We welcome all to our annual Lunar New Year celebration featuring exceptional dining options, performances and a slot tournament for our Genting Rewards Members. DRAGON & LION DANCE Enjoy festive decorations and watch as the traditional Dragon and Lion Dance makes its way through the property and brings good luck. Join us at the Plaza Entrance on Saturday, February 10, at 6 pm to kick off the Year of the Dragon!
GENTING PALACE DIM SUM BRUNCH Enjoy your Lunar New Year at Genting Palace’s exquisite Dim Sum Brunch on Friday, February 9 through Sunday, February 11 and Friday, February 16 through Sunday, February 18, available from 11 am to 2 pm. Genting Palace is the perfect destination to savor Chinese cuisine for your festivities with a rotating menu each day and a selection of amazing dim sum.
FAMOUS FOODS An abundance of delectable dining options await at Famous Food Streets Eats. Come together and enjoy Resorts World’s curated collection of pan-Asian eateries, such as dumplings at Ah Chun Shandong Dumplings, hand-pulled noodle dishes from Wu Zhang Artisan Noodles, and many more globallyinspired food stalls.
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This week at UnCommons
Thurs 2/1
ICSC Southern Nevada @ The Assembly 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Sat 2/3
Brunch & Good Vibes @ The Sundry 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Sun 2/4
Market in the Alley Campus Wide 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Mon 2/5
NEW: Happy Hour @ General Admission 3:30 PM – 5:30 PM
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Taylor Borup spikes the ball during the first day of training camp for the Vegas Thrill pro volleyball team. (Steve Marcus/Staff)
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SUPERGUIDE
Get ready for Planet Desert Rock Weekend, Jersey Boys at the Orleans, Time for Three at UNLV and the Jewish Nevada Film Festival.
ON THE COVER
COVER STORY As early voting begins for Nevada’s presidential preference primary, the GOP’s caucus also gets underway.
ELECTION 2024 Photo Illustration
MUSIC
Black Violin brings unbridled creativity to the Smith Center and CoCo Jenkins shares her inspirational touchstones.
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NIGHTS
DJ Eric Forbes has built a stellar career in local nightlife, and a bunch of cool cars for Shaquille O’Neal.
FOOD & DRINK
Fine French cuisine gets an artful twist at the Cosmopolitan’s edgy new LPM Restaurant & Bar.
SPORTS
The era of Vegas Thrill volleyball is about to begin and the city’s newest professional squad looks ready to join the current legacy of sports success. WANT MORE? Head to lasvegasweekly.com.
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an evening with
ENTERTAINMENT
G E N E R A L A D M I S S I O N $3 5 **
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16 8PM PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE AT SILVERTONCASINO.COM/ENTERTAINMENT OR SCAN FOR TICKETS TICKET PRICE IS SUBJECT TO LIVE ENTERTAINMENT TAX (LET) AND FEES WHERE APPLICABLE. ENTERTAINMENT IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE. MANAGEMENT RESERVES ALL RIGHTS.
C AT C H A L L T H E
BIG GAME ACTION S I LV E R TO N PA R K I N G LOT | 1 P M
View the game on giant screens Grab quick bites from food vendors
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 11
PURCHASE BOTTOMLESS * DRINKS FOR $50
*Must be 21 years of age or older to purchase bottomless drinks. Ticket price subject to taxes and fees where applicable. All sales are final. Bottomless drinks include select canned beer, well cocktails and house wine at Big Game Tailgate Watch Party. Shots and super premium selections not included. Management reserves all rights.
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Express your truest self. Your neighborhood library helps you to pursue creativity, curiosity, and passion. It is the place where all are invited and everything is free. You will find learning and are youhelp,searching personal growth, technologyWhat skills, homework small businessfor? and career support, community, culture, art galleries, and live performances. Visit us in person or at TheLibraryDistrict.org and discover the power of a library card.
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SUPERGUIDE
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KELLER WILLIAMS 7 p.m., Brooklyn Bowl, ticket master.com. THE HOT SARDINES 7 p.m., & 1/26, Myron’s, thesmithcenter. com. ADAM CAROLLA 7:30 & 9:30 p.m., Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club, ticket master.com.
JEFF LEESON 7 p.m., Wiseguys Town Square, wise guyscomedy. com. BEAUTY & THE BEAST LIVE 11 a.m. & 4 p.m., Whitney Library, thelibrary district.org. ALOK 10:30 p.m., Hakkasan Nightclub, taogroup.com.
KROMI 10 p.m., Zouk Nightclub, zouk grouplv.com. HAMRO With Bommer, Bloodthinerz, 10 p.m., We All Scream, see tickets.us. DJ SOURMILK 10:30 p.m., Tao Nightclub, taogroup.com. GREG LOPEZ 9 p.m., Foundation Room, houseofblues. com.
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(Courtesy/Zouk Group)
THURSDAY JAN 25
PLANET DESERT ROCK WEEKEND Fans of Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss, Soundgarden and Sleep will get their fill at the fourth edition of Planet Desert Rock Weekend, a showcase “for music lovers who like guitar-based harder rock that doesn’t involve being screamed at!” jokes John Gist, promoter of Vegas Rock Revolution. Desert rock legend Brant Bjork, most famous for founding Kyuss and starring in Fu Manchu, will anchor the weekend, teaming up with seminal acts Fatso Jetson and Mario Lalli. Three international bands, including Poland’s spacey doom-psych outfit Spaceslug, Italian heavypsych crew Black Elephant and Canadian heavy rockers Sandveiss, will also make their U.S. debuts during the weekend. Gist teases some surprises, too, like Spiralarms, the Bay Area’s heavy-psych six-piece, reuniting for their first show in eight years, as well as culty doom metalheads Beastmaker “crawling out of their grave for one of their first shows since 2018,” he says. Thru 1/27, times vary, $101, Count’s Vamp’d & the Usual Place, eventbrite.com. –Amber Sampson
DIA NACIONAL DE LA BANDA 8 p.m., T-Mobile Arena, axs.com. SANTANA 7 p.m., & 1/27, 1/28, 1/31, House of Blues, concerts. livenation.com. CORT CARPENTER 10 p.m., Stoney’s Rockin’ Country, stoneysrockin country.com. U2 8 p.m., & 1/27, 1/31, Sphere, ticketmaster.com. ADELE 8 p.m., & 1/27, the Colosseum, ticketmaster.com. STYX 8:30 p.m., & 1/27, 1/31, Venetian Theatre, ticket master.com.
DONNELL RAWLINGS 7 & 9:30 p.m., & 1/27, Wiseguys Town Square, wiseguys comedy.com. PIPELINE 7 p.m. (& 1/27, 2 p.m.), Clark County Library, apublicfit.org. HENDERSON SILVER KNIGHTS VS. COLORADO EAGLES 7 p.m., & 1/27, Dollar Loan Center, axs.com. UNLV HOCKEY VS. CENTRAL OKLAHOMA 7:30 p.m., & 1/27, City National Arena, rebelhockey. com.
METRO BOOMIN 10:30 p.m., LIV Nightclub, livnightclub. com. ILLENIUM 10 p.m., Zouk Nightclub, zouk grouplv.com. TIP 10:30 p.m., Drai’s Nightclub, drais group.com. LIL JON 10:30 p.m., Hakkasan Nightclub, taogroup. com. DILLON NATHANIEL 10 p.m., Discopussy, see tickets.us.
KYLIE MINOGUE 9:30 p.m., & 1/27, Voltaire, voltairelv. com.
TIME FOR THREE Time for Three has graced the stages of Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and Royal Albert Hall, and now, they’re coming to Artemus W. Ham Hall. The dynamic trio features violinists Charles Yang and Nicolas Kendall and double-bassist Ranaan Meyer, all of whom sing. This unique blend of instruments and vocals takes listeners through different eras and styles of Western music including classical, Americana and modern pop. Take their rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” which they performed for Death of Classical’s Crypt Sessions; or their original track “Over,” which portrays a more whimsical singer-songwriter vibe; or their Grammy award-winning album Letters from the Future. With each song, conventions and boundaries are defied. 7:30 p.m., Artemus W. Ham Hall, $20-$60, pac.unlv.edu. –Shannon Miller
F O R M O R E U P C O M I N G E V E N T S , V I S I T L A S V E G A S W E E K LY.C O M .
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SUPERGUIDE SATURDAY JAN 27
SOJA With Hirie, Likkle Jordee, 6:30 p.m., Brooklyn Bowl, ticketmaster.com.
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LAS VEGAS DESERT DOGS VS. PANTHER CITY 7 p.m., Michelob Ultra Arena, axs.com. UNLV WOMEN’S BASKETBALL VS. UNR 2 p.m., Cox Pavilion, unlvtickets.com. AARON LEWIS 8 p.m., Pearl Concert Theater, ticketmaster.com.
MUSIC
G3: JOE SATRIANI, ERIC JOHNSON & STEVE VAI 7 p.m., Westgate International Theater, ticket master.com.
JAZZ ARTS COMMUNITY ENSEMBLE 2 p.m., Winchester Theater, clarkcountynv.gov.
PABLO CRUISE 8 p.m., Veil Pavilion, silvertoncasino.com. MATT SCHOFIELD 7 p.m., Myron’s, thesmithcenter.com.
BURIED BY VENGEANCE With The Forest, Excerebration 9 p.m., Vegas Stand Up and Rock, vegasstand upandrock.com.
PARADISE KITTY 8 p.m., Chrome Showroom, ticketmaster.com.
HE. SHE. THEY. With Honeyluv, 9 p.m., the Portal at Area15, area15.com.
PARTY
ARTS
25TH ANNUAL LUTEFISK DINNER 2 & 5 p.m., Boulder City Elks Lodge, vegasvikings.org. NEVADA BALLET THEATRE: BALANCHINE & ROBBINS 7:30 p.m. (& 1/28, 2 p.m.), Reynolds Hall, thesmithcenter.com.
SPORTS
FOOD
VICE 11 a.m., Marquee Dayclub, taogroup. com. YO GOTTI 10:30 p.m., Drai’s Nightclub, drais group.com.
COMEDY
THE CHAINSMOKERS 10:30 p.m., XS Nightclub, wynnsocial.com. DJ PAULY D 10:30 p.m., Marquee Nightclub, taogroup. com.
MISC
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G LEAGUE IGNITE VS. OKLAHOMA CITY BLUE 7 p.m., Dollar Loan Center, axs.com.
JOHN 5 & THE CREATURES With Nikki Stringfield, 7 p.m., Count’s Vamp’d, eventbrite.com.
MIKE YARD With Mia Jackson, Forrest Shaw, Gabriel Rutledge, thru 2/4, 7 & 9:30 p.m., Comedy Cellar, ticketmaster.com.
ELTON JANE 7 p.m., the Space, thespacelv.com.
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THE MARTIN & LEWIS TRIBUTE SHOW 7 p.m., Suncoast Showroom, ticketmaster.com. ERIC DLUX 10:30 p.m., Marquee Nightclub, taogroup.com.
F O R M O R E U P C O M I N G E V E N T S , V I S I T L A S V E G A S W E E K LY.C O M .
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LAURA SHAFFER & THE NOIR NIGHTINGALE QUARTET 7 p.m., the Underground, themob museum.org.
(Courtesy/SKAM Artist)
(Courtesy/Hiroki Nishioka)
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MONDAY JAN 29
PINK TALKING FISH 7:30 p.m., Brooklyn Bowl, ticketmaster.com.
JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL Jewish Nevada’s five-day film fest kicks off with six intriguing films, examined through the lens of Jewish culture and identity. Movie lovers will find a feast of genres to choose from, with Symphony of the Holocaust, an Oscar-submitted documentary about Hungarian violinist and Holocaust survivor Shony Alex Braun, making its world premiere at the fest. Other feature highlights include Remembering Gene Wilder, a touching look at the life and legacy of actor and comedian; The Last, a film about a 92-yearold woman who confesses to her Jewish family that she worked as an Auschwitz nurse and posed as a Jewish refugee to gain access to the U.S.; and Deadly Deception at Sobibor, which follows a group of archaeologists investigating Nazi crime cover-ups. Thru 2/4, times vary, $15-$54, Brenden Theaters, jewishnevada.org/filmfestival. –Amber Sampson
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ISAIAH RASHAD A decade ago, Isaiah Rashad released his breakthrough album, Cilvia Demo, marking not just the debut of his head-nodding and honest flow, but also his movement into the spotlight of Top Dawg Entertainment. Since then, he’s released two critically acclaimed albums and is currently halfway through his fourth project. But before that release, Rashad is giving thanks to his day-ones and hitting the road for a special eight-date tour to celebrate the anniversary of his debut. This tour is a treat for throwback enthusiasts, offering tracks like “Heavenly Father” and “West Savannah,” and for those unfamiliar with the Tennessee-born lyricist, it serves as a delayed introduction. 7 p.m., $59+, House of Blues, concerts.livenation.com. –Gabriela Rodriguez
(Courtesy)
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SUPERGUIDE TUESDAY JAN 30 ROB GUSON 10:30 p.m., Omnia Nightclub, taogroup. com.
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UNLV MEN’S BASKETBALL VS. FRESNO STATE 8 p.m., Thomas & Mack Center, unlvtickets.com.
BLACK VIOLIN 7:30 p.m., Reynolds Hall, thesmithcenter. com.
WEDNESDAY JAN 31 THE MOUNTAIN GOATS With Craig Finn, Bully, 7 p.m., 24 Oxford, etix.com.
FRANKIE MORENO 6:30 p.m., & 1/31, South Point Showroom, ticket master.com.
UNLV WOMEN’S BASKETBALL VS. WYOMING 6:30 p.m., Cox Pavilion, unlvtickets.com. G LEAGUE IGNITE VS. IOWA WOLVES 7 p.m., Dollar Loan Center, axs.com.
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ROHAAN 10 p.m., Discopussy, discopussydtlv.com.
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Big Game Viewing Party Sunday, February 11 Reserved Seating | Open Bar | Unlimited Game-Day Feast | DJ
Reserve at Cherirooftop.com
C O V E R
S T O R Y
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1.25.24
L A S V E G A S W E E K LY
STATE-RUN PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE PRIMARY FEB. 6 PRIVATE REPUBLICAN CAUCUS FEB. 8
CAUCUS CHAOS Republicans weigh in on Nevada GOP’s caucus vs. state-run presidential preference primary
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BY CASEY HARRISON ne might expect that a candidate nominating process designed by Republican leadership, filled with fake electors from 2020, would be unusual. But the Nevada GOP’s precedent-breaking caucus for determining the 2024 presidential nomination has proven to be perhaps the most confounding process in the nation. Republican voters will be able to cast ballots in both the state-run Presidential Preference Primary (PPP) on February 6 and the private socalled “First in the West” caucus being held two days later by the Nevada GOP. As of press time, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley is the only major candidate participating in the primary. (Former Vice President Mike Pence and South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott had previously pledged to the primary, but have since suspended their campaigns.) Former President Donald Trump will appear on the caucus ballot alongside political newcomer Ryan Binkley. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy have dropped out and were removed from the caucus ballot according to the Nevada GOP’s website as of Monday. While making the ballot changes, the GOP did not add Haley as an option for caucus-goers even though she’s the last major
“I think the Nevada GOP has made a huge mistake—they’re the ones who sit there and cry election fraud and want honesty and integrity when this is anything but. I think they intentionally did this so they could have a smaller amount of participation (in the caucuses) so they can control the outcome.” — Amy Tarkanian, predecessor of current state party chairman Michael McDonald
candidate competing with Trump. Polling had already shown Trump holding what appeared to be an insurmountable lead for the nomination. And with DeSantis now out of the way, that leaves the Republican electorate to either coalesce around Haley (assuming she stays in the race after New Hampshire’s primary), or to head for a rematch of the 2020 race between Trump and President Joe Biden. After a series of changes instituted by the Nevada GOP, the Silver State’s 26 delegates that will help determine who wins the Republican nomination seem to be hurdling headfirst to Trump. According to rules passed by the state party’s central committee in September, candidates are allowed to only participate in either the caucus or the primary. Delegates will not be given to any candidate who participates in the state-run primary, nor will any write-in candidates be considered for the caucus. This left Haley with zero chance of winning delegates—party representatives who, in essence, vote for the party’s presidential nominee at the Republican National Convention, which runs July 15-18 in Milwaukee. That also means Trump won’t appear on the ballots for the state-mandated primary and Haley supporters won’t be allowed to caucus for their candidate, causing a cascade of confusion and irritation. Inevitably, this means the public vote and the caucus results will end in a split decision with respect to who the GOP electorate actually wants to be their presidential candidate. The February 8 caucuses are substantially different from the 2016 convention in that it is entirely administered and overseen by the Nevada GOP, making it, in essence, a private event with its own rules and virtually no public oversight. A bill passed in 2021 transitioned Nevada to closed primaries for Nevada’s Republican and Democratic parties, but McDonald’s GOP has insisted on holding its own caucuses as its nominating convention on unfounded assertions it will be more secure and that results will be available more quickly. Despite a legal challenge brought by Republicans last year (and dropped earlier this month), the Carson City District Court judge ruled that the state can hold its primary while the party Continued on page 18
ELECTION 2024
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Continued from page 17 maintains its right to allocate delegates using the convention it prefers. Hence, two Republican elections will be held two days apart. One will likely have a higher turnout but zero consequence; and voters will be left to discern the difference. Even in spite of Trump’s perceived popularity, some Republicans here and nationally believe the Nevada caucus rules give the former president an outsize advantage beyond the traditional benefits that come with being a de facto incumbent. “I think the Nevada GOP has made a huge mistake—they’re the ones who sit there and cry election fraud and want honesty and integrity when this is anything but,” says Amy Tarkanian, a predecessor of current state party chairman Michael McDonald, who was removed from the Nevada Republican Central Committee in late 2022 after endorsing Democrats over pro-Trump Republicans in two statewide races. “I think they intentionally did this so [that] they could have a smaller amount of participation [in the caucuses] so they can control the outcome.” In March, McDonald—who was among the six Nevadans indicted in December on forgery charges for his involvement in a phony elector ceremony after the 2020 election that falsely asserted Trump won Nevada’s six electoral votes—was part of a Nevada GOP contingent that met with the former president at his Mar-a-Lago estate, according to the New York Times. Since that meeting, the state party passed a series of internal rules that will make it easier for Trump to win. Neither McDonald nor the Nevada GOP responded to interview requests. But other Nevada Republicans tell the Weekly they agree with Tarkanian’s assessment that the leaders of the Nevada GOP favor Trump’s brand of conservatism and will go out of their way to crush dissent. “When it gets down to it, it seems rather apparent that the state GOP is trying to maximize the opportunities for the former president,” a high-ranking Nevada Republican told the Weekly on the condition of anonymity in order to speak freely
RON DESANTIS
VIVEK RAMASWAMY
about the party’s inner workings. “And that’s why this caucus system has been pushed so hard.” They continued: “We should be locking arms and doing everything in our power to defeat Joe Biden instead of having some purity test for who really is or is not a Republican. There are self-appointed gatekeepers who somehow believe they are entitled subjectively to determine the purity of somebody’s Republicanism. It’s absolutely asinine.” Furthermore, the Nevada GOP charged a $50,000 fee to candidates participating in the caucus. Tarkanian likened such a fee to extortion, and Las Vegas-based trial lawyer Ronda Kennedy, who is running in the Republican primary to challenge Nevada Democratic U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen in November, told the Weekly she believes the caucuses are a result of conservative skepticism surrounding the 2020 election—caused by months of disproven claims of rampant voter fraud by Trump and his allies. “I think the GOP has their thumb on the scale to make money,” says Kennedy, who returned to Las Vegas in 2022 after living in California for 12 years. “I really just think it was a money grab for the Nevada GOP.” Others believe that constantly relitigating the 2020 election will prove to be a losing issue. “The fundamental evidence and arguments on which some in the GOP argue for a caucus has been declared legally wrong,” says former Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison, who chaired the gubernatorial campaign for current Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo. “I think we’ve got to get past that, and the GOP should focus on winning elections with strong candidates and using a primary system to provide the most GOP voters the greatest opportunities to vote for all the candidates.” A recent Emerson College poll conducted before DeSantis dropped out found Trump getting 73% support in a Haley-less caucus, with the Florida governor getting 8%. But Spencer Kimball, executive director of polling for the university, notes the survey found more Republi-
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can voters will likely be taking part in the February 6 state-run primary. The Haley campaign did not return multiple requests for comment. That creates the likelihood Haley will be the top vote getter, giving her a two-day window to craft a narrative that she is the true winner of Nevada, says David Damore, chairman of political science at UNLV. “It will depend on the degree it gets media attention,” says Damore, also the executive director at the Lincy Institute and Brookings Mountain West, adding that success in Iowa and New Hampshire are key. “That’s going to be their spin. Whether the people buy it, that’s a whole other issue. But I do think it creates that opportunity for her campaign.” Damore also noted two things can be true at once: Trump can be the preferred choice of the Republican electorate, and the Republican establishment can also work to make it easier for Trump to be the nominee, similar to Hillary Clinton’s route to secure the 2016 Democratic nomination. But Trump should be given credit for organizing an outreach campaign superior to that of DeSantis, Haley or any other GOP challenger, Kash Patel, a former senior member of the Trump Administration who remains an advisor to the former president, told the Weekly. “President Trump, from a Republican primary standpoint, doesn’t overlook any state,” Patel says. “He’s on the ground multiple times in every single state.” And it’s true that Trump has been to Nevada the most of any other GOP candidate this cycle. Neither DeSantis nor Haley have been here since the Republican Jewish Coalition’s national convention in Las Vegas in late October. But unlike them, Trump, who was also there, held a rally in Reno last month—just days after McDonald and others were charged for their involvement in the fake elector scheme.
The February 8 caucus is substantially different from the 2016 convention in that it is entirely administered and overseen by the Nevada GOP, making it, in essence, a private event with its own rules and virtually no public oversight.
DONALD TRUMP
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“What other Republican is coming to Nevada or even speaking to Nevadans has a better policy to secure law enforcement and national security priorities that impact everyday Nevadans than Donald Trump? I haven’t heard of one,” says Patel, who moved to Las Vegas after Trump’s presidency and called McDonald a friend. While Patel conceded the caucus is an imperfect system, he disagrees the Nevada GOP and McDonald have put the fix in for Trump. “Look, it’s not a simple process but it’s the process that we have here in our state to run this primary,” Patel says. “I don’t think there’s any truth that it somehow benefits Donald Trump just because he’s Donald Trump. I think it works for the benefit of Donald Trump because he’s doing the most work to put
the most Nevadans into this caucus that this state has ever seen, and he’s just the guy leading that effort. “To me, that’s pretty fair,” Patel continued. National media reports suggest the Trump campaign is gunning to secure the nomination by as early as late March, which might be important to him given the former president’s mounting legal troubles that could keep him in the courtroom rather than on the campaign trail. Trump is facing 91 felony charges, which stem from four separate criminal cases as well as a defamation lawsuit and a civil suit that could ultimately bar him from conducting business in New York.
