2022-01-13- Las Vegas Weekly by Greenspun Media Group

PUBLISHER MARK DE POOTER mark.depooter@gmgvegas.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER KATIE DIXON katie.dixon@gmgvegas.com EDITOR SPENCER PATTERSON spencer.patterson@gmgvegas.com

EDITORIAL Senior Editor GEOFF CARTER (geoff.carter@gmgvegas.com) Editor at Large BROCK RADKE (brock.radke@gmgvegas.com) Deputy Editor EVELYN MATEOS (evelyn.mateos@gmgvegas.com) Managing Editor/News DAVE MONDT (dave.mondt@gmgvegas.com) Staff Writers HILLARY DAVIS, JUSTIN EMERSON, MIKE GRIMALA, CASEY HARRISON, JESSICA HILL, BRYAN HORWATH, ARLEIGH RODGERS, AMBER SAMPSON Contributing Editors RAY BREWER, JOHN FRITZ, CASE KEEFER, KEN MILLER, JOHN TAYLOR 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 Intern EM JURBALA

ADVERTISING & MARKETING External Content Manager EMMA CAUTHORN Special Publications Manager JENNIFER INABA Market Research Manager CHAD HARWOOD Senior Advertising Manager SUE SRAN Account Executives BROOKE BROWN, LAUREN JOHNSON, MIKE MALL, ADAIR NOWACKI, ALEX TEEL, ANNA ZYMANEK Sales Assistant APRIL MARTINEZ Events Manager SAMANTHA PETSCH

PRODUCTION & CIRCULATION Vice President of Manufacturing MARIA BLONDEAUX Production Director PAUL HUNTSBERRY Production Manager BLUE UYEDA Marketing Art Director DANY HANIFF Production Artist MARISSA MAHERAS Publication Coordinator DENISE ARANCIBIA Traffic Administrator JIDAN SHADOWEN Fulfillment Manager DORIS HOLLIFIELD Route Administrator KATHY STRELAU

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

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OPEn MIC NIGHT season 2 begins january 19 at the shag room HOSTED BY Shawn Eiferman Congratulations Season 1 Winner Michael Richter

Wednesdays AT 8pm Performances judged weekly. winner receives a Virgin Hotels Las Vegas 1-Night Stay.

Quarterly Grand Prize paid performance at the shag room plus A 2-Night stay at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. Plus a $500 Dining Credit. Must be 21 or older to participate. Weekly prizes and value may vary. All judges decisions are final. Management reserves all rights. Rules available at virginhotelslv.com

ON SALE NOW

FINAL SHOWS NOW THROUGH SEPTEMBER AT ZAPPOS THEATER AT PLANET HOLLYWOOD

BUY TICKETS AT TICKETMASTER.COM

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IN THIS ISSUE WANT MORE? Head to lasvegasweekly.com.

SUPERGUIDE

Your daily events planner, starring Tiësto, Whitney Cummings, the Voltaggio brothers, Bryce Vine, Rob Guson and more.

NEWS How to recognize, and best protect yourself from, the coronavirus’ highly contagious omicron variant.

36 NOISE

Local artist Papichuloteej has changed his approach, with memorable results.

THE WEEKLY Q&A Vegas entertainment legend Franco Dragone on Amystika—his new Criss Angel collaboration—and more.

FOOD & DRINK Tasty meatless fast food at Plant Power, plus Freed’s new Downtown dessert shop.

COVER STORY Instagramming Las Vegas? Geoff Carter has your intinerary, plus tips for every location.

ON THE COVER

HASHTAG VEGAS (Photo Illustration)

SPORTS After an up and down season, the Raiders are in the playoffs. Now, Case Keefer explains why they’ve actually got a solid chance of making a run in the wide-open AFC.

Raiders receiver Tyron Johnson (Ellen Schmidt/AP Photo)

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

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SUPERGUIDE THURSDAY 13 JAN.

UNLV’S JADE THOMAS

S U P E R G U I D E

THE SUPERSUCKERS The Supersuckers, the self-proclaimed “Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World,” are a bit like a comet from a sci-fi b-movie: Every few years, Las Vegas passes through their tail and a portion of our population goes justifiably insane. It’s been almost three years to the day since Eddie Spaghetti and the gang last played Vegas (and nearly eight since they’ve played at the Dive Bar), so it’s safe to assume that when these cowpunky Tuscon rockers rip into “Disaster Bastards” and “Born With a Tail,” you’ll feel the effects. And they’ve got a killer supporting bill in Scott H. Biram, Rod Gator, The Rhyolite Sound and Mondo Vermin. 8 p.m., $15, the Dive Bar, eventbrite.com. –Geoff Carter

F O R M O R E U P C O M I N G E V E N T S , V I S I T L A S V E G A S W E E K LY. C O M .

UNLV WOMEN’S BASKETBALL VS. BOISE STATE 6:30 p.m., Cox Pavilion, unlvtickets.com. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Staff) DJ PAULY D 10:30 p.m., Hakkasan Nightclub, hakkasangroup. com. STEPH PAYNE 6:30 p.m., Gatsby’s Supper Club, eventbrite.com. PAUL OGATA Thru 1/16, 8 p.m., LA Comedy Club, tickets. thestrat.com. JULIAN JEWEIL 10 p.m., Commonwealth, elationlv.com.

MIKE ZITO 8 p.m., Backstage Bar & Billiards, eventbrite.com. HEXED 10 p.m., Chateau Rooftop, chateaunights. com. DJ RUCKUS 10:30 p.m., Zouk Nightclub, zoukgrouplv. com.

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MUSIC

FRIDAY 14

PARTY

SPORTS

ARTS

FOOD + DRINK

COMEDY

MISC

JAN.

UNLV MEN’S BASKETBALL VS. FRESNO STATE 8 p.m., Thomas & Mack Center, unlvtickets.com.

RL GRIME 10:30 p.m., XS Nightclub, wynnsocial.com.

SERPENTINE FIRE 8 p.m., the Space, thespacelv. com.

G U I D E

(AP Photo/ Photo Illustration)

JIM BREUER Thru 1/16, 7:30 p.m., South Point Showroom, ticketmaster.com.

“The objective of this exhibit is to show that despite centuries of genocide and colonization, WE ARE STILL HERE,” declares the press brief for this Juan Cuevas-curated group show of indigenous artists hanging in Historic Fifth Street School’s Mayor’s Gallery through January 20. Dedicated to showing that this continent’s indigenous peoples are still shaping our culture in meaningful and impactful ways—and the “ongoing resistance” indigenous art can generate through its very creation—Still Here enters its final week with an artist reception that will feature not just visual art, but dance performances too, in styles that include jingle, traditional and danza azteca. 5-7 p.m., free. –Geoff Carter

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST Thru 1/16, times vary, Las Vegas Little Theatre, lvlt.org.

STILL HERE ARTIST RECEPTION

VONDA SHEPARD & 1/15, 7 p.m., Myron’s, thesmithcenter. com.

CARVER LOUIS 10 p.m., Stoney’s Rockin’ Country, stoneysrockin country.com.

Harvest restaurant goes family style with an exclusive dinner from celeb chefs Michael and Bryan Voltaggio. The Maryland-born brothers first found fame on the sixth season of Top Chef, later reigniting that sibling rivalry with the Discovery+ cooking show Battle of the Brothers. The Voltaggios run several restaurants together, including the fast-casual seafood spot STRFSH in Santa Monica, California, and Voltaggio Brothers Steakhouse at MGM National Harbor in Maryland. At Harvest, they’ll present Italian cuisine that’s true to the region but also representative of their modern American style. Highlights will include smoked tuna carpaccio, ink orecchiette and bistecca alla fiorentina. January 14-16, 5-10 p.m., Harvest, bellagio.mgm resorts.com. –Amber Sampson

LOUD LUXURY 10:30 p.m., Omnia Nightclub, hakkasangroup. com.

VOLTAGGIO BELLAGIO POP-UP

KATY PERRY: PLAY & 1/15, 8 p.m., Resorts World Theatre, axs. com.

MUSTARD PLUG With Buck-ONine, Omnigone 8 p.m., Backstage Bar & Billiards, eventbrite.com.

P L A N Y O U R W E E K A H E A D

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SUPERGUIDE SATURDAY 15 JAN.

WHITNEY CUMMINGS

S U P E R G U I D E

8 p.m., Encore Theater, ticketmaster.com. (Photo courtesy AEG Presents Las Vegas)

TIËSTO’S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

LAS VEGAS PHILHARMONIC: BEETHOVEN, MOZART & SHAW 7:30 p.m., Reynolds Hall, thesmithcenter. com.

WAYNE BRADY 10 p.m., Mirage Theatre, ticket master.com.

STEVE AOKI 10:30 p.m., Omnia Nightclub, hakkasangroup. com.

A-TRAK 8 p.m., Area15, area15.com.

TIP 10 p.m., Drai’s, draisgroup.com.

UNLV WOMEN’S BASKETBALL VS. UTAH STATE 4 p.m., Cox Pavilion, unlvtickets.com. 1/2 AST With Guilty by Association, Jerk, Lords of Dust, 10 p.m., Double Down Saloon, doubledown saloon.com.

LIL JON 10:30 p.m., Hakasan Nightclub, hakkasan group.com. THE SOUVENAIRS 8 p.m., The Underground, themob museum.org. MUSTARD 10 p.m., Marquee Nighclub, marqueelvnc. taogroup.com.

F O R M O R E U P C O M I N G E V E N T S , V I S I T L A S V E G A S W E E K LY. C O M .

THE MUSIC OF ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER Starring Rose Kingsley & Allan Glassman 7:30 p.m., Summerlin Performing Arts Center, eventbrite.com. LUBELSKI With Skye, Jako, 10 p.m., Discopussy, discopussydtlv. com.

