2023-02-09-Las-Vegas-Weekly

B I G G A M E BIGGAME U DAY SUNDAY

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EDITORIAL

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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, CASE KEEFER, DAVE MONDT

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SUPERGUIDE

THURSDAY

FUTURE

PLAN YOUR WEEK AHEAD

UNLV WOMEN’S BASKETBALL VS. FRESNO STATE 5 p.m., Cox Pavilion, unlvtickets.com.

PAW PATROL LIVE Thru 2/11, times vary, Orleans Arena, ticketmaster.com.

CHRIS KATTAN Thru 2/12, 7:30 p.m. (& 2/10-2/11, 9:30 p.m.), Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club, ticketmaster. com.

EMO NITE 10 p.m., Zouk Nightclub, zoukgrouplv.com.

I Never . Now Future’s 8

The self-proclaimed G.O.A.T. of modern trap music, Future defined a decade with his melodic mumble rap and anthemic party songs that could pack a dancefloor within seconds. Tracks like 2017’s “Mask O ” saw the Atlanta-born MC at the height of his Auto-Tune powers and at the helm of one of the catchiest songs of the year. His feature on Drake’s 2021 track “Way 2 Sexy” also shot him to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, and he did it again with the sentimental “Wait for You,” o 2022 album Liked You bringing that momentum into 2023. The rapper recently sold his publishing catalog for a staggering eight figures, wrapped his One Big Party tour and announced a rare o -Strip headlining show at Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack Center with some of the freshest names in hip-hop— Moneybagg Yo, NoCap and K Camp—in tow. 8 p.m., $55-$150, Thomas & Mack Center, unlvtickets.com.

–Amber Sampson

(Shutterstock)

HUMAN NATURE 6:30 p.m. (& 2/10, 7:30 p.m.), South Point Showroom, ticketmaster.com.

MARSHA

WARFIELD

With Kathleen Dunbar, Kirk McHenry, thru 2/11, 10 p.m., Westgate Cabaret, ticketmaster.com.

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

LUCIA MICARELLI & LEO AMUEDO 7 p.m., & 2/10, Myron’s, thesmith center.com.

SUBDOCTA

With Mythm, Isiah Haji, 10 p.m., We All Scream, seetickets.us.

THE BLACK CROWES

8:30 p.m., & 2/11, Pearl Concert Theater, ticket master.com.

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

KEM & LEDISI

With Musiq Soulchild, 8 p.m., Thomas & Mack Center, unlvtickets.com.

JIM JEFFERIES 10 p.m., & 2/11, Mirage Theatre, ticketmaster. com.

ADELE 8 p.m., & 2/11, the Colosseum, ticketmaster. com.

BRUNO MARS 9 p.m., & 2/11, 2/14, Dolby Live, ticketmaster. com.

UNLV SOFTBALL: REBEL KICKOFF Thru 2/12, times vary, Eller Media Stadium, unlvtickets.com.

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

LUKE BRYAN 8 p.m., & 2/11, Resorts World Theatre, axs. com.

GUNZ FOR HIRE

With Adaro, 9 p.m., Area15 Portal, area15.com. (Courtesy)

READING & SIGNING: HEATHER GAY 7 p.m., the Writer’s Block, thewritersblock. org.

THE CHAINSMOKERS 10:30 p.m., XS Nightclub, wynnsocial.com.

MIKE EPPS 8:30 p.m., & 2/11, Venetian Theatre, ticketmaster. com.

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

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

KOOL & THE GANG 8 p.m., & 2/11, Westgate International Theater, ticketmaster.com.

SAGE ARMSTRONG 10 p.m., Discopussy, seetickets.us.

BRAD WILLIAMS

7 & 9:30 p.m., & 2/11, Wiseguys, vegas. wiseguys comedy.com.

DJ PAULY D

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

SUPERGUIDE

NATE BARGATZE

Will the “nicest man in stand-up” (per The Atlantic) spice things up with some naughtier material when he returns to Las Vegas? Don’t count on it. Tennessee native Nate Bargatze won the coveted comedy spot of frequent headliner at Wynn’s Encore Theater due to his slightly goofy, utterly relatable style on stage—sort of like a southern Seinfeld. His 2021 Netflix special, The Greatest Average American—filmed outdoors during the pandemic at Universal Studios Hollywood and routinely interrupted by helicopter flights overhead, though Bargatze took the distractions in stride and worked them into the set—was nominated for the Grammy for Best Comedy Album last year. And he just announced four more Strip shows this summer and fall, so it looks like he’s sticking around. February 10, 8 p.m.; February 11, 8 & 10:30 p.m.; $75-$115; Encore Theater; ticketmaster.com. –Brock Radke

FOR MORE UPCOMING EVENTS, VISIT LASVEGASWEEKLY.COM.

SUPERGUIDE 11

LAS VEGAS

PHILHARMONIC:

ROMANTIC CHOPIN

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

CAIFANES

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

MARSHMELLO

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

EAR RINGERS

With Secos, The Musket Vine, Strawberry Sunset, 7 p.m., Taverna Costera, taverna costera.com.

BANG TANGO

With The Bones, 8 p.m., Count’s Vamp’d, eventbrite. com.

ALESSO

SPORTS

LOS TEMERARIOS

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

HENDERSON SILVER KNIGHTS VS. TUCSON ROADRUNNERS

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

MICKEY AVALON

With Charles King, 8 p.m., Backstage Bar & Billiards, seetickets.us.

ARTS

FOOD + DRINK

7 p.m., Dollar Loan Center, axs.com.

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

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

BLASPHEMOUS INEBRIATION

With Sewer Gap, Quantum Colossus, 9 p.m., Double Down Saloon, doubledownsaloon. com.

FREAK ON

With Marco G, Alex Parra, Leiru, Keo, Huerta, 10 p.m., Discopussy, disco pussydtlv.com

CAIRO KNIFE FIGHT

NELLY

10:30 p.m., Jewel Nightclub, events.taogroup.com. (Courtesy)

COMEDY

New Zealand rock group Cairo Knife Fight has a hard-hitting, percussion-heavy sound, owing in part to the fact that the band has only two members, one of whom is a killer percussionist. Drummer Nick Ga aney and guitarist George Pajon Jr. seemingly build CKF songs from the rhythm track outward, with other instrumentation sticking to the drums like Velcro. (They augment their live set with sampled loops.) If that sounds like the kinda thing you’d like to do with your own power duo (or trio, or quartet), you’re in luck: Cairo Knife Fight—and special guest Animals as Leaders drummer Matt Garstka—are not only performing at the Sand Dollar Downtown, but o ering a pre-show drum clinic for an additional fee. 9:30 p.m., $10, (drum clinic 7 p.m., $25 additional), Sand Dollar Downtown, thesanddollarlv.com/downtown. –Geo Carter

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

BEATBREAKER 10:30 p.m., Marquee Nightclub, eventstaogroup.com.

ZION’S

YOUTH SYMPHONY 4:30 & 7:30 p.m., Reynolds Hall, thesmithcenter.com.

DJ RUCKUS 10:30 p.m., XS Nightclub, wynnsocial.com.

BRAD GARRETT

With Landry, Jay Hollingsworth, JJ Whitehead, 8 p.m., & 2/14, Brad Garrett Comedy Club, bradgarrett comedy.com.

SOURMILK 10:30 p.m., Jewel Nightclub, events. taogroup.com.

SUNDAY, FEB. 12 VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS VS. ANAHEIM DUCKS

The Golden Knights went into the AllStar break on a sour note, losing seven of eight games, including four in a row. Captain Mark Stone was out with an injury—and has since had surgery on his back for the second time in less than a year. Jack Eichel scored his last goal before the break way back on January 12. And firstyear coach Bruce Cassidy had been shu ing through line combinations in hopes of catching lightning in a bottle. The good news? At press time, Vegas was still in playo position, with around 30 games left to right the ship. After road tilts in Nashville and Minnesota, the Knights return to home ice versus the Ducks, against whom they put up 51 shots on December 28 … in a loss. Noon, T-Mobile Arena, axs.com. –Spencer Patterson

TRACI SKENE

With Dan Naturman, Trixx, Tony Daro, Michael Yo, thru 2/15, 7 & 9:30 p.m., Comedy Cellar, ticketmaster. com.

THE EN-VI EXPERIENCE 7 p.m., Maxan Jazz, maxan jazz.com.

K-VON

Thru 2/16, 8 p.m., LA Comedy Club, bestvegas comedy.com.

FOR MORE UPCOMING EVENTS, VISIT LASVEGASWEEKLY.COM.

Logan Thompson (AP Photo)

LOVE LETTERS BY A.R. GURNEY 8 p.m., the Space, thespacelv.com.

UNLV MEN’S BASKETBALL VS. SAN JOSE STATE 7 p.m., Thomas & Mack Center, unlvtickets.com.

THE RHYOLITE SOUND

With Wildrose, Paige Overton, 7 p.m., SoulBelly BBQ, eventbrite. com.

WEDNESDAY

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

FAED 10:30 p.m., EBC at Night, wynnsocial. com.

UNLV SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: UNANSWERED QUESTION 7:30 p.m., Artemus W. Ham Hall, unlv.edu.

MAU P 10:30 p.m., Marquee Nightclub, events. taogroup.com.

LEFT OF CENTER

GALLERY: BLANKET OF PROTECTION Thru 5/7, West Charleston Library, thelibrarydistrict. org.

AUDREY BRAZELLE

With Walt Haleigh, Sonia Barcelona, Lux, 6 p.m., Taverna Costera, tavernacostera. com.

LIE FOR FUN

With Calamity & Joy, Darian, 8 p.m., Evel Pie, facebook. com/evelpie.

KOVEN With Bushido Brown & Red, Brock G, 10 p.m., Discopussy, disco pussydtlv.com.

SETH RUDETSKY 7 p.m., Myron’s, thesmithcenter. com.

