2020-05-14 - Las Vegas Weekly

Page 1


YOU’RE BACK, BABY. The Joint Chiropractic helps keep you moving. Find your relief today.

NEW PATIENT SPECIAL

Consultation, Exam, and Adjustment

29

$

*

Blue Diamond 4150 Blue Diamond Rd Suite 107

Henderson Sunset 1311 W. Sunset Road

Rainbow & Warm Springs 7385 S. Rainbow Blvd. #140

Boca Park 8820 W. Charleston Blvd Suite 103

North Decatur & 215 6171 N. Decatur Blvd Suite 150

Pebble Marketplace 1000 N. Green Valley Marketplace

Montecito Marketplace 7120 N. Durango Dr Suite 170

Tropicana Beltway 5060 S. Fort Apache Rd Suite 100

Eastern and Richmar 9500 S. Eastern Ave Suite 120

Rocksprings Plaza 7175 W. Lake Mead Blvd Suite 180

No Appointments | Open Evenings & Weekends | No Insurance Needed *Restrictions apply, see clinic for details. Initial visit includes consultation, exam and adjustment. NC: IF YOU DECIDE TO PURCHASE ADDITIONAL TREATMENT, YOU HAVE THE LEGAL RIGHT TO CHANGE YOUR MIND WITHIN THREE DAYS AND RECEIVE A REFUND. (N.C. Gen. Stat. 90-154.1). FL: THE PATIENT AND ANY OTHER PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYMENT HAS THE RIGHT TO REFUSE TO PAY, CANCEL PAYMENT OR BE REIMBURSED FOR ANY OTHER SERVICE, EXAMINATION OR TREATMENT WHICH IS PERFORMED AS A RESULT OF AND WITHIN 72 HOURS OF RESPONDING TO THE ADVERTISEMENT FOR THE FREE, DISCOUNTED OR REDUCED FEE SERVICES, EXAMINATION OR TREATMENT. (FLA. STAT. 456.02). Subject to additional state statutes and regulations. See clinic for chiropractor(s)’ name and license info. Clinics managed and/or owned by franchisee or Prof. Corps. Restrictions may apply to Medicare eligible patients. Individual results may vary. © 2019 The Joint Corp. All Rights Reserved.

(702) 710-5077 thejoint.com


P I C K U P W I N D OW S P E C I A L BUY ONE, GET THE 2ND HALF OFF

6121 W. Lake Mead Blvd. Ste 110 • Las Vegas, NV 89108 • 725-214-4445

OUTSIDE PICKUP W I N D OW

YOURWAYRESTAURANT.COM

ORDER ONLINE!

UberEats • Doordash • Grubhub • Postmates

-OR-

DELIVERY VIA


LAS VEGAS PAIUTE OR SNOW MOUNTAIN SMOKE SHOP

2 OFF

$

PER CARTON* (CIGARETTES ONLY) *Must be 21 years of age or older. Excludes filtered cigars. Cannot be combined with other offers or discounts. Limit 1 discount given per customer per day. Must present this coupon for redemption. Cannot be redeemed for cash. No photocopies accepted. EXPIRES 5/31/2020. LVW

DECADE

SPECIA OFFER L !

$35.99*

FINAL PRICE WITH COUPON *OFFER EXPIRES 5/31/2020.

WE ARE OPEN

SMOKE SHOP 6AM-7PM GAS STATION PAY-AT-THE-PUMP • OPEN 24/7

PUBLISHER MARK DE POOTER mark.depooter@gmgvegas.com

WE ARE OPEN - DRIVE THRU ONLY

MON-SUN 8AM TO 6PM ITEMS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE: Cigarette Cartons & Packs • Filtered Cigar Carton & Packs Smokeless • Rolling Tobacco & Tubes Please Note: Due to increased traffic no car will be permitted to enter the Drive Thru line after 5:30pm daily.

MARLBORO

$68.59*

FINAL PRICE WITH COUPON *PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

EAGLE 20’S

EXPIRE S SOON!

$40.39*

FINAL PRICE WITH COUPON *OFFER EXPIRES 5/20/2020.

WE ARE OPEN Try Our Convenient Drive-Thru Window @ The Main Street Smoke Shop

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER KATIE DIXON katie.dixon@gmgvegas.com EDITOR SPENCER PATTERSON spencer.patterson@gmgvegas.com

EDITORIAL Senior Editor GEOFF CARTER (geoff.carter@gmgvegas.com) Managing Editor/News DAVE MONDT (dave.mondt@gmgvegas.com) Deputy Editor GENEVIE DURANO (genevie.durano@gmgvegas.com) Editor at Large BROCK RADKE (brock.radke@gmgvegas.com) Staff Writers JUSTIN EMERSON, KELCIE GREGA, MIKE GRIMALA, BRYAN HORWATH, C. MOON REED, JOHN SADLER, RICARDO TORRES-CORTEZ, LESLIE VENTURA, MIRANDA WILLSON Contributing Editors RAY BREWER, JOHN FRITZ, CASE KEEFER, WADE MCAFERTY, KEN MILLER, JOHN TAYLOR Library Services Specialist/Permissions REBECCA CLIFFORD-CRUZ Office Coordinator NADINE GUY

CREATIVE Art Director CORLENE BYRD (corlene.byrd@gmgvegas.com) Designer IAN RACOMA Multimedia Manager YASMINA CHAVEZ Photographers CHRISTOPHER DEVARGAS, STEVE MARCUS, WADE VANDERVORT

DIGITAL Publisher of Digital Media KATIE HORTON Web Content Specialist CLAYT KEEFER Digital Marketing Coordinator CASSIDY BOWMAN Digital Marketing Intern EMILY JURBALA

ADVERTISING & MARKETING

Grand Opening Celebration! Direct from Maui to Henderson Authentic Hawaiian Flavors

DRIVE IN AND DRIVE OUT! CURBSIDE SERVICE Temporary Opening Menu During Lock Down Special Pricing! Take Out Specials! One child under 12 eats FREE with 2 adult entrees.

• Huli Huli Chicken Plate • Kalua Pork Plate • Pork Stir Fry • Teriyaki Grilled Chicken • Chicken Adobo • Vegan Fried Rice • Hawaiian Teriyaki Steak • Pork Sliders • Loco Moco • Family Meals (Feeds 4-6 People)

External Content Manager EMMA CAUTHORN Special Publications Manager JENNIFER INABA Market Research Manager CHAD HARWOOD Publication Coordinator DENISE ARANCIBIA Account Manager DAWN MANGUM Senior Advertising Managers BRIANNA KOURETAS, SUE SRAN Account Executives BRITTANY BURRIDGE, MIKE MALL, ADAIR NOWACKI, RICHELLE SHAW, ALEX TEEL Events Manager SAMANTHA PETSCH Sales Assistant LEXIE ARANCIBIA Marketing Coordinator KIMBERLY ALVAREZ

PRODUCTION Vice President of Manufacturing MARIA BLONDEAUX Production Director PAUL HUNTSBERRY Production Manager BLUE UYEDA Marketing Art Director DANY HANIFF Production Artist MARISSA MAHERAS Traffic Coordinator JEANNE GLEESON

CIRCULATION Director of Circulation RON GANNON Route Manager RANDY CARLSON Fulfillment Manager DORIS HOLLIFIELD

GREENSPUN MEDIA GROUP CEO, Publisher & Editor BRIAN GREENSPUN Chief Operating Officer ROBERT CAUTHORN Editorial Page Editor RIC ANDERSON

S P E C I A L D I S C O U N T S for Essential Workers, First Responders and Veterans

2895 N. Green Valley Pkwy, Ste. A • Henderson, NV 89014 Days open Monday–Saturday 11-2, 5-8 • Closed on Sunday

CALL NOW (702) 997-9268 or ORDER ONLINE www. M au iE xi l es . c om

ON THE COVER Photo Illustration

LAS VEGAS WEEKLY 2275 Corporate Circle Suite 300 Henderson, NV 89074 (702) 990-2550 www.lasvegasweekly.com www.facebook.com/lasvegasweekly www.twitter.com/lasvegasweekly

All content is copyright Las Vegas Weekly LLC. Las Vegas Weekly is published Thursdays and distributed throughout Southern Nevada. Readers are permitted one free copy per issue. Additional copies are $2, available back issues $3. ADVERTISING DEADLINE EVERY THURSDAY AT 5 P.M.



6

L A S V E G A S W E E K LY

5 .1 4 . 2 0

EDC LAS VEGAS PRESENTS VIRTUAL RAVE-A-THON The 10th edition of the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas was pushed from this month to October 2-4, but dance music fans can still party along with many festival favorites through the EDC Virtual Rave-A-Thon, a livestream event running May 15-17 from 5 p.m. until 2 a.m. at TV.insomniac.com. Longtime Las Vegas nightclub and dayclub resident DJs David Guetta, Kaskade, Duke Dumont, Afrojack, Flosstradamus and Oliver Heldens are on the bill, along with K?d, Nicole Moudaber, Tokimonsta, Zeds Dead, Zhu, Benny Benassi, Boombox Cartel, Borgore, Chris Lorenzo, Claude VonStroke, Deorro, Headhunterz, Malaa, Nghtmre with Ghastly, Seven Lions, Tchami, Valentino Khan, Yellow Claw, Z-Trip and many more. The stream will feature multiple stages broadcasting across two channels with all live and original sets from many artists originally scheduled to perform at EDC Las Vegas 2020. The three-day virtual festival marks the debut of Rave Recovery, a relief fund created in collaboration with charitable organization In Place of War to assist dance music fans affected by the COVID-19 crisis. A portion of the proceeds will also support In Place of War’s emergency fund supporting some of the world’s most vulnerable communities in the global south during the pandemic. Donations can be made now at insomniac.com/ rave-recovery and links will be live on Insomniac’s YouTube and Twitch channels during the Rave-A-Thon. –Brock Radke

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

Chad Colom has his hair cut by owner Michael Jones at A Cut Above the Rest barbershop, 616 Carson Ave., on May 9. The barbershop is open for business by appointment. Masks and other precautions were common sights throughout the Valley as the state took its first uncertain steps under Gov. Steve Sisolak’s phased approach toward reopening the economy. (Steve Marcus/Staff)


L A S V E G A S W E E K LY

IN THIS ISSUE

08 10 22 28 38

Remembering Roy Horn, Las Vegas luminary Cover Story: The future of Las Vegas entertainment Binge This Week: Our staff’s latest recommendations Food & Drink: Some restaurants have reopened Sports: How the playoffs could look for VGK

4

STORIES FROM LAST WEEK SECOND WAVE OF VIRUS South Korea’s capital shut down more than 2,100 bars and other nightspots May 9 because of a new cluster of coronavirus infections, and Germany scrambled to contain fresh outbreaks at slaughterhouses. The new outbreaks—and the fears of a second wave of contagion—underscored the dangers authorities face as they try to reopen their economies. FIGHTING WORDS President Donald Trump congratulated UFC for restarting the sports world May 9 after a nearly two-month hiatus. Trump’s taped message was played during ESPN’s broadcast of the UFC 249 undercard from a fanfree arena in Jacksonville, Florida. “I want to congratulate Dana White and the UFC,” Trump said. “They’re going to have a big match. We love it. We think it’s important. Get the sports leagues back. Let’s play.” GOVERNOR DECLARES FISCAL EMERGENCY Gov. Steve Sisolak declared a state of fiscal emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic, allowing money to be transferred from the state’s rainy day fund to the general fund. Estimates have the budget shortfall for fiscal 2020 between $741 million and $911 million. The governor has said the rainy day fund of more than $400 million could help make up the shortfall.

HE SAID IT

“Donald Trump hopes to split us into dueling camps, casting Democrats as doomsayers hoping to keep America grounded and Republicans as freedom fighters trying to liberate the economy. It’s a childish tactic—and a false choice none of us should fall for.” –Joe Biden, May 11

7

STEP 1 OF RECALL Doug Polk, who says he’s never been involved in politics, sent a letter of intent to the City of Las Vegas on May 6, the first step in a process to recall Mayor Carolyn Goodman. He says he decided to do so after watching Goodman’s April 22 interview on CNN, in which she appeared to offer the city as a “control group” to test the severity of the coronavirus pandemic. Polk was not eligible to vote in last year’s Las Vegas municipal election and is therefore unable to sign the letter of intent or the petition itself. Three other “concerned citizens,” he said, with Las Vegas addresses signed the notice of intent.

Amarjeet Johal waits with prepared meals May 9 during a food distribution event sponsored by the Sikh Community of Las Vegas, in association with the Metro Police Department, at the Sikh temple on Lone Mountain Road. Another food distribution is planned for May 14 at 4487 E. Russell Road starting at noon. (Steve Marcus/Staff)

FAUCI WARNS OF CONSEQUENCES IF U.S. REOPENS TOO SOON Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, warned May 12 that “the consequences could be really serious” if cities and states reopen the U.S. economy too quickly with the coronavirus still spreading. More COVID-19 infections are inevitable as people again start gathering, but how prepared communities are to stamp out those sparks will determine how bad the rebound will be, Fauci told the Senate Health, Labor and Pensions Committee. “There is no doubt, even under the best of circumstances, when you pull back on mitigation you will see some cases appear,” Fauci said. And if there is a rush to reopen without following guidelines, “my concern is we will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks,” he said. “The consequences could be really serious.” Fauci was among the health experts testifying to the Senate panel.

DRIVE-THRU VIRUS TESTING EXPANDS TO SEVEN DAYS A WEEK AT ORLEANS The drive-thru coronavirus testing site at the Orleans is expanding to seven days a week, Clark County officials announced May 8. Testing at the site, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., is available to everyone, whether or not they are exhibiting virus symptoms, and is free of charge. Appointments can be made at umcsn.com. More than 1,400 people were tested during the first four days after the site’s May 4 opening. It’s accepting 900 appointments per day, with officials working to expand capacity. The program is a joint effort between Clark County, the Nevada National Guard and University Medical Center. “I want to thank our Fire Department’s emergency management staff and our community partners for getting this site up and running and operating smoothly,” said Clark County Commission Chairwoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick. “We have seen a strong response from residents scheduling appointments to be tested. Our residents are taking this virus seriously, and I have no doubt that they will continue to do their part to keep our community safe as we move forward and begin opening our economy in phases.” The Southern Nevada Health District is also working with local jurisdictions to conduct testing at assisted living facilities and senior residential complexes. –Kelcie Grega


8

IN TRIBUTE

5 .1 4 . 2 0

VEGAS

ROYALTY ROY HORN WAS MORE THAN A COLOSSAL ENTERTAINER. HE WAS ONE OF OUR INDELIBLE ICONS

(Sun File)

R.I.P. ROY Roy Horn of the world-renowned, Vegas-based magic duo Siegfried & Roy died May 8 of complications from COVID-19. He was 75.


