2022-09-29-Las-Vegas-Weekly

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 (geo .carter@gmgvegas.com)

Editor at Large BROCK RADKE (brock.radke@gmgvegas.com)

Deputy Editor EVELYN MATEOS (evelyn.mateos@gmgvegas.com)

Sta Writer SHANNON MILLER (shannon.miller@gmgvegas.com)

Sta Writer AMBER SAMPSON (amber.sampson@gmgvegas.com)

Contributing Writers GRACE DA ROCHA,HILLARY DAVIS, MIKE GRIMALA, CASEY HARRISON, KATIE ANN MCCARVER, DANNY WEBSTER

Contributing Editors RAY BREWER, JUSTIN HAGER, BRYAN HORWATH, CASE KEEFER, DAVE MONDT O ce Coordinator NADINE GUY

CREATIVE

Art Director CORLENE BYRD (corlene.byrd@gmgvegas.com)

Senior Designer IAN RACOMA

Photo Coordinator BRIAN RAMOS

Photographers CHRISTOPHER DEVARGAS, STEVE MARCUS, WADE VANDERVORT

DIGITAL

Publisher of Digital Media KATIE HORTON

Web Content Specialist CLAYT KEEFER

ADVERTISING & MARKETING

Director of Strategic Content EMMA CAUTHORN

Market Research Manager CHAD HARWOOD

Senior Advertising Manager ADAIR NOWACKI, SUE SRAN

Account Executives LAUREN JOHNSON, MIKE MALL, ALEX TEEL, ANNA ZYMANEK

Sales Assistant APRIL MARTINEZ

Events Director SAMANTHA PETSCH

Marketing & Events Coordinator ALEXANDRA GEX

Marketing & Events Intern ALEXANDRA SUNGA

PRODUCTION & CIRCULATION

Vice President of Manufacturing MARIA BLONDEAUX

Production Director PAUL HUNTSBERRY

Production Manager BLUE UYEDA

Associate Marketing Art Director BROOKE EVERSON

Marketing Graphic Designer CARYL LOU PAAYAS

Production Artist MARISSA MAHERAS

Publication Coordinator DENISE ARANCIBIA

Tra c Administrator JIDAN SHADOWEN

Fulfillment Operations Coordinator CASANDRA PIERCE

Route Administrator KATHY STRELAU

Distribution Coordinator KARLA RODRIGUEZ

GREENSPUN MEDIA GROUP

CEO, Publisher & Editor BRIAN GREENSPUN

Chief Operating O cer ROBERT CAUTHORN

LAS VEGAS WEEKLY

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IN THIS ISSUE

SUPERGUIDE

Your daily events planner, starring David Blaine, a LakersSuns NBA tilt, Wallows, Cam’ron and Jadakiss, The Glitch Mob and more.

COVER STORY

The fifth anniversary of October 1, 2017 finds the Las Vegas commu nity continuing to heal, and staying strong.

NOISE

St. Vincent returns to town, and we tell her why she needs to be here more often.

SCENE Walking might not seem like the Vegas way to get from A to B, but Geoff Carter ex plains why it could be.

FOOD & DRINK Scoping out the spacious new Khoury’s Fine Wine & Spirits, plus stewed oxtail and goat at House of Dutch Pot.

SPORTS

Uh oh, the Raiders are the lone 0-3 team in the NFL. Is the 2022 season already a lost cause? Maybe not, if Las Vegas can solve these three issues in a hurry.

NOISE The man behind one of heavy metal’s most respected record labels lives in Las Vegas—and he’s celebrating 40 years with a big show.

VEGAS STRONG

Photo Illustration ON THE COVER

MORE? Head to lasvegasweekly.com.

St. Vincent (Courtesy/Zackery Michael)

SUPERGUIDE

THURSDAY

SEP.

29MARTIN GARRIX 10:30 p.m., Hakkasan Nightclub, events.taogroup.com.

FRIDAY

LOST IN DREAMS

ANGRY F*GS

“It’s only terrorism if it doesn’t work. When it works, we call it a revolution.” That’s the tagline for Topher Payne’s dark comedy about “left-wing terrorism, which will be on stage during Vegas Pride and the run up to midterm elections— deliberate timing. “Now with gay rights under attack throughout the country, and the insane amount of dog whistling from our right-wing political leaders, we’re showing solidarity with our queer community with this hysterical and provocative play that unfortunately becomes more relevant with each news cycle,” Artistic Director Troy Heard said in a statement.

Starring Andrew Young and Ray Winters, Angry F*gs centers around two best friends who find recourse through rage after seeing their rights—and those of other gay men—tossed to the side and stepped on one too many times. It’s a wild ride of sabotage, assassination and fear. Through October 23, dates & times vary, $40, majesticrepertory. com. –Shannon Miller

SEVEN OH BREW OKTOBERFEST

Thru 10/2, Orleans Arena Festival Grounds, sevenohbrew.com.

KHRUANGBIN

With Vieux Farka Touré, 7 p.m., Brooklyn Bowl, ticketweb.com.

BEARTOOTH

7:30 p.m., Hard Rock Live, ticketweb.com.

NERVO

With Madds, 10:30 p.m., Zouk Nightclub, zoukgrouplv.com.

AEROSMITH

8 p.m., & 10/2, 10/5, Dolby Live, ticketmaster.com.

JOHN M. GLIONNA

7 p.m., the Writer’s Block, thewriters block.org.

RUSS NAGEL

With Bo Irvine, Guy Fessenden, Keith Lyle, 8 & 10 p.m., thru 10/2, Delirious Comedy Club, epicentertainmentlasvegas.com.

INFEKT & SAMPLIFIRE

With Deadset, Manic, Tarxan, 10 p.m., We All Scream, seetickets.us.

ITSRAYIGUESS

With BuuBackwards, Mae Joy, Tanna Marie, Dru, 8 p.m., Taverna Costera, eventbrite.com.

It’s only Year 2, and already Insomniac’s Lost in Dreams has blossomed into a full-fledged festival experience, complete with two nights of music and two adjacent parties: a Day 1 afterparty at nearby Discopussy with Dr. Fresch, Drezo and Syence; and a Day 2 pool party at Daylight at Mandalay Bay starring San Holo, Mitis, Autograf and Danny Olson. The main event returns to three stages spread across the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center, surreal setups designed to maximize the ethereal qualities of future bass, melodic dubstep and other vocal-driven dance music genres. Seldomseen-in-Vegas artists helping you get lost this year will include Codeko, Hex Cougar, Juuku, Pauline Herr, Xan Gri n, William Black, Lione and Friendzone. Familiar faces Slander, Audien and Madeon are also slated to perform. September 30 & October 1, 6 p.m., $65+, lostindreamsfestival.com.

–Brock Radke

WALLOWS

Those who follow the Gen Zers of Hollywood might recognize Dylan Minnette’s work.

The LA actor has starred in some of TV’s most hotly tipped productions, including Netflix’s hit teen drama 13 Reasons Why and blockbuster slasher films like Don’t Breathe and the new Scream. But between those silver-screen gigs, Minnette also fronts Wallows, an indie rock band with contagious hooks and windows-down West Coast flavor. The trio’s debut, Nothing Happens, soared up the streaming charts in 2019, thanks in part to a hit collaboration with singer-songwriter Clairo on “Are You Bored Yet?” and star treatment from producer John Congleton (St. Vincent, Future Islands). Wallows’ sophomore LP, March’s Tell Me That It’s Over, has all a similar recipe for success, with Ariel Rechtshaid (Vampire Weekend, Adele) producing and Minnette evolving as a leading force. With Empath, 7 p.m. $40-$60, Brooklyn Bowl ticketweb.com. –Amber Sampson

MUSIC

PARTY

SPORTS

FOOD + DRINK

(Photo Courtesy Tao Group Hospitality/Photo Illustration)

SUPERGUIDE

VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS VS. SAN JOSE SHARKS

(PRESEASON)

7 p.m., T-Mobile Arena, axs.com.

DEMI LOVATO

8 p.m., Venetian The atre, ticketmaster.com.

DIPLO

11 p.m., XS Nightclub, wynnsocial.com.

DIANA ROSS

8 p.m., & 10/1, Encore Theater, ticketmaster.com.

MIRANDA LAMBERT

8 p.m., & 10/1, 10/5, Zappos Theater, ticketmaster.com.

ZEDD With Charly Jordan, 10 p.m., Zouk Nightclub, zoukgroup.com.

RAY ROMANO & DAVID SPADE

10 p.m., & 10/1, Mirage Theatre, mirage.mgmresorts.com.

ANGIE VEE

11 a.m., Encore Beach Club, wynnsocial.com.

SUICIDEBOYS

With Ski Mask the Slump God, $not, Code Orange, Maxo Kream, DJ Scheme, 7 p.m., Thomas & Mack Center, unlvtickets.com.

DRY LAND

7:30 p.m. (& 10/2, 5 p.m.), Vegas Theatre Company, theatre.vegas.

UNLV VS. NEW MEXICO FOOTBALL

8 p.m., Allegiant Stadium, unlvtickets.com.

CHRISTOPHER CROSS

8 p.m., Pearl Concert Theater, ticketmaster.com.

MARKUS SCHULZ

9 p.m., Area15 Portal, seetickets.us.

LOST KINGS

11 a.m., Ayu Dayclub, zoukgrouplv.com.

HENDERSON

HOT ROD DAYS

Thru 10/1, times vary, Water Street Plaza, cityofhenderson.com.

LAS VEGAS LIGHTS VS. NEW MEXICO UNITED 7 p.m., Cashman Field, lasvegaslightsfc.com.

OPERA LAS VEGAS: LETTERS TO LILY Thru 10/2, times vary, the Center, eventbrite.com.

JA RULE

10:30 p.m., Hakkasan Nightclub, events. taogroup.com.

FOR MORE UPCOMING EVENTS, VISIT LASVEGASWEEKLY.COM.

DAVID BLAINE 9 p.m., & 10/1, Resorts World Theatre, axs.com. (Photo Courtesy/AEG Presents)

SUPERGUIDE

ST. VINCENT

With Ali Macofsky, 8 p.m., Pearl Theater, livenation.com.

ROGER WATERS

8 p.m., T-Mobile Arena, axs.com.

LOST IN DREAMS

POOL PARTY

11 a.m., Daylight, tixr.com.

REMEMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL

1 p.m., Clark County Amphitheater, eventbrite.com.

TIËSTO

10 p.m., Zouk, zoukgrouplv.com.