BOY GEORGE & CULTURE CLUB

I remember visiting Las Vegas in the late 1980s and looking askance at the late-career stars on Strip marquees—the Ann-Margarets, the Tom Joneses and Engelbert Humperdinckses. I wondered: Were they still any good? Today, a fresh generation of SoCal younglings can roll up our scenic byway and wonder aloud, “Is Culture Club still any good?” or more likely, “What is a Culture Club?” The answer: They’re a 1980s pop group—still bassist Mikey Craig, guitarist Roy Hay and singer Boy George, performing with additional musicians— whose hits include “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me,” “Karma Chameleon” and “Time (Clock of the Heart),” along with some strong recent material, most notably the 2022 dance stomp “The Next Thing Will Be Amazing.” Could well be. February 1719. 8 p.m., $55+, Encore Theater, ticketmaster.com. –Geo Carter

(Courtesy/AEG Presents)

ASTONISHING. UNPREDICTABLE. MIND-BENDING. Omega Mart is an immersive interactive experience from the groundbreaking art collective, Meow Wolf. Featuring jaw-dropping work from international and local artists, Omega Mart sends participants of all ages on a journey through surreal worlds and immersive storytelling. Discover secret portals or simply soak up the innovative art as you venture beyond an extraordinary supermarket into parts unknown. Tickets at OmegaMart.com

(Wade Vandervort/Staff)

COMEBACK STORY

BY SHANNON MILLER

For Merideth Spriggs, life has involved a series of unexpected twists and turns.

The 45-year-old was a youth minister for over a decade before finding success as a nightlife events planner. Today, she’s the founder and Chief Kindness Officer for Vegas-based nonprofit Caridad.

“I was a pastor for 13 years before I became homeless, and then switched courses—started the homeless nonprofit,” Spriggs explains. “When I got out of seminary, I couldn’t get a job … My boyfriend at the time said, ‘Why don’t you train to do events?’ That way, I’d have a skill to fall back on.”

She started planning “bigger and bigger” events in Kansas City and eventually got hired by a national nightclub company. But her intent remained finding work through the church.

“The minute I got a church job and prospects, I moved to San Diego and quit my bar job. But then, I secretly kind of kept doing some independent hosting for [the nightclub]. … When it all came out, it was a church scandal. So, that’s how I lost my job. And my family … outed me on that.”

Facing job discrimination and being “shunned by the church,” Spriggs says, she became homeless in 2008. She lived on the streets of San Diego for a year before she founded Caridad in 2010.

Since 2014, Caridad has been in Las Vegas, working with homeless veterans, doing street outreach and, more recently, providing job training and affordable housing Downtown.

The Weekly sat down with Spriggs to learn more about her journey, and how it has informed her work in the city.

Why did you decide to start your nonprofit? It was during a suicide attempt … my radio came on, and I definitely heard an audible voice [tell me] that I needed to start a nonprofit to tell the story of the homeless, because I could tell it like nobody else. So I turned off my car, bawled my eyes out and here we are, 13 years later.

Thank you for being vulnerable and sharing that. Has that voice ever come back? Do you feel like any sort of presence or God is guiding you? There’s been things I can’t deny—that I would never have chosen this path; that doors have just continuously opened; and [that] when I felt like ‘OK, this is where we need to go,’ then that door opens … We’ve been defunded twice, and had to shut down. And we’re still standing 13 years later. That’s the story of the charity. What should have been an obstacle, a barrier or something bad has turned into something really amazing. I feel like we are the comeback story—stories—in everything we do. We’re getting amazing, amazing new hires that really care and believe in our core values.

Do you believe you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be? Absolutely … I mean, well, no. If really, it was up to me, I’d be on a beach somewhere getting tan like a lizard (laughs).

[But] I definitely know this is my life’s calling, and I wouldn’t trade it. I wouldn’t go back to working at a university. I wouldn’t go back to office work. I wouldn’t go back to church work. I just never fit in in that world.

Caridad seems to foster an environment of kindness and giving folks

Caridad’s Merideth Spriggs finds purpose in helping the homeless in Las Vegas

ROCHAMBEAU FOR A CAUSE

February 15 & 22, 7 p.m., the Kitchen at Atomic, $5-$15, eventbrite.com.

tools they need to succeed. Where did those values come from? For me, it’s who I am at my core. … That’s the youth pastor in me—I really do care. I used to be a grade-level pastor, so I had, like, a couple hundred kids under me. But I had my leads, and [they were] who I would invest in. … That model of investing in your leaders so that they can be great and grow—that’s really my model that I’ve always tried to use.

The nonprofit is in the midst of a monthlong rock-paper-scissors tournament, held weekly at the Kitchen at Atomic. Other Downtown venues like Cheapshot have held fundraisers for Caridad in the past. When seeking community partners, do you gravitate to the local entertainment, bar and restaurant world? All my contacts are from back in the day … like, people that were bussers and bartenders are now operators. … I know that in the service industry, a lot of those people are one paycheck away from being homeless themselves.

Everybody’s so laser-focused on the casinos. But my thing is, the bars and restaurants are better partners … because it’s somebody that’s walking with us in the journey. That’s what we need in the community.

Anyone contemplating suicide can contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988 or visiting 988Lifeline.org.

SUPER BOWL LVII SUPER BOWL LVII

SUPER STORYLINES

BY CASE KEEFER

PHOENIX—The microphones at Super Bowl Opening Night—the event formerly known as media day—were cranked all the way up on February 6 at downtown Phoenix’s Footprint Center, but voices nevertheless became inaudible during one stretch of the festivities.

When the arena’s big screens showed Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes taking his rst step up the stairs to come onto the stage, cheers erupted, drowning out everything else. The Philadelphia Eagles had already completed their hourlong appearance, and though their fan base isn’t typically known for being reserved, their reception felt muted compared to the one the leader of their Super Bowl 57 opponent received.

“Lots of Chiefs fans,” Mahomes said with a grin once he was handed a microphone.

For the third time in the past four years, Mahomes is the center of attention at the Super Bowl, but it feels elevated this time.

He was the young phenom in his rst appearance, a 31-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in 2020. Then in 2021, he shared the spotlight with the quarterback he and most others call the greatest of all time, Tom Brady, ahead of a 31-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

But now, Mahomes is unquestionably the best football player in the world—and the face of the NFL.

Every Super Bowl comes with its share of major storylines, but Mahomes’ presence is so large that he crosses over into several of them this year. Here are ve of the top narratives heading into the big game, with thoughts from those involved and details from the always-colorful Opening Night event.

1Injured Chiefs

Maybe the reaction to Mahomes was so raucous because he was showing no noticeable limp despite continuing to deal with a high-ankle sprain he su ered in a divisional-round win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Mahomes played through the injury in the AFC Championship Game, but it clearly a ected him as the game went on, before the Chiefs escaped the Bengals with a 23-20 victory. And he wasn’t the only Kansas City player hobbled. Mahomes lost the majority of his wide receivers—JuJu Smith-Schuster, Mecole Hardman and Kadarius Toney—to injuries during that game, too.

Hardman was added to injured reserve, but the other two are expected to play. Toney said he would “de nitely” play Sunday after su ering a knee injury in the rst quarter against the Bengals that kept him out of the rest of the game.

Smith-Schuster hasn’t practiced since leaving with his own knee injury in the rst half versus Cincinnati but looked to be moving ne on Opening Night. In his rst ve minutes at a podium, he came down to play pin the tail on the donkey at a reporter’s request, jumped o the riser to embrace UFC superstar Sean O’Malley and showed o his go-to TikTok dance.

Top cornerback L’Jarius Sneed—the other big Chiefs’ injury concern—also announced he had cleared concussion protocol. Mahomes, meanwhile, said his ankle had improved and he felt comfortable to “push it” in the Super Bowl.

2

A milestone moment

For the rst time in NFL history, two Black quarterbacks will start in the Super Bowl—Mahomes and the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts. The moment wasn’t lost on either of them, with the pair posing together with the Lombardi Trophy.

“It’s a major foundation for what’s to come,” Hurts said. “So many kids out there [have been told] to change their positions at whatever age, but [staying at quarterback] can be done.”

Football has a troubled history of trying to move players like Hurts and Mahomes from quarterback to wide receiver or other positions, but the NFL has increased its diversity e orts over the last decade. Seeing two Black quarterbacks square o for the ultimate prize might soon be the norm.

“It’s a historic moment,” Mahomes said. “To be playing with a guy like Jalen, who I know is doing it the right way, [will] be a special moment that I hope lives on forever.”

What the stars of Super Bowl 57 are saying about the game’s top talking points

3

Brother vs. brother

Super Bowl 57 will feature another rst: Brothers going up against each other for a championship. And the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce and Eagles’ Jason Kelce aren’t just any set of brothers; they’re one of the most decorated pairs in NFL history, both sure re future Hall of Famers.

Jason, a 35-year-old center, has ve career All-Pro nods and a Super Bowl victory on his résumé. Travis, a 33-year-old tight end, has four All-Pro nods along with Super Bowl victory on his.

Their mother, Donna Kelce, was the star of Opening Night, making the rounds in a shirt sewed together from Travis’ No. 87 Chiefs’ jersey and back Jason’s No. 63 Eagles’ jersey. “I’m going to scream really loud any time someone has the ball,” she said, since both of her sons play on o ensive side of the football.

Donna said Travis is more of a mama’s boy and has better style, while Jason ate more and won the brotherly ghts growing up. The brothers separately both joked that Jason has recently surpassed Travis in Donna’s heart by giving her grandchildren.

4An Andy Reid Reunion

Kansas City’s 64-year-old head coach will make his fourth career Super Bowl appearance—three with the Chiefs and one with the Eagles.

Reid long led lists of the best coaches without a title until he broke through with Kansas City in 2020. That was his rst Super Bowl berth since 2005, when his Eagles narrowly fell, 24-21, to the New England Patriots.

Reid’s Eagles teams were near-perennial contenders, but he never got back to the Super Bowl with Philadelphia, and was red in 2012. Several teams immediately courted him before he chose the Chiefs.

“I spent 14 years [in Philadelphia] and loved every minute of it,” Reid said. “I’ve spent 10 years in Kansas City, and I’ve loved every minute of that. I’m proud of some of these old guys with the Eagles, and I’m proud to be here with the Chiefs.”

Reid spent extra time at Opening Night embracing and talking to two players still on the Eagles from his tenure—Jason Kelce and linebacker Brandon Graham.

