2022-11-10-Las-Vegas-Weekly

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

& MARKETING

THE BEST GIFTS DON’T FIT IN ANY BOX.

Around here, we offer a different kind of gift. It's the gift of beauty, adventure and one-of-a-kind memories. The gift of wild, weird and wonderful discoveries. Whether you hail from here or are just visiting, 'tis the season to give the gift of Nevada.

Find Nevada Gifts Here

COVER STORY

You voted … for the top cannabis dispensaries, strains and more around town. Now it’s time to unveil the results of our first-ever Cannabis Awards.

NOISE

NEWS

The Mirage’s dolphin habitat has gone dark. Will it reopen? Or are animals a dwindling part of Las Vegas entertainment?

CANNABIS AWARDS

NIGHTS

FOOD &

SCENE

SUPERGUIDE Your daily events planner, starring Post Malone, Amy Schumer, Fatboy Slim, the Cosmo Ice Rink, the Las Vegas Pizza Festival and more.

Boston-born Airrica leads the Art of the Wild DJ charge onto the Strip.

Maxan Jazz swirls up quality music and quality sushi under one roof.

Meet The Mysterines, England’s newest hit makers.

DRINK

created the cronut? James Beard winner Dominique Ansel, and he’s brought his pas try delights to Caesars Palace.

ON THE COVER LAS VEGAS WEEKLY 7 I11.10.22

(Wade Vandervort/Staff)

SUPERGUIDE

THURSDAY

MUSIC PARTY SPORTS

ARTS

10 NOV.

FOOD + DRINK

JONAS BROTHERS 8 p.m., thru 11/12, Dolby Live, ticketmaster.com.

GLITTERING LIGHTS

Thru 1/8, times vary, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, glitteringlights lasvegas.com.

DUKE DUMONT 10 p.m., Zouk Nightclub, zoukgrouplv.com.

SATORI & THE BAND FROM SPACE 8 p.m., Area15 Portal, area15. com.

SPIRIT MOTHER With The Acid Sisters, Blast Flashes, 8 p.m., SoulBelly BBQ, eventbrite.com.

MARY LYNN RAJSKUB 8:30 & 10:30 p.m., thru 11/13, Laugh Factory, ticketmaster.com.

BARRY MANILOW 7 p.m., thru 11/12, Westgate International Theater, ticketmaster.com.

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

FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME

Lin-Manuel Miranda was blending hip-hop with improv in Freestyle Love Supreme before Hamilton and In the Heights conquered Broadway. The rapid-fire, di erent-every-night performance—co-created by Thomas Kail and Anthony Veneziale—allows a cast of nine talented artists to create an unpredictable, free-flowing musical experience flecked with comedy and audience participation. That might not sound like the typical Broadway-to-Vegas transplant, yet here it is, taking over the Venetian’s Summit Showroom for an extended run scheduled well into 2023. And here’s the kicker: Miranda joins the cast for two nights only on November 16 and 17. You’ll have to try the secondary market (or call in favors) to see the award-winning composer, lyricist and filmmaker hit the Vegas stage—those shows are sold out— but there are plenty of other opportunities to take in this spontaneous sensation. Wednesday-Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 7 & 10 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m.; $45-$100, Summit Showroom, ticketmaster.com. –Brock Radke

RICHARD CHEESE & LOUNGE AGAINST THE MACHINE 8 p.m., Rocks Lounge, ticketmaster.com.

DREAM PHASES With Timothy Eerie, Kilfeather 9 p.m., Sand Dollar Downtown, thesanddollarlv. com.

(Courtesy)

FRIDAY

NOV.

11

POST MALONE

It’s hard not to fall for Post Malone. Eventual ly, he gets to you. It’s just his nature. Some of us were in from the jump with “White Iverson”; plenty more got stuck singing along with “Circles” and “Better Now” and refuse to take them off the playlist. And if the songs from this year’s Twelve Carat Tooth ache haven’t resonated in the same way, there’s all those video clips of Posty’s dance breaks during arena tour stops. Just before Halloween, he took the good vibes to the next level by helping some fans with their baby’s gender reveal during an autograph sesh: “You’re going to be a girl dad!” And even though Vegas will get a double dose with his T-Mobile Arena concert and a show afterwards at Zouk at Resorts World, it probably still won’t be enough. With Roddy Ricch, 8 p.m., $39+, T-Mobile Arena, axs. com; 10 p.m. (doors), $75-$125+, Zouk Nightclub, zoukgrouplv.com.

–Brock Radke

ART OF THE WILD: WILD IS LOVE

With Damian Lazarus, Gordo, Sabo & Gold cap, Layla Benitez, 4 p.m., Encore Beach Club, wynnsocial.com.

ART OF THE WILD: RÜFÜS DU SOL

With Colyn, Yulia Niko, 10:30 p.m., XS Nightclub, wynnsocial.com.

UNLV FOOTBALL VS. FRESNO STATE 7:30 p.m., Allegiant Stadium, unlvtickets.com.

DANIEL TOSH 10 p.m., & 11/12, Mirage Theatre, mirage.mgmresorts. com.

AMON AMARTH

With Carcass, Obituary, Cattle Decapitation, 6:30 p.m., Brooklyn Bowl, ticketweb.com.

UNLV WOMEN’S BASKETBALL VS. ORAL ROBERTS 5:30 p.m., Thomas & Mack Center, unlvtickets.com.

ALAN CUMMING

7:30 p.m., Reynolds Hall, thesmithcenter. com.

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

JOHN FOGERTY 8 p.m., & 11/12, 11/16, Encore Theater, ticketmaster.com.

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

BILLY IDOL

8:30 p.m., & 11/12, 11/16, the Chelsea, ticketmaster.com.

LAS VEGAS DAYS

RODEO

6 p.m., thru 11/12, Plaza’s Core Arena, plazatix.com.

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

SANTANA 7 p.m., thru 11/13, House of Blues, concerts.livenation. com.

GEORGE LOPEZ

10 p.m., & 11/12 at 10:30 p.m., Luxor Theater, luxor. mgmresorts.com.

SAM FELDT 10:30 p.m., Marquee Nightclub, events. taogroup.com.

COLD SHOWERS & COLD GAWD With Spelling Hands, Orange Eats Creeps, DJ Paulie, Artifice, 8 p.m., seetickets.us.

MR. CARMACK With Vctre, Talons, 9:30 p.m., Area15 Portal, area15.com.

ANJELAH JOHNSON-REYES

9 p.m., Treasure Island Theater, tickets.treasure island.com.

RIOT TEN With Kompany, Jiqui, Comet, After Thought, 7 p.m., Downtown Las Vegas Events Center, seetickets.us.

READING: S.T. BRANT 7 p.m., the Writer’s Block, thewriters block.org.

SUPERGUIDE

FOR MORE UPCOMING EVENTS, VISIT LASVEGASWEEKLY.COM.

(Photo Courtesy)

SUPERGUIDE

SATURDAY

VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS VS. ST. LOUIS BLUES

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

ART OF THE WILD: ELROW

Ft. Camelphat, LP Giobbi, Bastian Bux, Xenaa, B2B, Chris Garcia, 11 a.m., Encore Beach Club, wynn social.com

ART OF THE WILD: ANIMALE

With Dixon, Áme, Trikk, Airrica, 11 p.m., XS Nightclub, wynnsocial.com.

AWOLNATION

With The Mysterines, Badflower, 6:30 p.m., Brooklyn Bowl, ticketweb.com.

JEFF DUNHAM 8 p.m., Zappos Theater, ticketmaster.com.

UNLV MEN’S BASKETBALL VS. INCARNATE WORD 3 p.m.,Thomas & Mack Center, unlvtickets. com.

LOS TIGRES DEL NORTE

7:30 p.m., & 11/13, Theater at Virgin, axs. com.

RACHEL FEINSTEIN

NOV.