BOOKER T. JONES

6 & 8:30 p.m., Myron’s, thesmithcenter.com.

STEVE VAI

7:30 p.m., House of Blues, livenation.com.

FRENCH MONTANA

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

A NEW WORLD: INTIMATE MUSIC FROM FINAL FANTASY 8 p.m., Artemus W. Ham Hall, unlv.edu.

SATURDAY

MARSHMELLO 11 a.m., Encore Beach Club, wynnsocial.com.

CLAUDE VON STROKE 10 p.m., Discopussy, discopussydtlv.com.

GRUPO INTOCABLE 8 p.m., Theater at Virgin, axs.com.

SOFT KILL With Portrayal of Guilt, Spike Hellis, 9 p.m., Backstage Bar & Billiards, seetickets.us. (Photo Courtesy)

MARTIN GARRIX

With Justin Mylo, 11 a.m., Wet Republic, events. taogroup.com.

THE CHAINSMOKERS 11 p.m., XS Nightclub, wynnsocial.com.

THE BLACK MOODS With Naked Gypsy Queens, Double Wide, 8 p.m., Count’s Vamp’d, eventbrite.com.

JEFFREY OSBORNE 8 p.m., Orleans Showroom, ticketmaster.com.

THE EVENT

Pitbull and H.E.R. just signed on for this second-year fundraising gala and open-tothe-public concert event that benefits the Shaquille O’Neal Foundation’s mission to support local communities. They join an already stellar lineup that includes Maren Morris, Maroon 5 and comedian John Mulaney (who recently canceled a Vegas tour date at T-Mobile Arena). With his fast-casual eatery Big Chicken and his Wynn Nightlife residency as DJ Diesel, Shaq’s local presence continues to grow, and he’s giving back to Vegas by kicking proceeds from The Event to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada and Communities in Schools of Nevada. If you’re not one of those well-heeled types buying tables and bidding on auction items, standard concert ticket prices start at $50 so you can still enjoy the big-name talent and pitch in for the cause.

8:45 p.m., $50-$525, MGM Grand Garden Arena, axs.com. –Brock Radke (AP Photo)

OCT.SUNDAY

LAS VEGAS RAIDERS

VS. DENVER BRONCOS

1:25 p.m., Allegiant Stadium, ticket master.com.

MICHAEL SCHENKER

With Eric Martin, Images of Eden, 6 p.m., Count’s Vamp’d, eventbrite.com.

DILLON FRANCIS

11 p.m., XS Nightclub, wynnsocial.com.

TYGA

11 a.m., Tao Beach Dayclub, events.taogroup.com.

DARIUS RUCKER

With Lindsay Ell, 8 p.m., Red Rock Sandbar, livenation.com.

GRYFFIN

11 a.m., Encore Beach Club, wynnsocial.com.

KOYO

With The End of Everything, Close Combat, The Hate, 6:30 p.m., American Legion Post 8, seetickets.us.

2

SUPERGUIDE

MONDAY

OCT.

LAUGH AFTER DARK COMEDY FEST

Thru 10/5, times vary, Downtown Arts District, eventbrite.com.

TITHE

With Life’s Torment, Lords of Death, Swamp Brain, 7 p.m., Recycled Pro paganda, recycled propaganda.com.

TOM RHODES

Thru 10/5, 8:30 & 10:30 p.m., Laugh Factory, ticketmaster.com.

KIRY SHABAZZ

Thru 10/9, 8 p.m., LA Comedy Club, bestvegascomedy.com.

EVENTS, VISIT

COMEDY

MUSIC FOOD + DRINK

SPORTS MISCPARTY ARTS COMEDY

CAM’RON & JADAKISS

The DJ Franzen-anchored House Party series at Drai’s reaches a frenzied climax Sunday when two emcees from the upcoming 3 Headed Monster tour join forces onstage. One of the most buzzed-about battles among last year’s Verzuz streaming events matched the Lox against Dipset (aka the Diplomats), a celebratory collision of late ’90s NYC rap. Now the lyrical leaders of each crew will revisit their respective hits at Drai’s as a sort of warmup for the tour, which starts October 19 in Connecticut with Bad Boy hitmaker Mase joining in on the fun. But when you have countless classic tracks from Cam’ron and Jadakiss—two hiphop artists who make albums, not just memorable hits—two is too much. 10 p.m., $40-$60, Drai’s Nightclub, draisgroup.com. –Brock Radke (Photo Courtesy Radis Denphutaraphrechar/Photo Illustration)

OCT.TUESDAY

FOOD + DRINK

VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS VS. ARIZONA COYOTES (PRESEASON)

7 p.m., T-Mobile Arena, axs.com.

APOCALYPTICA

With Wheel, Leprous, 6:30 p.m., Brooklyn Bowl, ticketweb.com.

TYGA

With Sourmilk, 10:30 p.m., Omnia Nightclub, events. taogroup.com.

CAIRO KNIFE FIGHT With Wizzerd, Sonolith, 8 p.m., the Usual Place, eventbrite.com.

THE GLITCH MOB

From the day The Glitch Mob released debut album Drink the Sea back in the summer of 2010, the sound of the LA-based electronic trio—still Boreta (Justin Boreta), edit (Edward Ma) and Ooah (Josh Mayer)—has been a tough one to pin down. Their bass sound nods toward dubstep, but they never fully engage with the wob-wob-wob cliches of that form, keeping only its insane lower end rumble. Their name obviously includes the word “glitch,” but compared to some of their contemporaries— Pretty Lights, say, or Nobukazu Takemura—they don’t lean too far into glitch either. And though their hard rock-like intensity could place them in the industrial realm, their stu is too pretty for the rivetheads. (And the issue is further confused by their latest single “The Flavor,” which is an early-’90s-era techno throwback that Messiah, Moby or The Prodigy would be proud to claim.) Su ce to say, The Glitch Mob’s sound is hard-driving and melodic, and it’s gonna move you one way or another—either physically, or toward nostalgia for old-school techno. Maybe both at once. With Anna Morgan, lwkylky, 10 p.m., $20. Discopussy, discopussydtlv.com. –Geo Carter

OCT.

LOS ANGELES LAKERS VS. PHOENIX SUNS (PRESEASON) 7 p.m., T-Mobile Arena, axs.com.

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE

With Fit for an Autopsy, Visigoth, 6:30 p.m., House of Blues, concerts. livenation.com.

KATY PERRY 8 p.m., Resorts World Theatre, axs.com.

LAS VEGAS FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL Thru 10/9, times vary, Tivoli Village, vegasfoodandwine. com

THEE SACRED SOULS

With Johnny Ruiz & The Escapers, 7 p.m., Brooklyn Bowl, ticketweb. com.

LAGWAGON With Strung Out, Sack, 7 p.m., Backstage Bar & Billiards, seetickets.us.

QWANQWA 7 p.m., Winchester Dondero Cultural Center, clark countynv.gov.

MUSIC

Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul (AP Photo)

DOES YOUR CAR INSURANCE PROVIDE ENOUGH COVERAGE?

Do you know what your car insurance really covers? While many people may select the coverage amount that’s required in Nevada, they often don’t know what it actually means in the event of an accident or if it’s truly enough coverage. “In most cases, my clients are not aware of what coverage they have on their auto insurance policy,” said Nick Pomponio of Pomponio Injury Law. “Many times, they say, ‘I have full coverage,’ but, in reality, they have the bare minimum to get their vehicle on the road.” Understanding your car insurance will help ensure you’re protected.

LIABILITY INSURANCE

In Nevada, the minimum bodily injury coverage is $25,000/$50,000. The minimum property damage coverage is $20,000. This means your auto insurance will pay any one injured party a maximum of $25,000 and $50,000 maximum for the entire accident, regardless of how many individuals are involved. With regard to the property damage coverage, your auto insurance will pay a maximum of 20,000 per accident.

Most auto insurance carriers provide alternatives to these minimum amounts, meaning you are able to increase the amount of coverage you have on your policy. By doing so, your auto insurance premiums will also increase, but at the end of the day, you want to make sure you have sufficient coverage that protects you in the event you are at-fault for an accident.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU’RE IN AN ACCIDENT

Making sure you have the proper auto insurance coverage is the first hurdle, then you must ensure you receive fair compensation if you are involved in an accident. “Unfortunately, the auto insurance carriers are not always on your side. You always want to make sure you have the proper representation when involved in an accident,”

Pomponio said.

Helps pay to either repair or replace a vehicle following an accident

ADVERTORIAL PRESENTED BY POMPONIO INJURY LAW

UNINSURED/UNDERINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGE AND MEDICAL PAYMENT COVERAGE

“I advise all of my clients to also add uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage and medical payment coverage to their policy. These types of coverage are sometimes not offered to you by your auto insurance agent/salesperson unless you ask about them. However, they are both very important to have, and sometimes can save you in a bad situation,” Pomponio said.

Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage will provide coverage to you and your passengers when the at-fault party either does not have sufficient coverage or no coverage at all. For example, if you are involved in a hit-and-run accident, wherein the other driver/vehicle are never found, you would be able to recover for your injuries. Another example: If the at-fault party has only $25,000 of liability coverage available, but your case is arguably worth more, you would be able to recover more from your auto insurance policy. Medical payment coverage helps pay for you or your passengers’ medical expenses if you are injured in an accident, regardless if you are at-fault or not.

Just like liability insurance, uninsured/ underinsured motorist coverage and medical payment coverage can be increased to the amount of coverage you see fit. These types of coverage provide a great service to consumers, often at a fairly reasonable price tag. Adding both to your policy can make the difference of recovering money for your injuries or recovering nothing at all.

RENTAL COVERAGE

Provides a rental vehicle if your damaged vehicle is being repaired and helps avoid out-of-pocket rental car expenses

COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE

Helps repair or replace your vehicle damaged for reasons other than a collision, such as fire, vandalism or hail

Five years in, the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center remains a sanctuary of support for those a ected by Route 91 and beyond

BY AMBER SAMPSON

Five years after the largest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, it’s still OK not to feel OK.

In the wake of Route 91, the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center has emerged as a lifeline for those a ected by the Strip disaster, o ering solace and resources to survivors, family members, rst responders and the general public. And that service has only gotten more ambitious with time.

“It’s been like building a plane as you y it, but there’s no manual for this,” says Tennille Pereira, director of the center. “Even if you look at other mass violence incidents, they’re all di erent, and the community resources are all di erent. But we’ve learned so much, and we’ve really been able to advocate for a lot of changes with our victim services and begin to integrate into emergency manage-

ment so we’re better prepared.”