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A closer look at voter ID in the Nevada GOP caucus
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f you haven’t already heard, there will be a presidential preference primaries administered by the Nevada Secretary of State starting with early voting January 27. But the Republican presidential preference primary, which has former South Carolina Governor and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley on the ballot, will not count toward assigning delegates, even though it might send a powerful message to the GOP. Instead of using the state-run election to advise how to allocate delegates for the GOP’s national convention in July (ultimately deciding the party’s nominee for the 2024 general election in November), the Nevada Republican Party has opted for a privately run caucus at 5 p.m. on Thursday, February 8. On that ballot are Donald Trump and businessman Ryan Binkley. According to the Nevada GOP’s website, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former governor of New Jersey Chris Christie and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy will not appear on the caucus ballot after they suspended their campaigns. The party has said it will not accept names written in on the ballot, further eliminating any possibility that Haley, one of the only viable contenders to Trump as of press time, could get votes in the caucus. (The party in September also changed its rules to say that candidates could not compete in both the caucus and the primary, and that the caucus will be the only means of awarding delegates to candidates.) The absence of virtual competition alone is problematic for a democratic process. Moreover, the caucus raises questions about election security. The Las Vegas Weekly contacted Michael McDonald, chairman of the Nevada Republican Party, to gain insight into why the party decided to hold a private nominating party through a caucus instead of using the state-run election–which the Secretary of State’s Office is required by law to hold. His answer referenced concerns about election security and the fact that Nevada does not require voters to present ID at the polls in order to cast their vote–concerns that Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo attempted to remedy with a bill in the 2023 legislative session. Senate Bill 405 attempted to roll back a 2020 law that made it standard for Nevada to mail ballots to every active registered voter. (If it had passed, voters would have had to request mail ballots if they wanted them.) The legislation also would have
Information based on reporting as of press time
instituted a requirement for Nevadans to show ID at the polls in order to vote in person, and a requirement to include the last four digits of a social security number or driver’s license number when using a mail ballot. After four hearings, the governor’s bill never made it to a vote in either house of the Democrat-controlled Legislature. “[It] basically got everyone upset in the sense that Republicans weren’t being heard. … And that’s when the caucus really caught hold,” McDonald said in a November 8 interview. McDonald, a fake elector for Trump in 2020, is currently under indictment for fraud as a result of his leading role in the scheme to advance false Nevada electors for Trump. After that initial interview, the Weekly tried several times to contact McDonald to gain further insight on how the party will ensure a secure and fair caucus process. McDonald never returned our calls. But looking at the Nevada GOP’s website, it’s clear that the party is touting its caucus process as though it is even more secure than state-run primaries, pointing to the fact that it’s being held on a single day in person (no mail ballots except for military voters who can request an absentee ballot on the GOP’s website) and allows caucus-goers to participate only at the caucus site specific to their precinct. And, of course, they’re very proud that the caucus will require voters to present government-issued ID. Let’s take a closer look at the argument for voter ID. Proponents, many Republicans, purport that requiring government-issued identification at the polls prevents voter fraud. But, working with our colleagues at the Las Vegas Sun, the Weekly set out to demonstrate just how easy it would be to circumvent such a “security” measure. For only $110 on a publicly accessible website, the Weekly obtained a fake identification card under the name of Michael McDonald. With no intention to actually use the card, we went through the scenario: What if we used this fake ID to vote? Let’s say we showed up to the caucus before the real Michael McDonald, used our fake ID to check in and proceeded to participate in the caucus—which is essentially a community meeting where participants make pitches for their candidates in attempts to convince their neighbors to vote for them. Because the caucus is not a single event, like casting a vote, but rather a series of conversations and realignments, there would be no way of curing the participation of the hypothetical fraudulent voter after the fact. Primaries across the country over many decades have proven and tested measures like signature curing to verify the identity of voters and remove improperly cast ballots from counts after elections. In contrast, caucuses do not have a known curing process after they’ve hypothetically discovered that someone had a fake ID or voted improperly. “It’s an instance in time. It’s a community gathering at a certain location. And so, you’re all sitting in a room together during the process. There’s not much curing that can happen because it’s live,” Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar tells the Weekly.
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Furthermore, because the caucus is not run by the state, it does not have access to state election security infrastructure like voter identification, which exists in the voter registration process. When a resident registers to vote in Nevada, they must provide information like their drivers license number, Social Security Number and signature to verify their identity. The Secretary of State maintains a database with all voter registration, which can be used to verify properly cast ballots. Rather than relying on that database, which is updated nightly, the party will most likely use statewide voter rolls, available from the Secretary of State’s office, to cross check IDs and party registration. (The Nevada GOP set a deadline of January 8 for would-be caucus participants to register as Republicans. Anyone who registered after that date will not be eligible to participate in the caucus, per party rules.) Although requiring ID to vote may seem like a solution to voter fraud, Democrats called the measure a “solution in search of a problem,” when Gov. Joe Lombardo attempted to pass his voter ID law through the Legislature in 2023. Voting rights advocates for decades have denounced voter ID laws as both ineffective for security and charged that they are a means of suppressing the vote. Eliza Sweren-Becker, senior counsel for the New York University-based Brennan Center for Justice’s Democracy Program, says that while advocates for voter ID say the measure prevents voter fraud, voter fraud is “exceedingly rare.” “Voter impersonation is virtually non-existent. You’re more likely to be hit by lightning. And any instances of irregularity are more likely to just be mistakes by voters or election administrators that can be corrected, and not any kind of intentional effort to defraud our electoral system,” she says. “Not only is voter ID [an] overall bad policy for every voter, but [also] it’s particularly burdensome for specific groups of voters that are already confronting a number of barriers to the ballot box,” Sweren-Becker adds. In a January 10 press conference at the Clark County Election Department, Aguilar reiterated that there is no evidence of widespread fraud in Nevada or anywhere else. And he tells the Weekly that calls for voter ID are actually a distraction from implementing security measures through mail ballots– the most widely used voting system in the state. With mail ballots, a single ballot is sent to each voter in the state, by itself helping to limit fraud. “I can see why people understand [voter ID] and think that it’s a solution to all of it. But it’s not. When you start to break it down and you start to understand the nuances, it starts to become irrelevant in the long term,” Aguilar says. “[It] becomes kind of a red herring because, as more Nevadans adopt universal mail ballot … what we really need to be focusing on is the technology of those ballots, the tracking of those ballots and the processing of the ballots.” In the event that voter fraud takes place, the attorney general’s office has reminded voters that it is a felony. It will be investigated and prosecuted, Ford said at the January 10 press conference.
“I want to emphasize the point that I have consistently maintained since the 2020 election and subsequent false conspiracy theories regarding widespread voter fraud. Any allegation of voter fraud is one that my office takes very seriously,” Ford said, pointing to seven instances where the attorney general’s office has prosecuted for voter fraud since 2016. “If you have evidence of voter fraud, of someone voting twice or of similar allegations, I urge you to file a complaint with the Secretary of State or through my office, and do it with posthaste. We will investigate, and if the allegations have merit, we will prosecute,” Ford said. But where there is a system to catch bad actors in the primaries, the same system (voter identification, registration database and signature curing), does not exist in the caucuses. In the caucuses, there doesn’t have to be a consequence for voter fraud—unless the Nevada GOP were to bring such a case to the state to be investigated. Voter fraud in a primary is clearly a felony in Nevada; however, it’s less clear whether it would be a felony to vote fraudulently in a private event like the GOP caucuses. Some kinds of fraud are illegal, but just as no other state has ever done what the Nevada Republicans are doing, it remains unclear what legal protections exist. “That system and that process is solely managed by the party,” Aguilar tells the Weekly. “If they bring us the case, I believe we can then look at the case and use our investigators to investigate the situation, and then send it over to the Attorney General’s office of the [District Attorney]’s office in the local county.” Aguilar adds that his office uses best practices to ensure accessible voting—early voting, universal mail ballots, allowing for voter registration at the polls and allowing voters to vote outside their home precinct. “When you want to get the greatest perspective of what voters want, you want to be as inclusive and as accessible as possible. And I think the primary system makes that feasible,” Aguilar says.
“Voter impersonation is virtually non-existent. You’re more likely to be hit by lightning. And any instances of irregularity are more likely to just be mistakes by voters or election administrators that can be corrected, and not any kind of intentional effort to defraud our electoral system.” — Eliza Sweren-Becker, senior counsel for the New York University-based Brennan Center for Justice’s Democracy Program
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NIKKI
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he past three years have been nothing short of disastrous for the Republican Party. In January 2021, still reeling from failing to secure control of the presidency or either chamber of Congress, Donald Trump led an insurrection against the U.S. government to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power. Simultaneously, President Biden took advantage of unified Democratic control and worked tirelessly to pass the most ambitious legislative agenda in more than half a century. The 2022 elections proved little better for the GOP. Thanks to the partisan extremism of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn 50 years of legal precedent and end women’s rights to privacy, bodily autonomy and access to abortion services, the “red wave” of anticipated Republican victories turned into little more than a trickle. The GOP did win just barely enough seats to take control of the House of Representatives, but the Republicans reminded Americans it is not a party that can be relied upon to govern the nation. A power struggle between conspiracy-laden far-right extremists and the more moderate Republican establishment led the first year of the 118th Congress to be the least productive since the Great Depression. As responsible and rational Republicans were ousted from the ranks of the party and replaced by extremists who could not win a general election, the GOP also lost control of numerous statehouses and state executive offices in purple states. The party’s new leaders, some of whom—including Donald Trump—are facing criminal indictments for their role in trying to overturn the 2020 election, are now publicly celebrating alliances with militant nationalists, white supremacists and conspiracy theorists. As a result, they’re advocating authoritarian policies such as banning books, rewriting school curriculum to outlaw discussions of slavery and other atrocities, scapegoating immigrants, LGBTQ+ people and drag queens for society’s maladies and giving domestic abusers and other violent offenders absolute gun rights. One gets the sense that a large swath of the extremist GOP is almost demanding a
THE GOP’S BEST HOPE FOR A RETURN TO SANITY
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moving forward. Despite being a vocal advocate for a full abortion ban in her home state, Haley has called for pragmatic federal policies regarding women’s rights. “Can’t we all agree that we should ban late-term abortions? Can’t we all agree that we should encourage adoptions? Can’t we all agree that doctors and nurses who don’t believe in abortions shouldn’t have to perform them?” said Haley at August’s debate. “Can’t we agree that contraception should be available? Can’t we all agree that we are not going to put a woman in jail or give her the death penalty if she gets an abortion?” Her willingness to find some common ground makes sense given her background as a Sikh woman of Indian descent who grew up in state with a long history of treating women, non-Christians and racial and ethnic minorities as second-class citizens. Prior to Haley, South Carolina had never elected a governor who wasn’t a white man, yet Haley built the necessary relationships to overcome the racist and sexist tropes hurled upon her. This is not to say that Haley is beyond reproach. Her record is abhorrent on a vast number of domestic issues. She denied her own constituents access to affordable healthcare and refused to allow thousands of jobs to come to her state because it might be perceived as a win for a political opponent. She also supported a version of “Don’t Say Gay” that goes even further than Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’, engaged in revisionist history about the role of slavery in the civil war and even blamed transgender youth for suicide among teen girls. She might personally harbor views of cruelty and a contempt for some Americans, but she believes that a functioning democracy requires compromises and belief in the rule of law. As a result, she uses rhetoric that is far less likely than her opponents’ to lead to a violent insurrection to overthrow democracy itself. In other words, Haley wants to change America in ways a great many people would object to, but she’s not out to destroy America as we know it. She’s not a disfiguring force like Trump and she doesn’t give cause to question her intelligence or sanity. These are very low bars to clear, but that’s today’s GOP field for president. For these reasons, we offer our endorsement of Nikki Haley in the 2024 Republican presidential primary elections.
