appease everyone while not alienating anyone.” Most professionals were outspoken against the idea of holding tournaments at such a low price point, arguing that it diluted the prestige of the WSOP. Stewart and Palansky understood but retorted that they were aiming to do what was best for
104 esents repr orld ie r Co u n t 8 1 W the 20 through e d at r e k o of P nts Series tal eve o t 8 7 its
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poker. They believe getting more players at the tables ultimately benefits everyone. Some high-stakes gamblers remain skeptical, while others have come around. “I think the best thing the World Series has done is be adaptable to the everchanging landscape of poker,” Negreanu says. “I think they’ve done great at turning what was kind of a seedy, backroom-type game into something that’s corporately acceptable and also catering to the buy-ins of the majority. I was always against the idea of lower than $1,500 buy-ins, but I’ve started seeing the positives from a business perspective.”
♥♠♦♣ The first major tournament to kick off this year’s WSOP was the recent Big 50, $500 buy-in with no rake (the percentage the house typically takes) that set a live-tournament record with 28,371 entrants. The event, which software engineer Femi Fashakin won to earn $1.4 million, was Stewart’s brainchild, intended to honor the history of the WSOP. But he doesn’t think it went far enough.
He’s been told the 1970 photograph he looks at on a near-daily basis was taken after an annual buffet the Horseshoe offered to anyone who participated in a tournament during the early years of the WSOP. That wouldn’t be possible to replicate now—Stewart jokes that feeding 50 people was a bit easier than feeding 50,000—but an alternate version could take its place. The WSOP will hold its First Fifty Honors Gala June 29 at the Rio. Chad and McEachern will host an awards banquet recognizing winners of fan-voted categories, like the four most important players in WSOP history and the most impressive Main Event victory. Anyone who’s ever won a WSOP bracelet—awarded to the winner of every official tournament—is invited for a complimentary dinner. That means the current guest list is around 1,100 players, including almost all of the luminaries from the past half-century. Stewart has high hopes the vast majority of them will attend, and he knows exactly how he’d like to end the night. “What do I want for the 50th?” he asks. “I’d like to break records, sure, but really, I want a great picture with all the legends. And I want whoever is managing this thing 50 years from now to have that.”
Phil Hellmuth, September 13. 2017 (Sun File) Phil Ivey, July 11, 2016. (Steve Marcus/Staff) Johnny Chan, July 6, 2007. (Jae C. Hong/AP) (Photo Illustration)
PHIL HELLMUTH
JOHNNY CHAN
PHIL IVEY
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LOCAL LEGENDS
Living in Las Vegas used to be a virtual necessity for those looking to pursue a career in professional poker. That’s no longer the case, as the game’s global expansion and online poker have combined to allow players to settle almost anywhere they want. Still, the Vegas Valley remains home to a large number of notable card players, including these 10 legends from a variety of backgrounds and eras.
Daniel Negreanu (Nick Coletsos/Special to the Weekly)
Doyle Brunson, May 18, 1983 (Sun File)
e 18 o hav let t e s c rie bra 018 a unt Co uced the 2 oker t d fP a o pr nner ies o wi d Ser rl Wo
DANIEL NEGREANU Bracelets: six WSOP Lifetime Earnings: $17,206,678 “Kid Poker” won his first WSOP title 21 years ago and has yet to slow down, commanding a crowd of spectators on a daily basis during the summer at the Rio. He’s the second-winningest live tournament poker player of all-time with $39.8 million in career earnings, including in events outside of the WSOP.
QUI NGUYEN Bracelets: one WSOP Lifetime Earnings: $8,028,914 Nine of the last 10 Main Event champions were at least relatively known poker professionals. Nguyen is the lone exception. The former nail salon owner turned a $1,100 satellite tournament entry into $8 million at the 2016 WSOP with an unorthodox, gambling-heavy style.
Qui Nguyen of Las Vegas celebrates his 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event win. (Steve Marcus/Staff)
1,410 Wo Poker rld Series of brac throug elets award ed h record 2018, with a 89 mo re hande d out in to be to ments this su urnammer Note: all numbers accurate as of press time
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ERIK SEIDEL Bracelets: eight WSOP Lifetime Earnings: $5,439,236 For several years, Negreanu and Seidel battled for the spot atop poker’s all-time earnings list. They currently sit in second and third, respectively, behind Justin Bonomo, but Seidel’s $35 million is nothing to scoff at, nor are his pair of U.S. Main Event final table appearances.
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DOYLE BRUNSON Bracelets: 10 WSOP Lifetime Earnings: $3,083,079 “The Godfather of Poker” relocated to Las Vegas after starting his career as a Texas road gambler nearly 50 years ago and has played in the biggest games in town ever since. The 85-year-old notched his 37th career WSOP cash at last year’s series—coming in sixth in a 2-7 lowball draw tournament—but now says he’s retired from tournament poker.
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ANTONIO ESFANDIARI Bracelets: three WSOP Lifetime Earnings: $22,283,326 “The Magician” is the WSOP’s all-time earnings leader, largely because of his $18.3 million victory in the first-ever $1 million buy-in event in 2012. He only decided to enter the tournament at the last minute, having previously agreed to serve as a commentator on the action for ESPN. JEN HARMAN Bracelets: two WSOP Lifetime Earnings: $1,485,033 Another breakout star from the early 2000s, the UNR graduate was a staple in both televised poker shows and the highest-stakes cash games during the period. Many consider her the greatest female poker player of all-time. BEN LAMB Bracelets: one WSOP Lifetime Earnings: $7,243,796 Some thought it impossible for anyone to make the Main Event final table more than once after fields expanded to thousands of players 15 years ago. Lamb is one of three players to have proven them wrong, coming in third place in poker’s world championship in 2011 before finishing ninth in 2017. DOUG POLK Bracelets: three WSOP Lifetime Earnings: $4,539,609 Despite a relatively brief, seven-year career playing live tournaments, Polk sits just outside the top 50 in all-time earnings. He retired from poker last year to focus on cryptocurrency, in which he’s regarded as an expert. KATHY LIEBERT Bracelets: one WSOP Lifetime Earnings: $1,304,418 Liebert is regarded as a pioneer, as her career stretches back nearly 30 years—to a time when hardly any women were staples on the poker circuit. She has a long history of success in the Main Event, with two 17th-place finishes and two other Main Event cashes of more than $30,000. SCOTTY NGUYEN Bracelets: five WSOP Lifetime Earnings: $6,000,014 “The Prince of Poker” is the only player to have won both of the WSOP’s two most prestigious annual tournaments—the Main Event and the $50,000 buy-in Poker Player’s Championship. His unheeded warning of, “You call, it’s going to be all over, baby,” to Kevin McBride on the final hand of the 1998 Main Event stands as one of the most memorable moments in WSOP history.
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‘LOVE AND PURPOSE’ OWNER OF BELOVED CACTUS JOE’S NURSERY FOUND A PERMANENT HOME AMIDST THE DESERT PLANTS
CACTUS JOE’S NURSERY 12740 Blue Diamond Road, 702-875-1968, cactusjoeslasvegas.com. Monday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
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The gift shop at Cactus Joe’s Nursery
BY WEEKLY STAFF | PHOTOGRAPHS BY RICHARD BRIAN
▲ Joe Davidson, owner of Cactus Joe’s Nursery
oe Davidson is part man, part myth. He’s lean-built, sunkissed, weather-worn, and his piercing blue eyes have seen the world. He’s also the keeper of a colorful past. He stumbled in and out of business ventures, laid railroad tracks as a teen, sailed the globe, and experienced a lifetime of antics before buying a nursery on the far reaches of Blue Diamond Road in 1989, renaming it Cactus Joe’s. The beloved site welcomes you to the base of the Spring Mountains, a stop before the town of Blue Diamond, Bonnie Springs and Red Rock Conservation Area. It’s secluded, quirky and tucked comfortably along the scenic loop. “It was just a Blue Diamond vortex,” Davidson says describing his initial attraction to the location. “You can feel the energy—in the morning when nobody’s here, just so peaceful, so quiet, and in the afternoon or the late evening when nobody is here.” As Cactus Joe’s owner, Davidson is elusive and maintains a humble profile, never sharing his age and always redirecting attention to his nursery. Perhaps that’s what has fueled its growth in the nearly 30 years he’s
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been operating it, filling the acres with beloved extensions of himself—scrap metal statues of dragons from Mexico, garden pendants, chimineas, pottery and an eclectic gift shop brimming with handmade baskets and jewelry. He lives on the property and can be seen tending to the plants, picking up debris on the dirt trails or proudly snapping photos to post to the nursery’s social media accounts. Despite its distance from Las Vegas, business is consistent and has grown steadily over time. This past year, Cactus Joe’s had almost 10,000 transactions, Davidson said. Word has also spread beyond the desert. He often receives inquiries from around the country, even once supplying Purple Prickly Pear cactuses for centerpieces at a dinner for Michelle Obama in Washington, D.C. And while it isn’t the first business that he has ventured into, it’s the first he’s fought to keep. “I’ve been here [Cactus Joe’s] longer than I’ve been any place in my life, so this must be it,” Davidson says. “Everything I ever needed walked through the front door.” And it’s true. Employees, business opportunities, his girlfriend CeCe, and his beloved rescue dog Sammy—
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they have all walked through the dusty front doors of the nursery and into Davidson’s life. Drawing them in is seven acres of desert plant life with a more than 200-year-old cactus looming near the gift shop. There’s also a vast collection of native Joshua Trees carefully gathered from old, abandoned mines in the Southwest. Through the years, Davidson purchased the mines so he could scour them for native plants and sell them at the nursery, all with the approval of the Nevada Division of Forestry. “This is my favorite plant,” Davidson says, pointing to one. “But I really, really like this Teddy Bear Cholla,” he says, pointing to another. He continues on, insisting that Geronimo ate the Cholla when he was roaming the desert. Nestled behind a miniature Western town and near a meditation maze is a small wedding chapel built by hand. An inside window frames Red Rock and the vast desert sky. Through the years, housing and retail spaces have crept toward the Red Rock Canyon Loop, and Davidson has received offers from real estate investors to buy land on which the nursery sits. One offer was for $3.8 million for three acres on the outskirts of the property. “I was elated. I was jumping up and down. Oh my goodness! That is more money than this poor farm boy ever dreamed of,” Davidson said. “I went to sleep and woke up in the middle of the night ... what am I going to do? I love my nursery, I’ve got incredible employees.” He didn’t sell an inch of it. The best part of Cactus Joe’s, Davidson says, is the incredible people he meets—his employees and the customers who visited the nursery as children and bring their own kids back. “They come here, they enjoy it, they talk. Everybody has an incredible story. They’ve been somewhere, they’ve done something,” Davidson says. And he’ll be waiting, more than willing to listen and share his favorite cactuses. “Everyone needs two things—someone to love and a purpose,” Davidson says. “This is both.”