The 4,700-square-foot-center, managed by the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada, serves and provides outreach to as many as 700 people per month, connecting them with mental health resources, legal aid, nancial assistance and crime victim advocacy. In simple terms, Vegas Strong Resiliency Center professionals advocate for the mentally taxed in ways they might never be able to do for themselves.

“If there is a roadblock or hurdle, we essentially work to overcome that on their behalf,” Pereira explains. “I really honestly think that if they were left to do it on their own, they would just throw their hands in the air and walk away.”

Pereira remembers one Route 91 survivor, whose childhood trauma had resurfaced

after the shooting. The center connected him not only with a mental health provider who would accept his insurance, but also withnancial help for child care, so he could attend appointments. In another circumstance, an undocumented immigrant had been shot in the head in a separate incident. Plagued by seizures, and unable to qualify for medical bene ts due to his status, he found the center through Legal Aid. Advocates tirelessly contacted nonpro ts in search of a neurosurgeon who would accept a limited number of pro-bono patients. He became one of them.

“You hear stories, you see the devastation and it’s a lot,” Pereira says. “Then every once in a while, you get that one person that comes back and you see the impact on their life. And you’re just grateful you’re able to do that.”

MondayFriday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., 2915 W. Charleston Blvd. #100. vegasstrong rc.org, 702455-2433.

Pereira remembers the in ux of clients after the Route 91 shooting. “It was a lot of emotional support and spiritual care referrals,” she recalls. Since then, the center’s role has gradually evolved.

“The workload is shifting, as it should,” Pereira says. “We are seeing a decreased demand for the 1 October services and an increased demand for general victim services throughout the community, which is exactly what should be happening.”

In March, Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada received $3 million in funding to broaden the scope of the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center. Pereira says those dollars will go toward building a new location next to where Legal Aid currently resides on East Charleston Avenue. Plans call for that site to

provide “wraparound services for all victims of violent crime in Nevada,” Pereira says, but other services from Legal Aid will also operate under the same roof.

Even if demand for Route 91-related services has decreased, this time of year remains di cult, especially given the reactivation of trauma associated with it. “It’s almost like a program is written into our brains,” Pereira says, “and we don’t even have to be consciously thinking about that time coming up. Our brain knows, and it relates the trauma to what was going on at the time—even the smells around fall.”

Feelings and physical responses from the moment of trauma can return, and the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center knows that. As the anniversary of October 1, 2017 approaches,

the center has rallied around the community with a series of honorary events. Earlier this week, it hosted a skate night for Las Vegas rst responders, and a special online support group for those a ected by the tragedy goes live on September 30. Locals can also create custom lanterns that night, a virtual evening of remembrance for the Route 91 victims.

Now, as Vegas Strong Resiliency Center continues to expand and increase its services, Pereira hopes the community will respond. She stresses that the center is always in need of monetary donations, along with mental health professionals to keep it running. Ultimately, she says, the Vegas Valley’s support allows it to continue doing what it does best—”shining light in all of the darkness.”

(Photo Illustration)

Natural Process

on five

of the

BY SHANNON MILLER

Less than 24 hours after the Route 91 mass shooting, the phrase “Vegas Strong” began spread ing in news coverage and across social media.

It was a quick way to express resilience to the violence we had been subjected to on October 1, 2017. With these two words came images of hands reaching out, white crosses and flowers and people embracing one another up after we’d been knocked down.

Less than a week after the shooting, officials and community members gathered on the first Friday of the month at the site of the newly erected Com munity Healing Garden—a quarter-acre plot at the corner of Charleston Boulevard and Casino Center Drive, six miles north of the Strip site where the shooting took place. And on October 6, 2017, three days after construction began, people joined hands for the garden’s dedication.

“We all were just so overwhelmed [with] that need to do something, to touch something, to help, whatever that meant,” Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman recalls. “It was a unique moment for a unique, beautiful group of people we lost, and a tribute to the community that was so sensitive and

loving [in] that very tragic moment.”

In keeping with tradition, the garden again will provide a setting for the city’s annual remem brance ceremony this October 1, when city officials will read the names and light candles for those who died as a result of the shooting. This year, the city will give families a newly published book, which contains “a page devoted to each one of [those] we lost,” Goodman says.

Las Vegas police have updated the death toll, originally set at 58, to 60, to include two people who died of their injuries in 2019 and 2020, respective ly. The number 58 remains a symbol, however, and is maintained in the garden design and messaging.

The garden’s design was actually drawn up on a napkin in a matter of minutes by co-creators Jay Pleggenkuhle and Daniel Perez of Stonerose Land scapes. The morning after the tragedy, those two locals began to feel the shock waves in the commu nity, and redirected their grief into the project.

“In 20 minutes, the design of the garden was channeled through us,” Pleggenkuhle is quoted in the book Healing Las Vegas, published in 2019.

“People gathered on a dusty lot. Materials and donations started to appear. Together, hundreds of

people planted trees and flowers … built pathways and a remembrance wall.”

Donations and more than 400 volunteers helped complete the garden, Goodman says. Today, the remembrance wall and 58 trees bear ornaments, photos and messages from loved ones and the community paying respects.

A central “Tree of Life” donated by entertainers Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn, branches out from its heart-shaped planter, providing shade to a patch of green turf and free-standing walls adorned with a water feature, images and plaques listing the names of those who died.

“In a painful situation, love can be extremely healing,” says volunteer Brenda Rodriguez, who helped build the garden’s irrigation system. She remembers that “people from all walks of life” showed up for the build, promoting just that.

Rodriguez, who has lived in Las Vegas for nearly 50 years and works as a horticulturist at a Strip property, brought her teenage daughter Vanessa and her daughter’s friend to the garden build. They worked for 10 hours until midnight on the first night, she recalls, followed up by two 16-hour days.

“It was an opportunity to help, so why not?”

says Vanessa, now 20. “At one point it became a competition with my friend, of who could lift more rocks,” she says.

While it was a welcome distraction from the Route 91 aftermath, the Healing Garden build also remind ed them that there can be grace amid such a tragedy. Witnessing the “outpouring and turnout from the community” was part of the beginning of her healing process, Rodriguez says.

“I felt as though I was helping create something that would provide a space for people to come and heal and express their grief, feel their pain and shed it and find hope,” she says. “Perhaps, for some people who came there, this allowed them to discharge all the negativity that had built up from this event—the pain, the anger, the frustration—and then turn around and regenerate positive energy, for building.”

Rodriguez views the community garden as a exten sion of stewardship for the natural environment—and for fellow humans. “Being helpful, being kind, show ing love, showing caring and consideration for others, not just people, but all living things,” is one of the best ways to facilitate healing and carry on the message of Vegas Strong, she says.

BY EVELYN MATEOS

Artistic expression can aid in the healing process. And to that end, the 1 October Memorial Committee, formed in 2017, is encouraging the community to get creative and submit ideas to inspire a permanent memorial on the site of the October 1, 2017 Route 91 Harvest festival mass shooting.

The committee’s Call for Creative Expressions launched in July and will remain open through October 31. (To submit, visit bit. ly/3DT97Nx.) Submissions can be drawings, poems, songs, essays, short videos or any other form of artwork. At press time, there were 72 submissions.

“There’s kind of a music theme,” Committee Chairwoman Tennille Pereira says. “I’ve seen hearts. Some of the symbolism seems to repeat. I think a lot [of submissions] are positive things. The com mittee was worried about … what we were going to get. ‘Can some of it be gory or dark?’ And we’re not seeing that.”

The committee also launched a Call for Qualifications—also open through October 31—to build pro fessional design teams, which will include professional artists and an architect licensed in Nevada. (To

apply, visit bit.ly/3C7CCKs ). Up to five teams will be selected to de velop proposals for the memorial utilizing selected designs from the community.

These design teams will then be presented with the submissions and encouraged to utilize them to develop concepts for the memorial during the winter and spring months of 2023. The committee will make a formal design recommendation to the Clark County Commission by late summer.

According to Pereira, it remains difficult to say when the memorial will officially break ground. The 1 October Memorial Committee still needs to recommend how the memorial will be paid for, and what ongoing funding and programming will look like, depending on the final design.

As for the location, through a survey administered by the committee, the public made it clear it feels the memorial should be housed at the location of the Route 91 Harvest festival. Pereira said MGM Group has committed two acres from the venue sites to the memorial. But, she said, MGM Group will wait for the memorial to be finalized before officially signing it over.

“My ultimate goal is that healing will occur through the process, that we’ll have a world class beautiful memorial that Vegas can be proud of,” Pereira said. “But most importantly, that the impacted community feels heard.”

Clark County moves forward with plans for an enduring on-site memorial

(Wade Vandervort/Staff)

MANDALAY BAY ROAD

A friendship forged by purpose helps keep a community of survivors connected

(Photo Illustration)

BY BROCK RADKE

Tragedy is almost always confusing, and this one of ours is extreme. Five years isn’t nearly enough time to figure out how we feel about what happened, to process this very unique and unreasonable trau ma, or to fully decide how to move on.

But every little bit of understanding helps. Accepting how many people were affected by the shooting at the Route 91 Harvest festival in 2017 is acknowledging the power of “us.” There were connections between those in attendance that night—Las Vegas vis itors from across the country—along with thousands of locals working on the Strip and first responders rushing to help, and those connections remain. Whatever we are doing to deal with our tragedy, we are not alone.

Connie Long and Shawna Bartlett met in person for the first time in Novem ber 2017 at Stoney’s Rockin’ Country, the popular bar and music hall at Town Square south of the Strip. They both were at the festival on October 1, and Long, a Southern Californian and longtime law enforcement employee in the probation department, wanted to return to see the memorial of 58 crosses that had been placed at the Welcome to Las Vegas sign near Mandalay Bay. Bartlett, at the time a six-year Vegas resident and executive assistant for a small business, had orga nized a meetup of survivors at Stoney’s via social media.

“That was the first time we really crossed paths, and then I was back in California and we started developing plans to come together again,” Long says. Bartlett was in California two weeks later for her mother’s wedding and reunited with Long for brunch. “The rest was history,” Bartlett says.

They have many things in common, but that initial fast friendship was built on a special bond formed in the after math of the shooting and a shared desire to continue connecting with other survi vors. “We both tried to do the same thing in our respective states that first year,” Long says. “We committed to trying to bring people together once a month until the one-year [after] mark, and then, what would we do? I felt like that’s what I needed, and thought if I needed that, other people might need that too.”