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JOE D espite the efforts of the do-nothing obstructionist Republicans currently serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, Joe Biden has emerged as a beacon of progress. In his three years in office, Biden has overseen the most ambitious and successful legislative agenda in nearly seven decades. On his first day in office, Biden ensured the United States rejoined the Paris climate accords, signaling the start of a new era of U.S. politics in which the existential threat of climate change would be treated with the urgency it deserves. Since then, he has backed it up with bold and innovative initiatives to combat climate change while promoting sustainable economic growth. In his first year in office, Biden championed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a $1.2 trillion dollar package—the largest investment in U.S. infrastructure in decades—that has not only helped repair roads, bridges and critical infrastructure but has invested in clean energy and the technology and jobs of tomorrow. The bill provides massive investment in sustainable technologies including renewable energy, electric vehicles and environmental resilience. It also has driven much needed economic vitality to America’s towns and cities. It’s America investing in itself. Among the bill’s provisions are $108 billion for building, maintaining and improving access to clean public transit infrastructure, including low- and zero-emissions buses and trains. It also provides money to improve service and accessibility for historically marginalized communities such as people with disabilities, low income and tribal communities. And here in Southern Nevada, a $3 billion investment in the Brightline rail system will help move Westerners between Los Angeles and Las Vegas quickly, safely and with fewer emissions. Building on the success of the infrastructure bill, Biden championed the CHIPS act, which effectively rebuilt the U.S. semiconductor and computer chip industry by creating trillions of dollars in new private investments and tens of thousands of new jobs, all while weakening the Chinese economy. This stands in sharp contrast to Trump, whose failed promises
Information based on reporting as of press time
A CHAMPION FOR ALL AMERICANS
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DEN
All of this was accomplished against the backdrop of the ongoing COVID pandemic and the lawlessness of Trump’s MAGA extremists and the related do-nothing GOP-led congress. Unlike the previous administration, Biden took the dangers of the pandemic—both to people and to businesses—seriously. That’s why he implemented a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination and testing program while also extending COVID protections for small businesses, student loan borrowers, and low-income Americans. Thanks to his leadership, the United States recovered from the pandemic faster than most other countries and Americans were able to get back to work while enjoying public gatherings and events once again. Yes, in the aftermath of the pandemic there was a significant increase in inflation because of supply chain and manufacturing issues (not unlike the end of World War II), but the Biden administration has successfully managed that and inflation is retreating. He avoided a predicted recession, delivered record jobs growth and a soaring stock market. It’s amazing how little credit this administration gets for its remarkable results. In short, President Biden has restored a sense of sanity to the White House that simply wasn’t present during the Trump years. Yes, he is a bit odd and his age worries many people. There have also been missteps like the tumultuous withdrawal from Afghanistan and failure to successfully pass comprehensive immigration reform—failures can be chalked up to a combination of error, misreading the situation and being forced to work with a Congress that refuses to negotiate. Yet even in these “failed” policy arenas, Biden has shown greater compassion and humanity than his predecessor by ending policies that separate children from their families and fighting against the use of border barriers designed to injure and maim those seeking a better life. His accomplishments are noteworthy, especially in the environment of violence, uncertainty and obstructionism that has gripped the United States since 2016—an environment created and cheered on by Donald Trump. For those reasons, he deserves an overwhelmingly large turnout in the primary, even when running effectively unopposed. As the third primary in the nation, Nevadans have the opportunity to send a clear message to community leaders, activists and donors on the left that Biden is worth investing in. Perhaps more importantly, we can send a message to Biden’s opponents, on both ends of the political spectrum, that he has earned our support, the nomination and a second term in the White House.
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ANTI-DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIES ABOUND IN NEVADA GOP CAUCUS
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he Nevada GOP’s private presidential nominating parties, also known as the Republican presidential caucuses, are a sham designed to sow confusion and rig the process for a single candidate. Donald Trump’s lap dog, Michael McDonald, is responsible for planning the caucuses and has done everything in his power to ensure his idol can’t be branded a “loser” in the Silver State. He’s doing it in plain sight, just as he did when he attempted to pass off himself and others as fake electors and signed fake election certificates in 2020. He’s been indicted for fraud for that last stunt. It’s a sign of how low the GOP has sunk that a man who knowingly tried to fake election results is now designing his party’s elections. In 2020, former Secretary of State Barbara Cega-
vske—a lifelong Republican—certified Joe Biden as the legitimate winner of Nevada. When Trump baselessly claimed election fraud, he was given his day in court and an opportunity to prove electoral and voting irregularities. He failed miserably. Carson City District Court Judge James Russell found that there was “no credible or reliable evidence that the 2020 General Election in Nevada was affected by fraud,” the evidence presented had “little to no value” and the Trump campaign “did not prove under any standard of proof that any illegal votes were cast and counted, or legal votes were not counted at all, for any other improper or illegal reason.” Since then, knowing that they lack the support of most Nevadans, Trump and McDonald have worked tirelessly to silence voters, eliminate the
SAVE I THE DAY
GOP presidential preference primary elections and host private nominating parties, stacked with Trump loyalists, that can override the will of the voters as expressed at the ballot box. To accomplish this goal, the state GOP forced candidates to choose between safe and secure government-administered primaries or private caucuses by inventing a rule that candidates could not appear on both ballots. The result is that Trump and other candidates like Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who dropped out, aren’t on the primary ballot, and Nikki Haley, the only serious challenger to Trump left in the race as of press time, will not appear on the caucus ballot. The fact that the GOP removed DeSantis from the caucus ballot after he dropped out of the race on Sunday shows that it could still include Haley; the party simply doesn’t want Republican voters to have a choice. Limiting voter choice in the caucuses makes sense given that the party declared that the ballots of Republican voters who participate in the primaries would be irrelevant and that all delegates would be awarded based upon the outcome of the private caucuses. To control who accesses the caucuses, the GOP scheduled them on a date and time that leaves thousands of working-class and family-oriented Nevadans unable to participate, including swing shift voters in Clark County’s massive hospitality industry. Party leaders also disqualified people who didn’t register at least 30 days in advance of the caucus and are prohibiting Nevadans from caucusing anywhere outside of their home
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BY GEOFF CARTER
You may be frustrated by our electoral system, but that doesn’t mean it’s stopped working—unless you give up
n November 2000, I voted for the first time. It seemed like a good jumping-in point—a presidential contest between Republican George W. Bush, Democrat Al Gore and a pair of third-party candidates, Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan, who mustered barely 3% of the popular vote between the two of them. I cast my first-ever vote not as an act of high-minded civic responsibility, but of lowbrow civil disobedience. I didn’t like any of the candidates, and back then I was still immature enough to cast a vote just to amuse myself. I thought of Dead Kennedys singer and political activist Jello Biafra, who had suggested that a good way to send a message to unlikeable candidates was to vote “none of the above” on ballots where such a thing was permitted. Nevada’s ballot had that option, so I exercised it.
To this day, I’m profoundly ashamed of having done that. I squandered a powerful responsibility in favor of a callous, self-serving prank. I didn’t give any consideration to our nation’s poor, the disenfranchised and oppressed, who were depending on people like me—someone who wasn’t poor, disenfranchised or oppressed—to use my vote to help them. The regret was nearly immediate. I got a sinking feeling as the results of the 2000 election were contested in the courts, and the floor dropped out completely when Bush, who had lost the popular vote by more than half a million, chuckled his way into the presidency courtesy of a Supreme Court that called the election prematurely. Every terrible thing that happened on Bush’s watch—the horror of 9/11, the baseless and destructive Iraq war, the Patriot Act’s erosion of personal privacy, the botched response to Hurricane
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precinct. Even more troublesome is that both the caucus rules and precinct locations are subject to change without notice. If all of that weren’t enough, there is no guarantee that your vote will be counted. As the Las Vegas Weekly’s Shannon Miller reported, the GOP’s only apparent security measure at the caucuses is a voter ID requirement that the staff at the Weekly and the Las Vegas Sun circumvented in a matter of minutes by ordering a fake ID in the name of state Republican Party Chairman, Michael McDonald. By using this fake ID, we could have arrived at Mr. McDonald’s precinct and caucused in his name. Unlike the state-administered primary elections, which have established processes for investigating and curing disputed or duplicate ballots, no such processes exist at the GOP’s private nominating party. Moreover, because caucuses happen in real time, there is nothing that could be done to change or undo what we did before being discovered. Adding insult to injury, it’s unclear whether using a fake ID or some other method of infiltrating a private nominating party would even qualify as voter fraud under existing state statutes. Consider that for a moment. Voting irregularities or disputes in the primaries can be investigated by the Secretary of State and cured by the Justice Department and a court of law at any time until July 15, when the nominating convention begins in Milwaukee. Deliberate attempts to vote illegally are a clear felony under Nevada law. On the other hand, if it is later discovered that McDonald, Trump or anyone else massively ma-
Katrina, the subprime mortgage meltdown—called my attention back to the election where I should instead have cast a vote. That brings us to 2024, and an even more consequential election. You’ve no doubt heard the prevailing message that this is a battle for democracy itself. The presumptive Republican candidate, Donald Trump, is facing down 91 felony charges, many of them related to his attempts to thwart the peaceful transfer of power. If re-elected, he’s threatened to take revenge on his political rivals, close the borders, conduct mass deportations, enact a nationwide abortion ban, gut environmental protections—in essence, taking on the characteristics of a dictator. The lies, noise and slander generated by Trump’s campaign
Voting irregularities or disputes in the PRIMARIES can be investigated by the Secretary of State and cured by the justice department and a court of law. Deliberate attempts to vote illegally are a clear felony under Nevada law. On the other hand, if anyone manipulated the outcome of the Nevada GOP’s PRIVATE CAUCUSES, not only is it not likely a crime under current election law, but there is no means of curing or correcting the outcome. nipulated the outcome of the Nevada GOP’s private caucuses, not only is it not likely a crime under current election law, but there is no means of curing or correcting the outcome. This is an absurdly insecure caucus. This isn’t hypothetical. Remember, McDonald is a proud member of Trump’s MAGA mob, which has already demonstrated that they care more about “owning the libs” and falsifying election results than preserving democracy. He already tried to pass off fake electors and signed his name on fake election certificates—we know because we used the signature from his fake election certificate to ensure the signature on our fake ID would match the real one. Of course, matching the signature is largely irrelevant given that, to our knowledge, the
will only get louder and more demoralizing as the election approaches, and in the face of this grueling and stressful election cycle, it’s perfectly normal to feel overwhelmed. Trump’s message isn’t “I’m going to win”; it’s “I believe I’ve already won, so don’t tell me I haven’t.” His supporters and enablers are raising the volume of that message to an inescapable roar, in the hopes that election day voters will be put off by it and stay home. Meanwhile, support for President Biden is unfocused and wobbly, alarmingly so for an incumbent facing an accused felon. The Democratic arguments against Biden are largely specious, beginning with his age: Many
GOP doesn’t have access to the signature files used to verify voter identities. Moreover, none of this chaos, uncertainty or lack of security was imposed upon the Nevada Republican Party. Rather, its leaders knowingly fought to create chaos and opportunities for manipulation by choosing to host a private party-run nominating event. They did so to ensure Trump would win before a single ballot was cast. Moderate Republicans and members of the GOP who believe in a functioning democracy and the right of the people to elect their leaders should take heed and refuse to participate in the sham caucus. Instead, they should participate in the state-administered primary elections occurring two days earlier, on February 6. Unlike the private caucuses, the primaries are a direct and proven secure reflection of the will of the Nevada voters. That’s why duly elected legislators representing a substantial majority of Nevada’s voters implemented primaries in the first place. Primaries can’t be manipulated by made up rules that stack the deck in favor of one candidate or by excluding otherwise eligible voters. Primaries also have established mechanisms to ensure that every vote is counted and that no vote is counted more than once. And they have clear laws protecting against voter fraud. By participating in the state-administered primaries, Nevada’s Republicans can send a clear message to the state party that they will not allow their voices to be silenced or their votes to go uncounted by the obvious maneuvers of liars and crooks.
