June 3-9, 2010
The New King of Film Fests! actually, the las Vegas film festiVal is the only one left standing. but it's trying to grow on you
Plus: a Vegas tech success story three decades of rock in photos our food critic enjoys sanctuary
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Contents
This Week in Your CiTY 13
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seven Days
local newsroom
The highlights of this week. By Bob Whitby
Oil spill in the Gulf hits plates in Las Vegas and saving the world one soap bar at a time. Plus: David G. Schwartz’s Green Felt Journal and Michael Green on Politics.
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90
Reports on culture, politics and business from The New York Observer. Plus: The NYO crossword puzzle and the weekly column by personal finance guru Kathy Kristof.
A review of the Flip Slide camcorder. By Eric Benderoff
national newsroom
tech
93 Dining
the latest
Town Square takes another shot at fine cuisine with Nu Sanctuary. By Max Jacobson Plus: Max’s Diner’s Notebook and the success of Elements.
The Beat perks up downtown. Plus: trends, Tweets and gossip. By Melissa Arseniuk
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100
society
Paint the Town and Flair for Care: two good times for good causes.
travel
Making a connection with Monument Valley. By Timothy O’Grady
25 style
102
This week’s Look, how men can keep their cool and a few choice Enviables. Plus: An interview with Mads Kornerup.
sports & leisure
How Herculez Gomez earned a surprise spot on the U.S. World Cup team. By Sean DeFrank Plus: Going for Broke By Matt Jacob
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nightlife
Seven Nights ahead, fabulous parties past and a sneak preview of Discreet.
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110
seven Questions
Above: Las Vegas Film Festival director of operations, Milo Kostelecky. Photo by Francis + Francis. On the cover: Photo illustration by Lauren Stewart.
arts & entertainment
Legendary rock photographer Neal Preston unveils 30 new images, and Rex Reed rates Holy Rollers.
Zappos founder Tony Hsieh talks about his life/work balance and the chosen home for his company. By Elizabeth Sewell
Features 30
the city’s film festival
With CineVegas out of the picture, a grassroots effort tries to fill the void. By Chad Clinton Freeman
32
game on
Local game-makers changed the industry once. Can they do it again? By David Davis June 3-9, 2010 Vegas Seven 9
Vegas seVen Publishers
Ryan T. Doherty | Justin Weniger AssociAte Publisher, Michael Skenandore
Editorial editoriAl director, Phil Hagen MAnAging editor, Bob Whitby AssociAte editor, Melissa Arseniuk news editor, Sean DeFrank A&e editor, Cindi Reed coPY editor, Paul Szydelko contributing writers
Richard Abowitz, Eric Benderoff, Becky Bosshart, Geoff Carter, David Davis, Sean Dunn, MJ Elstein, Chad Clinton Freeman, Jeanne Goodrich, Michael Green, Matt Jacob, Max Jacobson, Sharon Kehoe, Jarret Keene, Rex Reed, Jason Scavone, David G. Schwartz, Elizabeth Sewell, Michael Shulman, Kate Silver, Cole Smithey, Susan Stapleton, Xania Woodman interns
Mark Adams, Charlotte Bates, Kelly Corcoran, Jazmin Gelista, Sharon Kehoe, Jena Morak, Patrick Moulin
art Art director, Lauren Stewart senior grAPhic designer, Marvin Lucas grAPhic designer, Thomas Speak stAff PhotogrAPher, Anthony Mair contributing PhotogrAPhers
Hew Burney, Sullivan Charles, Danielle DeBruno, Francis + Francis, Roman Mendez, Tomas Muscionico, Beverly Oames and Ryan Reason contributing illustrAtor, Rob Tornoe
Production/distribution director of Production/distribution, Marc Barrington Advertising coordinAtor, Jimmy Bearse
salEs Account eXecutives, Christy Corda and Robyn Weiss
Comments or story ideas: comments@weeklyseven.com Advertising: sales@weeklyseven.com Distribution: distribution@weeklyseven.com Vegas Seven is distributed each thursday throughout southern nevada.
WenDOH MeDIa COMpanIes Ryan T. Doherty | Justin Weniger vice President, PUBLISHING, Michael Skenandore director, MARKETING, Jason Hancock entertAinMent director, Keith White creAtive director, Sherwin Yumul event coordinAtor, Richard Alexander
FinancE director of finAnce, Gregg Hardin Accounts receivAble MAnAger, Rebecca Lahr generAl Accounting MAnAger, Erica Carpino credit MAnAger, Erin Tolen
PublisHEd in association WitH tHE obsErVEr MEdia GrouP Copyright 2010 Vegas Seven, LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without the permission of Vegas Seven, LLC is prohibited. Vegas Seven, 888-792-5877, 3070 West Post Road, Las Vegas, NV 89118 10
Vegas Seven June 3-9, 2010
COntributOrs
David Davis “Game On,” page 32 After starting one of the first Web design and hosting companies in Las Vegas in 1995, Davis hosted a radio show on KNPR’s website, survived the Internet bust (though his company didn’t) and worked as a Web database programmer and network administrator until leaving computers in 2009 to write full-time. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Chicago, is a Microsoft-certified systems engineer and a Cisco-certified network administrator, and is about to finish his MBA at UNLV.
Chad Clinton Freeman “The City’s Film Festival,” page 30
Ryan Reason “Game On” photography, page 32 Reason lives by two simple rules: 1. Humble is for suckers, 2. Take pleasure seriously. A Las Vegas native, Arts Factory fixture and whiskey connoisseur, Reason pursues the art of concept and environmental portraiture with passion. He works as studio manager and photographer for Studio West Photography, which has been specializing in commercial and advertising photography for more than 20 years.
The founder of the movie website PollyStaffle. com, Freeman is an independent filmmaker and mass media specialist with more than 16 years of newspaper, film and Internet experience. The Texas native has been a part of all sides of filmmaking, from planning to post-production and promotion. He’s also covered his share of conventions and fests, been a film-festival judge, had a short film of his screen at the Arizona Underground Film Festival, and in May launched his own grindhouse event, the PollyGrind. A resident of Las Vegas since 1998, Freeman is a huge fan of armadillos, Michael Jackson, Japanese Chins and filmmakers Herschell Gordon Lewis, Quentin Tarantino and Zack Snyder.
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Visit the Vegas Seven website June 3-9, 2010 Vegas Seven 11
Seven DayS The highlights of this week in your city. By Bob Whitby
Thur. 3 Day No. 1 of summer vacation and somewhere there is a tween already saying it: “I’m bored.” That’s where the Bamboozle Roadshow comes in handy. This music festival is the little brother to the Warped Tour, and features the angsty pop kids love these days. The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel, noon, $35.50-$85.50, 693-5000. But for the older and wiser worried about the destruction of the Gulf and other consequences of our addiction to oil, there’s a group of likeminded folks at the monthly meeting of Solar NV. It should be an excellent opportunity to rub elbows with advocates of clean solar energy. We live in the desert, after all. Springs Preserve, Desert Living Center, 6-7:30 p.m., free.
Fri. 4 Another Friday, another First Friday downtown. But this month’s art stroll is special as it includes the inaugural 18b Music Festival featuring local bands competing for cash (see page 80). We’re rooting for the Dirty Panties, an all-girl punk outfit “formed seven years ago at a bar in a drunken stupor,” according to their bio. Perfect. Boulder Sculpture Plaza, 5-11 p.m., $9.99 for festival admission, 384-0092. Also, Crosby, Stills & Nash are in town. If you don’t know who they are, you’re too young to be interested. The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel, 8 p.m., $42-$116.50, 693-5000. Cineastes are slobbering at the thought of the Las Vegas Film Festival, which we’ve covered in detail on page 30. Las Vegas Hilton, opening night party 9:30 p.m., festival continues through Sunday, $8-$100, 552-9330.
XL photo courtesy Las Vegas News Bureau
Sat. 5 It’s National Trails Day, an excellent reminder to use your legs occasionally. And there’s a newly designated place for you do so: the River Mountains Loop Trail, a paved, 35-mile path connecting Henderson, Boulder City, the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. Check the trail’s website, rivermountainstrail.com, for a map. Exercise complete, you may attend the Brews and Blues Festival guilt-free. Your admission buys unlimited samples from 70 craft brewers—Chicago Brewing Co. to Boulder Dam Brewing Co.—and music from the likes of The Lucky Cheats and Scott Rhiner & the Moanin’ Blacksnakes. Food is available at kiosks and in the Springs Café. Crossroads Commons Amphitheater at Springs Preserve, 4 p.m., $25 in advance and online, $30 at the gate, 822-7700.
Sun. 6 Everybody wants to get here, which means you can get anywhere else easily, including Paris. XL Airways’ non-stop service between McCarran International Airport and Charles de Gaulle International Airport just started, and today is the second Sunday flight. It leaves for the City of Light at 8:20 p.m. Catch your return flight Thursday at 3:30 p.m. local time, leaving several days to get your Parisian on. XL says it can only guarantee the service until Sept. 23, so this summer would be the time to do the crossing.
Mon. 7 About this time every year the thought of living in the arctic, or Antarctic, seems appealing. What would it be like to walk outside and be in a refrigerator rather than a convection oven? Satiate that curiosity in the comfort of the Galleria at Sunset mall at the Ends of the Earth: From Polar Bears to Penguins exhibit. Kids will dig the polar bear and penguin labs, adventurous types can learn about the regions’ early explorers, and everyone can look forward to the time when Henderson has a permanent museum to house such exhibits. Galleria at Sunset, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sundays through Sept. 12; $4-$6, 267-2171.
Tues. 8 It’s Election Day, your chance to do something about the pols you love to hate. (In the 2008 primaries, only 15 percent of Clark County’s registered voters exercised that right.) To polish up on the issues check “20 Questions (and Answers!) for the Upcoming Political Season,” our political primer published May 20 and available online on our website, weeklyseven.com. Just type “20 Questions” into the search box. For info on candidates, the League of Women Voters of Las Vegas Valley has an excellent voters’ guide at its site, lwvlasvegasvalley.org. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. throughout Clark County.
Wed. 9 Still a climate change skeptic? Perhaps a talk from local environmental activist and Red Rock Audubon Society conservation chair John Hiatt will help you make up your mind. Hiatt will discuss climate change as recorded in Arctic ice and the implication of increasing carbon dioxide emissions at the general program meeting of the Sierra Club Southern Nevada Group, a topic worth a listen even if you’re not the tree-hugging type. NV Energ y Building, 6226 W. Sahara Ave., 7:30 p.m., free, 648-2983. June 3-9, 2010 Vegas Seven 13
The LaTesT
What’s hip, what’s happening, what’s going on—and what you need to know right now.
Compiled by Melissa Arseniuk
From Henderson With Love
Homemade and Downtown Coffee has a new home downtown, and the newest addition—The Beat coffeehouse—comes courtesy of the first couple of Fremont East, Downtown Cocktail Room owners Michael and Jennifer Cornthwaite. Business has been steady since the cafe opened May 24. “With no advertisements, with no signs out front, we’ve been busy,” Jennifer Cornthwaite says. From coffee to bread, the aim of The Beat is to keep things as local as possible. The café serves Boulder Citybased Colorado River Coffee Roasters espresso roast and Sumatra blend coffees ($2-$3), fresh-baked croissants, muffins and pastries, and a limited menu that includes quiche, sandwiches ($4-$7) and a daily special. Guy Savoy (and before that, Daniel NYC) alum Andy Knudson is in the kitchen, back in Las Vegas following a brief tenure at Michael Mina in San Francisco.
The Beat offers free Wi-Fi and has seating for 30, including seven chairs at the lunch counter—and more seats will be added once the café goes al fresco. Beer and wine are also on the horizon, as are live entertainment and open-mike nights. The coffee shop joins 19 other tenants in the Emergency Arts initiative, which is owned by the El Cortez (and houses the El Cortez offices, on the third floor of the building). Jennifer Cornthwaite, who writes a monthly style column for Vegas Seven, closed her art gallery, Henri & Odette, at 6th Street and Carson Avenue in December to focus on The Beat, but says the gallery will re-open next month in the same building as the coffee shop. 520 E. Fremont St., 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m. -10 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, 686-3164.
Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh changed modern American corporate culture. Now, after re-writing the rules of how to do business (and how to treat employees), he has written a book about it. On June 7, Hsieh releases his chronicle, Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose (Grand Central Publishing). In the book he recounts how he has been affected by everything from online poker to Red Bull, and how he applied all of it to business and life. He tells the story of how he founded his first successful company, LinkExchange (which he sold to Microsoft in 1999 for $265 million), and how he started fresh with Henderson-based Zappos. Zappos famously offers new employees $2,000 to quit, and allows customer service representatives to take calls using their own words, disregarding the longheld tradition of scripted call centers. The company was named to Fortune’s list of Best Companies to Work For in 2009 and 2010. “If you really just think about how to make customers happy and how to make employees happy, that actually, in today’s world, ends up being good for business,” Hsieh says. (Read more about his business philosophy in “Seven Questions,” page 110.) To promote his 272-page release, Hsieh embarked on an untraditional book tour of sorts, hosting a string of virtual happy hours across the country, from the lounge at the Palms, to the Trump Soho hotel in New York City. He invited friends and fans to join him via Twitter and his blog, and allowed those who couldn’t make it to tune in and share a few rounds via live stream, over the Internet. Delivering Happiness is available for pre-sale on Amazon. com for $14.39 and has a list price of $23.99.
On May 25, MGM Mirage unveiled five Las Vegas-specific applications for iPhones and other smart devices, including the city’s first augmented reality app, “Vegas Reality.” All five are available for free download from the iTunes store, and provide users with information regarding MGM’s resorts. The apps link to individual properties’ Twitter and Facebook accounts, and utilize GPS technology to deliver location-specific content and offers. To experience “Vegas Reality,” users point an iPhone 3GS at a MGM property. From there, the app generates information-packed animations layered on top of the real-time picture in the viewfinder. Users can explore CityCenter’s public art collection and learn about each installation by
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Vegas Seven June 3-9, 2010
referencing built-in artist bios and anecdotal facts about each piece, among other things. MGM sourced developers at Resort Technology Partners to create the new application, and collaborated with MacroView Labs to create a second app, “Entertainment of Las Vegas,” which works on all iPhones, as well as the iPod Touch and iPads, allowing users to watch previews, find showtimes, browse event calendars, get directions and buy tickets for events at all MGM properties. MacroView created three more property-specific apps—for New York-New York, Mandalay Bay and MGM Grand, and additional apps are being developed for the remaining MGM properties and attractions in Las Vegas.
