2022-02-03- Las Vegas Weekly by Greenspun Media Group

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2.3.22

SNS Diner’s smoked chicken (Wade Vandervort/ Staff)

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SUPERGUIDE

Your daily events planner, starring Lionel Richie, Nevada Ballet Theatre, Aminé, Tim Kurkjian, Dinosaur Jr. and Built to Spill, Lunar New Year festivities and more.

18 36 42 44 46 COVER STORY

NIGHTS

SCENE

FOOD & DRINK

SPORTS

Las Vegas will make history by hosting the NFL and NHL all-star games during the same weekend.

Sword swallowers, stilt walkers and more at Azila Ultra Lounge’s monthly Vibra party.

Get to know superpowered Vegas improvcomedy troupe Bleach.

Have you had Afters’ Milky Bun yet? And how about the Brisket Philly at SNS Diner?

Swingman Donovan Williams will do whatever it takes to help his UNLV men’s basketball team win.

ON THE COVER

ALL-STAR WEEKEND AP Photo/Shutterstock/ Photo Illustration by Ian Racoma

FEATURE Las Vegas-born Kappa Toys is not only surviving, but thriving, during the pandemic. A peek inside the store’s growing business.

IN THIS ISSUE

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

2.3.22

SUPERGUIDE MUSIC

PARTY

SPORTS

ARTS

FOOD + DRINK

COMEDY COMEDY

MISC

THURSDAY 03 FEB.

EAST-WEST SHRINE BOWL 5 p.m., Allegiant Stadium, ticket master.com. PARTY FAVOR 10:30 p.m., Hakkasan Nightclub, hakkasangroup. com.

S U P E R G U I D E

MICHAEL GREEN The Writer’s Block Book Shop hosts Michael Green, an associate professor of history at UNLV and author of numerous books on 1800s-era American politics and the history of Nevada, for a reading and signing of his latest work, Lincoln and Native Americans. Green examines Lincoln’s reaction to the 1862 Dakota War in southwest Minnesota, after which he ordered a review of the findings of a military commission that convicted more than 300 Santee Sioux following “trials” that, in some case, were as brief as five minutes. Lincoln commuted the sentences of all but 39 of them. Green considers Lincoln’s decision, and widens his lens to consider “how Lincoln thought about Native Americans, interacted with them, and was affected by them” in a larger sense. 7 p.m., free. Writer’s Block, thewritersblock.org. –Geoff Carter

JESSICA KIRSON Thru 2/5, 8:30 & 10:30 p.m., Laugh Factory, ticketmaster. com. JERRO 10 p.m., Commonwealth, seetickets.us.

EL PERRO With Jason Walker & The Majestic 12 8 p.m., Count’s Vamp’d, eventbrite.com. HENDERSON SILVER KNIGHTS VS. SAN JOSE BARRACUDA 7 p.m., Orleans Arena, ticketmaster. com. MARIA ROMANO & DANTE DEIANA 10 p.m., Zouk Nightclub, zouk grouplv.com.

PRISMATICA KALEIDOSCOPE EXPERIENCE Thru 2/6, Fashion Show, fslv.com. (Photo courtesy Fashion Show Mall)

TIM KURKJIAN For more than two decades, ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian has served as one of the most reliable and knowledgeable Major League Baseball analysts in the business. Fans have come to further adore him for his hysterical laughter and willingness to participate in silly segments on such popular radio shows as SVP & Russillo and The Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz. And now, Kurkjian has received one of sports’ ultimate honors: induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, having been selected as the 2022 recipient of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s Career Excellence Award. Hear tales from his storied career covering the game at an event hosted by his son, Jeff, co-host of 102.7-FM’s Jeff and Aimee in the Morning. Better yet: All proceeds benefit ALS-related causes. 8 p.m., $20-$40, the Space, thespacelv.com. –Spencer Patterson

2.3.22

FRIDAY 04 FEB.

NHL ALL-STAR WEEKEND Thru 2/5, times vary, T-Mobile Arena, axs.com. KASKADE 10:30 p.m., Omnia Nightclub, hakkasangroup. com. FIRST FRIDAY 5-11 p.m., Downtown Las Vegas, ffflv.org. SHINEDOWN With Ayron Jones, 8 p.m., Theater at Virgin, axs.com. TIM ALLEN 10 p.m., & 2/5, Mirage Theatre, ticketmaster. com.

SAM FELDT 10:30 p.m., Marquee Nightclub, marqueelvnc. taogroup.com. STRAWBERRY GIRLS With Standards, Dwellings, Moondough, 8 p.m., SoulBelly BBQ, brownpaper tickets.com. MEDUZA 10:30 p.m., XS Nightclub, wynnsocial.com.

(Patrick Gray/ Kabik Photo Group)

8 p.m., & 2/5, Dolby Live, ticketmaster.com. (Photo courtesy)

GARTH BROOKS

LILIAC With Levinia, 8 p.m., Count’s Vamp’d, eventbrite.com.

SULLIVAN KING 9 p.m., Area15 A-Lot, seetickets.us.

Among Strip headliners, Lionel Richie certainly stands out as a true master of the craft of songwriting. The hitmaker will be honored with the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, a lifetime achievement award for living artists who have elevated song to a place of inspiration and cultural understanding, in an all-star tribute concert in Washington, D.C., that will broadcast on PBS in May. Previous recipients include Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Carole King and Smokey Robinson. Let Richie, a former Commodore and 1980s pop titan, regale you with the stories behind his songs with two concerts this week. February 4-5, 8 p.m., $75-$300. Encore Theater, ticketmaster.com. –Brock Radke

THE SILHOUETTES With The Psyatics, Thee Swank Bastards, 9 p.m., Double Down Saloon, doubledown saloon.com.

LIONEL RICHIE

KOOL & THE GANG 7 p.m., & 2/5, Westgate International Theater, ticket master.com.

BUMPIN UGLIES Joey Harkum 8 p.m, Backstage Bar & Billiards, eventbrite.com.

LUDACRIS 10 p.m., Drai’s Nightclub, draisgroup.com.

For more upcoming events, visit lasvegasweekly.com.

VAMPIRES EVERYWHERE With Young Medicine, City of the Weak, Junexa, 8 p.m., Rockstar Bar at Las Vegas Golf Center, eventbrite.com.

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

E DINOSAUR JR. & BUILT TO SPILL At press time, Dinosaur Jr. had 48 shows scheduled for 2022, and Built to Spill had 46. But only one—this one, at Las Vegas’ Brooklyn Bowl—will find both bands playing the same stage on the same night. If that’s not reason enough for fans of guitar-forward ’90s indie rock to turn out for a reasonably priced bill that also includes Black Mountain offshoot Pink Mountaintops, consider these additional factors: Dinosaur Jr. hasn’t played Las Vegas since 2005(!), when original/current trio J Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph had only just reunited after 15-plus years apart; and Built to Spill’s latest lineup— with bassist Melanie Radford and drummer Teresa Esguerra joining linchpin Doug Martsch—will be making its local debut. Now that’s bang for your buck. 7:30 p.m., $30-$35, Brooklyn Bowl, ticketweb.com. –Spencer Patterson

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

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

2.3.22

SUPERGUIDE SATURDAY 05 FEB.

THE COLOR PURPLE, THE MUSICAL

S U P E R G U I D E

NEVADA BALLET THEATRE: TWO WORLD PREMIERES The Nevada Ballet Theatre’s 50th season continues to enchant audiences, and now, the company of dancers will present the visions of renowned creators Trey McIntyre and Lauren Lovette. McIntyre has served as resident choreographer for the Oregon Ballet Theatre and is the founder of Trey McIntyre Project, a dance company that has earned coast-tocoast acclaim. Lovette is a rising choreographer who previously commanded the stage as a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. Preceding the performances, NBT will present Insights, an educational discussion featuring special guests and multimedia presentations, in the Troesh Studio Theater adjacent to Reynolds Hall, 45 minutes prior to showtime. 2 & 7:30 p.m., $40-$141, Reynolds Hall, thesmithcenter.com. –Evelyn Mateos

This week marks the start of Black History Month, a time of remembrance for the African Americans who have struggled and persevered throughout our country’s history. It’s also an occasion to look back on the achievements of influential speakers, artists, musicians, historians and scientists, along with authors who told stories about those who otherwise might have been forgotten. Alice Walker’s 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple shined an important light on the Black female experience of the early 1900s. Three years later, Steven Spielberg and screenwriter Menno Meyjes adapted that comingof-age tale for the big screen, bringing new life to compelling characters like protagonist Celie (played by Whoopi Goldberg). Broadway in the H.O.O.D. will present a musical version at the West Las Vegas Library Theater to kick off Black History Month. February 4-6, free, West Las Vegas Library Theater, lvccld.org. –Amber Sampson

(Courtesy)

LUNAR NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS Every year, Las Vegas transforms its casino-resorts with elaborate, festive decor to celebrate the Lunar New Year, known as Spring Festival in China. This year, they’re welcoming the Year of the Tiger, with traditional dragon and lion dances at such properties as Aria (February 4, 6 p.m.), the Cosmopolitan (February 5, 3 p.m.), Red Rock Casino (February 5, 8 p.m.), Resorts World (February 5, 5 p.m.), Bellagio (February 5, 3 p.m.) and MGM Grand (February 6, 3 p.m.). Additional, local spots such as Downtown Summerlin and Desert Breeze Community Center will mark the occasion with eye-catching decor and more. –Evelyn Mateos

THE GASLAMP KILLER 9 p.m., Backstage Bar & Billiards, eventbrite.com.

MARTIN GARRIX 10:30 p.m., Omnia Nightclub, hakkasangroup. com.

LOVE AFFAIR Ft. Zapp, Midnight Starr & more, 7 p.m., Orleans Arena, ticketmaster.com.

CASH’D OUT With Paige Overton, 8 p.m., SoulBelly BBQ, brownpaper tickets.com.

ZEDD 10 p.m., Zouk Nightclub, zouk grouplv.com.

THE GREEN With Keznamdi, 7 p.m., Brooklyn Bowl, ticketweb. com.