12

LAS VEGAS PIZZA FESTIVAL

It’s not about the toppings, it’s about the style … and the variation of styles of pizza you can eat in Las Vegas. You can compare classic New York slices from Bonanno’s New York Pizza Kitchen with the “Grandma” from Brooklyn’s Best Pizza & Pasta or the Di Fara Special from Dom DeMarco’s. There’s the San Gennaro Square from the Vento family behind Carmine’s Pizza Kitchen, a generational local favorite, and the award-winning Sicilian crafted by John Arena and Chris Decker of Metro Pizza, another local institution. Vincent Rotolo’s Good Pie and Tony Gemignani’s Pizza Rock demonstrate di erent styles every day, while Chris and Michael Palmieri of Naked City Pizza Shop keep it authentically Buffalo all the time. All of these varieties and so much more will be waiting for you to sample at the returning Las Vegas Pizza Festival at the Industrial Event Space just o Sahara and I-15. 1-4 p.m., $75-$125, 2330 S. Industrial Road, vegaspizzafest.com. –Brock Radke

7 p.m., Suncoast Showroom, ticketmaster.com.

BAD SUNS

With Last Dinosaurs, Quarters of Change, 6 p.m., 24 Oxford, etix.com.

TRILOKA THREE WORLDS TOUR

Ft. Desert Dwellers, Random Rab, Bluetech, J. Handel, 9:30 p.m., Area15 Portal, area15.com.

MILLION DOLLAR REUNION

8 p.m., Green Valley Ranch Grand Events Center, livenation.com.

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

DJ SNAKE 10:30 p.m., Zouk Nightclub, zoukgrouplv.com.

BIG BAD VOODOO DADDY 8 p.m., Orleans Showroom, ticketmaster.com.

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

SCARLET

Ft. Al1ce, 10 p.m., Artifice, artifice barlv.com.

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

MILITARIE GUN

With Public Opinion, Entry, Close Combat, Dissociate, 6:30 p.m., American Legion Post 8, seetickets.us.

COMIC & ZINE FEST Noon, Clark County Library, thelibrary district.org.

(Courtesy/Fred Morledge)

13 NOV.SUNDAY

LAS VEGAS RAIDERS VS. INDIANAPOLIS

COLTS

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

ART OF THE WILD: FRAMEWORK

Ft. Avision, Bedouin, Carlita, Maceo Plex, 10:30 a.m., XS Nightclub, wynnsocial.com.

INNA VISION

With The Majority, Roots by Design, Earthstrong, Mojo, 6 p.m., 24 Oxford, etix.com.

CRAFT FESTIVAL

10 a.m., Tivoli Village, eventbrite.com.

ADEMA

With Madzilla, Shatter the Moon, 8 p.m., Soul Belly BBQ, eventbrite. com.

MONDAY

FEID

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

COLLEEN ORENDER

10 p.m., Sand Dollar Downtown, thesanddollarlv. com/downtown.

APRIL MACIE

With Dave Burleigh, Derek Richards, Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club, thru 11/17, 8 p.m., brad garrettcomedy. com.

ART OF THE WILD: FATBOY SLIM

Wynn’s Art of the Wild never fails to bring a diverse assortment of DJs, pro ducers and performers to Vegas, but what truly sets the weekend festival apart are its surprises. And a set by big beat pioneer Norman Cook, bet ter known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is certainly that. Odds are good that some of AOTW’s attendees hadn’t even been born when the English DJ, producer and musician broke big in the late 1990s, but even if that’s the case, they’re sure to know his hits, if only by their hooks. Right about now/ the funk soul brother! You can go with this, or you can go with that! I got to praise you like I should! But even if young attendees don’t recognize “The Rockafeller Skank,” “Weapon of Choice” and “Praise You” from a TikTok or something, Cook will win them over; the man’s been getting parties started since time imme morial, and he’s pretty good at it. Montreal’s Blond:ish (Vivieann Bakos) and Dresden’s Purple Disco Machine (Tino Piontek) complete what’s sure to be a new sensation for some and a welcome return for others. Novem ber 13, 1 p.m., 3-day pass $100. Encore Beach Club, wynnsocial.com.

–Geoff Carter

TOM THAKKAR

With Brian Kiley, Dean Edwards, Monique Marvez, Michael Yo, thru 11/16, 7 & 9:30 p.m., Comedy Cellar, comedy cellar.com.

JAMIE LISSOW

Thru 11/20, 8:30 & 10:30 p.m., Laugh Factory, ticketmaster.com.

DJ C.L.A. 10:30 p.m., Jewel Nightclub, events.taogroup. com.

(Courtesy)

SUPERGUIDE

COSMOPOLITAN ICE RINK

Winter is coming. We know because the Ice Rink at the Cosmopolitan’s Boulevard Pool makes its annual Strip-side return on November 15. This lovely little slice of winter wonderland can get any Scrooge-like soul into the holiday spirit with its 4,000-square-foot rink and cozy, fire-pit filled environment. It’s a picturesque backdrop for date nights, great for social gatherings when you want to warm up with a bourbon or your favorite boozy holiday cocktail and ideal for family time with the kids over roasted s’mores. Fresh powder also sprinkles down every 30 minutes, adding to the allure. Thru 1/2, $20-$30, times vary, the Cosmopolitan, cosmopolitanlasvegas. com. –Amber Sampson

VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS VS. SAN JOSE SHARKS

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

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

EAST FOREST 6 p.m., Area15, area15.com.

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

HIGH TONE SON OF A BITCH With Phantom Hound, Von Boldt, 6 p.m., SoulBelly BBQ, eventbrite.com.

KYLE SMITH

With George Spitts, Llama Beats, Driftone, Jahalos & The Rebels, 7 p.m., Backstage Bar & Billiards, seetickets.us.

A HUNDRED DRUMS

With Chef Boyarbeatz, Prosper, 10 p.m., Discopussy, discopussydtlv. com.

SUPERGUIDE

AMY SCHUMER

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

UNLV WOMEN’S BASKETBALL VS. UTAH VALLEY 4 p.m., Cox Pavilion, unlvtickets.com.

SAMMY RAE & THE FRIENDS With Fleece, 7 p.m., Brooklyn Bowl, ticketweb. com.

ALEJANDRA GUZMÁN

8 p.m. & 11/18-11/19, Venetian Theatre, ticketmaster.com

LOW STEPPA 10:30 p.m., Marquee Nightclub, events. taogroup.com.

TAINY 9 p.m., House of Blues, concerts. livenation.com.

UNLV MEN’S HOCKEY VS. ALASKA ANCHORAGE 7 p.m., Dollar Loan Center, axs.com.

COVET 8 p.m., With The Velvet Teen, The Speed of Sound in Seawater, The Usual Place, eventbrite.com.

URBAN HEAT With Elevated Undergrounds, 7 p.m., Artifice, eventbrite.com.

(Courtesy/AP

Photo/Business Wire)

NEW LANGUAGES

Artist Brian C. Gibson has much to say, and he’s discovering multiple ways to express it

BY GEOFF CARTER

Art is spilling out of Brian C. Gibson’s head nearly faster than he can make it. Gibson, who longtime Weekly readers might recognize as the singer and gui tarist for local experimental/noise band Wax Pig Melting, is well into his Boy toy Summer art residency, which is running through the end of November at the Inside Style space in the Arts District (1119 S. Main Street). It comes after another monthlong residency at Brett Wesley Sperry’s Cube Gallery pop-up, which followed other seat-of-the-pants residencies at Nancy Good’s Core Contempo rary and elsewhere.

“I promise you, I am a strong contender for most ‘informal artist residencies’ in Las Vegas in a row,” he wrote on Facebook a few weeks back.

Gibson is filling those opportune spaces with everything he’s got. Boytoy Summer will include his paintings (“Abstract impressionism, baby,” he chuckles, when asked to describe his style), a sound sculpture created in collaboration with musician William Boscoe Davenport and no fewer than 10 volumes of his Scanner Lightly zine, featuring scans of original sketches he will eventually destroy.