They found plenty of other people

on social media, Facebook groups of self-described “Routers” who, like Bartlett, had attended the festival every year along with other country music events across the country. The monthly get-togethers progressed, and “I felt like every event had someone saying, ‘I just met this person that weekend [during the festival] and I can’t believe they’re here and I’m glad they’re safe,’” Bartlett says. “It felt like if we didn’t do these things, there wouldn’t be these stories of people able to reunite. Putting these events together and being with these people, seeing the smiles and the hugs, it was healing for me.”

Their informal organizational efforts culminated in a 2018 reunion in Las Vegas that welcomed survivors, first responders, and families of the 58. It was coordinated with local government officials and about 2,000 people attend ed, and for a moment, it seemed like the immense work Long and Bartlett put into the events might be finished.

But not everyone in their community was ready to reunite or revisit the trage dy that year. “That keeps us going,” Long says. The second-annual event in 2019 was labeled a remembrance event, a cel ebration of life, since the words reunion or anniversary didn’t seem to fit. During the pandemic in 2020, a smaller group of around 400 people met in a local park, still needing that connection during truly strange times.

Last year, Bartlett and Long recon nected with Stoney’s and added a bit more country music to the remembrance event, laying the groundwork for what they knew had to be the biggest plan yet, the five-year mark. The duo built a solid structure for their efforts by incorporat ing a new 501c3 nonprofit organization called the Country Strong Project, which is producing the first-ever public event in this series of anniversary reunions, the Remember Music Festival on Octo ber 1, which begins at noon at the Clark County Amphitheater Downtown.

Stoney’s has partnered with the group once again and helped bring big-name artists to the lineup, including Midland, Dylan Schneider, Meghan Patrick and Walker Montgomery. While initial tick ets were offered only to the group’s com munity of survivors and those affected, some tickets remained available at press time at eventbrite.com

FIVE YEARS STRONG

“Everything is on a much more grand scale [this year] and we’re learning as we go,” Long says. “From things like getting volunteers to mak ing sure we have enough ice, there’s a lot of details that always seem to work themselves out, but always had stress.”

Producing and promoting such a big event seems like it would be overwhelming for first-timers, but the Country Strong Project team is actually very experienced. Only their fellow routers have done what they’ve done, navigating tricky ground while organizing gatherings and main taining constant communication. Listening to each other. They know their “audience,” because they are their own audience.

“There’s a group of Route 91 survivors at probably every concert between [California] and Vegas,” Long says. “At Stagecoach [the country festival in California], we pull everybody together for a big photo and sit together for those three days, and at every other concert we’re looking for each other. I might just wear an orange ribbon, but it’s just enough for somebody to see. Besides social me dia, we’re out there, seeing each other, finding each other and searching for each other.”

It isn’t easy for any of us to handle our tragedy. It still feels heavy and overwhelming after five years. Many of us just don’t want to deal with it. Connie Long and Shawna Bartlett feel that way sometimes, but there’s something that drives them to stay connected to each other and to the festival experience they enjoyed so much before it was ended.

“It’s an odd honor, that people trust us enough to do this, and then they show up,” Long says. “It’s thousands of people, potentially, that trust these two girls who have real jobs and fam ilies, to throw something together, and they trust that it’s going to work, and they pay their hard-earned money to come and support whatever we’re doing this year.”

It felt like if we didn’t do these things, there wouldn’t be these stories of people able to reunite.

Long (left) and Bartlett (Courtesy)

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NFL ENDS PRO BOWL

The NFL eliminated its all-star game and is replacing it with weeklong skills competitions and a flag football game. The new event, renamed “the Pro Bowl Games” will be held in Las Vegas. The flag football game at Allegiant Stadium is set for February 5, one week before the Super Bowl.

STUDENTS TELL LAWMAKERS TO MAKE MENTAL HEALTH MORE OF A PRIORITY

Youth leaders want the Nevada Leg islature to dedicate more mental health professionals to schools.

The Nevada Youth Legislature, a leadership and policy program for high schoolers to give state lawmakers insight on what’s important to young adults, pitched about 20 potential bills recently before choosing seven semifinalists for further development. The aim is to get state senators to sponsor one of the proposals at next February’s legislative session.

Several of the potential bills the teens pitched focused on mental health, not ing Nevada’s dismal rankings for youth mental health care and the psychological effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

One proposal calls for a ratio of one psychologist for every 1,000 students.

The current rate is one psychologist for every 1,977 students, according to the National Association of School Psychol ogists. The association recommends one psychologist for every 500 students.

Another proposal calls for students who commit infractions at school to be referred to counselors to determine if they’re in a mental health crisis before meting out punishment.

Mental Health America ranked Neva da 51st this year in overall youth mental health, indicating a high prevalence of mental illness and low rates of access to care. In nine months of closures to in-person learning during the pandemic, 18 local students committed suicide.

Since the Nevada Youth Legislature was created in 2007, two of the mem bers’ bills have been passed: exempting underage drinkers from criminal liabil ity if they request medical assistance because of their alcohol consumption, and requiring the Nevada State Board of Education to develop a model curriculum for English language arts and mathemat ics. -Hillary Davis

SPACE COLLISION

A NASA spacecraft rammed an asteroid at blistering speed September 26 in an unprecedented dress rehearsal for the day a killer rock might menace the Earth. The $325 million mission was the first attempt to shift the position of an asteroid or any other natural object in space.

FLIGHT FROM RUSSIA

About 98,000 Russians have crossed into Kazakhstan in the week since Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization of reservists to fight in Ukraine, Kazakh officials said September 27, as men seeking to avoid the call-up continued to flee by land and air into neighboring countries.

STILL #VEGASSTRONG

It is important to “rec ognize the strength and resiliency that we con tinue to demonstrate as a community in response to the tragedy with ev ery passing year,” Clark County Commissioner Jim Gibson said September 23 at an event memorializing the victims of October 1 five years ago.

The mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in 2017 was the deadliest in modern U.S. history. A total of 60 people were killed and more than 800 wounded as a result of the shooting and ensuing panic.

“Our community can be proud of how we responded to the darkness

of that day and remember the outpouring of love and support we received from each other and from across the country and around the world,” Gib son said.

In addition to the “5 Years Later: Remembering 1 October & Becoming Vegas Stronger” exhibit at the Clark County Museum in Henderson, a number of other events will mark the five-year anniversary of the tragedy.

A full list of events, many of which are free to attend and open to the public, is available on the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center’s website, vegasstrongrc.org.

-Grace Da Rocha

WEEKLY , GMG COLLECT AWARDS

Greenspun Media Group, publisher of the Las Vegas Sun, Las Vegas Weekly and Las Vegas Magazine, received 10 first-place honors and nearly 30 total awards September 24 at the Nevada Press Founda tion’s annual awards cere mony at the Westgate Las Vegas.

The Weekly’s Evelyn Mateos won first-place honors for feature writing. The Weekly also took top honors for overall design, in-house advertising and special events for its Best of Vegas party.

Photographer Wade Vandervort took first place for a photo essay docu menting a vigil for Tina Tintor, who was killed in a Nov. 2, 2021, wreck involv ing then-Las Vegas Raid ers wide receiver Henry Ruggs III. -Staff

HOT SHOT

DRUG SAVINGS Gov. Steve Sisolak on September 22 announced that the state is launching a prescription discount card, ArrayRX, that saves an average of 80% on generic prescriptions and up to 20% on brand name drugs, and is free for Nevadans.

A group of defenders couldn’t stop UNLV quarterback Doug Brumfield from scoring Sep tember 24 during the first half of a 34-24 win against Utah State in Logan, Utah. Brum field accounted for three touchdowns while leading his team to a 3-1 start to the season. UNLV hosts New Mexico September 30 at 8 p.m. (Eli Lucero/The Herald Journal via AP)

(Wade Vandervort/Staff)

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ANNIE’S

ST. VINCENT With Ali Macofsky October 1, 8 p.m., $41$92. Pearl Theater, 702944-3200.

BY GEOFF CARTER

Annie Clark can do a bunch of things really well. The Grammy-winning art-rock superstar better known as St. Vincent can write airtight songs with expressive lyrics, vivid melodies and indelible hooks. She can make you feel all the complex feelings, from nostalgic wistfulness (“Prince Johnny”) to steely-yet-playful resolve (“Pay Your Way in Pain”). She can make movies; she co-wrote (with Carrie Brownstein) and stars in 2020’s The Nowhere Inn

But above all else, St. Vincent can perform. Her live show is blindingly awesome. She can sing, play guitar and engage the audience with such ability, confidence and charm, you almost question whether what you’re seeing is real. And the only thing better than one night of St. Vin cent performing in Las Vegas—which she’ll do at the Pearl on October 1—is the idea of her performing shows here several weekends a year, you feel me? Watch now as this publication sneakily tries to introduce Annie Clark to the idea of a “St. Vegas” residency. Cross fingers.

St. Vincent (Courtesy/Zackery Michael)

We’ve only got a few minutes to chat, so let’s just talk performance. Your first Vegas show was at the Cosmopolitan in April 2015, outdoors by the pool. That was weird. Totally.

You politely requested that the crowd not film the show with its phones, and it worked. When did you first realize that cell phones were taking over concertgoing? You’re like, “I’m having an experience, but I’m also reaching to record the experience and then that’s changing the way that I’m filtering the experience.” I certainly noticed it in myself first, and I [didn’t think] it was making my experience bet ter. … I’m certainly not anti-technology, but make no mistake, these things are shaping us. They’re shaping us way more than we’re shaping them, you know?

Your next two Vegas performances were both at festivals (Life Is Beautiful, 2018 and 2021). I’d wager that most people who’ve seen you perform have seen you at festivals. Do you enjoy playing them? It really depends. Yes, I do enjoy festivals just for the simple fact that you get to see your friends who are on tour. I was at Glastonbury, and I got to play with [British punk band] Idles, and I love that band. We finally got to meet in person and, like, hang. I like festivals for that kind of camaraderie, the social aspects. But then—and again, this isn’t a critique—I genuinely don’t know how much people are going to festivals for discovery anymore. I don’t really know. I mean, do you?

I don’t know, either. I hope they are. I would agree. I mean, you get all that music, a lot of bang for your buck.