The Dutch legend notches No. 53 on January 17, and just like everybody else, there’s nowhere else he’d rather celebrate his birthday than the Las Vegas Strip. Moving into his second year as one of the top headlining residents at Resorts World’s Zouk Nightclub and Ayu Dayclub, Tiësto is set to resume international dates in the first quarter with gigs in London, Australia and Mexico on his tour schedule, but he’ll be spending plenty of time at his new Vegas home all year long. 10:30 p.m., Zouk Nightclub, $50$75, zoukgrouplv. com. –Brock Radke

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MUSIC

SPORTS

PARTY

ARTS

SUNDAY 16 JAN.

FOOD + DRINK

COMEDY

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

MISC

MONDAY 17 JAN.

BRYCE VINE DJ SINCERE 8 p.m., Foundation Room, houseofblues. com.

VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS VS. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS 7 p.m., T-Mobile Arena, axs.com.

ERIC DLUX 10 p.m., Marquee Nightclub, marqueelvnc. taogroup.com.

S U

O.T. GENASIS 10:30 p.m., Jewel Nightclub, hakkasangroup. com.

E R

QUINN DAHLE Thru 1/23, 8:30 & 10:30 p.m., Laugh Factory, ticketmaster. com

JAMES THE FANG With Serious Sam Barrett, The Unwieldies, The Devil’s Duo, 10 p.m., Double Down Saloon, doubledown saloon.com.

SCHADE 10 p.m., Oddwood, oddwoodbar. com.

G D E

StarBase, the new entertainment and event space from experiential event company Fresh Wata, has partnered with the Edible Bunch to launch this new monthly brunch series focused on health and wellness. Guests can explore the new space and visit food stations offering dishes like crudite selections with vegan meats, caramelized sugar-crusted French toast, chickpea steaks with fresh herbs, fried cauliflower nuggets, butternut squash mac and cheese, a variety of desserts and more. Live entertainment will be offered as well, hosted by Asia Jade and Dizzy Wright. 10 a.m.-2 p.m., $80, 3905 W. Diablo Drive, starbaselv. com. –Brock Radke

NICK GUERRA 8 p.m., L.A. Comedy Club, thestrat.com. MATT LUCIO 9 p.m., Emporium, emporiumlv. com.

(AP Photos)

PLANT BASED SUNDAYS

New York-based singer and rapper Bryce Vine hadn’t even watched the show Glee when he debuted on its reality TV show spinoff The Glee Project. He was the first to be eliminated from the Top 12, but Vine told Billboard that opportunity kick-started his fanbase and his drive to make music. Several singles later, the ex-Berklee College of Music student debuted “Drew Barrymore,” a masterful track that showcased Vine’s resonant, laidback flow and clever lyricism. A lot of his music leans toward a pop party in the California hills, but a deep dive into his discography reveals heartrending gems like “Miss You a Little,” also the namesake of his current tour. 7:30 p.m., $30, House of Blues, livenation.com. –Amber Sampson

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SUPERGUIDE

Y O U R W E E K A H E A D

WEDNESDAY 19 JAN.

MUSIC

SPORTS

PARTY

ARTS

FOOD + DRINK

COMEDY

MISC

TUESDAY 18 JAN.

FRANKIE MORENO 7 p.m., Myron’s, thesmith center.com.

(Danny Mahoney/Courtesy)

SMOAKLAND With Peej, 2Shay, 10 p.m. Discopussy, discopussydtlv. com.

S U P E R G U I D E

THE JOHN ABRAHAM PROJECT 8 p.m., the Usual Place, 100 S. Maryland Parkway #100.

KIM LEE 10:30 p.m., EBC at Night, wynn social.com.

ROB GUSON It could be Fergie on the decks at Marquee’s Wednesday night Lowkey in the Library party, coming back again on February 9. Or it could be Rob Guson January 18 at the Caesars Palace megaclub Omnia, keeping the party rocking under that space-aged chandelier. Whatever the moniker, wherever the venue, Irish DJ and producer Rob Ferguson has been guiding the boldest bashes in the Las Vegas clubscape for years, and 2022 will be no different. 10:30 p.m., Omnia Nightclub, $30-$50, hakkasangroup.com. –Brock Radke (Sammy Dean/Courtesy)

MASON COLLECTIVE 10 p.m., Library at Marquee Nightclub, marqueelvnc. taogroup. com.

THE FUNK JAM 10 p.m., Sand Dollar Lounge, thesand dollarlv.com. DJ SEANY MAC 9:30 p.m., Foundation Room, house ofblues.com.

FOR MORE UPCOMING EVENTS, VISIT L A S V E G A S W E E K LY. C O M .

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

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BY BROCK RADKE

E N T E R T A I N M E N T

hose who were surprised by the recent announcement that headlining illusionist Criss Angel has teamed with the legendary director Franco Dragone—the man behind some of the biggest shows the city has ever seen, including Mystère, O, Celine Dion’s A New Day and Le Rêve—must not know that these two luminaries go way back. Steve Wynn once enlisted them to create a new Las Vegas production in the early days of Wynn Las Vegas, but it wasn’t meant to be. The new collaboration will also reunite Dragone with Las Vegas— one of the most mutually beneficial and impactful unions in the city’s storied entertainment history. The Weekly spoke with the Belgian director about the creative ambition of his latest project—Angel’s Amystika, set to open in March at Planet Hollywood—the Strip’s COVID comeback and much more. Did the pandemic inspire your recent work in Las Vegas or was this return something you’ve been considering for longer? A bit of both. Last year we did this project to help raise funds for the artist community, because the situation was extremely difficult for most of our colleagues. For several weeks we did these sessions called Creators United, interviewing people who have done a lot … to make Las Vegas something unique in this world. I asked Criss [Angel] if he wanted to participate, and he said yes. We have followed each other for a long time, and we met again thanks to this initiative. We wanted to do something more, together as partners, and we decided to try this experience.

RETURN OF THE KING Las Vegas entertainment legend Franco Dragone prepares to debut Amystika

Criss has talked about wanting to create something new, and taking risks in a very risky time. I think for both of us it’s a risky time, during this pandemic we are going through, which is not finished, so maybe we are a little bit crazy. But we’ve jumped into this project completely, and it has deepened our friendship. To create something new nowadays is extremely different than 15 years ago. The audience can go on YouTube and see a lot of things, so when they actually come to you, you have to offer something that makes a difference. We have the ambition to surprise people and to give them the best of what we can do, and also the tools and the money that is a lot for us to spend, but I don’t have the pretension to say I will reinvent entertainment. We do our best to have high quality. So yes, we are trying to do something new, but we do this with much humility and ambition and we put all of our talent, experience and energy into the project. What was it like for you to be in Las Vegas again and watch the iconic Cirque du Soleil shows you helped create come back to

the stage after so many months without performances? I think Cirque du Soleil is one of the greatest production companies on Earth. For me it was fantastic to see that after this long shutdown they brought back thousands of performers and technicians. I am very proud the first two shows to reopen were Mystère and O, and while things are still fragile and we don’t what will happen with the new [COVID] variant, we have seen this proven through these shows, that the audience always wants to be together. We have Zoom and Skype and YouTube and all the things that help us work wherever we are, but people love to be together. This is the nature of humankind. Sadly, the flip side of that is Le Rêve, which was shuttered last year. How did you react to that news? I did not understand [that decision] because Le Rêve was [awarded] and nominated several years in a row as the best on the Strip. Based on my information, the numbers were not bad; It made money. I think this is the first time I saw one of my theaters being torn down. But my first reaction was to think of the artists and people

working on it and their jobs. You see a new team coming in [at Wynn] and maybe part of it is wanting to forget the past and bring a new way to see the world. Your company had been developing an experience called Rise that could become a Las Vegas production. What’s the status of that project? Rise was also a project coming from the pandemic, initiated by artists and performers [who] had no producer, so they asked us. I think it will continue, because it was fantastic, during those hard times of the pandemic, as a gesture of resistance. But I think it really will become a new thing, because the idea is to create something in the open air. For us, it’s not always about big productions but how shows are done with other artists. It is still on the table. Are you planning to spend a lot of the new year in Las Vegas? I have to go back and forth, but Las Vegas has been and will be, for us, the center point for our company. Las Vegas has changed, because there are key people that are not there anymore; the players have changed, but I think it’s for the best. It may be cliché, of course, but this place has created a community of creators, an underground, and in the underground is where you find the future, because they are not constrained in the big corporate companies, so they have more audacity. This is good. Thanks to those big productions and [casinos], we now have thousands of artists coming from all over the world, and you can find a lot of expertise. Vegas has really become the mecca of entertainment.

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Franco Dragone (left) with Criss Angel (Denise Truscello/ Courtesy)

T H E W E E K L Y Q & A

Q+A

Paradise Is Less Tropical Than You’ve Been Led To Believe

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LV W C OV E R S T O R Y

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C O V E R

S T O R Y

Visit and photograph some of the spots that make Las Vegas the most Instagram-ready place on Earth

HASHTAG VEGAS

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Hassan Hamilton “lifts” the “Big Rig Jig” (Photos by Wade Vandervort/Staff)

BY GEOFF CARTER

H A

They’re informally called “Instagram museums”—storefront spaces, usually located in tourist-heavy spots, that are sectioned off into multiple rooms of immersive art pieces and splashy backdrops. They’re not the kind of museums you’d visit to savor art without once reaching for your phone; rather, they’re designed for the camera, to satiate those “who want to take pictures of themselves in a museum, without going to a traditional museum,” as Sophie Haigney opined in a 2018 New Yorker piece. Las Vegas is home to several Instagram museums, including the Linq’s Museum of Selfies, Town Square’s Selfie Wrld and the recently opened Museum of Dream Space at the Palazzo. (They outnumber Vegas’ “traditional” art museums by a considerable margin.) But really, this entire city is an Instagram museum, filled with art pieces, striking backdrops and natural wonders that look amazing both in selfies and in shots with no people in them at all. You can point your phone most anywhere in the Vegas valley and find a ’Gram-ready shot. Even our sky changes from one minute to the next, trying on cloud formations and jet trails all day long. But if you’d like to Instagram this city in a way that truly captures its eccentricity, individuality and beauty, we recommend starting with these 12 spots.