5 .1 4 . 2 0

I

In Tribute

9

By Geoff Carter n 1981, when I was 14 years old, my parents took my younger sister and me to see our first Las Vegas production show: Siegfried & Roy’s Beyond Belief, at the Frontier. There were two versions of the show, a matinee and a late show featuring “the Beyond Belief nudes”; being a family of Jehovah’s Witnesses at the time, we opted for the matinee. I wish I could tell you that I remember the show in exact detail, but all I can summon today are flashes. I remember the big cats, of course; I remember the Greek-style chorus that accompanied every scene change (“The grotto! THE GROTTO!”); I vaguely remember the (clothed) dancers; and I remember one bit of stage banter: Following the comical appearance of a mallard on the stage, Siegfried Fischbacher walked out with a white towel and pretended to wipe droppings off the catwalk: “Stupid duck.” It’s entirely possible that I have some of these details wrong; it has been nearly 40 years since that matinee. And I never saw Siegfried & Roy perform again—not at the Frontier, not on the road and not in Masters of the Impossible, the ne plus ultra S&R show that ran at the Mirage until 2003. I can only begin to imagine something beyond Beyond Belief—a culmination of a brilliant career that began on a cruise ship in the 1950s, when a young cabin steward and magician (Siegfried) and a waiter and animal lover (Roy) met and began creating an act that would remake stage magic for all time. Only a freak 2003 accident—in which Roy was critically injured by Montecore, one of his beloved white tigers—could put a halt to their creative momentum. There was something I didn’t recognize in 1981 that’s obvious to me today. Long before Roy Horn tragically succumbed to the ravages of coronavirus last week, I had

Roy Horn with his beloved tigers (Sun File)

come to perceive Siegfried & Roy as the closest thing this town has to royalty—peerless master showmen whose over-the-top spectacle and glitz made an indelible impression on me all those years ago. When I think of “classic Vegas,” Beyond Belief is the first thing that comes to mind: a go-for-broke spectacle, wrapped in spandex and glitter, with moments of jaw-dropping wonderment (and, of course, a topless option). Other performers and shows would later draw from the S&R playbook—new magic shows, obviously, but I’d also argue that Cirque du Soleil is unimaginable without their trailblazing work.

Over the years I did see Siegfried & Roy, alone and together, at a handful of charity events in the course of my work. I never approached either of them, but I always found their presence reassuring. Knowing that they were still a part of the Vegas experience—even in retirement— somehow lent this town legitimacy, even as Vegas pursued other types of entertainment like theme parks and professional sports. Our city is built on hospitality, of which our population of entertainers, showrunners and stage folk is an enormous and irreplaceable part. In that sense, Siegfried & Roy were living, breathing strands of Las Vegas’ DNA.

Today I wish for two things. First, that I’d crossed the room at one of those charity events and introduced myself, if only to shake the hands that remade the works. Without Siegfried & Roy, this would be a very different Vegas, one lacking in the aristocratic charm they brought to Strip entertainment and the pure passion for show business that followed Horn well into retirement. “Life is our stage now,” he said in a 2013 Weekly interview. My other wish is that I could travel in time back to 1981 and watch Siegfried & Roy at the top of their game once again. I’d catch the late show.


I N T I M A C Y

10

LV W C OV E R S T O R Y

5 .1 4 . 2 0

I N T I M A C Y

I N T I M A C Y

I N T I M A C Y

I N N

I N N O V A T I O N

Dean Martin makes his solo debut inside the Sands’ Copa Room on March 6, 1957. Among those in attendance were Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Desi Arnaz and Debbie Reynolds. (UNLV Special Collection)

I N N O V A T I O N


5 .1 4 . 2 0

lv w c ov e r s t o r y

11

By Brock Radke

V e g as e nt e rtai nment’ s l e g e ndary past poi n t s the way to an e xc i ti ng futur e

o v a t i o n

t first blush, COVID-19 poses an existential threat to Las Vegas. The city evolved to lure humans to the desert, to gather in large numbers and to celebrate together. Those three simple elements have never faced a greater threat. The very idea of Las Vegas feels imperiled. But this community’s ability to adapt, especially in the hardest of times, is unmatched. We relish innovation. It’s what we do. These unpredictable times are a moment for rebirth and to reach new heights through bold visions rooted in the DNA of Vegas. *

*

*

*

*

Imagine a flashing neon sign, maybe pink and blue, spelling out the words “Las Vegas.” It doesn’t matter when you last visited, or if you ever have, or if you’ve lived here your entire life. That image evokes feelings. It takes you somewhere. Many people, including the current longest-running headliner on the Strip, will imagine a version of Vegas past. The decade doesn’t matter. The feelings are warm and comfortable yet exciting and glamorous. Las Vegas is about fun and freedom in this dream, but also the encouragement from knowing your hosts are taking great care of you. “It was 24/7. You got up and had your breakfast buffet, then you went looking around town during the day,” Frank Marino says. “Maybe you’d gamble a while at another hotel. Then you’d come back to your hotel and get showered up and maybe gamble a little bit more before the show. Then you went to dinner. It was really Disneyland for grown-ups, something to do at every moment. “And what I loved most was, if you were a high-roller and you walked through that casino or hotel, people would greet you by name and ask, ‘How are you?’ It was like family.” Marino famously performed as Joan Rivers for nearly 25 years in An Evening at La Cage at the Riviera, which he fondly recalls as the first Strip resort to host two popular production shows; Splash ran in the theater next door for 21 years. Live entertainment has always been at

the center of the Vegas experience, the dazzling show that serves as the culmination of that 24-hour fun. It could have been La Cage or Splash, or a comedian or singer or bandleader performing in an intimate showroom or a wide-open lounge. Marino’s all-time favorite Vegas act was Diana Ross at Circus Maximus, the 980-seat theater that opened in 1966 with Andy Williams and closed in 2000 after a final performance from Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé. Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, George Burns, Aretha Franklin, Judy Garland, Milton Berle, Chuck Berry and Ray Charles are among the icons who played that room, before it was demolished to make way for the Colosseum and Celine Dion’s game-changing residency in 2003. “I was so young then, I didn’t realize how cool it [was that] I knew Frank Sinatra, or the entire Rat Pack for that matter,” Marino says. “Sammy Davis Jr. was the first person to introduce me in the audience as a celebrity when I went to see him perform at the Dunes.” In those days, he says, you’d go to a casino and buy a ticket for a show, then go back that night to see it. The initial ticket price for La Cage was $6.95, which included a prime rib dinner. After the show, you could duck into the lounge for some hot music; you might even catch one of the headliners hanging out at a booth in the back. The feelings were spontaneous and exclusive, as if that particular night in Vegas would never happen again. *

*

*

*

*

Images of the past remain vibrant and clear, while the future of Las Vegas entertainment has never been more uncertain. The Strip’s many shows, concerts and nightlife events have been shuttered for more than two months, disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic and the state’s closure of casino resorts. Although Gov. Steve Sisolak initiated Phase 1 of Nevada’s reopening plan ahead of schedule on May 9—allowing restaurants and other nonessential businesses to resume operations under certain restrictions—he has not set a date for when casinos might reopen. On May 7, the Nevada Gaming Commission unanimously approved health and safety policies set forth by the Gaming Control Board, which casino resorts will


12

LV W c ov e r s t o r y

I n t i m a c y

5 .1 4 . 2 0

&

I NN O V AT I O N

Carrot Top (Christopher DeVargas)


5 .1 4 . 2 0

Sammy Davis Jr. performing at the Sands in April 1966. (UNLV Special Collection)

be required to follow when they reopen to the public. Those guidelines don’t specifically address live entertainment venues like theaters and showrooms, but nightclubs and dayclubs within a gaming licensee’s property “must be closed until further notice.” Restaurants and other casino spaces will be restricted to 50 percent capacity. And in meeting and convention spaces, gatherings of 250 or more people will be prohibited until further notice. That information confirms the obvious: The big shows and concerts that have dominated the modern Strip entertainment landscape will be among the final pieces to complete Vegas’ reopening puzzle. A large number of people working within close proximity and confined spaces is a requirement for many of the biggest productions. The sheer scale requires large audiences. Larger venues can be used safely with crowds under 250, but the economics for the large shows don’t make sense with small audiences unless ticket prices are higher than the market can bear. It’s unknown exactly what measures will be required before large venues can reopen, but MGM Resorts’ Seven-Point

Safety Plan—released on May 12—outlines physical distancing tools like no-touch ticketing, modified queuing and new food and beverage protocols with touchless points of sale and graband-go ordering and pickup. Frequent surface sanitization and enhanced cleaning protocols are also part of the plan at entertainment venues, and MGM will require its employees to wear masks and will “strongly encourage” guests to wear them and provide them upon request. For now, when live performance returns, it will be presented in front of a much smaller audience with restrictive circumstances for an unknown transitional period. And yet, that might make Las Vegas incredibly vital and exciting. MGM Resorts International President and acting CEO Bill Hornbuckle said during an April 30 earnings call that the company might open its Bellagio and New York-New York properties first, that it’s unlikely T-Mobile Arena would host another major concert event this year and that comedian Carrot Top’s long-running show at Luxor is the type of entertainment event that might come online earliest.

“[That] was a great shocker. I love that they were thinking of us,” Carrot Top, aka Scott Thompson, says from his second home in Winter Park, Florida. “We’ve been talking a lot about Cirque [du Soleil] shows and how they have so many performers onstage interacting, and I’ve been saying to my team that we’re lucky—it’s just me onstage. [Entertainment] has been changing for a while, and shows have become bigger, with Cirque and [shows like] Aerosmith and Lady Gaga. Our show is still 350 seats.” Thompson said he’s not aware of any plans to move his show to another MGM property that might open before Luxor, but added that his act “could definitely” work in another venue. Entertainment offerings will be constantly adjusting to whatever the new normal will be, which could see performers and audience members wearing face coverings, showgoers sitting six feet apart and entertainers keeping their distance from fellow cast and crew members. But adapting to those new—and hopefully temporary—circumstances could accelerate a trend that had already planted its seed on the Strip. An innovative mix of live entertainment has sprouted up in smaller venues like restaurants, bars and clubs, and it’s colored with vintage Vegas vibes. Carrot Top “absolutely went to those old shows and lounges” when he started performing in Las Vegas 25 years ago, before he launched his residencies at MGM Grand and Luxor. “I remember Cook E. Jarr & The Krums was a big deal. It felt like when you watch movies [about Las Vegas], it brought you back to that time and era. It’s completely changed now, but the lounge act was what Vegas was all about, and then also seeing Wayne Newton and Siegfried & Roy in [smaller] theaters. Remember Tom Jones at MGM? I used to go to that show three times a week. He’d see me in the audience and say, ‘Scott has been to my show more times than I have.’” Marino sees that kind of entertainment coming “full circle. My opinion is, this will turn the clock back to the early 1980s, and it’s going to be the mom-and-pop shows, as I call them, which don’t need to make a million dollars a night to break even. That’s going to come back … to the forefront,

lv w c ov e r s t o r y

13

because the stadium shows and sports arenas that have been taking people away from these showrooms are going to be down for a while, and the Cher, Britney, Lady Gaga, Celine Dion [residencies] are not coming back immediately.” *

*

*

*

*

If you’ve ever wondered how and why Las Vegas entertainment got so big, the simple answer is music. The halcyon days of the Rat Pack might have ended in the ’60s and early ’70s, but free live music in casino lounges and headlining superstars in 1,000-seat showrooms continued to form the blueprint of Strip entertainment into the ’90s. Once upon a time, Vegas didn’t have the venues to attract top-tier touring acts. When those big buildings finally arrived—Sam Boyd Stadium in 1971 and the Thomas & Mack Center in 1983—they weren’t on the Strip and weren’t originally created for concerts. “Until the early 1980s, we probably would not have even been considered a B touring market,” says Pat Christenson, president of Las Vegas Events and author of Rock Vegas: Live Music Explodes in the Neon Desert. “The Las Vegas headliner tradition was different from touring headliners. The Rolling Stones, Neil Diamond, they weren’t playing here. The largest-capacity venues we had were at the Aladdin [opened in 1976] and the Convention Center, and while they got some acts, when those tours came here it was pretty small.” The Thomas & Mack Center made the biggest impact. Christenson became event coordinator for the UNLV Athletic Department in 1980 and was promoted to assistant director of the brand-new, 18,500-seat T&M three years later, at the same time the university took over management of the 30,000-seat Las Vegas Silver Bowl (later renamed Sam Boyd Stadium). Unlike the football stadium, UNLV’s shiny new basketball arena was developed with entertainment events in mind, mostly because its original funding couldn’t cover an increase in capacity during preconstruction. In its first year, the Thomas & Mack hosted concert tours from Van Halen, Rush, Lionel Richie, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, The Beach Boys and


14

LV W c ov e r s t o r y

5 .1 4 . 2 0

I n t i m a c y

&

I NN O V AT I O N

dozens more. In its second year, the arena brought the National Finals Rodeo to Las Vegas. Meanwhile, the Grateful Dead, U2, Paul McCartney and the Eagles played the Silver Bowl. In 1993, the MGM Grand Garden Arena arrived and completely recalibrated live entertainment on the Strip and in Las Vegas overall. Its initial purpose was to steal big boxing events from Caesars Palace, Christenson says, but after it opened with two sold-out Barbra Streisand concerts featuring an all-time-high Vegas ticket price of $1,000, touring concerts became the priority. “When MGM Grand would bring in these big-name acts, not only would they sell out and do better than [previous Vegas shows], they had a higher ticket price,” Christenson says. “It was on the Strip and had the brand of the hotel and the city, [so] the whole entertainment offering was shifting.” MGM Grand marked the beginning of Las Vegas as a true global entertainment destination. Other arena-size venues and massive the-

aters like the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, T-Mobile Arena and Park Theater at Park MGM would follow, and the musical superstars that began to visit the Strip for touring shows or headlining residencies had names as big as the city itself. In early March, right before the COVID-19 crisis caused everything to shut down, Las Vegas was poised to have its biggest year of entertainment yet, combining multiple weekly megaconcerts along Las Vegas Boulevard with unique, large-scale production shows, summer and fall music festivals at different sites around the Valley—and the ever-expanding presence of pro sports with the opening of Allegiant Stadium and the debut of the Las Vegas Raiders. *

*

*

*

*

“I think Vegas is going to go back to the intimate showroom and more value for your money, and both of those are things that lead to more connectivity with audience, [which is] really fantastic,” Adam Steck says.