It’s a big, risky venture, but Gibson is going at it full bore. And he’ll jump into the next opportunity as well, he says, whether it’s in Vegas or at the Goldwell Open Air Museum, where he sits on the board of directors.

In a recent walk-and-talk around the Arts District, Gibson talked about how it feels to let your art do the driving.

You’ve toiled for a good amount of time in Vegas’ cultural scene, first as a musician and now as a visual artist. How do you feel about where Vegas is at right now? Where we’re at now is awesome. All these people moving into Vegas, in the last year or two, is great. Now we’re really gonna start seeing what they’re doing. You know, they moved here, took a year to settle in, began f*cking around with [artistic] ideas. And I think, in the next year or two, we’ll really see a push that’s, like, “Where did this guy come from; where did this person come from?” They’re just now going out to get coffee and say hello to people.

Everybody’s coming here and planting their own seeds of culture. I

did the same [recently] when I went to Berlin and London. … I didn’t feel alone out there. I saw myself times a million, because everybody out there in the crowds was an artist: “Oh, what do you do? Artist, artist, artist, writer, photographer.” I love it there. I come from a desert, where everybody’s into EDM or drinking too much or whatever it may be.

I know a lot of people who make art to help them make sense of life in Vegas. Is that you, too? Vegas assaults you into doing something. I feel assaulted living out here. People joke about the “deserts” in my poetry, and I never understood why until I traveled further than

Artist Brian C. Gibson poses with his artwork as he sets up for his Boytoy Summer show at Inside Style on Main Street.

(Below) “Tiger, Sans Stripes” by Brian C. Gibson (Steve Marcus/Staff)

California. Like, “Wow, it’s green. There are people. It’s calm.” This is brutal.

Art makes it better. And for the month of November, you’ve got a great space to make it. Dude, it doesn’t make sense for me to have that space. … I’m kinda scared to go into this. I’m meeting more people that have been here for decades and have stakes in the city, and they kind of make it go culturally or socially. I don’t know what that means yet. I’m only 33, and my 20s were just Bunkhouse and mak ing music; I wasn’t very serious.

Now I’m trying to do some [new] things, and if I just shut up, I can figure them out.

How did you jump from mak ing music into visual art? It’s funny. You know that guy from [Ve gas indie band] Black Camaro, Tom Miller? I was recording the last Wax Pig thing at Naked City Audio, and Tom had an art show upstairs [at Downtown Spaces]. I was like, “What does he think he’s doing? He’s a singer and guitarist.” I went up there, and I was really intrigued by the amount of sarcasm you could fit into [a piece of visual art]. It’s truly a great medium for the way

you can deliver a sucker punch. Music is fun, but art is a whole oth er language. … Music didn’t get bor ing to me, but painting has so much more. It’s amazing to see one idea portrayed through, like, a million fractals, if that even makes sense.

You’re not abandoning sound art, though. What can you say about Boytoy Summer’s sound sculpture? The “Coin-Operated Orchestra.” William [Davenport] has had this idea for about a year or two, but we’re redoing it so that the public can kind of f*ck with it now. We’ll have a plexiglass enclosure with three guitars. They’ll have

their own stands, or just be sitting on top of a table, and they’re on, plugged in. … You throw coins into the enclosure and hit the guitar with the loop pedal on, and it just keeps going.

What’s next, after this year of residencies? I’d like to go to either LA or, pipe dream, to Berlin, to make work out there and then show it, because shipping don’t make sense. I want to get out of Vegas or—here’s option B—to implement the artist-in-residency program for Goldwell by next summer. I’d like to share what I’ve had, truly, because a lot of people asked me how I got it.

LAS VEGAS WEEKLY PRESENTS THE INAUGURAL CANNABIS AWARDS

At Las Vegas Weekly, we’re proud to advocate for the cannabis industry in Nevada. The Las Vegas Weekly Cannabis Awards represent some of the best the industry has to o er—from dispensaries to flower to edibles and more. We saw nearly 20,000 unique voter submissions, totaling hundreds of thousands of individual votes throughout the categories. Our readers love cannabis and have great taste. Use this as a guide for your next trip to the dispensary, and experience some of the best that Southern Nevada has to o er.

Additional artwork by Brooke Everson Featuring photographs by Christopher DeVargas, Steve Marcus & Wade Vandervort

Our products went up against the very best Nevada has to offer in the Las Vegas Weekly Cannabis Awards. We’re honored that CAMP has brought home the gold in four different categories. Try these award-winning products for yourself at your nearest Source location!

at The Source)

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Virtue

Virtue has made a name for itself with its high-quality flower and extracts. Growing a large selection of strains, Virtue stresses the importance of high-THC percentages and high terpene levels for the best flower possible. Its dry-sift rosin is created with the natural ingredients and produced with precise heat and pressure, preserving the terpenes for flavor. virtuelasvegas.com

BEST BUDTENDER

Alex Carrion at Tree of Life Dispensary

For Alex Carrion, the most reward ing part of being a budtender at Tree of Life Dispensary is working for a company dedicated to giving back to the community—70% of Tree of Life’s profits go to charita ble organizations across Southern Nevada. Patient, kind and a great listener, Carrion is thoughtful in his approach to budtending. He offers honest recommendations tailored to customers’ unique needs.

(Christopher DeVargas/Staff)

BEST OVERALL STRAIN

Headcheese (Polaris at Deep Roots Harvest) This sativa-dominant hybrid is a fan favorite for many reasons—it’s lemony and refreshing, while offering an uplifting high that softens into a relaxed, possibly sleepy state. With a high THC percentage and a sub stantial amount of CBG, Headcheese is a perfect “anytime” strain. It’s also known for its meaningful therapeutic results, mak ing it popular among a variety of consumers.

(Christopher DeVargas/Staff)

BEST FLOWER, HYBRID

Bahama Mama #1 (CAMP at The Source+)

This sativa-leaning strain is known for its euphoric, tran quil and relaxing high. It’s a true hybrid, in that consumers are getting the best of sativas and the best of indicas in this strain. It’s energizing and re laxing with a sweet and fruity aroma, and produces a thick, aromatic smoke.

(Christopher DeVargas/Staff)

(Courtesy)

Sip Elixirs

(Christopher DeVargas/Staff)

BEST EDIBLE (GUMMY)

Blackberry Solventless Gummy (CAMP at The Source+)

These solventless rosin gummies are crafted using the highest quality ingredients with real fruit puree and no added sugars. Each gummy has 5 milligrams of THC, allowing consumers to scale their high to the ideal level, and have a slow onset and o set e ect that will leave them feeling relaxed.

RUNNER-UPS: 2. Sour Belts - Cherry Limeade (Kanha Gummies at Tree of Life Dispensary) 3. Helix Blue Raspberry (Deep Roots Harvest)

BEST VAPE

Earth Line: Bruce Banner - Sauce + THCASugar (Roots at Tree of Life Dispensary)

This vape cartridge encourages a steady, peaceful high and has a teak wood tip for maximum enjoyment. Perfect for consumers of all experience levels, this sativa-dominant hybrid has a rich taste and complex flavor. Earth Line is created using a hydrocarbon extraction method, and the Bruce Banner strain delivers a potent THC punch. No additives, fillers or synthetic terpenes are ever used in Roots products.

RUNNER-UPS:

Cookies & Cream Live Rosin (CAMP at The Source+)

Amoretto Sour (Prospectors at Deep Roots Harvest)

BEST EXTRACT

Sunset MAC (Roots at Tree of Life Dispensary)

Sunset MAC is a craft concentrate sugar that will please even the most discerning consumer. This beloved strain is known for the high-quality, consistency and aroma. For many, it has a gentle muscle-relaxing e ect while maintaining a clear-headed and active high. This makes it ideal for the general consumer, and for those dealing with pain. RUNNER-UPS:

(Courtesy)

NEWS IN THE

Neon makes a comeback

VINTAGE SIGNS BEING REFURBISHED, DISPLAYED

Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman remembers driving around Las Vegas decades ago amid the glowing neon signs that gave downtown the nickname of Glitter Gulch.