S H T A G

#bigrigjig V E G A S

“BIG RIG JIG” BY MIKE ROSS

Knitted together from two full-sized tanker trucks, Ross’ massive metal sculpture has traveled a long way to reach the courtyard at Fergusons’ Downtown. It made its debut at Burning Man in 2007, then traveled to England in 2015 to appear in Banksy’s temporary “theme park” installation, Dismaland. More than anything else on this list, Big Rig Jig demands to be photographed on its own. You can selfie with it, but it’ll upstage you every time.

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SCULPTURES AT AREA15

C O V E R

S T O R Y

Area15 contains a number of interactive art installations—Wink World, Museum Fiasco, Meow Wolf’s Omega Mart—that aren’t Instagram museums per se, but if you want to use them that way, no one’s gonna stop you. The experience and retail complex also hosts a number of spectacular sculptures you can shoot free of charge, most notably Bart Kresa and Joshua Harker’s giant projection-mapped skull named “Shogyo Mujo” and the silver nekkid couple of Michael Benisty’s “In Every Lifetime I Will Find You.”

“SNOWBALL” BY JESSE CARSON SMIGEL Good kitty! Smigel’s 10-foot-tall bust of a friendly cat, recently refurbished, is a must for anyone in need of a tongue bath—which, come to think of it, is just about everyone. You’ll find “Snowball” in the 18b Arts District, at the corner of First Street and Coolidge Avenue. And you’ll find him to be accommodating of nearly whatever weird photo idea you have in mind.

#jessesmigel (Snowball & Area15 by Wade Vandervort/Staff)

#area15

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“SEVEN MAGIC MOUNTAINS” BY UGO RONDINONE

Good news: Rondinone’s vibrant land art installation, located just off I-15 at the edge of the Jean Dry Lake Bed, will be with us for at least another year, according to a representative for the piece. (The artist reportedly wouldn’t mind if “Seven Magic Mountains” remained in place indefinitely, but the final say goes to the Bureau of Land Management, which issued a permit for the parcel on which the piece sits.) In short, you’ve got all of 2022 to shoot these colorful boulders—by themselves, as a portrait backdrop or however you like.

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(Seven Magic Mountains by Christopher DeVargas/Staff)

#sevenmagicmountains

H A S H T A G V E G A S

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

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#vegasvickie

C O V E R

S T O R Y

(Courtesy @lasvegasgal)

VEGAS VICKIE AT CIRCA

Glitter Gulch’s 25-foot-tall kicky neon cowgirl moved off of Fremont Street some years back and took up residence inside the lobby of new Downtown resort Circa, where she overlooks a cocktail bar named for her. The camera absolutely loves her, and you will, too. There may be no more poetic meeting of new Vegas and old than the union of these two giants.

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(W3-Dimensional & Peppermill by Wade Vandervort/Staff; Caesars Palace AP Photo)

H A S H

#felipepantone

T S

Evel Knievel jumped over them on New Year’s Eve 1967 (and Travis Pastrana, above, duplicated the feat in 2018). Warren Beatty and Elizabeth Taylor idled around them in the 1970 movie The Only Game in Town. And just last year, Absinthe’s Gazillionaire took a dip in them for a Las Vegas Weekly cover. The fountains in front of Caesars Palace are a Vegas classic that makes anyone and anything—from motorcycle to movie star—look almost impossibly classy, day or night. See also: the Mirage’s volcano … while you still can.

THE FOUNTAINS AT CAESARS PALACE

#caesarspalacefountain

No, not the jewel-toned diner with the Tiffany lamps. The Peppermill’s cool, neon-lit Fireside Lounge, with its lowslung booths, sunken fire pit and cocktail servers dressed in evening gowns, is unique to this town, and perhaps this galaxy. (A friend once described the wonderfully kitschy bar—50 years old this year—as “a wedding reception from Star Trek: The Next Generation.”) Martin Scorsese shot part of Casino here. It’s more than good enough for your Instagram feed.

PEPPERMILL’S FIRESIDE LOUNGE

#peppermillfiresidelounge

Pantone created this busy Downtown mural for the 2016 Life Is Beautiful festival and added its solar-powered neon accents the following year. It has carried on through three festivals since, an impressive feat considering that LIB’s street art curators Justkids swap out most of the murals from year to year. It’s in rough shape right now, but it still impresses—and when you use it as a selfie background, it makes you look like 1980s icon Max Headroom.

“W3-DIMENSIONAL” BY FELIPE PANTONE

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ALLEYWAYS OF THE 18B ARTS DISTRICT

There are so many photogenic street-level murals in the alleyways of the 18b that it’s hard not to pull out your phone and grab a few shots while you’re walking to your car or waiting for a reservation. Couples come here to do wedding photos—that’s how fun and surprising this art can be. You can find treasure most anywhere, but if you don’t want to wander too far from Esther’s Kitchen, get a photo of/with the trio of stylistically diverse murals by Heather Grace Toledo (@heatherbeethyname), Jorge Betancourt Polanco (@ bypolanco) and Shan Michael Evans (@shan.michael.evans), painted on the side of Freed’s Dessert Shop.

(Photographs by Wade Vandervort/ Staff)

A S H

C O V E R

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#18b

T A G

#redrockcanyon

E G

#sunsetparkvegas The star attraction here, Instagram-wise, is the giant Easter Island-style Moai head that once sat in front of the Stardust’s Aku Aku Poynesian restaurant and bar. Created by Eli Hedley, the artist who carved the tiki heads for Disneyland’s Adventureland (and whose grandson, Bamboo Ben, is a noted tiki artist himself), the Moai now serves as a sentinel for a geese pond. Get a selfie with him sitting on your shoulder, like a parrot. Then get some more shots of the 55-year-old Sunset Park, a true urban oasis.

SUNSET PARK

What more is there to say about this spectacular view? It’s what we point to when snobbish out-of-towners play the “But Vegas is so artificial” card. It’s as delicious to the eyes as chocolate is to the palate, and it’s practically in our backyard. Shoot it at magic hour, from the free scenic overlook located between the entrance and exit of the Red Rock scenic loop on SR 159.

RED ROCK CANYON SCENIC OVERLOOK

Viva

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IN THE

ENVIRONMENT

N E W S

STATE NOT ON TRACK TO REACH EMISSIONS TARGETS REPORT CITES POPULATION, TRANSPORTATION ISSUES Nevada is not on track to meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets, according to a report released from the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Governor’s Office of Energy. The 2021 Nevada Statewide Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory and Projections—which tracks Nevada’s progress in emissions reductions—indicates shortcomings by the state to adhere to its energy goals. Nevada’s established reduction targets are listed as percentages under 2005 emissions levels. Its goal for 2025 is to be 29% below 2005 emissions levels and in 2030 to be 45% below. But with existing policies, the state will not meet those targets, instead stooping six percentage points below its 2025 goal at 23% and 21 points below its 2030 goals at 24%. The report says transportation will continue as the greatest-emitting sector through 2041. Greenhouse gases from the industrial sector are additionally projected to be the most rapidly increasing source of emissions under current policies. Also, the report states that emissions from the residential and commercial sectors will likely increase from 12% to 17% by 2041. This growth is attributed to projected population and economic growth. Nevada’s population grew from 2,700,551 to 3,143,991, according to Census data as of July 1, 2021. –Arleigh Rodgers

NEWS

WATCH THIS The Knights host Pittsburgh January 17 at 7 p.m.

(Steve Marcus/Staff)

SPORTS

FLOWER IN BLOOM ON THE DESERT ICE The game started like so many at T-Mobile Arena have over the past four years. Marc-André Fleury’s name belted through the sound system, and fans serenaded him with a rousing “Fleury, Fleury” chant and a standing ovation. But instead of those chants and cheers directed at the Golden Knights’ end, they were aimed at the visitor’s net, where Fleury was stationed as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks, opposing the Golden Knights for the first time January 8 at

T-Mobile Arena, his first trip back since being traded in July. Once the game began, he was the star of the show there too. Fleury made 30 saves to ensure his homecoming was a victorious one, leading the Blackhawks to a 2-1 win, holding the Knights to their lowest score in two months. “I’m very lucky and fortunate to still play hockey and to do what I love, and to have the respect of my teammates, and the fans, and people in the community,” Fleury said.

“That means a lot to me and it’s something I want when I leave the game. I don’t want to just be known as a hockey player. That’s why it’s sometimes emotional for me to have those nights.” Fleury, known as “Flower” by fans, was the first goalie in Vegas franchise history and left the team having been awarded the NHL’s Vezina Trophy, given to the league’s best goalie. With the victory, he has now defeated all 32 NHL teams. –Justin Emerson

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NEWS

STATEWIDE CONTEST AIMS TO BOOST EDUCATION The Andre Agassi Foundation for Education and the Engelstad Foundation are co-sponsoring The Big Idea Challenge, which is offering $500,000 for the best idea to improve Nevada education—whether through curriculum tools, technology concepts or platforms that could improve teaching efficiency. Applicants are invited to visit bigideachallenge.org and submit an entry before March 31. After that, a panel of judges that includes singer Jewel and television host Mike Rowe will begin to review the entries, winnowing them down to the idea that will best help schools. –LVW Staff

Vegas Golden Knights coach Pete DeBoer will coach the Pacific Division squad during 2022 NHL All-Star Weekend, set for February 4-5 at T-Mobile Arena. Joining DeBoer as AllStar coaches will be Florida’s Andrew Brunette (Atlantic), Colorado’s Jared Bednar (Central) and Rod Brind’Amour (Metropolitan).