“I think this presses the restart button on many fronts.” Steck’s company, SPI Entertainment, produces five shows on the Strip—Boyz II Men’s residency at the Mirage, Human Nature’s residency at Venetian and the trio of shows at the recently renovated, 425-seat Thunderland Showroom: Thunder From Down Under, The Australian Bee Gees Show and Hans Klok: The World’s Fastest Magician. Klok’s magic show, which opened last year, is the only one of the five that hasn’t already experienced many successful years on the Strip. The company’s cornerstone, Thunder From Down Under, was doing record business right before the shutdown and is already booking group reservations for future shows. Because SPI shows take place at more intimate venues, operate with smaller casts and crews, and generally feature lower ticket prices than headlining residencies or production shows, they look well-positioned to continue their success. And Steck says that extends beyond the short-

term, because even when casinos reopen and visitors begin returning to the Strip, they’ll likely have less money to spend in Las Vegas. “For Vegas, this could be a cleansing,” he says. “Hopefully it can get rid of a lot of the greed that has set in and make it like it used to be, a value-driven place. Vegas has to be all things to all people, and as of late, it’s been veering toward [having] a good-sized wallet to come to town.” Spiegelworld’s three comedy and circus act variety shows take place in venues with capacities below 600— Absinthe at Caesars Palace, Opium at the Cosmopolitan and Atomic Saloon Show at the Grand Canal Shoppes at Venetian. Company founder Ross Mollison says he plans to reopen all three productions when possible with modifications to their venues and schedules, but he doesn’t think the shows themselves will be altered much. “We never end preproduction in our shows,” he says. “We’re always improving and looking for ways to

Lady Gaga (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Park MGM Las Vegas)


5 .1 4 . 2 0

lv w c ov e r s t o r y

15

Absinthe (Christopher DeVargas/Staff)

Wayne Newton (Erik Kabik/Courtesy)

maximize opportunities in every part of each show.” Steck and Mollison agree that’s the approach every show on the Strip will have to take while moving through the reopening stage and the post-pandemic future. And they both say there will be space for live entertainment innovation, even if finances are reduced. “It does feel like launching new stuff when nothing else is happening is a great idea,” Mollison says. “I think one of the key reasons why Absinthe stood out is, there was so little happening after Vegas cratered in 2009. There weren’t many [new shows], and that helped give us the chance for a great opening in 2011.” With so much investment in big-room residency shows, companies like MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, Live Nation and AEG Presents could team with their signature artists and rescale those endeavors. Imagine if Garth Brooks, still scheduled to perform the first concert event at Allegiant Stadium in August, resumed his 2009-2014 run at Wynn’s Encore Theater in front of an even smaller live audience while the show is streamed to Wynn and Encore’s hotel rooms for a reasonable fee. Or if Lady Gaga continued her acclaimed Jazz & Piano residency at Park MGM from the regal NoMad Restaurant, with guests at all MGM properties—or beyond—able to tune in (see sidebar, Page 17). Such a hybrid model could make the live audience experience unbelievably exciting—and worth a high ticket price—while the broadcast of each show could generate as much revenue as filling a large venue. “I’ve tried numerous times to get artists like Sade to do something in a more intimate showroom with a super-high ticket price, because unless they’re guaranteed the money they’re used to making, in my experience it’s a no,” Steck says. “It would be amazing if somebody like Lady Gaga came in and reduced that fee and did her thing in a space like that. That could be an incredible experience.” Jon Bon Jovi played a private acoustic show at the Absinthe Spie-

geltent at Caesars in January for a crowd of fewer than 250 people. “There’s no reason we couldn’t do that again,” Mollison says. “If Bon Jovi plays a giant arena and has 60 people traveling and a full band and everyone in their own bus, it’s a big deal—a lot of people to expose and monitor and very [expensive],” says Seth Yudof, founder of the Las Vegas-based production company UD Factory. “But he can do that show with just himself and a guitar for very little money, and he can still make a bunch of money. “Think of Steven Tyler. He’s a major artist and you can get him by himself for much less money than Aerosmith, but he makes more. There’s a way to have a win-win depending on the production values.” Prior to the coronavirus shutdown, Yudof was producing The Miss Behave Gameshow at Bally’s and Tenors of Rock at Planet Hollywood. He has also assembled limited engagements for Richard Marx and Keith Sweat at the Flamingo Showroom and Blues Traveler, CeeLo Green and Plain White T’s at Cleopatra’s Barge in Caesars Palace, so he’s accustomed to managing big acts in small rooms. “I’m an entrepreneur, so I think there’s opportunity in all these changes. There were some problems in Vegas entertainment before all this started. This will probably accelerate some changes that might have taken a decade or two to work out, and now they might happen in the course of the next year or two,” Yudof says. “When you talk about smaller shows having an advantage or lounge-style entertainment coming back, those are great ideas we should be looking at. And they will rely heavily on the partnership between producers and casinos [in the immediate future], because the economics are going to change with that reduced capacity in venues.” Coming out of the shutdown, Yudof says, there will be a huge opportunity for unticketed entertainment, not unlike the open lounges of the past, provided casino owners buy into the idea. “Louis Prima won


16

LV W c ov e r s t o r y

5 .1 4 . 2 0

Mayfair Supper Club (Denise Truscello/ Getty Images/Courtesy)

a Grammy in 1958, and he was doing a free show at the Sahara at the time. And Wayne Newton had ‘Danke Schoen’ on the radio in the ’60s when he was playing six nights a week at the Fremont,” Yudof says. Newton has played every size of venue imaginable, from T-Mobile Arena to his current home at the classic lounge Cleopatra’s Barge at Caesars Palace. He says the Strip’s resiliency has always depended on its ability to adjust. “When entertainment does return, and it will, the customers will dictate what they can and can’t afford,” says Newton. “But since most shows are owned by independent producers rather than casinos, they have to be able to make a profit on their own. I have faith that casinos will support entertainment to help it get back to where it was, because what the world needs now is entertainment.” Jason Gastwirth, President of Entertainment for Caesars Entertainment, reaffirms that commitment. His company has a diverse lineup of entertainment ranging from headliners at large venues to production shows at midsize rooms and acts like Newton at the Barge. “We’re taking steps to create an appropriate environment, which our guests will hopefully enjoy,” Gastwirth says. “We’re in a great position to ramp up based on our guests’ preferences and government health-related directives. We already work very closely with our artists and show partners, and we plan to collaborate at an even higher level to restart this important part of the live entertainment industry.” Two MGM properties were building phenomenal modern-classic offerings when everything stopped. Brian Newman After Dark, a jazzy late-night party centered around Newman, Gaga’s Jazz & Piano bandleader, was creating plenty of buzz and connecting old Vegas with the new at the NoMad at Park MGM. And Bellagio’s Mayfair Supper Club was seamlessly mashing up a glamorous fine dining experience with thrilling live performance and an energetic nightclub vibe in the later hours. The essential similarity isn’t the style of the show; it’s the type of venue. “Anytime you have professionals with expertise tasked with overcom-

ing challenges as it relates to live entertainment, people are going to get creative and come up with solutions and workarounds,” says longtime Las Vegas nightlife executive Sean Christie. “Restaurants are prime candidates, if and when things open up over the next several months, for … interesting live entertainment [opportunities], because they have bigger spaces, indooroutdoor spaces, and there probably won’t be enough visitor volume initially to [justify] operations for many casino restaurants.” Christie helped build the stellar nightclub and dayclub portfolio at Wynn and Encore before spending the past few years as president of events and nightlife for MGM Resorts. The New Year’s Eve opening of Mayfair Supper Club was his last major project before he departed his post in March. The creation of Mayfair wasn’t based on nightlife or dining trends in Las Vegas; it was inspired by the constant travel Christie and other execs undertook in order to create something familiar, yet different. Experiences that are becoming popular in major cities around the world—what Christie calls a mixture of performance, food and beverage and high design—could similarly inform the next stage of live

I n t i m a c y

&

entertainment on the Strip. “That trend was definitely already here before the pandemic, and as a result of having to be creative, could be something the city leans into,” he says. “There were a lot of broken entertainment models [in Vegas], and everybody knew there needed to be a reset. Maybe it was something that would have been a slow closure, and now it’s just closed. “What’s interesting is that the people that just closed or will close these shows or clubs or restaurants are going to be the same people that come up with the new ideas for these new circumstances and find ways for people to congregate,” Christie continues. “Initially, things will be set up to meet the immediate needs of safety and laws and regulations and just making people comfortable, but out of that there will rise these new cool things we haven’t even thought of yet.” *

*

*

*

*

Whatever it is that takes us to the other side of the pandemic, it’s generally assumed Las Vegas will be Las Vegas once again, and those huge entertainment options will eventually return. There’s too much built here for it not to happen, and those experiences are all about feeling spontaneous and exclusive, and creating memories

I NN O V AT I O N

that visitors know won’t happen again. “I don’t see a long-term paradigm shift,” Christenson says. “I’m a live music fan, so I know there’s a lot of pent-up demand, a lot of people sitting and watching things [on screens] they would have been going to.” Christenson emphasizes how many new experiences were on the way for coming years, from Allegiant Stadium to the MSG Sphere to Resorts World. He says Vegas hasn’t seen its biggest shows yet. “It’s an environment that fits all [the artists’] needs and where their fans come to them, and it’s safe,” Christenson says. After we get through this virus, I think you’ll see the full potential of that model.” Until that unknown point in time, maybe it’s best to look to the past for a bit of inspiration and a lot of wisdom— and to trust the wildly creative minds that made the Strip the dynamic destination it is today. “I think it’s time to dream,” Mollison says. “We can think about how it would look in a perfect world and what would we do if we could do it all again. We may not have capital to do those things soon, but at least we can lay the foundation for what we want to put in place for when our audiences return.” LVW


5 .1 4 . 2 0

LV W C OV E R S T O R Y

17

Twin Shadow at Brooklyn Bowl, 2018 (Yasmina Chavez/Staff)

A

P R I V A T E

P E R F O R M A N C E F O R

A L L

CO ULD A LIVE-SHOW HYBR ID — EXCLUSIVE AUD IENCES WIT H WORLDWI DE STREA MING— HELP SAVE VEGAS’ CO NC ERT I NDUSTRY? Brooklyn Bowl (Photo Credit)

BY SPENCER PATTERSON s we look beyond the darkness of these times to a Vegas entertainment renaissance born of a viral crisis, one likely path already has its pieces in place. Consider the amount of talent flowing through this entertainment nexus of ours. Live audiences are hungry for shows. Video streaming technology has been advancing steadily, consumers have grown accustomed to paying for online content, and companies have become adept at delivering it smoothly. Fusing the excitement of exclusive shows by big-name artists with livestreaming’s global reach offers a solution for how to succeed in this vastly new environment. *

*

*

*

*

The cameras zoom in—on keyboardist’s Page McConnell’s fingers, the details of Jon Fishman’s drum kit and an exchange of glances between

guitarist Trey Anastasio and bassist Mike Gordon—as the quartet’s “Golden Age” jam begins swelling into something momentous. It’s a close-up view you’d never get in person, even if you were in the front row for that show, an October 2016 performance by the jam band Phish at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The concert aired last month as part of Phish’s webcast series, “Dinner and a Movie,” a weekly Tuesday-night LivePhish.com giveaway throughout the global coronavirus shutdown. But, slashed cost aside, streamed video is nothing new for Phish and its fans. For more than a decade, the band, through a partnership with livestreaming platform Nugs.net, has made most of its shows available to fans in real time— ranging from $30 a pop for standard definition to $50 for 4K, at last check. And that model could provide a clue about the way live concerts might look in 2020 and potentially beyond, as shuttered music venues and touring artists adapt to their new reality. *

*

*

*

*

Twelve years ago, startup company DeepRockDrive, describing itself as “the world’s first interactive online venue,” invited Las Vegas Weekly to witness a concert at its headquarters, a large blue warehouse located near the Palms. Arizona-based indie band Peachcake was the featured act, but rather than perform for a roomful of humans, the musicians played to an array of video screens, which relayed fans’ reactions back from afar: mini lighters, devil horns, kissing lips and comments. The scene felt wildly futuristic at the time (this was 2008, remember, before social media emojis became a way of life), and DeepRockDrive didn’t last, shuttering after about a year. But as we know now, its creators were onto something big. “They were just ahead of the market … way ahead,” says Chris Bitonti, director of marketing for Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas. Brooklyn Bowl dabbled with concert livestreaming prior to the pandemic— sending out free webcasts of Vegas sets by acts like Built to Spill, The Marcus

King Band and Keller Williams—and has continued such efforts since the shutdown, offering up archival gigs, virtual DJ sets and an artist look-back series called “That Show Was Epic,” all through website Fans.com. Now, Brooklyn Bowl Chief Operating Officer Chris White says, his company is considering ways to livestream fresh shows from its concert halls— here and elsewhere—with few if any fans in the rooms. “We’ve wired all of our buildings to be able to push out content on the web, so we’re well-suited to be able to do it. … We’ve done it before, as more of an opportunistic webcast when it made sense for us and for the band to be able to put that out there, and we’ve seen success with it,” he says. “Now, we’re seeing different opportunities for new content that would be streamed out, with a limited audience or no audience. We’re starting to work through some of those, and we’ll be announcing some in the very near future, in Nashville and in Vegas, as well.” The first—an acoustic set from Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires—will take place May 15 from Brooklyn


18

LV W c ov e r s t o r y

5 .1 4 . 2 0

Phish at MGM Grand Garden Arena, October 28, 2016 (Sun File)

Bowl Nashville, streaming on Fans. com at 5 p.m. Vegas time, with a suggested donation to benefit Isbell’s crew and the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund. In preparation for those sorts of events, White says he and his team have been working out logistics—the number of bodies required to run cameras, lighting, sound and the livestream, and “how people come into the building and how they’re separated from each other in a way to make sure that everyone’s safe.” But the biggest unknown remains the most significant: Can the model pencil out? *

*

*

*

*

Could Brooklyn Bowl and other venues along the Las Vegas Strip, from the Colosseum at Caesars Palace to Park Theater at Park MGM, morph into homes for “Live From Las

“You’re seeing artists wanting to take streaming to the next level, and Vegas has some of the best production in the world.” -Billboard’s Dave Brooks

Vegas” concerts? Audiences would be limited, in accordance with socialdistancing guidelines, paying higher prices for in-person access. With the proper formula—say, a close-up Lady Gaga jazz set combined with dinner and cocktails—that ticket could eclipse the old Joint’s legendary Rolling Stones visits for demand and exclusivity. Those attendees could also create an electric atmosphere, adding to the excitement for the other crowd— the unlimited viewership tuning in around the globe, by way of pay-perview livestream. For decades, boxing has relied on similar logistics—with a larger in-person crowd, sure, but with pay-per-view buys as a huge piece of the pie—often with Las Vegas as the hub. Why not concerts? “I think if anybody could figure out how to stream live performance with full sound, lights and the concert

experience, Las Vegas definitely could,” says Dave Brooks, Billboard’s senior director for live and touring. “You’re seeing more artists wanting to take streaming performances to the next level … [and] obviously Vegas has some of the best production in the world, especially when you look at what they’ve built for the residency shows, from Aerosmith to Lady Gaga to Shania [Twain]. So I definitely think there’s something there.” Also, the market would seem to have been primed during the pandemic shutdown, with all forms of streaming on the rise. According to a recent Nielsen Music/MRC Data study of more than 1,000 U.S. consumers over the age of 13, music performance video streaming rose 8.1% from mid-March to early April, and 18% of teenage respondents watched a livestreamed performance in early April, up from 7% in late March.