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BIG THIS WEEK JUN 14-16
LAS VEGAS CONVENTION CENTER AMAZING LAS VEGAS COMIC CON Browse a vast market of comic books, anime and film memorabilia, and geek out over guest stars like actors Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings) and Asher Angel (Shazam!) and character creators including Rob Liefeld (Deadpool) and Jim Starlin (Thanos, Gamora and Shang-Chi.) Friday, 3-8 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; $25-$60. –Geoff Carter
SAT, JUN 15
BROOKLYN BOWL THE MUSIC OF THE GRATEFUL DEAD FOR KIDS If your little ones don’t yet know their “Scarlet” from their “Fire” or their “Althea” from their “Bertha,” here’s an all-ages entry into the world of Jerry, Bobby and the gang. The touring Rock and Roll Playhouse plays the tunes— with support from local Dead tribute act Catfish John— during daylight hours and at downturned decibels. June 15, 11 a.m., $15-$20. –Spencer Patterson
(Steve Marcus/Staff)
THU, JUN 13 TROPICANA SUMMER COOKOUT WITH ROBERT IRVINE For the third year in a row, the celebrity chef kicks off Las Vegas Restaurant Week with a cookout at Robert Irvine’s Public House. The dinearound will feature summer-inspired dishes and beverages, including Wagyu beef sliders, hickorysmoked dry-rubbed baby back ribs, hamachi poke parfaits with unagi sauce, and an assortment of mini pizzas, courtesy of Public House and Tropicana’s portfolio of restaurants, which includes Oakville Steakhouse, Red Lotus Asian Kitchen and Trago Lounge. Las Vegas Restaurant Week, now in its 13th year, gives locals a chance to enjoy the city’s culinary offerings with prix fixe menus ranging in price from $20-$80, while also supporting Three Square, Southern Nevada’s only food bank, in its fight to eradicate hunger. This year’s 12-day event runs from June 17-28, with dozens of restaurants participating. (For a complete list, visit helpoutdineoutlv.org.) The Public House kickoff will also feature an interactive cooking competition, a live and silent auction, and a performance by Frank Sinatra tribute artists from Legends in Concert. 7-10 p.m., $50-$100. –Genevie Durano
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calendar p28 (Courtesy)
SAT, JUN 15 |
KAOS CARDI B
“Cardi don’t need more press,” and yet, here we are. The fiery, all-powerful KAOS resident pops up at the Palms nightclub, just days after slamming haters for doubting whether she writes her own tunes. The Bronx-born star was born to flex, and KAOS puts her center stage. 10:30 p.m., $70-75. –Leslie Ventura
THU, JUN 13
SAT, JUN 15
SAT, JUNE 15
TEALET WORLD TEA AND MUSIC FESTIVAL
LAS VEGAS BALLPARK Battle for Vegas Charity Softball
WEST LAS VEGAS LIBRARY Juneteenth Jazz
It’s a drink with a long history and beloved the world over. Learn all about a good cuppa through food tastings, live music, yoga and meditation sessions, plus holistic wellness consultations. 7 p.m.-midnight, $50, 3230 Polaris Ave. #7. –Genevie Durano
VGK’ers like Reilly Smith, Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson—plus Marcus Allen, Jose Canseco, Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds and more—swing the bats for children’s cancer charity the Tyler Robinson Foundation. 6 p.m., $22-$76. –Spencer Patterson
Commemorate the end of American slavery with this daylong fest packed with music, art and spoken word. Highlights include the Olabisi African Dance Ensemble, storytelling by Griot Nation and a culture and history lecture. Free, 11:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. –C. Moon Reed
WED, JUN 19 Bunkhouse Saloon Froth This hazy yet utterly dynamic indie outfit just released Duress, its first full-length in two years. Froth leaves sunny LA for a four-month tour that includes stops in Europe, and Vegas is the first out-of-town gig. With Versing. 8:30 p.m., $12-15. –Leslie Ventura
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NOW SPINNING AT EBC, DJ DIESEL REMAINS LARGER THAN LIFE
SHAQ
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BY BROCK RADKE
It seems like four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal has always maintained some sort of presence on the Las Vegas nightclub scene. He has hosted pool parties, DJ’d at venues like Rehab and Chateau in recent years and was even an investor in the iconic Pure Nightclub at Caesars Palace (you know, the thing before Omnia). His career as DJ Diesel reaches a new high this weekend when he tips off a new residency at Encore Beach Club, spinning at Nightswim Saturday and returning for two more parties next month. Here are a few things you should know to get ready before you break it down with the Big Shaqtus, aka Manny Shaq-iaou, aka the Big Agave, aka Shaq Daddy.
NIGHTSWIM WITH DJ DIESEL June 15, 10 p.m., $25-$45. Encore Beach Club, 702-770-7300.
■ He has released four studio albums, not counting his contributions to the soundtracks for his films Kazaam and Steel. (Kazaam is a musical fantasy comedy directed by one of the stars of TV’s Starsky & Hutch, in which Shaq plays a 5,000-year-old genie; Steel is a superhero movie based on a DC Comics Superman spin-off character, in which Shaq battles a weapons dealer played by Judd Nelson. Shaq recorded songs for these movies.) His 1993 debut album on Jive Records, Shaq Diesel, went platinum and featured production from some serious hip-hop heavyweights including Ali Shaheed Muhammad from A Tribe Called Quest, Erick Sermon of EPMD and Def Jef from the West Coast Rap All-Stars. ■ Shaq’s best-known rap single wasn’t one of his songs—it was his appearance on the Fu-Schnickens’ “What’s Up Doc (Can We Rock),” a Top 40 hit from 1993. It should be noted that Shaq’s Rookie of the Year campaign with the Orlando Magic also concluded in 1993, so if you doubt his skills as an MC, remember that he was rhyming while he was averaging 23.4 points, 13.9 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game. There’s also the matter of the still-unreleased Shaquille O’Neal Presents His Superfriends, Vol. 1, originally slated for a 2001 release and rumored to include contributions from Dr. Dre, Pink, George Clinton, Ludacris, Common, Snoop Dogg and more. When will Shaq open his vault?
■ He’s a part of Vegas boxing history (sort of). In 2009, Shaq battled Oscar de la Hoya for five short rounds at Planet Hollywood as part of his Shaq Vs. reality TV show produced for ABC. De la Hoya won in a unanimous decision. For the show’s second season in 2010, Shaq took on Shane Mosley in another exhibition match, this time at Caesars Palace, again falling to his opponent despite a 16-inch height advantage and a nearly 200-pound weight edge. To add insult to injury, the same episode of Shaq Vs. featured the big guy losing to Penn Jillette in a magic trick competition … even though Shaq had Teller on his side. That’s rough. ■ He’s a part of Vegas food history (sort of). Shaq’s fast casual eatery Big Chicken opened last year on Paradise Road right across from the Hard Rock Hotel, and as far as fried chicken sandwich joints go, you could do a lot worse. Chicago’s Turano Baking Company supplies all the brioche buns, a double wet-and-dry battering process adds to the tasty-crispy quotient and the floats are made with local Big Dog’s Brewing Company root beer. The go-to sandwich is the Uncle Jerome, a take on the Nashville hot chicken phenomenon named for Shaq’s longtime bodyguard. It might be the fuel-up you need before you hit Nightswim. (Photograph courtesy)
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CLUB NOTES THE CHAINSMOKERS LIGHT IT UP DOWNTOWN WITH THEIR NEW VIVA VISION SHOW BY BROCK RADKE
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he Chainsmokers took a break from their Wynn Nightlife residency on May 31 to visit the Fremont Street Experience for the premiere of their new Viva Vision light and sound show. Fans gathered around the Third Street Stage to catch a glimpse of the DJ/producer duo and catch the six-minute montage of hits set to the dazzling imagery of the FSE canopy, undergoing a massive $32 million renovation that should be finished by New Year’s Eve. This week, Steve Aoki will debut his own Viva Vision light show experience, kicking off June 13 at 8 p.m. In other Wynn Nightlife news, Romain Pavee recently joined the team as executive director of international marketing. The French transplant previously served as manager of luxury development at Pernod Ricard and has held positions with Daniel Boulud and Bagatelle. Also, Encore Beach Club launched its Wednesday-night pool party June 5 with the venue’s nine-year anniversary Nightswim shindig starring Alesso. The return of Wednesday-night programming fills the void left by the recently closed Intrigue Nightclub. Upcoming EBC acts include Galantis, June 19 and Dillon Francis, June 26. Dubai’s Cove Beach hosted its first U.S. takeover at Venus Pool & Lounge at Caesars Palace over Memo-
rial Day weekend, and the sexy and sophisticated vibes created by LIVIT Hospitality continue with four weekly parties. Thursdays are for the Rosé Soirée, with unlimited rosé wine and music by DJ Colione; Little Havana takes over on Friday with a Latin theme; FRSH brings a day-to-night party on Saturday with DJ Dany Neville; and Sunday features the tropical JMRCK party with DJ Crown Prince and Caribbean beats. And JEMAA–the NoMad Pool Party at Park MGM now offers a Tropical Brunch Poolside menu for table service, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays. Items include housebaked croissants, hamachi ceviche and avocado toast. Apex Social Club has expanded its rooftop hours at the Palms. Guests can now take in the panoramic Vegas views from 7 to 10 p.m. with no cover charge at the Clique Hospitality hot spot. One of the company’s other venues, Clique Bar & Lounge at the Cosmopolitan, presents the In the Mix live DJ competition every Wednesday. Fifteen to 20 DJs will play five-minute sets judged by industry leaders from Blueprint Sound, Blackout Artists and Clubkillers, along with other local figures, with winners advancing to the next rounds in the coming weeks. –Brock Radke
+ HOT SPOTS DUKE DUMONT SAT 15 | DAYLIGHT The U.K. house DJ’s 2015 hit “Ocean Drive” still resonates as a sultry-cool summer track, and his latest cut, “Red Light Green Light” featuring Shaun Ross, is the kind of house jam that will have you dancing by the pool all day long. Hit the strobe. 11 a.m., $30-$50, Mandalay Bay, 702-632-4700.
GALANTIS SUN 16 | ENCORE BEACH CLUB The Swedish duo comprising Christian Karlsson and Linus Eklöw just teamed with OneRepublic on acoustic guitartinged track “Bones,” but Galantis is still the same electro-pop outfit that brought the world “Peanut Butter Jelly.” 10:30 a.m., $25-$45, Encore, 702-770-7300.
GOLDFISH SUN 16 | MARQUEE DAYCLUB This electronic duo hailing from Cape Town, South Africa, pumps out anthemic tracks (hear: “Talk to Me”), complete with sax, flute, double bass and keys. 11 a.m., $20-$30, Cosmopolitan, 702-333-9000. –Leslie Ventura
The Chainsmokers’ Andrew Taggart (Courtesy)
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G O P OOL AS H ANT I
jun 8 Photographs by Bryan Steffy/ Courtesy
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Photographs by Global Media Group/Courtesy
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TACO ANY DAY THESE TAQUERIAS WILL SATISFY YOUR CRAVING ALL WEEK LONG
(Wade Vandervort/ Staff)
For decades, Las Vegas has been stuffed with taco joints of varying quality. Recently, a new wave of top-notch taquerias has upped the ante on the local tortilla scene. So welcome to Taco Town, where cool hot spots serve gourmet-level handheld folders filled with south of the border deliciousness. Here are a few of our spicy favorites. –Greg Thilmont
SANTOS GUISADOS TACOS & BEER
BAJAMAR SEAFOOD & TACOS
Located a block from the bustling Fremont East entertainment district, this lively eatery is a mini-cathedral of tortilla goodness. Inside the snug culinary sanctuary, experience the fragrant cochinita pibil taco with its succulent chunks of achiote-marinated pork that’s been slow-braised in banana leaves. Showcasing tropical flavors of the Yucatán peninsula, it’s enhanced with zippy pickled red onions. Savor it with a molcajete of vibrant guacamole for dipping with crispy chips and an icy glass of fruit-filled, magenta-hued sangria. Be sure to look for the glowing Elvis novena candle and say hallelujah to the “Pray for Tacos” artwork. 616 E. Carson Ave., 702-826-3515.
With its surfboard-toting purple octopus mural, you can’t miss this bright, beachy eatery, situated in the Arts District’s southeastern border. Its staple offering—the fish taco—is a thing of beauty that evokes oceanside thoughts of picturesque Baja California. Get the crispy, golden-hued deep-fried version topped with shredded white and red cabbage, jewellike fresh pico de gallo, creamy aioli sauce and a hint of smoky chipotle in a soft corn tortilla. It really pops with a squeeze of lime, extra splashes of fiery La Guacamaya hot sauce and sips of sweet Mexican Coke on the side. 1615 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 702-331-4266.
¡SALUD! TACOS The latest tasty taco sensation to hit town is straight outta San Diego, where it has been a popular foodie destination for nearly five years. Its first Las Vegas location brings stylish and vivid street-art ambiance to the Palace Station’s Marketplace—and excellent grinds like the carne asada Califas, a flour tortilla brimming with mesquitegrilled steak, french fries, guacamole, cheddar cheese, pico de gallo and crema. Pair the hefty combination with cheesy frijoles de olla (broth-stewed beans with nopales and pico de gallo) and a glass of the daily agua fresca in flavors like strawberry, hibiscus, horchata and cucumber-lime. 2411 W. Sahara Ave., 702-445-7673.