JIMMIE ALLEN With Neon Union, 7 p.m., Stoney’s Rockin’ Country, etix.com.

WALKER & ROYCE 10 p.m., Discopussy, seetickets.us.

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

GRYFFIN 10:30 p.m., XS Nightclub, wynnsocial.com.

WAYNE DAVID BAND 9 p.m., Hardway 8, hardway 8henderson.com.

POUR IN THE ALLEY Bourbon tasting, 5:45 p.m., Fergusons Downtown, fergusons downtown.com.

2.3.22

MUSIC

PARTY

SUNDAY 06

SPORTS

ARTS

FOOD + DRINK

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

COMEDY COMEDY

MISC

FEB.

NFL PRO BOWL Noon, Allegiant Stadium, ticket master.com. KANE BROWN 7 p.m., T-Mobile Arena, axs.com.

JONATHAN KARRANT 2 p.m., Notoriety, notorietylive. com.

LIL BABY 10 p.m., Drai’s Nightclub, draisgroup.com.

OBSCURA With Abysmal Dawn, Vale of Pnath, Interloper, 8 p.m., Backstage Bar & Billiards, eventbrite.com.

G U I D E

(Lucas Creighton /Courtesy)

brought us “Caroline,” his 2016 debut single which became a viral, infectious hit with more than 600 million streams. In an interview with Genius.com, the Portland rapper said the song was loosely inspired by OutKast’s “Roses” and his attempt to make his own “modern day ‘Billie Jean.’” Aminé’s music is what an aural sugar rush might sound like. Behind the candy-hard beats, the rapper’s frenzied lyrical gymnastics take center stage. There’s no question this show will be high-energy, especially with support from Florida MCs Cochise and 454. $33-$43, Brooklyn Bowl, ticketweb.com. –Amber Sampson

SOULFLY 8 p.m., Rockstar Bar at Las Vegas Golf Center, eventbrite.com.

AMINÉ Just when Neil Diamond thought he had (Sweet) Caroline all to himself, hip-hop star Aminé

MONDAYS DARK 8 p.m., the Space, mondaysdark. com.

07 FEB.

MONDAY

LAS VEGAS CLASSICAL GUITAR ENSEMBLE 2 p.m., Windmill Library, lvccld. org.

KID CONRAD 10:30 p.m., Jewel Nightclub, hakkasangroup. com. VRSTY With Annelida, TRVLRS, Kalani, 8 p.m., Backstage Bar & Billiards, eventbrite.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 .

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

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2.3.22

SUPERGUIDE TUESDAY 08 WEDNESDAY 09

For more upcoming events, visit lasvegasweekly.com.

FEB.

JOSÉ BELLVER

UNLV LATIN JAZZ ENSEMBLE 7 p.m., Clark County Library, lvccld.org.

DJ FIVE 10:30 p.m., EBC at Night, wynnsocial.com. P L A N Y O U R W E E K A H E A D

S U P E R

A former UNLV art professor now living in Pahrump, José Bellver creates oil and pastel paintings of rectangular forms, partially inspired by the works of Mark Rothko. They’re meant to be a part of the built environments they occupy, as opposed to being the centerpiece of them. His latest show, A Conjugation of Light, hanging in the Studio at West Charleston Library, invites viewers to “focus on the perception of color through light and explore it as a spiritual consciousness,” according to an online artist’s statement. Formally trained in Spain during the 1960s, this longtime fixture of Las Vegas’ visual arts scene has had works hanging on the softly lit walls of venerable local restaurant Piero’s for years. Now, you can see Bellver’s work in a new light. Through April 24; Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Friday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., free, West Charleston Library, lvccld.org. –Geoff Carter

FERGIE 10:30 p.m., Library at Marquee Nightclub, marqueelvnc. taogroup.com.

U SAMMY HAGAR 9 p.m., the Strat Theater, tickets.the strat.com.

POETRY OUT LOUD! 3:30 p.m., West Charleston Library, lvccld. org.

THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS 6:30 p.m., & 2/9-2/10, South Point Showroom, ticketmaster. com.

POLO & PAN With Mindchatter, 7 p.m., Brooklyn Bowl, ticketweb.com.

LAS VEGAS ACADEMY: LET MUSIC LIGHT THE WAY 7 p.m., Reynolds Hall, thesmith center.com.

S U P E R G U I D E

UNLV MEN’S BASKETBALL VS. AIR FORCE 7 p.m., Thomas & Mack Center, unlvtickets.com.

(AP Photo)

MUSIC

PARTY

SPORTS

ARTS

FOOD + DRINK

COMEDY COMEDY

MISC

D O W N L O A D

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

2.3.22

(Right) Verdolino as Blanche DeBris (Mark Mediana/Courtesy)

MAGIC

BLANCHE

The versatile Annette Houlihan Verdolino enchants Vegas’ theater scene

BY GEOFF CARTER

P E O P L E

ajestic Repertory Theatre’s recent production of Richard Oberacker and Robert Taylor’s “little nightmare musical” The Sandman had no shortage of spectacular stage effects, ranging from hidden doors to Annette Houlihan Verdolino. The hardworking local actor’s performance as dry-witted, mischievous and altogether inscrutable nanny Fraulein Kaeseschweiss was a marvel, evoking Mary Poppins and Young Frankenstein in equal measure. As generous a performer as she is—she never steps on anyone’s lines, and is quick to hand off the baton when someone’s keen to run with it—Verdolino can’t help but command the stage. Originally from New York City—“Ozone Park, Queens, the same neighborhood as Cyndi

Lauper and Bernadette Peters,” she notes proudly—Verdolino has been a presence on Vegas’ stages since the early 2000s, first as part of the cast of long-running Strip show Menopause the Musical, then in numerous local stage productions and as the hilarious, helium-voiced burlesque emcee Blanche DeBris. (Verdolino cheekily lists her pronouns as “she/they/Blanche.”) She has done stage work in New York and London, has her own production company (fittingly called Nice Girl) and even appeared in Steven Soderbergh’s original Magic Mike film. Now, Verdolino—by day a graphic artist—has become the secret sauce of Vegas’ theater scene. She’s not always the main ingredient, but she’s ever the one who makes the whole thing irresistible. She recently took an afternoon to chat with the Weekly.

Verdolino (center) in The Sandman (Miranda Alam/Courtesy)

When you first came to Vegas, you didn’t act right away. What got you back into it? Honestly, I realized that I wanted to make more friends [here]. I saw a little notice of auditions for this workshop of a new musical, and the people involved in the musical just happened to be so tied in to the Vegas entertainment community that I completely lucked out. … From there, I found out about the auditions for Sweeney Todd at CSN in 2004, and that was it. The Las Vegas Philharmonic was the orchestra for that show, which was incredible. … I remember standing in the wings of the Horn Theater. The orchestra started up before we made our entrance, and I just burst into tears. I was like, “Why did I ever stop this?” And then? In September of 2006, I got Menopause. Not the condition! That was a super lifesaver, because for the first time in a really long time, that was my work. That, and only that, was what I did for my job, and it was great. … I was in the Vegas show from 2006 to 2012, and then I went on tour with the show for a few years after that. I made a lot of great friends: Paige O’Hara, the voice of Belle [from Disney’s 1991 Beauty and the Beast] is one. I’m still really close to the original cast, and I even met my boyfriend as a result; he was the sound guy at the Luxor. In between, I started doing more community theater stuff in Vegas as well. How did you create the character of Blanche DeBris? Blanche was born on a dare in 2008. My company manager for a brief time at Menopause was production coordinator of the burlesque shows at the Moisture Festival in Seattle, and she told everyone in the cast, “If you come up with an act, I’ll put you in the show. Simple as that.” … I was a stage kitten [the person who comes onstage between acts and collects the discarded clothing], and I

started having a little back-andforth banter with the host. On the second night, they said, “We have to put a mic on you, because what you’re saying is too good.” Blanche is better than me. She’s so much better than all of us. She’s all the light and happiness and optimism and joy and positivity that’s, you know, impossible to maintain. Blanche’s voice is something else. How did you find it? God’s honest truth, that is my voice. When I [studied] performing arts, we had vocal classes, voice and diction. All my teachers told me to lower my voice, lower my pitch. It got trained into me to get rid of most of my Ozone Park accent. Blanche’s voice is actually where my voice really wants to naturally be. I mean, I can do a great Cyndi Lauper impersonation, because that’s where we both come from. I’ve gotta ask about Magic Mike. You Googled me! Yeah, I still get residual checks from being “Tarzan’s girl.” I had two days of filming. I had a great time. Filming and improving with a big sexy Kevin Nash; got carried on stage by Joe Manganiello … I was, like, “You know, I’m doing OK.” You’re doing great. Vegas’ theater scene is fortunate to have you, and we’re fortunate to see that scene blooming right now. Yeah, it’s so fertile. I mean, what does it take? It takes money and resilience. I gotta hand it to [Majestic artistic director] Troy [Heard] for figuring it out. You know, when everything was shut down, he was like, “not us.” Right? We’ll just move the shows outside. To the parking lot! I had a teacher at NYU who used to say “All you need is two planks [for a stage] and a passion.” There are people here now who have that passion. I’m just lucky I get to be a part of it.