5 .1 4 . 2 0

lv w c ov e r s t o r y

19

Mark Shunock (Bryan Steffy/Courtesy)

Phish 2016 (Photo Credit)

Bitonti and White mention sponsorships and subscriptions as potential solutions to livestreaming’s financial puzzle. “Streaming is wellsuited to the sponsorship side—you can reach a wide audience,” White says. As for subscriptions, he asks, “Is it just hardcore music fans that will want to engage with this? Even if it is, it’s still a relatively robust market to be able to operate within. It’s not like the Spotify market, where everybody listens to music or podcasts at some point. But it could still do great business.” And, Billboard’s Brooks points out, livestreaming from a location like Las Vegas could take significant strain off the artists and their crews. “Going on the road can be really hard on them, especially if they have families or underlying health issues,” he says. “So I think this could really appeal to them long-term. They could generate

revenue from streaming concerts and live comfortably. … Sure, it might not generate as much as they could on tour, but their cost would be a lot less.” Sounds a lot like Las Vegas’ original residency concept: Why should Celine Dion spend money and energy touring around the world when she can set up in one place and have her fans come to her? At this unique point in history, when touring might feel difficult and potentially unsafe, why not set up in one city or venue and bring the audience to you—online? *

*

*

*

*

In a neat bit of kismet, Mark Shunock began working up plans to livestream his Mondays Dark benefit shows and other events from his Las Vegas venue the Space in November— not knowing a global pandemic would shut down his room and all the others in a few short months.

“To be honest, I wanted my parents in Canada to be able to tune in to anything we were doing at the Space. That’s how it started,” says Shunock, a longtime Vegas performer known for starring in Rock of Ages, emceeing Golden Knights hockey games and more. “I also wanted to increase awareness for the Mondays Dark brand, to reach a larger demographic for our charities. Raising the money is one thing, but raising awareness is another.” In January, Shunock started webcasting shows from the Space, to get feedback from family and friends. The learning curve was steep. “We forgot to put microphones in the audience. There were 300 people in the room, but you couldn’t hear them,” he laughs. “Can you imagine watching a stand-up comic or Saturday Night Live and there’s no laughing? The people at home are going, ‘Wow, these jokes are bombing,’ even though it felt great in the room.” Shunock and his staff have finetuned their livestream—“the lights, killer sound, state-of-the-art 4K cameras”—and now, with the Space closed to in-person crowds indefinitely due to COVID-19, he’s opening it up in a different way, to any local or touring acts looking for a way to begin reaching audiences and earning a living again. “If you’re an artist and you want to do a show, contact us [info@ thespacelv.com]. We can do a livestreamed event, following CDC guidelines, with a paywall so you can charge people to watch,” he says. “Instead of just doing it on your couch in your house, you’re doing it in a venue with a state-of-the-art lights and sound system and an incredible four-camera livestream operation.” And when crowds do return, whenever that might be, the Space is set up for an enticing combination. “Streaming is going to be a regular thing, just part of the package at the Space,” Shunock says. “You can sell 300 tickets, but you can also sell 2,000 or, who knows, 20,000 livestreams. Someone in Philadelphia can see you play in Las Vegas, in front of a very small audience.”

*

*

*

*

*

What would it take for that model to work on a larger scale, the way it does for Phish? That band’s fans tune in night after night—in person and online—because there’s no telling what they’ll miss if they don’t. Phish changes its setlist every show (it played 13 shows at New York City’s Madison Square Garden in 2017 without repeating a single song), and its improvisational jams further distinguish one concert from the next. Few would suggest Kelly Clarkson or Keith Urban should do the same, but Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Santana and The Who, among other Vegas residents, have been known to vary their setlists to some extent. And even artists famous for grand productions of chart-topping hits could tweak their live approach to keep fans tuning in. Acts could strip back the spectacle, presenting songs in sparser, lesstraditional ways, as many musicians famously did on MTV Unplugged or VH1 Storytellers. They could bring in special guests, announced ahead of time to generate buzz. Fans might also pay to hear the debut of new material or to watch performances of full albums, perhaps presented over a series of nights (think: Aerosmith From Las Vegas—Get Your Wings Friday, Toys in the Attic Saturday, Rocks Sunday). Brooks suggests virtual reality as another possibility, and distinctive artist combinations as one more. “I could see a scenario where people are watching a concert through VR headsets as a way to draw people to the city and create a have-to-be-there [feel],” he says. “And another [way] would be the Grammys model: two artists performing together. The opportunity to see something like that could be really powerful.” Whatever form pay-per-view livestreaming from Las Vegas grows into, Shunock says he thinks once it begins, it will stay part of the concert landscape forever. “I don’t think this will ever replace being there live,” he says. “But I think it’s coming. I think the minute one big name does it, it’s game on for everybody.” LVW


20

LV W h e a lt h & W e l l n e s s

5 .1 4 . 2 0

Think about what you have, rather than what you don’t

Practicing gratitude Giving thanks for what you have can help now more than ever

Say something positive about yourself

By Genevie Durano his pandemic, with its attendant stresses—both the immediate kind, resulting from economic hardship and social isolation, and the long-term uncertainty of the ravages of the virus—might not inspire a reflexive sense of gratitude. But in fact, giving thanks is a practice we should engage in daily, regardless of what’s happening around us and to us. Studies have shown that cultivating gratitude has many benefits. Psychologically, it can increase happiness, reduce depression and strengthen resiliency. Physically, it can reduce blood pressure, lessen chronic pain, increase energy and promote better sleep. Socially, grateful people engage in prosocial behavior, like volunteering and looking out for their neighbors. The science behind all this is fairly straightforward. Feeling grateful actually rewires our brains, kickstarting the production of dopamine and serotonin, the neurotransmitters that make us feel good. (Antidepressants operate on the same mechanism.) And the marvel of it all is that this system is self-perpetuating: With regular practice, you can, in fact, train your brain to hold onto these feelings of happiness and contentment while dispelling negative thoughts. David Steindl-Rast, a 93-year-old Benedictine monk known as the “grandfather of gratitude” and a figure in the modern interfaith dialogue movement, asks in his TED Talk, “What is the connection between happiness and gratefulness? Many people would say, well, that’s very easy. When you are happy, you are grateful. But think again. Is it really the happy people that are grateful? We all know quite a number of people who have everything that it would take to be happy, and they are not happy, because they want something else or they want more of the same. And we all know

T

Smile at a stranger

Savor positive experiences

Ways to fill your life with gratitude (Shutterstock/Photo Illustration)


5 .1 4 . 2 0

Celebrate minor accomplishments

Tell the people in your life something you appreciate about them

Capture your gratitude by keeping a daily journal, by hand or in your phone

lv w h e a lt h & w e l l n e s s

21

people who have lots of misfortune, misfortune that we ourselves would not want to have, and they are deeply happy. They radiate happiness. … Why? Because they are grateful. So it is not happiness that makes us grateful. It’s gratefulness that makes us happy.” Gratitude can come from anywhere, but a life-changing experience provides a singular perspective. Miral Kotb, founder of iLuminate, a theatrical and technology company that competed on America’s Got Talent and brought a show to Planet Hollywood on the Las Vegas Strip, has taken this time of social isolation to be grateful for that most priceless thing of all, her health. “When I was diagnosed with leukemia, I was quarantined for nine months, where I could barely open my eyes, so to have this time of reflection and health means so much,” she says. “I am grateful for love, life and health, that I can wake up next to my fianceé, I can FaceTime with my parents and family, I can play puzzles, the piano, dream about the future and be very much in the present.” Cultivating gratitude also heightens a sense of empathy, which we all need in abundance right now. As a small-business owner, Alissa Kelly, owner of local public relations agency PR Plus, has felt the economic effect acutely, but the plight of others also gives her pause, in particular the recent senseless shooting of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia. “Every time I go for a run, when I first start to move, I do a little running meditation. I think of how grateful I am that my body works and allows me to run [and] that I have friends to run Engage in a with. I get to run past some of my family members’ random act of and good friends’ houses, so it’s a time for me to be kindness in my own head for a bit and be grateful for all the amazingness I have in life. This week took on a new meaning with my runs as I thought a lot of Ahmaud Arbery and how terrified he must have been. I will think of Maud and his family from this point forward when I do my running meditations.” There is no wrong or right way to cultivate a gratitude practice. Some keep a journal or designate a time of the day, like during grace before a meal or before bed. Lauren Westerfield, a marketing and hospitality veteran, takes daily gratitude walks with her dog and her husband. “I make it a point to observe one new thing a day, study it and let myself feel the emotions it makes me feel,” she says. “Today, I watched as a hummingbird flew around to protect her nest and the eggs inside it. At that moment, I felt wrapped up in a warm hug provided by the universe. … It is just so great when you connect with nature, to allow yourself to feel interconnected with life and be truly grateful for where you are in that present moment. Choosing positivity controls our days, and I would rather spend them mindful, positive and in the sun.”


22

LV W C U LT U R E

5 .1 4 . 2 0

SCREEN TIME On May 18, the cast of Community (yes, even Donald Glover) reunites for a YouTube table read, with special guest Pedro Pascal. bit.ly/2yF3fIK

The Sims

THIS

WEEK RADIO

THIS AMERICAN LIFE Long before podcasts, there was This American Life, a radio program hosted by Ira Glass that debuted in 1995. It features a panoply of spokenword gems, including essays, memoirs, short fiction and serious journalism. Last week, TAL became the first-ever recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for audio reporting, for its heart-wrenching episode “The Out Crowd,” about the plight of asylum seekers left in limbo by the Trump administration’s immigration policy. Start there, then go back through the show’s archives, of stories of people navigating life’s hardships and joys (check out “One Last Thing Before I Go” and “Our Friend David”). You will laugh, you will cry—sometimes at the same time—and you will be moved. Apple Podcasts, thisamericanlife.org. –Genevie Durano

MUSIC

VIDEO GAME

RJD2: THE FUN ONES

THE SIMS 4

You might already dig an RJD2 track and not know it: His “A Beautiful Mine” served as the theme to Mad Men. The latest album from the trip-hop virtuoso born Ramble Jon Krohn veers between jazzy, jump-outta-your-seat funk and moody, cinematic downtempo, and it could well be the soundtrack to your own mad life. Queue up “A Genuine Gentleman,” featuring a few fleetfooted verses from Aceyalone, and let the LP’s gravity draw you in. –Geoff Carter

Nintendo’s Animal Crossing has been the sleeper hit of the pandemic, but have you tried OG life simulation game The Sims? Launched way back in 2000, it’s now in its fourth edition and still going strong with regular expansion packs. The Sims 4 provides a chance to be a meddling god in your own universe. Create people, build their houses and guide them through their lives … or kill them if you prefer. Have fun! For Mac, PC, Xbox One, Playstation 4; ea.com/games/the-sims. –C. Moon Reed


5 .1 4 . 2 0

LV W C u lt u r e

23

hungry? Turn to Page 30 for our Takeout & Delivery Guide.

Listen Up Oh, Hello: The P’dcast reunites the stars of Broadway’s Oh, Hello—Nick Kroll and John Mulaney—in a hilarious skewering of podcasting itself. apple.co/3cpExKO

ne

at i

on

ar (W

)

Shangela Laquifa Wadley

(S

hu

t te

rs

to

ck

/P

ho

to

Illu

r

st r

M

OUR PICKS FOR THE

WEEK AHEAD

ed

ia/ Co

Music

urt

e sy

)

Kraftwerk Florian Schneider’s recent death won’t derail Kraftwerk as a live entity; Ralf Hütter has kept the German electronic group touring since his co-founder’s 2008 exit—and it remains a powerful presence, as evidenced by 2014’s marvelous 3D performance at the Cosmopolitan here in Las Vegas. But Schneider and Hütter were the creative team behind every note of Kraftwerk’s studio catalog, so you can pay respects by digging through it, for the first or thousandth time. The music’s contrasts remain exciting: basic structures fueled by advanced technology; an icily detached delivery capable of warming the soul; and a futuristic aesthetic that remained wildly unique even as it influenced countless DJs, rock bands and rappers through the years. The albums are legends unto themselves … Autobahn, TransEurope Express, The Man-Machine, Computer World. I’ve been spinning 1986’s Electric Café (aka Techno Pop) a lot this week, a so-called “lesser” Kraftwerk project that dwarfs most modern EDM. RIP Florian Schneider, musical trailblazer. –Spencer Patterson

TV

We’re Here It’s like Queer Eye, but with drag queens. Three former RuPaul’s Drag Race stars—Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka O’Hara and Shangela—bring the diverse art form to Smalltown U.S.A. by transforming community members into drag queens. What could a cis man from Twin Falls, Idaho, a mother striving to overcome her homophobic past in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and a father struggling to be more open with his daughter in Branson, Missouri, have in common? They all look great in drag. Thursdays, 9 p.m., HBO. –Leslie Ventura


24

LV W C U LT U R E

5 .1 4 . 2 0

Cameron Calloway (Photos 4 The People/Courtesy)

NOISe

Quarantine tunes Recommended local tracks released during the shutdown By Leslie Ventura he Las Vegas music scene has been keeping busy during quarantine, which means plenty of new music for all of us. Check out the latest tracks from five Vegas musicians, and if you hear something you like, share the love.

T

significant other? Grab some wine, light a candle and let this track do the talking. Riding out the lockdown solo? That’s OK, too. Grab some wine, light a candle and get down with your bad self. We didn’t make the rules; it’s just that kind of jam. cameroncalloway.com

Luxury Furniture Store, “Crimson Lovers” We absolutely can’t get enough of this synthy, indie-soaked ’80s dream. The shoegazey track— which has just enough lo-fi chutzpah to keep things edgy—reminds us of driving with our friends, windows down, on a perfect spring night. It’s anthemic, memorable and made for bedroom dancing— and we dare you not to sing it at the top of your lungs. luxuryfurniturestore.bandcamp.com

Brett Vee, “So Busted”/“Out of Time” Every time lo-fi punk mastermind Brett Vee releases something new, it’s stuck in our head for days. Well, Vee’s done it again, this time with two sunny, jangly covers—a rendition of Culture Abuse’s 2017 track “So Busted,” and a take on The Rolling Stones’ “Out of Time,” first released in 1966 and later covered by the Ramones. brettvee.bandcamp.com

Cameron Calloway, “China Blue” Sultry, smoky and sexy, Calloway’s newest song is an absolute vibe. Stuck in quarantine with your

Hassan, “Carolyn Goodclown” On April 22, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman gave one of the strangest, cringiest interviews of

all time to CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, in which she offered up the city as a “control group” during the coronavirus pandemic. Three days later, Local MC Hassan Hamilton had a lot to say, and dropped his loaded response on Instagram Live. Sample line: “Carolyn Goodman/That bitch shady/See her face when you Google batsh*t crazy.” instagram. com/fat_black_and_awesome Almost Normal, “Home” The Vegas synth-pop duo just released a music video for this aptly titled February single, a sweeping, somber track that follows the group’s 2019 single, “Holiday.” Singer Ashley Lampman delivers her strongest, most confident vocals yet, while drummer Andrew Zakher’s finessed production creates a rich and cinematic atmosphere. This is one of those tracks begging to be remixed and played in the clubs as soon as they reopen. youtu.be/qEaVDNRc748


SUBSCRIBE TODAY F O R F R E E TO Las Vegas Magazine’s digital edition! You’ll receive a download link for your complimentary copy each week directly to your inbox, as well as e-mail updates on all of the latest in Las Vegas tourism and entertainment as the city reopens. + And soon you’ll get weekly discount offers from the Strip too!