voters say that Biden is too old to stand for reelection at age 81. (That’s perhaps true, but perspective is needed: Trump isn’t much younger at 77). They also say that Biden hasn’t done enough important work in his term, though what he’s accomplished with a split congress—including the bipartisan infrastructure bill that Trump promised, yet failed to deliver—is kind of remarkable. Those disenchanted voters could withhold their votes from Biden to “send a message,” like I did with Gore in the 2000 election. Or they could unwittingly fortify Trump’s
position by voting for independent candidates, some of whom are entering the race specifically to weaken Biden’s position. In less heightened circumstances, voting is necessary maintenance. It’s a series of fixes and adjustments, made with the knowledge and anticipation that some important things will go sideways if they’re dismissed or ignored. But these are not normal circumstances. Trump has driven the wear and tear on our democracy far beyond basic maintenance. If we
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Continued from page 27 don’t vote him down—if we allow intimidation tactics or stunt voting to sway our judgment at the polls—he’ll be free to disassemble our democracy at his leisure. If you’re fatigued by this election cycle, that’s understandable. If you’re feeling disillusioned with our government, that’s understandable, too. We’ve been through hell these past few years—a pandemic, an insurrection, an increasing number of allies at war with their neighbors. But we can’t allow ourselves the option of giving up. This year, your vote—your informed and conscientious vote—could be the epochal act that pushes us away from autocracy and saves people you’ve never met. If you don’t believe that, just consider the previous occasions when voting changed life in this country for the better. For example, take Public Law 88-352, better known as the Civil Rights Act of 1964—a landmark civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. It must have felt like an impossibility in the years following World War II, when a country that had suffered years of institutionalized bigotry erupted into nationwide protests. The law wasn’t made overnight, or without constant public pressure. Thousands upon thousands peacefully marched for civil rights, swaying public opinion. The NAACP’s Clarence Mitchell and Roy Wilkins advocated for the law. The House of Representatives voted in favor of it, and Senators Mike Mansfield, Hubert Humphrey and Everett M. Dirksen helped to steer it through 60 days of debate and a segregationist filibuster. By the time President Lyndon Johnson presented the pen he’d used to sign the bill to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Civil Rights Act had passed through hundreds of hands—elected officials that voters had helped to put in the right place, at the right time. Voters had made an ecosystem where an important law, one that reflected the will of an informed and conscientious electorate, could come to exist. Without our vote, the system can get poisoned. Bad actors can get into office and begin chipping away at rights we’ve already earned. Because of Bush and Trump’s Supreme Court appointees, abortion is now illegal in 21 states. The malevolent entities in our government managed to get this far because we didn’t vote for the people and safeguards that could stop them. Nevada’s Republican voters now face such a crisis point. Trump is a political aberration—a fame-obsessed grifter who has used the presidency to line his pockets and bolster his ego. It’s almost not enough to deny him the presidency again; his example needs to be quashed. Begin now by recognizing another Republican candidate, Nikki Haley. She has demonstrated her respect for the electoral process and the rule of law, which separates her from every other candidate in her field. Do as I should have done in 2000, and carefully consider the impact your vote could have. You may have ideological differences with Haley, who was still in the running as of press time, but the contrast between her and Trump is stark and enormous. One is running for president; the other is running away from prison. We can’t sleep on this one. We must cut through the noise and vote to keep our democracy intact. It’s an election year, an undeniably tough one to stomach. I know you’re tired. I know you’re frustrated. I feel tired and frustrated myself, sometimes, but I also feel hopeful and empowered. I’ve been watching this process long enough to know that voting in numbers can work—and when it does, it feels like the world rising underneath you. It feels heroic.
EARLY VOTING SITES AND MAIL BALLOT DROP-OFF SITES All early voting sites are also mail ballot drop-off locations during the listed dates and times
Long-term early voting sites and mail ballot drop-off locations are open every day from Jan. 27 to Feb. 2. Arroyo Market Square, tent 7225 Arroyo Crossing Pkwy. (Parking lot near Men’s Wearhouse) Jan. 27-Feb. 1, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Blue Diamond Crossing, tent 4100 Blue Diamond Road Jan. 27-Feb. 1, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Cambridge Recreation Center 3930 Cambridge Street Jan. 27-Feb. 1, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Centennial Hills— Thunderbird Park, tent 6105 N. Durango Drive Jan. 27-Feb. 1, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Craig Ranch Regional Park, tent 628 W. Craig Road (Parking lot south of baseball diamonds) Jan. 27-Feb. 1, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Deer Springs Town Center, tent 640 E. Deer Springs Way (Parking lot near Home Depot) Jan. 27-Feb. 1, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Desert Breeze Community Center 8275 Spring Mountain Road Jan. 27-Feb. 1, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
Galleria at Sunset 1300 W. Sunset Road (Kohl’s Court) Jan. 27, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Jan. 28, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Jan. 29-Feb. 1, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Feb. 2, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Las Vegas Athletic Club–North, tent 6050 N. Decatur Blvd. (parking lot) Jan. 27-Feb. 1, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Las Vegas Athletic Club– Northwest, tent 1725 N. Rainbow Blvd. (parking lot) Jan. 27-Feb. 1, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Meadows Mall 4300 Meadows Lane (near Round1, first floor) Jan. 27, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Jan. 28, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Jan. 29-Feb., 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Feb. 2, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Mountain Crest Community Center 4701 N. Durango Drive Jan. 27-Feb. 1, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Mountain’s Edge Regional Park, tent 8101 W. Mountains Edge Pkwy., (parking lot) Jan. 27-Feb. 1, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Nellis Crossing Shopping Center, tent 1250 S. Nellis Blvd. (parking lot near Target) Jan. 27-Feb. 1, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.
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Silver Springs Recreation Center 1951 E. Silver Springs Pkwy. Jan. 27-Feb. 1, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Silverado Ranch Park, tent 9855 Gilespie Street (parking lot) Jan. 27-Feb. 1, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Veterans Memorial Community Center 101 N. Pavilion Center Drive Jan. 27-Feb. 1, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Walnut Recreation Center 3075 N. Walnut Road Jan. 27-Feb. 1, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. West Flamingo Senior Center 6255 W. Flamingo Road Jan. 27-Feb. 1, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Short-term early voting sites and mail ballot drop-off locations open for a limited number of days, Jan. 27 through Feb. 2.
For more information about early voting and Election Day, visit ClarkCountyNV.gov/vote or call 702-455-VOTE (8683). Any registered voter in Clark County can vote in-person before Election Day at any early voting site instead of voting by mail.
Doolittle Community Center 1950 J Street Jan. 31-Feb. 1, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
Mountain Shadows Community Center 9107 Del Webb Blvd. Jan. 27, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Searchlight Community Center 200 Michael Wendell Way, Searchlight Jan. 31, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
East Las Vegas Community Center 250 N. Eastern Ave. Jan. 31-Feb. 1, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
Nevada State University, Rogers Student Center 1300 Nevada State Drive, Henderson Jan. 29, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Silver Mesa Recreation Center 4025 Allen Lane Jan. 27, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
East Las Vegas Library 2851 E. Bonanza Road Jan. 27-28, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Jan. 29-30, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
North Las Vegas City Hall 2250 Las Vegas Blvd. North Jan. 31, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Enterprise Library 8310 S. Las Vegas Blvd. Jan. 27-28, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Albertsons, Ann/Simmons Jan. 29-30, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Green Valley Library 2797 N. Green Valley Pkwy. Jan. 30, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Aliante Library 2400 W. Deer Springs Way Jan. 31, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Henderson City Hall 240 S. Water Street Jan. 29-Feb. 1, 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Boulder City Recreation Center 900 Arizona Street Jan. 27-28, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Henderson Executive Airport 3500 Executive Terminal Drive Feb. 1, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
Centennial Hills YMCA 6601 N. Buffalo Drive Feb. 1-2, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Chinatown Plaza 4255 Spring Mountain Road Jan. 28, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Coleman Senior Center 2100 Bonnie Lane Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. CSN Henderson Campus, student union 700 College Drive Jan. 30, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. CSN North Las Vegas Campus, Tyrone Thompson Student Union 3200 E. Cheyenne Ave. Feb. 1, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
Heritage Park Senior Facility 300 S. Racetrack Road Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Hollywood Recreation Center 1650 S. Hollywood Blvd. Jan. 27-28, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Laughlin Library 2840 S. Needles Hwy., Laughlin Feb. 1, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Feb. 2, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mesquite Jimmie Hughes Campus, Suite 1 150 N. Yucca Street, Mesquite Jan. 28-29, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Moapa Valley Community Center 320 N. Moapa Valley Blvd., Overton Jan. 30, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Paradise Community Center 4775 S. McLeod Drive Feb. 1, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Parkdale Recreation and Senior Center 3200 Ferndale Street Jan. 29, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Paseo Verde Library 280 S. Green Valley Pkwy. Jan. 31, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Pearson Community Center, Room C 1625 W. Carey Ave. Jan. 27-30, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Rainbow Library 3150 N. Buffalo Drive Jan. 27, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) Building, Room 108 600 S. Grand Central Pkwy. Feb. 1, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sahara West Library 9600 W. Sahara Ave. Jan. 28, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Jan. 29-31, 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Seafood City Market 3890 S. Maryland Pkwy. Jan. 27, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Skye Canyon Community Center 10111 W. Skye Canyon Park Drive Jan. 29, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. SkyView YMCA 3050 E. Centennial Pkwy. Feb. 1-2, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Solera at Anthem Community Center 2401 Somersworth Drive Jan. 31, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun City Aliante Community Center 7390 Aliante Pkwy. Jan. 28, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun City Anthem Center 2450 Hampton Road Jan. 29-30, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun City MacDonald Ranch Community Center 2020 W. Horizon Ridge Pkwy. Feb. 1, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun City Mesquite, 1350 Flat Top Mesa Drive, Mesquite Jan. 27, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. UNLV Lied Library E. Harmon Ave. Jan. 29, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Whitney Recreation Center 5712 Missouri Ave. Jan. 28, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Winchester Dondero Cultural Center 3130 McLeod Drive Jan. 30, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Windmill Library 7060 W. Windmill Lane Feb. 2, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
CSN West Charleston campus, student union 6375 W. Charleston Blvd. Jan. 31, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Desert Vista Community Center 10360 Sun City Blvd. Jan. 30-31, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
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BRIDGE IS COMING DOWN
A temporary bridge at the corner of Flamingo Road and Koval Lane that was built for the Formula 1 Grand Prix in November is going to be dismantled, race officials said January 17. Construction will continue nightly through February 1.
CCSD BODYCAM FOOTAGE
More than 11 months after a video went viral showing a Clark County School District police officer slamming a Black teen to the ground and about nine months after the ACLU of Nevada sued for it, CCSD released body-worn camera footage from the incident. The ACLU is representing two of the teens who were involved in the incident.