2.3.22

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BY BROCK RADKE Until now, the NFL Pro Bowl and NHL All-Star Game have never taken place in the same city during the same weekend. They came pretty close in 2018, 85 miles or so, when both events were held in Florida—the NFL’s postseason bash in Orlando and the NHL’s midseason celebration in Tampa—on the exact same day. But this weekend, Las Vegas will officially make history by becoming the first town to host both, one day apart. The NHL’s All-Star Weekend will culminate with the All-Star Game, February 5 at 3 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena on the Strip. Then the NFL Pro Bowl will go down February 6 at noon at Allegiant Stadium, just a few minutes away. Like so many things these days, the pandemic is responsible for this unprecedented convergence of professional sports all-star gatherings. Las Vegas was supposed to get its first NFL Pro Bowl in 2021 before it was canceled, while the 2021 NHL All-Star Game was originally set for Sunrise, Florida, before it was called off and this year’s event was reassigned here. Make no mistake, however: While COVID might have caused this to happen, Las Vegas is one of the only places on Earth capable of effectively accommodating both events in the same weekend. “It’s an incredibly unique location from a logistic, operations-based standpoint, with all the hotels and everything being relatively compact and having the Strip right there,” says Matt Shapiro, the NFL’s vice president of events strategy. “For a long time, Las Vegas has existed as this powerful destination, but now with this beau-

THERE’S A GOOD REASON LAS VEGAS WILL HOST TWO PRO SPORTS ALL-STAR GAMES IN ONE WEEKEND

A.J. Cole

NOBODY DOES IT BETTER

2.3.22

Mark Stone

NHL

ALL-STAR WEEKEND

Skills Competition: February 4, 4:30 p.m., T-Mobile Arena, ESPN All-Star Game: February 5, noon, T-Mobile Arena, ABC (channel 13), streaming on ESPN+ Tickets: axs.com

NFL

PRO BOWL

When: February 6, noon Where: Allegiant Stadium Watch: ESPN, streaming on ESPN+ Tickets: ticket master.com

the NHL outdoor game at some point. “We don’t have a handshake deal, but we should get it, and I’m pushing for it,” he said. “That would be the idea, to have it at Allegiant, [so] then we’ve got to talk to the owner of the stadium, Mr. [Mark] Davis to see if he’ll go for it. But I think an outdoor game here would be fantastic.” No matter what the future holds, February 4-6, 2022 will go down as another in a series of major milestones for sports in Las Vegas and for the growth of the city overall. Vegas native Jeremy Aguero, who recently left his post as principal analyst at influential firm Applied Analysis to join the Raiders’ executive team as chief operations and analytics officer, will supervise the Pro Bowl at Allegiant Stadium this weekend. It’s a far cry from the sports events he remembers growing up in Las Vegas. “Sitting at a UNLV basketball game in 1989 felt like the pinnacle of sport, and in some ways, for this community, it was,” Aguero says. “It’s the same as seeing NFR [National Finals Rodeo] in town and seeing the best out there, and the incredible fights that have been held here and on to the advent of the UFC and the creation of the Speedway. Every step of the way, we’ve expanded, and now we’re talking about the Pro Bowl, the [NFL] Draft and the Super Bowl.” And holding such events in Las Vegas makes them unique, Aguero says. “When you bring your event here, you know it’s going to be elevated. It does not escape these leagues that Las Vegas always has the potential to be incredible, and that’s not to diminish an event happening anywhere else; it’s just that this is what Las Vegas does. You go to a game here, and the entire city is activated around it. That’s really hard for any other jurisdiction in the world to replicate.”

Denzel Perryman

W E E K E N D

tiful new stadium, that’s allowing us to produce the Pro Bowl and the Super Bowl [in 2024] as well as the NFL Draft [in April], which is less stadium-focused but will be another great opportunity. “With these events, we always think about proximity from the fan perspective, making sure to create these centers of gravity where you can stay and engage with the NFL,” Shapiro continues. “The great thing there is you have that center of gravity with the Strip, but we’re being mindful of all Vegas has to offer beyond the Strip as well and using multiple properties.” The Pro Bowl claimed the weekend first, and once the NHL lined up its dates, officials from both leagues began communicating—and collaborating with local venues and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority—to make sure plans aligned. The sports-packed weekend is an obvious win for Las Vegas, but it’s also important to note that there’s no apparent downside for either the NFL or NHL. “We’ve been in close touch throughout the process and couldn’t see any drawbacks,” Shapiro says. “It’s an exciting opportunity for the destination and for ESPN, which is broadcasting both events.” Shapiro’s NHL counterpart agrees. Steve Mayer, chief content officer and senior executive vice president of events and entertainment, says the NHL has been increasingly excited about bringing its marquee events to Las Vegas since the Vegas Golden Knights’ unbelievable success during the team’s inaugural season. “We’ve proven time and again that it doesn’t necessarily need to be a traditional hockey market to be successful,” Mayer says. “One thing I’ve witnessed that blows my mind is how the fanbases love their Predators [in Nashville], their Panthers and their Lightning in Florida, which was not previously a hotbed for hockey. And of course Tampa won the Stanley Cup two

***** Fan enthusiasm is a big bonus for an all-star game destination, but state-ofthe-art successful venues are essential. Consider the years of sellouts at the T-Mobile, plus the obvious success of Allegiant Stadium’s first few months of ticketed events, and the LVCVA’s new sports marketing slogan touting Las Vegas as the “Greatest Arena on Earth” seems like more than hyperbole. At last month’s annual Preview Las Vegas economic forecasting event—held at Allegiant, not coincidentally—LVCVA CEO and President Steve Hill pointed out that the stadium attracted more than 1 million fans to football games, concerts and other events in the second half of 2021, despite pandemic circumstances that continue to limit travel and event attendance. “If you walk through Mandalay Bay or Caesars Palace or the Bellagio prior to a game or a concert, there’s an energy,” Hill said at Preview. “It’s making a huge difference. If this stadium had not been built, it would be a different day-to-day for this community. This stadium works.” This weekend only marks the beginning for additional pro football and hockey events in Las Vegas, not to mention other pro and college sports happenings. The NFL Draft will be held at various Strip sites April 28-30, and the Super Bowl is set for Allegiant on February 11, 2024. The NHL Awards have been held at Las Vegas casino theater venues 11 times, and the league could bring its draft, Winter Classic or Stadium Series games here at some point. “The answer is always yes,” Mayer says. “We know there are so many other opportunities in Las Vegas including the outdoor games, and I think the definition of outdoors needs to be opened up a little. I know Allegiant has those big windows [Lanai doors], but some in the league don’t feel that would qualify for an outdoor game. We’ll definitely explore that in the future.” In a recent radio interview with Golden Knights’ website SinBin.vegas, team owner Bill Foley said he expects Las Vegas to get

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(AP Photo/Photo Illustration)

years in a row. “So the question becomes,” Mayer continues, “where’s the next place, and Vegas is one of those areas. The [Golden Knights’] success is unbelievable, and now when I go to Vegas and see how many people love hockey and the Knights and there are jerseys everywhere, it’s incredible to see.”

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Kirill Kaprizov

Jonathan Huberdeau

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Here’s what’s on tap for Las Vegas’ NHL All-Star Weekend

Alex Pietrangelo

BY JUSTIN EMERSON

COVID has scuttled plenty of NFL games this season and axed plans for NHL players to participate in the Olympics, but the league’s All-Star Weekend remains a go. That’s a relief for Las Vegas, which will host the festivities for the first time. ¶ Three Golden Knights are slated to take part in the festivities (see sidebar), which include more than Saturday’s All-Star Game. Here’s a roundup of everything you need to know about the action on the ice.

Mark Stone

ALL-STAR

FAN FAIR

NHL devotees will have an opportunity to display their skills from February 3-6 at the Las Vegas Convention Center’s West Hall. Attendees can measure their shot power, partake in interactive, family-friendly exhibits and get autographs from NHL alumni. The Fan Fair will also include the seventh-annual Mascot Showdown, putting local favorite Chance against 27 other team mascots in a series of fun contests. Tickets are available at nhl.com/fans/ all-star/2022-fan-fair.

KNIGHTS ON ICE

Vegas’ All-Star Weekend participants

ALEX PIETRANGELO DEFENSEMAN The veteran blueliner will be playing in his third All-Star Game and first since coming to the Golden Knights. Pietrangelo has been a constant in Vegas’ lineup and helped it the team afloat during a first half of the season that saw virtually all the rest of its stars miss extended time with injuries.

PETE DEBOER COACH DeBoer will coach the Pacific Division All-Stars for the second time in his career (he also held the post in the 2016-2017 All-Star Game when he was with the Sharks). He earned the nod this year by virtue of the Golden Knights holding the best points percentage in the division at the January 10 cutoff date. The team remained in first place at press time. –Justin Emerson

ALL-STAR SKILLS

This year’s skills competition will include two new events: the Fountain Face-Off, which will take place in the center of the Fountains of Bellagio and will find skaters shooting pucks at five targets; and 21 in ’22, which will take place on Las Vegas Boulevard and is being billed as “a new twist on street hockey” involving a deck of oversized playing cards. Carry-over events include Fastest Skater, Hardest Shot, Accuracy Shooting, Breakaway Challenge and Save Streak. Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras, retired female hockey players Manon Rhéaume and Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and actor Wyatt Russell will be among the guests participating in skills competition events.

ALL-STAR GAME

No, it won’t be like a regular NHL game. The league will be divided into four teams—one for each division—with the 60-minute “game” actually split into three 20-minute mini-games in a tournament format. The Pacific squad will play the Central in one game, then the Metropolitan will play the Atlantic, with the winners meeting in the final round. The game will be played entirely at 3-on-3, with each team made up of nine skaters and two goalies. It figures to be high-scoring—the 2020 All-Star Game featured had 38 combined goals.

Colorado dynamo Nathan MacKinnon will miss the festivities due to an injury, but the weekend won’t lack for star power. The Metropolitan Division roster includes Washington’s Alex Ovechkin, serving as captain and playing in his eighth All-Star Game, Carolina’s Sebastian Aho and New Jersey’s Jack Hughes. Toronto’s Auston Matthews will captain the Atlantic Division squad, which will also feature Florida’s Jonathan Huberdeau and three reps from two-time defending champion Tampa Bay: forward Steven Stamkos, defenseman Victor Hedman and goalie Andrei Vasilevsky. On the West side, Dallas’ Joe Pavelski will step in for MacKinnon as captain for a Central Division group that also includes Nashville’s Roman Josi, Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov and Colorado’s Cale Makar. And in the Golden Knights’ Pacific Division, Edmonton’s Connor McDavid will serve as captain alongside Oilers teammate Leon Draisaitl, Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau and San Jose’s Timo Meier, among others.