Try the app for yourself. Just snap a photo of the 2D barcode and you’re ready to go.
The Beat photo by Anthony Mair
a Vegasy app for That
This week in your ciTy
eat your Fruit It’s harvest time at the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension (UNCE) Orchard. Well, sort of. The research-driven orchard in North Las Vegas recently had its first picking and is offering apricots and peaches to the public. It also has limited quantities of nectarines, pluots, morado gigante garlic and nopal cactus available. UNCE is selling its goods onsite, from 8 a.m.-noon Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and at the Malta Farmers Market (7485 Dean Martin Dr., Suite 106) from 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursdays. Most of the orchard’s produce sells for $2 per pound, or $1 per pound for damaged fruit or if you buy in
bulk—10 pounds or more. Prices are slightly higher at the Molto Vegas Farmers Market in order to cover transportation costs. UNCE Orchard horticulture specialist Robert Morris says the entire orchard is a month behind schedule due to the cool spring. “The first picking was limited,” he says. “We harvested about 200 pounds of fruits, and I’d say we have probably another 800 pounds of apricots in there. UNCE grows a range of fruit, including several varieties of plums, figs, apples, pears and kumquats. “We’ve got about 10 or 12 different varieties of apricots; there’s only about five trees of each variety,” Morris says.
“Each tree is going to produce probably about 100 pounds.” The associate professor says the best is yet to come. “When the weather gets hot, then the acidity begins to drop in the fruit and the flavors begin to come out better. When it gets hot, everything is going to rush at us at once.” Apples are expected in August; pears are coming in September. Morris calls arctic star nectarines “one of the best quality fruits in the whole orchard,” and says Florida prince peaches show promise this year, too. “They were still pretty firm, [but] with warm weather, they may finish up pretty nicely,” he says. 4600 Horse Dr., 257-5509.
Courageous Campers Aid for AIDS of Nevada (AFAN) wants to send 25 kids affected by, or infected with, HIV or AIDS to camp this summer, and they need your help. It costs $1,300 to send a child on a seven-day getaway from the harsh realities of living with the disease, but the organization needs sponsors to make that happen. AFAN is able to cover the majority of the tuition, but needs 25 $300 donations to pay the remaining expenses to send 25 kids to Camp Courage. You can make a general donation in any denomination, or if you are feeling especially generous, cover the full $1,300 fee for a single camper. If you can’t cut a check but still want to help, donate supplies or Target gift cards. The camp needs backpacks, crayons, sunscreen and water bottles. Camp begins July 3 at Camp Laurel in Big Bear, Calif., and aims to help kids ages 6-17 develop self-esteem and self-awareness while focusing on being a kid. Last year, AFAN helped send 23 kids between ages 5 and 16 to a two-day version of Camp Courage. afan.org.
Cream of the Mall
The pool at Freedom Park.
Last one in … Pools on the Strip have been open since March, and the pools in Clark County and Henderson opened in May. As of June 5, Las Vegas’ five pools are finally open, too. All pools open June 5, except Pavilion Center, which is closed for renovation until the fall. Pool passes valid through Labor Day go for $40; a family of up to eight can get a group pass for $60, and seniors 50-plus swim all summer for $30. Otherwise, daily admission is $1-$2. Each of the city’s pool offers private, semi-private and small-group swimming lessons beginning June 14 for $25$100, which buys six 45-minute sessions. Diving, synchronized swimming and water polo for ages 7-17 costs $25 for the season; adults can swim laps from 4-7 p.m. Monday through Friday at Municipal Pool, 431 E. Bonanza Road. On June 4, Bill & Lillie Heinrich YMCA (4141 Meadows Lane) hosts a Summer Splash and Safety event from 6-8 p.m., featuring a free open swim, toys and summer safety tips. Durango Hills Community Center (3521 N. Durango Dr.) hosts a Summer Splash of its own on June 5 from noon-2 p.m.
Ginger Fournier is sick of the chemical-laden confections that pass as ice cream, so she’s bringing the recipe back to its roots: cream, sugar and vanilla. A former entertainment-lighting specialist, Fournier had no frozen dessert expertise to speak of before opening Atomic #7 in the Galleria at Sunset mall on May 30. “My only ice cream experience before this venture was eating it,” she says. The ice cream scientists at Atomic #7— the name refers to nitrogen’s place in the periodic table—use nitrogen and a patented “atmospheric freezing process” to make their frozen treats. Choose from milk or milk-like bases—nondairy options include coconut milk and soy milk—then combine that with any of the 25 flavors and 16 toppings. Scoop it all into a biodegradable bowl, or a gluten-free waffle cone and dig in. Atomic #7 is a certified green business—even the spoons, which are made of potato starch and have an expiration date, are earth-friendly. atomicnumber7.com.
June 3-9, 2010 Vegas Seven 15
THE LaTEsT THougHT
school’s out Out of sight, out of mind and, next year, out of money By Bob Whitby
If you have kids, you know that June 2 was one of the most-anticipated days of the year. Besides Christmas, there is no day that looms as large on the calendar, or that holds as much promise for a marked improvement in the quality of life. It was big—end-of-the-schoolyear big. Summer means vacation, sleeping in, the dream of watching TV all day—which in reality is feckless and awful, or at least that’s how I remember it—and hanging out with friends. For slackers, summer means summer school, which is hot, boring and redolent of failure. Enjoy summer while you can, kids, because when you get old all it means is you get a break from driving your kids to school. But this year summer has brought me one tangible benefit: a respite from pondering the disaster facing Clark County public schools. See, we have this little budget problem. Keith Rheault, the state’s superintendent of public instruction, used the term “catastrophic” to describe it in an April article in the Las Vegas Sun. That’s a heavy word, and not one you hear often from bureaucrats. I don’t think he’s exaggerating. The fiscal year 2011 budget, adopted in May, managed to swallow a $145 million shortfall, primarily by going to nine-month elementary schools and cutting administrative positions. But that’s really nothing compared with the $200 million to $300 million shortfall, out of a $2.1 billion operating budget, coming in both 2012 and 2013. Just like the Mayans predicted, we are screwed. So when your summer idyll grows stale, you might want to start preemptively recalling the days when you didn’t have to buy all of your kids’ textbooks, when classes had fewer than 50 students in them, when there 16 Vegas Seven June 3-9, 2010
were these things called “extracurricular activities,” when the curriculum included music and the arts, in addition to math and science. Don’t start fretting just yet; all that stuff is safe for the 2010-2011 school year. The cuts for fiscal 2011, which starts July 1, were deep, but not all that apparent to the casual school user. Teachers and administrators felt them, but a lot of parents actually rejoiced in the elimination of 12-month elementary schools. If my youngest wasn’t middle-school bound next year, I’d have been dancing the aisles; year-round school is—was—an abomination. But I’m getting my doomsday predictions done early. And I’m going to go ahead and start getting my head around the reality of school being a very different place in the near future. The “extras,” I think, are going away. Music feels like a particularly soft target, which is unfortunate because it’s a marker of how a community defines education: Do our kids just need readin’, writin’ and ’rithmatic, or is culture something we also value enough to pay for? Given the state of schools, you may be surprised to know that CCSD actually has a top-notch musicinstruction program. I’m new around here, and I know I was. “Clark County’s music program is absolutely exemplary,” says Harold Weller, the founding music director of the Las Vegas Philharmonic. Weller ought to know. He’s had a 45-year career as music director of orchestras in Ohio, Virginia, Arizona and New Mexico and in that time he’s worked with many school districts. “Without question, the school system in Clark County is the best of them,” he says There’s the Las Vegas Academy, of course, a high
school where the curriculum is built around music and the performing arts. But music instruction in the district starts in earnest in the sixth grade, and the school district employs 521 music instructors—215 at the elementary level and 306 for grades six to 12—who teach kids and put them in bands, orchestras and choirs. They even provide the instruments. And in the coming years that will sound like a perfect place to start hacking. Not every kid is going to grow up to be Yo-Yo Ma anyway, and those who display some musical aptitude can just get private lessons for about $50 an hour, right? That’s one way to look at it. Weller has another. “The idea is not to be a professional musician,” he says. “The idea is to be a better citizen, so when pop culture hits them in the face they say, ‘I have this. I have something of substance.’” Music can be a pathway to a better life for a lot of kids, and not just in some ethereal “quality of life” way. As Weller notes, it can lead to college scholarships and grants for kids who otherwise might not be going to college. All of the same arguments can be made for sports and the performing arts, and they will all look like good places to save money. Just to be clear, no one is talking yet about how CCSD is going to make up $200 million to $300 million budget shortfalls in 2012 and 2013, and no one is suggesting gutting extracurricular activities or music instruction. But if you think that the problem is going away, or that the school district will be able to somehow absorb the hit without a lot of pain, you’re as delusional as a senatorial candidate. These are the good old days. Enjoy your summer.
THE LaTEsT Gossip Star-studded parties, celebrity sightings, juicy rumors and other glitter.
Rock Royalty, No Royal Treatment
It’s good to be the king, but royal privileges only extend so far down the family tree. Instead of a princess, sometimes you’re just a lady in waiting—or, worse yet, fodder for the court jester. Elvis Presley’s granddaughter, Riley Keough, was in town on May 28 to celebrate her 21st birthday. Her mom, Lisa Marie Presley, and grandmamma, Priscilla Presley, took her to Aria, where the group had dinner at Union, then decided to take the almost-but-not-quite-21-yet Keough to her first club. (Well, first nightclub as a legal adult, at least.) They headed to Haze where, despite standing in the shadow of Viva Elvis, Keough’s I.D. still said her DOB was May 29. And unfortunately for the birthday girl, the club’s bouncers refused to let her into their venue before the clock struck midnight and said birthday had actually arrived. Apparently (and, dare we say, impressively) being surrounded by Elvis merchandise and an heir to the throne doesn’t make a difference in the world of club security. The next night, Keough kept her b-day party (and Light Group allegiance) going at The Bank inside Bellagio, where she toasted 21 with vodka in the VIP. Meanwhile, Lisa Marie and husband Michael Lockwood decamped for the cozier confines of Caramel. Keough didn’t seem to mind, though—but considering her mother is on her fourth husband (and two previous step-papas have been Michael Jackson and Nicolas Cage), she probably doesn’t get too bogged down in the particulars of where her mother is or what she’s doing—as long as she’s not off marrying Gary Busey. 18 Vegas Seven June 3-9, 2010
Got a juicy tip? gossip@weeklyseven.com
Tardy for the party Deadmau5 missed his flight out of San Diego on May 30 and execs had to send a private jet to retrieve the DJ in time for his Sunday night show at Vanity—not that he made it on time. Suddenly, a 2 a.m. start time became 5 a.m., and, one could assume, sales of Red Bull went through the roof accordingly. The next day, Deadmau5 (real name Joel Zimmerman) had a gig at Wet Republic. Finally his trademark giant, grinning mouse head served a purpose: To cover up his bleary, bloodshot eyes.
Who Hilton’s Tweeting Now Paris Hilton may claim she’s enjoying being single—and says she will “definitely” stay that way for a while—after her breakup with former minor league baseball player/current nobody Doug Reinhardt, but we don’t believe her. The queen of pay-me-to-party has been in and around various nightspots where she isn’t paid to be, and posing for photos at said venues, too, which can only mean one thing: She’s there for other, more personal reasons. Connect the dots, people. It’s not that hard. She was at the owner’s table at XS on May 22, and went to Drai’s After Hours after that. Now, consider that XS and Drai’s (and Tryst and Drai’s Hollywood) have three managing partners. One is older than Hilton’s father, but the other two—twin brothers Jesse and Cy Waits—are, well … not. Although Hilton stayed at The Hilton enjoys the simple, apparently single life at Surrender. Mirage during UFC weekend paying celebs to show up, but have a knack for (“I love The Mirage Hotel. My room has its attracting a solar system of stars anyway. own pool, Jacuzzi, yard and mini golf putting Hilton was at Tao on May 30 to check out green,” she posted to Twitter) she spent most of her time at Wynn/Encore. She was spotted DJ Erick Morillo, and a Waits brother or two was there with her. After that, where did having dinner (or pretending to eat dinner) they go? Drai’s After Hours, of course! at Botero at Encore on May 28, then went to Hilton returned to La La Land on MemoXS afterward. While there, she bumped into rial Day, but that didn’t stop her PDAs for all Jersey Shore personality Pauly D and rapper things Drai’s: She Tweeted about being “so Too Short, too. She was at Encore Beach excited” to go to Drai’s Hollywood that day. Club on May 29, then had dinner at Okada Apparently, she can’t get enough. Enough of before going to Tryst, then Surrender, then what? Well, that’s up for interpretation. XS, and then Drai’s later that night. “Last On another note, Brody Jenner’s ex, night was amazing,” she Tweeted. “Partied former Playboy model Jayde Nicole, has also at Tryst then Surrender then @XSLasVegas been seen, photographed and busy Tweeting then @DraisAfterHours.” at Drai’s venues in Las Vegas and L.A. Is she That’s a lot of free promo for the guys at seeing a Waits brother, too? Drai’s—who, for the record, are known for not
Tweets of the Week Compiled by @marseniuk
@motherpucker Ed Hardy is now making condoms. Think of it as your very last warning that you may be hooking up with a douchebag.
@marvski Brick breaker + office toilet = mini vacation. @NickyHilton Life was much easier when Apple and Blackberry were just fruits. @hughhefner Man can walk on the moon but can’t fix an oil spill destroying the environment? What the fuck! @Jaalay One thing I learned from Rock Band tonight: I cannot sing like Debbie Harry. @Norm_Clarke Taking first look at Encore Beach Club … just ordered my first $10 Coors Lite in Vegas.