The signs—made from twisted tubes of electrically excited gas— marked businesses like casinos and motels, beckoning tourists to try their luck at the one-armed bandit or stay awhile.

While many of the old signs have been replaced by more modern digital or LED versions, the city is taking steps to preserve a part of its history by refurbishing the neon signs and putting them back on display.

The sign for the former ParA-Dice motel is the first of eight signs to be erected along Las Vegas Boulevard as part of the city’s $125 million Las Vegas Boulevard Improvement Project.

It was moved from its original spot at 2217 Fremont Street, where the motel was located until it was demolished in 2010, to just north of Oakey Boulevard.

“It’s a trip down memory lane,” Goodman said. “Those of us who have lived here a while love to preserve the history of how we evolved. Downtown is the center of that history, and part of that is the signs.”

The city, in partnership with the Neon Museum and Young Electric Sign Co., will add seven more signs along the boulevard between Sahara and Washington avenues.

The others are from the Hotel Apache, Golden Inn Motel, Clark Inn Motel, Lone Palm Motel, Domino Motel, Fun City Motel and Rummel Motel. –Grace Da Rocha

Some results could take a while

The voting is over, but preliminary results on election night Tuesday might not match the final tally, said David Damore, a political science expert at UNLV. As early votes and mail-in ballots are processed, the script could flip, as it did with former President Trump en route to President Joe Biden’s electoral victory in 2020.

The same can be true in other battleground states, such as Georgia and Pennsylvania, where the majority in U.S. Senate will likely be determined.

“The other part is not just the mail balloting, but we have same-day registration and we also have some provisional ballots,” Damore said. “So if it’s pretty close, I don’t expect to know [the results] until later in the week.”

Ballots cast during Nevada’s early voting period aren’t processed until after the polling places close on Election Day.

The state has given counties until November 12 to receive mail ballots that are postmarked by Election Day and

until November 14 to conduct signature cures, secretary of state spokesperson Jennifer Russell said. She said it could take a few days following the election to announce unocial results; counties have until November 18 to certify results, so final, o cial results may not be known until then.

In Nye County, election o cials resumed a hand count of the vote—paused last month two days after it began—after polls closed on Election Day.

–Casey Harrison

The Raiders host the Colts November 13 at 1 p.m. at Allegiant Stadium.

Gigi Michael (far left) votes on Election Day at the Boulevard Mall.

(Wade Vandervort/Sta )

BY THE NUMBERS

$440,000

Existing home prices in Southern Nevada continued their downward trend last month. The median price for a home in the Las Vegas Valley in October was down 2% from September. In August and September, the median price held steady at $450,000, though it reached a record-high of $482,000 in May.

HAPPY SCRAPPY

HERO PUPS

Shultz, left, a 13-year-old Schnauzer, and Bruno, a 13-year-old terrier mix, are dressed for a costume contest during the 16th-an nual San Martín Hospital Pet Blessing and Animal Fair on November 5. The event honors the patron saint for which the hospital was named. (Steve Marcus/Staff)

Carbonaro to

for Teller at Rio

Penn & Teller’s decades-long magic show at the Rio will resume November 23, but the quiet half of the iconic duo won’t be back onstage until early January. Teller is recovering from late-September triple bypass surgery and had hoped to reconvene for new performances with Penn Jillette this month.

Since he’s not yet ready, illusion ist and TV star Michael Carbon aro—who filled in at the Penn & Teller Theater over the summer while the show toured Australia— will perform with Jillette for a run of shows slated for November 23-26 and December 23-January 1.

The shows will combine solo bits from each artist, along with collaborations between Jillette and Carbonaro. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster. –Brock Radke

Hard rock fest to debut

13

Las Vegas, already home to a collection of music festivals that includes Life Is Beautiful, Elec tric Daisy Carnival, Punk Rock Bowling, Psycho Las Vegas, When We Were Young and more, has added another: Sick New World.

The hard rock-focused, oneday event will debut May 13 at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on the Strip. System of a Down, Korn, Deftones and Incubus top the 50-plus-act poster, which also includes Mr. Bungle, The Sisters of Mercy, Ministry, Placebo, Death Grips, Killing Joke, Failure, Melvins, Skinny Puppy and Monster Magnet.

Tickets range from $250 to $520 and go on sale Novem ber 11 at 10 a.m. to those who sign up for a presale at sicknewworldfest.com

“My mom will be so happy. She’s proud of everything I do, but this is something she can really brag about.”

Chris Evans, on being named People magazine’s sexiest man alive

May

sit in

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CAPTIVE OR

BY BROCK RADKE

The Mirage Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat attractions re main shuttered since closing in late September after the death of three animals over a six-month period, and given the impending ownership change at the 33-year-old Las Vegas Strip resort, the wellknown amenities might never reopen.

Eleven-year-old bottlenose dolphin K2 died on September 24 at the habitat after receiving treatment for a respiratory ill ness. In a letter to the facility’s staff, interim resort president Franz Kallao noted that the Mirage team was working with veterinary and pathology experts to determine the cause of death, and with additional experts to conduct a thorough inspection of the animals and the facility while it closed tem porarily to focus on “ensuring that we have the safest possible environment and the best care possible for our dolphins and to give our team the time they need to process and grieve.

“This is a passionate team that is fully dedicated to the well-being of our animals,” Kallao’s letter continued. “Nothing is more important to them, and this loss is incredi bly painful.”

According to a September 29 National Geographic arti cle, Maverick, a 19-year-old dolphin, died that month after treatment for a lung infection, and Bella, 13, died in April after being treated for gastroenteri tis. The attraction has been wel coming guests to observe and occasionally interact with its dolphins and other animals for more than three decades, and 16 dolphins have died there,

according to the nonprofit Ceta base.org, which tracks marine mammals in captivity.

Brian Ahern, a spokesman from MGM Resorts Interna tional, which operates the Mirage, confirmed last week there is no reopening date for the animal attractions and that there were “no decisions to share right now” regarding the future of the facilities and their animals. The National Geographic article reports there are seven bottlenose dolphins, four leopards, two lions, eight tigers, one two-toed sloth, one umbrella cockatoo and approxi mately 350 aquarium fish at the two attractions.

In December 2021, Hard Rock International purchased the Mirage from MGM Resorts for more than $1 billion and announced plans to convert the casino and hotel into a new Hard Rock Hotel at the heart of the Strip. This past summer, Hard Rock confirmed it would launch its rebranded resort in 2025, and none of the familiar Mirage amenities are expected to survive the renovations.

“We and Hard Rock are on the same page in terms of focusing on the well-being of the animals,” Ahern said. “We’ll continue working with them to keep the animals healthy, safe and comfortable following the closing of the sale of the Mirage property as well. Any future de cisions will be based on what’s best for the animals.”

While it seems likely the Dolphin Habitat, along with the Secret Garden—which houses big cats owned by the estate of late illusionists and former Mi rage headliners Siegfried and Roy—won’t reopen, MGM is ex ploring different options while working through the transition

Wild animals are becoming a smaller part of the Las Vegas Strip

CAPTIVATING?

with Hard Rock.

Even without these circum stances, the presence of wild animals has been dwindling among tourist attractions and production shows in Las Vegas for years now.