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Alex Ovechkin

(AP Photo/Photo Illustration)

NON-VGK PLAYERS TO WATCH MARK STONE FORWARD The Golden Knights’ captain will be making his first career All-Star appearance after narrowly missing the cut a few times, with some fans decrying those absences as a snub. Although Stone has missed nearly half the current season with injuries, he’s producing at better than a pointper-game clip when in the lineup.

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FROM UNWANTED TO UNSTOPPABLE

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Raider Denzel Perryman reaches the Pro Bowl six months after getting traded for next to nothing BY CASE KEEFER A telling silence lingered as the Raiders returned to the practice field for the first time since Jon Gruden resigned from his head-coaching position after homophobic, misogynistic and racist e-mails surfaced last October. Typically ever-present music and chatter were nowhere to be found as players went through their stretching routines. Then linebacker Denzel broke the somber mood, waving and smiling as he sprinted past the media. “Yeah, we’re still practicing today,” he yelled as the team began to huddle. Perryman was an energizing and steadying force all season for a Raiders’ team that broke its five-year playoff drought. In his first year with the franchise, the 29-year-old Perryman set the tone defensively with hard hits and frequent tackles. He actually led the NFL in tackles late in the season before missing two games with an ankle injury, and still finished sixth in the league with a team-high 154 total tackles.

The career year for the 5-foot-11, 240-pound veteran—slightly undersized by NFL standards— landed him a spot in the Pro Bowl, set for February 6 at noon at Allegiant Stadium. He’ll participate alongside three teammates, wide receiver Hunter Renfrow, defensive end Maxx Crosb and punter A.J. Cole. “Denzel is a special cat, man,” Crosby said shortly after selections for the game were announced in December. “The way he plays, you can tell it matters to him. The way he hits people, I would not want to be hit by that man. It doesn’t matter how small he is. He puts a dent in everybody. He’s a different type of player. He’s relentless, brings leadership and he’s a guy you can trust back there.” In a reversal from the past several seasons, defense led the way for the Raiders for large parts of this season, including during much of a fourgame win streak to end the regular season. It was

arguably the Raiders’ best stop unit in more than a decade, after the franchise had struggled on that side of the ball in part because of the prolonged absence of an impact middle linebacker. Las Vegas thought it had that void filled going into the season, when the coaching staff gave fifth-year veteran Nicholas Morrow a starting spot and raved about a potential breakout. But Morrow broke his foot in training camp and landed on injured reserve. That led the Raiders to trade for Perryman— with the Carolina Panthers, in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick—less than two weeks before the season began. Gus Bradley, Las Vegas’ first-year defensive coordinator, had spent the previous four seasons coaching Perryman when both were with the Chargers, and Bradley vouched for him to Gruden and then-general manager Mike Mayock. Bradley and Perryman had actually discussed

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Maxx Crosby

RAIDERS REPS

SHOWING THEIR SKILLS

Las Vegas Ballpark is being transformed into a football field for the de facto opening act of Las Vegas’ All-Star Game/Pro Bowl bonanza. The NFL skills showdown (February 3, 4 p.m.) will feature selected Pro Bowlers in competitions like precision passing, best catch and fastest man. An “epic dodgeball” match will be the grand finale, with a best-of-three series planned. All the action air on ESPN, with tickets available at probowl.com. –CK

MAXX CROSBY Defensive End The third-year edge rusher made it a goal to reach his first Pro Bowl this season, and he got emotional reflecting on his journey after he did. Crosby also expressed some surprise, since he only had eight sacks on the year—two fewer than in his rookie season—but he led the league in pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, and often looked like the Raiders’ most valuable player. HUNTER RENFROW Wide Receiver Renfrow was a late replacement for injured Chargers receiver Keenan Allen, but the Raiders’ third-year slot receiver had the numbers to merit a selection on his own. He racked up the third-most single-season receptions in franchise history with 103 catches, which he turned into 1,038 yards and nine touchdowns. Renfrow kept the Raiders’ offense afloat over the second half of the season when injuries hampered a pair of team captains and former Pro Bowlers, Darren Waller and Josh Jacobs. –Case Keefer

W E E K E N D

do this season, I give full credit to my teammates and everyone in this building.” Perryman’s feedback hasn’t all been positive. The weakness of his game is in pass coverage; it’s the only major area where he rated below average this season by Pro Football Focus’ grading metrics. It’s something he heard about frequently from fans … so much so that he sarcastically invited his detractors to train him. “For all the people that tweet at me and tell me I’m garbage in pass coverage, maybe in my offseason, all those people that are bashing me about pass coverage can come teach me how to cover receivers and tight ends,” Perryman said, grinning all the while. Jokes aside, Perryman knows he’s becoming a beloved athlete in Las Vegas, a city he had never even visited before the trade from Carolina. He’s viewing his Pro Bowl selection as a way to become more acquainted with a place he now calls home. “I haven’t experienced Vegas yet. I’ve been more focused on ball,” Perryman said. “I guess [with] the events and stuff … on the Strip or whatever they’ve got going on [for the Pro Bowl], I will be experiencing that.”

A.J. COLE Punter The third-year specialist routinely flipped fields in the Raiders’ favor this year, and got rewarded with his first Pro Bowl berth. He led the NFL with an average of 50 yards per punt and memorably forced a fumble that a teammate recovered on a Chiefs’ punt return at Allegiant Stadium. A non-rostered rookie minicamp invite in 2019, Cole has overcome long odds to reach the peak of his position in a short amount of time.

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A.J. Cole

Vegas players joining Perryman at the Pro Bowl

(AP Photo/Photo Illustration)

Hunter Renfrow

a potential reunion in Las Vegas during the offseason, before Perryman signed a two-year, $6 million deal with the Panthers. He fell out of favor almost as soon as he arrived in Carolina, losing a presumed starting role after missing most of training camp with an injury. Perryman fit in better with the Raiders almost immediately. He was instrumental during Las Vegas’ three-game win streak to start the season, and by the next home game, his No. 50 jersey soon began dotting the Allegiant Stadium stands. As the season progressed, fans took to social media with pleas to lock up Perryman long-term, since he’s only guaranteed to remain on the Raiders’ roster for one more year. During a season-ending news conference, Perryman acknowledged the fan support, but downplayed it. “I’m very appreciative,” he said. “I was just given an opportunity, and I took full advantage. As far as all the success and everything I was able to

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TOY STORY Lizzy Newsome inside Kappa Toys at Fashion Show (Christopher DeVargas/Staff)

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Kappa Toys continues to grow, even during challenging retail times BY AMBER SAMPSON

“E

veryone has a favorite toy memory,” Kappa Toys founder Lizzy Newsome says, sipping from her churro latte at a table downstairs from her flagship store inside Fashion Show mall on the Las Vegas Strip. “I can’t think of a person I’ve talked to who doesn’t have at least one toy that they remember fondly,” she continues, “even if it’s something they got out of a gumball machine.” independent toy store to expand during an ongoing pandemic, but the numbers don’t lie: Toys are in high demand. Market research firm NPD Group reported a 13% increase in toy sales in 2021, and a surprising 16% uptick in 2020, as more families stayed home and received stimulus checks and child tax credits. “The thing we really noticed coming out of the pandemic is, people are appreciating the things that are becoming more rare but that make them feel good,” Newsome says. That isn’t to say independent toy stores haven’t struggled, and aren’t still. Supply chain issues, especially in the past year, have crushed small businesses’ ability to compete with big-name retailers. But Newsome says she and her husband got ahead of such issues by overstocking their warehouse with inventory. “I’m not saying we had everything we wanted,” she says, “but that was really what allowed us to grow so much last year.”

The pandemic pushed many toy consumers online, if they weren’t already. And with virtual retailers like Amazon dominating that marketspace, smaller businesses have been challenged to keep up. “We definitely retooled our website during the pandemic to make ourselves more accessible,” Newsome says, explaining that Kappa even added items specifically requested by customers to its site—a service not typically offered by big-box stores. And, she

Kappa Toys’ former Downtown Container Park location in 2018 (Wade Vandervort/ Staff)

F E A T U R E

For Newsome, it was a vintage Jem and the Holograms Hasbro doll—inspired by the animated ’80s TV show, not the movie, the anime fan points out. “I didn’t get the toy till I was an adult, but I watched the show as a kid. It was on reruns,” she remembers, “so the toy wasn’t available anymore when I was a kid. If I had it as a kid, I would’ve died.” Newsome eventually found one, then went on to secure most of the rest of the Jem and the Holograms doll line in college. That collectors’ spirit helps explain why Newsome has been involved in the toy industry since 2006. In 2014, Newsome moved to Las Vegas from Austin, Texas, with her husband Trevor Yopp to open Kappa Toys at Downtown Container Park. The pair have since closed that spot, executed a successful pop-up on the Linq Promenade, expanded to Fashion Show and, in May 2021, debuted an Area15 location featuring glow-in-the-dark merchandise. It might sound reckless for an

says, “We still find that our customers prefer to come in person.” As they peruse the 3,000-square-foot Fashion Show store, Rubik’s Cubes and NeeDoh stress balls stand out, but so do retro board games, hard-to-find puzzles and vintage robots and Pokémon cards. It’s like a time capsule filled with nostalgia. “We’ve planned our store around awakening the kid in everyone,” Newsome says. “So an adult of any age who comes in is going to find something that may remind them of their childhood, whether they’re 25 or 75.” Kappa has also fostered strong relationships with big-name Japanese brands like Hello Kitty creator Sanrio, Rilakkuma, Bandai Namco, Smiski and the

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Kappa Toys at Fashion Show (Courtesy)

Japanese-inspired Tokidoki. In Las Vegas, many of those products are sold exclusively at Kappa Toys. And customers from overseas have taken notice. Newsome, who has been to Japan multiple times, recalls one customer telling her that the store reminded him of the famous five-story Japanese toy store Kiddy Land. Kappa draws lots of tourists, some of whom become regulars, visiting whenever in town and buy-