VGK’S DEBOER TO COACH PACIFIC ALL-STARS

PANDEMIC

1.7.2021

MADDEN’S WORLD NFL icon John Madden, who died December 28 at age 85, didn’t fly to games as a TV broadcaster. Instead, he had a Greyhound bus decked out as the “Madden Cruiser” to serve as his home on the road. It was made available for tours to fans and media before the Las Vegas Raiders’ game January 9 against the Los Angeles Chargers. (Photo by Wade Vandervort/Staff)

LOCAL HOSPITALS RUNNING SHORT ON HEALTH CARE WORKERS At University Medical Center, an average of 200 employees are calling out sick each day with COVID-19, hospital spokesman Scott Kerbs said. UMC, which has about 4,000 employees, isn’t the only Nevada hospital feeling the crunch. The Nevada Hospital Association said January 10 that Clark County hospitals were still at “crisis” staffing levels, a designation the association issued for five of the state’s 17 counties. That means staffing is limited enough to affect patient care and further prioritize critical injuries and illness—or, as the hospital association put it, “hospitals are stretched thin and patients who want testing only, or who have minor or nonthreatening ailments to life, limb, sight, etc., can anticipate excessive wait times, difficulty being transferred to a specific hospital, or being admitted from the emergency department, and longer drop-times for ambulances.” State health officials on that day reported 1,356 people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 in Clark County. Test positivity, a key measure of the number of people tested and found to have COVID-19, has skyrocketed in recent weeks in the area—to nearly 29% January 10. –Hillary Davis

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COMBATING

COVID Tips for staying safe as the omicron variant spreads

H E A L T H

BY EVELYN MATEOS If you haven’t contracted COVID-19 since the holidays, you probably know someone who has, or maybe lots of people who have. The coronavirus’ latest variant, omicron, has been spreading like wildfire, bringing the pandemic that dominated our lives in 2020 and 2021 back into sharp focus as 2022 begins. At press time, the total number of COVID cases recorded in the United States had reached 58 million, according to John Hopkins University data, and The New York Times’ “hot spots” map showed Nevada turning dangerously purple, along with almost every other state in the country. The Times’ data also had Clark County’s reported cases up 228% over the previous 14 days. And according to Dr. Amy Stone, an assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at Touro University Nevada, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that 82.4% of Nevada’s recent recorded cases were of the omicron version as of January 7, compared with 17.6% for delta, previously the dominant COVID strain. What’s the difference? For one, omicron has been shown to

be far more contagious, about 35% more transmissible than the delta variant, at latest report. Stone says the Southern Nevada Health District is seeing a test positivity rate of 20%, meaning one in five people who get tested for COVID actually have it. On the bright side, omicron appears to be linked to a lower percentage of serious and fatal infections than delta before it. “What we think is happening is that instead of getting down deep into the lungs, like delta, or the original COVID did, [omicron] stays up higher—more in your higher chest area,” Stone says. “That makes it easier to breathe in and out, because it’s right there at the top rather than being very deep into the lungs.” That doesn’t mean omicron can’t be dangerous, however. “We are still going to see deaths,” says Dr. Brian Labus, an assistant professor at UNLV’s School of Public Health and an expert in communicable disease. “We’re seeing that now around the country—hospitalization numbers are going up everywhere. Deaths trail that by three or four weeks. … Just because it might be slightly better, doesn’t mean it’s something you want to get, and it doesn’t mean it’s something that’s going to be a mild infection if you’re not vaccinated.” Aside from the immunocom-

promised, studies show that unvaccinated people are most vulnerable to omicron. Both Stone and Labus stressed that being fully vaccinated—including a booster shot—is the best way to protect yourself. The CDC recently updated its recommendations for Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech boosters, reducing the interval between the primary series of shots and the booster from six months to five. At press time, the booster interval for those who received the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine remained the same, two months. How else to minimize your risk of contracting omicron? Mostly by taking steps with which we’re quite familiar by now. Stone suggests both vaccinated and unvaccinated folks should continue to wear masks and maintain 3 to 6 feet between themselves and others—especially unmasked people. Frontline workers or those working with the public in any way should wash their hands once an hour or utilize an alcohol-based hand sanitizer frequently. Labus echoes that advice, specifically suggesting either a KN95 mask or layers for those continuing to use surgical or cloth masks. And though omicron might not result in the same sorts of lockdown measures we’ve seen in the past, Labus says people should truly weigh potential gatherings before attending. Folks should also stay home if they feel any sign of the virus, both experts emphasized. Omicron symptoms include a runny nose, a sore throat and nasal congestion, according to NPR. org. If a cough is present, it’s typically mild, and the loss of smell

and taste aren’t as common with omicron as with previous variants, NPR reported. But, the report indicated, more serious symptoms—ranging from fever to chest pains and trouble breathing—can still show up. If you have a suspected or confirmed case of COVID, isolate yourself from others for at least five full days (day zero is the first day of symptoms or positive test for those asymptomatic), as recommended by the CDC. Sam Boyd Stadium recently opened as a large local testing site, but if you’re still running into trouble getting a PCR test, home tests are also effective, Labus says, and typically pick up the omicron variant, contrary to some reports. “They just have to be used properly,” he says. “The timing of the test is important. If people are testing themselves at the first sign of illness, they’re going to test negative, because it’s too early for the test to detect it. The best chance of finding it is on day three after onset.” Once it runs its course, might omicron mark the end of COVID, at last? Not likely, Labus says. Globally, the virus mutates, on average, two times per month, he explains, yet another reason why vaccines are so essential. At press time, the CDC was reporting that 74.3% of Americans had received one dose, 62.5% were fully vaccinated and 36.3% had also been boosted. “Until we have [herd immunity], the virus is going to continue to mutate,” Stone says. “Every time it infects a person, it has a chance to mutate and change, and every change has that chance of making it better for the virus—more deadly, more transmissible.”

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(Shutterstock/Photo Illustration)

–Dr. Brian Labus

N E W S

“We are still going to see deaths. Just because it might be slightly better, doesn’t mean it’s something you want to get, and it doesn’t mean it’s something that’s going to be a mild infection if you’re not vaccinated.”

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C U L T U R E

Katy Perry in Play at Resorts World Theatre (Getty Images John Shearer/Courtesy)

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EVEN MORE

VEGAS

ing, Perry exclaims, “Oh sh*t!” On opening night of Play, that was just one of many moments that made audience justifiably explode with cheers, screams and laughter. Continuing the stunning evolution of the Las Vegas residency production, Perry’s show is wall-to-wall spectacle, densely packed with campy, colorful props and production effects. Visually overwhelming and stylistically suited to its star, it’s unlike any other residency show we’ve seen

Carrie Underwood in Reflection at Resorts World Theatre (Ralph Larmann/Courtesy)

S T R I P

he headlining concert residency shows of the Las Vegas Strip are all about star power, the biggest names performing their biggest hits. But each of these events has at least one moment that simply wows the audience with pure visual spectacle. In Piece of Me at what is now Zappos Theater, Britney Spears THE would ride a INCIDENTAL giant guitar like it was a TOURIST mechanical BY BROCK RADKE bull in a country saloon. In Enigma at what is now Dolby Live, Lady Gaga takes control of a two-story robot. And in Play, which opened just before New Year’s Eve at the brand-new Resorts World Theatre, Katy Perry, after emerging from a 16-foot-tall, bright-orange toilet bowl, trades verses of “California Gurls” with a giant puppet. It’s a poop. In the toilet. That sings. He actually has a name, and it’s Mr. Poo. When he rises from the bowl and starts sing-

Stefani’s Just a Girl residency show. Perry is known for wild costumes as much as pop hits, and the epic outfits for her show—including a red latex jumpsuit with mushroom hat, a dress constructed of aluminum soda cans, and a showstopping yellow-and-orange rhinestone dress for the grand finale—were created by designers Zaldy, Heather Picchiottino and Johnny Wujek. Perry, who was famously in the audience at the premiere of Gaga’s Enigma in 2019, has said the Vegas production is something that could never tour; it’s too big and complicated. That has been the objective of most Strip residency shows since Celine Dion started playing Caesars Palace—to give each artist the chance to construct their dream show without worrying how to actually pull it off. And clearly, that creative spirit runs through the new shows at Resorts World Theatre. Play also features a running animated film following the journey of the Katy Doll character, who is purchased from an arcade vending machine and has to make her way through the bathroom, bedroom and backyard of her new owner. Perry embodies the character during the interspersed live performances, and the stunning set designs are even more vivid than their animated versions. For her breakthrough hit “I Kissed a Girl,” she dances through a psychedelic garden landscape among giant mushrooms and snails before finally planting a smooch on a dancer performing in a bikini-clad female frog costume. It’s the most Katy Perry thing that’s ever happened.

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T H E

Resorts World residencies are raising the stakes for production design

on the Strip, ever. Similar praise fell upon the first residency to open at Resorts World, Carrie Underwood’s Reflection on December 1. Aerialists soar above the audience as the country music superstar rolls through a parade of elegant and glam-rock costume changes, and Underwood and her dancers literally take a Louisville to both headlights of a real Jeep onstage during the crowd-pleasing hit “Before He Cheats.” The finale showers the singer and the entire stage in rainfall and sparks, while acrobats work their way across a wall reminiscent of Cirque du Soleil’s epic stage show KÀ. Reflection, which returns March 23-April 2, was designed by Nick Whitehouse and Fireplay, with costumes by Emma Trask. Play, back onstage January 14 and 15 and again March 2-19, is produced by Baz Halpin with sets by his Silent House Productions, the same team that worked on Piece of Me and Gwen

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

1 .1 3 . 2 2 HYPE AT NIGHT WITH KIM LEE January 19, 10:30 p.m., $30-$55. Encore Beach Club, 702-7707300, wynn social.com.