I’m one of those artists who has to be seen live to be contextualized. That’s how I came up, in station wagons and then minivans and then 12-passengers and then tour buses. I came up play ing—more or less a road dog, a grizzled road dog. [Performing] is part of my vision, my whole expression. A lot of times, someone might be lukewarm on a record, and then they see it live and go “Oh, I get it.” Better that than someone loving a record, seeing it performed live and going, “Oh, this sucks.” (Laughs)

I think the live thing is, like, f*cking Malcolm Gladwell sh*t. You put in your

10,000 hours. It’s a funny skill that you can only find, and get better at, by doing it in front of people. I guess it’s kind of like sex, right?

I’m not sure I’d want those audience notes. But that’s why it’s powerful and vulnerable and exciting—because it’s high-risk, high-reward. You could do this and sing flat, or just choke—but the end of the day you’re going to do that in front of people and grow as a result, whether it’s by getting closer to your own shame or by some miracle of success.

Who has inspired you, strictly as a performer? There’s Iggy Pop; I defi nitely have explored [that] very primal, masochistic side. But also, people like Prince or Bowie, who you get the sense know every move they make; they know exactly how it looks from every single angle, and they refine it to absolute per fection. … [I like] people who really give it up. People who really lose themselves in performance and are not afraid to be scary or confrontational.

How do you get to that place when you perform? I look at it like I’m an athlete, and I train on the road. I work out and I practice. It sounds boring, but I really like being physically challenged, and the idea of pushing toward my limit. … You could be tired, you could be sick, you could be hung over, but once you’re onstage, it all fades away. But you’ve got to gauge your own [limits]. The second that I’m like, “Man, I got a show tonight, but I’m so fried”—that’s the time to get off the road. But every time I go on stage, I’m f*cking psyched to be there.

Lastly, and I ask this out of pure selfishness: Would you ever consid er playing a Vegas residency? Um, sure! I kinda can’t imagine crushing a Vegas residency in terms of attendance, but maybe there’s a lot of fans I don’t know about.

We’re out here. You’ll see us at the Pearl. I hope, I hope. I mean, I just discovered gambling. I didn’t under stand Vegas, because I never really spent any time there, and then I was like, “OK, I get it.” You slip into the Vegas mental ity for 24 to 48 hours, and you just ride that ride.

Please, please help us talk St. Vincent into a Las Vegas residency

YEARS OF40METAL

Metal Blade Records founder Brian Slagel brings his label’s 40th anniversary celebration to Las Vegas

Brian Slagel (Christopher DeVargas/Sta )

BY CASE KEEFER

Brian Slagel founded Metal Blade Records 40 years ago in LA as a way to capture and promote the nascent heavy metal scene in his hometown. It has since become arguably the preeminent label for heavy metal worldwide, launching the careers of everyone from thrash metal superstars Metallica and Slayer to death metal giants Cannibal Corpse and The Black Dahlia Murder.

Today, Slagel partially runs the label from his home in Las Vegas. Metal Blade’s offices remain in Southern California, but Slagel made the move here in 2016, seeking a change of pace, a relative lack of traffic and a chance to watch a new NHL franchise start from scratch. He has ingrained himself in the community since then as a Golden Knights’ and Raiders’ season-ticket holder, a restaurant connoisseur and a constant concertgoer.

That’s why he wouldn’t consider anywhere else but Las Vegas to host the biggest event in Metal Blade’s ongoing 40th anniversary celebration—an October 5 House of Blues concert featuring current Metal Blade artists Killswitch Engage and Visigoth, along with special guest Fit for an Autopsy.

The Weekly caught up with Slagel at one of his local office spaces to discuss about the milestone, the show and much more.

Would you have guessed Metal Blade might have this kind of longevity 40 years ago? Never in a million years. In the very beginnings, [in] the metal scene in LA, none of us ever thought metal anything was going to get as big as it has. Looking back on it, it was just amazing to be in that city at that time. You had Mötley Crüe and Ratt on one front, and then Metallica, Slayer and everything else on the other coming from the same city at the same time. We were all just dumb, young kids, and we loved the music. I couldn’t play an instrument, so I figured, well, I guess I’m going to try this.

How did this one-off bill with Killswitch Engage, Fit for an Autopsy and Visigoth come together for your celebration? I really wanted to do something in Vegas, because I live here and it’s a fun place to do a show that’s easy for people to come in. But the problem we had is, every single one of our bigger bands is on the road this fall and [already] playing Vegas. So, we didn’t know where to go, and then I started talking to the Killswitch guys. They had an off-date from the Lamb of God tour and were able to get here. The show is early, because they have to leave and play the Aftershock Festival in Sacramento the next day.

Initially, we had a couple other

bands that were going to be on the bill, but a million reasons happen, and we were struggling to get a package until we got this band Visigoth from Salt Lake City that’s younger and I really, really love. And then Killswitch’s agent said, ‘What do you think about Fit for an Autopsy?’ They’re not on Metal Blade, but they’re good friends of mine and have an off-day from the same Lamb of God tour, so I said, ‘Yeah, that’s a fun bill.’

Killswitch Engage and Fit for an Autopsy both have roots in the hardcore scene. Has it been fun to watch how successful they’ve been in the metal world? Metal almost died in the ’90s, until the whole cool metalcore scene came up in the early 2000s. That really breathed life into this whole thing. I don’t know if we’d be here talking right now if that didn’t happen. That’s really when everything turned around.

The metal world before that was not the most friendly between the bands and the people. There was a lot of com petition, and it wasn’t, ‘One for all, all for one.’ That’s the hardcore scene. All these bands were for everybody else, and that whole vibe was just so great. It started with the bands itself and led into the managers, agents and every body around them.

A record from around that time, Unearth’s The Oncoming Storm from 2004, is probably my favorite Metal Blade release ever. That was the first big record we had from the metalcore scene. It just blew up. We knew it was going to do well, but we didn’t realize how well. They were free agents and looking for a new deal, and we were late to the party. But we wanted

to see them, so we went to their show in LA even though their manager said, ‘They’re going to sign with this other label.’ We saw them, met them and hung out afterwards for a little while. Their management calls us back the next morning and said, ‘I don’t know what you guys said or did, but now they want to sign with you.’

What are you most looking forward to about the future? I think metal is in a really good spot. There are a lot of new bands coming up that we’re pretty excited about. We just had this young band that’s got a big buzz, 200 Stab Wounds, that played Psycho Las Vegas. I don’t get blown away by much these days, but there was something special going on there.

I’m excited for bands like that, and even the older bands just keep putting out really great records, like the last couple Cannibal Corpse records and the Amon Amarth record we just put out. They’ve been around so long, at some point you’re like, ‘All right, they’re going to trip up and not make a great record.’ But they’ve been so good. The scene is in a good place.

For more of this interview, visit lasvegasweekly.com.

METAL BLADE 40TH ANNIVERSARY Killswitch Engage, Fit for an Autopsy, Visigoth. October 5, 6:30 p.m., $35-$59. House of Blues, concerts.livenation.com.

Killswitch Engage (Courtesy/ Travis Shinn)

JACK OF ALL TRADES

DJ and producer JackEL pumps fresh sounds into the dance scene

BY AMBER SAMPSON

Jack Edwards Lozeron, bet ter known as local DJ and producer JackEL, never had to sneak into any clubs as a teen. He played them. By 14, the self-taught, Canadian-born DJ had already amassed enough of a following to nudge promoters in his home town of Edmonton to find gigs for him at the Starlite Room and un derground venues like the Chvrch of John.

“They were like, ‘We’d love to book you, but we know you’re 14, so you have to come into the club with your sister or parental guardian,’” says JackEL, who moved to Las Ve gas 11 years ago. “I went in with my sister, and I hit the ground running so hard. … I started playing intense dance music, like dubstep and elec tro house, and I never looked back.”

The 26-year-old, who played Area15’s Neon Dream event earlier this year and regularly spins at Brett Rubin’s Terrace Afterhours, began playing guitar at age 8, “mainly to impress my father and to be able to jam with him,” but Lozeron soon transitioned to the turntables.

“Right when I got my turntables was when I was using Limewire. I would search up rave music and download all of this music,” he says. “I would go to the library and take all of the electronic albums I couldn’t go home with and download them. At that time, it was [artists] like Bassnectar [and] Deadmau5.”

Skrillex would eventually join that catalog, completing the trifecta of EDM artists the im pressionable JackEL would study to develop his craft. “I really felt like I grew up in the golden era of electronic dance music, as it was truly just breaking into the scene,” he says. “It was so inspiring for my

productions.”

Lozeron also briefly lived in New Orleans as a kid, soaking in the culture and customs of that city. He remembers strolls down Bourbon Street, where street performers crowded the heart of the French Quarter, enriching the atmosphere with rarefied blues and jazz. Those experiences also helped shape his diverse repertoire.

Shuffle it and you’ll hear satin-smooth jazz with accents of uptempo house, by way of his col laboration with former Kool & The Gang frontman Skip Martin. Then come the buzzing techno bangers (“I Don’t Understand”), thumping house cuts (“Deja Vu,” “Eyes”) and glorious glitch dubstep (the 2022 track “Feel Something, Anything at All”).

JackEL has worked with such notables as “This Is Why I’m Hot” star MiMS and Beenie Man, but he says Las Vegas’ breadth of talent inspires him most. “I’ve produced two records for [rapper] Dizzy Wright, and I’m very thankful for that,” he says. “He’s really put on for this city, and I’ve recently been in talks with him to work with him some more.”

“Sunshine,” a classically funky hit JackEL created with opera and reggae singer Trice Be Phan tom Magnetiq (of the Downtown variety show at Cheapshot), also shines as a prolific example of what can happen when two worlds collide.

This artist has come a long way, in miles and experience. He’s cur rently writing more music for other artists, such as local Latin pop artist Yo Quiero Silla. The ambition he once displayed in Edmonton continues to grow.

“I really don’t want to slow down,” he says. “I just want to keep it going.”

DANIEL

This isn’t a city for pedestrians, but we could make it one NOBODY WALKS IN LV

(Photo Illustration/Ian Racoma)

On a good night—like right now, when it’s not still 100 degrees after sunset—I walk a 3-mile loop around Down town Las Vegas. On foot.

I’d like to tell you why I walk, before you’re inclined to tell me why I shouldn’t. There are valid health reasons to “get my steps in.” I’m Gen X, and there aren’t all that many of us, so it’s incumbent on me to stay in reasonably good shape to preserve my collectability.

streets, none at all. Their arguments generally follow two consistent lines: It’s too hot to walk in Vegas, and drivers make it too dangerous to walk in Vegas. The first doesn’t track with the city’s newfound embrace of roof top patios and sprawling pedestrian “neighborhoods” like Downtown Summerlin and the District, and the second argument—well, it’s kinda rich, coming as it does from the peo ple doing the driving.

here, nearly all of whom were born speeding up, will see our wide streets as anything but freeways in minia ture. We’ve not seen our last pedes trian deaths, or even the beginning of the end.