5 the Eagles’ o ense

Mahomes presence should always keep the Chiefs near the top of the list of Super Bowl contenders, but far fewer people expected the Eagles to get this far coming into the season.

Philadelphia hadn’t previously shown the same level of o ensive ability as the Chiefs, but that changed this season. The Eagles and Chiefs have each scored an NFL-leading 546 points through 19 games.

One major force behind Philadelphia’s newfound success has Las Vegas ties— o ensive coordinator Shane Steichen. The former UNLV quarterback took over play-calling duties from head coach Nick Sirianni this season and helped the Eagles reach a new level.

The modest Steichen passes on praise, however. He prefers to credit players, including the plethora of weapons around Hurts, including All-Pro receiver A.J. Brown, former Heisman Trophy-winning receiver DeVonta Smith and big-play running back Miles Sanders.

“It’s a special group of players,” Steichen said. “They’ve done everything to get us to this point.”

(AP Photo/Photo Illustration)

PROP IT UP!

These

BY CASE KEEFER

The Super Bowl annually creates tension between serious gamblers and the hordes of recreational players who drop in for the biggest betting event of the year.

The former group can’t comprehend the latter putting millions of dollars down on mathematically- awed wagers—paying juice to the house to bet heads or tails on the coin toss is Exhibit A—and therefore mocks and criticizes their approach. Most bettors simply don’t concern themselves with making smart investments and would rather just re action on things for which they want to root.

But making bets on fun things to occur and ones that hold value don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Yes, there’s always going to be a bigger statistical edge on betting on certain events not to happen—a safety, two-point conversion and such—but it’s understandable that’s not how most people want to watch the big game.

So this year, instead of focusing on those types of bets, I’ve dug through the hundreds of wagers at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook to nd options that appear to be both easy to root for and mispriced in favor of the bettor.

Every sportsbook now has hundreds of prop bets available, but the SuperBook was the rst to post such an extensive menu, so I’ll stick to its o erings below. Numbers can also move extensively before kicko , so I’ll include a price range for targeting most of the plays.

Patrick Mahomes to win Super Bowl MVP at +130

(i.e. risking $100 to win $130)

There should be a natural inclination to bet on the best football player in the world, but doing so by going over on his traditional statistical categories like passing yards and touchdowns is cost-prohibitive.

This is a much wiser way to back Mahomes and root for his success in every area. The number on Mahomes taking home the ultimate individual honor at the end of the night feels far too low.

Kansas City is most widely +105 on the moneyline to win the Super Bowl outright, implying more than a 5% chance that it could prevail without Mahomes winning the MVP. The true probability is much lower than that.

Mahomes is such a singular force that if the Chiefs win, it’s almost surely going to be because of him. This is a safe—and smart—bet at any price higher than the Chiefs’ moneyline down to even money.

Noah Gray to score the first touchdown at 60-to-1

Everyone knows how much Patrick Mahomes loves throwing to Travis Kelce, but it actually goes deeper than that. He loves throwing to tight ends in general—especially around the goal line.

The Chiefs have designed more end zone routes, and even deeper shots, to their No. 2 tight end, Gray, than this line suggests. The Eagles are the rare defense that might have enough talent to successfully scheme Kelce’s impact, but such extensive attention could work to Gray’s benefit.

The SuperBook has the highest price in town on Gray to score the first touchdown—he’s more commonly 40-to-1. That’s high enough to take in hopes of hitting a long shot, but pass on this bet if Gray gets any lower than that.

ws how touchdown—he’s more lower than that.

fi ve Super Bowl bets could be equally entertaining and lucrative

(AP Photo/Photo Illustration)

A.J. Brown longest reception over 25.5 yards at -110 (i.e. risking $110 to win $100)

The Eagles’ top receiver is one of the most talented wideouts in the league, but stock on him is down after a quiet opening in two playo games. The former Tennessee Titan has only seven total catches for 50 yards, with a longest reception of 12 yards, so far in the playo s.

But the game against the Chiefs is likely to be nothing like the Eagles’ first two contests, against the Giants and 49ers. New York and San Francisco were both totally overmatched—the latter because it was down to no healthy quarterbacks—so Philadelphia had no need to aggressively throw downfield.

The game state of the Super Bowl should be much closer, and the Eagles will need production from their best weapon. Brown went over this number 12 times during the regular season, including seven of the final eight games.

The over/under 25.5 line is pretty widespread, but can be confidently taken up to 27.5 yards.

Haason Reddick over 3.5 tackles at +120 Philadelphia’s best player in the playo s hasn’t been any of its o ensive stars, but rather, this veteran do-everything linebacker.

Reddick has been dominant enough to throw away the usual rule of betting under on tackles for the biggest-name defenders (tackles are typically harder to come by than public perception indicates). Reddick is di erent because he’s involved in every facet of the Eagles’ defense. He’s most known as a pass rusher but can more than hold his own in run defense and pass coverage, too.

Any plus-price on 3.5 tackles is a good bet on Reddick.

For a much bigger gamble, consider pairing the aforementioned Mahomes MVP bet with Reddick at 50-to-1. If anyone can stymie Mahomes, it’ll be Reddick and, unlike the Chiefs, the Eagles don’t have one clear leader on their team.

Nikola Jokic points and rebounds +13.5 vs. Isiah Pacheco rushing yards at -110

Reddick and, unlike the Chiefs, the Eagles don’t

Cross-sport props are usually better for conversation than actual gambling. Fewer variables make it simpler to just bet players’ or teams’ individual numbers.

But again, the aim here is fun, and a lot of people like to have at least one cross-sport play mixed into their pile of tickets. Jokic, the Denver Nuggets’ superstar, is on pace for his third-straight MVP award, averaging 36 combined points and rebounds per game this year.

And on Saturday night, he’s going up against the defensively porous Charlotte Hornets, meaning his expectation should be boosted to at least 40.

Pacheco, the Chiefs’ rookie running back, has been a breakout star, but asking him to put up 54 yards or more on the ground against the Eagles’ formidable defense is a lot. Chiefs coach Andy Reid also mixes up his running backs a lot, so there’s no guarantee Pacheco even gets as large a workload as many anticipate.

Reddick.

FORECASTING THE FUTURE

Which teams will square o in Las Vegas’ Super Bowl debut next season?

BY CASE KEEFER

Through the first eight weeks of this NFL season, the Bu alo Bills sat in a tier of their own in terms of every set of power ratings.

Bu alo had far outplayed every team it faced, including in a 31-10 opening-night victory at the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams and a momentous 24-20 win at Kansas City in Week 6. Even the Bills’ lone setback, 21-19 at Miami in Week 3, was a glorious fluke in which they lost despite outgaining the Dolphins by 285 yards.

Bu alo slightly regressed from there but still finished the regular season 13-3 overall, with the three losses coming by a combined eight points. And that was despite some major injury disruption.

Onetime MVP favorite quarterback Josh Allen hurt his elbow in Week 9, and though he played through it and eventually said he was fine, the turnover problems that plagued him when he was younger reappeared. But the bigger issues came defensively, where cluster injuries in the two most important areas—edge rusher and defensive backfield—sunk Bu alo’s e ciency.

With a little better injury luck next season, Bu alo looks poised to reach its first Super Bowl in exactly 30 years.

Many conversations will take place locally over the next year regarding the matchup for Las Vegas’ first Super Bowl, scheduled for February 11, 2024 at Allegiant Stadium—and they all should start with Kansas City and Bu alo.

The Chiefs have earned the right to be the default choice after having now reached the big game in three of the

past four seasons, but the Bills have continually looked like their most formidable challenger. It feels like it’s only matter of time until Bu alo breaks through in the AFC.

I’ll call on it to happen next season, which would bring a sigh of relief for Raiders’ fans who couldn’t possibly stomach seeing the archrival Chiefs compete for a championship in their team’s home building.

As far as the Bills’ opponent, the Philadelphia Eagles should encounter fewer hurdles compared to the Chiefs in getting back to a second straight Super Bowl. The NFC is relatively weak, and Philadelphia took advantage by starting this season 13-1 before quarterback Jalen Hurts missed two games with a shoulder injury.

The Eagles do have a lot of impending free agents along the o ensive and defensive lines, where they dominated this season, but they should still be able to maintain an above-average standing at the line of scrimmage. The 24-year-old Hurts, meanwhile, should continue to progress in an o ense tailor-made for his skill set, and he could arguably wind up as the best quarterback left in the NFC next year.

So remember, you read it here first: Super Bowl 58 will feature a 31-20 Bills’ win over the Eagles in Las Vegas.

That’s my o cial prediction, but let’s run down five other possibilities to include more potential participants in Las Vegas’ Super Bowl forecast.

THE FAVORITE

Chiefs vs. 49ers

The Eagles and Bills are currently the second choices to win next year’s NFC and AFC, respectively, at Caesars/William Hill sportsbooks, so that projection isn’t exactly going out on a limb. But it’s not priced as the most likely pairing, either.

The Chiefs and 49ers, who already met in Super Bowl 55 three years ago with the former prevailing 31-20, are co-favorites to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in 2024 at 6-to-1 apiece. It’s impossible to argue against both teams’ reliability; the Chiefs have made five straight AFC Conference Championship Games while the 49ers have played in three of the last four NFC Conference Championship Games.

This would just be a worst-nightmare situation for Raiders’ fans, with two hated franchises playing one another.

OF CHIEF CONCERN

BY CASE KEEFER

A potential Chiefs dynasty stands in the way of the Raiders becoming a perennial winner

VS

(AP Photo)

VS

THE FIRST REACTIONTHE HONORABLE MENTION THE MORE-REALISTIC LONG SHOT THE DREAM SCENARIO

Chargers vs. Cowboys

In deference to the proverbial “never go against your gut,” this matchup must be included. On the day Las Vegas was awarded Super Bowl 58 in December 2021, someone asked me who would be playing, and these are the two teams I picked.

It still doesn’t seem too far-fetched. Dallas is one of the most complete teams in the league but needs more consistency from quarterback Dak Prescott. The Chargers are a lesser version of the Bills in that they were sidetracked by injuries this season but looked impressive in brief glimpses when they were at full strength.