N I G H T S

Hype at Night (Encore Beach Club/Courtesy); Insert: Kim Lee (David Mahoney/Courtesy)

NEON AT E NIGHT Visuals and vibes power Encore Beach Club’s new party BY BROCK RADKE

ven if the forecast is sunny, pool club season feels miles away. Or does it? Wynn’s Encore Beach Club has continued its recent tradition of winter parties during the doldrums of the 20212022 season, shifting to the sleek indoor space once known as Surrender Nightclub for weekend gigs and throwing open the doors to the legendary pool space when the weather allows. And just before the holidays, EBC amped up its programming with new monthly party Hype at Night, a glow-in-thedark bash with extra entertainment augmenting the headlining DJ. It’s back on January 19, anchored by a set from Wynn resident and Bling Empire reality TV star Kim Lee. Winter has always been the quietest time for dayclubs on the Strip but “I don’t think it’s been quiet for us,” says Marianna Albano, director of marketing for Wynn Nightlife. “We’ve been programming Encore Beach Club through winter for several years now, and with Wynn Field

Club [at Allegiant Stadium] this past year, it’s actually ticked up a bit in winter for us.” Encore Beach Club has installed a dome structure over its outdoor space during winter in recent years, but it’s not there this season. There is a temporary deck built over the center pool, layered with tables for outdoor bottle service when temperatures allow. Hype at Night, an update on the Hype Beach weekly parties launched last summer, is all about a visually vibrant experience that works well indoors and outside. “We had so much fun putting together Hype Beach in 2021, so this was a natural extension of the bright and colorful party we had designed, but made for a darker nighttime experience,” Albano says. “We kept the concept but wanted everything to stand out more, and what’s great about the [inside] space is how it flows outside to give guests two different settings and experiences.” EBC’s staff gets decked out with glow-in-the-dark accent pieces for

its uniforms. Dancers are adorned in glowing body paint and custom costumes, and neon stilt walkers add to the over-the-top fun. Additional confetti cannons shower brightly colored specks across the club, adding extra neon shimmer by way of custom black lights, disco balls, hand-pointed curtains and sparkling signs. Wynn has reached next door to the new Casa Playa restaurant to add to the Hype at Night programming. Restaurant guests, especially in the lounge area, receive glow-in-thedark accessories to prepare them for the kaleidoscopic party that will ensue after drinks and food, strengthening the synergy between the two venues. “I think guests know that no matter when or where they’re coming to Wynn, they’re going to get that first-class experience. It’s what we’re known for,” Albano says. “Hype at Night is a fun layer to change the space temporarily, and that’s why our regulars like coming back, because they know Wynn will always provide new products and experiences at the various venues.”

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PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

N O I S E

PAPICHULOTEEJ

Rising Vegas star Papichuloteej flips the script on his own musical story BY AMBER SAMPSON

C U L T U R E

Papichuloteej (Yoshi/Courtesy)

tuck has never been Tyler Griffin’s style. The alternative/indie pop singer, best known as Papichuloteej, discovered that in his early 20s, when he found himself stationed in Las Vegas, serving in the U.S. Air Force—and being called to do something wildly different. “I had always known that I loved making music, but it just seemed so far-fetched as a career at the time,” the 24-yearold says. “I realized there were a lot of pieces that had to be in place for it to happen. But there was one point I just stopped caring about all that. If not now, then it’s not gonna happen at all.” In his day-to-day, Griffin ordered parts for planes. In his free time, he rapped for fun, gaining recognition from music blogs for his chill, melodic beats and a laid-back flow reminiscent of SoCal star Kyle. In 2019, Griffin left the military,

spoti.fi/3Gl9WgJ apple.co/ 3zO4Abn

and that same year, Las Vegas Weekly named him Best Rising Rapper in its annual Best of Vegas awards. Today, he’s still on that trajectory but doing it as an alt-pop rapper and singer who has amassed more than 3 million streams across his Spotify catalog and played Downtown’s Life Is Beautiful festival in 2021. Singing, he says, “gave me the feeling that I was looking for when I make music—the happiness, that euphoric bliss.” Originally from San Diego, Griffin started making music in high school after his stepfather, a Navy retiree, moved the family to North Carolina. The artist looks back fondly on those years, as he discovered the genius of musicians like Pharrell Williams. “It was really cool to see

someone the same color as me making stuff that sounded different,” Griffin says. “It was very inspirational to my sound later on. Even though I don’t feel like I make anything similar or sonically the same, it still inspired me to make what you enjoy making.” As Papichuloteej, Griffin has all the room to explore his art form. In the music video for “Boyfriend,” the 24-yearold dances around his crush at the park, a boombox in hand, looking the part of a picturesque ’90s lover boy. The song is about falling for someone who’s unavailable, but instead of moping, Papichuloteej turns disappointment into a sunny, bare-it-all bop, enlivened by punchy 808s and guitar strums. In “Stockton,” Papichuloteej unleashes his grittier, alternative hip-hop side with grungy vocals and distorted guitars. Wedged between those tracks are songs like “Stars Align,” which could fit on The Weeknd’s After Hours. Now far removed from the military, Griffin says he learned a lot about patience during his service. And that’s just one quality a journey like this requires. “You have to have the craziest optimism sometimes that it’s just gonna work out, because boy, is it stressful sometimes,” he says. “I don’t know how I’ve managed to convince myself through some situations that I’m gonna be fine, but it worked. I’m here.” Griffin’s new music, he says, will better represent the artist he is now. And in that representation, he won’t ever forget where he started. “I really am grateful for the Las Vegas community for welcoming me and making me feel like I am from here,” he says. “I’ve made so many friendships, and I’ve met so many people who just make me feel amazing. Thank you for the love.”

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ACROSS THE BORDERLINE

C U L T U R E

Humanity prevails in poet-painter Shaun T. Griffin’s Border Stories BY C. MOON REED

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Left: A detailed shot of “Looking Through the Wall” Below: “Borderless Child” (Nevada Humanities/Courtesy)

Nevada, the image of “all of these people trying to find their way into this country through that very, very small port of entry” lingered in his mind, he says. Feeling overwhelmed, Griffin began to paint and write poetry. That’s the origin of Griffin’s new exhibition for Nevada Humanities, Border Stories. In it, Griffin seeks to spotlight the struggles of refugees, immigrants and anybody stuck at an international border. Most of the images arise from newspaper clippings. “I’ve never worked on anything more intensely in my life,” Griffin says in a video he made to accompany the exhibit. The first image is a downer. “Looking through the Wall” shows a mother and children— featured often as they are the most vulnerable—staring through bars and barbed wire. They appear to be imprisoned, and in a way they are. Their situation is dire, but a small glimmer of hope remains. Maybe they will

get through to a better life on the other side. “I wanted to articulate what I saw, which was untenable grief, and inexpressible hope all together,” Griffin says of the refugee experience. “So often it just gets discarded as if these aren’t people we’re talking about. … I had to try to document it so they wouldn’t just disappear as if they don’t exist.” Griffin quickly realized that it would do no good—artistically or altruistically—to paint a bunch of depressingly bleak scenes. So, as the series continues, the images zoom out from what is to what could be. The border becomes a thin ribbon across a mountainous region and, finally, the natural landscape takes over. In other images, whimsy and magic emerge: The border wall becomes a series of colorful doors and windows, then abstract stacked hands, then simply a place where two crows meet. In “The Border to Us,” the wall bends sideways to let a woman pass. What once blocked the

BORDER STORIES: PAINTINGS & POEMS BY SHAUN T. GRIFFIN Through January 21; Tuesday-Thursday, 1-4 p.m.; First Friday until 9 p.m.; free. Nevada Humanities Program Gallery, 1017 S. 1st St. #190, 702-800-4670. Call or email bahowell@nevadahumanities.org to schedule a viewing.

A R T

orthern Nevada poet, painter and educator Shaun T. Griffin has dedicated his life to helping others. But sometimes, a problem is too vast and the suffering too immense for even him—a man who has changed the life of countless Nevada prisoners by teaching them poetry, a man who co-founded and directed the social justice agency Community Chest—to solve. Such is the case with the global refugee crisis. About four years ago, Griffin was moved by the plight of the Rohingya refugees fleeing persecution in Myanmar. Feeling powerless to help, Griffin turned to making art. A couple years later, the same thing happened again, this time at the border between the U.S. and Mexico. Griffin was in Tijuana helping asylum seekers through the humanitarian organization Al Otro Lado, but it wasn’t enough. Back home in Virginia City,

woman now is her royal entry. “The arc of the show is from desperation to hope,” Griffin says in his video. “I still believe [that despite] coronavirus and every other damn thing that’s going on in this planet that there’s hope. We have children; we have grandchildren; thousands of people are being born every day. There has to be a way forward. Period.” The ultimate transformation takes place in the watercolor “Borderless Child.” A little girl that Griffin had seen playing in the dirt by the border wall is elevated into a religious icon. Concertina wire becomes an elaborate frame as she stands in front of a stained glass window. She looks not toward the fence but toward the viewer, exalted. “It inverted the image of her being a subject of derision to a subject of adoration,” Griffin says. “And I really, really liked that.” Griffin says that his paintings are “not intended to look pretty.” But just as the child refugee becomes a queen, so do Griffin’s watercolors become heartbreakingly beautiful. While the paintings might take center stage due to their size, do not miss Griffin’s poetry. The award-winning author of multiple books is a 2014 Nevada Writers Hall of Fame Inductee. His poems about the border add additional depth and feeling to the show. The poem “Running From Skin” opens with the lines, “At the border, concertina wire/loops from McAllen to Donna/like earrings on women who string/a river without family.” After a lifetime spent in the service of others, Griffin is ever optimistic, but he’s not naive. “I know that [this series] is not going to alter the course of things,” Griffin says. “What it’s going to do is change individual perceptions—if it does—and that’s how change works, right?”