@24k What the! This @Famous_ Daves feast plate is bigger than @VegasBill’s head.
@djtinat Hate it when I get stuck with a guy for my manicure. It’s like he rushes to get it done as fast he can … Typical.
@Official_JES Packing for Vegas!!!!! Always fun; you can fit many small outfits in to one big suitcase!
@MarkusSchulz First time in over 10 years flying Southwest Airlines. Feels like I’m in elementary school trying to line up. Who came up with this???? @DanaWhite Fight is at the MGM. I fucked up and went to Mandalay!!! Lol @robbiereviews SATC2: “This year’s worst release since the BP oil spill, with just as many f***edup birds.”
@charlieclark Dude! At a charity event supporting mentally challenged kids, you DON’T call something stupid “retarded”!
Society
For more photos from society events in and around Las Vegas, visit weeklyseven.com/society.
Flair that cares The Lafite Ballroom at Wynn set the scene on May 26 for the annual Flair for Care luncheon benefiting Nathan Adelson Hospice. The colorful event included a Nieman Marcus fashion show showcasing Kaufmanfranco couture, and Flair for Care’s signature luxury raffle, the Only the Best Opportunity Drawing. The event raised more than $600,000 for the cause.
Photography by Sullivan Charles
20 Vegas Seven June 3-9, 2010
Society
For more photos from society events in and around Las Vegas, visit weeklyseven.com/society.
Bold Strokes Snell & Wilmer recently invited guests to its law offices in the Hughes Center to mix, mingle and whet their appetites for art during its second annual Paint the Town reception. The event provided hors d’oeuvres and cocktails to those browsing works by Jennifer Main, Lisa VanderHill, Kevin Chupik, Lorne Cramer and Susan Barron Trenk. Proceeds from art sales supported the Lance Armstrong Livestrong Foundation and the American Cancer Society.
Photography by Beverly Oames
22 Vegas Seven June 3-9, 2010
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ENVIABLES
Style
PB&J Time
Two years ago, LeSportsac debuted its Artist in Residence, spotlighting up-and-coming international designers. The current AIR, Katharina Leuzinger, did three prints for the brand, including Welcome to Snackville. Snack Sac, $20. Lesportsac, Fashion Show.
The Look
Photographed by Tomas Muscionico
MEItAL BroNStEIN, 36
Stylist, fashion designer and personal shopper
sun shield
Keep skin healthy with Colorescience’s Sunforgettable SPF 50 Mineral Powder. The coolest part of this cosmetic is its self-dispensing brush, which takes the mess out of loose powder application. $60, Color Boutique, Caesars Palace.
Style icons: Carine Roitfeld (editor of French Vogue) and Kate Moss. What she’s wearing now: Rebecca Taylor dress, YSL wedges, David Yurman gold pinky ring, Jennifer Fisher gold charm necklace and an Hermes Birkin bag. The lazy days of summer are a perfect excuse to take a more relaxed approach to dressing. “I’ll wear a long white cotton dress over a bikini, sky-high wedges and a bandanna in my hair,” she says. “When it’s 110 degrees outside, light—not tight—is the way to go.”
Twinkle Toes
Exclusive to Neiman Marcus, Keds partners with Alice + Olivia on limitededition sequined, laceless sneakers available in four colors. Our favorite: safari green, the color of the season. $88, Neiman Marcus, Fashion Show. June 3-9, 2010 Vegas Seven 25
Style
My Favorite Designer
Mad for Mads
A Las Vegan in the know goes one-on-one with Mads Kornerup By Michael Shulman
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Shamballa Jewels’ clientele has evolved from a virtual cult consisting of celebrities and friends of designer Mads Kornerup to its current club-like status as the go-to collection for stylists and in-the-know patrons looking for unisex jewelry that imbues the wearer with positivity and a sense of well-being. I have been a fan of Mads and his pieces since running into them (I literally almost knocked him over) while running around the Couture Show at Wynn Las Vegas in 2008, and have worn various bracelets (white gold with emerald and diamonds, yellow gold with sapphires, and Tahitian pearls and ebony with diamonds) almost daily ever since. It is inevitable that wherever I am, somebody will comment on my Shamballa bracelet. But don’t take my word for it. Let the man who’s made pieces for everyone from Ashton Kutcher, Jay-Z and Mary-Kate Olsen to Kanye West, Ellen DeGeneres and members of the Danish and Kuwaiti royal families tell you himself. I caught up with him via e-mail prior to the 2010 Couture Show ( June 3-7), where Shamballa Jewels will occupy their usual corner stall just outside the ballroom at Wynn.
All Shamballa Jewels pictured are available at Neiman Marcus (prices upon request).
What was the impetus for the signature Shamballa “look”? My fascination for the mala that is used to count one’s recited mantra, or just for counting the exhalations. Your twin brother, Mikkel, is also your business partner. How does this work? Do you ever bicker or is it always smooth sailing? It is always a challenge because, although similar in looks, we have very different views on how things should be done. To what do you attribute the overwhelming, almost cult-like fascination with your pieces? My great personality ;) and the relaxed look to wearing expensive diamond pieces and the only unisex bracelet with such diversity. What jewelers do you most admire? Cartier for the quality of their work, and Sevan for their incredible array of new ideas. From where do you source your various stones? Basel and Tuscan are the shows that give me new ideas.
What’s new for you? Rumor has it you’ve opened a small retail space in Paris. Also that you drove in a Gumball race. The Hôtel Costes pop-up shop was only for three months and it was great fun because of the international traffic outside that hotel. Now we are at Colette as well as the Montaigne Market. Colette has showed our pieces to the fashionistas of the world, and the talk is on! Is there anything special we should be looking for from Shamballa at this year’s Couture Show? Our trio of necklaces in ruby, sapphire and emerald are amazing. Where is your “happy place” and with whom? With my family, at my friend’s house in Ibiza [Spain]. Alone, it is skiing powder, on a sunny day. Michael Shulman is the publisher/editor of ShulmanSays.com, an online magazine focused on culture, art, fashion, luxury items, travel, nightlife and anything else that strikes his fancy. Espousing the merits of personal style over fashion, Shulman places Shamballa alongside Sevan Bicakci and Hari Gems as his contemporary jewelers of choice.
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Style
Fashion Rx
It’s a Desert Out There Sometimes you gotta let them see you sweat
By Sean Dunn Heads up, guys, it’s time to jump into your desert-colored Battle Dress Uniforms (BDUs) and get ready for another mother of a summer. As much as everyone loves the season—the babes, the barbecues and insane pool parties that blur day and night— summer presents a problem for those of us who are sartorially inclined and must rock business attire regardless of what the thermostat says. Honestly, it’s a problem without a solution. Men’s fashion magazines always have these photo spreads with guys in light-colored outfits looking fresh and clean, or these cool Italian dudes without socks perpetuating the notion that the hotter it gets the cooler I am. But the reality is most guys are soaked in sweat 20 minutes after they leave the house. Do summer fabrics, half-lined jackets and earth tones really make a difference? Of course they do, but when it's 110 degrees, it's 110 degrees, and until someone invents AC-embedded suits, you’re going to sweat. So we adapt and overcome like any good trooper does when confronted with an impossible scenario. The nice thing about living in a city without a mass-transit system is that we rely heavily on our cars. Turn your ride into a true war wagon: Stock it with a couple of clean dress shirts, extra undershirts and some socks, and then maybe throw in a pair of jeans, a sport jacket and toiletry bag, plus a pair of board shorts—just in case your last meeting is at Tao Beach. You are good to go. After a long day of moving and grooving, make sure to do a little preventive maintenance on your suits and boots. Hang a worn suit on a good hanger for a day or so before you toss it in the dry-cleaning bag. The dry cleaners should be laundering your shirts and drastically reducing the amount of starch they’re using since that sticky pasty feeling around the neck is never any good. Use good wood shoe trees to not only maintain the shape but also the longevity of the shoes. Again, natural-fiber socks (bamboo is amazing) are the only answer—polyester is no good for you, your feet or your shoes. And, guys, much like everything else in style and sensibility, it is a mindset. Sure GQ and Esquire stage elaborate photo shoots of dudes who don’t sweat. However, if you’re looking good, feeling good and have that confident air about you, do you really care if you’re sweating? Do you think James Bond worried about sweating in front of Honey Ryder or Pussy Galore? Not in the least, and we know how worked out for him. So, gents, at the end of the day, dress cool, think cool, be cool and always stay hydrated, because it is a desert out there. Sean Dunn makes a living by keeping his clients at Astor & Black Custom Clothiers looking good—real good. Contact him with your style-related questions or comments, 785-2269, e-mail sean@astorandblack.com, or visit astorandblackvegas.com.
A cool summer suit, available at Kenneth Cole, Fashion Show.
28 Vegas Seven June 3-9, 2010
S E X Y
I N T I M A T E
B O U T I Q U E
702.823.2210 • 8665 W. Flamingo, Suite129 • Las Vegas, NV 89147
The City’s Film Festival Whether or not CineVegas returns, this grassroots event and its inspired leader aim to make their mark—on the community
By Chad Clinton Freeman
When something grows too fast for its own good, the results are never guaranteed. A native of Las Vegas with a background in the construction business, Milo Kostelecky knows this all too well. “As a city we’ve grown so fast that we forgot to really think about everybody that is living, working and building their families here,” he says. “Sometimes we get so carried away with expansion and forget what is at the core of it all—community.” Kostelecky is keeping this in mind as director of operations for the Las Vegas Film Festival. But it is tempting for the 33-year-old, who has only been running the organization for seven months, to move fast. With recession-related issues having forced the town’s marquee film fest, CineVegas, to be put on hold after an 11-year run, the door has been left open for the 3-yearold underdog event to move in. Kostelecky has used the opportunity to reach out to potential corporate and community sponsors, landing locally based Allegiant Air and Rubio’s Mexican Grill to help back this year’s festival ( June 4-6 at the Las Vegas Hilton). He also hopes to expand its recognition, 30
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which has been relatively quiet heretofore. But mostly it’s about “filling the void” left by CineVegas’ absence at a pace that’s best for the long run. “We are taking our time growing the festival using a grassroots approach,” he says. “Instead of trying to be the biggest festival possible, my concentration is to make people feel like they are a part of it every step of the way.” His film festival won’t try to compete with CineVegas’ celeb-studded red carpet and fancy parties, but there will be parties and peripheral events. Kostelecky says his festival—which kicks off with the Las Vegas premiere of Holy Rollers (see review, page 84) at 7 p.m. June 4—will have a totally different vibe. For one thing, those events are wide open to the general public. Secondly, “It’s about culture,” he says—both the culture of making movies and of being exposed to the results. “We want the work of the filmmakers to speak for itself,” he says, “and with that we feel bigger audiences will come.” Sounds like a tough mission, but festival director James Mulidore, the driving force for the first two years, says Kostelecky is the right man to build the tradition.
“He’s a Vegas guy, like myself, but he also knows everybody,” Mulidore says. “He’s been huge this year, securing our venue, bringing in sponsors, setting up the parties and being a part of the programming. He’s a super person, and he can do anything he sets his mind to.” But what is Kostelecky’s ability to spearhead the day-by-day operations of a major film festival? During an interview with him in that quintessential Las Vegas cultural setting—Starbucks—it quickly becomes clear that he is a knowledgeable fan of independent cinema, documentaries and festivals. But he’s essentially a construction development and marketing guy who ran out of work. Kostelecky sips a tall coffee and tells his story. After he graduated Bishop Gorman High School, he left town to attend Arizona State, where he studied business and sociology. He returned home in 2000 to start a career in construction. This is where he wants to be, he decided. He repeats over and over about how “amazing” Las Vegas is and the “potential” it has. His face lights up when talking about how much he enjoyed growing up in a place that was constantly expanding. He loved being a part of that.
Kostelecky portrait by Francis + Francis
Milo Kostelecky and two of his festival’s films: The One Last Time (top) and My Run.
Highlight Reel Stripped, a documentary shot in Las Vegas, originally aired on Showtime, but now it will get exposure on the big screen.
The Las Vegas Film Festival offers a weekend of inspiring and thoughtprovoking movies about different walks of life. Writer Chad Clinton Freeman has two film recommendations, plus three he’s looking forward to seeing for the first time:
STRipped
One of his past jobs was director of operations with Third Eye, a company that documents the step-by-step construction process of large-scale buildings, including the Wynn. “Few people understand the effort, the collaboration and the minds that go into building these large projects,” Kostelecky says. “It’s phenomenal.” A stagnant construction market led him to where he is now, and maybe it’s not so far removed. He talks about how his passion for construction is like that felt by writers, directors and producers as they work on projects. It is evidently also the same feeling that film festival directors have for their events. “There’s a universal passion that carries throughout,” Kostelecky says. “It’s about watching a project from start to finish, making sure things are done correctly.” The Las Vegas Film Festival has been running on a loss its first two years, Mulidore says. With Kostelecky in charge, he has reason to believe this year will be different. There are now partnerships with key programs—including Nevada Public Radio, the Nevada Film Office, the Las Vegas School of Film and the Nevada Film Alliance—that will multiply community involvement. Some of that involvement is direct, such as the short films by UNLV students that will be screened on June 5, and the ones shown by College of Southern Nevada students the following day. Four other blocks of short films and music videos will be shown, many of which are thesis projects from all over the world. “That is where it all starts,” Kostelecky says. “They are the unsung heroes of filmmaking. Sometimes an entire year of film school goes into those films; as a result they all have so much energy.” Overall, the festival received nearly 1,000 film submissions. Of those, seven features, six documentaries and more than 30 short films will play. The chosen lineup definitely has diversity (see sidebar), but it might seem odd, for example, to see a documentary that has already aired on Showtime (Stripped) and a CineVegas winner that can found at your video store (Godspeed). But Kostelecky’s response is “talent is talent,” and he is always happy to help give talented filmmakers exposure. That’s what film festivals are about, he says: helping movies find their audiences, while helping audiences find films.