The departure of Cowboys o ensive coordinator Kellen Moore to the Chargers this o season would be a major storyline in this matchup.

Bengals vs. Packers

Cincinnati smashed Bu alo 27-10 in this year’s divisional round and has beaten Kansas City in three of the teams’ last four meetings. Any mention of Super Bowl 58 without the Joe Burrow-led Bengals is disrespectful.

Finding a unique NFC opponent for the Bengals is where the challenge presents itself. The Packers could move on from four-time MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers this oseason, but if he’s back, they’ll still threaten to be one of the best teams in the NFC.

Despite narrowly missing the playo s this season, Green Bay snuck up to No. 9 in Football Outsiders’ weighted DVOA ratings—one of the most predictive sets of publicly available power rankings.

Raiders vs. Saints

No team reached the Super Bowl in its home stadium in the first 55 years of the game, but it happened back-to-back in 2021 and 2022 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Rams, respectively, both ultimately winning.

The Raiders don’t appear to be as close to contention as those teams were, but they do have championship-caliber skill players (wide receiver Davante Adams and running back Josh Jacobs) if only they can find a quarterback and a defense. They wouldn’t be the most improbable Super Bowl team of all-time.

And, if owner Mark Davis could pick a team he’d like to beat for a title, the Saints would have to be near the top of the list, as long as they’re led by former Raiders coach Dennis Allen. There’s speculation that longtime Raiders quarterback Derek Carr could reunite with Allen in New Orleans this o season, which would make this game even more fascinating.

New Orleans doesn’t look Super Bowl caliber either at the moment, but its underlying metrics were much stronger than its 7-10 record this season.

Browns vs. Lions

It would feel poetic if the first Super Bowl in Las Vegas featured two teams playing in their first-ever Super Bowl. It’s highly unlikely to happen, but both Cleveland and Detroit should be better than their usual reputation next season.

The Lions were a menace at the end of this season, winning five of their final six games and finishing sixth in the league by weighted DVOA. The Browns didn’t pass the eye test as much, but they still finished 10th in weighted DVOA and have one of the most well-rounded rosters in the league.

This game would serve as the ultimate testament to Super Bowl matchups being tough to predict. There’s no denying that nailing the Super Bowl matchup might be a fool’s errand, but trying to do so over the next year anyway will sure be a lot of fun.

SUPER BOWL LVII SUPER BOWL LVII

Having already been eliminated from playo contention going into their final game of the season, the Raiders spoke of still giving their best e ort out of pride and as a way to build momentum into next year. They believed they could put a scare into the Chiefs during a Week 18 showdown, if not knock their rivals from the top overall seed in the AFC playo s.

It didn’t end up happening. As it has done so many times before, Kansas City humiliated Las Vegas, cruising to a 31-13 victory in front of a partisan crowd in Las Vegas.

Some of the outnumbered contingent of fans in silver and black booed the Raiders o the field, and at least one man was ejected for holding a sign critical of coach Josh McDaniels, who sounded crestfallen in his postgame news conference.

“They’ve been together for a long time, and they’ve got a really good formula,” McDaniels said of the Chiefs. “They have a process in place that’s pretty damn successful. We know who we’re chasing.”

“Chasing the Chiefs” has been a theme of two straight Raiders coaching sta s—three if you count interim coach Rich Bisaccia as a separate tenure—and at this rate, it could last a couple more. A lot has gone wrong during the 20 years that have passed since the Raiders last won a playo game—disastrous free-agent signings, poor draft decisions and a revolving door of coaches.

But the biggest hurdle currently standing in the way of the Raiders regaining the type of perennial success they once enjoyed are the Chiefs. Facing the best team in the NFL twice a year and

competing with it for divisional titles is no minor handicap.

Kansas City has now won the AFC West in seven consecutive seasons, and the latest title was the most demoralizing yet to the Raiders and the division’s other two teams (the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos), since this was supposed to be the year when the Chiefs were finally vulnerable.

Superstar and soon-to-be two-time MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes graduated out of his rookie deal and into the richest contract in the league, meaning the Chiefs had to cut costs elsewhere on the roster to adhere to the salary cap. The biggest casualties happened at the skill positions, with top receiver Tyreek Hill traded to the Miami Dolphins for draft picks.

Yet despite a weakened supporting cast and therefore a less-explosive o ense, Mahomes arguably put together the best season of his career, finishing with 5,250 passing yards and 45 total touchdowns.

He improved his lifetime record against the Raiders to 9-1, with the average score during that span a 17-point Chiefs’ victory. Las Vegas might have played its best game of the year in Week 5 at Kansas City, and still left with a 30-29 defeat.

In hindsight, it’s amazing it was that close, given the makeup of this year’s team. The Raiders’ biggest shortcomings were pass rush and pass coverage, key aspects needed against Mahomes.

But that was partly on the old regime of coach Jon Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock. The duo explicitly outlined on multiple occasions

that their plan was to fight fire with fire and try to dethrone the Chiefs by beating them at their own game, with an o ense emphasizing vertical passing and speed.

The plan worked to an extent, at least on one fruitful day. One of the Raiders’ most significant wins since moving to Las Vegas three seasons ago—almost surely the second-biggest behind edging the Chargers to reach the playo s in the 2021 season—came in Week 5 of 2020 when they knocked o the Chiefs 40-32 on the road.

The victory snapped a 13-game Chiefs’ winning streak dating back to their Super Bowl-winning season and stands as the Raiders only win at Arrowhead Stadium since 2012. Outgoing Raiders quarterback Derek Carr finished with a 3-14 record against the Chiefs in nine seasons at the helm.

Las Vegas hasn’t beaten Kansas City in its most recent five tries, and that’s a big enough concern that McDaniels and current general manager Dave Zielger should shift the organizational philosophy this o season. The Raiders should prioritize drafting and signing players with skill sets specific to combating Mahomes and the Chiefs.

It might seem like overcompensating to build a team’s roster based on what a rival has achieved, but that’s the specter the Chiefs command over the rest of the AFC West. And that’s the approach it will take to win at the highest level consistently in Las Vegas.

Chasing the Chiefs is inescapable. Not being able to show much progress in terms of catching them, even in a year in which it appeared set up to happen, is indefensible.

FOOD FACE-OFF

PHILADELPHIA’S CHEESESTEAK KANSAS CITY’S BURNT ENDS

The cheesesteak sandwich might be most famous dish associated with any U.S. city. What other meal can you order by simply mentioning the name of that place? Give me a Philly.

In Las Vegas, the 24-hour Pop’s on Decatur and Alta is the most iconic spot for it. “We feel like this is the best cheesesteak on the West Coast,” says owner Christina Walton, whose family has been slicing, sizzling and melting things for more than 20 years. “We’ve had so many customers who are from Philadelphia say they’d put this up against Pat’s and Geno’s, the famous Philly spots.”

The No. 32 is the most popular order, with peppers and mushrooms topping the thinly sliced and griddled ribeye with your choice of cheese—the classic Cheez Whiz, American or provolone. Of course, everyone gets to answer the immortal steak question for themselves—with or without onions?—and the Pop’s menu makes it easy to experiment with extras like bacon, pastrami and chili.

BY BROCK RADKE

Though it isn’t as easily defined as Carolina’s vinegar-sauced pork shoulder or Texas’ obsession with brisket, Kansas City’s barbecue legacy is as sound as any American region’s. And its burnt ends, which originated at the legendary Arthur Bryant’s restaurant, might be the most iconic single dish of the city. A ectionately popularized by the journalist Calvin Trillin, these smoky, crispy bits of beef brisket aren’t readily available at the average Las Vegas ’cue joint, but the Arkansas-style Rollin’ Smoke serves up a ridiculously rich, saucy and sweet version at its three local restaurants.

“There are a lot of di erent ways to do it, but we use the fat cap of the brisket,” manager Josh Strickland says. “We chop the whole thing up for our chopped brisket, so you get the bark, the fat, everything mixed in, and we slice o the fat cap for the sliced brisket so it’s leaner, but our burnt ends are pretty fatty, and some people don’t use that part the way we do.”

The Rollin’ Smoke crew chops the smoked, fatty brisket

But for game day, let’s keep it traditional, because the intensity of Philly sports fandom is matched only by the true dedication to this perfect sandwich. Walton sticks with the Whiz, and we agree. “The gooier and the messier, the better,” she says. And Pop’s just launched catering for the first time ever, packing sandwich platters and other goodies just in time for Super Bowl Sunday. You can also order your favorites for delivery on the major apps, another new feature for this classic Vegas eatery.

for the first time ever, packing sandwich platters and other goodies just in time for Super Bowl Sunday. You can also order your favorites for delivery on the major apps, another new feature for this classic Vegas eatery.

into two-inch squares, re-smokes them for 20 minutes or so, then tosses the tasty bits in a searing hot pan with the signature Mama’s Sweet Sauce, caramelizing them into Chiefs fans looking for some big game burnt ends would be wise to recognize that Rollin’ Smoke is big on sports, thanks to its kiosk locations at Allegiant Stadium and T-Mobile Arena, and Strickland says his team fed several other teams (the Broncos, Bengals and Ravens) when they came to town to play the Raiders.

Rollin’ Smoke Barbeque, rollinsmokebarbeque.com.

(Courtesy Photos)

ANIMAL CONTROL

Programs to thin herds of wild horses are working

A population control program for the wild horses of the Virginia Range in western Nevada has reduced foal births by 61% during the past two years, bringing herd sizes down to more sustainable levels without requiring the disruptive removal of a single animal, wild horse advocates said February 1.

These early outcomes are “extraordinary” and could a ect future state and federal policies on wild equine management, said Suzanne Roy, executive director of the American Wild Horse Campaign, a nationwide nonprofit mustang advocacy group that oversees the public-private collaboration to manage the Virginia Range horses.

Free-roaming mustangs are common in Nevada, where much of the landscape remains government-owned, and thus, largely undeveloped, outside of the Reno and Las Vegas city cores.

Since 2019, volunteers have injected mares with birth control via tipped darts fired from air rifles, and they maintain detailed, illustrated databases on the horses of the range so they know which animals have been treated.