“Back in the day, most of the big shows such as Jubilee , Lido [ de Paris ], Folies [ Bergere ] and Splash had variety acts in them of all sorts, and many animal acts, too. These shows have all closed,” said magician Dirk Arthur, a longtime Las Vegas entertainer known for incor porating tigers and leopards into his act. He notes that dogs, cats, fish, birds and snakes are still used in current magic shows like Criss Angel’s Mind freak and Popovich Comedy Pet Theater

MGM Resorts also operates Mandalay Bay’s Shark Reef Aquarium, perhaps the largest casino collection of aquatic animals, and other facilities include the Flamingo’s 15-acre wildlife habitat with tropical birds and fish. But changing trends in entertainment and Vegas attractions are far from the only factor making an impact.

National Geographic notes that many countries around the world are increasingly banning the captivity of marine mam mals for entertainment, and Canada outlawed trade, capture and breeding of all cetaceans for entertainment three years ago, calling the practices unethical and cruel. Though dolphin programs continue to be more popular in the U.S., the iconic Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which announced this year that it will resume touring its big top circus in 2023 after five years of retirement, will not use animals as part of the performance.

“I think it’s really been only the five or 10 years that a mas sive amount of attention has been directed to the use of wild animals in entertainment,” says

Carrie LeBlanc, founder and executive director of Compas sionWorks International, a Henderson-based organization that works for all animals to live free from captivity. “We’ve re ally seen awareness grow in that time, and … I think our success in Las Vegas with companies like Cirque du Soleil has proven that people enjoy shows made of people doing amazing things.

“We don’t need to cage or confine animals into doing silly tricks to get people to buy a ticket,” LeBlanc continues.

“Vegas is living proof we don’t need to do that any longer.”

CompassionWorks has been involved in dozens of protests and campaigns, including those that influenced the touring circus industry. The nonprofit organization held a protest at the Mirage on November 5 as part of lobbying aimed at Hard Rock, hoping to keep the attractions closed and find new, safe homes for its animals.

LeBlanc says she’s cautiously optimistic that will happen, because the Hard Rock brand is associated with plenty of fa mous rock stars and musicians who oppose animal captivity.

Arthur, who scheduled some performances at Downtown’s Notoriety Live earlier this year before public protests prompted the venue to cancel his shows, says animal activist groups use mass email cam paigns to create the impression that “there’s a large percentage of the population against ani mal shows, which is untrue.”

“Animal acts have always been a part of Strip shows, from the very beginning,” he says. “People enjoy their pets at home and have also always en joyed seeing animals of all sorts in shows and zoos, and still do, provided the animals are treated with the utmost respect, care and love at all times. Their well-being and feelings have to come first, and they have to be having fun.”

(Shutterstock/Photo Illustration)

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MOODY AND MYSTERIOUS

Meet The Mysterines , a young, fast-rising Liverpool band

BY AMBER SAMPSON

Rock music raised Lia Metcalfe, vocalist and guitarist for The Mysterines. As a kid, she grew up in Liverpool around her tourbound father, who fronted the late-aughts alternative rock band Sound of Guns.

“It was pretty chaotic, to say the least. My dad is a strange man, but I love him,” Metcalfe says from the band’s bus on the road. “We were all pretty lucky to have parents who played us music constantly growing up. Being from where we are in the U.K., it’s such a big part of our culture and all our parents grew up in the ’90s, so they were heavily influenced by the music at that time.”

After Sound of Guns folded in 2013, Metcalfe emerged with her own band of misfits: grungy Liverpool four-piece The Mysterines. They’ll open for Awolnation on November 12 at Brooklyn Bowl. “I never consciously went into music to be like my dad, because I really don’t want to be anything

like my dad,” she admits, “but I think it subconsciously influenced me definitely.”

THE MYSTERINES

Opening for Awolnation, with Badflower. November 12, 6:30 p.m., $33-$45. Brooklyn Bowl, ticketweb. com.

The darkly charming Metcalfe leads The Mysterines—whose lineup also includes guitarist Callum Thompson, bassist George Favager and drummer Paul Crilly—with a confidence well be yond her 22 years. On the band’s 2019 EP Take Control, she channels the kind of moody rock ’n’ roll you might hear in a dirty dive bar … right before a beer bottle hits the wall. It’s provoc ative yet freeing, with Metcalfe’s gruff register exhaling a tapestry of raw emotion. The four-piece fine-tunes that sound on March debut LP Reeling, recorded live in the studio with producer Cather ine Marks (Foals, Wolf Alice, The Killers).

“I thought all records were recorded live until I realized how much of a big deal it was that we did it,” Metcalfe says. “I’ll probably continue to do records that way.”

During the sessions, Metcalfe says, the musi cians listened to a range of artists—Tom Waits and PJ Harvey to The Velvet Underground and The Brian Jonestown Massacre—who inspired their recording choices.

“We didn’t want to overproduce the first record too much, because it doesn’t really give you anywhere to go, especially as a band. If we went straight into doing the record like you do a fifth record or fourth record, it would only get worse from there,” she says. “We wanted to make the first record a bit sh*t, so that we can be better on the next one.”

And then, laughing, Metcalfe adds, “That’s kind of what I do in dating as well.”

That dark optimism can also be heard on Reeling’s opening track, “Life’s a Bitch (But I Like It So Much),” a kick-in-the-teeth anti-an them celebrating … life? “The song is kind of accepting that most things are sh*t now and everyone’s pretty moody,” Met calfe says. “Things are pretty f*cked up, but you’re better off being alive than not.”

The rest of Reeling finds Metcalfe reveling in the acrimony of toxic relationships, self-destruc tion and bruising love affairs. She’s a swaggering force among the clash of crunchy guitar shreds and grunge-laden riffs. And so far, she says, it has translated well onstage.

“‘The Confession Song’ has been quite surpris ing,” Metcalfe says of the haunting, and creepily biblical, album closer. “We’ve been doing that live at some shows, and people seem to be really frightened and enjoy it at the same time. I think that’s a good sign.”

The Mysterines are set to tour with Arctic Mon keys next year, and new songs are in the works for the next album. Metcalfe teases that it will depart from Reeling, showing more jazz and even some Beastie Boys influences.

As for the group’s first trip to Vegas, Metcal fe already has plans. “They’ve got that 24-hour drive window thing where you can get married. I’m looking at anyone who wants to marry me in Vegas. Come to this show, and let me know.”

The Mysterines (Courtesy)

NIGHTS

‘CREATING LOVE’

Fresh from Ibiza, Airrica returns for another Art of the Wild party

ANIMALE With Airrica, Dixon, Áme, Trikk. November 12, 10:30 p.m., $100+.

XS Nightclub, wynnsocial. com.

BY BROCK RADKE

Wynn Nightlife’s Art of the Wild has been a lot of things to a lot of people during its first five mini-festivals, but one thing it has always been about is creating and sustaining a groove. The artists and vibes vary, but the rhythm never stops rolling.

The same can be said for a set from Bos ton-born DJ Airrica, who has been building her reputation in Ibiza in recent years, arguably the groove capital of the world.

“I like to explore within my sets to keep a curious feel, but I always keep one thing con sistent,” she says. “I love keeping the groove, curating a playful feeling through my sets that keeps building the energy higher.”

Airrica made her Art of the Wild debut at this year’s spring event, and she’s back as part of the Animale party at XS on November 12, the second day of the three-day dance mu

sic extravaganza. After the elrow bash with Camelphat, Bastian Bux and more at Encore Beach Club, Airrica teams with Dixon, Áme and Trikk, all of whom bring different house and techno sounds to the weekend.

“I truly enjoy being a part of different and colorful lineups as I get the chance to be experimental. Playing alongside [those artists] allows me to bring a moodier energy,” Airrica says.

“I tend to bring in many psychedelia ele ments as well. Art of the Wild and XS do an amazing job by really creating a full sensory experience, touching on all these senses with visuals, lighting, a wide scope of artists ... and the energy of the people that all come to dance.”