EXTENDED RESIDENCY

BY GEOFF CARTER

But the main reason I take walks is that, after some 20 years of living in walkable neighbor hoods from here to Seattle, I’ve come to enjoy it. The walk takes about 50 minutes, during which I enjoy the week’s new music drops. (This time last year, I street-tested Parquet Courts’ “Walk ing at a Downtown Pace.” I remember that walk. It was a good walk.) I take photos; I look at decaying 50-year-old homes and imagine how I’d restore them. In short, walking provides calm and focus … even on these, the most terrifying streets ever encoun tered by pedestrians.

According to recently released Metro figures, pedestrian deaths in Southern Nevada are up 33% over last year. So far in 2022, 36 pedes trians have been struck and killed by drivers—a number high enough to be depressing, yet low enough to make you wonder if these deaths could be somehow prevented. A state traffic safety education website, zerofatalitiesnv.com, even provides a few life-saving remedies on a page tellingly titled “Watch Out for Each Other.” Among other things, the page instructs pedestrians to walk facing oncoming traffic, and drivers to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks.

None of this stuff should be con troversial. Yet even in conversation with friends—to say nothing of the sweaty trolls mumbling to them selves in the comments section—I re peatedly hear that pedestrians have no business being on the Valley’s

Put another way: Years ago, when I wrote a similar pedestrian safety story for another publication, an old er reader proudly informed me that he’d struck pedestrians on multiple occasions and had never been cited for it. He was angry with me for say ing that drivers should try not to hit people with their cars. The next time you get a “walk” signal I advise you to wait a moment, given the possibility he still has his license.

Like many western metros of its size, Las Vegas was built by vehicles, for vehicles. Its roads are wide, with “blocks” that can run a quarter-mile long. It was built without a dense, walkable civic core (save for the tour ist corridors of the Strip and Down town, and even that’s debatable). It has never had a light rail or streetcar system—nor, seemingly, any under standing of why it’s desirable to have one. And its sidewalks, pardon my simplicity, are largely decorative.

When I first moved to Las Vegas in 1990, many streets didn’t have side walks at all—“sawtooth roads,” locals called them—and the sidewalks that existed were scarcely wide enough for two people to pass one another without someone needing to step off the curb.

In other words, many of the Valley’s walkability enhancements— notably the wider sidewalks that the City of Las Vegas is now installing Downtown, and the bollards added to the Strip several years back to prevent drivers from rolling up onto the sidewalks—are recent additions, very much works in progress.

Just because space is being carved out for Vegas pedestrians doesn’t mean that a city raised without sidewalks will suddenly gain respect for them. Or that the large numbers of Southern Californians relocating

If you read this far thinking I’d have a solution, I’m sorry to say that’s not the case. I have a some what unique perspective, in that I walk through my neighborhood by choice, and drive through it because I have to. I’ve got a swivel on my neck when I get behind the wheel, because Downtown is jaywalker central. (That’ll happen when the closest controlled intersection is many minutes and hundreads of feet out of your way.) And I won’t cross a street unless I’ve made eye contact with the drivers stopped at the light, because I once rolled up onto the hood of an inattentive right-turn driver, and I didn’t care for it.

But the problem is bigger than getting everyone to put down their phones and pay attention to the 5,000-pound metal wedge careen ing toward them at speed, or the hospitality worker crossing midblock to catch a bus (though we absolute ly need to do that). Our sidewalks need to be widened. Streets need to be redesigned to slow traffic flow. Dedicated bike and bus lanes need to be marked off, and light rail needs to be literally fast-tracked.

These things are beginning to hap pen in our Downtown, as they’re hap pening in our neighboring metros, because a Valley with 2 million cars on the road is not sustainable. Soon, our traffic snarls could be so severe, walking to a bus stop won’t seem like such a crazy idea.

On that note, I suggest try a walk around the block now that the sum mer weather has cooled. Put on your earbuds, some good shoes and simply go. Walk to the corner, then to the next corner and maybe even up the street to a restaurant, bar or movie theater you’d normally drive to. Look at the houses, the signs and the sky. You might be surprised how easily you slip into a Downtown pace.

According to recently released Metro figures, pedestrian deaths in Southern Nevada are up 33% over last year. So far this year, 36 pedestrians have been struck and killed by drivers.

Cannabis concentrate, or extract, is exactly what it sounds like—a highly concentrated form of cannabis that is created using processes that remove extra plant material, leaving only pure, potent cannabinoids and terpenes. Because of this, concentrates are much higher in THC than flower, which results in a more potent experience for the consumer, while utilizing a smaller volume of product. The cannabis oil used in vapes is a common type of concentrate, but there are many others to explore.

Dabbing or taking a dab describes the act of ingesting concentrates and is one of the most popular ways to enjoy this form of cannabis. A dab rig, which is similar to a standard water pipe, filters the vapor using percolation for a smooth user experience.

One of the primary differences between water pipes and dab rigs is that rigs create vapor, not smoke, using a dab nail and a torch. Dabs need a higher, more consistent heat source than flower, which is why a torch is required. The dab nail fits into the rig where the bowl would fit into the water pipe.

WHY DAB?

Many people prefer concentrates because of the purity, potency and ease of use. Because concentrates are vaporized, they’re a great option for anyone who doesn’t like smoke. Because they’re so potent, it requires less product to achieve a desired effect.

The cannabis industry is always looking for new, fresh ways to present products. Throw in an ever-evolving variety of new technologies and methods, and you get many different types of concentrate. Here are a handful of popular options, but if you stop by a dispensary, you’re likely to find even more.

A powdery, crumbled concentrate with a THC percentage of up to 90%.

How to use: Dab rig or vape. Can also be sprinkled in a joint or on top of a bowl.

A full-spectrum concentrate, rosin is created using a solventless process that creates its signature waxy, putty-like consistency. It’s usually slightly less potent than solvent-based extracts but is also often more flavorful.

How to use: Dab rig

BUYING CONCENTRATES

If you’re interested in dabbing but don’t know where to start, go to the dispensary and talk to a budtender. They’ll be able to help guide you on the best products and how to use them.

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Perhaps one of the most beloved of all concentrates, shatter is like melted hard lozenges—it’s a nectar golden color, translucent and easily breaks or shatters.

How to use: dab rig

Because there are so many types of concentrate, there are many production methods as well.

Solvent-based extraction uses solvents to dissolve the cannabis resins from the flower. The solvent is then removed and only resins remain for creating shatter, oil or wax.

Solventless extraction is a manual process of separating the resins from the flower by pressing or beating the bud. It’s often used in the creation of hash or rosin. The kief in the bottom of your grinder is caused by a solventless extraction process.

Both processes produce high-quality, potent products. Concentrates often have a THC percentage that is as much as four times higher than flower.

Badder, batter, budder—it’s all a malleable, whipped concentrate that resembles cake batter. It’s typically a wheat blonde color and considered a type of wax concentrate.

How to use: dab rig or vape

Live resin is made with flashfrozen fresh cannabis flower rather than dried and cured buds. It’s known for its rich flavor and high level of terpenes.

How to use: dab rig or vape

DRINK IT IN

Bottle shop and bar Khoury’s expands to meet community demand

BY SPENCER PATTERSON

You don’t need to be a wine fanatic to appreciate the new cellar at Khoury’s Fine Wine & Spirits. “I had a guy in earlier today, sitting at the bar, drinking a beer and just staring at the cellar,” owner Issa Khoury says. “He said, ‘I don’t even drink wine, but I just love staring at that thing.’”

Indeed, the glass-enclosed, bot tle-filled room now serves as a visual centerpiece at the 18-year-old shop and watering hole off Eastern Avenue in the southeast Valley. But it’s far from the only noticeable new touch at the recently remodeled and expanded Khoury’s.

Indoor seating has swelled, both by the front of the store and near the bar. The adjacent patio has been extended and equipped with fresh

picnic tables and stools. The shop’s inventory of beer, wine and liquor has grown. And neat flour ishes, like the made-from-wine-barrels ceiling over the front seating area, dot an interior that feels more open—and more inter esting—than ever before.

“The space next door [formerly a photo studio] opened up right before COVID happened, and my landlord asked if I wanted it,” Khoury says. “We held tight throughout COVID, until we got to the point where we were ordering quite a bit of product, because business was kinda going crazy during that time. And after [using the additional space] for storage for a couple months, I realized how much I actually needed and wanted it.”

For Henderson-area drinkers and their coun terparts throughout the Valley, Khoury’s has long

stood out as a place not just to find unusual syrahs, bourbons and sour beers, but to hang out and sam ple them. The store’s beer taps have multiplied, from three when Khoury’s introduced the feature in 2010 to a dozen, and now to 20. Special tappings and winemaker events are held regularly, and food trucks rotate through most nights.

But even as the store became a beloved commu nity staple, Khoury says, he felt an internal tug to improve it. “On a busy night, a group would come in, and there’d be no seats available. I didn’t like to see that,” he says. “And sometimes we had stacks of wine and other product everywhere, taking up space that could potentially be seating.

“So after a lot of calculations and talking to my staff—we have developed a really great team—I finally pulled the trigger. We’re very happy we did, and the customers seem to really enjoy it, too.”

Keep an eye out for special releases, like Au

KHOURY’S FINE WINE & SPIRITS 9915 S. Eastern Ave. #110, 702-435-9463, khourysfine wine.com.

SundayTuesday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; WednesdaySaturday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.

ISLAND RETREAT

Find hearty Jamaican food at House of Dutch Pot

gust’s six-way collaboration with CraftHaus Brewery and four local coffee roasters (Bad Owl, Dark Moon, Mothership and Vesta) and anniversary teamups with Paso Robles wineries Herman Story and Desparada (on a sauvignon blanc) and Downtown’s Able Baker Brewing (a doppelbock aged in three different bourbon barrels), along with special events like December’s rare whiskey raffle, run annually to collect toys for Nevada Safe House. It’s all part of a quest to improve that Khoury calls “ongoing.”