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D MEATLESS MEETUP Plant Power could challenge your favorite drive-thru BY BROCK RADKE

C U L T U R E

Plant Power’s Big Zac, fries and strawberry “milkshake” (Wade Vandervort/ Staff)

id eating less meat make it onto your new year’s resolution list again? It did for me, even though the pandemic sparked a revolution in my home kitchen and I’ve been able to find a good balance for the past two years. But the holidays tipped me over, of course, so here we are in January, getting back on track with a lot less drive-thru endorphin adventures and a lot more veggie grain bowls. They’re better than they sound. If you, too, are a Las Vegas carnivore, you have to agree it’s much easier these days to consume less animal product and still find delicious food

when dining out. Menus have changed and vegetable-focused restaurants have blossomed, and now, even if your drive-thru burger craving cannot be subdued by other means, you can get a veggie version at many fast-food favorites. Or you can zip over to Plant Power, considered one of the leading 100% plant-based fast food chains, which opened its first location outside California in the fall on Craig Road just off U.S. 95. Often referred to as a vegan McDonald’s—extra funny considering there’s a Mickey D’s just steps away from this northwest Vegas eatery—Plant Power originated in San Diego

PLANT POWER FAST FOOD 7090 W. Craig Road #120, 702-979-5951. Daily, 7 a.m.10 p.m.

in 2016 and continues to expand, with a second local store coming soon to Rainbow Boulevard south of the Beltway. The menu centers on the classic burgers/fries/ shakes experience, and the proprietary “beefy” patty is mostly non-GMO soy, leading to a different flavor from the Beyond and Impossible patties you might have tasted by now. I’m a fan of the taste and texture of these new veggie burger alternatives, and I like Plant Power’s Iconic Burger ($8) a lot, because it replicates

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and 1,320 milligrams of sodium. Plant Power’s website offers a nifty MyMenu interface with which you can sort through menu items depending on your food needs. If you’re sorting by flavor, please allow me: The Buffalo 66 fake chicken sandwich ($9) is spicy and satisfying, and the Holy Guacamole burger ($8), with guac, jalapeños, lettuce, tomato and chipotle sauce, is terrific with the black bean patty. You can sub any patty in any sandwich, and salads and “chicken” wings, tenders and nuggets round out the menu. If you eat fast food, Plant Power is a worthy addition to the rotation, which is hopefully rotating a lot less, right? Happy new year!

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Freed’s new Arts District location (Chris Wessling/Courtesy)

SWEET EMOTIONS

Freed’s latest dessert shop adds a tasty accent to the Arts District BY GEOFF CARTER

FREED’S DESSERT SHOP 60 E. California Ave., 702-989-9899. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, 11 a.m-9 p.m.

D R I N K

dered sugar-coated Russian tea cookies, lemon cake cookies, white chocolate macadamia candies … Look, to be honest, at a point I just say “I’ll take it all.” You can’t go wrong with Freed’s cookies. They’re heaven’s own chosen. The same goes for the rich, glorious Black Forest cake ($6 a slice), the cupcakes, generously topped with Freed’s signature buttercream ($3 apiece), and the densely flavor-packed rugelach (prices vary), which Freed’s sells by the box. (Try the raspberry raisin.) Freed’s famous cakes are also available—cannoli cream, Parisian chocolate, vanilla cake with Bavarian cream and more. And in a nod to their new neighborhood, this Freed’s boasts some great art—a wall of photos from Las Vegas circa 1959 (the year the original Freed’s opened), curated by local historian Brian “Paco” Alvarez, and a colorful mural by Shan Michael Evans. They’re nearly enough to pull your attention away from Freed’s outstanding edible art.

n It’s a rare thing to walk into a brand-new shop and know exactly what you want before you’ve even crossed the threshold, but Freed’s is itself a rare thing for Las Vegas. The nearly 63-year-old local bakery, with multiple Valley locations, is one of Vegas’ relative few venerable city institutions, and it’s still family-run. Needless to say, when you walk into the Freed’s Dessert Shop in Downtown’s 18b Arts District— located adjacent to Esther’s Kitchen and Yu-Or-Mi sushi— you have some idea of what sweet delights to expect from the Fried family’s newest spot. Freed’s cakes, cookies, cupcakes, brownies and rugelach are without peer, and this bright, cozy shop is packed to overflowing with them. I usually load up with cookies—they’re roughly $18 for a pound, $9 for a half-pound—and I always start a box with their raspberry butter cookies, melt-in-your-mouth golden flowers with a dot of preserves in the middle. Next are the almond shortbreads, speckled with almond slices, and the coconut macaroons. From there, I request the pow-

F O O D

the experience lodged in my foodbrain. I’m all about the first bite with all the toppings, and this one has (vegan) American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, grilled onion and a (vegan) “secret” sauce. The fries ($3) get the job done, too. But I have different goals than you, and it must be noted that plant-based burgers won’t meet certain people’s requirements. The legendary (and overrated, imo) Big Mac at McDonald’s costs four bucks and offers 550 calories, 30 grams of fat, 80 milligrams cholesterol and 1,010 milligrams of sodium. Plant Power’s Big Zac, a behemoth of a burger by comparison, is $10 with 650 calories, 35 grams of fat, no cholesterol

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Raiders running back Josh Jacobs (28) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Chargers January 9 at Allegiant Stadium. (David Becker/Associated Press)

‘NOT DONE YET’

Why can’t the Raiders prevail in a wide-open AFC playoff bracket? BY CASE KEEFER

F O O T B A L L

erek Carr and Josh Jacobs have spent the past three years dreaming about returning the Raiders to glory, first by leading the franchise back to the playoffs. The quarterback-running back duo accomplished that in the regular-season finale January 9. So it could be assumed the quiet moment the two captains shared in their Allegiant Stadium locker room following the Raiders’ 35-32 overtime victory against the LA Chargers was an emotional one … but that wasn’t the case, according to Jacobs. “[Carr] looked at me and said, ‘The job is not done yet,’ ” Jacobs said after the game. “We all have that same mentality. We’re all happy we’re in the playoffs, but we want to go further in the playoffs.” And wild as it might sound, the Raiders actually have a chance to do just that, starting with their first-round game January 15 at Cincinnati. Las Vegas might have been written off just five weeks

ago after its brutal 48-9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, but the Raiders have rallied to win four straight since then. That ties them with the Buffalo Bills for the AFC’s longest winning streak heading into the postseason. And while Las Vegas might be the second-longest shot in the AFC to reach the Super Bowl—20-to-1 at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, behind only Pittsburgh at 40-to-1—it’s really not that outrageous of a notion. Even by the NFL’s parity-stricken standards, the AFC is wide open. Every team vying to reach Super Bowl 56 is flawed. The Tennessee Titans (3-to-1 to win the AFC) get the big break with a bye week to start, but they might statistically be the worst No. 1 seed in NFL history. From an efficiency standpoint, Tennessee is closer to an 8-9 team than its actual 12-5 record, according to Football Outsiders’ DVOA ratings. Kansas City (+175) has reached the Super Bowl two straight

seasons and sits as the rightful favorite, but the Chiefs’ biggest edge during their recent championship runs has been an offense far above the rest of the NFL. That has plummeted this year. The Chiefs are averaging 5.7 yards per play, compared with an average of 6.4 in quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ first three seasons behind center. Buffalo (+275) has the NFL’s best point differential at +194, but the Bills have also been one of the most inconsistent teams ever tracked by DVOA. That was best exemplified when they blew out the Chiefs only to lose to NFLworst Jacksonville just three weeks later. Speaking of bad losses, the Bengals (10-to-1) lost to the New York Jets in overtime and then to the Browns by 25 points in backto-back games midseason. Like Las Vegas, Cincinnati was a long

shot to make the playoffs a month ago, before edging the Chiefs and becoming a trendy sleeper—traditionally a precarious position. Meanwhile, the New England Patriots (12-to-1) are sliding with losses in three of their past four games. New England’s Mac Jones has eclipsed expectations this year, but a rookie quarterback has never reached the Super Bowl. So, yeah, this is anyone’s conference title to take. “Every single week, you’ve got to be ready to go and at your best,” Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby said when asked about the AFC’s parity. “I love it. There’s nothing else I would want, especially with these guys. There’s no other group I would rather go to

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

RAIDERS Report

n This Week: Raiders (10-7) at Bengals (10-7) When: Saturday, January 15, 1:30 p.m. Where: Paul Brown Stadium TV: KSNV Channel 3, NBC Radio: 920-AM, 92.3-FM Betting line: Bengals -6.5, over/under: 49

war with. “We’re glad we’re in the playoffs, but now we’ve got to go start over again, have another season.” The Raiders’ relatively brief celebration after beating the Chargers before getting back in business mode was telling. There’s not a single opponent they don’t believe they can beat, an unwavering confidence that’s a prerequisite for any championship team. The Chiefs have blown out the Raiders twice this season—by a combined 66 points—so there’s an argument that they belong in the unbeatable column when it comes to the Raiders. But Las Vegas won in Kansas City in October 2020.

Importantly, the Raiders avoided the Chiefs in the first round by not settling for a tie against the Chargers. Las Vegas now is unlikely to face Kansas City, or Buffalo, until a potential AFC Championship Game. Sure, it’s still against the odds for the Raiders get that far, but knocking off Cincinnati and possibly Tennessee back-to-back is a lot less far-fetched than the streak Las Vegas just went on to reach the playoffs. The Raiders aren’t spouting empty nonsense; they have a real chance. “It does feel good, it’s exciting,” Carr said of his impending first career postseason start. “But I didn’t set out just to make the playoffs.”

n Matchup: Cincinnati defeated Las Vegas in a Week 11 defensive struggle at Allegiant Stadium, with the Bengals ultimately prevailing 32-13. The score read 13-6 heading into the fourth quarter, when the Raiders committed a pair of costly turnovers. The defeat was part of a midseason swoon that saw Las Vegas fall in five of six games. Much has changed since then, however, as the Raiders are on their first four-game winning streak in five years. The Bengals had won three in a row to clinch the AFC North title before sitting some starters, including quarterback Joe Burrow, last week. The Raiders haven’t won a playoff game in 20 years, and the Bengals haven’t won one in 32 years—one drought will end on Saturday.

n Raider to Watch: Edge rusher Maxx Crosby Crosby gets the nod for a second straight week, because choosing anyone else would be foolish. He had nothing short of a legendary performance in the playoff-clinching win against the Chargers with two sacks, four quarterback hits, three tackles for loss and four pass deflections. He affected reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year Justin Herbert on nearly every play, and will now need to do the same against an equally gifted second-year quarterback in Burrow, the No. 1 overall pick in 2020. Crosby was the Raiders’ runaway most valuable player in the regular season, and they’ll need the same production in the playoffs. –Case Keefer

Las Vegas’ Daniel Carlson reacts after kicking the game-winning field goal against Los Angeles in overtime January 9 at Allegiant Stadium. (Ellen Schmidt/ Associated Press)

S P O R T S

n Last Week: Raiders 35, Chargers 32 Las Vegas extended its NFL record with a sixth walk-off win in a single season when Daniel Carlson kicked a 47-yard field goal as time expired in overtime to eliminate the divisional rival Los Angeles Chargers from the playoffs. Las Vegas would have been in the playoffs even without the successful kick, but with a win instead of a tie, the Raiders enter as the No. 5 seed, rather than No. 7. Third-year running back Josh Jacobs amassed 69 of his career-high 132 yards in overtime, pulling Las Vegas into field goal range when the Chargers repeatedly couldn’t take him down.