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Food & Drink Big Jerk’s seafood offerings are legit. (Wade Vandervort/Staff)
TAPPING IN Dive into Office Bar’s eclectic microbrew selection
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gone fishing
Big Jerk expands its offerings beyond ribs and chicken
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In 2017, Tremaine Stevens and Quinton a potent blend of herbs and spices and then fried— Carter began bringing homestyle Caribserved, for now, only on Fridays—deliver a different bean food to Las Vegas with nothing but a vibe entirely. This is a meal you enjoy with family truck, a handful of family recipes and a passion for and friends, savored slowly over good conversation Jamaican cuisine. Think 24-hour marinated and ice-cold beer. Big Jerk jerked meats, fried sweet plantains, velvety Stop in any other day and you can still 430 E. Silverado curry rice and more. enjoy a fried, grilled or pan-seared red snapRanch Blvd., In April, Stevens and Carter celebrated one per fillet ($17); curried, fried or jerk shrimp 702-427-5267. year of Big Jerk’s brick-and-mortar location, Monday-Thurs- ($14); or a 6-ounce lobster tail—plump and day, 11 a.m.and now, they’re ready to prove that the restaujuicy with garlic butter, fried or grilled with 9 p.m.; Friday- the same 24-hour jerk marinade Big Jerk rant is more than a chicken and rib joint. The Saturday, pair are masters of seafood, too, and they’re 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; uses for the meats. The off-menu brown Sunday, showcasing their skills with a newly available stew with fried snapper should also be made 11 a.m.-8 p.m. whole-fish fry and other tantalizing Caribbean permanent. The filet comes swimming in a dishes inspired by the sea. tangy tomato sauce sweetened with brown Chef and consultant Rey Arreola was sugar and served in a bowl of silky saffronbrought on a year ago to ensure Big Jerk’s family reci- colored Jamaican curry rice. pes could be made to scale for a quick-serve restauBig Jerk is the kind of spot you can’t wait to try rant. Honed through generations, the flavors are like again and again, whether you’re in the mood for meat none other. And dishes like whole snapper, rubbed in or have a hankering for seafood. –Leslie Ventura
Unless you have a love for all things divey, you might not think there’s a whole lot of reason for dropping into the inconspicuous Office Bar in the Fruit Loop near Hofbrauhaus. But appearances can be deceiving, and this joint is a must-visit for any serious beer drinker. Office Bar is a throwback: a smoky, dimly lit gaming bar. But it has a remarkable draft selection—14 taps offering local beers alongside microbrews from Northern Nevada and beyond. Recent selections have included Revision’s grapefruittinged Baggage Wagon New England-style IPA, Able Baker’s robust Chris Kael Impale’D imperial brown ale and Lead Dog Brewing’s delicious Peanut Butter Stout. You can certainly order a watery, mass-produced lager here, but it won’t be coming out of a tap. One added bonus: the Beer Zombies Pop-Up Bottle Shop, which, contrary to its name, serves a wide variety of constantly rotating but primarily canned offerings, including the latest Beer Zombie collaborations alongside beers from rarely encountered breweries like Connecticut’s Fat Orange Cat Brew Co.—Lorenzo the Beer Cat couldn’t be more adorable!—and Tehachapi, California’s local craft beer. My only complaint? There isn’t a printed menu at Office Bar, and the website isn’t updated frequently, so consider it an effort in beer exploration. But wait, there’s more! You can order from neighboring Naked City Pizza’s full menu without leaving your seat. Great pizza and beer? What more could you want? –Jim Begley
Office Bar 4608 Paradise Road, 702-737-7756. 24/7.
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CAT POWER
Tracing Thundercat’s key evolutionary steps, from Suicidal Tendencies to Kendrick Lamar
By Zoneil Maharaj Stephen Bruner, aka Thundercat, might not be a household name, but many of the artists who call on him are. From playing in iconic thrash band Suicidal Tendencies and recording with R&B queen Erykah Badu to singing with Childish Gambino and being a driving force on Kendrick Lamar’s critically acclaimed To Pimp a Butterfly, the 34-yearold bassist/singer/songwriter has become the industry’s go-to for groovy licks and funky, sonic visions. Before Thundercat hits the Pearl on June 16 as a supporting act on Anderson .Paak’s Best Teef in the Game Tour, here are a few essential gems from the dexterous musician’s impressive résumé.
Suicidal Tendencies, 13 (2013) Though the punk/metal band was formed before he was even born, Thundercat played a significant role in its storied history, joining while still in high school and touring from 2002 to 2011. His only studio album with Suicidal Tendencies was 13, released two years after he left to focus on his solo career. In an album review, pop culture website Bloody Good Horror highlighted his contributions, writing, “The album’s shining moments occur when bassist Steve Bruner locks into a funkinfused lick with the drums.”
Erykah Badu, New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) (2008) It must have been intimidating for Thundercat—then a teenager—to be in the room with the gravitational force that is Erykah Badu, not to mention heavyweights like Questlove and Madlib who contributed to this abstract and eclectic album. But Thundercat proved more than worthy of a seat at the table with those musical masterminds, playing bass on four songs. The experience was monumental in Thundercat’s artistic development, and he’d go on to form a close relation-
ship with Badu, collaborating on future projects and joining her for live performances. “I wouldn’t be who I am right now if it wasn’t for Erykah,” he told Spin in 2017. Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly (2015) The Compton rapper’s magnum opus took a noted jazzy, funky turn from his previous releases. A major reason was Thundercat, whose fingerprints are all over the record. He sang on five songs, played bass on four and co-produced three— including “Wesley’s Theory,” the psychedelic trip that opens the
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NOISE THUNDERCAT Opening for Anderson .Paak, with Earl Sweatshirt. June 16, 7:30 p.m., $45-$146. The Pearl, 702-9427777.
CUT LOOSE KICK OFF YOUR TUESDAY SHOES AND DANCE WITH CHROMEO f you’ve heard their songs in a club, you know that Dave 1 and P-Thugg are experts in getting people moving on the dancefloor. Their sound channels the ’80s in a way that’s both playful and respectful—without being overly derivative—a result of the duo’s musically rich upbringing in Montreal, Canada, crate digging and eventually producing. (Dave 1 is also the younger brother of the famed DJ A-Trak.) The duo has released five studio albums, from 2004 debut She’s in Control through last summer’s Head Over Heels. Add these songs to your summer playlist, then head to Brooklyn Bowl to witness the bona fide lovin’, live.
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(Courtesy)
album, and the heavy “Complexion (A Zulu Love).” Because of the critical praise it received, To Pimp a Butterfly pushed Thundercat closer to the spotlight. Thundercat, Drunk (2017) Despite releasing solo records since 2011, Thundercat’s name was often linked to his collaborators until his lauded third solo LP, Drunk, placed him front and center. While his first two albums were more somber, spurred by the death of a close friend, Drunk takes a lighter, more whimsical approach. He sings
about his cat on “Tron Song,” gets stuck in a monotonous routine on “Captain Stupido,” fires petty zingers on “Friend Zone” and wallows in heartbreak on inescapable earworm “Them Changes”—all done over beautifully funky grooves. Naturally, some of Thundercat’s friends show up: Lamar, the late Mac Miller, Wiz Khalifa and Pharrell Williams. What no one expected was “Show You the Way,” a hypnotic wonder featuring yacht rock kings Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins. Only Thundercat could pull that off.
“Green Light” [remix] (2017) When Lorde dropped this anthemic track, it signaled a more mature sound for the New Zealand pop star by way of its theatrical, you-can-do-anything climax. The Chromeo remix gives it a different feel entirely, injecting it with slick basslines and swift percussion that make it feel richer, bolder and definitely groovier. If the original captures the uncertainty of new horizons after leaving a bad thing behind, the Chromeo remix embodies the confident second chapter. “Don’t Sleep” (2018) Featuring hip-hop heavyweight French
Montana and British rapper Stefflon Don, this track embraces the old-school vibes for which Chromeo is known but switches things up with an earworm chorus primed for Top 40 radio. Like a frozen margarita served poolside, “Don’t Sleep” is funky, refreshing and perfect for summer days. “Night by Night” (2010) If ever a song conjured up all the best imagery from the 1980s, this is it, featuring flashy synths, syncopated beats and a smootherthan-smooth chorus. This track could fit in a redux of just about anything from the decade. Footloose remake? Easy. He-Man reboot? Totally. Even Dirty Dancing could be reimagined with a bit of Chromeo’s fancy footwork. –Leslie Ventura
CHROMEO with Touch Sensitive June 18, 8 p.m., $30-$35. Brooklyn Bowl, 702-862-2695.
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6 .1 3 .1 9 Celine Dion brings her children onstage to pay tribute to her late husband René Angélil during her final show at the Colosseum. (Denise Truscello/Courtesy)
The STrip
END OF AN ERA There will never be another Vegas resident like Celine Dion By Brock Radke t’s not unusual to spot a celebrity or some overzealous fan behavior at a big Las Vegas concert event, but everything that happened Saturday night at Celine Dion’s grand finale at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace seemed surreal. The theater felt alive with a crackling sense of anticipation as we took our seats, then Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis sat right next to us. (A few songs into the show, superstar DJ Tiësto arrived and sat in front of us. He would end up partying with Dion at Omnia afterward.) Later in the show, several audience members spilled into the aisles to get closer to the stage, and one darting fan crashed down on top of us when he collided with a security team member. You don’t expect a makeshift moshpit when you go to a Celine Dion show. But the most surreal feeling stemmed from the simple fact that she might not sing at the Colosseum ever again. Saturday’s show stayed close to her standard Caesars set list—with standing ovations
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coming after her still-incredible vocals on “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” and “All by Myself”—but Dion also debuted a new dance anthem, “Flying on My Own,” from her forthcoming 27th studio album, Courage, and closed with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” while images of her family and late husband/manager René Angélil appeared onscreen. Dion will hit the road for a world tour in September, and Las Vegas will likely be among the 50 cities she visits, but it won’t be like her Colosseum shows. No Vegas show will ever be like this one. Dion and Angélil, with their partners at Caesars and AEG, have rightfully been given credit for launching the modern headlining residency phenomenon in Las Vegas, but no other artist has been able to duplicate her Vegas success. The numbers spell it out. Since the debut of A New Day in 2003, Dion performed 1,141 times at the Colosseum for more than 4.5 million fans. That original residency ended up at 717 shows across almost five years, closing at the end of 2007. That
pencils out to an average of 156 shows per year, a far cry from the current average of 30-45 concerts per year that most of today’s “residents” play on the Strip. Dion was always here, always onstage, and that was the plan from the very beginning. The Colosseum, which seats 4,300, was built for her show and without much consideration for other programming. Its size was set at twice the capacity of a Cirque du Soleil production theater because it would host only one show per night. It’s unimaginable in today’s entertainment industry environment that a venue of that scale would be constructed for one superstar, on the Strip or anywhere else. That’s why the headlines declared Dion was returning to save a recession-battered Las Vegas when she came back in 2011 for her second residency. And that’s why it’s assumed she’ll be back on the Strip after the tour, or whenever she’s ready to return to her Vegas throne. No one else will be sitting in it.
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The STrip
Alberto del Campo and his son Zack (Wade Vandervort/Staff)
FATHER AND SON For Cirque du Soleil’s del Campos, the stage is a family affair By Brock Radke ou may be having a hard time finding the right Father’s Day gift for your dad, but it would be even harder if you were Zack del Campo. He just turned 10 years old, but that’s not the real problem. His dad is one of the coolest dads in Las Vegas, an acrobat in Cirque du Soleil’s The Beatles Love at the Mirage, who’s joined onstage most nights by Zack, one of the show’s younger cast members. What could possibly make a better gift than this Vegas onstage togetherness? “Hugs?” Zack suggests. “I love it,” agrees his dad, Alberto del Campo, who first came to town for a role in Le Rêve at Wynn Las Vegas. He left that show after a dozen years to join KÁ, and that’s when his older son Alex, now 12, had joined the cast of Love. Zack joined his brother soon afterwards. Mom/wife Genevieve Garneau is also an acrobatic performer who started in O and can cur-
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rently be seen in Le Rêve. Love is one of the rare Strip productions that has kids in the cast; Zack is part of a foursome that plays the younger Beatles during a few sequences. He enjoys performing and especially spending time around his dad, but soccer is his main priority right now. It’s Alex who is considering following in his parents’ performing footsteps—he aged out of the Love cast but performed in this year’s One Night for One Drop show at Bellagio—but Zack is definitely into the music of Love. “When I was like 5 years old I never knew about The Beatles,” he says. “When I first heard about The Beatles, I was like, the bug beetles? What type of beetle?” His first Beatles tune was “Yellow Submarine,” but now he likes “Yesterday” and “Help.” “All of them are pretty good, actually.” The del Campos are one of many Cirque du
Soleil families living and working in Las Vegas. Artists and crew members come from all over the world to create and perform in these iconic shows, so relationships, marriages and children are a natural by-product of the tight-knit community. “You come here and you don’t know anyone, so your family is the other performers,” Alberto says. “The more shows you do, the more family you have.” Alberto left his native Spain at the age of 19 to travel across Europe as a circus performer. In Love, he’s onstage more and taking fewer risks than he did in the action-packed KÁ. “It’s good for me because I’m 40. It’s good for my body now. “It’s a good job to have. When Zack and Alex have been in the show, I’m always asking them, ‘Do you like to come to work?’ And they do, and I tell them this is what you should feel like when you choose your work later on.”