Tracy Wilson, Nevada state director for the American Wild Horse Campaign, said about 1,870 mares have been darted. Since 2020, the first full year of the program, foal births in this study area have dropped from 522 to 205. This has led to the overall population dropping to 3,189 in the same time frame.

Kris Thompson, the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center’s project manager, said that before the fertility control agreement launched in 2019, the wild horse population around the industrial “city” was growing unsustainably.

Horses competing for limited food were scrawny, and foals were being orphaned. The horses of today are striking, apparently healthy and hale, he said, and their iconic silhouette is great for the economy. –Hillary Davis

NEWS IN THE

UNLV president optimistic

During his hourlong State of the University address February 2 at the Philip J. Cohen Theater at UNLV, university President Keith Whitfield repeatedly cited financial constraints as a large issue and hopes that Gov. Joe Lombardo can alleviate those concerns, including campus revitalization projects and hiring e orts.

“Thank you, Gov. Lombardo; thank you, thank you, thank you,” Whitfield said. “Looking at his budget, I think that

we’re o to a really good start of having a great education governor.”

UNLV will be in Carson City with the Nevada System of Higher Education not only to support Lombardo, but to seek some changes as well, specifically in the way funding for higher education institutions is determined.

Whitfield said the university will ask the state to modify the Higher Education Price Index (HEPI) so it is “tied directly to the weighted student credit

hour rate to ensure that funding for NSHE institutions keeps pace with increased costs to provide services.”

Whitfield’s goals don’t stop at the dollar figures. He also said he wants to grow UNLV’s student population to 40,000 by 2030 and double the number of programs ranked in the top 50 nationally.

“We want to bring the world to UNLV by increasing the number of international students who attend our university,” he said. –Grace

Da Rocha

UNLV’s men’s basketball team hosts San Jose State February 14 at 7 p.m.

(Wade Vandervort/Sta )

BY THE NUMBERS

52.6M

Las Vegas was busy with visitors the first weekend in December as tourists flooded Harry Reid International Airport for the National Finals Rodeo, among other events. The boost helped the airport establish a record for passengers at 52.6 million in 2022, eclipsing the previous high of 51.5 million in 2019.

2.5.2023 SUPER CATCH

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs competes in the Best Catch competition during the 2023 Pro Bowl Games at Allegiant Stadium. The reimagined event featured a variety of skills competitions and flag football games. In the end, the NFC won the competition, 35-33, despite Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr’s impressive showing in the precision passing competition. (Steve Marcus/Staff)

A proposal to bring cuts of 2 million acre-feet of water for users pulling from the droughtchoked Colorado River system, mostly affecting California, Nevada and Arizona, is an attempt to conserve the region’s most valuable commodity—water.

When looking at the plan released by six of the seven states that rely on the Colorado River for their water supplies—and fiercely try to protect what they believe is their fair share—one water expert came to a harsh conclusion.

“It’s a bandage for a gunshot wound,” said Kyle Roerink, the executive director at the Great Basin Water Network.

The proposal, Roerink says, falls short because it puts the burden mostly on the three Southwestern states—the socalled Lower Basin states.

“Any time we see a proposal put forth that is going to limit consumptive uses, that’s helpful,” Roerink said. “It’s promising, but when you look at who’s giving up what, it just begs the question: Why does the Upper Basin get off scot-free?”

The Colorado River and its tributaries pass through seven states and into Mexico, serving 40 million people and a $5 billion-a-year agricultural industry. Some of the largest cities in the country depend on the river that’s been severely stressed by drought, demand and overuse.

–Grace Da Rocha

“It’s A-Rod, you feel me? That’s Aaron Rodgers. If he were to come over, I feel like that would change the aspect of a lot of things.”

SPORTS WATER

‘A bandage for a gunshot wound’

-Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs, when asked about the team’s quarterback situation going into next season

TOP OF MIND

Southern Nevadans seek solutions for students’ mental health issues

BY SHANNON MILLER

A new study published by the National Institutes of Mental Health confirms what many parents already know about children’s mental health after pandemic shutdowns.

The Stanford University-based study assessed the mental health of 163 adolescents—ages 13-17—in San Francisco, using self reporting and brain imaging. Half the group was assessed before the pandemic, the other half after the stay-at-home orders.

Researchers found that not only had mental health apparently worsened after March 2020, but that adolescents’ “brain structure” had been affected “reflecting more lasting adversity.”

“Compared to the pre-pandemic group, adolescents assessed after the pandemic shutdowns reported more symptoms of anxiety and depression,” the study reads. “Their brains showed

thinning of the cortex, which helps execute mental processes like planning and self-control, and reduced volume in the hippocampus and amygdala, which are involved in accessing memories and regulating responses to fear and stress, respectively.”

Titled “COVID-19 Pandemic Associated With Worse Mental Health and Accelerated Brain Development in Adolescents,” the study further noted that “the post-shutdown group had older brain ages than adolescents assessed before the pandemic,” with “neuroanatomical features” more typical of people who have experienced chronic stress or childhood adversity.

That provides a scientific explanation to parents’ observations over the past three years, says Kali Fox Miller, president of Nevada PTA.

“I think one thing that we can all agree on is that the children … have fundamentally changed since the

pandemic. And that change is really caused by stress … and some trauma, as well,” she says.

Miller has been a Nevada PTA board member for nearly four years and has been hearing about families’ concerns related to poor mental health among students—among them school safety, suicides and behavioral problems that disrupt learning. She says one of parents’ “biggest” concerns is child safety.

“We need to do something about physical safety. … A lot of the mental issues are happening because kids are afraid—some are terrified—to go to school,” she says.

Since Clark County schools resumed in person in 2021, behavioral health workers, parents, school officials and unions for educators and support staff have drawn connections between poor mental health and increased violence on campuses. During the years since the pandemic, teachers and administrators have said they have witnessed more student fights, sometimes with staffers injured while trying to intervene.

High-profile incidents of Clark County high school students assaulting teachers led the district to spend more than $39 million ahead of the 2022-23 school year to implement wearable panic buttons, surveillance cameras and other additional security measures at some schools.

In addition to basic safety, academic stress is impacting students’ mental health, says Jessica Shearin, president of the Nevada Association of School Psychologists. At the two North Las Vegas elementary schools where she works, she says, a focus on recovering pandemic learning loss might come at the expense of some students’ mental health.

“It seems like the conversation has immediately been put right back on, ‘How do we close the learning gap?’ … The year of

virtual [learning] was OK. It was a Band-Aid. We did our best. But that wasn’t the same type of instruction as kids would have gotten in traditional school,” Shearin says.

“I think that’s another big impact that we’re not talking about … There’s pressure on the teacher side to teach standards. There’s [also] pressure on the kids to meet standards that feel so lofty.”

‘STAFFING MAKES IT HARD’

In a measure to help students with behavioral health challenges, the Clark County School District (CCSD) has adopted the MultiTiered System of Supports (MTSS), an “evidence-based model of educating students that uses data and problem-solving to integrate academic, behavior and social-emotional instruction and intervention,” according to CCSD’s website.

“[It’s] really meant to be a framework, so it’s only as successful as its implementation,” Shearin says. “The idea is that every kid gets some sort of core instruction … that’s for both academic skills and also for social-emotional [and] behavioral learning, [where] they’re learning … how to respond when they have a negative emotional experience, how to healthily process emotions.”

Beyond that “core instruction,” kids who need additional help can get increased support, Shearin explains. “There’s going to be the kids who need that individualized, intensive support, either academically or behaviorally. And … that’s where there’s lots of different programs and things available at the district for those different levels.”

She says that in theory, it should

work. But staffing is an issue.

According to July data from the Department of Health and Human Services, Nevada’s is so lacking in behavioral health providers, the state would need 35 times its current pool of school social workers to meet the recommended ratio.

The state currently has one school social worker per 8,730 students, while the recommended ratio is one per 250. Furthermore, Nevada would need 3.7 times as many school psychologists, and would need to double its number of school counselors, in order to meet the state’s recommended ratios.

“Staffing makes it really hard to effectively implement the MTSS model. We’re not fully staffed, and everyone’s not on the same routine,” Shearin adds.

To help offset the shortage of behavioral health practitioners, the CCSD Board of Trustees in December approved $3 million in American Rescue Plan funding “to support Dual Enrollment Education Pathway students pursuing a bachelor’s degree in education through the School Tuition Assistance Project at Nevada State College,” according to CCSD’s website.

Shearin says the state and school districts need to make career pathways for school behavioral health workers more accessible and affordable.

“The state really needs to invest and promote and encourage higher education, because that’s what is needed to get into these fields. … But in our community, when we have so many students that may be first-generation college students, without the right support that feels impossible. Like … a master’s [degree] might feel out of the question,” she says.

“So much of Nevada is rural. So if we had more online programs that were accessible to students, that would be amazing.”

Miller agrees that focusing on school behavioral health career pipelines is essential. Citing a “mass exodus” of support staff and administrators, she adds that employee retention must be prioritized.

“My biggest fear when it comes to this issue is that we are not attracting this talent to Nevada. As a matter of fact, we are losing the talent that we have,” Miller says. “We need to look at the cost of living [and] the environment in our schools.”

On behalf of CCSD, the Senate Education Committee has introduced Senate Bill 47 to create a task force to advise the state on working conditions and increasing the effectiveness of public education career pathways. And the Assembly Committee on Education has introduced Assembly Bill 69 to expand a student loan repayment program for behavioral health providers who practice full time in Nevada for at least two years.

Although slight improvements might have been made since schools reopened and social activities resumed, students in Southern Nevada are still struggling with poor mental health. And adults shouldn’t downplay that, Miller and Shearin say.

“These little kids have big feelings, and they’re just having a hard time processing them in an appropriate way,” Shearin explains. When the feelings go unnoticed or there’s no outlet for them, “that’s when we’re going to see a lot of that anxiety and depression really pop up.

“It’s like an infection that’s not being treated.”

Las Vegas Sun staff writer Hillary Davis contributed to this story.

“These little kids have big feelings, and they’re having a hard time processing them.”