ENTERTAINMENT LINEUP FOR SUPER BOWL PREGAME ANNOUNCED
N E W S
Reba McEntire, Post Malone and Andra Day will feature in the pregame entertainment for Super Bowl LVIII on February 11 at Allegiant Stadium. McEntire will sing the national anthem, Malone will sing America the Beautiful, and Day will sing Lift Every Voice and Sing. The national anthem and Lift Every Voice and Sing will be produced and arranged by Emmy Award-winning musical director and producer Adam Blackstone. The pregame entertainment and halftime show will also feature premiere American Sign Language (ASL) performances. On behalf of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), actor Daniel Durant, who starred in the Academy Award-winning movie CODA, will perform the national anthem in ASL. Actor Anjel Piñero will sign America the Beautiful, and choreographer Shaheem Sanchez will sign Lift Every Voice and Sing. Sanchez will also perform the ASL rendition of the halftime show. Usher will headline halftime show, which will be produced by DPS with Roc Nation and Jesse Collins serving as executive producers, and Hamish Hamilton and Jay-Z serving as directors. –Staff
ESPORTS DONATION HyperX Arena, an esports venue at the Luxor owned by Allied Esports, donated gaming equipment to support the launch of UNLV’s first on-campus gaming center for students, the Tonopah Esports Lounge. Donations included gaming monitors, headsets, mouses and ergonomic chairs. The lounge opened January 24. –Staff
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BALLOTS DELIVERED As of January 18, registered Democrats and Republicans in Clark County started receiving mail ballots for the presidential preference primary. Visit nevada.ballottrax.net to track your ballot and register for ballot tracking updates via text, call or email.
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ENTERTAINMENT
TOBACCO REPORT FAILURE Nevada got a failing grade on the American Lung Association’s State of Tobacco Control report in several categories. It got a C grade for Strength of Smoke-free Workplace Laws.
THE KILLERS ANNOUNCE RESIDENCY AT THE COLOSSEUM Vintage slot machines are displayed January 18 at the Golden Gate in Downtown Las Vegas. The casino opened as Hotel Nevada with 10 rooms on January 18, 1906. (Steve Marcus/Staff)
GOLDEN GATE CELEBRATES 118 YEARS IN BUSINESS There are 10 hotel rooms in Downtown Las Vegas in which many visitors have to lower their heads so they don’t hit the ceiling. Those rooms at the Golden Gate, which debuted 118 years ago in 1906, are still available to guests. And on some nights, they can be booked for $24. It’s part of the unique history at Golden Gate, which on January 18— 1/18—celebrated its 118th anniversary. Las Vegas
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Mayor Carolyn Goodman presented a proclamation to Golden Gate owner Derek Stevens at an event commemorating the milestone, raving about how Stevens has worked over the years to preserve the property’s history. Much has changed through the years, including the average height of an adult in the United States. Hence, the lower ceilings in the historic rooms at the Golden Gate. –Ray Brewer
The Killers have announced a concert residency in their home town. In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the band’s debut album Hot Fuss, the band will perform the album in full for the first time ever. The residency will run August 14-30 at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Tickets go on sale January 27 and will be available at ticketmaster.com. The announcement comes a month after the band—Brandon Flowers (vocals), Dave Keuning (guitar), Mark Stoermer (bass) and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. (drums)—released Rebel Diamonds, which features 20 tracks, including “Mr. Brightside” from Hot Fuss. -Staff
Coronado High’s Josiah Cunningham, right, shoots the ball over Bishop Gorman’s Blake Sullivan during the Big City Showdown on January 20 at Coronado in Henderson. Cunningham scored 21 points and was named MVP after leading his team to a 74-63 win in the game, the school’s first victory ever against the Gaels. (Steve Marcus/Staff)
THAT’S HOW MANY NOMINATIONS THE ACADEMY AWARDS SHOWERED ON CHRISTOPHER NOLAN’S BLOCKBUSTER BIOPIC OPPENHEIMER. BARBIE, THE YEAR’S BIGGEST HIT WITH MORE THAN $1.4 BILLION IN TICKET SALES, RECEIVED EIGHT, THOUGH DIRECTOR GRETA GERWIG WAS NOT AMONG THEM.
GOV. JOE LOMBARDO SAID HE WOULD CAUCUS FOR FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP.
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DON’T HAVE CONSISTENT ACCESS TO ENOUGH FOOD TO LIVE A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE?
T H I S H O L I DAY S E A S O N , H E L P YO U R N E I G H B O R S I N N E E D B Y G E T T I N G I N VO LV E D O R D O N AT I N G T O T H E S E O R G A N I Z AT I O N S T H AT H E L P TAC K L E F O O D I N S E C U R I T Y I N T H E L A S V E G A S VA L L E Y.
The Just One Project serves more than 20,000 food-insecure Southern Nevadans per month. 96% of every dollar given goes directly into The Just One Project’s programs. Volunteer opportunities are available for all ages. To volunteer, donate or to learn more, please visit thejustoneproject.org. If you are in need of assistance email appointment@ thejustoneproject.org or call 702-462-2253.
Last year, Three Square distributed nearly 43 million pounds of food. Every dollar donated provides 3 wholesome meals. Long-term volunteer opportunities include helping clients apply for programs and serving seniors 60+ through community meals and delivering groceries. Individuals and groups may volunteer by visiting threesquare.org.
The Las Vegan Food Pantry provides plant-based supplemental food through distributions on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month. To volunteer visit lasveganfoodpantry.org. To receive a free box of food, visit lasveganfoodpantry.org, click on the Reserve Grocery Box icon. Please note: You must be able to pick up the box on the day of distribution at 10:30 a.m.
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M U S I C
REFINED FREESTYLE
Black Violin brings classical and hip-hop fusion to the Smith Center
BY SHANNON MILLER
C U L T U R E
The classical and hip-hop fusion duo Black Violin has quite a list of musical accomplishments. They’ve performed with Alicia Keys, toured with Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park and played for former First Lady Michelle Obama at one of President Barack Obama’s inaugural balls. As viola player and vocalist Wil Baptiste and violin player Kev Marcus work on an album set to release this year, they’re going back on tour with “the crew”—Nat Stokes on drums, DJ SPS on the turntables and Liston Gregory on keyboards. Singer-songwriter Abraham Alexander is touring with the band and will open the January 30 show at Reynolds Hall. Las Vegas is the fourth stop on their spring tour, dubbed The Experience, and concertgoers can expect an energetic and inspiring show. “When I’m on stage … I’m not thinking of anybody else. I’m as free as a bird,” says Baptiste. “And that’s one of the things we encourage for the crowd is to let loose, be yourself, be comfortable.” From his home in Fort Lauderdale, Baptiste talked with the Weekly about Black Violin’s upcoming album, his views on fostering creativity and connecting through music.
BLACK VIOLIN With Abraham Alexander. January 30, 7:30 p.m., $39. Reynolds Hall, thesmithcenter. com.
It’s been three years since Black Violin released an album, and now, you’re working on a new album. We locked ourselves in the studio and started just creating. That’s something that we do on stage a lot [but] we’ve never really done that in the studio. …This time, we wanted to focus the creation mostly on the band. Everybody in the whole band comes in, we’re in the studio, and we’re just there for a week creating, throwing things at the wall. We haven’t done that before. … We jam and
have fun and move around and play music on stage all the time, but not in a controlled environment with this purpose to create an album. The concept of the album is just the idea of being free. What does that sound like? What does it mean to you? Black Violin breaks the boundaries of musical genres. Is it challenging to go against the grain of conventions? The idea of taking this instrument and playing something other than classical is something that we’ve
always done. … It’s almost like it was a defense mechanism. We grew up in Fort Lauderdale. We went to a predominantly Black and brown school. … But outside of that, there weren’t a lot of kids that looked like us playing. I think hip-hop was such a huge influence. Hip-hop is the rebel; “I’m gonna take this thing and rip it apart and put it together in ways that I want to.” So the idea of taking this instrument and playing hip-hop wasn’t even a question. It was extremely instinctive [and] natural for us to do
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Black Violin’s Wil Baptiste (left) and Kev Marcus (Courtesy/Mark Clennon)
Clark County Parks & Recreation & the Las Vegas Jazz Society Present
it. … Creating is just the same thing. The process is literally like, ‘Oh, this sounds dope. Build a beat on top of it. I can freestyle on top of it.’ ... We didn’t read a book. We didn’t see anyone do this. It was very much hip-hop and [had] a lot to do with … being yourself [by] any means necessary. You have a nonprofit that provides scholarships for youth to foster creativity and continue their education in music. What are your views on creativity? I think everybody has their thing, whether it’s sports, writing
or talking to somebody. Music is a way for me to just open up my chest and allow you to see what’s inside. … Here’s a glimpse of me. I think to a great extent, that’s everybody. Everybody wants to be seen in some form. … And some people do it in different ways, whether it’s basketball or whatever. But I like to do it through creating. What’s on your Spotify playlist? What inspires you? Curtis Mayfield is one of my favorite artists that I listen to almost daily. I listen to [John] Coltrane a lot. … I listen to a jazz album by a group by the name of Phi-Psonics. … I don’t listen to a lot of hip-hop, unless it’s something I know I’m going to like, like To Pimp A Butterfly [by Kendrick Lamar] or Like Water for Chocolate [by Common]. If it’s not feeding me or doing anything for me, I’m not trying to listen to it. … You are what you eat. I’m not saying I’m consuming the most refined and perfect meal when it comes to music. But as I get older, I’m very selective about what I listen to. It has to just do something for me. And nostalgia has a lot to do with it. … I still listen to a lot of it that still makes me feel the same way, the Motown eras and the Marvin Gayes and Aretha Franklins of the world.
The Jazz Arts Community Ensemble If you could watch any hip-hop artist and a classical musician meet for dinner, who would you want to see? I would love to be in the space of when Aquemini was put together. What went through their mind as [Outkast was] constructing this record? As far as classical, one of my favorite composers is [Dmitri] Shostakovich. Funny thing is, I hated his music at first. I thought it was like the worst music in the world until I heard his story. When I got to understand his story, then I got to understand the music a lot more. Black Violin not only helps foster creativity but also connection through music. What does connecting with listeners mean to you? My proudest moments are when people come up to me and tell me, “I was in prison and your music got me through this thing.” There’s no greater compliment, as I’m doing this thing … that comes naturally for me. Somehow it’s allowing you to feel like, “I can push through,” and get to live another day or deserve to live another day. There’s nothing else that can top that. That’s why I keep doing what I’m doing.
Live at Winchester Theater
Saturday January 27 2pm $10
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M U S I C
TLC Crazysexycool “That album taught me so much about music and relations in music. It’s not a hip-hop album, but there’s so much hip-hop on [it]. I’m a hip-hop head so I would rewind Left Eye’s verse over and over, trying to catch her flow. Then I really loved T-Boz, ‘cause I felt like the texture of her voice was low and that felt achievable.”
C U L T U R E
WITH COCO JENKINS
BY A M B E R S A M P S O N CoCo Jenkins is the definition of a mover and shaker. Just in the last year, the Las Vegas musician and creator of the carefully curated Instagram page There’s Nothing to Do in Las Vegas has released her own beat tape, CoCo’s Crispies, Vol. 1, supported homegrown rapper Dizzy Wright and The High Vibrations on tour, dropped an EP with her band Moon Ra and performed an after-hours DJ set in the basement of a strip club. A jill of all trades by trade, Jenkins keeps the scene guessing with live sets where she builds her beats and songs in real time, flexing her versatile musicianship. She recently took an afternoon with the Weekly to discuss three essential albums that inspire.
Read more of this interview at lasvegasweekly.com.
LISTEN NOW cocojenkins.bandcamp.com, instagram.com/cocojenkinsbeats
System of a Down Toxicity “Musically, they’re so melodic. They do stuff in different time signatures, and the music speaks for itself. That was my first heavy album. Any System of a Down concert, I’m there in the pit, singing all the songs.”
Mariah Carey Butterfly “I would cry myself to sleep every night listening to ‘Breakdown.’ I didn’t know that kind of love. She also had a Prince cover on that album, ‘The Beautiful Ones’ with Sisqó, that’s crazy. To me, Sisqó is one of the only people who matches her vocally. She’s still the greatest vocalist and one of the greatest writers.”