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6 .1 3 .1 9 Wade Hampton’s “A Game of Chess” (right) and other works. (Courtesy)
ART
Taking it easel Wade Hampton’s 'palet honors the artistic forms of the past By Dawn-Michelle Baude veryone knows that the “Mona Lisa” has an enigmatic smile, but what about Wade Hampton’s ambivalent grin? His 90-by68-inch self-portrait, “A Game of Chess,” literally dominates his Centennial Hills Library exhibition. Dressed in a bow tie, bolero jacket and straw hat, Hampton cuts an interesting, Old Master figure. Hands on his hips like a Duke of yore, face illuminated against a dark background, the hat brim a kind of halo, he could have stepped right out of the 17th century were it not for that Italian belt and Upper East Side white buttondown. But it’s the expression that mystifies. Is it wry? Sly? Wise? Amused? “A Game of Chess”—painted live in the studio from his own mirrored image—attests to Hampton’s mastery of technique. At a time when artists are often so technologically handicapped that they can’t sketch a flower, much less a face, without an app, Hampton has gone the other way: painting real subjects in real time. What’s more, he does a lot of it en plein air—outdoors, on an easel. Imag-
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ine painting Niagara Falls with music blasting and unapologetically appeals to the origins of the word tourists sauntering past, sipping Pepsis and making and its familiar, even folksy, role in art history. comments about your work. Hampton’s three-hour His allegiance is to the past, and thus he paints YouTube video shows him doing just that: the Falls, traditional genres in oils. In doing so, Hampton the tourists, the Pepsis and Hampton in dismisses any influence from the past the middle, painting, happily in his zone. 100 years of art history. Most of his aaacc The “Niagara Falls” landscape, with its portraits, for example, are academic Wade Hampton: jaunty turquoise hues, is among 16 works exercises in realism. Instead of working 'palet exhibited in a gallery not much bigger to further art history by using art to reThrough June 30; than a dressing room. The cozy, intimate spond to the cultural moment in which Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; feel of the exhibition is reflected in the we live, Hampton delivers safe, pretty Friday-Sunday, small-format works of portraiture for pieces that risk dismissal by trained 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; free. which real people sat, and landscapes eyes. His art raises questions about artCentennial Hills Library, painted freehand en plein air, withists who master established techniques 702-507-6100. out preparatory under-painting and without urgency to participate in the gridding to prevent mistakes. Among conversation regarding the role and the standouts is “El Pueblo de Nuestra responsibility of contemporary art to Senora Reina,” a plein air depiction of LA that shape culture and cultural perceptions. inches closer to abstraction, allowing Hampton’s Judging by patrons enjoying the Centennial instinctive feel for form and color freer rein. Hills Library show, Hampton has literally found In titling the exhibition 'palet—a phonetic his niche. The smile in his self-portrait may just representation of the word “palette”—Hampton be content.
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RESERVATIONS AT HARDROCKHOTEL.COM | 702-693-5505 | Must be 21 years or older. Management reserves all rights.
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(Courtesy/Photo Illustration)
LAS VEGAS PHILHARMONIC CONCERT BROADCASTS Begins July 7, Sundays, 2 p.m. Classical 89.7 FM, knpr.org/ classical-897-kcnv.
ORCHESTRA ON THE RADIO THE PHIL’S 20TH-ANNIVERSARY SEASON REPLAYS ON YOUR FM DIAL THIS SUMMER BY C. MOON REED erhaps you missed Las Vegas Philharmonic’s stellar 20th-anniversary season. We get it. In a city of ongoing celebrity residencies, it’s easy to overlook one-off cultural events. But here’s your redemption. This summer, Nevada Public Radio will broadcast recordings of the Phil’s 2018 and 2019 performances on KCNV 89.7 FM, Sundays at 2 p.m. It’s a great way to while away a hot afternoon as you wait for the Philharmonic’s 21st season to begin on September 7. “There’s something [special] about a broadcast of a live performance,” music director Donato Cabrera says. “You hear the clapping. You hear the energy of the audience, which you can’t find on a studio recording.” Cabrera and KNPR Director of Programming Dave Becker introduce each concert with an educational discussion. “Dave Becker really gets to the point as to why these pieces matter and how they fit together as a concert,” Cabrera says. “I
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talk about what’s important about the piece and what to listen for.” Even though you’ll get a second chance for these concerts, don’t expect a third. Contractual agreements prevent them from being broadcast more than once. To get the most out of your one shot, here are some of Cabrera’s musical insights: July 7: Opening Night, Celebrating Bernstein (performed September 15, 2018). Cabrera says the opening concert was “super fun” because he set out to re-create the type of concert Leonard Bernstein brought to the stage when he was alive. July 14: Glass, Mozart & Bach, with Simone Dinnerstein (performed November 3, 2018). The Phil was part of a consortium that co-commissioned a new piano concerto by Philip Glass, and was among the first to perform it. July 21: The Music of John Williams (performed January 12, 2019). Cabrera says he was surprised how much the music of John Williams resonated with the community when the Phil performed the composer’s music three years ago.
So the group played another Williams concert, with completely new music. July 28: An Evening of Brahms (performed February 9, 2019). “It’s fun to choose music by the same composer [that sounds] entirely different,” Cabrera says. “These three pieces might as well have been composed by three different composers.” August 4: Dvořák in America (performed April 6, 2019). This concert is all about “the influence that the composer had on the culture of the United States and the history of music,” Cabrera says. “Dvořák played a crucial role in the development of what would become the American School of Music making. … It took a foreign composer to let us know that it was OK to use music from here, rather than [Europe].” August 11: Season Finale, Ode to Joy (performed May 11, 2019). “This concert was the bookend to our 20th-anniversary season, and I can’t think of a more appropriate piece to celebrate that than Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.”
QUEENSRŸCHE & SKID ROW
Saturday, June 22 · 8:00pm Tickets start at $2995
METALACHI
Friday, June 28 · 9:00pm General Admission $15
VINCE NEIL The Voice of Mötley Crüe Saturday, July 6 · 8:00pm Tickets start at $2995
CELESTE BARBER
Friday, July 12 · 9:00pm Tickets start at $1995
COMING SOON HOWARD JONES, MEN WITHOUT HATS & ALL HAIL THE SILENCE - July 13 MASTERS OF PUPPETS - Tribute to Metallica - July 20 MOBY DICKS - All Star Tribute to Led Zeppelin - August 10 FORTUNE SON & EVIL WAZE - Tributes to Creedence Clearwater Revival & Santana - August 16
ENTERTAINMENT Done Right Ticket prices do not include taxes and applicable fees. Management reserves all rights. ©2019 Boyd Gaming ® Corporation, LLC. All rights reserved.
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calendar Australian post-punk band Death Bells chimes in June 16 at the Bunkhouse. (Courtesy)
LIVE music 172 Amarionette, Pet Tigers 6/14. Play It Forward 6/19. Sub-Radio 6/20. Evol Walks, Mother Mercury 6/21. These Killers (Killers tribute) 6/22. Modern Mimes 6/23. Rio, 702-513-3356. ACCESS SHOWROOM Joan Osborne 6/15. Aliante Casino, 702-692-7777. AMERICAN LEGION POST 8 Creeping Death, Sentenced to Burn, Fuming Mouth, Dredge the Lake, Casket Raider 6/25. 733 N. Veterans Memorial Drive, 702-382-8533. Backstage Bar & Billiards Mastiv, Late Night Savior, Mynas, Limitless, Always 2 Late, Achromatica 6/22. 601 Fremont St., 702-382-2227. THE BARBERSHOP Peter Love 6/13. Cameron Dettman 6/14, 6/21. The 442s 6/15, 6/22, 6/29. Cory Edward Brown 6/20. Justin Carder 6/27. Ryan Whyte Maloney 6/28. Cosmopolitan, 702-698-7434. THE BOXX Michael Black & The Heart Attacks, Pandemic Unleashed, Perpetual Dementia, Dawn of the Rising, Sahara, Signal 99, Excerebration 6/15. 1000 N. Nellis Blvd., 702-824-5281. Brooklyn Bowl Blue October, Mona 6/14. The Music of the Grateful Dead for Kids 6/15. Chromeo, Touch Sensitive 6/18. Get Ur Freak On 6/22. Long Beach Dub Allstars, The Aggrolites, Tomorrows Bad Seeds 6/23. Linq Promenade, 702-862-2695. Bunkhouse Saloon Inner Wave, Eyedress 6/13. Death Bells 6/16. State Faults, Dark Black, Quiet Fear, Blast Flashes 6/18. Froth, Versing 6/19. Bob Log III, The Fat Dukes of F*ck, Sheiks of Neptune, The Swamp Gospel, DJ Omar the Kid 6/22. Ho99o9, Hoddy the Young Jedi 6/27. 124 S. 11th St., 702-982-1764. Chrome Showroom Hiroshima 6/8. Bobby Caldwell 6/22. Santa Fe Station, 702-658-4900. CLARK COUNTY GOVERNMENT CENTER Jazz in the Park: Paul Taylor 6/15. 500 S. Grand Central Parkway, 702-455-8200. CLEOPATRA’S BARGE Wayne Newton 6/106/12, 6/17-6/19, 6/24-6/26. Caesars Palace, 866-227-5938. THE CLUB 4NR (Foreigner tribute) 6/8. Queensrÿche, Skid Row 6/22. Metalachi 6/28. Cannery, 702-507-5700. CLUB MADRID John Mayall 6/28. Sunset Station, 702-547-7777. The Colosseum Reba, Brooks & Dunn 6/26, 6/28-6/29. Caesars Palace, 866-227-5938. Count’s VAMP’D Dirty Pairadice, Baker’s Dozen, The Remainz 6/13. Puppet, Vatican Falling, AntiTrust 6/14. Count’s 77, Strange Mistress 6/15. The Bones, Burn Unit 6/21. 4NR (Foreigner tribute), Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers (ZZ Top tribute) 6/22. 750 W. Sahara Ave., 702-220-8849. THE Dillinger Leo & Carmelo 6/14. Wayne David Band 6/15. Jase Wills 6/21. 1224 Arizona St., Boulder City, 702-293-4001.
THE Dispensary Lounge Windy Karigianes 6/14. Toscha Comeaux 6/15. Rick Arroyo Quartet 6/19. Chris Clermont 6/21. Ryan Baker 6/22. 2451 E. Tropicana Ave., 702-458-6343. THE DISTRICT AT GREEN VALLEY RANCH Mikey Tucker 6/14. TJ Gage 6/15. Gracen Reign 6/21. Cameron Dettman 6/22. 2225 Village Walk Drive, 702-564-8595. Dive Bar Stonebreed, Thra, Draugr, Casket Raider, Damaged Savage 6/13. Stanley Avenue 6/14. 4110 S. Maryland Parkway, 702-586-3483. DOUBLE DOWN SALOON The Psyatics, Scotty Dub & the Jellyfish, Thee Swank Bastards 6/14. Sector 7-G, Delma, The Nightmares, Sudden Strength, Kapital Punishment 6/15. 4640 Paradise Road, 702-791-5775. DOWNTOWN CONTAINER PARK Red Grooves, Hazard & Co. 6/14. The Working Class Trio 6/15. Richard Mann, Sunrise Sunset 6/21. Super Lemon 6/21. 707 Fremont St., 702-359-9982. DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS EVENTS CENTER SoundYard ft. Destructo, Golf Clap & more 6/22. 200 S. 3rd St., 800-745-3000. Eagle Aerie Hall Claustrofobia, H.M.D., Vetivs, Kalani, Amongst the Gallows, FSTR SPRNT, Damaged Savage 6/14. Sound of Youth, One Way to Paradise, Wabbajack, Fugue, Fubar, Scotty Dub & The Jellyfish, Sierra 6/15. 310 W. Pacific Ave., 702-568-8927. Encore Theater Diana Ross 6/14-6/15. Robbie Williams 6/19, 6/21-6/22, 6/25-6/26,
6/28-6/29. Wynn, 702-770-6696. EVEL PIE Sector 7-G, Enemy Proof, Intoxicated Rejects, Lambs to Lions 6/18. 508 Fremont St., 702-840-6460. Fremont STREET EXPERIENCE Nelly 6/15. Sugar Ray 6/29. vegasexperience.com. Gilley’s Saloon Dynamite Draw 6/13. Rob Staley Band 6/14-6/15. Matte Gray 6/19-6/20. Scotty Alexander 6/21-6/22. Treasure Island, 702-894-7722. GOLD MINE TAVERN William Neal 6/13. Tulgey Wood, Friction 6/14. Johnny Zigg & The Force, Randy Williams & The Benders (Rolling Stones tribute) 6/15. 23 S. Water St, 702-478-8289. Golden Nugget Showroom Poco 6/14. Greg Kihn Band 6/21. Gary Lewis & The Playboys 6/28. 866-946-5336. THE Golden Tiki Thee Swank Bastards, Prof. Rex Dart 6/14. 3939 Spring Mountain Road, 702-222-3196. GRAND EVENTS CENTER Another Journey (Journey tribute) 6/14. Green Valley Ranch, 702-617-7777. Hard Rock Live Brohug, Crizzly 6/14. 3771 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 702-733-7625. House of Blues Avatar, Devin Townsend, Dance With the Dead, ’68 6/15. The Dan Band 6/21. Grits & Biscuits 6/22. Blackbear, Elohim, Gashi 6/23. Gasolina Party ft. Rickstarr, 2DEEP, DJ Ocho 6/27. In the End (Linkin Park tribute),
New Doubt (No Doubt tribute) 6/28. Feed Me, Teeth 6/29. Mandalay Bay, 702-632-7600. The Joint RBRM: Bobby Brian + Bel Biv Devoe 6/15. Coheed and Cambria, Mastodon, Every Time I Die 6/28. Judas Priest, Uriah Heep 6/29. Hard Rock Hotel, 702-693-5000. M PAVILION Pat Green 6/15. M Resort, 702-797-1000. Mandalay Bay BEACH Sublime With Rome 6/14. Ziggy Marley, Michael Franti & Spearhead 6/15. 702-632-7777. MGM Grand Garden Arena Khalid, Clairo 6/22. 702-531-3826. Orleans Showroom The Platters 6/286/29. 702-365-7111. Park Theater Lady Gaga (Enigma) 6/14. Lady Gaga (Jazz & Piano) 6/15. Aerosmith 6/19, 6/22, 6/24, 6/27, 6/29. MGM, 844-600-7275. Pearl CONCERT THEATER Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, Earl Sweatshirt, Thundercat 6/16. Machine Gun Kelly 6/29. Palms, 702-944-3200. THE Railhead Vanessa Collier 6/20. Boulder Station, 702-432-7777. ReBar Buena Vibra ft. Los Shadows, The Hideaway, Luxury Furniture Store 6/15. 1225 S. Main St., 702-349-2283. Rocks Lounge Richard Cheese 6/14. Abbey Road (Beatles tribute) 6/29. Red Rock Resort,
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702-797-7777. Sand Dollar Lounge Darius Jackson 6/13. Cherry Rat, The Rayford Bros. 6/14. Carlos Guerrero 6/15. Dan Fester 6/16. Open Jam 6/17. Every Woman Band 6/18. The Funk Jam 6/19. Deltaphonix 6/20. Billy Ray Charles, Chris Tofield 6/21. GoldTop Bob, Chris Tofield 6/22. 3355 Spring Mountain Road, 702-485-5401. South Point Showroom Frankie Moreno 6/13. Ricky Nelson Remembered 6/14-6/16. 702-696-7111. STAR OF THE DESERT ARENA Christian Nodal 6/29. Primm, 702-386-7867. Stoney’s Rockin’ Country Ryan Robinette 6/14. Brodie Stewart 6/21. Garrett Speer 6/28. Town Square, 702-435-2855. SUNCOAST SHOWROOM Mirage (Fleetwood Mac tribute) 6/15. Queen Nation (Queen tribute) 6/22. DSB (Journey tribute) 6/29. 800-745-3000. Terry Fator TheatRE Boyz II Men 6/216/23, 6/28-6/30. Mirage, 702-792-7777. T-Mobile Arena Jennifer Lopez, The Lab, Swing Latino, Briar Nolet 6/15. Hootie & The Blowfish, Barenaked Ladies 6/22. Paul McCartney 6/28-6/29. 702-692-1600.