“Once a year in our film festival, you have the opportunity to see great pieces of work and what brilliant writers and directors of all ages are working on,” Kostelecky says. The thread that ties the wide spectrum of works together seems to be the human condition. Most of the films strive to educate or share messages on how people from different walks of life deal with life’s issues and tragedies. Kostelecky perceives this as “an opportunity to see what is happening in the world. People can educate themselves, and that is the great part about bringing it to the masses.” All this culture takes place at two showrooms—the Hilton Theater, whose capacity is 1,700, and the Shimmer Cabaret, whose 200 seats accommodate the event’s smaller screenings. In true Vegas style, these venues also give audiences a chance to enjoy cocktails with their movies. Mulidore, a third-generation Las Vegan, is happy with the location because the Hilton is an off-Strip property that still offers Vegas glitz and glamour, and it’s also the city’s home to independent cinema all year round with the recent addition of the Giordano Theatre. But he also has a personal connection to the grand old Hilton Theater, whose illustrious past includes the 18 years Mulidore’s father, Jimmy, was the musical director. In that very same showroom, his dad not only booked the likes of Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Elvis Presley, he also conducted the orchestras that backed them. “It’s amazing that it’s coming around full circle,” Mulidore says. “My dad, he’s not one to show much of a reaction, but when he found out, it put a smile on his face.” That’s what Kostelecky likes to hear. And so sustaining those kinds of cultural ties and fostering that type of tradition is exactly what he hopes the Las Vegas Film Festival does. “If I can touch the community,” he says, “and have them say, ‘Wow, that was really great. I am so glad somebody is doing that.’ At the very end of the day, I can feel there is more to it than movies. I think everybody gets so carried away with money they can make or focusing on the individual instead of focusing on the city and offering something that can make people happy. Our name represents the city. We are the Las Vegas Film Festival. We want this to be something all Las Vegas residents can feel proud about.”
Las Vegas FiLm FestiVaL When: June 4-6 at the Las Vegas Hilton. tickets and passes: Individual films, $8; short-film blocks, $10; five-film mini-pass, $25; all-day film pass, $50; VIP Pass (priority admittance to all films, panels and events), $100. Parties and galas, $25. special events: Opening night party, 9:30 p.m. June 4 at The Artisan, 1501 W. Sahara Ave.; Saturday Night Pool Party, 9:30 p.m. June 5 in the Simon restaurant at Palms Place; filmmaker panel, 12:35 p.m. June 6, at the Hilton; awards ceremony, 9:10 p.m. June 6 at the Hilton.
If you haven’t seen David Palmer’s documentary that follows photographer Greg Freidler as he shoots his latest book, Naked Las Vegas, it’s worth a look. Although neither Palmer nor Freidler try as hard as they could have to truly capture the truth behind the clothes of Sin City, viewers do get to see a lot of nudity and meet some interesting people. In the end, though, most of the folks stripping away their clothes seem to either have something to prove or something to promote.
GOdSpeed Robert Saitzyk’s thriller won a special jury award at CineVegas last year and can be found on DVD via Lightyear, but its cinematography makes it worth seeing on the big screen. Starring Joseph McKelheer, Courtney Halverson and Cory Knauf, Godspeed takes place in the Alaskan wilderness and dabbles with religious cults, incest, rape, revenge and violence.
SiN eLLa (WiThOuT heR) Jorge Colon’s new film seems to be really connecting with audiences. The drama, starring Luis Roberto Guzmán and Lola Dueñas, tells the story of a workaholic reality TV show producer and how he copes with the loss of his wife, while still being there for his teenage daughter and younger son. (In Spanish with subtitles.)
The ONe LaST TiMe Award-winning filmmaker Scott Weintrob is best known for directing music videos for Our Lady Peace, but this eight-minute film playing during the second block of shorts on June 5 sounds like a must-see. Starring Hakeem Kae-Kazim, The One Last Time features two groups of Halloweenmask wearing robbers encountering each other trying to hold up the same bank at the same time.
My RuN Billy Bob Thornton narrates Tim VandeSteeg’s award-winning documentary about a man and the two incredible journeys he takes after he loses his wife to breast cancer. First Terry Hitchcock raises his three children on his own. Twelve years later, he runs 75 consecutive marathons in 75 consecutive days and becomes known as a real-life Forrest Gump.
more information and schedule: lvfilmfest.com, 552-9330, info@lvfilmfest.com. June 3-9, 2010 Vegas Seven 31
Game On A team of Vegas video game wizards changed the industry once. Can they do it again? By David Davis Las Vegas is not a high-tech hot bed. With a few noteworthy exceptions, like a branch office of gaming-software maker International Game Technology and the home campus of online retailer Zappos.com, tech companies don’t tend to wind up here. However, in an office building just off U.S. 95 in northwest Las Vegas, a small group of computer programmers are working to create a new product that may change that. The one-story beige building looks exactly like hundreds of other light industrial offices in Las Vegas. The only outward clue that this might not be just another workplace is the parking lot, where you’ll find a few BMWs and Corvettes with personalized license plates that read “Joe-B-Wan,” “Tie-Fitr” and “GameDev.” The cars belong to some of the best video game developers in the world, and they are parked in front of Petroglyph Games. About 20 years ago, these same
32 Vegas Seven June 3-9, 2010
Portraits by Ryan Reason
developers worked for Westwood Studios and they helped create video games that changed the industry by redefining how players interact with games. Westwood was Las Vegas’ version of the Silicon Valley success story: They started in a garage, got big and eventually got bought out. In Westwood’s case, they also got moved out of town. And that could have been the end of the story, just another high-tech false start in Las Vegas, were it not for the fact that some of the company’s founders are back and once again trying to upend the gaming industry. Westwood founders Brett Sperry and Louis Castle both attended high school in Las Vegas. Sperry learned programming in his spare time on Apple II machines borrowed from friends and at the Clark County Library. After graduating, he left to study architecture at Arizona State University, while Castle enrolled in UNLV and studied fine art. A year later Sperry ran out
of money and he returned to Las Vegas, taking jobs as a programmer to pay the bills. That’s when he met Castle, and the two started working together on programming and computer animation. In 1985, they started their own video game company, Westwood Associates, out of Castle’s garage. They spent their early years of the company doing contract development for other game publishers. Their big break came in 1992 when Westwood merged with Virgin Interactive and released a followup to Virgin’s Dune. In the Westwood game, Dune II, players were in charge of an army comprised of units, each with different abilities—similar to chess. Players didn’t take turns, instead using their mouse to move their armies at any time, which made the game faster and more exciting. Virgin wanted to market Dune II as a “strategy” game. Sperry thought that sold the game short, so he coined the term “real-time strategy.” The game proved so popular that other publishers copied it: Blizzard’s Warcraft and StarCraft, Cavedog’s Total Annihilation and Microsoft’s Age of Empires were all based on the Dune II formula. Real-time strategy (RTS) became an industry-standard term for the genre. Westwood followed up Dune II with Command & Conquer in 1995, which featured new RTS innovations such as an improved user interface, live action fullmotion-video cut scenes, and the ability for up to four players to compete over a network. Command & Conquer spawned more than 20 sequels and spin-offs, and became one of RTS’ most successful game titles. In 1998, due largely to the success of Command & Conquer, video game giant Electronic Arts came to Las Vegas and bought Westwood for $122 million. The generally accepted narrative in the Westwood tale is that EA bought the company and eventually smothered it in its overwhelming corporate culture. It’s an idea even EA’s own boss seems to support. At the 1998 Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain Summit (DICE) video game conference, EA CEO John Riccitiello apologized for how his company mistreated developers it acquired, including Westwood. “The command and conquer model doesn’t work,” he said, likely aware of the double entendre, because developers “felt like they were buried and stifled.” Not at first, though. In fact, EA made so few changes most Westwood employees hardly noticed their new owners. “With EA having so many studios, we were kind of the Wild West, kind of rogue,” says Mike Legg, a former Westwood programmer. “We didn’t really embrace the EA culture. Over time, we embraced some of EA’s methodologies and styles, the management hierarchy, the titles. It felt, obviously, a bit more corporate. We lost a spark of electricity.” But most employees accepted the new culture as a necessary part of working with such a large corporation, and during the next five years Westwood flourished. When they outgrew their office and had to move a development team to a new building, the change created “an odd social dynamic,” says Legg, which made working together more difficult and strained the culture of innovation. To resolve this, they wanted to consolidate employees from both Las Vegas offices into one large facility, where they also hoped to merge two other groups of developers from California. “EA was not pushing us to consolidate,” Castle says. “That’s been wildly mischaracterized.” Westwood and EA worked with the Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency to find a new home, and Westwood co-founder Brett Sperry now runs Las Vegas’ Jet Set Games. His former Westwood partner …
… Louis Castle is also still programming in Vegas, at the helm of InstantAction Games.
eventually settled on a plan to build a large EA corporate campus in Summerlin. In January 2003, Westwood employees awaited news of the Summerlin facility. But instead of moving down the road, employees learned that EA decided to relocate to California. The company had its sights set on Las Vegas, but the project was “victimized by the timing of the politics,” Castle says, adding that the company couldn’t get the necessary permission from the Bureau of Land Management. Westwood employees were given the choice of picking up and leaving, or losing their jobs. Legg remembers having to make that decision. “It was such a difficult day, emotionally. It was literally the same kind of impact as losing a relative. I mean, that was my life.” He chose to stay behind. EA had planned to move Westwood west, but ultimately many employees left and the creative core of the company ceased to exist. EA kept the Command & Conquer name and intellectual property, but the series was never the same. In March of this year, EA released Command & Conquer 4 to decidedly mixed reviews and announced it would be “the final chapter.” EA built the campus they wanted in Los Angeles, not Las Vegas. It combined the four EA offices Westwood managers had originally hoped would move to Summerlin. In 2004, EA made an $8 million donation to the nearby University of Southern California to build a gamedevelopment curriculum in their computer science department. “We blew it, as a state,” Castle says. EA’s contracts with their former Westwood employees expired March 31, 2003. On April 1 of that year, three Westwood veterans—Legg, Joe Bostic and Steve Tall—started building a new company, Petroglyph Games. It seemed like a risky venture at first, says Legg, but success came quickly. At a video game trade show in Los Angeles, E3, Petroglyph’s principals met with people from LucasArts. Although Petroglyph was still not even officially a company at that point, LucasArts asked them if they could reunite Command & Conquer developers and create a Star Wars-themed RTS game. Petroglyph quickly agreed. “It was the shortest meeting I’ve ever had,” Legg says. Displaced Westwood veterans welcomed the opportunity to get back to work—what computer nerd wouldn’t want to work on a Star Wars video game? “It was so cool to be in charge of our own destiny again,” Legg says. For Star Wars: Empire at War, Petroglyph developers built a completely new game engine, adding innovations such as space battles, a real-time strategic campaign map and a “persistent” environment in which events that occur in one battle affect events in subsequent battles. The game was so successful that LucasArts commissioned Petroglyph to do a sequel, Star Wars: Forces of Corruption.
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Keepers of the flame: (from left) Petroglyph’s Mike Legg, Joe Bostic and Steve Tall.
“It was such a difficult day, emotionally. It was literally the same kind of impact as losing a relative. I mean, that was my life.”
Petroglyph’s subsequent non-Star Wars games—titles including Guardians of Graxia, Universe at War: Earth Assault and Panzer General: Allied Assault—are wellrespected in gaming circles. Unlike in the Westwood days of old, Petroglyph is no longer the only game company in town. Westwood founders Sperry and Castle both eventually left Electronic Arts in Los Angeles to start new video game companies in Las Vegas. Sperry’s venture is called Jet Set Games and is focused on creating games for mobile platforms such as iPhones and Androids, and downloadable console games for Playstation Network, Xbox Live, etc. Castle’s company is InstantAction Games, which makes a Web-based distribution platform and game-development tools. Together with Petroglyph, the three companies built a small cluster of like-minds that attracted JV Games, which collaborates with the other three. The four companies share ideas, non-proprietary information and sometimes employees. Today, Petroglyph’s headquarters are across the street from Westwood’s old location. Inside, the vibe is like a college dorm. There’s a carefully cultivated informality that carries over from Westwood, as well as an atmo-
– Mike Legg
sphere that encourages employees to take risks. The lobby is decorated with a company photo and fantasy art prints, but a flat-screen TV attached to a collection of well-used game consoles dominates the space. The company photo has to be replaced with a larger one at least once a year as Petroglyph has grown to 100 employees, and even in this economy, is still hiring. And they are working on something that could change gaming in the future the same way RTS did in the 1990s: the “massively multiplayer online real time strategy” game, or MMORTS, in gaming-nerd parlance. Last century’s boxed, stand-alone, single-player games are being replaced by downloadable online multiplayer games. Currently, the most popular genre is the “massively multiplayer online role playing game,” or MMORPG, as exemplified by World of Warcraft, a game that holds a Guinness World Record for most subscribers. The key is role playing. Typically, a player will assume the role of a single character and do battle with hundreds, or even thousands, of other players online who each also assume a single character. Petroglyph, however, is trying to perfect something much more complicated. Its concept combines West-
wood’s old real-time strategy concept—build an army, then go to battle—with online technology, so that your army ends up doing battle against, or building alliances with, hundreds or thousands of other players’ armies. It’s a massively complex challenge that wasn’t even technologically feasible until recently. One major hurdle was finding a publisher willing to take a risk on this unproven idea; more than one told them it was impossible. Even giants like EA and Microsoft have avoided the MMORTS genre, possibly sitting it out until someone else figures out how to make it work. Fortunately, Petroglyph finally found a receptive publisher, Trion Worlds, which specializes in building servers specifically for massively multiplayer online gaming. In April, Petroglyph and Trion announced their new project, End of Nations, which they hope to complete some time in 2011. The End of Nations design team is led by Bostic, one of the original designers for both Dune II and Command & Conquer, and the team includes other veterans of those projects. It’s a large risk for Petroglyph and Trion, but if it pays off, the potential rewards are enormous, and it could put Las Vegas back on the game-development map.