Kappa Toys at Area15 (Courtesy)

ing toys online when they’re not. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ The beauty of brick-and-mortar isn’t just tactile; it’s personality. Kappa’s Area15 location stands out as a glowing cave of blacklight that could easily be an art installation. It’s one of the first spaces Ileana Dobrik and her children noticed when they toured the experiential hub during the holidays. “They have a great setup,” says Dobrik, who now shops at Kappa’s Fashion Show location regularly. “There’s not a lot of toy stores around anymore that are just

toy-centric, so that for me is a big appeal. It’s not a Target or a Walmart where there’s just a section. It’s all toys.” Dobrik isn’t a collector, but says the store’s hand chairs and lava lamps reminded her of toys from her youth. She picked up some of Kappa Toys’ Italian Rody horse rockers for her mother and kids for Christmas, “so they can just race in the house,” she says. “I really root for them to succeed, because you have all these big super stores that are now dominating the toy sector, and it’s pushed a lot of the small ones out,” Dobrik says. “I like the small ones. You’re able to navigate the store, and it’s fun.” Newsome says a third Kappa Toys location is now in the works, and more exclusive toys are on the way for 2022. But it’s not simply expansion for the sake of expansion. There’s a clear-cut strategy involved: The more Kappa grows, the more people it can affect, and the better its toy experience can become. For the holidays, the store surprised residents at the West Flamingo Senior Center with donated fine-art puzzles and games. And recently, Kappa supplied toys for Henderson philanthropists Robert and Sandy Ellis’ annual Christmas toy drive for Clark County children. As an independent toy store, Newsom says, Kappa Toys has a responsibility to its customers that retail giants don’t. “Kids, even young adults, their psychological makeup is affected by the toys they play with, and the characters they interact with. That’s one of the reasons I’m so interested in this industry,” she says. “I have so many positive and negative formative memories from the toys that were given to me and the culture I was exposed to as a kid,” Newsom continues. “I want to have a responsible store where you can bring a kid of any age in and know that if they’re looking at something, there’s a little bit more thought behind it.”

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A Zoltar machine at Kappa Toys at Fashion Show (Christoper DeVargas/ Staff)

F E A T U R E

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“ THINGS ARE A MESS, AND THINGS

IN THE NEWS S

NURSING STUDENTS PITCH IN HOSPITAL STAFFING REACHES CRISIS LEVELS IN LAS VEGAS Intensive care beds statewide have been at least 90% occupied with patients suffering from all maladies for the better part of January—and projections by the Nevada Hospital Association show that the peak might not have yet hit Southern Nevada. Officials say full ICU capacity could arrive here around mid-February. By then, about three-quarters of those ICU patients could have COVID. This comes as hospital staffing has hovered at “crisis” levels in Southern Nevada for four straight weeks, according to the hospital association. The group doesn’t put a number on “crisis” but generally defines it as “conditions that limit the ability to provide adequate patient care.” The designation prompted Gov. Steve Sisolak to appeal for more hands on deck—whether through the state’s Battle Born Medical Corps, a volunteer program launched during the pandemic, or through a nurse apprentice program that for more than 20 years has provided students with work experience. “It’s not an on-the-job training,” said Cathy Dinauer, executive director of the Nevada State Board of Nursing. “They can only perform those skills that they have been deemed competent to do in their program.” –Hillary Davis

ARE INCREDIBLY DIVISIVE. THIS IS A SAD DAY FOR BOTH DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS.”

–Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nevada, reacting to news that the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol insurrection issued subpoenas to two Nevadans who participated in submitting a false slate of Nevada electors in 2020

CLASSIC ARCADE GAME MEETS CASINO FLOOR

NORTH LAS VEGAS

Rich Dudley of Bakersfield, California, positions a claw as his wife, Dottie, looks on while playing a Cash Grab machine by Aruze Gaming on January 27 at Circa in Downtown Las Vegas. The minimum bet on the game is $5, and the largest jackpot is $10,000. (Steve Marcus/Staff)

NINE DEAD IN HORRIFIC CRASH

All seven passengers of a van that was struck by a speeding car January 30 in North Las Vegas were killed in the crash, officials said. The six-vehicle crash happened just after 3 p.m. at Cheyenne Avenue and Commerce Street when a Dodge Challenger heading north on Commerce ran a red light and collided with several vehicles, police said. Nine people were killed, including both occupants of the Dodge Challenger, police said. In the van, four juveniles and three adults were killed, officials said. Acting North Las Vegas Police Chief Jacqueline Gravatt said speed was the cause of the crash. Nevada reported 382 traffic fatalities last year, an 18% increase over 2020’s total and the deadliest stretch in 14 years. –Staff

T H I S Y E A R , A R E C O R D 1 0 1 , 4 0 9 N E VA D A N S S I G N E D U P F O R H E A LT H C O V E R A G E T H R O U G H T H E A C A .

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WATCH THIS The Golden Knights’ Mark Stone and Alex Pietrangelo will play in the NHL All-Star Game February 5 at noon at T-Mobile Arena.

THE STRIP

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MARK DAVIS GETS HIS MAN

Josh McDaniels, left, shakes hands with Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis during a press conference announcing McDaniels as the team’s new head coach. McDaniels succeeds interim coach Rich Bisaccia, who led the Raiders to their first playoff appearance since the 2016 season. In 13 seasons as offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots, McDaniels guided his unit to top-10 finishes eight times. (Christopher DeVargas/Staff)

BALLY’S TO BE REBRANDED

The Bally’s resort on the Strip will become the Horseshoe, according to gaming operator Caesars Entertainment. The transformation will begin this spring and should be completed by the end of the year. It will include a renovated exterior, new entertainment and dining options, and a reimagined casino floor, the company said. The property will remain

open during the renovation, Caesars officials said. “Bringing the Horseshoe brand back to life in Las Vegas allows us to celebrate both our history and our future,” said Sean McBurney, regional president of Caesars Entertainment. The redesigned casino will incorporate “a handcrafted feeling with tooled leather, dramatic colors and the brand’s signature gold horseshoe

iconography,” Caesars said in a statement. Additional details will be released as the project unfolds. Caesars recently announced that the property would be the new home for the World Series of Poker, which started at the old Horseshoe—now Binion’s—in Downtown Las Vegas. The poker room will be expanded and renovated as part of the rebrand. –Staff

LEGENDS RELAUNCHES The newest version of Legends in Concert, the longest-running show on the Strip, opened February 2 at the Tropicana. Legendary Divas is built around the music of Celine Dion, Cher, Lady Gaga and Adele. Performances run Wednesday through Monday at 7:30 p.m. For tickets, go to ticketmaster.com or troplv.com.

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SPEAKING UP UNLV’s Whisper Rooms provide a quiet space where students can gain confidence E D U C A T I O N

BY ARLEIGH RODGERS

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Samantha Schaffer, a communications lab mentor at UNLV, in a Whisper Room (Steve Marcus/Staff)

the COM Lab at least once throughout the course, explains Nick Tatum, assistant professor in residence, basic course director at the university and director of the COM Lab. COM101 is a public speaking course required for many UNLV students, arranged into four major speeches on topics of the students’ choices. “We’re hoping that will drive later visits, but also, it’ll really increase the amount of appointments we’re having regularly,” Tatum says. Second-year graduate student Samantha Schaffer, who serves as a tutor at the COM Lab, says many of the students who seek assistance there are also looking for guidance in writing their speeches. After conferencing with her, students such as Smithers will then use the Whisper Rooms to practice their speeches out loud. “Everyone has the ability to be a good public speaker; they just have to believe that they can,” Schaffer says. “I’ve had students come to me afterwards and say they were just more successful on their speech because they came here. That’s my favorite part.” When COM101 begins requiring students to use the rooms next semester, are enacted, students will begin flooding there. This semester, 52 sections of 25 students each are enrolled in the class, according to Schaffer. “I love working with the students who come in, because they’re scared of public speaking,” she says. “Public speaking can be really daunting, and seeing them gain confidence in themselves and believe in themselves is so rewarding.” Tatum agrees, adding that academic resources like the COM Lab are integral for students to succeed in their courses and after they graduate from the university. “It’s a really safe place where students can get individualized feedback on a skill they’re going to use, obviously, in the class one-on-one, but then throughout their lives,” he says. “It’s such an important skill, and we are glad to be able to offer services to help students hone their public speaking abilities.”

N E W S

ole Smithers, a senior psychology student at UNLV, stepped onto the debate stage with plans to rebuke his classmate’s well-trained arguments in favor of single-payer national healthcare. Treading carefully, Smithers knew he had to refute that reasoning. As he strategized and arranged the correct words, he wasn’t standing before a group of onlookers; he hadn’t even stepped foot in a classroom. Rather, he was in one of two enclosed Whisper Rooms, new resources from the university’s COM Lab that provide students with a small, soundproof space in which to practice their speeches without interruption. Each Whisper Room’s tall black box allows people to practice speeches, debates or other public speaking-related assignments. They resides in Greenspun Hall and were created in conjunction with the university’s communication studies department and Academic Success Center. The rooms feature a computer for student use, a ring light and squares of blue foam to ensure that sound stays trapped inside. Smithers discovered the Whisper Rooms through his professor for the debate course, a general education requirement class. He says he usually spends all day on campus, and with few other locations for practicing speeches without interruption, the Whisper Rooms have become a key resource for him. “I couldn’t think of anywhere else that I could go … where I knew I wasn’t going to bother anybody by rehearsing my speech,” he says. “I’m on the debate team as well, so I’m sure I’ll be using it for prep for some of those debates.” When the COM Lab first opened last fall, it touted they Whisper Rooms for any students interested in using them. This spring, the lab remains fully open as it formulates plans for the coming semester. That’s when the communications department plans to implement a requirement for students enrolled in Communications 101 to use

MELTING POINT EX TRACTS

cannabis cup 2021 winner!

The Mob Museum is hitting an exceptional tenth anniversary milestone on February 14, 2022 and has a robust lineup of exciting events and programs in February to commemorate this special occasion.