“I’m originally from Elko in northeast Nevada. My dad opened up a small business up there, and he instilled in me at a young age that if you want to grow, you have to connect with the community,” Khoury says. “Vegas has been a transient town over the years, but I feel like, through the pandem ic, we’ve really showed that we have a community out here. We have culture, and I feel honored to be part of that and grow with it.”

n In September 2021, while Las Vegas was still recovering from the impacts of COVID, our Jamaican cuisine options increased when House of Dutch Pot arrived in an ever-changing Durango Drive retail center. As the name would indicate, its dishes generally center around the use of the Dutch pot, a traditional cooking vessel used to prepare a variety of stews. With this in mind, be prepared for a filling meal.

Visiting House of Dutch Pot is like taking a course on this dynamic cuisine. Unless you’re a Caribbean native, you’re likely to find unfamiliar dishes and ingredients such as bam my, breadfruit and ground provision, but the incredibly friendly staff is more than willing to advise. While perusing the menu, order a pineapple ginger juice ($8) to pass the time, with fruity sweetness soothing the ginger’s bite. Then start your meal

with some codfish fritters ($13), the golden-crisped fried balls being not the least bit fishy.

Stewed meats include curried chicken ($16) and oxtails ($22.50), each served with a pair of starchy sides. The curried goat ($18.50) is particularly successful, gamey, salty and spicy with each bite. Don’t over look the festival—incredibly deli cious, slightly sweetened fried dough sticks—and round things out with sweet plantains.

House of Dutch Pot offers an im pressive choice of vegan options, too. A hearty ital stew ($18), a coconut milk-based dish rife with potatoes, peas and root vegetables, won’t leave you wanting for meat, while the spicy jerk tofu ($20) is a good option for those looking for the island’s charac teristic seasoning on something other than chicken. –Jim Begley

HOUSE OF DUTCH POT 4255 S. Durango Drive #110, 702-485-3500, houseofdutchpotlasvegas.com. Daily, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

Khoury’s new wine cellar (Wade Vandervort/Staff)

House of Dutch Pot’s pineapple jerk chicken boat, codfish fritters and oxtail wrap (Wade Vandervort/Staff)

REASSESSING THE RAIDERS

Can Las Vegas address its problems and make an unlikely run after a nightmare start?

BY CASE KEEFER

The Raiders stand alone with the worst record in the NFL: 0-3 through three weeks.

This is not what team owner Mark Davis had in mind, to say the least, when he went on an offseason spending spree coming off a playoff appear ance last year. The additions of coach Josh McDaniels, general manager Dave Ziegler and a slew of new players—including star wide receiver Davante Adams and star edge rusher Chandler Jones— were supposed to make Las Vegas a contender.

Anything less than another postseason berth would go down as an abject failure, and it would now take a historic comeback to reach that goal. Only one NFL team during the past 20 years (the 2018 Houston Texans) has overcome an 0-3 start to make the playoffs.

The Raiders do have a schedul ing quirk that could work in their favor: They play a pair of division al games—hosting the Denver Broncos and at the Kansas City Chiefs—over the next two weeks before Las Vegas’ bye. Win both, and the Raiders are right back in the AFC West race.

But that feels far-fetched at the moment, unless they can undergo a quick fix on several issues. Here are three of the biggest ones, and how they might choose to address them.

It’s worth noting that Las Vegas still has $14 million in cap space, second-most in the NFL accord ing to spotrac.com, so the Raiders could conceivably sign outside free agent help. But there aren’t many difference-makers available, and Las Vegas likely would have already pounced had there been someone they liked, so we’ll focus on internal changes here.

Problem: McDaniels and quarterback Derek Carr don’t appear comfortable with one another They went on a campaign stating the opposite go ing into a Week 3 game at the Titans, but the 24-22 loss showed that Carr is still adjusting to McDaniels’ offense. Carr put up decent statistics—throwing for 303 yards on 26-for-44 passing with two touch downs and one interception—but he continued to look noticeably different than he has at his best.

He’s rarely, if ever, making changes before the snap, and too often locks in on the receiver McDaniels has deemed the primary option on the play.

Potential Fix: McDaniels proves worthy of his “offensive genius” label and bends his offense to suit Carr.

A great coach more often than not designs his scheme around the strengths of his players. Carr has shown he can be a productive NFL quarterback over a nine-year career, so it’s up to McDaniels to tweak his preferred system to fit his veteran quarterback.

Fans always wondered how much of McDaniels’ suc cess—he won six Super Bowls as the offensive coor dinator of the New England Patriots—had to do with quarterback Tom Brady. Such questions are now re-emerging. McDaniels showed post-Brady ability last year in building the Patriots into a contender by simplifying things for rookie quarterback Mac Jones; now he needs to do it with Carr.

Problem: The Raiders’ offensive line is unsettled, having used seven combinations of players in three games. Las Vegas chose not to address its biggest weakness of last season, blocking up front, during the offseason, and a rash of injuries has exacerbated the problem. Rookie third-round pick Dylan Parham has been a revelation at both guard and center, but no one else on the offensive line has stood out, including left tackle Kolton Miller, a team captain who was considered a sure thing. Miller hasn’t played terribly overall, but he has given up two sacks and picked up a couple of crucial penalties, much like the rest of his offensive-line mates.

Potential Fix: How about an eighth, or ninth, combination?

The Raiders’ offensive line has been below average, but it hasn’t been as much of a liability as last season. Las Vegas is closer to figuring it out than it might appear, especially if it can find a serviceable right tackle. Rook ie seventh-round pick Thayer Munford appears promis ing in the long term, but he has struggled since being thrust into a current starting role. The Raiders traded for Patriots depth tackle Justin Herron before the Titans game, and he would seem to be the next man up for a chance at right tackle. Perhaps play Herron and insert Andre James back into the lineup when he returns from a concussion—likely at center but maybe even guard if McDaniels prefers Parham in the middle— and see if that yields better results.

Pro Bowler Maxx Crosby has recorded two sacks and provided consistent pressure, but no one else has contributed to the pass rush. Jones has been virtually invisible, raising major concerns about the three-year, $52 million contract the 32-year-old signed with the Raiders in the o season. The calling card of defensive coordinator Patrick Graham’s new defense was supposed to be its ability to get to the quarterback, but so far, it has failed in that objective.

But McDaniels and Graham clearly like him, and he played as many snaps as Jones against the Titans. The arguable draft bust has also been more e ective than the high-priced free agent. Las Vegas is getting no contribution to the pass rush from its defensive tackles— Bilal Nichols is notably dealing with a shoulder injury— so it might be time to try someone new there.

RAIDERS Report

■ Last Week: Titans 24, Raiders 22 Derek Carr tried to fit a two-point conversion pass into a small window for tight end Darren Waller, but Titans defenders Dylan Cole and Kevin Byarddeflected the ball near the line to kill the Raiders’ hopes of forcing overtime. It was an anticlimactic end to a strong second-half comeback for the Raiders, who trailed 24-10 at halftime. The Las Vegas defense went from nonexistent, allowing the Titans to score touchdowns on each of their first three drives, to stingy in the second half. Wide receiver Mack Hollins led the o ense, setting career highs with eight catches for 158 yards, including several highlights, like a fourthdown touchdown catch in the corner of the end zone before the unsuccessful two-point conversion.

■ This Week: Broncos (2-1) at Raiders (0-3) When: Sunday, October 2, 1:25 p.m. Where: Allegiant Stadium TV & Radio: Channel 8 & 920 AM/92.3 FM Betting line: Raiders -1.5, over/under 46

■ Matchup: The Raiders haven’t lost to the Broncos in four attempts since moving to Las Vegas, but both teams underwent major makeovers in the o season. Denver brought on new coach Nathaniel Hackett, formerly the Green Bay Packers’ o ensive coordinator, and quarterback Russell Wilson. The results have been mixed so far. Denver’s o ense has been mediocre at best, struggling both with three-and-outs and finishing in the red zone. Its defense has been key in back-to-back wins, which have come by a total of five points. Carr will have to be prepared for both an impactful pass rush (led by edge rushers Bradley Chubb and Randy Gregory) and a rising defensive backfield (led by cornerbacks Patrick Surtain II and Ronald Darby).

■ Raider to watch: Wide receiver Davante Adams After attracting 17 targets in his Raiders debut in Week 1, Adams has only been targeted 17 times total over the past two games. He estimates he’s getting double-teamed 95% of the time, which partially explains why he has had just seven catches for 48 yards the past two weeks. Defenses have wanted to take away Adams, and McDaniels has allowed them to do so by not forcing plays for him. But Adams says he knows how to manage double teams, something he did the past several years with the Packers. The Raiders need to trust him and go to him more often for their o ense to reach its potential.

–Case Keefer

Tennessee safety Kevin Byard (31) breaks up a pass intended for Las Vegas tight end Darren Waller on a failed two-point conversion late in the Titans’ 24-22 win. (AP Photo)

Problem: The Raiders’ defense ranks last in the NFL with a 1.79% sack rate.

Potential Fix: Slide depth edge rushers like Clelin Ferrell inside and play them alongside Crosby and Jones. That suggestion might elicit groans from Raider fans, considering Ferrell, a former No. 4 overall pick, has been consistently underwhelming the past two years.

(Left to right) Derek Carr, Josh McDaniels, Dylan Parham and Maxx Crosby (AP Photo/ Photo Illustration)

LED LIGHT COMPANY HAS BECOME A FIXTURE IN THE STATE’S CANNABIS ECONOMY

BY BRYAN HORWATH VEGAS INC STAFF

One of the fast est-growing LED light companies in the world is headquar tered in Las Vegas, and the company’s CEO doesn’t see any reason why that trajectory will slow in the coming years.

Brett Stevens co-founded Fohse Inc. in 2015 in an attempt to corner the market on high-performance LED light fixtures engineered for indoor cannabis grow operations.

So far, that goal has become reality, Stevens said. Fohse has established itself as one of the biggest buyers of Samsung LED lights in the world.

Once the company receives the lights from South Korea, it puts to gether what Stevens calls “hyper-ef ficient” fixtures designed to hang inside cannabis grow operations.

Fohse sends its products to op erations in 18 countries, supplying fixtures to over 700 grow operations.

Inc. Magazine recently named Fohse one of the top 20 fastest-grow ing private companies in the United States—the company pulls in close to $70 million in revenues. Stevens said that figure could soon approach close to $200 million.

“We’re a world leader; we ship to every legal market there is right now,” Stevens said from the com pany’s facility, located about three miles east of Harry Reid Internation al Airport. “People in the cannabis space know our company, we see that time and time again on our surveys.”