June 3-9, 2010 Vegas Seven 35
at the edge of fash io n in the heart of vegas The art of fashion is on permanent display at Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s, Dillard’s, Bloomingdale’s Home, Nordstrom, Forever 21 and over 200 fine stores, restaurants and cafés. Located on The Strip across from Wynn Las Vegas. ggp.com
702.369.8382
www.thefashionshow.com
THe LocaL Newsroom
Nevada Seafood Wholesalers co-owner Mark Smolen gets shipments from the Gulf region daily.
Oil in the Gulf, higher prices on your plate Effects of BP spill stretching to Las Vegas restaurants
Smolen photos by Anthony Mair
By Kate Silver The BP oil spill has reached far beyond the immediate Gulf region, trickling into the Las Vegas seafood scene—and even our seafood vocabulary. This month, Mark Smolen changed the name of his restaurant from Cajun Crawfish to Crawdaddy’s Crab House, skittering away from the growing stigma surrounding the Gulf’s mudbugs. “We’re actually scared,” says Smolen, who owns the restaurant as well as Nevada Seafood Wholesalers with his brother, John. “We’re trying to encompass other aspects of the business besides crawfish.” Crawfish, oysters, blue crab, shrimp—those are Smolen’s specialties and have been for the past 10 years. He has thousands of pounds of seafood flown in from the Gulf region daily, which he sells to restaurants and stores around Las Vegas.
sippi and Florida to commercial and recreational fishing. The full impact is still yet to be felt on the industry, which harvested more than 1 billion pounds of fish and shellfish in 2008. The immediate impact has been on shrimp prices, Smolen says, which have risen between 25 and 35 percent. That’s because fishermen who used to get shrimp 50 to 75 miles offshore now have to travel 100 to 200 miles due to the closures. The fuel charges are being passed on to the buyer, and Smolen says many high-end restaurants in Las Vegas that used to purchase shrimp from him have started taking it off their menus. He knows that this is just the beginning, with probable increases in crawfish prices also coming. “I don’t think anybody can predict what’s going to happen in the future,” Smolen says. “We can’t even figure out how many gallons of oil are coming out of that pipe every day.” But while Smolen and other wholesalers and retailers who rely on Gulf seafood are anxious about the extent of the impact on their businesses, many high-end seafood restaurateurs have long avoided using seafood from that region for years, opting instead for sustainable fare. Rick Moonen of RM Seafood is one of those chefs. “I haven’t been buying from the Gulf. I couldn’t buy from the Gulf because I’ve been paying attention, and the Gulf has been dying faster than you want to admit it,” he says. Moonen actually sees a silver lining to the oil spill. He says that this will give the ocean a chance to rest and regenerate, and in time, it will triumph. For now, he says, this is a wake-up call for people to realize just how at risk the environment is every day. “The discussion, in our lifetime, has never been this deep on anything,” Moonen says. “It’s pulling everyone together. It’s going to motivate a better mentality between ourselves, mankind and our environment. That’s what I feel.”
Seafood has always been Smolen’s passion, but since late last month he’s spent more time talking about oil with his fishermen than fish. “There’s not much we can really do about it right now. About 75 percent of the fisheries are shut down where I get my seafood,” he says. “A lot of the fishermen are actually working to clean up the oil as opposed to working on fishing.” Since May 2, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has closed more than 30 percent of federal waters bordering Louisiana, Alabama, MissisSmolen with soon-to-be-pricier crawfish.
Soap Central Nonprofit Clean the World brings philanthropic mission to Las Vegas By Kate Silver Las Vegas hotels aren’t just cleaning up, they’re helping others do the same. Beginning in June, the nonprofit Clean the World will set up shop here and work with area hotels and nonprofit groups, collecting used soap, shampoo, conditioner and lotion, sterilizing the reusable portions and sending them to countries in need and domestic shelters. “There’s a tremendous opportunity for the hoteliers in Las Vegas who are interested in their community, interested in helping those in need,” executive director Shawn Seipler says. Seipler, who founded Clean the World in Orlando, Fla., along with managing director Paul Till, came up with the idea of soap recycling after traveling extensively for business in his former position as vice president of sales for an e-commerce company. He fell into the same routine we all do: He’d check into a hotel, use the soap a couple of times, use a tiny amount of the shampoo and then check out, leaving the rest to go to waste. Seipler saw an opportunity to not only stop that waste, but to really make a difference. He and Till began reading about the thousands of children who die around the world every day as a result of pneumonia and diarrhea. They also read about doctors going into villages to help fight disease, armed with little more than soap. He wondered, “What if we were to send soap we don’t need to those who need it most?” That’s when the light bulb went off, and Clean the World began. Since its beginning in 2009, Clean the World has expanded into more than 200 hotels in 25 states, recycling and redistributing 400 tons (5 million bars) of soap to more than 50 countries, inContinued on page 39 Clean the World wants your used soap.
June 3-9, 2010 Vegas Seven 37
The Local Newsroom
Green Felt Journal
Many numbers help paint European tourism picture By David G. Schwartz
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38 Vegas Seven June 3-9, 2010
Tourism is a fraught industry. There’s always something that can keep visitors away—from health scares to economic malaise—out of the control of managers trying to operate resorts. Trying to adjust to meet new challenges can frustrate even the best-prepared Las Vegas executive. Take, for example, the value of the euro. Since 2003, the dollar has been relatively weak against the euro. This is bad news if you’ve taken a European vacation; your dollars don’t go very far. But for American cities that host European travelers, it’s been a bonanza. Western Europeans have flooded Las Vegas in recent years, spending freely, even when domestic visitation has dropped. But the strong euro ride has come to an end, at least for now. Last November, one euro was worth 1.5 dollars; by last week, the exchange rate had fallen to one euro equaling 1.12 dollars (before recovering somewhat), and experts were guessing that by summer, euros and dollars would be trading at par. It doesn’t matter that the euro’s swoon wasn’t caused by anything anyone in Las Vegas did. The city’s tourism industry will have to deal with the consequences, which might include not only fewer visitors and less spending from Western Europe, but also the siphoning of potential tourists from prime Las Vegas markets such as the United Kingdom. With their pounds buying more in Europe, it makes sense that some Brits will be tempted to vacation closer to home this summer. This is a big deal; in 2008 (the last year for which numbers are available), 15 percent of all visitors to Las Vegas came from outside the United States. Their economic impact, though, is greater than this number suggests, because they tend to spend more than domestic visitors, particularly when their pounds, euros or yuan are trading favorably in relation to the dollar. Of that 15 percent, a quarter came from Western Europe, and 10 percent came from the United Kingdom.
Las Vegas casino resorts have to analyze and react to these sorts of geo-economic changes all the time. According to Patrick Bosworth, director of yielding and business strategy at Wynn Resorts, currency fluctuations aren’t the biggest driver of international demand, but they are a significant part of the picture. “According to a regression we’ve run, if the U.S. dollar’s value goes up by 1 percent against foreign currencies, that translates into a .1 percent drop in international visitation.” In Bosworth’s analysis, the recent drop in the euro’s value could translate into a 1.5 to 2 percent decline in European visitation. This isn’t sky-is-falling stuff, but in a business struggling for every dollar right now, it makes a difference. And currency is just one of the many variables that Bosworth and others like him look at when trying to help resort executives plan for the future. “By far the biggest impact on international travel is normal seasonality,” Bosworth says. “Visitation peaks in summer and fall, the standard European holiday season. But there are many other factors. Currency is important, but we have over 30 different variables we consider.” Two of the other major drivers are unemployment rates and consumer confidence. The former, Bosworth says, moves steadily while the latter is difficult to handicap. While fluctuations in currency exchange rates can impact short-term bookings, they aren’t as important to the bigger, long-term picture as unemployment and consumer confidence. So while currency drops do impact Las Vegas, they are part of a much bigger picture that, like the city itself, is constantly changing. Understanding how that change will play out might be one area of casino management that remains, fundamentally, a gamble, no matter how thorough the handicapping.
Currency fluctuations aren’t the biggest driver of international demand, but they are a [large] part of the picture.
David G. Schwartz is the director of UNLV’s Center for Gaming Research.
can’t Give It away County seeks to redirect funds from foundering Homebuyer Assistance Program By Kate Silver Clark County wants to amend a $6.8 million program aimed at assisting homebuyers in purchasing foreclosed homes. According to county officials, HUD’s Homebuyer Assistance Program isn’t viable in the Las Vegas market, despite Nevada having the highest foreclosure rate in the country. The program, which was launched last year, is part of the larger federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program, a $6 billion project created by Congress in 2008 that brought nearly $30 million in funding to Clark County. Clark County’s Homebuyer Assistance Program enlisted four nonprofit groups that aimed to help hundreds of homebuyers find homes, make down payments and aid in closing costs. Since its launch, the program has helped about 20 people purchase homes, to the tune of about $1 million. Mike Pawlak, Clark County’s manager of community resources management, says he doesn’t know the exact reason the program hasn’t succeeded, but thinks that a variety of issues account for the struggle. “The speculation is that the federal guidelines and rules that we have to pass on to our nonprofits, which they have to pass on to the homeowners, are too stringent and too slow.” Those requirements ranged from price (homes must be purchased at a minimum of 1 percent below fair market value) to lead-based paint and more. But the biggest obstacle was the competition for foreclosed properties. “Folks out there, investors and others, are making cash offers and really just buy property sight-unseen if it’s in a certain price range,” Pawlak says. “The sellers just didn’t respond to the offers from the NSP consumers.”
TORNOE'S TOONS
A $6.8 million program aimed at assisting homebuyers in Clark County has fallen well short of expectations.
The program targeted nearly 200 eligible homebuyers, and the participants were making multiple offers. “We heard from some of our nonprofit partners that an individual might make up to 30 offers and none of them get accepted,” Clark County grants coordinator Lyndee Lloyd says. Dennis Smith, CEO of Home Builders Research, says that the foreclosure frenzy has made it nearly impossible for the average homebuyer. “The competition with investors on the foreclosed homes, it’s almost eliminated the typical homeowner-occupant from buying a foreclosed home,” he says. “They put in an offer and then they get beat out by a cash offer from an investor 98 percent of the time.” Smith was more direct in his criticism of the Homebuyer Assistance Program, and other similar government programs. “Most of these programs don’t stand a chance from the beginning, because the programs are put together by politicians and bureaucrats instead of industry professionals,” he says. Although this particular program has struggled,
Pawlak says there are other programs under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program umbrella that have been successful. His goal is to reallocate funds from that program into those areas that have been doing well. “It [the Homebuyer Assistance Program] was only one activity among several that we were doing, so we didn’t have all our eggs in one basket,” he says. Other areas include a redevelopment project to construct a 22-unit affordable and wheelchair-accessible apartment complex, and a Rehab Resale program, in which three nonprofit groups are in the process of acquiring and rehabilitating 27 affordable single-family homes. Pawlak emphasizes that the $6.8 million will, indeed, be used, and the redirection is a necessary step in making that happen. “There has been criticism early on that we weren’t obligating money. We have over $22 million that has been obligated,” he says. “We’ve purchased 140 properties. We’re well ahead of the national average in terms of our obligation rate. And I would fully expect that we will obligate all of our money and be ahead of schedule.”
By Rob Tornoe
Photo by Anthony Mair
Clean the World Continued from page 37
cluding Haiti, Zimbabwe, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Swaziland, Mali, Mongolia, Uganda, Honduras and Romania. In addition, Clean the World recycles the plastic bottles used for shampoo, conditioner and lotion. Seipler hopes that a hotel-dense city such as Las Vegas will help further his mission. Plans are in the works to build a recycling center here. The company also has signed a contract with Harrah’s to have a presence in four Las Vegas hotelcasinos. In coming weeks, Clean the World will set up bins within the hotels and train the housekeeping staff on how to handle the used items. “Harrah’s Entertainment is delighted to be the first casino company to work together with Clean the World,” says Jessica Rosman, a contract manager for Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. “The soap
left behind in our hotel rooms will be reprocessed and distributed to underprivileged, developing countries.” Clean the World also is planning to work with the Las Vegas Rescue Mission. Seipler says that his goal is to give jobs at the soap-recycling center to men and women who are in recovery from drug, alcohol and gambling addictions. Robert Brunner, executive director for the Las Vegas Rescue Mission, says that Clean the World is a great environmental and humanitarian opportunity for his organization, as well as for Las Vegas. “Not only are they doing a good service as far as utilizing spent soaps and shampoos, but they’re also utilizing the work skills and labor skills of people who are looking to re-enter the workforce,” Brunner says. Everyone comes out a little cleaner in the end.
June 3-9, 2010 Vegas Seven 39
The Local Newsroom
Recycling for Renters Pilot programs at apartment complexes getting mixed results By Kate Silver
40 Vegas Seven June 3-9, 2010
Across the Valley, slowly but surely, recycling bins are beginning to return to apartment complexes following a six-year hiatus. But the question remains: Do apartment residents care? The answer is yes, says Len Christopher, CEO of Evergreen Recycling Las Vegas, a commercial recycling company that began a number of pilot programs in apartment complexes last year. “Let’s be real, 85 percent of the stuff coming out of apartments is recyclable,” Christopher says. “They just need to make the effort to do it.” The key, he says, is convenience. Evergreen recently bought new, smaller bins that fit in alongside the dumpsters within the complexes. “As long as you have both a recycle bin and a waste bin near each other it’s easy,” he says. In fact, the main issue that Evergreen has had is people taking the recycling out of the containers so that they can sell it themselves.