This year has been pivotal for the LA-based musician, and her appearances at Wynn are just the beginning. After a spectacular summer at Hï Ibiza and Club Chinois, Airrica

is preparing for her first proper release this month, a “dancefloor groover” called “Defect” on Damian Lazarus’ Rebellion label.(Lazarus, an Art of the Wild veteran, headlines his own Wild Is Love party November 11 at Encore Beach Club.)

“I feel that my career has really kicked off, this year” Airrica says. “I had an amazing first Ibiza season and have exciting things ahead for 2023. My focus right now is to keep working on music and imprinting my sound through releases.”

Whether it’s in Spain’s party mecca or right here on the Strip, that imprint translates into an overwhelmingly feel-good experience— days and nights of dancing and enjoying togetherness.

“The dancefloor is an escape for some people, and I always keep that in mind during my sets.”

Airrica (Courtesy)

SCENE

HARMONIC CONVERGENCE

Maxan Jazz syncs up quality music, food and atmosphere

BY SHANNON MILLER

Piano, bass guitar and drums. Those ingredients can turn the most mun dane scene into some thing cool. And if there’s one word to describe the vibe at Maxan Jazz, Las Vegas’ newest off-Strip jazz club, cool would be it.

The spot opened its doors in June at the corner of Decatur Bou levard and Flamingo Road, in a space formerly occupied by a Thai restaurant. While the surround ing strip mall might seem modest and dated—embellished with retro glass blocks and protruding solarium storefronts reminiscent of the ’90s—Maxan’s nightly line

up and complete interior overhaul have breathed new life and an air of sophistication into the place.

The other important ingredient for Maxan’s brand? Upscale sushi.

“I travel all over the world and … I always go to the jazz club(s) in Rome, Paris … Sydney and Mel bourne,” Maxan owner Max Wirjo says. “And I always found the same thing—the food is terrible! It’s not up to par with the quality of the musician.”

In sushi, Wirjo saw a fix that was not only delicious and trendy but also appropriate for the setting. Tacit chopsticks replace the noisy scraping of silverware on plates found in other supper

clubs. Expertly prepared sashimi and rolls; specialty dishes like uni pasta and miso black cod; and cocktails keep guests satisfied through hours of performance.

Yet even above the food and beverage service, the jazz atmo sphere remains top priority.

“I have a sushi restaurant, but you don’t see a sushi case. … not everybody likes to see raw fish,” he explains. “I have some musi cians calling, asking to play here. I think they appreciate it … It’s not like being put in a corner at a restaurant. It’s being respected as a musician and performing.”

Wirjo, a retired doctor and 10-year on-and-off resident of

MAXAN JAZZ 4130 S. Decatur Blvd., 702-485-3926, maxanjazz. com. Nightly, 6-11 p.m.

Las Vegas, says his “passion” has always been music, specifically jazz. After opening his first club, Max Jazz, in his native country of Indonesia, and learning through “trial and error,” he has secured top-notch local talent cycling in his Vegas calendar.

“I’m not playing just straight, old jazz,” says Wirjo, who runs the club with help from his wife, Angie. “I have some young people, some innovative things. Sometimes they may not work out, but you’ve got to give it a try.”

The musicians seem to agree with the philosophy, evidence by Skye Dee Miles’ jazz rendition of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” recently performed at the club; or the magical combination of cello virtuoso Mariko Murana ka joining the Jason Corpuz Trio.

Guided by the gentle glow of modern-style chandeliers and floor lights, a knowledgeable and courteous staff minimizes distractions during the perfor mance by standing at the back of the room and visiting tables be tween sets or when guests signal for assistance.

The restaurant can accommo date more than 80 guests—but not all seats are created equal. “You can always tell who the real music lovers are,” Wirjo says. “They sit in the front.”

(Left) Joey Melotti’s Mojo Factory at Maxan Jazz

(Right) Venue owners Max and Angie Wirjo

(Below) Maxan Jazz’s Hot Mama roll (Wade Vandervort/ Staff)

ON THE SHELVES

BY EVELYN MATEOS

NIKKI DOLSON

Who: The author of the novel All Things Violent and the story collection Love and Other Criminal Behavior. Dolson’s stories have appeared in Vautrin, TriQuarterly, Tough and ThugLit, and her story “Neighbors” was selected to Best American Mystery and Suspense 2021. Follow her on Twitter @nikkidolson or at nikkidolson.com.

Current

The conclusion to the Bishop Rider series. Each installment is a collection of vignettes that together tell the story of the titular character’s mission to end the lives of terrible people. But as the years pass, Rider begins to wonder if the work will ever truly be nished.

Dolson says: “It’s a super pulpy, gory crime stories. It’s bad people meeting bad ends. Jordan himself is a TV scriptwriter, so this is his ground. … The characters May and Chris are living and breathing, and Jordan gets you in there and you’re running alongside them.”

All-Time

A collection of stories following smart, independent women looking for the love of a good man. The issue? Those men are hard to pin down.

“It’s a phenomenal book about being young and single and trying to gure out where you belong in the world—and where men belong in the world with you.”

Dolson says:

Read: Old Man Writer: A Bishop Rider Book by Beau Johnson

Fave: Cowboys are My Weakness by Pam Houston

S.G. TASZ

Who: A ction writer working primarily in the genres of comedy-horror, paranormal fantasy and supernatural realism, and at the intersection of all three. Tasz authored the Dead Mall series, which follows a team of heroes battling creatures from hell inside a past-its-prime retail outlet in west central Nevada. Follow her at sgtasz.com.

BRETT RILEY

Who: Riley, who teaches literature, creative writing and composition at CSN, is the author of The Subtle Dance of Impulse and Light, Comanche, Lord of Order and the YA fantasy series Freaks. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @brettwrites or at o calbrettriley.com.

Current Read: The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich

When

detective Lena Jones helps 13-yearold Rebecca escape from Purity, a polygamy compound hidden in a desolate area straddling the Utah/Arizona border, she uncovers more than she expected. Rebecca’s intended husband has been murdered, and Jones goes undercover to nd the killer.

Tasz says: “I picked this up in Flagsta at their local bookstore. She’s a local author. When I visit places, I try to nd the local bookstore and grab something. It’s really good, and I’m enjoying it a lot.”

All-time Fave: Last Call by Tim Powers

A fantasy novel about Scott Crane, a former professional gambler, who hasn’t returned to Las Vegas in 10 years. Nightmares involving a strange poker game he once played draw him back to the city, because the game did not end that night in 1969.

Tasz says: “It’s magic in the real world, set in ’90s Las Vegas. There’s a lot to do with tarot being transposed on top of playing cards, Ben [Bugsy] Siegel and his fall from glory and a secret magic royalty. It just stuck with me.”

Based on the life of Erdrich’s grandfather, this work of ction follows Thomas Wazhashk, who works as the night watchman at a jewel bearing plant in rural North Dakota. He’s also a Chippewa Council member trying to understand the consequences of a proposed emancipation bill that threatens Native American rights.

Riley says: “I think Erdrich is one of the best writers working today, and her work has heartbreaking scenes with humorous touches. She works in mythology alongside what critics like to call gritty realism, and of course, the characters are really good.”

All-time Fave: Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher Jason Fitger, a professor of creative writing and literature at Payne University, has many misfortunes. His department is facing cuts and unpleasant quarters. His once-promising writing career is in the doldrums, as is his romantic life. And he’s endlessly called upon by his students and colleagues to produce letters of recommendation.

Riley says: “The whole novel is told through the written letters of recommendation that one college professor produces over an academic year. So it goes back to the epistolary form, although it’s one speci c kind of letter. She manages to tell a compelling story in a hilarious way that winds up being poignant, but throughout, the book is also really funny.”

Enjoy a concert of patriotic and nostalgic musical numbers, harmonious singing, and a few jokes honoring our men and women in the armed forces. FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

to

events like these.