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Kittie 6/15. Mandalay Bay, 702-632-7631. GO POOL Jenna Palmer & Exodus 6/13. DJ Supa James 6/14. Bow Wow 6/15. Koko & Bayati 6/16. Greg Lopez & JD Live 6/18. Flamingo, 702-697-2888. Hyde DJ Sleep 6/13. DJ Earwaxx 6/14. DJ Hollywood 6/15. DJ CEO 6/16. DJ C-L.A. 6/18. Bellagio, 702-693-8700. JEMAA THE NOMAD POOL PARTY DJ C-L.A. 6/14. Croatia Squad 6/15. DJ Spider 6/16. Park MGM, 702-730-6784. KAOS Cheat Codes 6/13. Marshmello 6/14. Dayclub: Marshmello 6/15. Cardi B 6/15. Dayclub: Brooks 6/16. Slushii 6/16. Palms, 702-739-5267. Light DJ E-Rock 6/14. London on da Track 6/15. DJ Que 6/19. Mandalay Bay, 702-632-4700. Marquee DAYCLUB Two Friends 6/14. Tritonal 6/15. Goldfish 6/16. Cosmopolitan, 702-333-9000. Marquee San Holo 6/14. Andrew Rayel 6/15. Ruckus 6/17. Cosmopolitan, 702-333-9000. ON THE RECORD DJ Zo 6/13. DJ Homicide 6/14. DJ Benzi 6/15. Park MGM, 702-730-7777.
TopGolF Magic! 6/29. 4627 Koval Lane, 702-933-8458.
TAO BEACH Angie Vee 6/13. DJ V-Tech 6/14. Justin Credible 6/15. Deejay Al 6/16. Venetian, 702-388-8588.
VEIL PAVILION Gin Blossoms 6/22. Silverton, 702-263-7777.
TAO Chuckie 6/13. Konstantina Gianni 6/14. Eric DLux 6/15. Venetian, 702-388-8588.
Vinyl Chris Webby, Grieves, Locksmith, Ekoh 6/13. The Buttertones, Von Kin, Desert Island Boys 6/14. Hesh, Bommer 6/20. Kaylie Foster 6/27. Hard Rock Hotel, 702-693-5000.
XS The Chainsmokers 6/14. Dillon Francis 6/15. Nightswim: Diplo 6/16. Encore, 702-770-7300.
WESTGATE INTERNATIONAl THEATER Barry Manilow 6/13-6/15. 800-222-5361. ZAPPOS THEATER Christina Aguilera 6/13, 6/15-6/16. Rob Thomas, Abby Anderson 6/21. Ragheb Alama, Rahma Riad 6/22. Paris by Night 6/29-6/30. Planet Hollywood, 702-777-6737.
clubs
Comedy Baobab Stage Theatre The Spot 6/19. Town Square, 702-369-6649.
BREATHE DJ Tony Gia 6/14. Mixmaster Mike 6/15. Amixx 6/16. Hard Rock Hotel, 702-693-5505.
CLEOPATRA’S BARGE Puddles Pity Party 6/13-6/15. Caesars Palace, 866-227-5938.
Chateau Bayati & Casanova 6/13. DJ Koko 6/14. Bayati 6/15. DJ Paradice 6/19. Paris, 702-776-7770.
COMEDY CELLAR Wil Sylvince, Nicole Aimee, Cipha Sounds, Sean Patton, Mark Cohen thru 6/16. Shane Torres, Emma Willmann, Allan Havey, Dean Edwards, Mark Cohen 6/17-6/23. Rio, 702-777-2782.
Drai’s BEACHCLUB Kittens 6/14. Showtek 6/15. DJ Pauly D 6/16. Cromwell, 702-777-3800. Drai’s DJ Pauly D 6/13. Gunna 6/14. Rae Sremmurd 6/15. DJ Franzen 6/16. Cromwell, 702-777-3800. ENCORE BEACH CLUB Dillon Francis 6/14. Nightswim: Salvatore Ganacci 6/14. Diplo 6/15. Galantis 6/16. Nightswim: Galantis 6/19. Encore, 702-770-7300. Foundation Room DJ Sam I Am 6/14. DJ
PROGRAM Initial Medical Consultation Full Body Composition Analysis EKG (if required) RX for (3) month Appetite Suppressants (12) Weekly B12 Injections Bi-Weekly Body Composition Analysis Medication for (3) month treatment
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WWW.IUVENTUSMEDCENTER.COM | 702-457-3888 | 3365 E. Flamingo Road, Ste 2 | Las Vegas, NV 89121
Featuring a world-class selection of spirits, as well as talented craftspeople who can create a host of inventive cocktails, Trago Lounge offers something for everyone in a setting designed to start a conversation or cap off a memorable evening.
Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club Brad Garrett, Drew Thomas, Jared Logan, Omid Singh Thru 6/14. Drew Thomas, Jared Logan, Omid Singh 6/15-6/16. Dave Landau, KT Tatara, Matt Holt 6/17-6/23. MGM Grand, 866-740-7711. The Chelsea Adam Sandler 6/15. Cosmopolitan, 702-698-6797.
DAYLIGHT DJ Neva 6/13. DJ Ikon 6/14. Duke Dumont 6/15. DJ G-Minor 6/16. Mandalay Bay, 702-632-4700.
WEIGHT LOSS
BONKERZ COMEDY CLUB Dean Napolitano 6/13. Rampart Casino, 702-507-5900.
APEX SOCIAL CLUB Paul Ahi 6/13. DJ Neva 6/14. Deux Twins 6/15. Tommy Lin 6/16. Palms, 702-944-5980.
DAYDREAM DJ Josh Bliss 6/15. DJ Corona 6/16. M Resort, 702-797-1808.
T H E U LT I M AT E
OPEN 24 HOURS
Visit us at TropLV.com
INSPIRE Jozalyn Sharp, Tab Lloyd, Michael Robertson, Ryan Bourassa 6/14. Mandalay Bay, 702-910-2388.
Earn entries all month long!
JIMMY KIMMEL’S COMEDY CLUB Gina Brillon 6/13-6/16. Linq Promenade, 702-777-2782. JOKESTERS COMEDY CLUB Derek Richards, Ron Coleman Thru 6/16. Don Barnhart, PJ Molloy 6/17. Don Barnhart, Oscar Ovies 6/186/23. The D, 702-388-2111. L.A. COMEDY CLUB Willie Barcena Thru 6/16. Peter Berman 6/17-6/23. Strat, 702-380-7711. LAUGH FACTORY Basile, Earl David Reed, Al Caz Thru 6/16. Mitch Fatel, Steve Marshall, Alex Powers 6/17-6/23. Tropicana, 702-739-2411.
FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS • 7PM–10PM 3 winners every 30 minutes will win a share of
$25,000 in Free Play!
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Orleans Showroom Bryan Callen, Brendan Schaub 6/15. 702-365-7111. SAM’S TOWN LIVE El Show Chuponcito 6/16. 702-456-7777.
ON SALE FRIDAY AT 10AM
OPENING THIS WEEK
SAND DOLLAR LOUNGE Comedy 6/17. Spring Mountain Road, 702-485-5401.
ALPHA VOYAGE GALLERY Rommel Lozano: Lumen Essence 6/14-7/6. Reception 6/14. 3105 W. Tompkins Ave., 888-831-4844.
Terry Fator TheatrE George Lopez 6/146/15. Mirage, 702-792-7777.
Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art (Artist Studio) Parker Ito Thru 6/23. 702-693-7871.
TICKLE ME COMEDY CLUB Traci Skene, David Lee Thru 6/22. Eclipse Theaters, 702-816-4300.
Centennial Hills Library Wade Hampton: ‘Palet Thru 6/30. 6711 N. Buffalo Drive, 702-507-6100.
VEGAS VALLEY WINERY Winery Comedy Tour 6/16. 7360 Eastgate Road #123, 702-685-9645.
Charleston HeightS Arts Center Gallery Salon des Refusés Thru 6/22. 800 Brush St., 702-229-2787.
Performing Arts & Culture
CSN (Fine Arts Gallery) 2019 Juried Student Exhibition and Salon des Refusés Thru 6/22. 3200 E. Cheyenne Ave., 702-651-4146.
Clark County Library Evolve Dance Center Dance Concert 6/13. Studio 34 Dance Academy Recital 6/15. 1401 E. Flamingo Road, 702-507-3400. Erotic Heritage Museum Freak Show— Viva Las Freaks! 6/13-6/14. 3275 Sammy Davis Jr. Drive, 702-794-4000.
ON SALE NOW
THE Mob Museum Follow the Money: The Treasury Department’s Century-Long War on the Mob 6/15. 300 Stewart Ave., themobmuseum.org.
8.16 Lynyrd Skynyrd • 8.17 Chris Young 9.13 Iron Maiden • 10.18 Jonas Brothers
BUY TICKETS AT LIVENATION.COM
FOOD & DRINK World Tea and Music Festival 6/13. Tealet, 3230 Polaris Ave. #7., bit.ly/2wBSOkv.
THE Smith Center (Reynolds Hall) National Geographic Live: On The Trail of Big Cats 6/14. Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons 6/15. Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 6/18-6/23. (Cabaret Jazz) NSA Jazz Presents Basie: Straight Ahead–Plus 6/14. Michael Grimm 6/18. 702-749-2000.
SPORTS
UNLV (Artemus W. Ham Hall) Step Up Dance Academy Recital 6/15. (Beam Music Center) UNLV Choral Ensembles: European Homecoming 6/18. 702-895-2787.
7.5 - 7.26 Gwen Stefani • 7.6 Pentatonix
Left of Center ART GALLERY Jack Wilson: Uncommon Curiosities Thru 8/31. Reception 6/15. 2207 W. Gowan Road, 702-647-7378.
a feast of friends 6/13. Velveteen Rabbit, 1218 S Main St., bit.ly/2R0BgYN.
Summerlin Library Las Vegas Ballet: 10th Anniversary Gala 6/14-6/15. Nevada Chamber Orchestra: A Father’s Day to Remember 6/16. 1771 Inner Circle Drive, 702-507-3860.
6.22 Khalid • 6.30 Trevor Noah
Enterprise Library Christopher Brandstetter: Detroit: Art in Decay 6/13-8/13. 25 E. Shelbourne Ave., 702-507-3760.
Ne10 Studio Nikki Villagomez: Culture + Typography talk & book signing 6/11. 1001 W. Bonanza Road, 702-387-6366.
The Space Mondays Dark 6/17. 3460 Cavaretta Court, 702-903-1070.