Brenda Lovato has had less success. The Nevada regional manager for General Services Corp. oversees three apartment complexes that have been participating in a pilot program with Republic Services, which collects recycling by mailboxes and in large bins. She says that while the mail aspect has been effective, the bins remain empty. The difference, she says, is location. The mail-recycling bin sits right by the mailboxes and is convenient. The larger bins sit in a parking space in the back of the building, which requires residents to go out of their way to recycle. “It’s got to be simple for people to participate,” she says. Now that the Republic pilot program (i.e. free recycling) is coming to an end, Lovato is faced with a new issue: She must pay nearly $100 a month to Republic Services (or about 25 percent less to Evergreen) if she wants to continue. Lovato says she won’t do it. “That is not cost-effective right now for the apartment industry,” she says. “We’ve had to lower our rents anywhere from 17 to 22 percent depending on the property and the location, and everybody’s had to do it. We cannot afford one more fixed cost on the property.”
Besides, even if she could afford the program, it doesn’t seem like something that will be effective for her residents, at least outside of the mail area. “We’ve had one resident ask about [recycling],” Lovato says. “One resid- ent out of 4,000 or 5,000 residents I have.” It’s not the first time Bob Coyle has heard it. The vice president of governmental affairs for Republic Services says the company has been trying to sell the mail and bin program into apartments for about three months, and it hasn’t been “overly successful.” “Some of them have said we want to have it because it’s the right thing to do. Others have said, ‘Hey, I’m not in the position to be adding to my cost structure,’” Coyle says. Las Vegas has had historical difficulties with recycling. When Coyle moved here from California in 2004 he was shocked to find that Southern Nevada offered no commercial recycling, no apartment recycling and was still operating a firstgeneration recycling program. He’s made it a top priority to modernize, and the new attention to apartment recycling is a part of that.
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The Local Newsroom
Politics
An election preview that predicts everything and proves nothing By Michael Green
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42 Vegas Seven June 3-9, 2010
Unless Nevada suddenly decides to become Florida, the primary election results will be known June 8. Here’s a look at how some of the races could play out, and some other observations: • A Northern Nevadan votes for a Las Vegan only when necessary, but a Las Vegan usually has to be told Northern Nevada exists. So, in the Republican Senate primary, the chances existed all along that Sue Lowden and Danny Tarkanian would split the Las Vegas vote, with Sharron Angle picking up the hard right down here and significant chunks of northern and rural Nevada. Angle also has benefited from Lowden demonstrating that the chicken crossed the road to avoid being hit by her campaign bus. Not only did Lowden become a national laughingstock over her comments about bartering for medical care, she even got testy about it, and that was before questions came up about the legality of how she obtained her wheels. Meanwhile, Tarkanian has assailed Lowden as corrupt, while Lowden has blistered Angle as being a bit wacky, all of which proves two things. One, Republicans can be as nasty to one another as Democrats are. Two, the Republican field has proven it doesn’t measure up to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Barring big changes, Angle probably squeaks by to become the Nevada version of Rand Paul, although Lowden still has a chance to win and become the Nevada version of Sarah Palin. • In the Republican governor’s race, Jim Gibbons actually had a chance. Originally, it was when Brian Sandoval still was a federal judge and Joe Heck still was in the race against Michael Montandon. But Republicans persuaded Heck to take on Dina Titus and Sandoval to enter the race. Gibbons was creeping up on Sandoval, but the governor couldn’t resist accusing Sandoval of anti-Semitism for a stupid comment Sandoval made when he ran for attorney general in 2002 that was intended to show he would defend any law the Legislature passed. Three predictions: Sandoval will win the primary, we’ll be treated to five months of ads showing him flip-flopping and he’ll start talking about wanting to have a reasoned discussion of the issues. • Both Democrats and Republicans showed they can have nasty legislative
primaries. In Senate District 7, where two Assembly members are seeking the seat held by the term-limited Terry Care, Kathy McClain accused Mark Manendo of being a sexual predator. Manendo then painted McClain as a double-dipping crook. The primary winner figures to carry that Democratic district (with the “crook” probably beating the “predator”). Making their race even more fascinating, the district’s other senator, David Parks, is running for county commission. If he wins (he probably will), he’ll leave the Legislature, and the commission will appoint his replacement. Speculation has centered on it going to the loser in the primary. Ideally, their seats in the state Senate will be side by side so they can continue their friendship, and that district will go from having two of the most respected legislators to two who have won only slightly more respect from observers than they have shown for each other. Aren’t term limits grand? Meanwhile, up north, Randolph Townsend is term-limited out of the state Senate. Hoping to move up, Assemblyman Ty Cobb showed how well he wants to get along with future colleagues by destroying a campaign sign belonging to Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, who is seeking a different state Senate seat. Doesn’t Cobb know you’re supposed to knock down your opponent’s signs? Cobb’s main opponent, Ben Kieckhefer, a former Gibbons aide and thus used to dealing with the moronic, aired an ad that makes Cobb look like a cross between Freddy Krueger and Snidely Whiplash. Townsend is a moderate Republican, and Kieckhefer has positioned himself as a more moderate conservative than Cobb, which isn’t difficult. Since we don’t deserve this, Cobb probably wins. • A simple rule: Women do well in judicial races. In each contested primary for district or family court, at least one candidate is a woman. I’ll bet that in each race, a woman will advance to the general, probably with a plurality of votes. • On election night, Democrats will claim their party is perfect, Republicans will say the same about themselves, and pundits will say they told you so. That’s the safest prediction imaginable. Michael Green is a professor of history at the College of Southern Nevada and author of several books and articles on Nevada history and politics.
Nightlife
Entertaining options for a week of nonstop fun and excitement.
Compiled by Xania Woodman
Thur. 3 If Antiques Roadshow taught us anything, it’s that there’s money to be made in nostalgia. Apply that savvy to Less Than Zero ’80s Night at Ghostbar, where the best ’80s prom couple walks away with $1,000. (At the Palms. Doors at 10 p.m., $20 cover, locals free.) If that leaves you craving more theme-tastic partying, Krave presents its new Back to the ’80s Thursday night event, featuring vintage music videos and movie clips, Seattle’s VJ Niros, plus live electric guitarist Jacob Casad and two full-production drag shows by Desiree St. James and friends. Adjacent to Planet Hollywood, off Harmon Avenue. Doors at 10:30 p.m., $10 cover, locals free.
Fri. 4 Grab your CrackBerry (oh, like we need to tell you) for the launch of Follow Me Fridays at Venus. Tweet “I’m having a @Veuve_Clicquot Summer Kiss drink @VenusPoolClub @PureLasVegas @CaesarsPalace. Join me!” and receive a free Summer Kiss cocktail to enjoy by the pool. (At Caesars Palace. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., $30 for men, $20 for ladies.) Later, cozy up to brooding filmmaker types at the Artisan during the 2010 Las Vegas International Film Festival opening night event (1501 W. Sahara Ave. 9:30 p.m.-3 a.m., no cover), or top off a highbrow evening with a well-heeled crew during the Zappos book release party at Jet. At The Mirage. Doors at 10:30 p.m., $30 cover.
Sat. 5 Celebrate US Weekly’s annual Hot Bodies issue with a poolside soirée at Encore Beach Club hosted by Dancing With the Stars’ Melissa Rycroft. EBC promises giveaways, but we’re just praying for a Samba encore. (Doors at 11 a.m., $40 for men, $30 for ladies, free for local ladies.) Later that night, head indoors to Surrender, where Vegas Seven’s stepsister publication, the New York Observer, and Jim Kerwin of Kerwin Communications host execs from Mikimoto, Tag Heuer and Chopard who are in town for the Couture 2010 show. Doors at 10:30 p.m., $40 for men, $30 for ladies, free for local ladies.
SeveN NIghtS Sun. 6 It may be a school night, but the Palms extends an invitation you can’t refuse: 50 Cent at the Pearl. (Doors at 8 p.m., tickets $49-$79.) After the concert, take your pick of post-show parties: Porn star-turned-rapper Dirt Nasty as he takes it to The Bank, or Macy Gray as she celebrates Brittny Gastineau’s new jewelry line, Très Glam, at Lavo. The Bank at Bellagio. Doors at 10:30 p.m., $30 cover, locals free. Lavo at the Palazzo. Doors at 11 p.m., $20 for men, $10 for women, local ladies free.
Mon. 7 Relax, it’s Monday! If yours doesn’t include a cubicle or punch card, recover from the weekend that was at Relax, the industry-friendly day of R&R at the Hard Rock Hotel pool. (10 a.m.-7 p.m., no cover.) If the feeling’s right, continue with Monday Night Karaoke at Beauty Bar, or live music and comedy during Live at Blue at Blue Martini. Beauty Bar, 517 E. Fremont St. Doors at 10 p.m., no cover. Blue Martini at Town Square. Event from 9 p.m.-midnight, $20 cover, $10 for industry.
Tues. 8 Local dancers go-go head to head for prizes during the inaugural Las Vegas Go-Go Awards at Blush, featuring an open champagne bar for the ladies from 11 p.m.-midnight. (At Wynn. Doors at 9 p.m., $30 cover, local ladies and industry free.) Alternatively, kick it old school at Lavo during a ’90s party hosted by Biz Markie. Sure, his one and only Top 10 hit came out in 1989, but we still say he’s ( just) a friend … At the Palazzo. Doors at 11 p.m., $20 for men, $10 for ladies, local ladies free.
Wed. 9 Take it off as Geisha House presents Naked Sushi, a seductive evening of “sexy dining,” drink specials ($1 sake, $3 shots of Crown Royal and $5 Heineken) and DJs Prism, Double Down Charlie Brown and Bof Da Man. (6125 S. Fort Apache Road. Event begins at 10 p.m., no cover.) Afterward, head to Crystals for industry night at Eve, where the King and Queen of the Beach competition awards two of Las Vegas’ sexiest pool people with a three-day all-inclusive cruise. Doors at 10:30 p.m., $30 for men, $20 for ladies, local ladies free. June 3-9, 2010 Vegas Seven 45
Nightlife
The Bank | Bellagio
Photography by Roman Mendez
Upcoming June 4 | Holy RolleRs PRemieRe PaRty June 6 | industRy nigHt featuRing a PeRfoRmanCe by diRt nasty and guest dJ stRetCH aRmstRong
46 Vegas Seven June 3-9, 2010
Nightlife
Vanity | Hard rock Hotel
Photography by Hew Burney
Upcoming June 3 | Godskitchen with timo maas June 6 | sin on sunday locals niGht June 10 | Godskitchen with dJ carlos Fauvrelle and Faarsheed
48 Vegas Seven June 3-9, 2010
Nightlife
Bare | The Mirage
Upcoming June 14 | Beatclan Rally
54 Vegas Seven June 3-9, 2010
Photography by Sullivan Charles
Nightlife
Opening soon
The Word on Discreet Discretion in a town that loves to talk by Xania Woodman Vegas’ latest celebrity-backed nightlife endeavor has an interesting take on the epidemic of chatty, Twitter-happy, loose lips: Theirs are sealed. On the outside, Discreet Gentlemen’s Club subscribes to the standard marketing procedures—ads, promotions, street teams—but once inside, guests are enveloped in a cocoon of protection. While no-camera, no-cell phone picture policies are rarely enforced elsewhere, they are strictly enforced at Discreet. With the June 18 grand opening, the former Minxx strip club will be revived by BMX legend TJ Lavin and four core investors. The club aims to put the “gentleman” back in gentlemen’s club—both literally and figuratively— and keeps mum on what inevitably follows. Keeping with this, Discreet has positioned itself as “The only gentlemen’s club in Las Vegas.” Like a good lap dance, a visit to Discreet should start from the top and work its way down. The second floor is VIP territory, housing six so-called “discreet suites,” private booths with smoked glass doors, and a lounge divided into eight sections by heavy chain-mail curtains. Downstairs, the main room boasts a bar, a two-pole LED-lit stage and raised VIP areas, some with sheer curtains for semi-privacy. Elsewhere, private rooms shield patrons entirely. Discreet’s preppy striped walls, humidor and atomic-era pendant lights are a far cry from the seediness found elsewhere in Vegas. The total effect is an unexpected treat—a midcentury mod lounge borrowed from the set of Mad Men … that happens to have exotic dancers.
Still, the crown jewel is back upstairs. The VIP bar, with its collage of wooden hoops and up-lighting, is a collision of art and architecture. Seated at this bar, drinking cranberry juice in his ubiquitous cap and T-shirt, Lavin, who doesn’t drink, says he is pleased to have contributed his artistic sense to the project wherever possible. “This is the reason I’d put my name on a club, get involved like this. … It’s a kid from Vegas’ dream to own a gentlemen’s club,” he says. Although the two-time X Games gold medalist’s BMX and motocross buddies affectionately call him “the king of dirt,” Lavin, who also hosts MTV’s Real World/Road Rules Challenge, is articulate and business-minded. He recognized Discreet’s potential as a bespoke experience that he would feel comfortable sharing with his buddies—people whom he says deserve a “safe, clean, legitimate” place to enjoy a little he time. In this, his first nightlife foray, Lavin joins childhood friend and freestyle motocross superstar Carey Hart in adding club ownership to his résumé. (Hart is a partner in Wasted Space at the Hard Rock Hotel, and operates Hart & Huntington Tattoo Co., as well.)
Discreet Gentlemen’s Club invites patrons to take a seat by the bar—or the pole—starting June 16.
Eye-pleasing aesthetics and entertainers aside, service is how Discreet intends to set itself apart. Crowds will be kept comparatively small to maintain a boutique atmosphere that is every bit function as well as form. The venue has a capacity of about 350 people, including dancers and staff, but Lavin says they will keep a high staff-to-guest ratio—and entry is at the doorman’s discretion. Call ahead and you can have your preferred table, bottle and entertainer ready and waiting—in the school girl/naughty nurse/cheerleader or other fantastical costume of your choosing. VIP hosts will anticipate clients at the door—be it the front door or through the back door, up the VIP elevator and directly into a private room. “What happens in Las Vegas doesn’t stay in Las Vegas anymore; it ends up on MSNBC the next morning!” observes
Discreet managing partner Anthony Botta. “I think people are looking for a little discretion. … [And] it’s really easy for us to do here what other places can’t do, and that’s give individualized service.” And the discretion doesn’t end when patrons leave Discreet’s doors. Should a receipt or bank statement be left out, wandering eyes will only see “casino cash advance” on the bill—a plausible excuse for where that $5,000 went.