Photograph by Christopher DeVargas
AARON LEWIS SATURDAY
JANUARY 27
THE BLACK CROWES FRIDAY & SATURDAY
FEBRUARY 9 & 10
AMY GRANT SATURDAY
FEBRUARY 17
HERE TO Scan & see how Palms does entertainment.
4321 W Flamingo Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89103
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HIGH PERFORMANCE Stalwart Vegas DJ Eric Forbes knows when to pick up the pace
(Courtesy/@AaronKylyStudios)
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BY BROCK RADKE t sounds like the epitome of coolness—a Las Vegas DJ who has rocked the party at just about every essential nightclub one could name up and down the Strip. But if this same DJ also happens to be a dad, all bets are off. “My wife and I have been together 16 years, and she’s in the industry, a server at XS since day one. We met at Studio 54 when we both worked there,” says Eric Forbes. “So being married with a 14-yearold, I’m still on that dad life no matter what else is going on, so I’m not cool. “All my son’s friends follow me on Instagram, and we’ll go out to ride bikes and run into the friends. They’ll be, ‘What’s up DJ Eric Forbes?’ So his friends think I’m cool, but he doesn’t. It takes me back to when I was a kid, and it’s fun to see.” Such is life for a DJ-dad. Forbes moved to Las Vegas from the Bay Area in 1998 and started out behind the bar while he nurtured his future career behind the decks. He handled both tasks at the legendary Studio 54 at MGM Grand until he became a resident there and “went all in” on DJing. Now his name is practically ubiquitous on club calendars. Until pool season arrives and Forbes returns to one of his favorite gigs at Flamingo’s Go Pool—“It’s really fun, kind of a hidden gem as far as Las Vegas pool parties go,” he says—he can be found spinning at Skyline Saturdays at Ghostbar at the Palms, as well as multiple monthly gigs at Tao Group Hospitality venues including Marquee Nightclub at the Cosmopolitan and Tao at Venetian. Speaking of hidden gems, the resurrected Ghostbar might qualify for that category. “I played at Rain a couple times back in the day, and I think I did Moon once or twice, but I never did Ghostbar back when it was the original at the Palms,” Forbes says. “I love working there and it’s still one of the best, if not the best view of the Strip.
I did New Year’s there this year and it was incredible.” Forbes has seen Vegas DJ life change and evolve quite a bit through the years, and he prides himself on being able to adapt to the market. He can go heavy on hip-hop, focus on EDM, or balance multiple genres in a single set, tempered by years of staying on his game in one of the most dynamic nightlife landscapes in the world. “A lot of those years at Studio 54, it wasn’t the busiest club, but it had that huge floor and it was built to dance, not for bottle service. That made me so much better as a DJ because you have to really understand music and what you can do to keep people interested. I think that really gave me longevity and range in my career.” As if he needed another energy source, Forbes has also turned some passion projects into side gigs. His whole family has always been heavy into motorsports and he’s been fixing up cars since before he could drive; that “hobby” has turned into Forbes Performance, a growing brand that is really just Forbes doing what he’s always done, doing custom work on high performance cars out of his garage. One of his clients-turned-pals is none other than Shaquille O’Neal, who already spends plenty of time in Las Vegas for special events, his own DJ gigs and keeping an eye on his Big Chicken restaurant. “I met Shaq seven years ago when I was a resident at Rehab and we connected and talked from time to time,” Forbes says. “We have similar taste in music and he’s really into cars, too, and he had a bunch of Dodge Hellcat Chargers so he hit me up. One car turned into three, and making the first one a little faster turned into two fully custom builds. I just finished one a few weeks ago. “It’s kind of wild and surreal to have that happen, but it’s been super fun. And he’s just such a great person to begin with.”
DJ ERIC FORBES January 27, 10 p.m., no cover. Ghostbar, palms.com.
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A TOMATO MARTINI TOAST TO ARTFUL DINING C U L T U R E
Innovative French restaurant LPM adds intrigue and whimsy to the Strip
The Tomatini cocktail and gnocchi a la tomate fraiche (right) at LPM. (Courtesy/LPM Restaurant)
BY ROB KACHELRIESS Jean Cocteau was known for surrealism, wit and avant-garde experimentation, so it’s no surprise the French artist and playwright was adopted as the muse and inspiration for LPM Restaurant & Bar, a culinary concept that resists confinement to one single category. The brand was founded on the flavors of the French Riviera, but touches on elements of Italian, Greek, American and even Japanese cuisine, funneled through a focused vision that celebrates simplicity in taste and texture. LPM, a global presence with nine locations throughout the world, now serves dinner in Las Vegas at the space formerly home to Estiatorio Milos at the Cosmopolitan. The bright, open dining room charms with a centralized wine station, raw bar prep counter and outdoor patio overlooking the Strip. Art is everywhere, from hand-drawn murals to framed paintings and a lone statuette that keeps the bartenders company. At times, it’s like walking through a gallery. As always, art is a form of expression and diners are invited to show off their own creativity at the beginning of a meal by picking up a knife and slicing away at the tomato and lemon at the center of each table. With
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Gaetano’s take on eggs in purgatory. (Cody Boor/Gaetano’s)
a dash of salt, pepper and olive oil, the doit-yourself appetizer is one of those things that can’t go wrong, thanks to the quality of ingredients. The rest of your meal, however, is in the hands of the professionals. Executive chef Ravi Avaduta knows the menu well, working at LPM for 13 years in Dubai and Abu Dhabi before coming to Las Vegas. He always recommends the escargot ($30), served in the shell with butter and garlic. Extra bread is offered on the side to soak it all up. Seafood is well represented with warm Nigerian tiger prawns, gently broiled with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, as well as the Japanese yellowtail carpaccio ($29), thinly sliced with guacamole and a splash of orange citrus dressing. The branzino ($59), drenched in olive oil, honey, red chili and garlic, is grilled to give the skin a subtle crunch, then finished off in the oven. Yet the lamb ($68) is the restaurant’s true standout dish. Avaduta cooks marinated Australian cutlets inside a Josper oven, which locks in the smokiness and preserves the steak-like tenderness of the meat. The result pairs nicely with a plate of potato gnocchi, brought to life with just a drizzle
LPM RESTAURANT & BAR Cosmopolitan, 702-698-1889, lpmrestaurants.com. Daily, 5:30-10 p.m.
of cherry tomato sauce. Save room for cheesecake, the most requested LPM dessert. The cream cheese batter is cooked at a low temperature, bringing out a light, irresistibly creamy bite that contrasts nicely against a hazelnut crust. Cocteau’s presence dominates the cocktail menu with his life story documented among a series of aperitif-based recipes. It’s almost like reading a novelette. The most talked about drink is the Tomatini ($17)—a combination of vodka, muddled tomatoes, white balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and a hint of simple syrup that’s strained over a martini glass. You have the option to add fresh cracked pepper from a large grinder that towers above your server’s head. For all its nuance and charm, the restaurant isn’t afraid to have fun with a kitschy spectacle. Just say when. LPM (a name that evolved from an initial relationship with La Petite Maison in Nice) is off to a fine start in Las Vegas as one of the most intriguing new restaurants of 2023. Menus are in the works for lunch and brunch, further making the operation one to watch in the weeks and months ahead.
THAT THING WHEN YOUR FAVORITE NEIGHBORHOOD ITALIAN SPOT DOES BRUNCH It’s common in any family business for the younger generation to add its own touch of modern style to the operation when the torch is eventually passed. At longtime neighborhood favorite Gaetano’s Ristorante, sustained success means finding the perfect blend of familiar tradition and new, exciting offerings. Patriarch Gaetano Palmeri, who passed in 2019, moved his decades-old Italian restaurant from Calabasas, California, to Henderson in June 2002. It’s been one of the southeast valley’s most beloved eateries ever since, and maintaining that reputation has been the mission of Nick Palmeri and his wife Sarah well before the couple purchased Gaetano’s from Nick’s mother in 2021. “My dad’s ethos has always been focused on service, on food quality, and making sure everybody feels at home,” he says. “All we’ve done is elevated that a bit.” When it comes to expanding the long-running special-event wine dinners and other culinary programming, “we offer the best of what we do in town, so why not offer a little more of what people want?” Palmeri says. Another collaboration with their friends at Frank Family Vineyards is set for February 29. But brunch is the latest addition at Gaetano’s, a Sunday smorgasbord of bruschetta toasts, eggs benedict with braised wild boar ragu ($28), pasta, panini and more. It took the team a full year of planning to curate the perfect brunch experience that would meet regulars’ expectations as well as tempt other diners to stay in the neighborhood instead of heading to the Strip for the weekend escape. Nick loves the Panettone French toast ($20), prepared in cinnamon-vanilla batter with candied fruit and finished with marsala wine-laced maple syrup. And Sarah says customers adore the Nutella-filled puff pastry ($18) with hazelnuts and bananas, and the Fiori di Sicilia panna cotta ($16), “which has this citrusy vanilla flavor, very soft and pretty, not like a creamsicle,” she says. –Brock Radke
GAETANO’S RISTORANTE 10271 S. Eastern Ave. #111, 702-361-1661, gaetanoslasvegas.com. Daily, 5-9 p.m.; Sunday brunch, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Sunday, February 11, 2024 Doors open at 2pm
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Food & Beverage minimum inclusive of tax and gratuity. Must be 21 or older to consume alcoholic beverages. Management reserves all rights.
2535 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109 702.761.7000 | saharalasvegas.com
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SHOOT TO S P O R T S
THRILL Vegas Thrill primed to compete in first Pro Volleyball Federation season behind star-studded roster and legendary coach
C U L T U R E
BY CASE KEEFER The sound of spiked volleyballs constantly reverberates through the gym with only the occasional harsh noise surfacing to momentarily drown them out. Skin sometimes squeaks on the rubber floor when players dive to keep balls alive. Applause and encouragement pipe up from teammates waiting their turns to rotate in when a prolonged volley occurs. The cycle is constant for about 30 minutes, until a brief respite when one of the players notices blood on the ground. They can’t determine to whom it belongs, call for clean-up and move a court over to re-establish the torrid pace of the 3-on-3 drill. At first glance, the newly-formed Vegas Thrill roster in the Professional Volleyball Federation is spectacular athletically and spirited in approach—and this isn’t even a match. It’s one of the newest, Henderson-based team’s first practices
Amani McArthur spikes during the first day of Vegas Thrill training camp at the Vegas Aces volleyball facility in Henderson. The new professional volleyball team will have its home opener at the Dollar Loan Center on February 15. (Steve Marcus/Staff)
just days after 20 women flew in to meet for the first time and begin their inaugural season. “The biggest thing we’ve been talking about in practice is effort,” setter Hannah Pukis says. “We’re going to be the team that goes for every single ball. The ball won’t touch the ground. We’re going to have the best ball control. That’s already being implemented, and every single day, we’re working on that. We’re going to be the team that has the most fight, the most grit on the court.” The Thrill’s regular season begins
on February 7 with a road date at the Omaha Supernovas. Their home debut comes on February 15 when they host the Supernovas at the Dollar Loan Center. Expectations are high for the Thrill to compete in the seven-team league behind a talented roster. Players to watch include the 23-year-old Pukis, the third overall pick out of the University of Oregon in the PVF’s first college draft; veteran setter Alisha Glass Childress, a former Olympic bronze medalist; and local native middle blocker Berkeley Oblad, a
former Coronado High star turned University of Utah standout. Longtime LSU head coach and American Volleyball Coaches Hall of Famer Fran Flory moved to town to coach the team. “My friends tell me I failed at retirement because I was retired for two years, but this opportunity, how do you say no to it?” Flory said. “It’s new. It’s exciting. It’s viable. It’s a real opportunity. It’s enough money for these players to live and take some money home. It’s a professional model that’s going to provide opportunities for
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VEGAS THRILL UPCOMING HOME SCHEDULE
families and women to actually have a career in the U.S.” Traditionally, those opportunities have only been available overseas. After an All-American career at Penn State University, the 35-year-old Glass Childress played in Brazil, Poland and Italy. The 25-year-old Oblad shipped off to France upon graduating from Utah. “This is a dream I never thought was going to happen,” Oblad said. “I played college in a different state and my parents came to watch but after high school, I never played in Vegas again. Now that it’s here, everyone
can come watch. To play at home is a surreal experience.” The players have responded to the “grit” and “fight” that Flory teaches, but the coach says a commitment to that style alone won’t be enough in the PVF. The league has attracted an inspiring level of top-tier talent, according to Flory. She’s banking on the caliber of the players in the league being the biggest separator and what ultimately allows the PVF to thrive unlike previous attempts to create a high-level domestic league. “This league is going to be about
Thursday Feb. 15 — vs. Omaha Supernovas Monday Feb. 19 — vs. San Diego Mojo Thursday Feb. 22 — vs. Orlando Valkyries Saturday Feb. 24 — vs. Columbus Fury Monday March 4 — vs. Atlanta Vibe Sunday March 24 — vs. San Diego Mojo Tuesday March 26 — vs. Grand Rapids Rise
offense,” Flory said. “We have to have players who can physically finish. The setting position is the quarterback position in our sport and we have three really, really good ones. It’s going to be tough to make the roster at that position, but we’re excited about that.” The Thrill’s other setter along with Glass Childress and Pukis is Ainise Havili, a former three-time All American at the University of Kansas. Vegas must trim its roster size to 14 players in time for the season, though teams also have two practice spots for college-drafted prospects. A few
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All home games at 7 p.m. at Dollar Loan Center. Tickets start at $29 for single games, or $100 deposit for season tickets at axs.com or 725-251-5413.