S U B S C R I B E N O W LasVegasMagazine.com/subscribe Shortly after you sign up for your subscription, you will get the lost issue of Las Vegas Magazine, published right before the shutdown, and NEVER BEFORE SEEN! K E E P

U P

W I T H

T H E

ST R I P

AS

I T,

A N D

L AS

V E G AS

MAG A Z I N E ,

#VegasAtHome @LasVegasMagazine CO M E

B AC K


26

LV W C U LT U R E 5 .1 4 . 2 0

SCENE

Influencers on lockdown I AM THE BLUE ANGEL @iamtheblueangel While Betty Willis’ classic piece of Vegas sign art has returned, completely restored, to a spot near its original Fremont Street berth, there’s something different about Downtown’s unofficial patron saint: She’s missing her halo, for one thing. This Instagram feed—which I strongly suspect was created by two of the proprietors of Downtown’s Sure Thing Chapel, Victoria Hogan and Holly Vaughn—brings the Angel off her perch. She’s in her classic guise—blood-red lips, busted-up magic wand—and wandering the streets for our common good: “Carrying the burden of a pandemic on my wings is what I was made to do,” she says.

(Holly Vaughn/Courtesy)


5 .1 4 . 2 0

LV W C U LT U R E 27

A closed Las Vegas hasn’t discouraged these local Instagrammers By Geoff Carter

BURLESQUE HALL OF FAME @burlesquehall

nstagram isn’t the right sort of social media platform for a lockdown. Facebook, for its myriad flaws, is helpful in keeping communities and families in constant touch. TikTok is a first-rate fun distraction; your kids were probably watching it for several hours a day long before this stay-in-place business started. And Twitter is one of our most prolific sources for impotent rage, bat-guano conspiracy theories and, desultorily, news. Instagram, with its wish-you-werehere vacation snaps, live party broadcasts and luscious photos of plated restaurant food, seems ill-suited to a life lived indoors, clad in pajamas. But in the absence of take-my-hand influencers, creative control of Instagram is free to return to the first group who adopted it: artists and photographers. If you give an artist a tool like Instagram and a bunch of idle hours, he or she will find a way to build a project— and that’s exactly what these local Instagrammers have done.

I

The BHoF’s recent posts have been a little cheeky; they’ve been reposting vintage photos of burlesque legends— locals Georgette Dante and Marinka, among others—retouched to include face masks. But seeing as COVID-19 has canceled the BHoF’s annual fundraising event, it’s entitled to get noticed however it can. Visit bhof. link/covid to donate to this sexy local institution.

ANNE KELLOGG @annekellogglv

When the stay-in-place order was announced, this longtime Las Vegan (and onetime Weekly contributor) was staying in the Northern Nevada town of Ely. Inspired by the lockdown, she began documenting her morning walks with her dog, providing lonely and beautiful daily snapshots of a rustic mining town with a population less than 5,000 people that’s staying homebound for the public good.

AMY SAUNDERS

ANGIE BOSCO

@stillmisbehaving

The erstwhile host of The Miss Behave Gameshow presents Palms International, a shortform Instagram series featuring currently unemployed, Downtown-dwelling Strip performers wondering aloud if Vegas entertainment will ever come back. “I probably got enough Top Ramen … to last six months,” one says ruefully. “Doesn’t mean I wanna eat it.”

@angie_bossypants

Inspired by Brandon Stanton’s famed “Humans of New York” project, Bosco’s “Humans of a Pandemic” series features portraits of housebound Las Vegans sitting on their porches, with the photographer shooting them from an abundantly safe distance. Lending poignant counterpoint to these smiling photos is a long quote from their subjects, describing a life lived in stasis.

Photos from Angie Bosco’s “Humans of a Pandemic” series. (Photos courtesy Angie Bosco)

OUR LAS VEGAS

CLAY HEXIMER

@ourlasvegas

@clayheximer

@laurazollarfineart

A project initially created for the Las Vegas Arts Commission, OLV is a showcase for the luminous street photography of Ginger Bruner. While many photographers have shot the abandoned hotels of the Strip, Bruner looks for other faces of the lockdown, and shares them here: queues outside of stores, artists painting boarded-up windows and rabbits timidly moving into an emptied town.

The (unofficial) mayor of midtown’s Paradise Palms neighborhood provides daily “Booze Reviews” from his swanky home bar. He pours, he takes a sip, rolls the spirits over his palate for a moment and finally offers a wordless gesture of judgment— sometimes a thumbs-up, sometimes a grimace. And his wardrobe changes, too: captain’s hats, kimonos. This is must-see TV.

Spiritually minded and with a creative style that seems to overflow with color, this painter and illustrator is using her Instagram in a wholly earnest way: as a window into her current, lockdowninspired work. My two favorites: her paintings of actor George Hamiltion enjoying a cocktail (“Maybe I’ll call it ‘George Quarantini’”) and of deity Quan Yin, whose face she’s painted “to be one of compassionate listening.”

LAURA ZOLLAR

ur ( Co

te s

y)


28

lv w f o o d & D R I N K

5 .1 4 . 2 0

Dining out again

The reopening of Vegas eateries poses new challenges for local restaurateurs By Genevie Durano n Saturday, May 9, restaurant owners got the green light, along with barbershops, hair salons and some retail businesses, to reopen as part of the state’s Phase 1 plan to emerge from the coronavirus shutdown. There are many guidelines put in place by the Southern Nevada Health District, including a 50 percent reduction in seating capacity, masks for employees and rigorous sanitation protocols. Some restaurants, depending on size and format, were more ready to roll despite the short notice, while others had the original Phase 1 reopening of May 15 as their target date. (Among the restaurants available for dine-in at press time were: Aces & Ales, the Bagel Café, Big B’s Texas BBQ, DE Thai,

O

Doña Maria, Fukuburger, the Great Greek, Izakaya Go, Juan’s Flaming Fajitas, Lamaii, Locale Italian Kitchen, Mama Bird Southern Kitchen, Marché Bacchus, Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza, Taco y Taco and Puck Players Locker.) Egg Sammie, a breakfast joint in the southwest, had built a lot of buzz online before it debuted a few weeks before the shutdown. Though the timing was far from ideal, owner Anthony Connelly says his restaurant has actually done brisk business even with just takeout service. The restaurant’s concept—hand-held egg sandwiches that can be consumed quickly—has worked in its favor, and there’s a park across the street where people can hang out and eat their food. Still, Connelly won’t

be opening the dining room until May 15, when his staff will be ready to implement all guidelines set forth by the state. “We’ve been disinfecting everything since the second that we opened,” he says. “We will bring in extra staff to regulate the door. We’re getting social distancing dots for the ground to make sure that people are lining up in the proper capacity and waiting outside. [The door staffer] will double as a food runner, and someone will consistently be cleaning tables.” Restaurants offering a dine-in concept, rather than a fast-casual one, will likely have a tougher time adjusting to the capacity restriction. “We’re definitely more of an experience, ‘come sit down,


5 .1 4 . 2 0 LV W f o o d & D R I N K

29

FOOD & DRiNK

ad

eV and

e r vo r t / S t a f

f)

enjoy the environment’ type of restaurant,” says Jamie Tran, chef of the Black Sheep, which normally has a seating capacity of 58. “There’s a number of seats for certain reasons for us to continue running a business. So cutting that in half is definitely not what we envisioned.” For now, the Black Sheep will continue its takeout and delivery model until it can reopen its dining room, which Tran thinks will happen in late May or early June. She says she wants (W to make sure she and her staff are ready to DW Bistro owner implement the proper Bryce Krausman procedures, and also to anticipate other challenges that might arise, including another wave of the outbreak. For Bryce Krausman, owner of DW Bistro, reopening means pivoting to a model that allows DW to retain its identity while rising to the challenges in the restaurant industry, which, even before the pandemic, was already in a tricky state with rising rents and food costs. “For us, it’s a matter of, how does a restaurant do more than just brick-and-mortar, especially with 50% capacity?” Krausman says. DW’s brunch, which has an avid following, poses the biggest challenge—and the biggest opportunity—for Krausman, who plans to reopen the dining room mid-May. He says to expect changes, including a modified menu (in response to the disrupted food supply chain) and a reservation system, in order to ensure proper social distancing. DW will also offer curbside pickup and delivery for those who can’t get a reservation. “We’re going to definitely do more of that, so people don’t feel like they’re missing out on brunch if they can’t get into our space,” Krausman says. The next few weeks and months will surely be a challenging time for the Valley’s chefs and restaurateurs as they try to find footing on shifting ground, and undoubtedly there will be starts and stops until we find the new normal. “We just have to figure out how we’re going to run things,” Tran says. “This is all new to us.”

Izakaya Go (Steve Marcus/Staff)

DE Thai (Wade Vandervort/Staff)


30 lv w f o o d & D R I N K

5 .1 4 . 2 0

For more locations, visit lasvegasweekly.com/foodguide.

Food and Drink Takeout & Delivery Guide Valleywide Black Bear Diner blackbeardiner.com n American Takeout & Delivery (Uber Eats, DoorDash, Postmates)

BJ’s Restaurant bjsrestaurants.com n American Takeout & Delivery

Buca di Beppo bucadibeppo.com n Italian Takeout & Delivery (Grubhub, Uber Eats, DoorDash, Postmates)

Café Zupas cafezupas.com n Healthy Takeout & Delivery

Capriotti’s capriottis.com n Sandwiches Takeout & Delivery (Uber Eats, Postmates, Grubhub)

The Cracked Egg thecrackedegg.com n Brunch Now reopened

Distill distillbar.com n Bar food Delivery

Foodie Fit foodiefitmeals.com n Healthy Delivery

Freed’s Bakery freedsbakery.com n Bakery Takeout & Delivery

Greens and Proteins greensandproteins.com n Healthy Takeout & Delivery (Grubhub, Uber Eats, Postmates, ezCater, DoorDash, ChowNow)

Grimaldi’s grimaldispizzeria.com n Pizza Delivery (DoorDash, Grubhub, Uber Eats)

Habit Burger habitburger.com n Burgers Takeout & Delivery (DoorDash, Postmates, Uber Eats)

Jamba Juice jambalv.com n Smoothies Takeout & Delivery (Postmates)

Port of Subs portofsubs.com n Sandwiches Takeout & Delivery (Uber Eats, DoorDash, Postmates)

Raising Cane’s raisingcanes.com n Chicken Takeout

Teriyaki Madness teriyakimadness.com n Asian Takeout & Delivery (Grubhub, DoorDash, Postmates)

Bahama Breeze 375 Hughes Center Drive 702-731-3252 bahamabreeze.com n Caribbean Now reopened

Capital Grille 3200 Las Vegas Blvd. S. 702-932-6631 thecapitalgrille.com n American Now reopened

Tropical Smoothie tropicalsmoothiecafe.com n Smoothies Now reopened

Bajamar 1615 Las Vegas Blvd. S. 702-331-4266 bajamarbajastyle.com n Mexican Takeout

Cornish Pasty 10 E. Charleston Blvd. 702-862-4538 cornishpastyco.com n English Takeout & Delivery (Postmates, In-house)

Wing Stop wingstop.com n Wings Takeout & Delivery

LIQUOR Rise & Shine bestbreakfastvegas.com n Brunch Now reopened

ROBERTO’S robertostacoshop.com n Mexican Takeout & Delivery (Uber Eats)

Sapporo sapporolv.com n Asian Delivery (DoorDash, Postmates, Grubhub, ChowNow)

Liquor World Multiple locations liquorworldlv.com n Liquor Delivery

Downtown / Central Anthony’s New York 321 S. Casino Center Blvd. 702-896-0353 anthonysnewyork pizza.com n Pizza Now reopened

The Blind Pig 4515 Dean Martin Drive 725-214-4474 app.theblindpignv.com n American Takeout & Delivery (Grubhub, Uber Eats, DoorDash)

Bocho 124 S. 6th St. #150 702-750-0707 bochosushi.com n Sushi Takeout & Delivery (In-house, DoorDash, Grubhub, Postmates)

Broadway Pizzeria 840 S. Rancho Drive 702-259-9002 n Pizza Now reopened

DE Thai Kitchen 1108 S. 3rd St. 702-979-9121 dethaikitchen.com n Thai Now reopened

Del Frisco’s 3925 Paradise Road 702-745-5224 delfriscos.com n Steakhouse Takeout

DoÑa Maria 910 Las Vegas Blvd. S. 702-382-6538 donamariatamales.com n Mexican Now reopened


5 .1 4 . 2 0

LV W f o o d & D R I N K 31

Co n ti n u e to e at W el l wh i l e supporting loca l b u s i n e ss e s

Downtown Terrace 707 Fremont St. 702-553-2542 downtownterracelv.com n American Takeout & Delivery (Postmates, Uber Eats)

El Dorado Cantina 3025 S. Sammy Davis Jr. Drive 702-722-2289 eldoradocantina.com n Mexican Takeout & Delivery

Every Grain 1430 E. Charleston Blvd. everygraintogo.square.site n Chinese Takeout

Fogo De ChÃo 360 E. Flamingo Road 702-431-4500 fogodechao.com n Brazilian Takeout & Delivery

Garagiste 197 E. California Ave. #140 702-954-3658 garagistelv.com n Wine Takeout

Grouchy John’s 6350 W. Charleston Blvd. #110 702-485-6520 grouchyjohns.com n Coffee Takeout & Delivery (Uber Eats)

Gyro Time 5239 W. Charleston Blvd. 702-878-6393 gyrotime.com n Mediterranean Takeout

n Reopened restaurants are offering dine-in service, along with takeout and/or delivery. Send updates to restaurants@gmgvegas.com.