Stevens, a former manager of mixed martial artists, co-founded the company with Ben Arnet. They

made the switch from the traditional cannabis business grow space to the production of lights because they had issues retaining employees.

“We were in the cultivation space here in Las Vegas previously, but we were losing trimmers to the Vegas nightlife,” Stevens said. “It’s so hot here in Las Vegas, you have to run night cycles at your grow during the summer. Because this is Las Vegas, people were able to sometimes make $70,000 or $80,000 per year as a busser or server [on the Strip], so we were losing people.”

As successful entrepreneurs often do, Stevens and his people pivoted.

“One our buddies is an engineer and he had done laser guidance sys

tems for the Department of Defense and pacemakers for big companies like Boston Scientific and Medtron ic,” Stevens said. “We wanted to ex plore micro-LED and see if we could create something to grow plants with it. We knew that LED was much cool er burning and more efficient.”

Stevens said Fohse started out creating its lights specifically for the cultivation of cannabis plants, though it has branched out to the organic greens space, he said.

Partly to help guard against the buildup of moisture, which can cause troublesome corrosion, the light fix tures are packed with a glue-type pot ting agent, which makes them heavy.

That, however, helps keep mois

ture and dust from reaching the semiconductors within the fixture.

“We’re not the cheapest product,” Stevens said. “Not all light fixtures will have that potting agent, but we thought it was important.”

Stevens said the company is eyeing some pieces of land north of Las Ve gas for a possible additional facility. Its location now comes complete with a showroom and a podcast studio.

“Nevada is a good place to have a business,” Stevens said. “The taxes are awesome here. I’m from Califor nia originally, so I know what it’s like over there. Property here is reason able, the cost of living is reasonable.”

Because the cannabis industry is so specialized with regard to equipment and voltage capabilities, workers at Fohse can spend hours on particular light fixtures as they orga nize and place different cords, plugs and other pieces together.

“It’s very technical; there’s a lot that goes into it,” Stevens said.

Brandon Wiegand, chief operating officer for Thrive Cannabis Market place, one of the largest cannabis re tailers in Nevada, said having Fohse in town is “a big win” for Las Vegas.

He said a member of the Fohse team helped with the design of the company’s cultivation facility.

“Fohse is a group that truly under stands the industry,” Wiegand said. “They came from growing them selves and it shows. Their team has developed best-in-class lights that are getting recognition globally.”

As he tended to the company’s fluffy unofficial mascot—his 7-yearold Akita, Jax—Stevens said the future looks very bright for Fohse.

“Valuation-wise, I think we can be a billion-dollar company,” Stevens said. “And we love Las Vegas. We want to continue to take care of our customer base—current and future— here in Nevada.”

Brett Stevens, founder and CEO of Fohse, with his dog Jax in the company showroom (Steve Marcus/Staff)

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REFORMS ARE NEEDED AS NEVADA’S CANNABIS INDUSTRY CONTINUES TO MATURE

BY BRANDON WIEGAND

OnJuly 1, 2017, recre ational cannabis sales became legal in Ne vada.  Five years later, Nevada’s cannabis industry has grown and matured, yet it still faces many of the same issues that it did on Day One.

In the first year of legal recreational sales in Nevada, dispensaries sold near ly $530 million in product and brought in close to $70 million in excise tax revenue to the state.

That number steadily increased over the years until fiscal year 2021, when cannabis businesses hit a record high of $1 billion in sales, which brought in al most $158 million in excise tax revenue.

During the 2021 fiscal year, after funding the operations of the Canna bis Compliance Board, the state sent $159 million in cannabis tax revenue to the State Education Fund, which funds K-12 education.

This year has been challenging for many industries, and cannabis is no exception. Costs for everything from fertilizer to packaging have skyrocketed.

Because of price sensitivity and already high taxes, however, these costs cannot be passed on to consumers. Sales are down, and fiscal year 2022 fell short of the prior year’s totals.  Licensed dis pensaries reported about $965 million in sales, which generated a little over $152 million tax revenue for the state.

Cannabis businesses also face eco

nomic challenges that are unique to this industry and will not be resolved until Congress takes action.

Cannabis is still federally illegal and classified as a “Schedule 1 drug,” along side heroin and methamphetamine. As a result, everything from traditional bank ing and lending, to intellectual property protections, to bankruptcy, is limited or unavailable to cannabis businesses.

Additionally, IRS Code Section 280E prohibits cannabis businesses from deducting ordinary business expenses, resulting in an effective tax rate of 6070%. Since cannabis remains federally il legal, interstate commerce is prohibited, which means all cannabis sold in Nevada dispensaries must be grown in Nevada.

This requires a careful calibration of supply and demand to ensure that the amount of cannabis produced is not too much or too little based on consumer demand within the state.

When the price of cannabis on the licensed market is too high, customers look to the illicit market. Unlicensed operators are the biggest competitor of any licensed dispensary.

They are not subject to the same taxes or costs of regulatory compliance and testing as the licensed market. While there is no appetite to re-criminalize

cannabis possession or sales, in order for the licensed market to be a healthy and tax revenue-generating sector, addition al enforcement is necessary to shut down unlicensed businesses that brazenly op erate in the shadow of the legal market.

Illicit cannabis businesses that threaten the licensed market rely on two things: confusion and lack of enforce ment. A smartphone search of “dispen saries near me” or “dispensaries that deliver to the Strip” will turn up dozens of unlicensed companies offering to deliver unlicensed, untested products to any hotel on the Strip.

Meanwhile, licensed companies are prohibited from delivering to hotels or even being located within 1,500 feet of casinos. Fake dispensaries that sell hemp products disguised to look like licensed cannabis dispensaries also exist along the Strip and the Fremont Street Experience.

These companies rely on confus ing tourists into thinking that they are purchasing products containing THC. Some of these also sell unlicensed products containing THC or Delta-8, which is illegal.

Because the Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB) was designed to regulate the licensed cannabis industry, it does

not have the jurisdiction or the resourc es to shut down every illicit cannabis business. Yet, more enforcement is needed, from law enforcement, the CCB and Attorney General’s office, and local governments, to shut down these busi nesses and pursue civil penalties.

Another way to combat the illicit market and help the licensed market succeed is through regulation that is fair, consistent and cooperative.

Licensees face enormous costs due to regulation, such as licensee application fees and renewals, background checks for all employees, significant training requirements, oversight billing and six-figure disciplinary violations.

The CCB projected $293,000 in revenue from “time and effort” billing during the 2022 fiscal year, but actually collected $2.5 million from the industry, which was over eight times its budget.

The CCB projected $116,000 in revenue from civil penalties during the 2020 fiscal year, but actually collected $1.9 million from the industry, which was more than 16 times its budget.

The legalized cannabis industry has been an important component of build ing a durable tax base, diversifying the economy and providing valuable jobs for Nevada.

While nearly every other industry has seen price increases, cannabis has seen price decreases coupled with cost increases over the past year.

Simultaneously, the industry’s regula tor has taken an aggressive approach to fines, fees and enforcement, but the real threat to public safety is the flourishing black market.

This isn’t what Nevada’s voters had in mind when they approved recreational cannabis. If we don’t want to kill the golden goose that is our cannabis tax base, reform is needed.

Brandon Wiegand is the chief operat ing officer for Thrive Cannabis Mar ketplace and president of the Nevada Cannabis Association, formerly known as the Nevada Dispensary Association.

When the price of cannabis on the licensed market is too high, customers look to the illicit market. Unlicensed operators are the biggest competitor of any licensed dispensary.

VegasInc Notes

John Guedry, who has served as CEO for Bank of Nevada and First Independent Bank for more than a decade, will retire December 31.

Western Alliance Bank, parent com pany of Bank of Nevada and First Independent Bank, hired Robert Cerminaro, a 25-year veteran of the banking industry, as the new CEO, ef fective January 1. Cerminaro joined the company September 26 and will work alongside Guedry to facilitate the leadership transition. Guedry secured the high-profile commercial banking and educational partnership with the Las Vegas Raiders and Allegiant Stadium. He also oversaw the launch of the company’s Gaming National Business Line and expansion into the Utah market.

JCJ Architecture, a planning, architec ture and interior design firm, has ele vated Mike Larson, AIA, NCARB, MBA, to principal, and JoyceLynn Lagula, Associate AIA, to associate principal.

It also hired Derek Sola, AIA, LEED AP, BD+C as design principal. Larson has over 19 years of experience in the Las Vegas hospitality and gaming industry. Lagula joined JCJ in January and has over 16 years of experience in global hospitality and entertainment interiors. Sola has over 25 years of ex perience, most recently with Gensler’s Las Vegas office, where he was design director, studio director and firmwide gaming leader.

WTD Development & Construction, a real estate and general construction compa ny, named Michael Clutts president of commercial con struction. Clutts was previously vice presi dent of construction. He has more than 40 years of experience in the con struction industry. He will manage all contractors, scheduling, procurement inspections, testing and closeout of commercial projects WTD Develop ment & Construction handles for local and regional clients.

Sahara Las Vegas announced the ex ecutive team joining Balla Italian Soul, the newest restau rant by James Beard Award-winning chef Shawn McClain, set to open October 8. The executive chef will be Michael Vargas, who has more than 18 years of experience in op erations for upscale restaurants and hotels. General man ager will be David Grates. The assistant general manager is Dani Cachu Jamie Gonzalez, who has more than 15 years of experience in the culinary industry, will be a sous chef, as will Pedro BecerraCarrizales Jr., who has nearly 10 years of experience in the culinary arts.

Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance named Amber Stidham senior vice president and chief strategy officer. She previously served as vice pres ident of government affairs at the Henderson Chamber of Commerce,

overseeing economic development, political, policy and regulatory pro grams.

IndiCap, a boutique commercial real estate company specializing in in dustrial investment and development in Arizona and Nevada, welcomed financial professional Leah Rinta to the team to oversee the company’s operational accounting, financial reporting, and related internal controls functions.

Braintrust, a certified minority-owned busi ness and integrated marketing agency with offices in Las Vegas; Nashville, New York and Los Angeles, promoted Sunny Wanser to director of digital development.

Global Gaming Women, a gaming industry nonprofit dedicated to supporting, inspiring and influenc ing the development of professional women, announced Lauren Bates as first vice president and Siobhan Lane as second vice president of the board of directors. Bates is vice president of sales, Western region, at Konami Gaming Inc. Lane is interim lead of the gaming business unit of Light & Won der, as well as gaming chief commer cial officer at the company.

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Guedry

Clutts

Wanser

Grates

Vargas McClain

CEID:

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