February 10 | 7 pm - 8:30 pm The Story of The Mob Museum: Celebrating Its Past, Charting Its Future February 11 & 12 | 8 pm - Midnight Live Entertainment in The Underground

February 14 | 9 am - 9 pm Free Admission For Nevada Residents and Vintage Cars Show from 10 am - 4 pm February 17 | 7 pm - 10 pm Undercover of the Night Gala February 25 | 6 pm - 9 pm Donnie Brasco: A 25th Anniversary Screening of a Mob Classic

$699 For more events and programs go to

themobmuseum.org/events

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240 FT SCREEN | FOOD + DRINKS | HEATED POOLS & CABANAS

S U N D AY. F E B R U A R Y. 1 3 TICKETS:

AZILOLASVEGAS.COM DOORS: 1 PM | 21+

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C U L T U R E

N I G H T S

AZILO ULTRA LOUNGE Sahara, 702-761-7000. Friday & Saturday, 7 p.m.-2 a.m.

STANDING

OUT

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Alizo Ultra Lounge (Courtesy/Sahara)

Azilo Ultra Lounge—and monthly party Vibra—bring new dimensions to the Strip BY BROCK RADKE

rowds flocking to Magic Mike Live at Sahara Las Vegas are discovering a new, somewhat hidden afterparty at the Sahara, where they can keep the fun going and the drinks flowing. It’s not really a secret, but it feels a little speakeasy-ish when you enter the new Azilo Ultra Lounge through the stealthy sliding doors at the back of the casino’s Casbar Lounge. Once inside, potential moments of discovery abound, sometimes including an indoor-outdoor element when the weather allows the venue to open up to Azilo Ultra Pool, which made its debut over Labor Day weekend. The lounge was completed in late September, and after a flashy New Year’s Eve party, it has maintained Friday- and Saturday-night operations with unique musical programming, a fun specialty cocktail menu—including Instagrammable flaming sugar cubes and smoked Old Fashioneds—and a sexy design that recalls a vintage Vegas era while aligning with the ongoing renovations at the iconic resort. “We’re not jumping off the deep end; it’s a steady and consistent plan to build inside the lounge and outside at the pool,” says Steve Sagan, general manager of daylife and nightlife. “That way we can sustain whether it’s still recession time or everyone is coming to town and spending thousands of dollars.”

With a decadent central bar, split-level layout and caged booths lining the poolside perimeter, the lounge space tips its cap to genre-defining venues of the Strip’s past like Tabú at MGM Grand, smaller cocktail spots that incorporated DJs and other nightclub elements. Azilo is looking to distinguish itself with live instrumentation, including performances by DJ and violinist Marlon Dasoul and sax player Natty Rico, a little extra something “to stand out from the crowd,” Sagan says. And then there’s the monthly Vibra party, assembled by Saturday residents DJ Flowfly and Chris Garcia. The house-centric extravaganza, which pops up next on February 19, brings a different feeling to the Strip with go-go dancers, stilt walkers, contortionists, sword swallowers and other acts. Azilo will have more chances to show off its capabilities when springtime rolls around, but the next big bash comes even sooner—an indoor-outdoor Super Bowl event. The game will be broadcast on the 240-by-70-foot LED wall, and the entire pool area will turn into a mega-tailgate party with a curated menu of stadium food. “We’re going to do a $60 select open bar, which I think is one of the best deals out there, and we’ll incorporate the lounge into that,” Sagan says. “It’s likely we’ll do the same thing for March Madness.”

Love is in the Air

Silver Statesmen

Barbershop Chorus and Quartets & a guest quartet from the Lady Luck Showtime Chorus

Saturday February 5 2:00PM

$15,

Free for kids 12 & under

Winchester Theater 3130 McLeod Dr., Las Vegas, NV 89121

(702) 455-7340 Up Next:

Sam Riddle

LIVE on FEB. 11

call : (702) 455-7340

N O I S E

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Erik Alesi, “Last Breath” As a founding member of The Rhyolite Sound, voted Best Vegas Band by Weekly readers in 2019, Erik Alesi knows his way around a catchy song. “Last Breath,” which was co-written and produced by Zach Ryan, is the Alesi’s first release since he left the band six years ago. “It’s a tune about having a dream become a reality before you kick the bucket,” Alesi says. The song integrates woozy guitars with crisp vocals from Alesi and a chorus you won’t stop humming. linktr.ee/erikalesimusic

LOCAL SPIN New singles from Ekoh, Cuddlethot and more

Ekoh, three tracks The only thing faster than Ekoh’s rapid-fire delivery of bars is his rapid-fire delivery of singles. The Vegas rapper recently dropped “Loki,” “Save Yourself” and “Heater 2” within about a month. Ekoh’s a lyrical machine-gun on “Heater 2,” blowing through verses without taking a breath. “Loki” stands out as a love letter to the Marvel Cinematic Universe that belongs on a movie soundtrack. Meanwhile, “Save Yourself,” is a more somber release about losing your way but wanting your partner to get out. Each track holds different but still-meaningful weight. linktr.ee/ ekohmusic

C U L T U R E

BY AMBER SAMPSON

Aaron Archer, “Ache Anyway” Aaron Archer demonstrates why he’s the jack of all trades on this song that recalls ’90s-era grunge. The singer-songwriter wrote, produced and played every instrument on “Ache Anyway,” his husky vocals complementing the crashing cymbals and variable strumming of the chorus and building within the drum-dominant verses. It’s an emotional song, one Archer says stems from an on-and-off relationship that ended with the death of his significant other. The single’s artwork honors her—a photo of a painting she commissioned but never picked up. “It now resides in my house,” Archer says, “and I thought it was apt to use it for this.” aaronarcher.bandcamp.com

Cuddlethot, “A Little More Lonely” Hip-hop artist Cuddlethot keeps it succinct and island-vibey on “A Little Morev Lonely,” a track exploring the fed-up feelings we reserve for those who drain us. “I know it can be cold in my igloo/ But I can’t let my energy get misused,” she sings over light guitar flourishes and a throbbing beat. It’s a strong new year release we foresee many adding to their playlists. juiceboxent.com/ cuddlethot

Gregory Michael Davis, “In the Dark” The pandemic might have curtailed Gregory Michael Davis’ tour of 2019 album One Damned Song, but the break gave the rapper and former mathematician a chance to dive into something different with his nine-person band. The result? Music sessions inspired by the post-disco, early ’80s funk era. “In the Dark” follows the perspective of Depression, a snake oil salesman trying to convince the listener he’s there for them. As bleak as that sounds, the song is anything but, with its tuneful chorus and jazzy arrangements. songwhip.com/ gregory-michael-davis

Fremont Singles Club, “Steppin’ Out” The Fremont Singles Club, Aaron Archer in collaboration with various local musicians around town, made its debut in 2020 with “Boulder Highway Hooker.” On its second release, the project revives Aretha Franklin’s classic sessions with guitarist Duane Allman. Sara Jean Worrell, of Archer’s former band The Seams, leads on vocals, Joe Lawless plays keys and Archer adds backing vocals and virtually everything else. It’s a soulful toe-tapper to keep in your rotation. aaron archer.bandcamp.com

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2.3.22 SAVAGE X FENTY Fashion Show, 844-747-1609. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.8 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

T H E

S T R I P

Top: Savage X Fenty (Anthony Mair/Courtesy) Bottom: Pepper (Megan Blair/Courtesy)

THE NEW SEXY

Two Las Vegas Strip retailers are switching things up BY BROCK RADKE

avage X Fenty, the wildly popular lingerie and sleepwear brand launched by Rihanna in 2018, opened its first brick-and-mortar store on January 22 in the heart of the Fashion Show mall on the Las Vegas Strip. More stores are coming this year—to LA, Houston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.—but Vegas struck first. In a statement, the global pop star and beauty industry mogul said she co-designed the stores with her own shopping experiences in mind. “We wanted to be able to connect with our customers in real life and give them something they have never seen before,” Rihanna said. “Creating the space took a lot of imagination, married with things I’ve always wanted to change about my own experiences as a customer, from mannequins to the Fit Xperience to customer service.” Savage X Fenty sets itself apart from other intimate apparel brands with accessible price points and sizes, styles and fitting that work for everyone. Fit Xperience is an app that allows customers to receive a 3D body scan to assist with selecting products based on exact size and shape. Savage X Fenty marks a significant addition to the ever-changing

retail offerings on the Strip, but another sexy store with its own innovative approach made its debut last year at Resorts World Las Vegas. Pepper is a new lifestyle brand selling different products and apparel online and from its sprawling 6,000-square-foot flagship store on the second floor of the new resort’s retail district. It was created right here in Las Vegas, and it sells products you wouldn’t typically find in such a luxurious shop in a huge Strip casino: sex toys. That’s kind of the point for Pepper. It’s all about curating products that encourage intimate connection, playfulness and exploration, and providing those things in a more welcoming environment.

“You walk in and see books and candles and diffusers and think it’s a home goods store, but it’s not,” says co-founder Lincoln Spoor. “It’s a permission-to-play store, where you have the opportunity to improve your connection with your significant other any way that you want, and includes toys.” Spoor and his wife Sarah created Pepper after living and working in Las Vegas for years. Spoor’s other company, Feel Good Brands, operates food courts on the Strip and famously brought Krispy Kreme Doughnuts to Las Vegas. At Pepper, you can stick to the larger “PG area” and explore a variety of products and comfy apparel, or visit the room with the toys. Both are inhabited by helpful staffers to guide the way—something you won’t find at some sex shops. PEPPER Resorts World, “In the sex toy or plea725-235-3300. Monsure business, that level of day-Thursday, noon8 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, commerce wasn’t an experience. There was nothing noon-10 p.m.; Sunday, noon-6 p.m. elegant about it,” Spoor says. “We’re turning that on its head. This is a journey and an experience, and it’s going to be a good one for you and you’ll feel comfortable and safe and hopefully it ends up changing your life. Everybody has sex, so you might as well make it as good as it can be.”