SCREEN TO STAGE

(Courtesy/Jerry

THE STRIP

BY BROCK RADKE

The grand-opening celebration of Magic Mike Live at Sahara Las Vegas in September 2021 was quite the party. After the show, in the brand-new custom theater—in which onetime pop idol Debbie Gibson joined in for a quick song atop a piano— the cast, crew and audience adjourned to the also-new Azilo Ultra Pool to mingle and sip cocktails. It was a good-looking crowd, to say the least, and other sexy Vegas performers like Melody Sweets and Amy “Miss Behave” Saunders were there, too.

So was Steven Soderbergh, the Oscar-winning director who helmed the Magic Mike movie in 2012. Two months later, Channing Tatum, star of Magic Mike and Magic Mike XXL in 2015 and co-creator of Magic Mike Live, announced there would be a third film, also directed by Soderbergh.

Magic Mike’s Last Dance hits theaters on February 10, telling the final chapter of the story of stripper Mike Lane (Tatum), who finds himself linking up with a socialite (Salma Hayek) who takes him to London to round up a group of male dancers for another sizzling show. Tatum’s producing partner Reid Carolin wrote all three screenplays.

And, it turns out, the show in the movie—and really, the entire third film—was inspired by the actual live show that has been running in Las Vegas since 2017.

“Soderbergh had seen the live show before [the Sahara opening] and was inspired by it, and obviously Channing and Reid are a huge part of the live show,” choreographer Alison Faulk, who works on the stage and screen versions of Magic Mike, tells the Weekly. “Everyone has kind of been in cahoots on all this stuff together, which has been really cool.”

When the Vegas show hit the stage at the Hard Rock Hotel, no one involved could have guessed that it would blossom into the global phenomenon it has become.

Hailed early on as a next-generation male revue with elements of comedy, cabaret, feminism and empowerment, Magic Mike Live made plans to move on when the Hard Rock shuttered to become Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, and it has settled in nicely at the Sahara.

“It feels that way to us,” Faulk says. “The cast, the front of house, the stage management, the

whole team is awesome in that room, and the Sahara is a great home. Everybody loves it.”

Meanwhile, MML’s success spawned an international touring production and residencies in London and Germany, and then HBO Max produced Finding Magic Mike, a reality TV competition filmed mostly in Las Vegas, where two winning dancers joined the cast.

With an indie film based on Tatum’s real-life stripper past fully developed into a brand, it made sense to get the gang back together for one more movie. And this one co-stars several of the guys from the Vegas show cast, not to mention some seriously sexy scenery taken directly from the stage at the Magic Mike Theater at the Sahara.

“This journey has definitely been very personal to all the boys in the show,” says Jackson Williams, one of the original Vegas cast members, who has also performed alongside the likes of Whitney Houston, Robbie Williams and Ellie Goulding. “I packed my bags and met the lads in LA to start rehearsals, thinking it would be a year or two, and it ended up nearly six.

“How often do you get a project that you weren’t sure would work, and then it blows up to more than you dreamed of?” Williams continues. “And by the way, you’re going to shoot the film. What?”

Williams and some of the other lads have plenty of smaller acting jobs on their résumés, but this was next level. “We were shooting 18 hours nonstop, and your body is so tired, but that adrenaline rush gave us all we needed. It was phenomenal. And Salma is one of the funniest women you’ll ever meet. Everything is a moment with her.”

If you’ve seen the first two Magic Mike films, you’re aware the dancing gets bigger and bolder from original to sequel, and Faulk says “of course” Last Dance is going to bring it. “It always has to be better, it’s just a matter of how to evolve it,” she says. “What’s the story the writer and director are telling, and how can we facilitate that in a way that makes sense in this trilogy?”

Williams and Faulk are both hoping the movie will bring even more awareness to the Vegas show, and that theatergoers will become showgoers.

“Without the show, [the brand] wouldn’t be able to move forward,” Faulk says. “What Channing created, and what that original cast did, laid the groundwork. If it wasn’t successful, there wouldn’t have been anything else.”

How Las Vegas’ Magic Mike Live inspired the franchise’s third feature film

OPEN BOOK

Las Vegas’ Tatum the Dreamer bares it all on a thoughtful new record

BY AMBER SAMPSON

Michael Robinson, best known as R&B singer-songwriter Tatum the Dreamer, didn’t settle on his stage name lightly. “I had a couple of different names I went through trying to figure out who I was, but once I found out the meaning of Tatum, I knew that was going to stick,” says Robinson, who hails from Chicago but moved to Las Vegas at age 6. “It means ‘to bring joy,’ and that’s what I want to do, even if I make sad music. It brings joy, because you heal.”

Dreams have always fascinated the 25-year-old musician. And since he was 3 years old, singing on the family’s karaoke machine, he’s always had big ones.

Robinson originally had a blueprint for how his ascent would go: He’d break into the music industry by way of his honeyed baritone, which falls somewhere between Take Care’s Drake and Channel Orange’s Frank Ocean, then someone else would pen the songs. Fate had other plans.

“I had one meeting with a vocal coach named Fate,” Robinson remembers. “He told me, ‘I think I see a writer in you. I need you

to explore that.’ I went home, and within a week, I was writing so many songs … the love that I found for it was crazy.”

The floodgates had been opened, and Robinson, who cites Rihanna, Kehlani, Mariah the Scientist and Oscar-nominated film Everything Everywhere All at Once as some of his biggest inspirations, had every intention of channeling those innermost thoughts into the sensitive persona of Tatum the Dreamer. When the singer sat down to record his December album Besties, for Life!, he already had more than 150 songs written.

The 13-song LP debuts as an opus of heartbreak, love, lifelong bonds and beauty. Many tracks, riddled with stories of ex-lovers and friends—many still in his life—cut to the quick of Robinson’s emotions in poignant ways. But rather than resist that pain, he wades into it.

“It won’t leave my head/That you want her instead,” he sings on album opener, “Adelphia.”

“I looked the devil in his eye/He told me not to cry,” he laments on “Issues.” “You did not see the way he looked at me/It never dies.”

Some cuts also connect to earlier works, such

as the lovelorn “To Beloved” and “Enough” off his 2021 Wasteland EP. But as cathartic as it might be to write about relationships, Robinson says some of his favorite tracks don’t touch the topic at all.

“Songs like ‘Sweet Thing’ are more so for me,” he says. “Those are letters to myself to remember who I am and what I’m doing everything for.”

Robinson confronted a lot of demons on Besties, but the next step was confronting them in real life, so, the singer says, he mustered up the courage to reach out to the people he wrote his songs about.

“It’s always scary, but I always try my best to show them before it comes out. I don’t want them to be blindsided,” he says, adding that sometimes, those conversations have helped repair what was originally so broken.

These days, Robinson says, he’s put a pin in love to prioritize work. But when looking back on the stories, people and pain that inspired Besties, he sees nothing but the best.

“I’m really proud of myself,” he says, “because I turned a lot of that wildness into one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever created.”

(Courtesy/Ivette Mendoza)

BY BROCK RADKE

The Las Vegas-based MAC Agency made music news last month when it signed DJ Pee .Wee—aka Grammy-winning artist Anderson .Paak—to its roster of DJs, producers and musicians. It wasn’t a surprising addition, considering the amount of time .Paak has spent in Las Vegas recently, headlining with Bruno Mars as Silk Sonic at Park MGM’s Dolby Live theater, making the rounds at Strip shows and restaurants, and spinning at On the Record and other Vegas clubs.

The deal also seems logical given the team behind the agency, starting with founder and CEO Eddie McDonald, a DJ, all-around music lover and one of the major behind-the-scenes players in Las Vegas nightlife for more than 20 years.

The MAC Agency is a boutique entertainment operation founded in 2016 with the goal of collaborating with “artists of substance,” McDonald explains, for curated local and national bookings and innovative events. The expansive current roster reads like a who’s who, from familiar local DJ stars like Crykit, G-Squared, Yo Yolie, Mighty Mi, Neva and SpydaT.E.K, to other notables like singer Nieve Malandra and legendary hip-hop producer Easy Mo Bee.

“When I moved back to Vegas [in 2014], I realized I will always love DJing, it’s part of me, but I was feeling disconnected from the music that needs to be played here,” McDonald says. That’s when he took a trusted friend’s advice to start his own company, and soon the agency was off and running, booking DJs at Venetian’s

BIG ON TALENT

Eddie McDonald’s MAC Agency flourishes in Las Vegas

stylish lounge the Dorsey.

The East Coaster originally landed on the Strip in 2002 to help open the original Light Nightclub at Bellagio. What was supposed to be a weekend gig turned into two nights a week at Light and two nights a week at the Foundation Room at Mandalay Bay. McDonald spent a decade working

with the influential Light Group and other venues and companies until Hakkasan Group hired him to return to New Jersey to anchor two new clubs in Atlantic City.

Those spots ran their course, and he found himself back in Las Vegas, shifting gears to book gigs for other artists and growing the agency. McDonald and

vibe gonna be?’ We started talking old-school stuff, I looped DJ Skribble into it, and the next thing you know, we’re booking KRS-One and [playing] Black Sheep, Big Daddy Kane, Nice & Smooth,” McDonald says.

“There’s definitely a lot of proud moments [in Vegas] for me, but to see this place opening when I was in my 40s, the first place I’ve been involved with and seen in Vegas where you can look around and have 25-yearolds just as entertained as 45-year-olds, it’s definitely a special place.”

It’s also the place where DJ Pee .Wee famously hit the decks in the hidden Vinyl Parlor during the afterparty for one of the opening Silk Sonic shows, igniting .Paak’s itch to share his favorite music with the club crowd and get a different kind of party started.

“He winged it that first night; it was Wednesday, and I was pulling records off the wall for him to play,” McDonald says. “The next day I got a text from Anderson saying, ‘Thanks for letting me rock. Can I come back and do it again?’ It was like, say no more. He came in Saturday, Bruno was basically his hype man on the mic, and it was surreal. And it really caught fire.”

his crew were instrumental in the opening of On the Record at Park MGM, the speakeasy-style club that has evolved sonically through the pandemic as the Strip’s home for throwback hiphop, b-boy culture, R&B and all the accompanying vibes.