The Joy Pop Co. 702-301-5538 thejoypopco.com n Popsicles Delivery

Las Pupusas 3111 S. Valley View Blvd. #105 702-248-7776 laspupusasrestaurant. com n Salvadorean Now reopened

Lawry’s 4043 Howard Hughes Parkway 702-893-2223 lawrysonline.com n Steakhouse Delivery

McMullan’s Irish Pub 4650 W. Tropicana Ave. 702-247-7000 mcmullansirishpub.com n Bar food Now reopened

Mothership 1028 Fremont St. 725-735-4539 mothershipcoffee.com n Coffee Now reopened

Naked City Pizza 4608 Paradise Road 702-722-2241 nakedcitylv.com n Pizza Delivery (Grubhub, Uber Eats, Postmates)

Nora’s Kitchen 5780 W. Flamingo Road 702-873-8990 norascuisine.com n Italian Takeout & Delivery

(Courtesy)

Information provided by restaurants and subject to change at any time.

Pampas 3663 Las Vegas Blvd. S. #610 702-737-4748 pampasusa.com n Brazilian Takeout

Pizza Rock 201 N. 3rd St. 702-385-0887 pizzarocklasvegas.com n Pizza Takeout & Delivery (Grubhub, Uber Eats, DoorDash, Postmates)

Simply Pure 707 Fremont St. #1310 702-810-5641 simplypurelv.com n Vegan Delivery

Sofrito Rico 5201 W. Charleston Blvd. #110 702-822-6220 facebook.com/sofritorico prcuisine n Puerto Rican Now reopened

Sunrise Coffee 3130 E. Sunset Road 702-433-3304 sunrisecoffeelv.com n Coffee Now reopened

VegeNation 616 E. Carson Ave. #120 702-366-8515 vegenationlv.com n Healthy Takeout & Delivery (Postmates, Uber Eats, Grubhub, ezCater, DoorDash)

CAPRIOTTI’S

Vesta 1114 S. Casino Center Blvd. 702-685-1777 vestacoffee.com n Coffee Takeout & Delivery

Henderson 8 Kitchen 2560 St. Rose Parkway #150 702-840-8066 8kitchenlv.com n Hawaiian Takeout & Delivery (DoorDash, Uber Eats, ChowNow, Postmates)

Anna’s 2642 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway 702-268-8049 annasbreakfastand lunchcafe.com n Brunch Now reopened

Bell’S BBQ 10895 S. Eastern Ave. 702-896-2355 bellsbarbecue.com n Barbecue Takeout & Delivery (Grubhub, DoorDash, Postmates, Uber Eats)

Bellalinda Gelateria Italiana 40 Costa di Lago #130 702-856-3010 lakelasvegasgelato. com n Gelato Takeout

Big B’s Texas BBQ 3019 St. Rose Parkway #130 702-260-6327 bigbztexasbbq.com n Barbecue Now reopened

The Cupcakery 9680 S. Eastern Ave. 702-207-2253 thecupcakery.com n Cupcakes Takeout & Delivery (Grubhub)

Dark Moon 11041 S. Eastern Ave. #115 702-840-3300 darkmoon.coffee n Coffee Takeout

Blaze Pizza 673 Mall Ring Circle 702-847-7974 blazepizza.com n Pizza Now reopened

Diced Prep 10890 S. Eastern Ave. #108 702-820-8624 dicedkitchen.com n Meal prep Takeout & Delivery (Postmates)

Bone & Belly 2235 Village Walk Drive 702-600-4955 boneandbellyramen.com n Ramen Now reopened

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit 43 S. Stephanie St. #100 702-463-7860 dickeys.com n Barbecue Now reopened

Carlito’s Burritos 4300 E. Sunset Road #A5 702-547-3592 carlitosburritos.com n New Mexican Takeout & Delivery

Emilio’s Pizza Bistro 639 N. Stephanie St. 702-564-6262 emiliospizzabistro.com n Pizza Now reopened


32 lv w f o o d & D R I N K

5 .1 4 . 2 0

n Reopened restaurants are offering dine-in service, along with takeout and/or delivery. Send updates to restaurants@gmgvegas.com.

Information provided by restaurants and subject to change at any time.

Food and Drink Takeout & Delivery Guide The Great Greek 1275 W. Warm Springs Road #160 702-547-2377 thegreatgreekgrill.com n Greek Now reopened

Maui Exiles 2895 N. Green Valley Parkway #A 702-997-9268 mauiexiles.com n Hawaiian Takeout

Griddlecakes 9480 S. Eastern Ave. 702-360-3636 griddlecakeslv.com n Brunch Now reopened

Monta Chaya 9500 S. Eastern Ave. 702-405-9649 monrestaurantgroup.com n Ramen Now reopened

Hardway 8 46 S. Water St. 702-410-5124 hardway8henderson. com n Bar food Delivery (DoorDash, Grubhub, Postmates)

Mothership 2708 N. Green Valley Parkway 702-456-1869 mothershipcoffee.com n Coffee Now reopened

Hashbrown 3145 St. Rose Parkway #120 702-405-9752 hashbrownlv.com n Brunch Takeout & Delivery (Grubhub, DoorDash, Postmates)

Il Chianti 72 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway #100 702-566-1999 n Italian Takeout & Delivery

Juan’s Flaming Fajitas 16 S. Water St. 702-476-4647 juansflamingfajitas andcantina.com n Mexican Takeout

Kitchen Table 1716 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway #100 702-478-4782 kitchentablelv.com n Brunch Delivery

Munch Box 6105 S. Fort Apache Road #304 702-778-7458 munchboxvegas.com n Brunch Takeout & Delivery (Postmates)

Pasta Shop 2525 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway 702-451-1893 pastashop.com n Italian Takeout & Delivery

Paymon’s 8955 S. Eastern Ave. 702-333-4622 paymons.com n Mediterranean Takeout & Delivery (Postmates)

Pin Kaow 9530 S. Eastern Ave. 702-407-1188 pinkaow.com n Thai Delivery

Saga 10345 S. Eastern Ave. #100 702-260-0860 sagapastry.com n Scandinavian Takeout & Delivery (Uber Eats, Grubhub, DoorDash, Postmates)

Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza 1501 N. Green Valley Parkway 702-567-4000 sammyspizza.com n Pizza Takeout & Delivery (Uber Eats, Grubhub, DoorDash & Postmates)

Shake Shack 2225 Village Walk Drive #191 702-846-2710 shakeshack.com n Burgers Delivery (DoorDash, Grubhub, Postmates)

Sin City Smokers 2861 N. Green Valley Parkway 702-823-5605 sincitysmokers.com n Barbecue Takeout & Delivery (Postmates)

Stella’s Pizza 10890 S. Eastern Ave. #108 702-675-8150 stellaspizzalv.com n Pizza Takeout & Delivery

The Steamie Weenie 1500 N. Green Valley Parkway #130 702-333-1383 steamieweenie.com n Hot dogs Now reopened

For more locations, visit lasvegasweekly.com/foodguide.

Mezzo Bistro 4275 N. Rancho Drive 702-944-8880 mezzobistro.com n Italian Now reopened

NORTH Cracker Barrel 2815 E. Craig Road 702-457-1200 crackerbarrel.com n Brunch Takeout & Delivery

Gyro Time 7660 W. Cheyenne Ave. 702-658-9729 gyrotime.com n Mediterranean Takeout & Delivery (Postmates, DoorDash)

Ichi Ramen House 7920 W. Tropical Parkway #170 702-570-7373 ichiramenhouse.com n Ramen Now reopened

Kapuna Cafe 3231 N. Decatur Blvd. #122 702-395-1400 kapunacafe.com n Hawaiian Takeout & Delivery (DoorDash, Postmates, Uber Eats)

KoMex Fusion 633 N. Decatur Blvd. #H 702-646-1612 komexfusion.com n Korean Delivery (Postmates) Takeout

Market Grill Café 7070 N. Durango Drive 702-396-0070 marketgrillecafe.com n Mediterranean Takeout

Pizza Place 3231 N. Decatur Blvd. #104 702-331 5858 pizzaplacelv.com n Pizza Takeout & Delivery (Grubhub, Uber Eats, DoorDash, Postmates)

Santa Fe Mining Co. 5021 N. Rainbow Blvd. 702-655-5939 santafeminingcompany.com n Bar food Now reopened

YourWay 6121 W. Lake Mead Blvd. #110 725-214-4445 yourwayrestaurant.com n Brunch Takeout & Delivery (DoorDash, Grubhub, Postmates)

South / Southeast Big Jerk 430 E. Silverado Ranch Blvd. 702-427-5267 bigjerkcaribbean.com n Caribbean Takeout

Bootlegger Bistro 7700 Las Vegas Blvd. S. 702-736-4939 bootleggerlasvegas.com n Italian Takeout & Delivery

Boulevard 9860 Las Vegas Blvd. S. 702-939-2583 boulevardbarandgrille. com n American Now reopened

Grouchy John’s 8520 S. Maryland Parkway 702-778-7553 grouchyjohns.com n Coffee Now reopened

Mama DePalma’s 9845 S. Maryland Parkway 702-837-6262 mamadepalmaspizza.com n Italian Now reopened

Protein House 9555 S. Eastern Ave. #125 702-816-3443 protein-house.com n Healthy Takeout & Delivery

Yard House 6593 Las Vegas Blvd. S. 702-734-9273 yardhouse.com n Bar food Now reopened

Southwest Arashi Ramen 4555 S. Fort Apache Road #110 702-485-3222 ramenarashilv.com n Ramen Now reopened

Bajamar 8180 Blue Diamond Road #110 702-331-5509 bajamarbajastyle.com n Mexican Takeout

Bambinos 2555 S. Durango Drive 702-242-2266 bambinospizza702.com n Pizza Now reopened


LV W f o o d & D R I N K 33

(Courtesy)

5 .1 4 . 2 0

PAYMON’S

Born and Raised 7260 S. Cimarron Road 702-685-0258 bornandraisedlv.com n Bar food Now reopened

The Cuppa 9275 W. Russell Road #170 702-778-7880 thecuppacoffeebar.com n Coffee Now reopened

Graffiti Bao 7355 S. Buffalo Drive 702-323-6033 graffitibao.com n Asian Takeout

Big B’s Texas BBQ 6115 S. Fort Apache Road #110 702-844-8206 bigbztexasbbq.com n Barbecue Now reopened

Cured & Whey 6265 S. Valley View Blvd. 702-429-3617 curedandwhey.com n Specialty Takeout

Griddlecakes 6085 S. Fort Apache Road 702-891-8918 griddlecakeslv.com n Brunch Now reopened

The Black Sheep 8680 W. Warm Springs Road 702-954-3998 blacksheepvegas.com n American Takeout

Cracker Barrel 8350 Dean Martin Drive 702-474-1120 crackerbarrel.com n Brunch Takeout & Delivery

Founders Coffee 6410 S. Durango Drive #100 702-916-4442 founderscoffeeco.com n Coffee Now reopened

Hedary’s 7365 W. Sahara Ave. #K 702-873-9041 hedaryslasvegas.com n Mediterranean Now reopened

Fukuburger 7365 S. Buffalo Drive #A 702-684-6161 fukuburger.com n Burgers Now reopened

Jason James Pizza 8680 W. Warm Springs Road #100 702-478-9098 jasonjamespizzabistro.com n Pizza Now reopened

Jjanga 6125 S. Fort Apache Road #200 702-914-8821 jjangalv.com n Sushi Now reopened

Master Kim’s 7036 S. Durango Drive #100 702-823-3111 masterkimslv.com n Korean Now reopened

Kobashi 8239 Dean Martin Drive #110 702-331-6233 kobashilv.com n Ramen Now reopened

Munch Box 6105 S. Fort Apache Road #304 702-778-7458 munchboxvegas.com n Brunch Now reopened

Locale 7995 Blue Diamond Road 702-330-0404 localelv.com n Italian Now reopened

Oming’s Kitchen 5180 Blue Diamond Road #105 702-722-3171 omingskitchen.com n Filipino Takeout

Mama Bird 10550 Southern Highlands Parkway #140 702-570-6135 mamabirdsk.com n Southern Now reopened

Tres Cazuelas 3355 Spring Mountain Road #35 702-370-0751 trescazuelas.com n Latin Now reopened

Zest 10670 Southern Highlands Parkway #10 702-202-2448 zestbistro.vegas n Italian Now reopened

WEST 595 Craft & Kitchen 4950 S. Rainbow Blvd. #100 702-586-1050 595craftandkitchen.com n Bar food Delivery (Postmates)

Aces & Ales 2801 N. Tenaya Way 702-638-2337 acesandales.com n Bar food Now reopened

Bambini’s 4375 S. Buffalo Drive #105 702-272-0620 bambinispizza.com n Italian Takeout & Delivery (Grubhub)


34 lv w f o o d & D R I N K

5 .1 4 . 2 0

Information provided by restaurants and subject to change at any time.

Food and drink Takeout & Delivery Guide Blue Ox Tavern 5825 W. Sahara Ave. #A 702-871-2536 blueoxtavern.com n Bar food Takeout & Delivery (Postmates, Uber Eats)

Lamaii 4480 Spring Mountain Road 702-238-0567 lamaiilv.com n Thai Now reopened

The Fat Greek 4001 S. Decatur Blvd. #34 702-222-0666 thefatgreeklv.com. n Greek Takeout & Delivery (Grubhub, Uber Eats, DoorDash, Postmates)

Partage 3839 Spring Mountain Road 702-582-5852 partage.vegas n French Delivery

Forte Tapas 4180 S. Rainbow Blvd. #806 702-220-3876 barforte.com n European Takeout & Delivery

Fukuburger 3429 S. Jones Blvd. 702-262-6995 fukuburger.com n Burgers Now reopened

Grape Vine Café 7501 W. Lake Mead Blvd. #120 702-228-9463 grapevinevegas.com n Italian Now reopened

Izakaya Go 3775 Spring Mountain Road #301 702-247-1183 izakayago.com n Japanese Now reopened

La Belle Terre 8390 W. Sahara Ave. 702-685-7712 lbtbakery.com. n Bakery Now reopened

Pho 90 4355 W. Spring Mountain Road #101A 702-248-0698 n Vietnamese Now reopened

Villa Pizza 3385 S. Durango Drive 702-878-7889 villapizzadurango.com n Pizza Now reopened

Weera 3839 W. Sahara Ave. #9 702-873-8749 weerathai.com n Thai Takeout & Delivery

WeerA 4276 Spring Mountain Road #105 702-485-1688 weerathai.com n Thai Takeout & Delivery

SUMMERLIN AREA Pin Kaow 1974 N. Rainbow Blvd. 702-638-2746 pinkaow.com n Thai Delivery

The Bagel Café 301 N. Buffalo Drive 702-255-3444 thebagelcafelv.com n Brunch Now reopened

Romano’s Macaroni Grill 2001 N. Rainbow Blvd. 702-648-6688 macaronigrill.com n Italian Now reopened

Boba King 7660 W. Cheyenne Ave. #123 702-268-8130 n Tea Takeout & Delivery

Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza 6500 W. Sahara Ave. 702-227-6000 sammyspizza.com n Pizza Now reopened