GOOD TEAMS WIN, GREAT TEAMS COVER

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2.3.22

S C E N E

I CLEAN SLATE

Every week, improv comedy troupe Bleach starts fresh

C U L T U R E

BY GEOFF CARTER

mprov comedy troupe Bleach performs a show at Vegas Theatre Company’s Art Square venue every Thursday night. The five-member troupe—Eric Angell, Neil Corso, Kimberly Faubel, Philip Kotler and Tommy Todd, with musical accompanist Faustino Solis—comes to the stage cold, solicits topics from the audience and over the course of an hour, fashions them into unscripted comedy sketches. What this means is someone’s childhood memory of their grandmother’s cross-stitch could become a mob war over a yard sale painting, or an astronaut trying to pick up women in a bar by bragging he’d built a house on the moon. That’s what improv’s about, right? But it’s one thing to describe what Bleach does, and quite another to “yes, and” your way to a fleet, funny show week after week. Watching Bleach when the troupe is on its game can be as exciting as watching Cirque acrobats at work; the level of trust required between both types of performers is nearly identical. It gets you wondering: Are there nights when it simply doesn’t fly? “You know, there aren’t really many bad nights,” Faubel says. “There are good shows and not-

so-great shows, but I never feel like we’re eating it,” Kotler says. “I don’t think there’s anything that forces me to be as present and listening and connected with other human beings than this work. When it’s working, you’re in a flow.” Faubel continues, “There’s always something magical that happens, because you’re out there discovering things together. I very firmly believe that if we’re having fun, the audience is going to have fun.” Bleach formed in 2013 on the advice of comic Paul Mattingly. “He was running the improv kingdom at the time, and he said, ‘You guys should do something; you play well together,’” Faubel says. Adopting a stage costume of crisp white shirts and black pants—a playful reaction to the unofficial “improv uniform” of “a black T-shirt and jeans,” Faubel jokes—the name “Bleach” came straight from the laundry room. “We’d like a cooler [origin] story, but that’s the truth,” Faubel says. “We just gelled and became really, really good friends.” Every member of the troupe wields a distinctive superpower. Angell is “the wild card,” with a gift for inhabiting unlikely characters: “He can be a turkey sandwich with heart,” Kotler says, “and he makes you care about it.” Faubel says Corso makes you feel “supported and safe. … If you go to a weird place,

he’s gonna go into that weird place with you.” Todd is the most seasoned of the group— “I think he’s been doing this 25 years,” Faubel notes—and is “very well-read, very intelligent, and his delivery is just wonderful.” Kotler lauds Faubel’s talent for bringing together the many disparate threads that form over the course of a show. “Kim is really great at finding connections between characters, or even a f*cking moral of the story,” he says. And Kotler is a “jack-of-alltrades and master of most,” Faubel says. “And he plays a great bird. He plays a bird pretty frequently—and you should, because you’re if you’re good at something you should be doing it.” And with that, Faubel finds the moral of this story: Bleach is good at what it does, so the troupe does it and enjoys the hell out of it. And if you trust Bleach with a Thursday night, it will happily pick you up and fly with you. “Our show is an opportunity to let go completely and trust that it’s going to work out. I don’t think we have that guarantee in so many other ways, “ she says. “[Improv] is a community where we go into this not knowing what’s gonna happen. We haven’t rehearsed; there’s no script, no props, no plan, no plot. But we know that, at the end of the show, we’re gonna have people happy that they came.”

(Left to right) Eric Angell, Philip Kotler, guest Justin Green, Tommy Todd, Kimberly Faubel, Neil Corso and guest Chris Arnold perform at Bleach’s Your Show! (Christopher DeVargas/ Staff)

BLEACH PRESENTS: YOUR SHOW! Thursdays, 8:30 p.m., $15. Art Square Theatre, bleachimprov.com.

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DINER DELIGHTS SNS brings comfort-food consistency to its larger location

C U L T U R E

BY BROCK RADKE

SNS Diner’s chicken fried brisket, smoked chicken and country eggs Benedict (Wade Vandervort/ Staff)

2.3.22

SNS DINER 3229 Losee Road, 702269-9696. Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m.8 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, 7 a.m.-10 p.m.

BEYOND

ICE CREAM Try the Milky Bun and more at Afters

BY EVELYN MATEOS

AFTERS ICE CREAM Virgin Hotels, 702-693-5000. Daily, noon-midnight.

D R I N K

n Afters Ice Cream is well-known for its unique flavors and incredibly Instagrammable desserts. Launched in 2014 by Andy Nguyen and Scott Nghiem, Afters now has 27 Southern California locations, and last year, opened its first Nevada spot at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. You won’t find traditional strawberry or chocolate ice cream. Instead, check out the Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts flavor, blending up Pop Tart pastry pieces and a strawberry swirl. Dark Matter Brownie Batter, which originally debuted as a 2018 Rick & Morty pop-up, truly tastes and feels like brownie batter. You can take your ice cream in a cup or cone, and Afters has plenty of toppings, including several types of cereal, like Fruity Pebbles and Cap’n Crunch. There are also M&Ms, gummy bears, mochi, peanuts and more. A single scoop is $6.50, two scoops is $8. Afters also offers ice cream bars ($6.50) and sundaes, floats and milkshakes (all $10). But it’s the signature Milky Bun ($7.50) that first put the parlor on the map. This memorable dessert features ice cream stuffed between two warm glazed donuts, with the option to add toppings. You can choose the ice cream for your Milky Bun, and Cookie Monster—a mint- and vanilla-based concoction with crushed Oreos and chocolate chip cookies—is a popular choice. And yes, it’s bright blue, like the favorite character on Sesame Street. If you’re looking to even out the sweetness, Salty Oreo might be a good way to go. If you’re not ready to try every flavor in one sitting, take some to go. Afters sells prepacked pints ($12) and quarts ($22), along with hand-scooped take-home options ($14-$24).

Scoops of Cookie Monster and Strawberry Cookie Crunch with Cookie Crisp and Fruity Pebbles toppings at Afters (Wade Vandervort/ Staff)

lowed SNS to expand its menu as well, but barbecue remains the focus. Sampler plates (two meats for $16 or three for $18) let you customize your meal, choosing from ribs, brisket, pulled pork, smoked chicken, rib tips, hot links or wings, plus tasty cornbread and a choice of sides like fries, mac and cheese, coleslaw, housemade potato chips and potato salad. The meaty ribs, juicy chicken and thinly sliced, flavorful beef brisket are the standouts and if you have a favorite, you’d be better served focusing on it. There’s a halfpound brisket meal ($16), a quarter ($11) or half chicken ($14), and St. Louis or baby back ribs available by half or full rack ($18-$28). SNS is one of the best places in town for a barbecue sandwich, from pulled pork and coleslaw on a kaiser roll ($11) to hot links with peppers and onions on a steak roll ($12). Smoked pastrami ($15) is a flavor bomb with sauerkraut and Swiss cheese on rye, and the Brisket Philly ($15) is one of the best cheesesteak interpretations around (and you can get it with chicken, too). Other sandwich options include the smoked bacon burger ($12), a corn beef Reuben ($15), smoked and chopped beef short ribs with creamy horseradish slaw ($17) and caramelized, crispy rib tips on a roll with slaw and house-made Carolina mustard sauce ($12). This is exactly the kind of food you’re craving during a long road trip, but you don’t need to get out of town for this experience.

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ven though it was serving smoked meats and classic comfort foods from a small store attached to a truck stop, SNS Diner maintained a loyal following over six years and even drummed up some impressive publicity through TV appearances such as Food Network’s American Diner Revival. Now that the team has settled into a spacious former North Las Vegas McDonald’s just off Interstate 15 after relocating last year, more locals and travelers are discovering SNS’ friendly charms and great food. Get an early start with a stacked breakfast menu running the gamut from omelets and eggs Benedict to pancakes, French toast and stellar biscuits covered in sausage gravy ($11). The SNS breakfast burrito ($10), loaded with eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, black beans, salsa and sour cream might beat out your favorite neighborhood taco shop’s version. And the kitchen incorporates its barbecue into several breakfast dishes, including chicken fried brisket ($14), doused in more of that peppery gravy and dished up with two eggs, potatoes and toast. As cozy as it is for hearty diner breakfast, SNS feels even better set up for lunch and dinner, partly due to the new bar in the middle of the dining room, where you can catch the game on a big screen while digging into starters like smoked meatballs ($9) or brisket, pork or chicken nachos ($14-$15). The bigger location has al-

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2.3.22

and

BRUISING

C U L T U R E

CRUISING

Donovan Williams (Steve Marcus/Staff/Photo Illustration)

2.3.22

Donovan Williams’ willingness to do whatever it takes pays off for UNLV’s men’s basketball team BY MIKE GRIMALA

bruises after every game, and now he’s back at his natural spot on the wing—and performing like the player UNLV hoped it was getting when Williams committed via the transfer portal back in April. Williams is averaging just short of 17 points per game on 52.2% shooting through the first seven games of Mountain West Conference play. That production represents a substantial jump from his nonconference numbers (12.5 points, 47.5% shooting), when he was frequently lined up against the biggest players on the opposing team. Williams is now free to play to his strengths, like his unreal athleticism. He has become a fan favorite by racing out in the open court and rising up for highlight dunks, including the impossible-looking alley-oop he finished against New Mexico on January 11 or the breakaway slam he threw down against San Jose State on January 22. “I didn’t think he had any

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consistent playing time for the Longhorns, averaging 11 minutes as a freshman and 10.3 as a sophomore. This season Williams is up to 23.1 minutes per game, and he’s making the most of it. He exploded for a career-high 32 points against Hartford on December 11, then scored in double figures in each of the next eight games, a streak that only came to an end in an injury-shortened outing against San Diego State on January 24. Not having to look over his shoulder has made a big difference. “My comfort level comes from opportunity,” he says. “If I go out and miss a layup or miss a shot, I’m not worried or stressed about, is there a sub coming? I’m not worried or stressing or trying to be perfect.” Free from big-man duty, Williams now looks like a bona fide elite wing scorer who will be a core component in UNLV’s rebuilding process. If circumstances ever conspire to force him back into the paint, however, Williams is willing. “I never looked at it as a burden,” he says of his time battling with bigs. “It was just like, this is what the team needs me to do in order to win. If I went out there and I was like, ‘Nah, I don’t want to play the four [spot], I don’t want to play the five,’ I’d be doing my team and myself a disservice. “As a player, it was like, I know this probably isn’t the best situation for me individually, but I was down to do it for the team.”