“We were on the phone [with MGM Resorts executives], asking, ‘What’s the

So has the MAC Agency. It hit the ground running in 2023 and has hired more personnel to boost operations so it can keep up with growing demand for its artists in Las Vegas and across the country. Next up, McDonald says, will be a MAC Wax record label, dropping fresh edits on vinyl and other merchandise.

“Our goal this year is really to get more attention for our headline talent, more opportunities for them,” he says.

Eddie McDonald (Wade Vandervort/Staff)

LOVE, GIADA

Celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis talks 10 years on the Strip and her favorite Valentine’s Day dishes

BY AMBER SAMPSON

Las Vegas’ long-term relationship with New York Times best-selling cookbook author, celebrity chef and Food Network TV host Giada De Laurentiis has gotten pretty serious over the past 10 years.

De Laurentiis brought her star power to the Strip in 2014 with the debut of her first restaurant, Giada, at the Cromwell. From the start, the spot had an opulent glow, with sweeping floor-to-ceiling windows inviting in the noonday light and a sprawling view of the bustling city streets below. On any given day, scores of patrons pack the place for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In its first year, Giada welcomed more than 250,000 visitors, and those numbers have yet to dwindle.

“This restaurant put me in a different league. I think it opened people’s eyes to me in a way that created a little more respect,” De Laurentiis tells the Weekly during a busy Saturday afternoon brunch at Giada. “When I opened this restaurant and people came to eat here, they were like, ‘Wow, she might be the real deal.’

“I think it’s my looks, I think it’s my size—all of those things played into this image that people created. [The restaurant] dispersed some of those images.”

Ahead of Valentine’s Day, we caught up with De Laurentiis to chat about her fondness for her first restaurant and her favorite date dishes.

Giada was the first restaurant you opened, and it’s celebrating 10 years on the Strip in 2023. That’s almost like a first love for you, right? Oh, yes, I say it’s like birthing a baby. We built this space from scratch. It was a two-floor parking garage. I had seen several other spaces before I saw this one, and I stood on the second floor, looked right where you see the Bellagio fountains, and I thought, if I can put windows here and they can open up to the Strip on a beautiful day, the rest will just come.

This restaurant has been the site for hundreds of marriage proposals. Did you ever imagine it becoming such a backdrop? I had romance in mind. I wanted elegance. I wanted them to see people making pizzas and getting bread out of the oven and prepping antipasti, then the bar would be around the other side. That was a concept that was brand new to the Strip, because 99.9% of all the restaurants start with the bar. I wanted it to feel warm, cozy and incredibly inviting. I found that with a lot of restaurants, after eating on the Strip for a while, I started realizing they’re very masculine. They’re very cold; they’re intimidating. I wanted the exact opposite.

Sounds like you had a great eye for detail. I think that’s part of being a woman, No. 1. Secondly, I think it’s because it was my first. It’s like I was decorating my own home. I remember them sending me chairs to my house so I could sit in them, and glassware. I would hold the different silverware to make sure it was comfortable in a woman’s hand, because our hands are smaller. So yeah, the details to me are very important.

Valentine’s Day is approaching, and food is a known love language. What are some of your favorite dishes to recommend?

When I think of Valentine’s Day, first of all, I think of stuffed pastas. I think of delicate, beautiful little packages that burst with flavor. We have tortellini with a lemon-scented ricotta with a nice medallion of short rib in the middle, then a short rib and Parmesan broth that goes around it with candy beets. It gives it that elegance. We also have a cacio e pepe and it comes in a smaller Pecorino wheel. Wouldn’t it be fun to do like a Lady and the Tramp moment with the spaghetti where you share it out of the same portion in the Pecorino wheel? We sell a lot of those, and I think for that reason, because it’s very romantic.

GIADA Cromwell, 855-4423271, caesars. com. Monday-Thursday, 5-9:45 p.m.; Friday-Sunday, 9 a.m.2:45 p.m., 5-9:45 p.m.

The other thing I love about Valentine’s Day is our desserts. We have a heart-shaped Chocolate Amore. The base of it is a chocolate chip cake, then it’s a caramel panna cotta with a white chocolate shell on the outside, and we’ve colored it red on the outside with some raspberries. It is so beautiful and decadent but light. It melts in your mouth like a cloud almost.

For more with Giada, visit lasvegasweekly.com.

FAMILY FAVORITE FARM BASKET HATCHES A SECOND SPOT

n It’s all about the Clucketos. Friendly neighborhood drive-thru Farm Basket has been serving the addictive, rolled-and-fried chicken tacos since 1973 at its throwback eatery at 6148 W. Charleston Blvd., along with chicken and turkey sandwiches, fried chicken meals and the super-sweet, country-style orange rolls.

One of the oldest restaurants in the Las Vegas Valley, Farm Basket came under the new ownership of the Bayne family in 2018, and keeping the original Charleston and Jones location alive through the pandemic turned out to be the beginning of its plans for the future. After linking up with Dapper Companies, Farm Basket opened its second store last month at the revitalized Winterwood Pavilion at Sahara and Nellis, alongside a

new Great Greek restaurant.

“People have been so excited, they’ve been beating down our doors and the phone is ringing off the hook. The opening was mass hysteria,” co-owner Versa Anderson says of the Basket’s dedicated following. “It comes down to loyalty. They could go anywhere, but they want to come to Farm Basket for the things they’ve had all these years. It’s a timeless experience.”

The new spot has all the same menu items those regulars know and love, Clucketos and orange rolls included. But there are plans to add more health-conscious options in the near future, and Farm Basket is priming a third restaurant at Blue Diamond and Rainbow for September with eyes on additional expansion after that. –Brock Radke

(AP Photo)

(Wade Vandervort/Staff)

Watch

YOUNG PROSPECTIVE BUYERS FINDING FRACTIONAL MODEL HELPFUL IN ACHIEVING THE DREAM OF HOMEOWNERSHIP

BY RAY BREWER VEGAS INC STAFF

John Northcutt fell in love with this single-family home on the edge of North Las Vegas.

Northcutt was there every step of the way as homebuilders constructed the 1,500-square-foot, three-bedroom property that’s part of a new development.

“It was just dirt,” Northcutt said as he stood in the house he moved into last month. “It’s a brand-new house. I have no plans of leaving. I am going to be here a while.”

Northcutt was able to purchase the home through Roots Homes, a fractional homeownership company whose business model allows renters to “purchase shares” of their home each month. Northcutt is one of nine Southern Nevadans in the pledging program, through which Roots buys the property its client selects.

Those in the program make monthly payments to Roots to cover all expenses—rent, HOA, insurance and utilities regulated on a cap-consumption. Roots moves 10% of that payment to an account for the renter to use as a down payment to eventually purchase the home, or another property if they decide to move.

Northcutt pays $2,900 a month to live in the $319,000 property, meaning $290 would be put aside for his future use.

“We want to make Roots the easiest living experience of everyone’s life, so we created the ability for someone to make one payment, and we’ll take

care of the rest,” said Lauren Self, the founder and CEO of Roots.

Northcutt, a Southern California transplant who owns a marketing company, said the financing to buy the property on his own fell through at the last minute. He didn’t want to lose the house and was able to use the Roots program as a bridge to eventually own the property outright.

“You get the perks of owning the home, and at the same time renting,” Northcutt said. “If something breaks, I call them, and it’s fixed. And if I change my mind, I can leave and still have that equity.”

Roots is funded through venture cap-

ital firms and hopes to eventually have 100 properties throughout the Las Vegas area. As part of the contract with the renter, the value of the home increases by 4% annually, meaning Northcutt would have to finance an extra $12,760 to buy the property in one year.

“Whenever you cash out, you can use the cash built up in equity as an on-ramp to homeownership or whatever works for you,” Self said.

Self says a majority of participants in the program are young professionals getting started on their home-buying journey. The median cost of a single-family home in Las Vegas is about $400,000—an amount of money that

many would-be homeowners in their 20s don’t have access to, Self said.

Yahoo Finance reports that the homeownership rate for millennials is 48.6%, which is more than 20 percentage points below Gen Xers and nearly 30 percentage points below Baby Boomers.

“In the last 10 years, wages have increased 34% while home prices have doubled. That means you need to save twice the money to buy a home with only 34% more income,” Self said.

She added that providing a pathway to homeownership is deeply personal. When she was a teenager growing up in Henderson, her family lost its home in the late 2000s during the Great Recession, when their adjustable-rate mortgage ballooned to a payment they could no longer afford.

“My parents rubbed all of their pennies together when I was a kid to live in Green Valley, where they thought I would get a good education,” Self said. “I am very passionate about this because of my family’s own experience.”

Prospects need a credit score above 600 and an income-to-rent ratio of three times to qualify to be part of the Roots program, she said.

Those in the program sign agreements for one year, although once they qualify financially, they no longer need to meet the thresholds in re-signing, Self said.

“Fractional homeownership is the future,” she said. “In the future people will come to Roots to find their own home.”

John Northcutt in the living room of his new home (Christopher DeVargas/Staff)

RISE IN INTEREST RATES IS BRINGING BALANCE BACK TO THE SOUTHERN NEVADA HOUSING MARKET

BY LEE BARRETT

The housing market has always been a hot topic and an important part of our lives here in Southern Nevada.

That’s understandable. Housing has a huge impact on our economy, and homeownership has always been a key part of the American dream. Owning a home is also the biggest single investment most people make.

So it’s no surprise that people get concerned when market conditions change—especially when that shift seems sudden.

We started 2023 in the midst of such a shift. After years of seeing local home prices post double-digit gains from one year to the next, the first housing market report of the year from Las Vegas Realtors (LVR) showed that local home prices have now reverted to where they were one year earlier.

LVR reported that the median price of existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada through its Multiple Listing Service (MLS) during December was $425,000. That’s down 1.4% from November and matches the median price from December 2021. It’s also down from the all-time record price of $482,000 in May 2022.

The median price of local condos and townhomes sold in December was $246,950. That’s down 5% from the previous month, and down from the all-time record price of $285,000

in May. Condo and townhome prices are still up 2% from $242,000 in December 2021.

Part of the slowdown is seasonal. Local home prices traditionally warm up during the spring and summer and then cool down during the fall and winter, with December and January often the slowest months for local home prices and sales.