Bonanno’s 2020 Park Centre Drive 702-476-6726 bonannosnewyork pizza.com n Pizza Now reopened

Sushi 21 4965 W. Tropicana Ave. #102 702-952-2500 sushi21.net n Sushi Takeout & Delivery (Grubhub, Postmates, Uber Eats)

Buldogis 2291 S. Fort Apache Road #102 702-570-7560 buldogis.com n Hot dogs Now reopened

Cheesecake Factory 750 S. Rampart Blvd. 702-951-3800 thecheesecakefactory. com n American Takeout & Delivery (DoorDash)

Dom DeMarco’s 9785 W. Charleston Blvd. 702-570-7000 domdemarcos.com n Italian Now reopened

DoÑa Maria 3205 N. Tenaya Way 702-656-1600 donamariatamales.com n Mexican Now reopened

El Dorado Cantina 430 S. Rampart Blvd. #110 702-333-1112 eldoradocantina.com n Mexican Takeout & Delivery (Grubhub, Postmates, DoorDash)

Fleming’s 8721 W. Charleston Blvd. 702-838-4774 flemingssteakhouse.com n Steakhouse Now reopened

Flower Child 1007 S. Rampart Blvd. 702-507-2545 iamaflowerchild.com n Healthy Takeout & Delivery (In-house, DoorDash)

Island Fin Poke Co. 8780 W. Charleston Blvd. #103 702-444-4240 islandfinpoke.com n Poke Now reopened

Jamms Restaurant 1029 S. Rainbow Blvd. 702-877-0749 jammsrestaurant.com n American Now reopened

Khoury’s 9340 W. Sahara Ave. #106 702-671-0005 khouryslv.com n Mediterranean Now reopened

Kona Grill 750 S. Rampart Blvd. 702-547-5552 konagrill.com n American Now reopened

My Mother’s House 9320 Sun City Blvd. 702-998-2820 mymothershouselv. com n Italian Now reopened

Nacho DaddY 9560 W. Sahara Ave. 702-462-2298 nachodaddy.com n Mexican Now reopened

Paymon’s 8380 W. Sahara Ave. 702-804-0293 paymons.com n Mediterranean Takeout & Delivery (Postmates)

Lola’s 1220 N. Town Center Drive 702-871-5652 lolaslasvegas.com n Southern Now reopened

PKWY Tavern 450 S. Rampart Blvd. 702-722-2000 pkwytavern.com n Bar food Delivery

Makers & Finders 2120 Festival Plaza Drive #140 702-586-8255 makerslv.com n Coffee Now reopened

Pressed Juicery 410 S. Rampart Blvd. #135 702-333-0609 pressedjuicery.com n Juice Takeout & Delivery

Marché Bacchus 2620 Regatta Drive 702-804-8008 marchebacchus.com n French Now reopened

Mark Rich’s 11710 W. Charleston Blvd. #15 702-363-7272 markrichsnypizza.com n Italian Now reopened

Sambalatte 750 S. Rampart Blvd. #9 702-272-2333 sambalatte.com n Coffee Now reopened

Shake Shack 10975 Oval Park Drive 702-964-1025 shakeshack.com n Burgers Delivery (DoorDash, Grubhub, Postmates)

Siena Italian 9500 W. Sahara Ave 702-360-3358 sienaitalian.com n Italian Now reopened


5 .1 4 . 2 0

n Reopened restaurants are offering

For more locations, visit lasvegasweekly.com/foodguide.

(Wade Vandervort/Staff)

dine-in service, along with takeout and/or delivery. Send updates to restaurants@gmgvegas.com.

LV W f o o d & D R I N K 35

Sultans Grill 1910 Village Center Circle #7 702-838-3221 sultansgrilllv.com n Mediterranean Now reopened

Trattoria Reggiano 2020 Park Centre Drive 702-749-6966 trattoria-reggiano.com n Italian Now reopened

Wolfgang Puck Players Locker 10955 Oval Park Drive 702-202-6300 wolfgangpuck.com n Bar food Now reopened

East Aces & Ales 3740 S. Nellis Blvd. 702-436-7600 acesandales.com n Bar food Now reopened

Barcode Burger Bar 1590 E. Flamingo Road, 702-294-2633 barcodeburgerbar.com n Bar food Now reopened

Siegel’s Bagelmania 855 E. Twain Ave. #120 702-369-3322 bagelmanialv.com n Brunch Now reopened

Taco Y Taco 3430 E. Tropicana Ave. 702-307-1571 tacoytacolv.com n Mexican Now reopened

THE BAGEL CAFE


36

L A S V E G A S W E E K LY

5 .1 4 . 2 0

S P O N S O R E D

C O N T E N T

MARIJUANA DISPENSARY

DELIVERY

FEATURED DISPENSARY

ESSENCE CANNABIS DISPENSARY 2307 Las Vegas Blvd S. • 702-978-7591 4300 E. Sunset Road #A3 • 702-978-7687 5765 W. Tropicana Ave. • 702-500-1714 essencevegas.com Sit back, relax and let Essence come to you! You can now order all your favorite flower, vaporizers, concentrates, edibles, topicals and CBD products from the comfort of your own home. Visit essencevegas.com/delivery to place your order. If you have questions about specific products, just give us a call at 702-978-7186. Visit essencevegas.com to see a list of upcoming deals.

Y OUR GUIDE T O M ARI J U A N A DE LI V E RI E S ACROSS THE

L A S V E G A S VA L L E Y ACRES CANNABIS

APOTHECARIUM

2320 Western Ave. 702-359-9876 acrescannabis.com

7885 W. Sahara Ave. 702-778-7987 apothecariumlv.com

ESSENCE CANNABIS DISPENSARY 5765 W. Tropicana Ave. 702-500-1714 essencevegas.com

CURALEAF 1736 Las Vegas Blvd. S. 702-359-9875 curaleaf.com/nv

HYBRID STRAIN VALLEY GIRL

ESSENCE CANNABIS DISPENSARY 2307 Las Vegas Blvd. S. 702-978-7591 essencevegas.com

ESSENCE CANNABIS DISPENSARY 4300 E. Sunset Road #A3 702-978-7687 essencevegas.com

GLOBAL CANNABINOIDS

SAHARA WELLNESS 420 E. Sahara Ave. 702-478-5533 420sahara.com

SHANGO MARIJUANA DISPENSARY

CBD only Online only B2B (wholesale) globalcannabinoids.io

4380 Boulder Highway 702-444-4824 goshango.com

JARDIN

2550 S. Rainbow Blvd. #8 702-708-2000 thesourcenv.com

THE SOURCE 2900 E. Desert Inn Road 702-331-6511 jardincannabis.com

THE SOURCE MEDICALLY MINDED CBD only Online only medicallymindedcbd.com

9480 S. Eastern Ave. #185 702-708-2222 thesourcenv.com


THE DAY’S

BIGGEST NEWS

STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX Sign-up Now at LVSun.com/Optin


38

lv w s p o r t s

5 .1 4 . 2 0

Sitting pretty


5 .1 4 . 2 0 LV W s p o r t s

39

The Golden Knights should be well-positioned However the NHL resumes its season By Justin Emerson t’s been almost 13 months since Las Vegas experienced playoff heartbreak, and most Golden Knights fans still haven’t recovered from the nightmare in San Jose. But let’s be honest, they’d risk experiencing heartbreak again to bring hockey back at this point. The fate of the 2019-20 NHL season has been unknown since the league “paused” in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Momentum has recently ramped up for a return to play this season, however, with details still being worked out. The NHL and NHL Players’ Association released a joint statement in late April that expressed optimism about moving into “Phase 2” of a transition back to hockey. (Phase 1 was a self-quarantine extended three times.) The league has indicated that players will return to their home cities and practice facilities at “some point in the mid-to-later portion of May.” Some form of on-ice practices and training camp would follow before games resumed. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said he could delay the start of the 2020-21 season to as late as December. That wiggle room could give the NHL until October to wrap up the current season, with ample options on how to do so. The good news for Vegas fans? The Golden Knights appear to be among a handful of teams that won’t be adversely affected regardless of how the league proceeds. There’s no playoff system the league could contrive that would put Vegas at an obvious disadvantage. If the NHL opts to complete a portion or all of the regular season, which has not been ruled out according to multiple reports, Vegas is in good position. At 45-28-9 and 86 points through 71 games, the Golden Knights haven’t technically clinched a playoff spot in the traditional 82-game setup, but they’re sitting atop the Pacific Division, and analytical models unanimously gave them a better than 99% chance of reaching the playoffs before the postponement. If the NHL skips directly to its usual 16-team playoff, Vegas would be a No. 1 seed. That’s no longer seen as the most likely scenario, however. The NHL is reportedly more seriously considering an expanded, 24-team playoff bracket. That might seem counterintuitive: Why add more teams and expand the playoffs on a delayed schedule?

I

William Carrier (28) and the Golden Knights could find themselves opening the playoffs against the Arizona Coyotes. (Wade Vandervort/Staff)

Blame the Winnipeg Jets and Columbus Blue Jackets, or the Nashville Predators and New York Islanders, depending on how you look at it. The Jets and Blue Jackets are both currently in the playoffs by total points, but they’ve played more games than the Predators and Islanders, two teams that would be in by points percentage. With the uneven schedules, points percentage appears to be a fairer way to determine who gets in, but the Jets and Blue Jackets are unlikely to agree. Both teams surely believe they would have a shot of reaching the playoffs if the season restarted, and they aren’t alone. A 24-team format would include all the franchises that had a realistic shot at the playoffs, without going through the trouble of finishing the regular season. All the bubble teams would have a de facto play-in round, while the top eight teams in the league would be rewarded with byes. As Pacific Division champions, the Golden Knights would have a bye. The NHL has multiple options for seeding, but Vegas would most likely host the winner of a series between Nashville and Arizona. In theory, that would make the Golden Knights a rested squad against either a Predators or Coyotes team coming off a series win. On the flip side, Nashville or Arizona would be riding the momentum of victory, while Vegas could be rusty after watching the first round without game action to stay ready. Statistically, a bye is a major advantage, but anecdotally, many players disagree. There’s value in playing games, the argument goes, rather than sitting around waiting. The detriment of rink rust might not outweigh the benefit of a fatigued opponent. That’s why the Golden Knights might ultimately prefer the standard 16-team format. They’d face either the Predators, if the league used points percentage, or the Jets, if it used total points, in the event the NHL went directly into its normal playoffs. That seems like the easiest choice. Some teams will be left out, but teams get left out every year. No solution will keep everyone happy. A few Golden Knights have mentioned that they’d like some regular-season games to regain their legs before springing into high-stakes contests that matter. That’s their ideal scenario, but ideal has gone out the window with COVID-19 shutting down the world. Vegas will adapt to whatever the league decides.


40

V E G A S I N C B U S I N E S S 5 .1 4 . 2 0

Virtual networking offers benefits that could last beyond pandemic

P

BY BRYAN HORWATH

eter Guzman, head of the Latin Chamber of Commerce in Las Vegas, is a selfproclaimed hugger. His business meetings usually start with a handshake or a hug, but over the past two months, due to COVID-19 concerns, those meetings haven’t taken place in person. So, greetings have been replaced with video conference smiles and chatroom emojis. “Younger people, they’re cool with virtual networking,” Guzman said. “Elders tend to still be about face-to-face. I’m a face-to-face guy, and I’ve had to make some adjustments, but I’m actually enjoying some of those adjustments. We’ll go back to having in-person stuff, but we’re definitely also going to keep this virtual platform going.” With the traditional business luncheon or happy hour mixer a thing of the past for now, businessfocused organizations around the Valley have turned to virtual meetups, Zoom conferencing sessions and interactive webinars. “What we’re going to see in the future is a combination of virtual and in-person events,” said Cara Clarke, vice president of communications for the Las Vegas Chamber. “Once it becomes safe to do so, people are going to want to come back and be in the same room together. People will want to see each other and share a glass of wine and do some in-person networking.” In the meantime, Clarke said, platforms provided by companies like Zoom Video Communications— with its cloud-based peer-to-peer interactive software program—rule the day. The chamber hosted its first post-pandemic virtual mixer in April. “Technology allows us to mix and mingle with people who may not even be in the same city as us,” Clarke

said. “It actually gives us some more flexibility than just limiting ourselves to in-person events. I think that’s very much going to be a part of the future.” Missy Day, a business coach and president of the local chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners, said virtual gatherings and meetings have actually been a boon. “We’re able to attract more people,” Day said. “I network a lot. When you go to [in-person] networking

events, it’s local and you tend to run into the same people all the time. Since things have gone virtual, it’s opened it up for a lot of people who wouldn’t normally be able to attend a networking event.” Through her various networking channels, Day said she’s seen a big boost lately in connection-making between people from different cities and states. She also said some virtual participants have needed some time to acclimate to being a part of a Zoom meeting or event, but most have picked up on it quickly. “There’s been a learning curve for people who had never been virtually involved in a group,” Day said. “We had to teach some people what the etiquette is, but once we got that established, I’d say people are more engaged virtually than they are in person. ... There’s no luncheon now, so people aren’t eating, and they have more time for conversation.” Many people, Day said, are more socially active in a virtual setting. “People who were used to going to the luncheon and not saying anything now have an opportunity to ask questions of the speaker and talk and interact with others on the screen,” Day said. “I think some events and meetings will stay virtual.” Day also said virtual events free up time for participants, a byproduct that can be attractive. “You don’t have the travel time,” Day said. “I’ve also noticed that people tend to be more focused when they’re virtual. I think part of it is that people aren’t concerned about where they need to be next and things like that. I think the possibilities are endless when it comes to doing virtual.”