Discreet Gentlemen’s club • 4636 Wynn Road • 1 p.m.-6 a.m. (afterhours on Fridays and Saturdays) • Opens June 16
Las Vegas’ crowned king of the LGBT party, Eduardo Cordova, has a knack for placing chic, high-end LGBT events in mainstream (non-gay) venues. His latest efforts manifested May 27, when he brought Tempted Thursdays to Gold Lounge at Aria. The temptation begins every Thursday, as Adam and Eve meet guests at the door. Showcasing a forbidden fruit theme, Tempted Thursdays feature resident DJ 60 Vegas Seven June 3-9, 2010
Roger Gangi and last a whopping eight hours, from 8 p.m.-4 a.m. The long, late night accommodates a crowd of professional networkers early in the evening, then a high-flying party crowd as the night goes on. “I am trying something new, and just like all my events, they are all different from one other and all have something attractive,” Cordova says.
The event kicks off the LGBT weekend in Las Vegas, and is followed by two more parties that come to us courtesy of Cordova: Heaven at Bare on Saturdays and The Closet Sundays at Revolution. That all three venues are part of the Light Group nightlife/lifestyle empire is a tribute Cordova’s relationship with the brand—and his place within the LGBT nightlife community. — X.W.
Discreet photo by Anthony Mair
nightlife’s Golden boy
Nightlife
Cocktail Culture
By Xania Woodman
Opening Act As creAted by Andrew PollArd And served At noir bAr, $12 At the recent Domaine de Canton Bartender of the Year competition, held in the French West Indies on St. Martin, Andrew Pollard presented the best cocktail of the entire event—in the very first round. Although his Opening Act—a tangy ginger-tonic aperitif—impressed the panel, which included Canton owner John Cooper himself, the acclaimed Pure Management Group mixologist didn’t walk away with the $10,000 grand prize. He did, however, earn second place, and he has since been named Canton’s Las Vegas brand ambassador and Bartender of the Month. 2 ounces Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur ½ ounce Campari ½ ounce fresh lime juice
4-6 fresh mint leaves, extra for garnish tonic water (preferably Hansen’s) caramelized Angostura orange bitters*
Method: Combine the Canton, Campari and lime juice in a mixing glass. Clap mint leaves between your hands to release the essential oils, then add, along with some ice, and shake. Double-strain into a chimney glass over fresh ice, top with tonic water and give it a light stir. Finish with bitters and garnish with a large sprig of fresh mint. *To caramelize bitters, pour a small amount into an atomizer/mister ($15 at bar supply stores), then, from six inches away, spray three clouds over the flame of a brûlée torch, allowing the caramelized mist to fall over the top of the drink.
Chimney glasses are a unique species of tall, narrow glassware with a design that differentiates them from the Old Fashioned or other short, wide, bucket-style glassware also commonly found in bars. They come in several forms—Collins glasses, highball glasses and champagne flutes, to name a few—and all provide the tall, narrow environment central to the purpose: to retain carbonation. To see a chimney in action, pour some champagne—no, wait, that would be cruel; pour some seltzer—into a bowl, then pour some into a tall, narrow glass. It won’t take long before you will see the results of this simple science project: a bowl of flat seltzer on one hand, and a flute of still-carbonated water on the other. The lesson, of course, is simple: Next time you’re topping a drink with soda, or mixing something with sparkling wine, think chimney. Devotee of all things mixed (and the U.S. Bartenders Guild’s Nevada chapter vice president) Andrew Pollard says chimney glasses are an essential cocktail etiquette. “Not only does it meet the needs of a thirsty soul searching for a sharp, crisp, bubbly concoction, but it also is visually appealing when ‘dressed’ right,” he says, noting, “In a long cocktail you have the ability to stretch the aesthetic value with colors, herbs, fruit, bubbles, etc.”
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Opening Act photo by Danielle DeBruno
Chimney glAss: lOve yOu lOng time
The NaTioNal Newsroom This week in the New York Observer
Jon Meacham has hobbled Newsweek by turning the magazine into his own personal publication.
News-bleak! Or Is It? Grahams Succumb to Panic Conventional wisdom says the traditional newsweekly is doomed—but it ain’t necessarily so
Photo by Alex Wong / Getty Images for Meet the Press
By Lee Siegel One of the more remarkable features of our current cultural moment is that otherwise mature adults have been spooked by economics the way children are frightened by thunder. Consider the way the Washington Post Co. has handled Newsweek, one of its flagship assets, which is now up for sale. Let’s say you own a candy store. For years, the store has been a viable enterprise. It was worth holding on to through cycles of bust because the boom times always returned sooner or later. Part of what made the store worth hanging on to was the fact that it had become so much a part of people’s lives that it was half a commercial and half a civic institution. That comforting familiarity was one reason you knew the store would pull through hard times. That, and the certainty that hard times always came to an end. Sure enough, another bad stretch hits the store. But this time, economic recession is compounded by a new trend: Rival candy stores are giving away treats and other stuff for free! All the neighborhood candy stores are hit. They all lose money and customers to the new “free” candy stores. Your certainty that
the cycle will come to an end is being assaulted by loud local gossip to the effect that this crisis is unprecedented, and that the free stores are a revolution in candy. What do you do? Do you close a store that during its almost 80 years of existence has become a neighborhood institution? Do you try to sell it at precisely the moment when the very fact of putting it up for sale is the strongest argument against buying it? Do you ignore decades of experience of cycles of boom and bust and believe the hysterical cries announcing the end of retail as you know it? Or do you calm yourself, take a look around and notice that all the nearby stores are doing badly but that yours is doing the worst of all? In that case, instead of closing the store, you might replace your brother-in-law, whom you hired to run the store because
you’ve known him forever, because you appreciated his ingratiating style and felt flattered by the fact that he sounded so smart in public and had lots of glamorous friends. So what if your sister won’t talk to you for a while; she’ll get over it. It is scandalous that the Post Co. has decided to sell Newsweek before replacing the editor under whom the magazine has foundered so badly. Can you imagine the Sulzbergers doing that? Murdoch? Can you imagine any group of people who have, as the Grahams are legendarily said to have, journalism running through their veins preserving an individual over a valuable and viable journalistic institution? Newsweek is bleeding money. By every law of capitalism, Jon Meacham should have been replaced. And yet rather than replacing him, Meacham’s overlords allowed him to strip the magazine, precious component by precious component. They stood by while he bought out and laid off some of the magazine’s best editors and writers, reduced the magazine’s guaranteed circulation base in order to attract a more exclusive class of advertiser—a fancy accounting gimmick that had the effect of alienating advertisers looking for a large, guaranteed circulation base—and completely transformed the magazine’s decades-old identity, a gimmick that had the effect of bewildering advertisers eager to match their product or service with a magazine’s familiar identity. As Newsweek went under, Meacham went higher. The quarterly financial reports brought news of impending ruin, and yet there he was, night after night, beaming before the cameras on every talk show and comedy show you could think of. It was as if Meacham had decided that rather than save the ship from going under, he would turn it into his own private submarine. His editorial policy mostly amounted to his publishing famous friends and acquaintances, whose shopworn names did nothing for the magazine’s fortunes but everything for Meacham’s expanding quid pro quo. There is nothing wrong with being a political animal: on the contrary. But Meacham’s deft maneuverings reaped him recognition and acclaim while his magazine tumbled toward irrelevancy. Full disclosure: My wife worked at Newsweek for many years and she was one of the two dozen or so people Meacham
Newsweek is bleeding money. By every law of capitalism, [editor] Jon Meacham should have been replaced.
Continued on page 72
The Man with the Mystery Plan real estate mogul Bruce eichner plots his big return to New York By Dana Rubinstein Bruce Eichner, the developer who added City Spire, 1540 Broadway and hundreds of luxury condos to the New York skyline in the 1980s and ’90s before decamping to South Beach and Las Vegas, where he did much of the same, struggled to sit still in his office chair on the 26th floor of a midtown skyscraper. Eichner, 64, has a polished white smile, the energy of a much younger man and the charisma of 10 average men. That would help explain how, over the past three decades, he’s convinced one banker after another to part with billions of dollars. Now’s he back in New York. And after two years of quietly assessing the market, he’s hatched a mysterious plan, one that he’s loath to describe in anything but the most opaque of terms. “I’m going to use my real estate expertise, which allows me to be a thoughtful buyer of dirt—land … and apply it to operating businesses in the New York metropolitan area.” Even better, “I am ensconced in buying X number of sites, which I guarantee The New York Times and Wall Street Journal will be interested in, because that’s what I do.” This month, he says, he’s entered into contract for two development sites in the New York metropolitan area. By year’s end, he wants to have acquired between eight and 10. While he will develop these sites, real estate development is no longer the end goal. Two real estate sources said that Eichner was planning to do something related to senior housing. Eichner declined to confirm that. “To do a real estate project is like riding a bicycle,” Eichner said. “The idea of coming up with some operating business and doing this and that and doing some prestidigitation …” at which point he crossed his forearms back and forth above his lap, like a human windshield wiper. “That’s cool.” “We’re not talking about money,” said Eichner, who had just finished expounding on the thrill of the hunt. “We’re talking about 221B Baker St.” 221B Baker St. This is the first-floor Victorian flat where the fictional Sherlock Holmes Continued on page 70 June 3-9, 2010 Vegas Seven
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The New Yorker editor is emerging as a surprisingly outspoken Web critic By John Koblin At the May 25 breakfast, Remnick If you’re an editor these days, grab a continued on this point. soapbox and talk about a paywall. “Clearly, clearly, the endgame—insoLast month, Guardian editor Alan far as there’s ever an endgame, it’s all a Rusbridger hit New York and went process—is for you to pay some fee, so on Charlie Rose to talk about what a tragedy it would be for editors to charge you can have the whole magazine online, the archives online and God knows readers for content. “I think it is a very whatever else,” he said. profound statement journalistically to “If that meant being 2 mph slower want to put a universal barrier between than the press critic down the street you and the way the rest of the world is wanted me to be, so be it,” he continued. going to work,” he said. “This is very complicated.” Now New Yorker editor David Remnick He said that online opinion writing is throwing himself into the fray. And he and blogs have their place. Even The does not agree with Rusbridger. New Yorker does it! But it also does much “I was going to be damned if I was more, and that’s why you’ll wind up paygoing to train 18-year-olds, 20-yearing for the magazine. “Sometimes I look olds, 25-year-olds, that this is like water at other magazines and I’ve seen that that comes out of the sink,” he said, they have become more like everything about The New Yorker. else—more like everything else online— Remnick was speaking at a breakfast and that diminishes the overall,” he for advertisers and some reporters said, without getting too specific. “That in the Condé Nast Executive Dining is something also that I did not want Room on the morning of May 25. He to do. In my mind, The New Yorker is a said that if you want expensive reportmission and a cause and has a very deep ing, then you’ll have to pay for it. responsibility.” Let’s just say that Remnick But wait, he has another probably isn’t going to get point! “One of the great a lunch with Jeff Jarvis Web orthodoxies was or Arianna Huffington that no one would read anytime soon and talk anything of any length Web religion. online. Bullshit!” Remnick “There have been many said. “When we look at our stages of Web evangelical most-often-read things, it’s thinking. You must do very often not a blog post at this! You have to do that! all. It’s a long article about Or you are clueless,” Jesus by Adam Gopnik!” Remnick clucked. Remnick He said that he still has to “Remember the days of figure out what to with this “unbelievinformation wants to be free?” he conably revolutionary thing” and how it tinued. “So therefore the only thing that can best serve deep reporting. But he anyone with any brains could do with a magazine like The New Yorker is to put the wants something simple. As for The New York Times paywall that whole thing online and give it away. Give will come out next January? “So far it it away! And if you were against that in seems confusing what the formula is,” some way or you said, ‘Wait a minute,’ Remnick said. you were—wait for it—clueless. The key to everyone—The Times, The “I opted for clueless,” he said. New Yorker, whoever does deep reportRemnick spoke about the magaing—is that the answer must be simple. zine’s digital edition (which is its own “Whatever formula we come up with, it animal, accessible for a $39.95 fee for has to be easily explained. You get this people who don’t subscribe to the print for that. You get this for that. And that’s it. edition) and how some content is still It’s simple.” free on the Web. He’s figuring it out, And as for Condé Nast’s oft-maligned just like everyone else. He’s not in a Web strategy, Remnick had a defense rush. But when he does figure it out, for that, too. Other companies made you will be paying. Two weeks ago, “extremely expensive mistakes.” Remnick told the London-based Ara“There was a logic in the lateness,” he bic paper Asharq Al-Awsat that there are said. “It was not a cluelessness. It’s not as “millions” of people who will willingly if it weren’t ever discussed.” pay for the news.
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kept his pipe rack, and where he labored over stubborn mysteries with the help of the loyal Dr. Watson. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is one of Eichner’s favorite writers. Eichner’s office has a creative disorder similar to Holmes’ study, with a dollop of master-of-the-universe grandeur and family-man sentimentality thrown in. Eichner decorated it himself. “I think Bruce is a very, very smart guy,” said James Kuhn, the president of Newmark Knight Frank who in 1992 sold the Times Square skyscraper at 1540 Broadway to Bertelsmann after Eichner’s development team, which erected the tower, declared bankruptcy. “I think that he has vision. He was certainly ahead of his time with the 1540 Broadway building. But he’s a huge risk taker, and when you combine those two and you miss the market, it’s unfortunate, but that’s what happens.” That Eichner should grow weary of real estate and want to dabble in something like senior housing is not, in and of itself, surprising. Not only did Eichner recently lose his $3.9 billion Las Vegas development, the Cosmopolitan, to his Deutsche Bank creditors, but he’s been playing the real estate game since the 1970s, when, as a government attorney, he wanted to supplement his income. First, he bought a four-story building on Montgomery Place in Park Slope. And then he bought a building on Seventh Street. Later he took on Brooklyn Heights, purchasing the old Hotel Margaret in Columbia Heights and converting it into apartments. When a fire destroyed the hotel, Eichner sought to rebuild it to 15 stories, shorter than the historic hotel but still too tall for the Brooklyn Heights Association, which proceeded to sue, arguing that the development’s height was out of keeping with the character of the historic neighborhood. Eichner ultimately won. That wasn’t enough. “I don’t believe in getting angry,” Eichner said. “But I do believe in getting even.” And so he did. When the appeals court dismissed the case, Eichner sold the building to the Jehovah’s Witnesses, then a new presence in Brooklyn Heights that residents feared would usurp the neighborhood. Soon, Eichner moved on to Manhattan, building condominiums like the Kingsley and the America. They were followed by City Spire, a 72-story condo and office building, and then, perhaps most famously, 1540 Broadway, a development chronicled from start to finish in Jerry Adler’s book High Rise: How 1,000 Men and Women Worked Around the Clock for Five Years and Lost $200 Million Building a Skyscraper (Harper Perennial, 1994).