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S P O R T S

his wasn’t what Donovan Williams signed up for. The super-athletic 6-foot6 swingman transferred from Texas to UNLV in hopes of an expanded role on the court. He expected to lock down opposing wings on defense and score points in bunches on the offensive end, playing a key role on the perimeter for the rebuilt Scarlet and Gray. Instead, in the fourth game of the season, he found himself playing center and banging against behemoths who outweighed him by as much as 70 pounds. Injuries to other UNLV frontcourt players forced Williams into the role of backup big man, all 190 pounds of him. And the spindly junior gave it his all, most notably in a November 19 contest against Michigan, which was ranked No. 4 in the nation at the time. The physical mismatches took a toll. “After the Michigan game, I was tired,” Williams says. “I started off on the wing, then I defended their forward [Moussa Diabate], then I was guarding their center, [Hunter] Dickinson, who’s an All-American.” Diabate is listed at 6-foot-11, 210 pounds. Dickinson checks in at a massive 7-foot-1, 260 pounds. “That was probably the most exhausted I’ve been, after that game,” Williams says. As Williams continued to log minutes out of position, his long-awaited breakout campaign seemed further away than ever. But he didn’t hang his head. He did the dirty work, icing down his

chance of getting to the rim,” head coach Kevin Kruger says of the latter dunk. “I thought he jumped from too far away, and he ended up making it easily.” Williams is also shooting the ball consistently, making outside attempts at a rate that seemed unlikely considering he shot 21.9% from 3-point range during his two years at Texas. He has hit 43.6% of his threes so far this season, making him UNLV’s most accurate long-distance shooter. “I think it’s a product of the work I’ve put in,” Williams says. “Shooting was one of the biggest questions people had when I came here. Last year, I shot 30% from the field, 17% from three; I knew that in my head, I wanted to be able to show people that, yeah, I can play defense, but I can be a reliable shooter, scorer and playmaker, too.” Williams also credits Kruger and the coaching staff’s belief in him for his increased production. At Texas, one mistake was often enough to send him to the bench, and for a raw, developing player like Williams, that was a major hindrance. He never received

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

VEGAS INC BUSINESS

2.3.22

TECHNOLOGY

BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE: TEXAS COMPANY DONATES REPURPOSED COMPUTERS TO VALLEY FAMILIES IN NEED

BY BRYAN HORWATH VEGAS INC STAFF

Texas company has partnered with the National Football League and the Las Vegas Latin Chamber of Commerce to offer free laptop computers to help bridge the digital divide in Southern Nevada. Comp-U-Dopt, a Houston-based nonprofit organization that works to fill that divide nationally, will give out close to 250 refurbished laptops to families in the Las Vegas Valley who don’t own a home computer. The computers, which the organization wipes and repurposes after use in the corporate world, will be delivered during the lead-up to the February 6 NFL Pro Bowl at Allegiant Stadium. As of last week, more than 2,000 eligible area households had applied for a computer. “When we did our research on Las Vegas, we found that there was a need for the service that we provide,” said Megan Steckly, CEO of Comp-UDopt. “The digital divide existed long before COVID-19 was an issue, but the pandemic certainly helped bring it to light.” According to a Pew Research Center study from 2021, roughly a quarter of U.S. adults with incomes below $30,000 said they don’t own a smartphone. More than 40% said they don’t have home broadband services or a desktop or laptop computer. Since American society—especially during the pandemic—is so reliant on steady internet access, many families,

Steckly said, are at a disadvantage. Steckly said her organization helped gauge the need here from a 2019 Pew Research Center report, which showed that 12,000 area households didn’t have a desktop or laptop computer. “Computers and access to the internet have become a basic need,” Steckly said. “It’s not only in education, as we’ve seen with distance learning arrangements during the pandemic, but also for job searches, telehealth appointments and other needs. A person can do certain things on a cellphone, but they aren’t adequate for many tasks that people have to do.”

As Peter Guzman, president of the Latin Chamber of Commerce, put it, the program “will give qualifying families access to connect to the world.” In addition to the computers, recipients will receive two years of tech support. Since Comp-U-Dopt was founded 15 years ago, Steckly estimates the organization has kept over 500 tons of e-waste out of landfills. She said the organization, which gets most of its money from fundraising, now has an annual operating budget of $36 million and that the NFL made a “sizable” contribution to the effort in Las Vegas.

Steckly said it’s likely that close to 15 million households in the U.S. do not have a computer. “We’re proud about what we’ve done and what we work to accomplish, but it’s still just a drop in the bucket,” Steckly said. “The digital divide is still huge, and not much is being done about it. Our model is a simple one—we give a second life to corporate computers. We think it’s an elegant solution.” With so many people on the application list who won’t receive a computer, Guzman said he’s hopeful that additional rounds of the program will happen. Steckly said the folks at Comp-U-Dopt plan to help make that a reality. “Since immigrants in the Latino community often have issues with registering or signing up for services, we tend to find that people might not sign up for a program like this, but that’s not what we saw here,” Guzman said. “This will really help.” For those who might wish to donate to possible future rounds of the program, Guzman said the easiest way would be to get in touch with the Latin Chamber.

(Shutterstock)

2.3.22

VegasInc Giving Notes Communities in Schools of Nevada was recognized by the Nevada Association of School Boards for Outstanding Contribution to Public Education. Additionally, its CEO and state director Tami Hance-Lehr was honored with the Executive Director’s Award during the awards reception. Girls Athletic Leadership School received $10,000 from First Foundation Bank and $5,000 from Andress Family Foundation. For the sixth year, Henderson Libraries teamed up with individuals in the community for its Crafting for a Cause initiative, crocheting or knitting 479 items. These items included hats/headbands, scarves, children’s sweaters, mittens, blankets and arm warmers, which were delivered to the Friends in the Desert Foundation at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in downtown Henderson, the City of Henderson’s Downtown Senior Center and the Lullaby Connection. Boyd Gaming’s Sam’s Town Hotel and Gambling Hall, Jokers Wild Casino and Boyd Linen and Uniform Services contributed $15,000 to three charities in recognition of the properties’

performance in the 2021 Giving the Boyd Way workplace giving campaign. Team members at Sam’s Town selected the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation to receive a $10,000 donation. Jokers Wild team members selected Three Square Food Bank to receive a $2,500 donation. Team members at Boyd Linen and Uniform Services selected St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to receive a $2,500 donation. Local Las Vegas toy store Kappa Toys donated games and puzzles appropriate for people of all ages to clients at West Flamingo Senior Center. Toy curator and founder Lizzy Newsome delivered a variety of classic games and fine-art puzzles. Planet 13, in partnership with Green Life Productions, hosted its second annual holiday toy drive, collected 500 toy donations to benefit the Las Vegas Rescue Mission and local children. The City of North Las Vegas Municipal Court’s Community Approach to Rehabilitation and Engagement Court donated over 60 toys to the Toys for Tots program during its inaugural toy

drive. Toys for Tots was selected due to the close partnership between the court and the veterans community that has resulted from the Veterans Treatment Program. Toys for Tots is run by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and benefits local families. City National Bank participated in a Habitat Build project with monetary and volunteer support. About a dozen colleagues helped with the ongoing framing of a Habitat home being built in the Henderson area. City National also donated $5,000 to the project. Supporting Habitat for Humanity is part of City National’s affordable housing initiative through its Community Reinvestment Act program funding. Desert Radiology completed its 25 Days of Do-Gooders philanthropic initiative, wherein the imaging group donated a total of $25,000 to 25 charities leading up to Christmas. The Las Vegas Area Council Boy Scouts of America donated over $32,000 of popcorn to the staff and patients at the VA Hospital. In the fall, local Cub Scouts and Scouts BSA Scouts sold over $907,000 in popcorn. Of this, more than $108,000 was in donations for the local Hometown Heroes Program. The organization previously donated $23,000 to Serving Our Kids Foundation and $20,000 to other organizations.

VEGAS INC BUSINESS

49I

As part of its commitment to strengthening communities by addressing critical needs that help advance racial equality and economic opportunity, Bank of America invested more than $2 million to local nonprofits in 2021. Its local giving was directed to alleviate the impacts on workforce development, food insecurity, affordable housing and education, which were exacerbated by the pandemic. In addition to philanthropic capital, the company also donated 250,000 masks and 400 cases of hand sanitizer to local nonprofits. Communities In Schools of Southern Nevada received nearly $26,000 in donations thanks to the collaborative monthlong campaign Supporting Our Schools (Apoyando A Nuestras Escuelas) presented by Telemundo Las Vegas and La Bonita Supermarkets. La Bonita secured participation from several vendors who agreed to donate a portion of their sales, including Jarritos, Dutch Farms Cheese, FUD, Bonita products and Los Altos. Credit One Bank announced that an additional $14,000 was raised for After-School All-Stars and Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada through its One for the Community program in partnership with the Las Vegas Raiders. Over the course of the regular season, One for the Community raised $60,000, which will be divided evenly between both charities.

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Your Valentine’s Day

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T H E U LT I M AT E

WEIGHT

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▶ Initial Medical Consultation ▶ Full Body Composition Analysis ▶ EKG (if required) ▶ RX for (3) month Appetite Suppressants ▶ (12) Weekly B12 Injections ▶ Bi-Weekly Body Composition Analysis ▶ Medication for (3) month treatment

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4335 W Tropicana Avenue, Las Vegas | 702-367-8009

www.iuventusmedcenter.com (702) 919-1099

CONVENIENT LOCATIONS

3365 E. Flamingo Road, Ste 2 Las Vegas, NV 89121 4966 S Rainbow Blvd STE 100 Las Vegas, NV 89118

CONVENIENT LOCATIONS

3365 E FLAMINGO ROAD STE 2, LAS VEGAS, NV 89121 4966 S RAINBOW BLVD STE 100, LAS VEGAS, NV 89118

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