(Shutterstock/Photo Illustration)


5 .1 4 . 2 0

VegasInc Giving Notes Sahara Las Vegas donated an assortment of essential supplies to the Cashman IsolationQuarantine Complex, including sheets, towels and washcloths, as well as shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, soap and lotion. The supplies will help meet the needs of approximately 350 homeless people who have not been able to quarantine, isolate or get health care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sahara also teamed up with World Central Kitchen in collaboration with the Nevada Restaurant Association to provide meals to health care workers. Sahara fed more than 2,400 medical workers over the first five days. UnCommons and Matter Real Estate Group partnered with Burke Construction Group and local restaurants, including Piero’s Italian Cuisine, Lotus of Siam, Sushi Kame and Urth Caffé to provide nearly 4,000 free meals to all 14 hospitals in Clark County. Touro University received 200,000 medical-grade and

surgical masks from the Cyrus and Michael Tang Foundation, which is dedicated to supporting education, health care and community service. Michael Tang also serves on Touro’s advisory board. Touro donated the masks to area hospitals, local physicians, medical centers, senior care facilities and first responder agencies. Cox awarded $35,000 in diversity scholarships to 10 graduating seniors as part of its annual Cox Diversity Scholarship program in partnership with the Public Education Foundation and Southern Nevada-based diverse organizations. The 2020 recipients included Oluwatosin Diyan, College of Southern NV High School East Campus; Alexa Fouts-Fahd, Del Sol Academy of the Performing Arts; Jose Guerrero, Spring Valley High School; Nicola Lai, West Career & Technical Academy; Christian Lainez-Artiga, East Career and Technical Academy; Caitleen Navarro, Southwest Career & Technical Academy; Dylan Phung, Coronado High School;

Celeste Taylor, College of Southern NV High School East Campus; Camille Thevenot, Las Vegas Academy of the Arts; and Alisha Williams, CimarronMemorial High School. Each recipient received $3,500. High Voltage Detox donated sanitizer to area first responders, Henderson and Metro Police Department, Henderson Fire Department and Community Ambulance. Roseman’s Dental Clinic donated 100 gowns, 600 level 1 masks and 400 gloves to St. Rose Sienna Campus in Henderson. Teachers Health Trust partnered with Serving our Kids Foundation and Teachers Health Trust Foundation and their preferred pharmacy partner, Alto Pharmacy, to deliver 210 weekend food bags to the doorsteps of those in need in an effort to get food to chronically underfed children who are not within walking distance of a school and/or whose parents can’t drive or get them to schools to pick up

Marshall Retail Group, LLC seeks a President & Chief Operating Officer in Las Vegas, Nevada responsible for overseeing the financial performance of the organization, including developing financial plans, monitoring the budget and ensuring sound financial controls are in place. Job reqs Bachelor of Bus. Admin (Employer will accept 3 yr or 4 yr bachelor degree) & 10 yrs of exp in an exec level in multi-unit, travel retail org. To apply, mail resume to Peri Bluemer, Vice President, Human Resources, Marshall Retail Group, LLC, 3755 W Sunset Road, Suite A, Las Vegas, NV 89118. Job Code PCOO20. 50% domestic travel and 10% international travel req.

cheese steaks for all

Order online or through the CAPAddicts app for delivery or pickup.

weekend food bags. Teachers Health Trust also donated 200 handcrafted masks to local educators. In partnership with the Mask Task Force powered by the Las Vegas Fashion Council and in coordination with Communities In Schools of Nevada, the protective masks were delivered to teachers at local schools, including, JT Williams Elementary School and J.D. Smith Middle School. Project Marilyn delivered feminine hygiene products to several nonprofits and has dropped off products to Sunrise Children’s Foundation, Share/Veterans Village, CARE Complex, Rescue Mission of Southern Nevada and Salvation Army. Donna Italia Pizza at Home provided pizzas for more than 45 crew members and 30 emergency operations teams with the North Las Vegas Fire Department. The Emergent Group, a philanthropic consulting firm, partnered with Polar Shades Sun Control to launch a fundraising campaign, “Shades Down, Masks Up,” to mass produce protective respiratory masks and gowns. The City of Henderson contributed $200,000 to the Public Education Foundation’s Clark

vegas inc business

41

County School District Technology Fund for the purchase of Chromebooks. This help ensure that Henderson students have access to technology that will support distance learning while schools remain closed. Titan Brands Hospitality Group, in partnership with Three Square, Central Christian Church and Sysco Foods, launched the Nobody Goes Hungry campaign to help local restaurant, bar and nightlife operators feed employees during the pandemic. Volunteers provided food for more than 80 households of local restaurant employees, including Burger Bar, Minus 5 Ice Lounge, Carson Kitchen, Hussong’s Cantina Mandalay Place, Slice of Vegas Pizza Kitchen and Bar and Hussong’s Cantina Boca Park. The campaign’s goal is to provide over 500 service industry households with 30-40 pounds of groceries each week. Fruits and vegetables grown in 180 Clark County School District school gardens were used to make meals for families in need as part of a collaboration between CCSD, Green Our Planet, Delivering With Dignity and local restaurants. The produce was used by restaurants to prepare 800 meals for delivery.


42

LV W p u z z l e & h o r o s c o p e s

Premier Crossword

5 .1 4 . 2 0

“Hollywood girl group” by frank Longo

horoscopes week of May 14 by rob brezsny ARIES (March 21-April 19) I came up with colorful titles for you to use to describe yourself on your résumé or in promotional materials or during conversations with potential helpers: 1. Fire-Maker, 2. Seed-Sower, 3. Brisk Instigator, 4. Hope Fiend, 5. Gap Leaper, 6. Fertility Aficionado, 7. Gleam Finder, 8. Launch Catalyst, 9. Chief Improviser, 10. Change Artist. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Of all the signs, Tauruses are among the least likely to be egomaniacs. Most of you aren’t inclined to indulge in fits of braggadocio or outbreaks of narcissism. That’s why one of my secret agendas is to tell you how gorgeous you are, to nudge you to cultivate the confidence and pride you deserve to have. Are you ready to leap to a higher octave of self-love? I think so. GEMINI (May 21-June 20) When I was young, I had a fun-filled fling with a smart Gemini woman who years later became a highly praised author. I am content with the brief magic we created together. Now I invite you, Gemini, to send blessings to the people who helped make you who you are. Celebrate what has actually happened in your life, and graduate from what might have happened but didn’t. CANCER (June 21-July 22) “You have two ways to live your life, from memory or from inspiration,” writes teacher Joe Vitale. I urge you, in the coming weeks, to mobilize yourself through a balance of memory and inspiration. I suspect you’ll be getting rich opportunities to both rework the past and dream up a future full of interesting novelty. In fact, those two imperatives will serve each other well. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Author Anne Lamott has some crucial advice for you to heed in the coming weeks. “Even when we’re most sure that love can’t conquer all,” she says, “it seems to anyway. It goes down into the rat hole with us, in the guise of our friends, and there it swells and comforts. It gives us second winds, third winds, hundredth winds.” Wield this truth as your secret magic, Leo. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Theologian St. Catherine of Siena observed, “To a brave person, good and bad luck are like her left and right hand. She uses both.” In the past, Virgo, you have sometimes been more adept and proactive in using your bad luck and less skillful at capitalizing on your good luck. But from what I can tell, this curious problem has been diminishing for you in 2020—and will continue to do so.

2018 King features syndicate

ACROSS 1 Shrine images 6 Kept from falling, as pants 13 Abashed 20 Showed on TV again 21 Not varying at all 22 In a weepy way 23 Start of a riddle 25 Language spoken in Dhaka 26 Is in a chair 27 College, to a Brit 28 Long to undo 30 Augur’s sign 31 Riddle, part 2 39 Home for mil. jets 40 Roman love god 41 Singer James or Jones 42 Bad guys 46 Explosive compounds 48 Hercule creator Christie 53 From time immemorial 54 Riddle, part 3 56 Talk big 57 Mr. Capote, to friends 58 Partner of neither 59 Liquid asset 60 Riddle, part 4 66 Reciprocal 69 Army chaplain 70 The Great Lakes’ — Canals 71 Libreville’s country 72 Everglades mammal 75 Riddle, part 5 80 Big name in PCs 81 Letter two before tau

83 — Kapital 84 Roof part 85 Riddle, part 6 91 Become rigid 93 Key in again 94 Thin and watery 95 Back fish fins 96 “QED” center 98 Formerly, old-style 99 Mendes of 2 Fast 2 Furious 100 End of the riddle 109 Kazan of Hollywood 110 Singer Ritter 111 Feel fluish, perhaps 112 French pals 114 Excessive bureaucracy 117 Riddle’s answer 123 Offspring-producing animal 124 Part of ROTC 125 Rule from the throne 126 Cheech and Chong personas 127 Electrical current units 128 Archipelago parts DOWN 1 Eye opener? 2 Shocking EMT treatment 3 Give a speech 4 Expire 5 Lead-in to Cone or Cat 6 Rubs elbows 7 Flying 8 Mattel doll 9 Expire 10 The Simpsons shout 11 Old stage star Hagen 12 Martinez of baseball

13 Ideally 14 Realize 15 Sci-fi’s Solo 16 Class jargon 17 Where the Marlins play 18 Burstyn or Barkin of film 19 Running out of steam 24 Blew with short blasts 29 World Heritage Site gp. 32 Manicurist’s target 33 Brave in the face of adversity 34 Give off 35 “The lady — protest ...” 36 Canadian tribe 37 — -TASS (news agency) 38 Very wise 42 Seizes 43 Site of the Taj Mahal 44 Scorch 45 Frat shindig 47 Rajah’s wife 49 Mountain climbers, e.g. 50 Alexis or Peter, e.g. 51 Big name in oil and gas 52 Court great Arthur 54 Novelist Sarah — Jewett 55 Basic musical chords 57 Bullfighter 61 D.C. baseballer 62 Ike’s inits. 63 USSR’s Cold War foe 64 Alluringly shy

65 “Moo” maker 67 76ers’ org. 68 Rocket scientist Wernher — Braun 71 Neutral color 72 Bryn —, Pennsylvania 73 Feel fluish, perhaps 74 Not cluttered 75 Bagel center 76 “— Fideles” 77 Father, to a tot 78 Knievel of motorcycle stunts 79 Cravings 82 Hurry it up 86 Tech detail 87 Wife of Zeus 88 — Scott case 89 Civil wrong 90 “Quiet!” 91 Dumpy dwellings 92 — Sea (Asian lake) 95 Thirsts for 97 Rearranges 100 Basil and bay leaf 101 Heads-up 102 YouTube clip 103 All gone, as food 104 Add-on 105 Purple color 106 Decorative flower holders 107 Cybermissive 108 Scorch 113 1040 IDs: Abbr. 115 Fruity quaff 116 According to 118 Fence (in) 119 Psychic “gift” 120 Added charge 121 Bruin great Bobby 122 Alleged psychic Geller

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) “I’m curious about everything, except what people have to say about me,” says actor Sarah Jessica Parker. That’s an excellent strategy for you to adopt. On the one hand, the whole world will be exceptionally interesting, and your ability to learn valuable lessons and acquire useful information will be at peak. On the other hand, one of the keys to getting the most out of the wealth of catalytic influences will be to cultivate nonchalance about people’s opinions of you. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) On Sesame Street, there’s a Muppet character named Count von Count. He’s a friendly vampire who loves to count things. Make him your patron saint for the next four weeks. It’s an excellent time to transform any threatening qualities you might seem to have into harmless and cordial forms of expression. It’s also a favorable phase for you to count your blessings. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) “No one ever found wisdom without also being a fool,” writes Erica Jong. “Until you’re ready to look foolish, you’ll never have the possibility of being great,” says Cher. “Almost all new ideas have a certain aspect of foolishness when they are first produced,” observed philosopher Alfred North Whitehead. You’re primed to prove these theories, Sagittarius. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) I’m putting you on a High Alert for (metaphorical) Treasure. Be receptive to and hungry for it. And if you are one of those rare lucky ones who already has a treasure, I’m happy to say that you now have the power and motivation to appreciate treasure even more and learn how to make even better use of it. And heed these further words from author Alice Munro: “You must hang onto it. You must not let yourself be waylaid and have it taken from you.” AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) You can engage in dialogues with your cells. The coming weeks will be a ripe time to explore this phenomenon. Is there anything you’d like to say to the tiny creatures living in your stomach or lungs? Any information you’d love to receive from your heart or your sex organs? If you have trouble believing this is a real possibility, imagine and pretend. And have fun! PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) There won’t be spectacular breakthroughs barging into your life. On the other hand, there’ll be a steady stream of small marvels if you’re receptive to such a possibility. Don’t miss the small wonders because you’re expecting and wishing for bigger splashes.


During these difficult times, Touro University Nevada wants to thank first responders, medical providers, and those necessary workers who are keeping our communities and country safe, healthy, and supplied.

Serving Our Community Touro students are providing a variety of volunteer services for free to the local community. Services range from free K-12 online tutoring, free undergraduate and MCAT online tutoring, and general community assistance including grocery pick-up for seniors. See how we can help at

tun.touro.edu/medready

Helping Keep Healthcare Providers and First Responders Safe Thanks to a remarkable donation from the Cyrus and Michael Tang Foundation, Touro has been able to distribute free medical-grade and surgical masks to local frontline healthcare providers and first responders. The list below is some of those organizations. May they keep you safe and healthy. 7 Hills Hospital Advanced Healthcare of Summerlin Advanced Heart Care Associates AP Medical Group Apex Home Health APRN Desert Hope ATI Physical Therapy Balle & Associates Blue Sky Manor - In Home Hospice Boulder Primary Care Box Canyon Primary Care Center for Colon & Digestive Disease Children’s Cancer Center Ching’s Pediatrics City of Henderson Police & Fire Clark County Medical Society Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada Desert Orthopedics Desert Perinatal Associates Desert West Surgery

Elite Endoscopy Encompass Rehabilitation Hospitals Family Doctors of Boulder City Flagstaff Medical Center Green Valley Ob/Gyn Henderson Hospital Horizon Health & Rehabilitation Horizon Specialty Hospital Horizon View Medical Center Kidney Specialist of Southern Nevada Kingman Hopsital Kubal Family Medicine Las Vegas Medical Group GI Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Las Vegas Post Acute Rehabilitation Las Ventanas Senior Living Legacy Urgent Care Life Care Center of Las Vegas McSwain Family Medical Merrill Gardens - Green Valley Ranch

Mountain View Hospital Mountain West Home Health Mountainview Care Center Nathan Adelson Hospice Nevada Digestive Disease Center Nevada Hand Nevada Oral & Facial Surgery North Las Vegas Police Department North Vista Hospital Nuclear Care Partner NV Pediatric Specialist Opportunity Village Premier Ob/Gyn Premium Family Care Prestige Manor Priority Health Group Pro Care Hospice Renown Health Care Richard Steel Foundation Salvation Army

Shade Tree Silver Hills Healthcare Center Sky Dental South Nevada Adult Mental Health Services Southern Nevada Health District Spring Mountain Treatment Center St. Joseph’s Medical Center St. Rose Pediatrics St. Rose Sienna Hospital Sunrise Hospital The Heights Summerlin Transitional Care of Las Vegas University Medical Center Urgent Care - Healthcare Partners W.Charleston US Acute Care Solutions VA Hospital Sacramento Volunteers in Medicine Western Orthopedics Women’s Health Associates of Southern Nevada

Touro University Nevada l 874 American Pacific Drive, Henderson, NV 89014 l 702-777-8687 Touro University Nevada is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) as a branch campus of Touro University California and licensed in Nevada by the Commission on Post-Secondary Education. Touro University Nevada does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, age, sex, gender, color, creed, national origin, religion, sexual orientation or disability.


DELIVERY AVAILABLE!

GO TO WWW.CURALEAF.COM/NV OR CALL 702.359.9875 TO ORDER DELIVERY!

curaleaf.com I @curaleafusa KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CH ILDREN. F OR USE ONLY BY ADULTS 21 YEARS OF AG E AND OLDER.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.