But the big spark for this recent change is the rise in mortgage interest rates—which began in mid-2022 as

part of an effort to curb inflation.

We began 2023 with the average rate on a 30-year home loan hovering just under 6.5%. That’s more than double what it was one year earlier, when mortgage rates were averaging about 3.2%, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac.

This obviously makes it more expensive and difficult for people—especially first-time and entry-level buyers—to afford a home.

You can see it reflected in local home

sales. With the market slowing down in the second half of 2022, we didn’t come close to matching our sales totals from 2021, which LVR statistics show was a record year for sales of existing homes in Southern Nevada.

Still, the sky isn’t falling. Buyers are benefiting from having more homes available for sale at lower prices.

When people ask me what to expect in the local housing market this year, I say it’s all about balance. We have a more balanced housing market today than we’ve had in years. And I expect that to continue throughout 2023.

Instead of buyers dealing with bidding wars, they now have more homes on the market from which to choose than they’ve had in the past several years.

With more homes available and fewer new and existing homes selling, as we flip the calendar to 2023 the sales pace equates to roughly a fourmonth supply of properties available for sale in Southern Nevada. That’s a big improvement from one year ago at this time, when we had less than a one-month housing supply. With a supply that tight, you could argue we were facing a housing shortage.

Odds are, that situation will be much better for prospective home buyers this year.

I’m not an economist, so I won’t speculate on what might happen with mortgage interest rates this year. But I can tell you they’ll go a long way toward determining what happens to local home prices and sales.

If you’re really concerned about today’s housing market, rest assured. These things are cyclical. Conditions will always change at some point, with home prices rising over the long term.

With more homes available and fewer new and existing homes selling, as we flip the calendar to 2023 the sales pace equates to roughly a four-month supply of properties available for sale in Southern Nevada. That’s a big improvement from one year ago at this time, when we had less than a one-month housing supply.

Lee Barrett is president of Las Vegas Realtors and broker and owner of Barrett and Co. Inc. Realtors in Las Vegas.

FREEDMAN UROLOGY

BPH SYMPTOMS

VegasInc Notes

Southwest Medical added two new health care providers. Malay Him, APRN, joins the Nellis Healthcare Center location (420-560 N. Nellis Blvd.) and specializes in adult medicine. Dr. Mazia Shafi joins the Oakey Healthcare Center location (4750 West Oakey Blvd.) and specializes in neurology.

Jewish Nevada, a nonprofit organization that serves as the representative organization for the more than 70,000 Jews in Nevada, announced its new board members. Hannah Alterwitz, Justice Michael Cherry, Susan Nissenbaum, Ilana Shapiro, Scott Stolberg and Elimelech Tennenbaum joined the board. Desert Radiology hired neuroradiologist Dr. Alan True True specializes in diagnosis and characterization of abnormalities of the central and peripheral nervous system, spine and head and neck. True devoted extra time during his schooling to extracurricular activities that helped others, including participating in a medical mission trip to Belize to assist physicians in delivering field and hospital-based clinical services to low-income and underserved populations.

The Neon Museum recently announced Lana Morano as its new director of finance. She joins the museum from Nevada nonprofit The Shade Tree, where she worked as director of finance. Before moving to Las Vegas in 2021, she served as treasurer for the North Dakota Museum of Art. Over her 20-year career, Morano has worked as a controller/director of finance in the fields of nonprofit, nutrition, automotive, apparel and trucking.

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck announced that J. Brin Gibson has returned to the firm as a shareholder

in the firm’s Las Vegas office. Gibson left Brownstein in 2020 when former Gov. Steve Sisolak appointed him to serve as chair of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, where he was responsible for regulating all aspects of the state’s gaming industry. While at the board, Gibson led the state’s efforts to modernize its sports wagering regulations. He also worked with board leadership to develop the state’s first cybersecurity regulations for the gaming industry.

Gov. Joe Lombardo announced several board and commission appointments. Brian Krolicki was appointed to the Nevada Gaming Commission, Adriana Guzmán Fralick to the Cannabis Compliance Board, and Donna Bath to the Commission on Judicial Selection. Krolicki, former state treasurer and lieutenant governor, will fill a vacant seat on the gaming commission. Guzmán Fralick, a Reno-based attorney, has an extensive record of public service, having previously served as legal counsel to the Nevada Commission on Ethics, general counsel to former Gov. Jim Gibbons, assistant general counsel to the Nevada Public Utilities Commission and executive secretary to the Nevada Gaming Control Board and Nevada Gaming Commission. Bath, a former county clerk in White Pine County and court clerk to the 7th Judicial District, previously served as an economic development officer for the Northeastern Nevada Development Authority and served as a rural representative for former Sen. Dean Heller. Lombardo also announced his appointment of George Assad to the Nevada Gaming Control Board Assad previously served as a Las Vegas Municipal Court judge for nine years. Prior to being elected judge, Assad was a prosecutor in the Clark County District Attorney’s Office and later served as a private attorney representing civil and criminal cases. Additionally, Assad served as a commissioner at the Nevada Transportation Authority for over a decade. Lombardo also appointed Dwayne McClinton as director of the Office of Energy. McClinton previously served on Lombardo’s transition team.

True

Morano

JOB LISTING

Vice President - Sportsbook & Customer Retention sought by American Wagering, Inc. dba William Hill US for Las Vegas office. Responsible for customer investment in digital sportsbook customers, day-to-day P&L ownership for reinvestment & promotional expense. Telecommuting OK. Up to 25% domestic travel required.

APPLY TO REQUISITION #: SCR101, ATTN: NARMEEN IQBAL, 101 HUDSON STREET, SUITE #2800, JERSEY CITY, NJ 07302 OR AT CAESARSDIGITALCAREERS@CAESARS.COM.

HELP WANTED

Promotions Manager position with Kerr Holdings LLC dba Boss Security(Las Vegas, NV)

Duties: Plan and coordinate advertising and promotion policies. Direct production of promotional materials, incl. video marketing and social media content; draft scripts; engage graphic designers, videographers, publishers. Present marketing budget and proposals to management. Monitor trends in competitors social media, assist sales with identifying customers. Create marketing campaigns. Coordinate participation in trade exhibitions. Manage accounts in social media; establish public presence goals; channel requests to the sales.

Requirements: BA in advertisement, marketing, journalism, or similar, 24 months experience in digital marketing; proven track of corporate media accounts management.

Send Resume and samples of past projects to elena@bosssecurityscreens.com

PREMIER CROSSWORD HOROSCOPES “TEEPEES” BY

FRANK LONGO

6 Indian dish

7 Height: Prefix

8 The whole —

9 King, in Caen

10 Belly muscles

11 Jean — (perfume brand)

12 Windows ad catch phrase

13 Language of Copenhagen, to locals

14 New jet in ’68

15 Worked as an office sub

16 Carry too far

17 Howard Stern’s area

18 “Bye, Brigitte”

19 Bodily pump 24 Conductor Georg 29 “Every seat sold” abbr 31 “La Traviata”

WEEK OF

FEBRUARY

9 BY ROB BREZSNY

ARIES (March 21-April 19): How does one become a more loving human being? Aries, here’s a prime way to enhance your love life: Be less focused on what others can give you and more focused on what you can give to others. Amazingly, that’s likely to bring you all the love you want.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You have the potential to become even more skilled at the arts of kissing and cuddling and boinking than you already are. Explore fun experiments that will transcend your reliable old approaches to kissing and cuddling and boinking. And ask your partner(s) to teach you everything about what turns them on.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Your capacity to empathize is extra strong right now. Your smart heart should be so curious and open that you will naturally feel an instinctual bond with a wide array of interesting humans. If you’re brave, you will allow your mind to expand to experience telepathic powers. You will have an unprecedented knack for connecting with simpatico souls.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): My Cancerian friend Juma says, “We have two choices at all times: creation or destruction. Love creates and everything else destroys.” During the next three weeks, your assignment is to explore every nuance of love as you experiment with the following hypothesis: *To create the most interesting and creative life for yourself, put love at the heart of everything you do.*

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I hope you get ample chances to enjoy deep soul kisses in the coming weeks. Not just perfunctory lip-to-lip smooches and pecks on the cheeks, but full-on intimate sensual exchanges. The heavenly omens suggest you will benefit from exploring the frontiers of wild affection. You need the extra sweet, intensely personal communion that comes best from the uninhibited mouth-to-mouth form of tender sharing.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The poet Oriah writes, “Don’t tell me how wonderful things will be someday. Show me you can risk being at peace with the way things are right now. Show me how you follow your deepest desires, spiraling down into the ache within the ache.” Feel free to give these words to the person whose destiny needs to be woven more closely together with yours.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran author Walter Lippman wrote, “The emotion of love is not self-sustaining; it endures only when lovers love many things together, and not merely each other.” That’s great advice for you during the coming months. I suggest that you and your allies—not just your romantic partners, but also your close companions—come up with collaborative projects that inspire you to love many things together.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio writer Paul Valéry wrote, “It would be impossible to love anyone or anything one knew completely. Love is directed towards what lies hidden in its object.” My challenge to you, Scorpio, is to test this hypothesis. Do what you can to gain more in-depth knowledge of the people and animals and things you love. Uncover at least some of what’s hidden.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In his book Unapologetically You, motivational speaker Steve Maraboli writes, “I find the best way to love someone is not to change them, but instead, help them reveal the greatest version of themselves.” That’s always good advice, but I believe it should be your inspirational axiom in the coming weeks.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The wisdom of poet Rainer Maria Rilke is important for you to hear right now: “For one human being to love another human being: that is perhaps the most difficult task that has been entrusted to us, the ultimate task, the final test and proof, the work for which all other work is merely preparation.”

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): To get the most out of upcoming opportunities for intimacy, intensify your attunement to and reverence for your emotions. As quick and clever as your mind can be, sometimes it neglects to thoroughly check in with your heart. And I want your heart to be wildly available when you get ripe chances to open up and deepen your alliances.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): If you want interest and passion to rise and surge, you will have to face boredom and apathy; you must accept them as genuine aspects of your relationship; you will have to cultivate an amused tolerance of them. Only then will they burst in full glory into renewed interest and revitalized passion.

2020 KING FEATURES SYNDICATE