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TOURISM

ENTERTAINMENT CAPITAL OF THE WORLD ADDING ANOTHER JEWEL TO ITS CROWN—SPORTS

BY BRYAN HORWATH VEGAS INC STAFF

he voiceover for a recently released Las Vegas tourism advertisement implores sports fans to come to the city for the bookends that surround a sporting event, not just the event itself. “You come for the epic pregame and three days of postgame,” the voice says. “The game is just the beginning.” The ad, which has received national TV, radio and online airplay in recent weeks, is part of an effort by tourism officials to capitalize on the city’s growing reputation as a global sports landing spot. Anyone who doubted as much was all but silenced last month when it was revealed that Las Vegas will host the 2024 Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium, its fancy $2 billion off-Strip sports and entertainment palace. Tourism officials would like nothing more than to inflate the idea that Las Vegas is a place where sports fans can plan a trip around a big event, whether that’s an NFL game, a college basketball tournament or the NHL’s upcoming All-Star Weekend in February. “Unlike other destinations, when fans come to a game in Las Vegas, the experience isn’t just about the game itself—it’s the world-class entertainment, dining, clubs and lounges, attractions and adventure that provide days of excitement,” said H. Fletch Brunelle, vice president of marketing for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. In the past five years, the Valley has added three major pro sports franchises, so fans of visiting teams have flocked here in droves to see games.

Sports tourism is so popular, it has also attracted other leagues to explore coming here, with the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball and an expansion Major League Soccer franchise aggressively being pursued. As the branding for the new LVCVA ads reads, Las Vegas can now be thought of as “the greatest arena on Earth.” “There’s a vision shared by the sport leaders of this city that Las Vegas will be the global center for sport and entertainment,” said Nancy Lough, a UNLV professor and coordinator of the sports management program at the school. “We already have that crown of being the entertainment capital of the world, but it’s

quite literally being expanded. It’s difficult for other cities to compete with what Las Vegas has to offer.” In 2019, the last non-pandemic year for which data is available, about 8% of the 42 million visitors to Las Vegas attended a sporting event, according to the LVCVA. That was before any impact was seen from Las Vegas Raiders games at Allegiant Stadium. Games were played in 2020, but fans weren’t allowed inside the stadium because of coronavirus health and safety protocols. “The progress that’s been made over the past decade is pretty amazing,” said Ike Lawrence Epstein, chief operating officer for Vegas-based Ultimate Fighting Championship

A screenshot from the Las Vegas Convention Center and Vistors Authority commercial (Courtesy)

and a Las Vegas Stadium Authority board member. “Las Vegas is a city of around 2.3 million people, but it certainly punches above its weight because of the stream of tourists who come here.” Unlike leagues such as the NFL and NHL, which have been established brands for many decades, the UFC essentially grew from almost nothing 30 years ago into a powerhouse that broadcasts its pay-per-view fight specials in more than 160 countries. Many of those major fight cards take place in Las Vegas, and they tend to bring in a lot of money. Fittingly, the UFC was prominent in the sports tourism advertisement. In 2019, local research firm Applied Analysis concluded that UFC 229 at T-Mobile Arena, which featured international superstar fighter Conor McGregor, had an economic impact of over $86 million for the Las Vegas metro area. It’s expected that the Super Bowl will dwarf that figure. According to a report commissioned by the Super Bowl Host Committee for Super Bowl LIV in Miami in 2020, the game and associated events had an economic impact of nearly $572 million to the South Florida region. At Raiders home games in 2021, dates with the Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos, among others, drew tens of thousands of visiting fans to Allegiant Stadium. Plus, about half of Raiders season ticket holders have California addresses. Officials with baseball’s Oakland A’s no doubt envision the possibility of droves of visiting baseball fans coming to town for a threeor four-game series. “Whether it’s Major League Baseball or the MLS, everybody now views Las Vegas as a place where they can grow their business,” Lough said. “The question of whether a city can sustain multiple teams vying for discretionary dollars is always a legitimate one, but the thing that sets us apart so distinctly is that we have 42 million coming here every year.”

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VEGAS INC BUSINESS

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GUEST COLUMN

LAS VEGAS’ ARMS WIDE OPEN TO A NATION YEARNING FOR ESCAPE FROM THE STRESSES OF THE PANDEMIC

BY AMANDA BELARMINO hen I was growing up, my maternal grandmother lived with us. She was born in 1922, had polio when she was 2, grew up during the Great Depression and had to leave high school to help raise her five brothers and sisters. However, these weren’t the stories she used to tell me about her childhood. Instead, she would tell me about the magic of going to the movies, the feelings she had in these moments of escapism, and then share with me her favorite movies when they came on TV. As we continue to weave our way through the Great Pandemic, we are also seeking escapism. And the greatest place to go to escape an uncertain reality is Las Vegas. Just as the movie studios in the 1930s were able to provide optimism at a low price during the Depression, our city is providing a safe place to escape. During quarantine, we all watched TV, read and cooked, a lot. Now, whenever possible, we want to do something else. The present of Las Vegas is radically different from what we thought it would be just two years ago. In the first quarter of 2020, for hospitality and tourism, we were ready to usher in the new decade with a continued emphasis on authenticity and a mix of business in Las Vegas that didn’t emphasize gambling. According to UNLV’s Center for Gam-

ing Research, gaming as a percentage of overall income declined from 2006 to 2018 for Strip casinos. Furthermore, 2007 was the highest year for gambling income at $2.4 billion, and post-recession travelers seemed less inclined to gamble. However, in 2021, the industry shattered records, with Las Vegas casinos taking in more than $1 billion a month in gaming revenue for eight consecutive months. What accounts for this change, and why should we be optimistic about it? There are a number of reasons why we can be excited about what we are seeing in Las Vegas. First of all, becoming the home of the Raiders gives us a lot to be excited about. Football fans who travel tend to have a high level of discretionary income to spend, and this will continue to translate into success for Las Vegas. Becoming the host city for the Super Bowl, which generated $347 million in revenue for Houston in 2017, will also give us a boost. The legalization of sports betting throughout the United States is also going to continue to benefit us. Finally, the addition of Major League Baseball would solidify Las Vegas as a

professional sports destination. If and when the Oakland A’s relocate to Las Vegas, we can be assured that there will be another state-of-the-art stadium in the city, and it will surely be unlike any other ballpark in the country. Las Vegas, once again, is setting trends in visitor experiences. The impact of cannabis lounges has yet to be assessed, but we know we will be the only location with this type of attraction, and we know we can create unique experiences unlike any other city. The MSG Sphere at the Venetian will also create experiences unlike those seen in any other major city. A trend we have seen in hospitality and tourism has been a reluctance for workers to return to their pre-pandemic positions. There are a variety of reasons for this, including low pay, lack of advancement opportunities and fear of losing their jobs again if there are new restrictions. However, in Las Vegas, hospitality employees have unprecedented opportunities for advancement, along with higher wages than comparable positions in cities with a similar cost of living. The investment that resorts are willing to make in their employees in

terms of education and training is also unique in hospitality. One of the city’s advantages for a sustained recovery is the presence of the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality at UNLV, which was ranked as the top hospitality program in the nation by QS World University Rankings in 2021 and is the No. 2 hotel program in the world. Our students come from a diverse population and gain world-class work experience while studying. UNLV was recently granted the status of a Research Level 1 school. This means our faculty is doing cutting-edge research that they bring into the classroom to prepare students for today’s workplace, as well as the workplace of tomorrow. In a time of great uncertainty, the one sure bet is the hospitality and tourism industry in Las Vegas. We have what people are looking for—a safe place to go to escape from the stresses of daily life with experiences and attractions that cannot be duplicated elsewhere. The addition of professional sports and new attractions continue to add new reasons for guests to visit our city. Our ability to train the leaders of tomorrow by providing them with both hands-on experience and a world class-education gives us even more reason to be hopeful. I decided that I wanted to become a hotel manager when I was 4 years old, because I thought hotels were magical. When you go to a hotel—for a week, two days or even one night—you are treated like royalty and get to be relieved of all your daily responsibilities, and I wanted to be one of the people who helped to make the magic happen. No place is more magical than Las Vegas. Amanda Belarmino is an assistant professor at the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality at UNLV.

As we continue to weave our way through the Great Pandemic, we are also seeking escapism. And the greatest place to go to escape an uncertain reality is Las Vegas. Just as the movie studios in the 1930s were able to provide optimism at a low price during the Depression, our city is providing a safe place to escape.

VEGAS INC BUSINESS

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VegasInc Notes Trosper Public Relations welcomed Vania Beltran as its new account executive. Beltran joins Trosper with nearly a decade of experience in broadcast media, including Beltran local, national and Spanish-language broadcasts. Her specialties include bridging the communication gap between clients and media, and creating perspective strategies and campaigns to enhance branding and publicity for her clients. Julianna Holmes was promoted to vice president of financial operations for One Nevada Credit Union. She will oversee the accounting, budgeting, forecasting, electronic funds transfers and admin- Holmes istrative services-related functions within the financial operations department. Holmes also assists the CFO in balance sheet and

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Wendi Schweigart of the local nonprofit Project Marilyn received the Women’s Chamber of Commerce Nevada Athena Young Professional Leadership Award.

investment management and control functions within the credit union. The all-girls charter school Girls Athletic Leadership School named Patricia Farley as president of the board. Design Factory, Envases, Evanesce, Farley Purtec, Rapid Response Monitoring Services and Saratoga Food Specialties will relocate to or expand in Southern Nevada, adding 556 regional jobs in the next five years, in part due to incentives approved by the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development board of directors and supported by the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance. The City of Henderson was recognized as a winner in the Center for Digital Government’s 2021 Digital Cities Survey. Among other cities its size, Henderson ranked fifth for its use of technology to tackle social challenges, enhance services, strengthen cybersecurity and more.