players including Glass Childress and Havili had started to transition into coaching before the formation of the PVF, and can therefore be an extra asset for the younger, developing players to lean on. “It’s so fun to be a part of this team,” Oblad said. “We have so much firepower, and we have a ton of IQ in this gym. A lot of these girls have been around volleyball for a long time and seen different aspects all around the world, so I think that’s really big to bring to this team.” Pukis is trying to soak in the wisdom from all her more experienced teammates as part of a path that could lead her to becoming the face of the franchise. It’s helped that she’s also come in as part of a class with four other rookies, including one in particular who’s helped Las Vegas feel more like home quickly. Flory said it wasn’t planned and solely a result of how the draft fell, but Vegas’ second pick was a collegiate teammate of Pukis’ in outside hitter Gaby Gonzales. Pukis and Gonzales only teamed up for a single year with the Ducks—the latter transferred in from Ohio State to follow in the path of the former, who started her college career at Washington State—but they helped make the team one of the best in the nation. Oregon fell short of its championship aspirations with an Elite Eight loss to Wisconsin in December, but perhaps Pukis and Gonzales can now scratch off that goal together on the professional level. “We knew we were going to have to build a culture here and we purposefully picked these athletes because we knew they would buy into what we believe in, what we want to create here and what Vegas stands for,” Flory said. “Vegas is the sports capital of the world. It’s not quite there yet, but it’s going to be there, and we want to be part of that camaraderie.”
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VEGAS INC BUSINESS
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CONVENTION CENTER RENOVATIONS SHOULD KEEP LAS VEGAS AT THE TOP OF THE LIST FOR BUSINESS TRAVEL
T
BY KATIE ANN MCCARVER
B U S I N E S S
VEGAS INC STAFF
he Las Vegas Convention Center will greet 1.3 million trade show attendees in the new year—with a strong start earlier this month due to the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which brought an estimated 130,000 people to town. Business travelers are important to Las Vegas’ tourism economy not only because they fill hundreds of thousands of hotel rooms during the week, but also because people who may otherwise not visit the city can see all that it has to offer and hopefully return as a leisure traveler, said Steve Hill, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “Maybe folks who would not consider it as a leisure destination come as a business customer, because they need to be here for that show or that meeting,” Hill said earlier this month. “And then realize, ‘Wow, I want to come back with my family and show them, too.’” Meeting and convention visitation to Las Vegas is “exceptionally important,” said Lori Nelson-Kraft, senior vice president of communications for the LVCVA. That’s why the latter, and all the resorts, dedicate so much of their sales efforts to the business traveler, she said, because that’s who will fill hotel rooms Sunday through Thursday. LVCVA research shows that business travelers also spend a third more than their leisure counterparts while in Las Vegas, Nelson-Kraft said, and are likely to attach a leisure trip around the convention they’re attending. “You have to fill those rooms all the time, and not just on the weekends,” Hill said. “And business customers have been so important to us during the week in order to just allow Las Vegas to be what it is. But it also expands our brand.” The outlook for meetings and conventions in Las Vegas in 2024—which includes the city’s first NAACP convention—comes on the heels of a
The Las Vegas Convention Center’s new South Hall plaza, located off University Center Drive just south of Desert Inn Road. (Brian Ramos/Staff)
successful 2023, said Nelson-Kraft, who noted that research shows that conventions in Las Vegas versus other destinations typically have a 9% increase in their overall attendance. A huge component of the momentum in Las Vegas’ meeting and convention industry is the return of the international traveler, she said. The trade show calendar for the new year is intentionally filling in key times in 2024 that may be otherwise low for leisure visitation, Nelson-Kraft said. “And then you also see into 2024, three venues that are reinvesting back into their facilities,” she said. “So LVCVA, we’re continuing our renovation … But you also have Mandalay Bay and Venetian that are investing in upgrading their facilities. So you’re seeing a constant reinvestment, which just continues to demonstrate the value everyone feels that meetings and conventions bring to Las Vegas.” The LVCVA last year kicked off a $600 million renovation to its Las Vegas Convention Center campus, including but not limited to the expansion of the convention center South Hall, as well as a major facelift to the North and Central halls. The renovation has been planned for nearly two decades, Hill said, but only got underway recently due to barriers like the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic. The Central and North halls opened about 65 and 41 years ago, respectively, he said, and are both overdue for revitalization.
“And now you can see how spectacular the West Hall is, and the differences between those halls is something that needs to be rectified,” Hill said January 8 in the South Hall’s new lobby. “We are going to now have a class A building in a Class A destination, where in the past we’ve had a class C or D building in the best destination world. Those two things need to fit together.” The West Hall debuted in 2021, as a “gold standard” in terms of quality—from aesthetics to technology to guest experience, Nelson-Kraft said. The ongoing renovation of the rest of the convention center campus is meant to upgrade the three other halls to reflect the West Hall experience. The convention center in December also welcomed a new neighbor, Fontainebleau Las Vegas, which boasts about 550,000 square feet of meeting space itself. With that addition, Nelson-Kraft said, there’s now 15 million square feet of meeting and convention space in Southern Nevada—more than any other U.S. destination. “Our customers are really excited about that, and we are, too,” Hill said. “Building out the north Strip around the Convention Center and up and down Las Vegas Boulevard just makes this area more attractive, and that continues to grow and continues to be a real benefit to the trade shows that are here and that will be at Fontainebleau or Resorts World or Wynn, because those properties can all play off of each other. Having that proximity is an advantage.”
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Gov. Joe Lombardo announced the appointment of Scott Scherer to the Nevada Commission on Ethics. Currently working at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Scherer was previously appointed as a member of the Nevada Commission on Ethics by the Legislature and served as a member of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, and as a member of the Nevada Assembly.
VEGAS INC NOTES Highlighting the best in business
Gov. Lombardo also recently announced the appointments of Steve Hill and Tommy White to the Las Vegas Stadium Authority Board of Directors. Hill and White began their new three-year terms on January 1. The Las Vegas Stadium Authority owns and oversees Las Vegas stadiums and manages the coverage of waterfall revenue distributions, in addition to managing stadium capital improvement funds and related expenditures. NASA published new research recently detailing a distant system of planets, and one of the authors is UNLV astrophysicist Jason Steffen. The work provides a deeper understanding of the solar system’s history using data from the retired Kepler space telescope.
Nevada Health and Bioscience Corporation—a nonprofit organization with the mission of developing healthcare research, education, clinical assets and programming—announced the hiring of Lisa Levine as Senior Director of Business Development and Operations; Kelly Lavigne as Director of Administration; and Kimberly Case-Nichols as General Manager of Strategic Operations and Facilities Management. The ER at North Las Vegas, an extension of Valley Hospital, has opened on the northwest corner of North 5th Street and Rome and is open for 24-hour emergency care every day of the year. Diagnostic capabilities include an onsite laboratory, CT scanner and imaging equipment, and multiple treatment and exam rooms. U.S. News & World Report has named Centennial Hills Hospital Medical Center as a 2024 High Performing hospital for Maternity Care (Uncomplicated Pregnancy), the highest award a hospital can earn for U.S. News’ Best Hospitals for Maternity Care, and the second consecutive year Centennial Hills Hospital has received this designation.
Req’d: Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Hotel Administration, or related. $60,403/year.
Patricia Krenos of the financial services firm Edward Jones recently received a promotion to the position of regional leader for the Southern Nevada, Southeast Utah and Southeast Arizona region. Krenos will now be responsible for the firm’s branch offices while continuing to help her community with their investment needs. Digital payments company Koin has hired Scott Carcillo as its chief commercial officer. Carcillo will lead the company’s expansion into the gaming industry and overall market reach, focusing on macro-level development and strategic partnerships. American Nevada Company has been awarded commercial property management contracts for three prominent properties in the Las Vegas Valley: Boulder Crossing at 5500 Boulder Highway; Jones Business Center, a grocery-anchored shopping center at 6345 S. Jones Blvd.; and office buildings at 2350 Corporate Center.
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FRANKIE VALLI AND THE FOUR SEASONS THE LAST ENCORES
APRIL 4 - 6 | JULY 3, 5 & 6 | OCTOBER 24 - 26
KOOL & THE GANG FEBRUARY 9 & 10 | MAY 24 & 25 AUGUST 2 & 3 | OCTOBER 4 & 5
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THE ULTIMATE COLLEGE HOOPS EXPERIENCE. 4 WATCH PARTIES. 4 GREAT VENUES. MARCH 20-24 & 28-31 3 STORIES OF GLORY VIEWING PARTY CIRCA SPORTSBOOK AT CIRCA RESORT & CASINO The Ultimate Hoops Experience is at the World’s Largest Sportsbook. Rising three stories high this venue is positioned in front of a huge 78-million-pixel screen. Indulge in delicious game-day favorites and quench your thirst with ice-cold beverages. You’ll feel the electrifying energy of the games while sitting in our grandstands, a plush recliner, or a luxury booth. There’s no bad seat in the house.
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POOLSIDE VIEWING PARTY STADIUM SWIM AT CIRCA RESORT & CASINO Get ready to make a splash as we celebrate the madness of basketball, and the thrill of victory, where the only thing hotter than the competition is our grill. With heated pools & cabanas, game-time snacks and drinks, and an epic 143ft screen to watch simultaneous game action - there’s simply no better place to be.
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GALAXY WATCH ZONE FREE WATCH PARTY LEVEL 3 GALAXY BALLROOM AT CIRCA RESORT & CASINO
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NOT YOUR ORDINARY FREE VIEWING PARTY 12TH FLOOR DETROIT BALLROOM AT THE D LAS VEGAS Watch the quest for greatness unfold on the hardwood as the underdogs roar, giants fall, and the unpredictable becomes the beauty of the madness. Immerse yourself in the thrill of the game at our special basketball curated viewing party with multiple high-definition screens, a Circa | Sports satellite betting station, cocktails, and concessions.
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