UPCOMING
Galleries & Museums
BATTLE FOR VEGAS CHARITY SOFTBALL GAME 6/15. Las Vegas Ballpark, battleforvegas.com. BOXING Tyson Fury vs. Tom Schwartz 6/15. Mandalay Bay Events Center, 702-632-7777. LAS VEGAS ACES New York 6/14. Mandalay Bay Events Center, 702-632-7777. LAS VEGAS LIGHTS New Mexico 6/15. Cashman Field, 702-728-4625. NHL Awards Show 6/19. Mandalay Bay Events Center, 702-632-7777. SOUTHERN NEVADA SPORTS HALL OF FAME 6/14. Orleans Arena, snshf.com.
West Las Vegas LIBRARY Juneteenth Jazz, Arts and Spoken Word Celebration 6/15. 951 W. Lake Mead Blvd., 702-229-2787.
WORLD SERIES OF FIGHTING: Submission 1 6/15. Orleans Showroom, 702-365-7111.
Whitney Library Coffee and Comics 6/13. Las Vegas Men’s Chorus: 6/16. 5175 E. Tropicana Ave., 702-507-4010.
SCREEN
LOCAL THEATER COCKROACH THEATRE Satango Thru 6/23. Art Square Theatre, 1025 S. 1st St., #110, 725-222-9661. Las Vegas Little Theatre Vegas Fringe Festival Thru 6/16. 3920 Schiff Drive, 702-362-7996. Majestic Repertory Theatre The Legend of Georgia McBride Thru 6/16. 1217 S. Main St., 702-478-9636.
Clark County Library Stonewall: A Look Back in Film 6/16. 1401 E. Flamingo Road, 702-507-3400. THE Mob Museum Scarface 6/17. 300 Stewart Ave., themobmuseum.org.
SPECIAL EVENTS AMAZING LAS VEGAS COMIC CON 6/14-6/16. Las Vegas Convention Center, amazingcomiccon.com. MARKET IN THE ALLEY Hosted by Fergusons Downtown. 6/16. 1031 Fremont St.
THU • JUN 13 | DOORS: 7:00PM
CHRIS WEBBY W/ GRIEVES, LOCKSMITH, EKOH
FRI • JUN 14 | DOORS: 7:00PM
THE BUTTERTONES W/ VON KIN, DESERT ISLAND BOYS
THU • JUN 20 | DOORS: 9:00PM RVLTN PRESENTS
HE$H & BOMMER THU • JUN 27 | DOORS: 7:00PM
KAYLIE FOSTER: GREY NOISE W/ ALMOST NORMAL, OLAN
PE R FOR MANC E S | SAT - WED
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Tickets Starting At $40 Purchase tickets at the Silverton Box Office, by calling 702.263.7777 or online at silvertoncasino.com
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Join Brock Radke and Mark Shunock for candid, cozy conversations with leading Vegas entertainers and personalities from The Space. New episodes available now at Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
All ages show. Guests under 18 must be accompanied by an adult 21+. Ticket price subject to Live Entertainment Tax “L.E.T.” and fees where applicable. Entertainment subject to change without prior notice. Management reserves all rights.
I-15 & BLUE DIAMOND • 702.263.7777 • SILVERTONCASINO.COM LV Weekly 6-13_AD • 4.5”x11” • 4c Runs in LV Weekly 6-13
A L LT H E V E G A S . C O M
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VEGAS PIPE New UNLV men’s basketball coach T.J. Otzelberger looks to the local prep scene to build his program By Mike Grimala
Coronado coach Jeff Kaufman is shepherding a handful of Division I prospects, including three who have been offered scholarships by UNLV. Kaufman said the new staff has gone above and beyond when it comes to building relationships with local players and coaches. He said Otzelberger and assistant coach Kevin Kruger, in particular, have been regulars in the Coronado gym during the past two months, and Kaufman takes that as a good sign for UNLV’s chances with his players. “It’s a whole different world,” Kaufman said. “I have nothing bad to say about the last group (former UNLV coach Marvin Menzies). Menzies was Menzies. But T.J. has been here as many times as he could be here in his first months. Kruger has been here I don’t even know how many times. I talked to Kruger twice today. They call, they text. T.J. called me the other night; it was 11 p.m. and he was just checking in. As a high school coach
T.J. Otzelberger hasn’t coached a game at UNLV yet—in fact, the Rebels only held their first on-court summer workout on June 10—but the hard work of building the program back into a contender began the minute he accepted the job. ¶ During the past two months, Otzelberger has worked behind the scenes to lay the foundation. His top priorities, as he said in his introductory press conference (and many times since), were re-recruiting the current Rebels players and reconnecting the UNLV program with the Las Vegas community. He has checked both boxes; the coach convinced several key returnees to stay at UNLV, and he undertook a weeks-long meet-and-greet blitz to ingratiate himself to the fanbase. ¶ His most important work has been less-publicized, however. Out of sight of the fans and media, Otzelberger and his coaching staff have canvassed the city’s high school gyms in an effort to rejuvenate a local recruiting pipeline that crumbled under the previous regime.
who’s been in Las Vegas his whole life, it really makes you want to help them and really want to get kids to UNLV because you understand the kids are going to be successful.” Getting Las Vegas kids to UNLV proved difficult for Menzies. During his three years at the helm, the lone local recruit to commit to the Rebels as a scholarship player was Class of 2018 guard Trey Woodbury (he has since transferred). Otzelberger knows he has to do much better than that if he hopes to win at UNLV. In the Class of 2020, rankings site 247Sports lists eight Las Vegas recruits in the top 300 nationally. In the Class of 2021, it lists seven Vegas kids in the top 100. If Otzelberger can successfully tap into that, the Rebels could be back sooner than expected. All 10 of the players Otzelberger has offered in the Class of 2020 so far are locals. “We’ve only offered kids in the Las Vegas area,” Otzelberger said. “At some point we’re going to need to
move [beyond the area], but we want to make sure those kids know first and foremost that we want them to be here, and we were going to make sure our actions indicated that.” Otzelberger has made his presence known at the Coronado, Bishop Gorman, Clark and other gyms across the Valley. He also assembled a Vegas-centric coaching staff that includes Kruger (a former Rebel) and DeMarlo Slocum (a born-andraised native who was head coach of the Las Vegas Prospects AAU team once upon a time). But even before his staff was in place, Otzelberger was on the ground making connections. “T.J. had been in town for three days and he was in my office,” Kaufman said. “We were looking at my computer, and he told me his strategy. He said from the beginning he’s going to go after the local guys, go after the 2020 guys he needs first.” A five-star prospect like Trinity International point guard Daishen
Nix (No. 13 nationally in the Class of 2020) is probably beyond the Rebels’ reach at this point, but Otzelberger is convinced he can build around impact players from the local talent pool. One to watch in 2020 is three-star forward Jhaylon Martinez. The Coronado product averaged 12.7 points and 8.3 rebounds last year, and at 6-foot11 he’s a capable 3-point shooter. Otzelberger was quick to offer, and Martinez is set to take an official visit to UNLV on June 15. The Rebels are also after threestar swingman Mwani Wilkinson (Bishop Gorman), three-star guard Donovan Yap (Arbor View) and three-star guard Nick Blake (a Vegas native playing his high-school ball at Middlebrooks Academy in California), all from the Class of 2020. Otzelberger said the 2020 recruits will form the nucleus of his Runnin’ Rebels. “The 2020 class is huge,” he said. “That’s going to be the foundation, the backbone of our program
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T.J. Otzelberger (Steve Marcus/Staff/ Photo Illustration)
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as we move forward. I think we’ve really tried to emphasize the importance of local kids, making sure we offer scholarships to our top local talent. We see that class as a pivotal one for us to get a really strong group and develop those guys.” Simply by showing up on a daily basis and putting in the work, Otzelberger is starting to change that perception. “You have a local community that wants these kids to be part of the [UNLV] team, and it’s time to take advantage of it,” Kaufman said. “When it comes to kids like Martinez, Yap, [Noah] Taitz, all those kids, I certainly think that they’re in the ballgame. And I think that with some of the younger kids—the Jaden Hardys of the world, PopPop Isaacs, Zaon Collins, Frankie Collins, Anthony Swift—I think once their friends start jumping in, that will help. “Unfortunately, the last staff wasn’t focused on getting the local kids, so you don’t just lose the local kids that are eligible to play in college, you lose the kids that are coming through the pipeline behind them,” Kaufman continued. “I think there’s definitely time to get some of these 2020 kids if T.J. wants them.” With team workouts underway and preseason practices just around the corner after that, Otzelberger’s work is bound to be more visible now. But if the Rebels are going to be great again, it will likely be because of his two months of grinding. “I think that’s what it comes down to,” Otzelberger said. “Obviously there’s a lot of premier high school programs in Las Vegas right now, so we’ve tried to do a great job of getting out and making those connections, working hard, working the phones and building those relationships.”
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Renovations underway at Scotty’s Castle, the bizarre and beautiful mansion in Death Valley
I
BY MIRANDA WILLSON W E E K LY S T A F F
magine driving through the desert, passing endless mountains, sagebrush, cactuses and Joshua trees. The sun is beating down, and you haven’t seen a sign of human life for miles, other than the occasional gas station. Out of nowhere, you spot something in the distance: It’s huge. It’s opulent. It’s clearly man-made. We’re not talking about Las Vegas. We’re talking about Scotty’s Castle. ¶ Scotty’s Castle—originally known as Death Valley Ranch—is a 1920s-era mansion located in the northern Grapevine Canyon area of Death Valley National Park, about three hours from Las Vegas. Built and financed by Chicago insurance tycoon Albert Mussey Johnson, the “castle” and surrounding buildings and grounds were mostly inhabited by Walter E. Scott, a gold prospector for whom the structure is named.
In addition to the main house where Scott and Johnson lived and frequently entertained guests, the grounds consist of an annex, a guest house, stables, a garage-turned-visitor center, a clock tower and a few other properties. The entire area is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Since the National Park Service purchased Scotty’s Castle in 1970, the grounds have been a major tourist attraction in Death Valley. Visitors flocked to the area to see the unusually ornate and remarkably intact architecture and furnished interior, and to learn about the unlikely friendship between Johnson, a deeply religious wealthy businessman, and Scott, a heavy drinker and Wild West con man known as “Death Valley Scotty.” But things changed on October 18, 2015, when a historic storm hit Death Valley, dropping 2.7 inches of rain during the course of five hours to a
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The main house at Scotty’s Castle in Death Valley National Park on May 2. Scotty’s Castle has been closed since a massive flood in October 2015 caused extensive damage to utilities, buildings and the road. The site is expected to reopen in 2020. (Steve Marcus/Staff)
region that typically receives just 3.5 inches of rain annually. The storm precipitated a major flood event that forced the NPS to close the campus. “There hadn’t been a flood anywhere near as large since it had been built,” said Abby Wines, a public information officer and management assistant at Death Valley National Park. Now, the NPS is in the process of restoring Scotty’s Castle and making it “flood-proof” so that the desert oasis might last for years to come. It’s no small project, as the storm caused $52 million in damage parkwide, most of which affected Scotty’s Castle. But the hope is that at least parts of Scotty’s Castle will be ready to reopen by late 2020. “There’s lots of people who have been coming here for years and they want to come back,” said Steve Goode, a historic maintenance specialist at Death Valley National Park. “It is kind of an
anomaly out in the middle of nowhere.” The bulk of the damage from the 2015 storm occurred in two buildings on the castle grounds: the hacienda/guest house, particularly the basement, which was flooded with 2 feet of mud; and the historic garage (now used as a visitors center), parts of which were flooded with 4 feet of mud and debris. The storm also destroyed 5 miles of the road to Scotty’s Castle, caused water damage campuswide, and wiped out the HVAC, water and electricity systems, including in the main building, Wines said. “That building is a little higher, so the flash flood didn’t go through it. But the roof leaked, and the flash flood took out the power to the whole site,” she said. Part of Scotty’s Castle’s charm, as well as its historical and architectural significance, is that every
interior and exterior feature of the buildings, down to the door handles, floor tiles, lighting structures and curtain rods, was designed with immense attention to detail. Conceived by Johnson, as well as architect Martin de Dubovay and designer Charles Alexander MacNeilledge, the Mission Revivalinspired properties have held up remarkably well considering their age, and even the 2015 storm wasn’t enough to compromise most of its historic elements. “This is all redwood,” Goode said during a recent tour of the property, gesturing to the thick, ornately carved doors. “It’s been tooled and burned with a torch, so it’s really unique.” Prior to its closure, Scotty’s was also full of unusual treasures leftover from its primary inhabitant, including Scott’s gun collection and pipe Continued on Page 60
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Continued from Page 59 organ. Those items are now being stored elsewhere in a climatecontrolled environment until work is complete. “There’s a lot of really just priceless stuff and there’s only one [each] of them,” Goode said. “So [NPS staff] were real concerned about that, and they felt that the best thing to do was to move the stuff off-site.” In addition to repairing the buildings and the road to Scotty’s Castle, the NPS is taking steps to prevent future floods from further damaging the structures. The plan is to construct a series of berms surrounding the grounds so that water and debris flowing from the canyons during rain events don’t hit the buildings, explained Goode. “The berm is designed so the water comes out of [the] canyon and basically gets funneled down the road,” Goode said. This step is crucial, considering that the desert climate is prone to
erosion and flooding and the grounds lack drains and a sewer system. And although flooding has historically shaped the landscape of the region, NPS staff anticipates that severe flood events will occur more frequently because of climate change. Goode and Wines hope to ensure that upgrades and changes to the property, which will be conducted by outside contractors, are done in ways that maintain significant features. At the same time, park staff recognizes the need to strike a balance between keeping the buildings as they were originally and making necessary changes to ensure the 90-year-old structures will last even longer, Wines said. “In a perfect world, we wouldn’t want [visitors] to see flood control because it has to be historically significant,” Wines said. “But … this is not the largest flood that will happen in the future. There will be bigger ones. So if we don’t protect the site from flood damage, then we’re going to lose it entirely.”