Current Read: Desert Wives: A Lena Jones

Mystery by Betty Webb

private

BY GENEVIE DURANO

The day before the official opening of his eponymous bakery at Caesars Palace, James Beard Award-winning pastry chef Dominique Ansel gave a few journalists a lesson in the art (but mostly science, he says) of the Viennoiserie, breakfast pastries typically made with flour and active yeast cultures. Croissants, pain au chocolat and brioche are some examples of this style of baking, which origi nated in Vienna, Austria.

Under the orange-andwhite modernist space with whimsical globe light fixtures hanging from the ceiling like balloons, the chef recounted his lifelong quest to create the perfect croissant. It’s a quixotic pursuit that began when he was a boy growing up in

Beauvais, France. In that bread-loving country—in which the neighborhood bakery, where people go three to four times a day, is a revered institution funda mental to daily life—Ansel learned and continues to hone the techniques for creating the perfect hon eycomb crumb, that airy, spiral cross-section you get when you slice open a wellmade croissant.

Because this type of baked good is made with an active yeast culture, or levain (this particular one was created more than a decade ago, affectionately dubbed “the baby” by the chef, because it has to be fed every day), the croissant is a constantly evolving thing.

“I’ll be chasing the perfect croissant for the rest of my life,” Ansel says.

Meanwhile, on the way to croissant nirvana, Ansel found himself going viral a decade ago, when he invented the cronut at his bakery in New York City. The croissant-doughnut hybrid, which takes up to three days to make, took that city by storm, with people lining up for blocks.

The confection is made with laminated dough, then fried in grapeseed oil. It’s then rolled in sugar, filled with cream and topped with glaze. And Ansel only makes one flavor each month, never to be repeated.

The Vegas location’s inaugural cronut, available throughout November, is called the Lucky Cherry Chambord and Caramelia ($8). The sweet treat— rolled in sugar, filled with a Chambord jam and caramelized milk choc olate filling, then glazed with cherry icing—is inspired by those ubiqui tous cherries found in slot machines. There are other only-in-Vegas pastries as well, including the Four-Leaf Clover ($12), a coffee mousse topped with hazelnut dacquoise, dark chocolate crémeux and crispy feuilletine create a four-leaf clover.

Also not to be missed is Ansel’s DKA, Dominique’s Kouign Amman ($7), his signature pastry (and the bestseller at his other locations), which rivals the croissants and cronuts for attention. The caramelized treat, with flaky layers on the inside and a crunchy crust, is worth the trip to the Strip all by itself.

(Left) Dominique Ansel

(Below) Lucky Cherry chambord and caramelia cronut (Courtesy/Palm+ Ocean Digital)

LOCAL LEGEND

BY RAY BREWER

Donavyn Pellot never sought to be in the conversation as Nevada’s best high school football player. That wasn’t his intention this season with the defending state champion Silverado Skyhawks, or in grade school when he joined the neighborhood youth football team. Pellot simply wanted to keep playing with his friends.

Ten of his current teammates at Silverado were on the field that day in second grade when Pellott became a Bearcat. And they’ve stuck together to make history at Silverado, which is two wins from a second-straight state championship. The Skyhawks, who host Coronado on November 11 in the 4A state semifinals, have outscored their nine opponents by a combined 501-23 score during the regular season.

Pellot was a standout basketball player in elementary school but ditched the sport because of the bond he built with his new friends. A decade later, he’s playing with some of the same teammates and putting the finishing touches on a storied prep career in which he has emerged as the best player

Silverado’s Donavyn Pellot aims to cap his storied prep football career with another state title

in the 25-year history of Silverado High.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound safety and wide receiver—listed as an “athlete” by recruiting services—has been so impressive, he received more than 10 scholarship o ers before committing to UCLA.

“When I met him, his dad told me he was a basketball player,” says Roy Mendez, an assistant at Silverado who coached the Bearcats youth team. “The kid’s talent was undeniable. He had such a natural ability. He was amazing and could do everything.”

That’s still the scouting report on Pellot, who has scored in a variety of ways this season.

Take October 21 against Desert Oasis for example. Pellot scored rushing and receiving touchdowns on o ense and returned an interception for a touchdown on defense. A week earlier, he again scored rushing and receiving touchdowns and complemented those with a punt-return score.

He scored ve early touchdowns in a game against Sierra Vista in September—three rushing, one receiving and one on a punt return—to force a running clock early in the third quarter.

The strong play follows his breakthrough season in 2021, when he had 1,229 all-purpose yards and 17 touchdowns on o ense, and 66 tackles and two interceptions on defense. That transformed him from a relative unknown—due to the canceled 2020 season during the height of the pandemic—into a top recruit.

Asked to name his favorite play from his high school career, Pellot can’t. There have been too many to pinpoint anything speci c.

“I have never been really surprised [after a great game] because I am condent in my ability,” he says. “I kind of play everywhere—running back, receiver, safety. I don’t care where they put me on the eld; I will impact the game.”

Pellot is considered a three-star recruit on the 247 Sports grading system of ve stars and pencils in as a likely linebacker at UCLA. His ranking likely would have been higher, but Silverado plays in class 4A, in which the Skyhawks don’t compete against the likes of national power Bishop Gorman, and

therefore, against other top recruits.

Silverado did play a pair of class 5A teams during its nonleague season, and it didn’t slow the Skyhawks down. Pellot logged more than 100 rushing and receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns while starring defensively in a shutout win over Centennial High in September.

Hauling in passes from Brandon Tunnell—the only quarterback with whom he’s ever played—is second-nature at this point. Dating back to grade school, Tunnell estimates, the pair has connected for at least 80 touchdowns.

“He pretty much has always been the best player,” Tunnell says. “It’s really hard knowing that our high school careers are almost over. But I’m happy that it’s happened like this, and I wouldn’t want it with any other teammates.”

Silverado coach Andy Ostolaza also struggles to pick a single-best Pellot play, before concluding that a kicko return against Coronado last month takes top billing. He’s still in awe describing it, explaining that the Cougars “had three guys that pinned him in, and he somehow got around them all. He was moving at a di erent speed, and once he gets in the open eld, it’s like a strike—no one is catching him.”

Pellot doesn’t take winning for granted, because it didn’t always come easily. The youth football team he initially joined lost all of it games in that initial season, but unlike other kids who show his level of ability, he never considered moving to a more successful program.

“We were having fun and had a great family atmosphere,” Mendez says. “We didn’t win, but we had the more fun than any other team.”

Now, Silverado is having fun while winning. Pellot and his friends haven’t lost a varsity game in two seasons and are hands-down favorites to repeat as state champs.

“It’s not about me. I’m one player on a great team,” Pellot says. “My motivation is being able to come out here every day and work hard with my friends. These are the guys I grew up with. We’re going to make the most of it.”

RAIDERS Report

■ Last Week: Jaguars 27, Raiders 20 The Raiders have now blown leads of 17-0 or larger eight times in franchise history—and three of them have occurred this season under first-year-coach Josh McDaniels. Las Vegas looked unstoppable early at TIAA Bank Field, led by star receiver Davante Adams setting a career high with 146 receiving yards in the first half, but the team looked incompetent late. The defense fell apart and allowed Jaguars running back Travis Etienne to slice them apart on 28 carries for 109 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, the o ense couldn’t get anything going, with Adams held to one catch for zero yards in the second half; he then criticized McDaniels’ playcalling in the locker room after the game.

■ This Week: Colts (3-5-1) at Raiders (2-6) When: Sunday, November 13, 1:05 p.m. Where: Allegiant Stadium TV & Radio: CBS (Channel 8) & 920 AM/92.3 FM Betting Line: Raiders -6, over/under 42.5

■ Matchup: The Raiders have been a massive disappointment, but the Colts have arguably been the worst team in the league—at least on o ense. They’re ranked dead last o ensively by both Football Outsiders’ DVOA ratings and expected points added per play. Last year’s NFL rushing leader, Jonathan Taylor, has been in and out of the lineup with an ankle injury, and he’ll likely be questionable again going into the game in Las Vegas.