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The Ascent Automotive Group broke ground on Centennial Subaru, a $40 million, three-story, 131,879-square-foot facility at the corner of Centennial Center Boulevard and the Interstate 95 on/off ramp in Las Vegas. The dealership will open to the general public in November. The Nevada Division of Emergency Management named Josie Burnett as tribal coordinator, helping with emergency management support for Nevada’s 27 federally recognized Tribal Nations in close collaboration with the Nevada Indian Commission. Burnett began her career at the Community Services Agency in Reno assisting lower-income families, then moved to Washoe Tribe’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program as a case manager. Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. received a research award from the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space to leverage the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory (National Lab) to develop and test its ultra-high fidelity, ultra-high-resolution camera system— the same technology being developing for MSG Sphere.

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Colliers Las Vegas received top honors from SIOR, receiving three of the organization’s most prestiMorales gious annual awards. Dan Doherty, SIOR, was named People’s Choice Broker of the Year; the Doherty Industrial Group received the Industrial Deal of the Year for the leasing and sale disposition of Matter Logistics Center at West Cheyenne; and Taber Thill, SIOR, Patti Dillon, SIOR, and Megan McInerney received SIOR’s top honor for Office Deal of the Year for its sale transaction of Tribeca Park. The El Cortez Hotel & Casino, along with owner and CEO Kenny Epstein, were honored with the ICE Landmark Award from ICE London. ICE London is the global gaming hub for all business-to-business industry experts.

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HOROSCOPES

“A TO Z REPEATEDLY” BY FRANK LONGO

WEEK OF JANUARY 13 BY ROB BREZSNY

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Explore the art of soulful bragging. Do you deserve any of these titles? If so, use them liberally. 1. Practical Idealist with Flexible Strategies. 2. Genius of Interesting Intimacy. 3. Jaunty Healer with Boisterous Knowledge of the Soul’s Ways. 4. Free-Wheeling Joker Who Makes People Laugh for Righteous and Healing Reasons. 5. Skillful Struggler. 6. Empathy Master with a Specialty in Creative Compassion. 7. Playful Reservoir of Smart Eros. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Most people who use tobacco products are at risk of having shorter life spans than they might have otherwise had. But if you kick your tobacco habit before age 40, you will regain most of those years. This year, you will have more power than ever before to escape any harmful addictions and compulsions you have—and begin reclaiming your full vitality.

2020 KING FEATURES SYNDICATE

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In 1974, the Grateful Dead introduced a new wrinkle to their live musical performances. They amplified their music through a “Wall of Sound”: 604 speakers piled high, together channeling 26,000 watts of energy. Make this breakthrough event one of your top metaphors for 2022. Distribute your message with maximum confidence and clarity.

ACROSS 1 Dubya or JFK 5 Horse riders 12 Bandleader Lawrence 16 NBA’s Erving, familiarly 19 Totally alter 20 Visibly sulky 21 Pack of yaks 22 Coastal inlet 23 Monumental 24 Of very hilly regions 25 Liveliness 27 Betray by snitching 29 Possible answer to “Who is?” 30 Scottish refusals 32 Lupe of Mexican Spitfire 33 With 73- and 117-Across, notable fact about this puzzle’s solution 37 Antigen-attacking lymphocyte 39 Abbr. ending a math proof 40 Suffix with form 41 Deer relative 42 Surgical tool 44 Put a levy on 47 Smidge 49 Des Moines native 51 Cry to a lifesaver 53 Move in spasms 56 American Pie actor — William Scott 58 Visibly awed 60 Tailless cat 61 Pop’s Grande 63 The Beatles’ “Eleanor —” 65 Gibson liquor 66 1847 Herman Melville novel 67 Big name in utility knives 68 Atty.’s title

69 18-wheeler 71 Div. of a hoops game 73 See 33-Across 80 Mine, in Italy 81 ROY G. — 82 Albuquerque-to-Denver dir. 83 Chef’s hat 85 Travel by foot 89 Cable inits. for old films 91 Reverend Jackson 93 Tweak 94 Ending for buck 95 “El —” (nickname of a drug lord) 97 Drink heartily 99 Acorn trees 100 “Incredible!” 102 D-Max pickup maker 104 Tips, as a hat 106 Wd. often ending in “-ly” 107 Rho-tau link 109 Western treaty inits. 111 U.S. spy gp. 112 Former Pan Am rival 115 Decide you will 117 See 33-Across 121 Part of a ship’s hull 123 Cartoon hits 125 Cool, man 126 Some Native Americans 127 Getting a laugh of out 129 Cool guy on Happy Days 133 Years, in Italy 134 Traffic snarl 135 Lawn digger 136 Popular place for a piercing 137 Give a test to 138 Log splitter 139 “— Out of My League” 140 Basic nature 141 “That’s clear”

DOWN Trig, for calc, e.g. 1 2 Put new concrete on 3 Revised copy 4 Cholesterol-lowering drug 5 Funny Carrey 6 Artist Yoko 7 “Be quiet!” 8 Univ. about 50 miles west of Topeka 9 Coating with glossy varnish 10 Yang partner 11 Office scribe 12 Interlaced 13 Is 14 Third bk. of the Bible 15 Roguish behavior 16 Group of precision marchers 17 Ceremony 18 “Run This Town” rapper 26 Toon frame 28 Laugh syllable from a Stooge 31 Plant — (claim some territory, maybe) 34 Writer Mario Vargas — 35 Mitigate 36 King Kong studio 38 Solidifies 43 “Seminar,” for “Marines,” e.g.: Abbr. 45 River in Italy 46 “Kisses and hugs” symbol 47 Glide in a rink 48 Glaring 50 “That’s the — goes” 52 Med. insurer 53 NFL’s Jaguars, on scoreboards 54 The “E” of 39-Across 55 Well-off 57 Muslim face veil 59 Arouse

62 Linguist Chomsky 64 Mark over a short vowel 68 Pliocene, e.g. 70 Big name in infomercial knives 72 Eligible for Soc. Sec. 74 Class for an Eng. major 75 Little jewel 76 Sam of golf 77 Judo halls 78 Blue hue 79 Walrus tooth 84 Aliens, briefly 85 Tot’s glassful 86 Yank who wore #13 87 Small amount, as of sales 88 Jazz saxophonist Dave 90 Injure greatly 92 People crushing things 93 Stick on 96 Biblical song 98 Points of convergence 101 Prizes highly 103 Animals: Suffix 105 Kismet 108 Wolf down 110 Suppress 112 Pre-liftoff expression 113 Hot dog 114 Judicial inquest 116 Book divs. 118 Lauder of cosmetics 119 Cereal utensil 120 Basra citizen 121 Mexico’s — California 122 Huge-screen film format 124 In-favor votes 128 “Stupid me!” 130 Partakes of 131 Grimm airer 132 Wye follower

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Philosopher Emil Cioran despised wise philosophers because they practice prudent equanimity, which he regarded as empty and sterile. He contrasted that with the lives of the normal people he admired, who are “full of irreconcilable contradictions” and who “suffer from limitless anxiety.” There options between those two extremes. You’ll be full of deep feelings, eager for new experiences and infused with a lust for life—with less anxiety and fewer irreconcilable contradictions than ever before. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): At 29, Charles Darwin began ruminating about the possibility of marriage. If married, he wrote: “constant companion and a friend in old age; the charms of music and female chit-chat—good things for one’s health.” If not married: “no children; no one to care for one in old age; less money for books, loss of time and a duty to work for money.” You may be inspired to interweave your fate with the fates of interesting characters. Make your list of pros and cons. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): What were your favorite toys when you were a child? Now would be a good time to retrieve fond memories of them, and even acquire modern versions so you can revive the joy they gave you. You’ll be wise to invite your inner child to play a bigger role in your life as you engage in a wide range of playtime activities. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In his novel The Story of a Marriage, Andrew Sean Greer asks, “Does love always form, like a pearl, around the hardened bits of life?” No, not always, but when it does, it’s often extra sweet and enduring. Love will form around your hardened bits. For best results, be open to the possibility that difficulty can blossom into grace. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Author Marilynne Robinson wrote, “It is worth living long enough to outlast whatever sense of grievance you may acquire.” The coming months will be a favorable time to dismantle and dissolve as many old grievances as you can. Liberate yourself from psychic grunge—for the sake of your own mental, physical and spiritual health as much as for others’. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Author Diana Wynne Jones asserted, “I have this very strong feeling that everybody is probably a genius at something; it’s just a question of finding this.” If you are unsure what your genius consists of, 2022 will show you. And if you already know, the coming months will be a time to dramatically deepen your ability to access and express your genius. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Biologist Robin Wall Kimmerer wondered about moss: Why has this inconspicuous plant persevered for 350 million years? While so many other species have gone extinct, why has moss had staying power? Her conclusions: Moss teaches us the value “of being small, of giving more than you take, of working with natural law, sticking together.” Make moss your role model. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Author Joyce Carol Oates has won several major awards. But she describes her job as arduous and time-consuming. “I work very slowly,” she said. “It’s like building a ladder, where you’re building your own ladder rung by rung, and you’re climbing the ladder.” As long as you’re willing to accept gradual, incremental progress, you’ll get a lot of fine work done. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Undertake a specific action in the next 24 hours that will prove you mean to take it seriously. Here’s the wisdom articulated by rabbi and philosopher Marc-Alain Ouaknin: “People must break with the illusion that their lives have already been written and their paths already determined.” It’s reinvention time.

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