Joe Wittenberg, left, and Taylor Reese, engineers with 360 Engineering, take measurements for an upgraded HVAC system in the basement of Scotty’s Castle.
Ben Heppe, an architect with Anderson Hallas Architects, verifies final construction drawings at Scotty’s Castle. (Photos by Steve Marcus/Staff)
August 9, 2019
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Tech advances help bolster Las Vegas hospitality businesses
W
BY BRYAN HORWATH VEGAS INC STAFF
ith mobile apps now a regular part of daily life, it makes sense that one would be dedicated to helping organizations find short-term employees. Enter Instawork, a gig worker app geared toward the hospitality sector. “We thought there was an opportunity to connect hourly workers and hospitality businesses more efficiently,” said Sumir Meghani, Instawork’s CEO and a co-founder. “If you can chop an onion and make a drink, we believe Instawork is a way for you to be in the gig economy.” The service launched in 2015 and entered the Las Vegas market in May. Applicants can upload pictures, videos, reference information and career certifications in hopes of making it through a screening process where they are cleared for one of 10 categories of work, such as bartending, event setup or dishwashing. There are two different apps for businesses and workers. Once accepted, job seekers can use their app to choose opportunities for which they would like to be considered. Jobs are listed with a breakdown of what the temporary gig would entail, pay, uniform requirements and parking. Businesses then use their app to choose from those applicants. Businesses and job seekers are rated by each other and those ratings can then be viewed by participants in future transactions. “I call it high-tech and high-touch,” Meghani said. “We live in a world now where people want to
press a button and have something delivered. People want technology and they want someone else to do the curation. They want someone else to figure it out.” Instawork makes money by charging businesses a fee to tap into its network of available temporary workers, but the service is free for job seekers. The service is collaborating with restaurants, hotel properties and country clubs for the time being but has plans to expand its client base. Most individuals who download the app use it to secure a onetime shift and earn about $100. “There’s so many talented people in Las Vegas trained to provide world-class service,” said Kris Cuaresma-Primm, general manager for Instawork’s Las Vegas operation. “A lot of these people are still struggling to make ends meet. On the other side of that coin, there are so many companies that need help servicing and bringing to life the entertainment capital of the world.” As of late May, according to Cuaresma-Primm, the Instawork app had been downloaded thousands of times. “Demand has been overwhelming, but we’re still always looking for quality people—that’s our top priority,” Cuaresma-Primm said. “We’re at a point where all of our initial gigs have received five-star ratings, so we’re ready to ramp up our partnerships
to create more economic opportunities here in Las Vegas.” Vidal Villagomez, DW Bistro’s assistant general manager, said the restaurant has mostly used Instawork to find temporary bartenders and line cooks. “It’s been a good service for us so far,” Villagomez said. “We’ve had no complaints about the people we’ve brought in. They’ve all been very professional.” In addition to Las Vegas, Instawork can be found in the LA, Phoenix, San Diego, Chicago and Bay Area markets. It also recently received an infusion of capital to the tune of $18 million from a list of investors that included Spark Capital, a deep-pocketed firm that has invested in brands such as Twitter, Oculus and Tumblr. The Instawork folks hope their brand name will someday be as recognizable to the hospitality sector as Uber and Lyft are to the rideshare space. “Traditionally, the gig economy has only been accessible for people with a nice car,” Meghani said. If “you don’t have a nice car but you want to bartend on the weekend, we’ve created a vehicle for that.”
I N MARKETING, PERSONALIZATION CAN OFTEN BE PARAMOUNT Personalization—or company branding—is the idea behind video mapping, an ambiance-setting concept being used by the French restaurant Partage in Chinatown. Overhead projectors “map” images,placing them on dining tables with messages or animations. A guest’s picture or their name might appear on their plate inside the restaurant’s private dining room, which can seat about a dozen. “One of the easiest things that we do is put a logo of a company in the middle of the table, so it’s great for corporate meetings,” said Nicolas Kalpokdjian, co-owner and manager of Partage. Kalpokdjian said he doesn’t know of other restaurants in town that offer what Partage does. “Eventually, we’d like to get to where we offer a five-course meal and have a different animation for each course,” Kalpokdjian said. “It’s been good for us. It’s a good way to celebrate an occasion or display a company’s name or accomplishments.” To book the private room, according to Partage website, a party needs to spend at least $1,200. Additional fees for customization might also apply.
“I call it high-tech and high-touch. We live in a world now where people want to press a button and have something delivered. People want technology and they want someone else to do the curation. They want someone else to figure it out.” —Sumir Meghani, Instawork CEO and co-founder
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V e g a s i n c b u s i n e s s 6 .1 3 .1 9 nity Village, Andson, Discovery Children’s Museum and the Folded Flag Foundation.
VegasInc Giving Notes Nevada HAND, in partnership with Three Square Food Bank, opened a food pantry at Stewart Pines Apartment Homes, 1351 E. Stewart Ave., Las Vegas. The property is home to about 200 low-income senior residents. The pantry will offer fresh and nutritious food options provided by Three Square. There will be a pantry manager on site to support healthy meal planning, nutrition assistance and other resources. The Henderson Chamber of Commerce donated $4,529 to HopeLink of Southern Nevada. The money was raised at the fourth annual Henderson Chamber of Commerce Foundation Golf Tournament in December. HopeLink serves families living below the poverty line by providing creative ways to a better life and stable living. Professional Women in Building, part of the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association, raised more than $12,000 for the Building Hope Scholarship at the fourth annual Wine Pull Scholarship Fundraiser. Funds will go to students interested in the building industry. The Las Vegas Philharmonic held its annual Cox Communications Young Artists’ Concerto Competition on April 27 at the College of Southern Nevada, Cheyenne Campus. Kayla Quijano, a senior at Las Vegas Academy, was awarded first place and $2,000 toward her music education, provided by Cox Communications of Las Vegas. In addition, Quijano earned the opportunity to perform with the orchestra during their annual Youth Concert Series in October and February 2020. Daniel Kyong, a sophomore at Coronado High School, was awarded second place and $1,000. Shyler
Macaggi, a sophomore at Green Valley High School, earned an honorable mention. Peyton Barsel, 16 and Jackson Bentham, 11, both of Las Vegas, were named Nevada’s top two youth volunteers of 2019 by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. Barsel, a junior at The Meadows School, helps children who have been traumatized by the death of a parent or sibling through her work at Adam’s Place, a grief counseling center in Las Vegas. Bentham, a sixth-grader at Somerset Academy Lone Mountain, conducted a food and toiletry drive at his school to benefit service members returning from combat. He then held a raffle that raised funds to buy toilet paper for veterans in need. Spread the Word Nevada, an advocate for children’s literacy, adopted Hollingsworth STEAM Academy thanks to a $25,000 donation from Zappos for Good. Hollingsworth is the 60th Southern Nevada school adopted by Spread the Word. As part of the program, students receive a book bag and five books to start a home library. From there on, students will choose a book each month. In addition, the school will receive Breakfast with Books, a family literacy program that encourages reading with children in the home. The Richard Harris Law Firm announced the winners of the 10th annual Spirit of Nevada scholarship contest. They are: Alyssa Lagua, West Career & Technical Academy; Memoryz Webb, Legacy; Michael Skinner, Advanced Technologies Academy; and Tiffany Fung, West Career & Technical Academy. Each winner received a
$1,000 scholarship, and $500 was awarded to the school of each winning student. The 2019 edition focused on the theme “Home Means Nevada.” Cure 4 The Kids Foundation unveiled a Criss Angel-themed patient room, sponsored by the Strip entertainer. The room draws inspiration from “Mindfreak,” Angel’s show at Planet Hollywood. Angel has been an advocate for those affected by pediatric cancer, including his five-year-old son, who is now cancer free after a three-year battle with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The Olympia Companies SH Charitable Foundation raised $1.3 million at its 19th Annual Governor’s Black-Tie Event at Southern Highlands Golf Club and M Resort. Money raised will support local charities including Boys and Girls Club of Southern Nevada, Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada, Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation, Children’s Heart Foundation, Assistance League of Las Vegas, Opportu-
Downtown Cares, a grassroots movement formed by El Cortez and Moonridge Group Philanthropy Advisors, revitalized the Downtown Boys & Girls Club during the group’s ninth annual Day of Volunteerism. Volunteers repainted the interior rooms and two indoor murals, updated the club’s outdoor play area, planted a garden, refurbished the teen center and participated in a youth soccer game. Other participating companies included Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, DTP Companies, Zappos for Good, Northcap, NS8, PKWY Tavern, Larson Zirzow & Kaplan, Umbrella Bookkeeping, Rossetti Public Relations, Pink Kitty Creative and Evel Pie. Additionally, Downtown Cares donated more than $8,000 in cash and in-kind donations to the club, including books, games, art supplies, toys, sports equipment, gardening tools and electronics. In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, Western Governors University Nevada, Dunkin’ and Lyft Las Vegas gave away nearly 18,000 doughnuts and several gift cards to Southern Nevada teachers from every school. “Jeopardy!” champion James
Holzhauer of Las Vegas donated $10,000 to Project 150. Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association and One Nevada Credit Union presented scholarship money to Nevada student-athletes at the 27th Annual NIAA/One Nevada Top Ten Student-Athletes of the Year Awards. Winners from Southern Nevada included: Benjamin Ballin, Rancho; Jacob Cipollini, Pahrump Valley; Delaney Friel, Tonopah; Clara Heislen, Faith Lutheran; Sydney Ludvigson, Virgin Valley; Hunter Mecham, Green Valley; Ashlyn Western, Moapa Valley; Mark Wilbourne, Faith Lutheran; Dylan Wilson, Virgin Valley; and Abigail Zuhlke, Shadow Ridge. CPLC Nevada, an affiliate of Chicanos Por La Causa, celebrated its third annual Esperanza Latino Teacher Awards, presented by Zappos and Southwest Airlines. The group presented Latino Educator Awards to Laura Juliana Urtubey, special education teacher at Crestwood Elementary School, and David Enrique García Ramírez, science teacher at Del Sol Academy of Performing Arts. Averill Kelley, social studies teacher at West Preparatory Academy, received the Multicultural Educator Award. Each award comes with $5,000.