Indianapolis gained just two yards per play without him in a 26-3 loss to New England last week, when first-year starting quarterback Sam Ehlinger took nine sacks. The Colts have the second-worst point di erential in the league at -51, behind only the Pittsburgh Steelers (-77). Indianapolis has played so poorly, it fired fifth-year coach Frank Reich Monday morning.

■ Raider to Watch: Tight end Darren Waller Waller missed his third straight game with a hamstring injury but should be nearing his return. He has worked out on the field in the pregame for two straight weeks, but perhaps more notably, reports surfaced that the Raiders declined to swap him for a high draft pick at the trade deadline on November 1. Green Bay, which has long coveted Waller, reportedly o ered a second-round pick for him. It’s somewhat surprising the Raiders wouldn’t make that deal, considering the team is almost surely going nowhere this season and Waller has barely played over the past year and a half. Fans have grown frustrated with Waller’s lengthy absences, and if they continue, they’ll also bemoan the lost potential draft capital.

–Case Keefer

Raiders receiver Davante Adams (17) catches a touchdown pass against Jaguars cornerback Tyson Campbell on November 6. (AP Photo)

Silverado’s Donavyn Pellot (Steve Marcus/Sta )

PROGRAM GIVES PERSPECTIVE WORKERS A FOOT IN THE DOOR OF THE CANNABIS BUSINESS

BY BRYAN HORWATH VEGAS INC STAFF

After starting a canna bis industry-focused staffing company in 2018, Christi McAd ams determined that there often wasn’t a clear enough path for interested potential workers to break into the industry.

So she created one.

McAdams, a part-time Las Ve gas resident, runs a program called Cannabis Community College, which offers those interested in joining the cannabis industry an online avenue to learn necessary skills to work an array of jobs.

A five-course “essentials” package costs $270 and requires a reliable inter net connection, along with a desire to work in a field that’s growing larger by the year.

Scholarships and payment plans are available to help with the cost.

The idea took off for McAdams when she began having to train staffing service candidates online following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

“We had to find alternative ways to train people,” McAdams said. “Back then was actually my introduction to being on Zoom, and it was one of those aha! moments, when I realized that I didn’t have to be live and in-person teaching this stuff.”

The main courses are automated, McAdams said. Once students pay, they receive login information and can start taking courses immediately.

The time requirement for the essential courses—covering state compliance certification, cultivation, production and dispensary service

education—is about 12 hours.

As of October, more than 800 people have completed Cannabis Community College coursework and have been placed in industry jobs across the country, many in Nevada.

The program employs 10 full-time educators, along with additional con tracted teachers.

“Initially, my thought process was to build up my own staff, so I’d have a competitive advantage for my staffing business,” McAdams said. “Really, I was just doing this for my own employ ees. I found that people who had noth ing to do with my businesses started to take the courses.”

That’s when she realized the pro

gram might be able to stand on its own as a business.

“Employers want to know that ap plicants are invested in the job, and it can be tough to break into the [canna bis] industry,” McAdams said. “How do you show that [you’re invested]? Well, you go get your own background check and state certification and education. With this program, people can prove that they have the desire to work in the field.”

McAdams, 45, got her start in the business world by helping run a night club in Kansas at age 18.

She later founded a liquor distribu tion company and has also done work in the real estate industry.

In 2008, McAdams moved to Las Vegas for a different venture, but de cided a few years later—on the advice of her father—to get involved with the cannabis industry.

She would go on to become involved in a Nevada cannabis production lab and a distribution company before starting her staffing service firm.

Through her connections with the college and beyond, McAdams also launched a networking pipeline, which she hopes will help lead to Cannabis Community College coursework being translated into other languages.

Brenda Gunsallus, who helps run Sahara Wellness dispensary, has taught the dispensary course within the college since last year.

She met McAdams at a cannabis networking event in 2015.

With cannabis products becoming more legal in different parts of the country—nearly 40 states now, in some form or another—Gunsallus said there will continue to be a demand for knowl edgeable workers.

As part of her course, Gunsallus educates students on customer service and inventory, security and even how to spot counterfeit bills—remember, it’s a cash-only industry.

“With all the states coming online, a program like what Christi has put together is needed,” Gunsallus said. “Young people tend to get in the industry without a ton of experience. With my course, it’s really an overview on what to expect when working in a dispensary as a budtender.”

McAdams said that since there aren’t many cannabis bachelor’s degree programs available yet, her program can—and has—filled a void.

“In years past, people used to have to go to traditional colleges and spend tens of thousands of dollars while spending years of their life in order to get a decent job,” McAdams said. “Now, getting into the cannabis industry can be as easy as taking a few steps to make sure they’re genuinely interested in the industry. And the industry is growing so fast, the sky is the limit for people.”

Brenda Gunsallus, co-owner of Sahara Wellness dispensary and founder of Cannabis Community College. (Steve Marcus/Staff)

VegasInc Notes

The Nevada State Museum in Las Vegas hired Josef Diaz as curator of history and material culture. This position is the most senior curator role and is part of the Division of Museums and History within the Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs. Diaz’s background includes over 15 years of experience in curation, fundraising, exhibition development and museum administration. His most recent positions were at the Museum of Spanish Colonial Art and New Mexico History Museum, both in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Gary Scott and Chris Cosenza announced the for mation of Ridgeline Hospitality Group, a company focused on helping investors with hotel, casino and hospitality acquisitions, project development and asset management.

American Nevada Company hired Michelle Lancara as association manager. A licensed real estate property manager, Lancara brings more than 10 years of experience in multifamily, residential and commercial real estate management to the business.

Southwest Medical added four health care provid ers to help meet the growing need for health ser vices in the Las Vegas community: Brittany Clark, PA, and Dr. Dana Vitale join the Rancho Urgent Care location (888 S. Rancho Drive) and specialize in urgent care. Kimberly “Kim” Lewis, APRN, joins the Summerlin Banburry Cross Healthcare Center location (10105 Banburry Cross Drive) and special izes in adult medicine. Dr. Olumide Olagunju joins

the Tenaya Healthcare Center location (2716 N. Tenaya Way) and specializes in SNF.

The Commer cial Alliance Las Vegas announced its newly elected officers and direc tors for 2023, with Natalie Allred be coming president of the commercial real estate orga nization starting January 1. Allred previously served as president-elect and is vice presi dent of property management for American Nevada Company Chris McGarey, founder and team leader of the McGarey Campa Group at Berkshire Hatha way HomeServices Nevada Properties, will serve as president-elect. Wes Drown, Re/Max Advantage, will serve as treasurer. Angelina Scarcelli, Colliers International, will serve as immediate past pres ident. Other members of the board of directors include: Nolan Julseth-White, SVN, The Equity Group; Jennifer Weinberg, BHHS Nevada Proper ties; Jeff Chain, Millennium Commercial Properties; and Deirdre Felgar, Avenues Realty America in Las Vegas.

The Penta Building Group, a commercial contractor, promoted Chris Brooks to vice president of precon struction. He will oversee all aspects of preconstruc

tion, from developing estimates to coordinating with owners, design consultants and trade partners.

B&P Advertising, Media & Public Relations added three designers and promoted two longtime agency professionals.

Kevin Carson joins the agency as a senior graphic designer, bringing nearly two de cades of industry experience to his role. New interac tive designer Kevin Kang most recent ly worked as a senior web designer and developer for California-based Crystal Vision Technology. Graphic designer Nicole Phaneuf brings with her extensive experience working with a number of South ern Nevada agencies. The agency also promoted Michelle Fields to business operations manager and Shannon Sarver to associate creative director.

The Southern Nevada Health District hired Dave Sheehan as public information officer. Sheehan pro vides professional support of programs and services in the office of communications related to public information, marketing and community outreach.

Allred McGarey

Drown Scarcelli

Carson

Phaneuf

Sarver

Fields

Kang