Free ‘Business show’ aims to make business fun
Internet marketer Chris Farrell doesn’t think business conferences need to be boring. That simple concept is the idea behind a two-day SAM (sales, advertising and marketing) event at Sam’s Town on June 13-14. The free event is designed, according to Farrell, to offer short, but meaningful business-centric talks for entrepreneurs, business executives and anyone else who likes to be entertained. “People have heard of show business,” Farrell said. “Well, this is a business show. Most business conferences are simply too boring. Our event will have fast talks that last only 18 minutes and there will be no selling.” The list of presenters for SAM touts a roster of authors and speakers, including Jay Abraham, Perry Belcher and Heather Anne Havenwood. While the event is free for attendees, a fundraising component will benefit Make-a-Wish of Southern Nevada. Farrell said he’s hoping to welcome close to 800 individuals. As of early last week, more than 2,000 had registered. “This is all about creating valuable and useful content for people,” Farrell said. “We don’t want to waste people’s time. We want them to walk away feeling like what they heard was useful.” Along with Farrell, the event is also being produced by marketing author and speaker Andrew Lock. For more information or to register to attend, visit thesamevent.com. —Bryan Horwath
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Records & Transactions BID OPPORTUNITIES June 18 3 p.m. Contract for purchase and installation of air filters countywide Clark County, 605314 Deon Ford at deonf@ clarkcountynv.gov June 20 2:15 p.m. Regional Justice Center elevator modernization Clark County, 605298 Sandy Moody-Upton at scm@clarkcountynv.gov June 21 2:15 p.m. Contract for permanent markings modification, installation and maintenance Clark County, 605304 Tom Boldt at tboldt@ clarkcountynv.gov CC 215 Bruce Woodbury Beltway from Tropicana Avenue to Charleston Boulevard Clark County, 605313
Tom Boldt at tboldt@ clarkcountynv.gov Aug. 17 2:15 p.m. Las Vegas Boulevard roadway improvements from Spring Mountain to Sahara Avenue Clark County, 605203 Tom Boldt at tboldt@ clarkcountynv.gov
Road, Las Vegas, 89109 Landlord/Seller: A5 Investments Landlord/Seller agent: Jason Dittenber; Jerad Roberts; Devin Lee, CCIM; and Robin Willett of Northcap Commercial Tenant/Buyer: Did not disclose Tenant/Buyer agent: Did not disclose
BROKERED TRANSACTIONS SALES $2,595,000 for 49,236 sq. ft. of retail 724 S. Boulder Highway, Henderson, 89015 Landlord/Seller: Alta Holdings Landlord/Seller agent: Paul Chaffee, Wil Chaffee and John Kirtley of Sun Commercial Real Estate Tenant/Buyer: Bowin Associates Tenant/Buyer agent: ROI Commercial
Lease $2,019,440.00 for 24,142 sq. ft. of industrial 2815 W. Capovilla Ave., Suite 130, Las Vegas, 89119 Landlord/Seller: Prologis Landlord/Seller agent: CBRE Tenant/Buyer: Duralum Products Tenant/Buyer agent: Lisa Hauger and Timothy Erickson of Sun Commercial Real Estate
$2,020,000 for 36 units of multifamily 1075, 1089, 1107, and 1121 E. Desert Inn
BUILDING PERMITS $1,300,000, commercial tenant improvement
350 S. City Parkway, Las Vegas The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company CONVENTIONS Amazing! Las Vegas Comic Con Las Vegas Convention Center June 14-16 15,000 attendees International Beauty Show Las Vegas Las Vegas Convention Center June 15-17 25,000 attendees HPE Discover 2019 (Hewlett Packard Enterprise) Venetian June 18-20 12,000 attendees SHRM19 (Society for Human Resource Management) Las Vegas Convention Center June 23-26 18,000 attendees NATA 2019 (National Athletic
Trainers Association) Mandalay Bay June 24-27 11,000 attendees International Bowl Expo 2019 Paris, Las Vegas Convention Center June 23-27 3,000 attendees American National IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship Las Vegas Convention Center June 27-29 500 attendees 2019 EASA Convention (Electrical Apparatus Service Association) Mandalay Bay June 30-July 2 3,200 attendees
National Association of Counties annual Conference and Exposition Bally’s, Paris July 12-15 3200 attendees Microsoft Inspire Venetian July 14-18 40000 attendees BUSINESS LICENSES Cafe Zupas Restaurant/food 1381 W. Sunset Road, Suite 170, Henderson Cafe Zupas Cafe Zupas Restaurant/food 9460 S. Eastern Ave., Suite 100, Henderson Cafe Zupas
American Institute of Floral Designers 2019 Symposium Paris July 6-11 450 attendees
Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop Restaurant/food 1146 W. Sunset Road, Henderson Vegas Cap 5
National Association for Court Management 2019 annual Conference Bellagio July 21-25 650 attendees
Capture the Culture Photobooth Photography 8949 Haviland Road, Las Vegas Capture the Culture Photobooth
Care Property Services Property maintenance 4230 Cameron St., Las Vegas Care Property Services Caremore Medical office 100 N. Green Valley Parkway, Suite 235, Henderson Caremore Health Plan of Nevada Carl’s Jr Restaurant/food 715 S. Green Valley Parkway, Henderson BTO Investments Carl’s Jr Restaurant/food 535 Marks St., Henderson BTO Investments Carl’s Jr Restaurant/food 340 W. Lake Mead Parkway, Henderson BTO Investments Carl’s Jr Restaurant/food 146 N. Stephanie St., Henderson BTO Investments Carl’s Jr Restaurant/food 758 S. Boulder High-
way, Henderson BTO Investments Carla Dirk, CPA Accounting firm 1254 Dove Tree Court, Henderson Carla Dirk, CPA Carla’s Cleaning Property maintenance 1104 Shonto Place, Henderson Cadena, Jacinto Carlo Catarata Real estate 7670 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 150, Las Vegas Catarata, Carlo Carmines Pizza Kitchen Restaurant/food 2520 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway, Suite 150, Henderson Di Nuovo Carz 1 LV Secondhand dealer 1613 N. Boulder Highway, Henderson Jose Carlos Urias Jr. Cash 1 Finance company 1331 W. Warm Springs Road, Suite 130, Henderson Cash 1
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horoscopes week of JUNE 13 by rob brezsny
“City Hits” by frank Longo
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Instead of launching expensive missions to other planets to find alien life, we can look for exotic creatures here on Earth. Astrobiologist Mary Beth Wilhelm is doing just that. Her search has taken her to Chile’s Atacama Desert, with terrain that resembles Mars. Use this idea as a metaphor for your own life. Consider the possibility that you’ve been looking far and wide for an answer or resource that is actually close at hand. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Philosopher Martin Buber believed some stories have the power to heal. Buber’s disabled grandfather once told Buber a story about an adored teacher who loved to dance. As he told the story, he got so excited that he rose from his chair and began to hop around. From that time on, he was cured. In the coming weeks is that you will find stories like that. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): While Beach Boy Brian Wilson was listening to his car radio in August 1963, an unfamiliar tune came on: Be My Baby by the Ronettes. Wilson was so excited he pulled over to devote his full attention to the song. “I started analyzing all the guitars, pianos, bass, drums, and percussion,” he told The New York Times. “Once I got all those learned, I knew how to produce records.” A pivotal moment like this could unfold for you in the coming weeks. CANCER (June 21-July 22): Your soul is so rich and complicated, so many-splendored and mysterious, so fertile and generous. Isn’t it sometimes a struggle for you to avoid spilling over? Yet every so often there come moments when you go blank; when your dense, luxuriant wonders go missing. That’s OK! You need these fallow phases. The present might be such a time. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): When premier eventologist Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith was going through a hard time in 1991, she resolved to buoy her spirits by creating cheerful, splashy new holidays. Since, she filled the calendar with more than 1,900 new occasions. National Splurge Day on June 18 is one of her favorites: a time for revelers to be extra kind and generous to themselves. This is a perfect activity to emphasize in the coming weeks.
2018 King features syndicate
ACROSS 1 Shoe statistic 6 ExxonMobil, BP, Chevron and such 12 “Lemme think about that ...” 15 “This looks bad” 19 New Olds in 1999 20 Get excited 21 Lead-in to classical 22 Cuban money 23 1964 Elvis Presley hit 25 Native of France’s capital 27 Retired NBA star Ming 28 Ellipsis part 29 Article in many rap song titles 30 Printer insert 31 1974 Paper Lace hit 35 Copy and Paste setting 37 Demand (of) 38 ’60s prez 39 Horn blast 40 Stocking-holding band 44 “It’s my turn now” 45 Throw softly 48 Rear target in bowling 51 1985 Jan Hammer hit 55 Equine animal 56 — Moines 58 World Series org. 59 Cry of epiphany 60 Pie’s place 61 Zest and Coast 63 Dangling bit of jewelry 65 Tip over 66 1959 Freddy Cannon hit
69 Battle reminders 71 Missionary “Mother” 72 “Sands of Iwo Jima” director Dwan 73 Raines of old films 74 Riverbed sand 75 Suffix with duct or project 77 Big klutz 78 Pig’s place 81 1969 Glen Campbell hit 85 Rich Italian ice cream 87 Rescue request 88 Note after fa 89 Time pieces? 91 Noted times 92 Move to and — 93 Droop down 95 Carrier to Milan 98 1975 Elton John hit 105 Atlas feature showing altitude 106 Former big record gp. 107 Ultrasecret govt. org. 108 Big klutz 111 Quick web ordering option 112 1986 John Cougar Mellencamp hit that summarizes this puzzle? 115 Friendly bat of the eye 116 Mr. —! (Clue-like board game) 117 Cry of epiphany 118 Some upscale hotels 119 Some jeans 120 G.P.’s field 121 Looks hard 122 Occupy, as a desk
DOWN 1 Like tildes 2 Figure skater Kulik 3 Private prayers 4 “-—-la-la” 5 Poker variety 6 Moistening while cooking 7 Hip-hop mogul Gotti 8 “Pride — before destruction” 9 Need (to) 10 Son of Abraham 11 Guitar maker Paul 12 Empty a suitcase 13 Comic Anne 14 Home loan offerer 15 Good aspect 16 Klum on many covers 17 Inedible type of orange 18 Fine-tuned 24 Top-caliber 26 Asimov classic 30 Lead-in to gender 32 URL lead-in 33 Apra Harbor locale 34 Mata — 35 Bluesy James 36 Performs 41 Cup part 42 Writer Gay or editor Nan 43 Diplomats’ residences 44 Winter fight projectile 45 Flood barrier 46 Ill sign, say 47 Be flexible 49 Huge heroes 50 Sci-fi writer Stephenson 52 Sensed feeling 53 Land in the water, in Livorno
54 Cabbie’s cry 57 Of positional relations 61 Wife of Abraham 62 Turtle topper 64 Purviews 65 Consumption 66 Shower powders 67 Intro drawing class, maybe 68 Wallop 69 Embroiders, e.g. 70 Ad biz award 74 Didn’t waver 76 Water, to Henri 78 Of utmost importance 79 And the like: Abbr. 80 Prone to pry 82 Haifa’s home 83 Close to 84 Close to 86 Jared of “Mr. Nobody” 90 “Burnt” hues 92 Movies, informally 93 Quenched, as thirst 94 Instagram, for one 96 Breather 97 Baking potatoes 98 Be on the hunt 99 Skating legend Sonja 100 Graff of “Ladybugs” 101 Pageant VIP 102 Folder’s call 103 Ghana port 104 Phony sort 109 Thai’s home 110 Swift 112 Where one lives: Abbr. 113 ’50s prez 114 Former big record gp.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “Let me keep my mind on what matters, which is my work, which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished.” Poet Mary Oliver made that statement. Inhabit that frame of mind at least part-time for the next two weeks. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Philosopher Michel Foucault articulated a unique definition of “criticism.” He said that it doesn’t dish out judgments or hand down sentences. Rather, it invigorates things by encouraging them, by identifying dormant potentials and hidden beauty. Practice this kind of “criticism” in the coming weeks—a criticism that doesn’t squelch enthusiasm and punish mistakes, but instead champions the life spirit and helps it ripen. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Help may be hovering nearby, but in an unrecognizable guise. Rumpled but rich opportunities will appear at the peripheries, though you may not immediately recognize their value. Drop your expectations. Be receptive to possibilities that have not been on your radar. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): To understand what’s transpiring in the coming weeks and to respond with intelligence, you will have to transcend logic and reason. Unleash the full power of your intuition. You must harness the wisdom of your body, and the information it reveals to you via physical sensations. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): For the sake of your emotional and spiritual health, you may need to temporarily withdraw or retreat from one or more of your alliances. Don’t do anything drastic or dramatic. Refrain from harsh words and sudden breaks. Seal yourself away from influences that are stirring up confusion and concentrate on reconnecting with your own deepest truths. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Do play and have fun more than usual. Don’t indulge in naïve assumptions and infantile emotions. Do take aggressive action to heal any sense of abandonment you’re still carrying. Don’t poison yourself with feelings of blame toward the people who abandoned you. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “At times, so many memories trample my heart that it becomes impossible to know just what I’m feeling and why,” writes poet Mark Nepo. In the coming weeks, your heart is unlikely to be trampled by your memories. You will have an excellent chance to know exactly what you’re feeling and why.
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GODSMACK OFFICIAL UFC INTERNATIONAL FIGHT WEEK CONCERT
FRI, SEP 27
GRETA VAN FLEET: MARCH OF THE PEACEFUL ARMY
FRI, JUL 26
YES: THE ROYAL AFFAIR TOUR WITH ASIA AND SPECIAL GUESTS JOHN LODGE & CARL PALMER’S ELP LEGACY
SAT, SEP 28
THE MIDNIGHT POOLSIDE AT THE JBL SOUNDSTAGE
SAT, JUL 27
CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER
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SUN, OCT 6
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FRI, AUG 2
THE GREEN POOLSIDE AT THE JBL SOUNDSTAGE
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OLD DOMINION MAKE IT SWEET TOUR WITH SPECIAL GUEST RYAN HURD
AUG 16 & 17
MARY J. BLIGE
THU, DEC 5
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SAT, AUG 31
BRIAN WILSON & THE ZOMBIES SOMETHING GREAT FROM ’68
DEC 6 & 7
GARY ALLAN
THU, DEC 12
CODY JOHNSON
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TUE, SEP 10
CAKE & BEN FOLDS WITH SPECIAL GUEST TALL HEIGHTS
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