As the title indicates, Eichner ended up losing 1540 Broadway, now known as the Bertelsmann Building. He also lost City Spire to bankruptcy. Eichner didn’t let that get him down. He’s wont to attribute his loss of those buildings to the early ’90s real estate bust. Similarly, he says his loss of the Cosmopolitan on the Las Vegas Strip was an inevitable result of the Great Recession. “Just about everyone who was in the middle of a development project in Las Vegas got wiped out,” agreed Dan Fasulo, managing director of Real Estate Analytics. “It’s not like this is a singular example. When you’re investing in a multibillion project and the debt markets dry up, you’re just out of luck.” Overall, Eichner says, he’s fared extremely well, thanks to a lucrative settlement with Cosmopolitan lender Deutsche Bank and his wildly successful investments in South Beach. Not only does he claim to have ample money in the bank, but he also claims to have ample access to lenders. “I have several sets of friends that I’ve done business with and who would do something with me in a nanosecond,” he boasted, naming Fortress as an example. But to what end, Dr. Watson? Eichner hinted that his Big Idea was inspired by his experience with the Cosmopolitan, which he designed as a lifestyle-oriented condo hotel, one that catered less to the gaming community and more to those taking in the shows. According to two real estate executives who asked to remain anonymous, Eichner’s end goal is to get into the lucrative assisted-living business. To which Eichner demurred. “I can’t comment.” For sure, Eichner isn’t particularly bullish on the office market, which he predicts will ultimately be hobbled by technology and the growing trend toward working remotely. As far as residential real estate is concerned, Eichner said banks will for the next couple of years only finance small “dumb rentals.” Whatever Eichner’s personal goal, he does seem destined to enjoy the process. During his interview, Eichner was so animated that he kept cutting himself off mid-sentence just so he could start on the next one. “Sometimes it will rain on your birthday,” Eichner said. “Sometimes it won’t.” He leaned forward in his seat and held out his palms like the scales of justice. “But it’s in the dream that you find the balance to deal with the disappointing and to pat yourself on the back and say, ‘Nice job, Brucie.” He patted himself on the back.
Photo by Fernando Leon / Retna
David ‘Mr. Paywall’ Remnick Defends His Turf
Eichner Continued from page 69
Hollyworld
Hollywood scandals, the sequels By Richard Siklos Last week, we complained that it was getting a bit boring out here waiting for long-brewing deals to come to fruition in Hollywood. Never mind: It’s scandal season in Tinseltown! In the past week we’ve had not one but two headspinning bicoastal arrests in fraud cases that bring back recollections of just how loopy proximity to star power can make people. Or maybe it’s that star power attracts loopy people? Case one, the duo aptly nicknamed “Bonnie and Yonni.” Bonnie is Bonnie Hoxie, until a week ago an assistant in Walt Disney’s corporate communications department in Burbank, Calif., and a woman with whom I’ve had perfectly pleasant interactions via e-mail or the phone—usually to set up a lunch or some such with her boss, Zenia Mucha. But, not being a hedge fund, I wasn’t among the lucky ones to hear from her supposed boyfriend, Yonnie Sebbag, who gave himself the clever pseudonym Jonathan Cyrus (probably a play on Miley, get it?). Sebbag is accused of contacting 20 or so hedge funds in New York and elsewhere with the hopes of selling them internal documents detailing Disney’s second-quarter 2010 earnings a couple of days before they were to be announced, on May 11. Sebbag ended up getting paid $15,000 from a couple of FBI agents posing as traders at a hedge fund. Rather than keeping up his facade as Cyrus, Sebbag earnestly spilled the beans about who he was and the fact that the info was coming from his girlfriend. (In hilarious/sad e-mails released by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Hoxie sent her friend links to a Stella McCartney handbag and shoes that she hoped to get from Neiman Marcus once her ship came in.) I don’t know Sebbag, but just by virtue of my minor interactions with Hoxie, if any of these allegations are true, I can’t help but feel bad for her. The stakes here just seemed way too low for her to break a cardinal rule that the hedge fund recipients of the proposal from “Cyrus” heeded well: Don’t mess with the Mouse. Case two involves the ironically named investment adviser Kenneth Starr (no relation to the Clinton presidency antagonist), who was charged last week with operating a $30 million Ponzi scheme, and, in particular, recently moving $7
million out of his clients’ accounts to help buy an Upper East side triplex for roughly the same amount—which he happens to share with his comely wife, a former peeler at Scores. His arrest recalls Dana Giacchetto, the hotshot broker to Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz and others, who served three years in prison for misappropriating $10 million of his clients’ funds. Apparently, Starr managed money for 30 high-net-worth people, including Uma Thurman and entrepreneur Steve Brill, and also oversaw a “concierge” service that looked after the needs of some 175 celebs. At one time or another, Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes and Al Pacino were among his money management clients, along with photographer Annie Leibovitz, who has blamed Starr for giving her advice that led to her own well-publicized financial troubles. “News of Ken Starr’s arrest does not come as a complete surprise to me, and I will follow this story with great interest,” Liebovitz said in a tart statement. The case against Starr is in its early stages. But if it holds up, it reveals another truth about the intersection of hubris and criminal behavior: There really is no such thing as deterrence and message sending. If Bernie Madoff and Mark Drier weren’t enough to make people think twice about diverting their clients’ money into a triplex with a lap pool, who is?
Kenneth Starr and his wife, Diane Passage. June 3-9, 2010 Vegas Seven 71
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ACROSS 1 “___ rich!” 6 Like reality, at times 10 “You there!” 13 Possessed 16 Loan type 18 Late ___ (stuck in traffic, maybe) 20 Capital city directly S of Panama 22 Wickedness 23 Alternative-media magazine 24 Ward (off) 25 The really old days 27 Soaring symbol 29 TV’s Hamilton Burger et al. 30 Place for an acting president? 31 Egyptian goddess 32 Work ___ team 35 Bribe 37 Castaway’s relief 40 Little girl 45 Illogical reply 51 Where El Misti is 52 Riviera port, San ___ 54 Hands-up time? 55 Layer 57 Measure again 59 Afterthought No. 2 61 Se preceder 63 Game of Clue weapon 64 Finds innocent 67 Wild finish? 70 Oversupply Answers found on page 74 72
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DOWN 1 Hang-up 2 You stay here 3 Latin verb 4 Green doohickeys 5 Offshoot of a sort 6 Tropical fruits 7 Keeps going, cowboy-style 8 “Am ___ understand ...” 9 Pianist Hess et al. 10 “___ soit ...” 11 La Salle of “ER” 12 Sonoran Indian 13 Part of Hispaniola 14 Some partners 15 Actress Susan 17 College plaza 18 “Let the punishment ___ crime” 19 Serious traffic arrests 20 Can. province 21 Stage coach Hagen 26 Loch legend, to locals 28 Unfrozen glace 33 Children’s song, “Little ___” 34 Took the bait? 36 Plague’s cousin 38 Thinking-test nos. 39 Express 40 EMT skill 41 Haw partner 42 Check-collecting org. 43 Who, to Hulot 44 Hypos are stuck into them 46 Little drink
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!!! VOLUME 16 IS HERE !!! To order Merl’s crossword books, visit www.sunday crosswords.com.
6/3/2010 © M. Reagle
Newsweek Continued from page 69
laid off. The fact that she worked at Newsweek was why I never took after Meacham, as was the fact that he laid her off. But another reason I never criticized Meacham in print was that I had high hopes for the new format he introduced last May. The instant denunciations of him when he explained that he, in effect, wanted to create a counterpoint to the Internet and run longer, more reflective essays in the magazine made me bristle. The American public is restless by definition. It is only a matter of time before people flock to the Internet to find an antidote to the worst and most undeveloped aspects of the Internet, one of them being amateurishly written “news” that is as inaccurate as it is superficial. What appeared to be Meacham’s daring seemed right on the mark. Indeed, in light of The Atlantic’s rising profitability, Meacham’s vision for Newsweek now seems prescient. The Atlantic, borrowing in part from The Economist, has turned itself into exactly the right blend of long-form and short-burst journalism that Meacham seemed to want. And Meacham once had more resources than The Atlantic. He hit the ground with overseas bureaus, and seasoned Washington reporters like Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball, and established commentators like Jonathan Alter and Fareed Zakaria. For a while, even Meacham’s boyish poise on camera seemed to bode well; his self-effacing thoughtfulness fit the anti-intellectual atmosphere even as it seemed to elevate the discourse. The guffaws that greeted him when he threw down the gauntlet to the new-media age struck me as automatic responses to a successful media personality and a Pulitzer Prize winner. But Meacham proceeded to hamstring his own vision and create the magazine in his own image. He hobbled Newsweek with star-struck careerism on the one hand and self-congratulatory pseudo-intellectuality on the other. In his lead essays, Meacham babbled inexplicably on about religion while the world burned and churned around him, or flaunted “contrarian” positions—e.g., America is essentially a conservative country—that had been tested countless times before and were uncontroversial in the extreme. At the same time, Meacham was dropping names left and right. You scratched your head when Meacham informed readers in the Newsweek issue guest-edited by Stephen Colbert that he knew Colbert’s in-laws in South Carolina. If there is anything that puts off the contemporary reader, it is the feeling that rather than being invited into something, he is being waved at from an exclusive cocktail party on the other side of a wall. It turned out that the slower, more reflective pace of the magazine actually just gave Meacham more time to spend trimming his sails outside the office. You began to see that the boyish poise on camera was actually an opportunistic blankness, interrupted by “thoughtful” pauses and punctuated by an occasional smug smack of the lips, as though he could not resist planting one on himself in gratitude for being … himself. In his May 31 New York Times column, David Carr presented the conventional wisdom about Newsweek, which is that time has passed it by. The very idea of a news “weekly” is obsolete; people want instantaneous news, etc. The fact is that in the midst of the worst advertising recession in perhaps 80 years, and the worst general economic circumstances in about as long a time, any kind of prediction about where any type of business is going is irresponsible. In the case of The New Continued on page 74
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Personal Finance Newsweek Continued from page 72
York Times, I would pay several hundred dollars a year to read it, but one aspect of the paper that I cannot take seriously is its reporting on other news entities. At a time when The Times is nearly hysterical over The Wall Street Journal’s competition, when the paper has anxiously postponed the implementation of a paywall again and again, when panicking editors are driving their reporters crazy, the expectation that The Times can report objectively on the economic side of the news business is irrational. So much proclamation of print media’s imminent doom is driven by self-interest, whether on the part of rival news organizations, threatened establishment journalists, established journalists who just want to stay in the game or jealous bloggers. What is truly happening is much less certain. Almost two years ago, the banks were sinking, the automakers were sinking and the country was sliding into a second Great Depression. Well, the banks are flourishing, the automakers are doing fine, more and more people are managing to get by. One man’s hysteria, it seems, is another man’s stock option. But the Grahams, like just about everyone else in journalism, have succumbed to the loudest voices. Never mind that Newsweek still has the vast resources of a storied magazine that has operated effectively for nearly a century on several continents. Would it have made a difference if the Grahams had, for example, not bought Slate and then proceeded to blur Slate into Newsweek by blending the tone of the two magazines and sharing writers between them? Or if they had had the cojones to beg Tina Brown to take over Newsweek? It doesn’t matter. Don’t ask questions. Strange how the mainstream news business is the only realm in American life where the Calvinist doctrine of predestination is alive and flourishing. That must be the secret of Arianna Huffington’s success. She believes in free will! On the other hand, a neighborhood candy store makes more money than the HuffPo. In love and business, the fundamentals still apply. What a world-historical shame. By the time the media moguls realize that they have been listening to Chicken Littles driven by ulterior motives, there will be nothing left in the media world worth either buying or selling.
Stop That! by Merl Reagle
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Keep the right bonds in your portfolio By Kathy Kristof, Tribune Media Services
Investors, made nervous by two years of rollercoaster performance in the stock market, have been pouring money into bond funds over the last year, seeking a haven for their assets. But if interest rates start to rise next year—as most expect they will—these mutual funds that hold bonds may not look quite as profitable, experts say. “As rates go up, bond prices come down,” says Steve Huber, head of portfolio strategies for fixed income at T. Rowe Price, a big mutual fund company in Baltimore. “The longer the maturities on your bonds, the bigger the risk you’re taking.” If interest rates were to rise by 1 percentage point, the price of a 30-year U.S. Treasury bond would decline by 14.13 percent, according to a T. Rowe Price analysis. The price decline on a 10-year bond would be about half that, the company says. Price declines on shorter-term Treasury bonds would be more modest—roughly 2 percent for a note with a two-year maturity and 4.5 percent for one with five years to go before the principal would be repaid. Naturally, if rates rise more, bond prices drop even more. Yet investors need bonds as part of their portfolio, even in an environment of rising interest rates, experts concur. The question is: How do you buy bonds that won’t get trashed as interest rates rise? Here are some types of bonds to consider. Look for a step-up. A number of issuers sell bonds that offer a fixed price for a set stretch of time, stepping up to better rates later, says Marilyn Cohen, author of Bonds Now! (Wiley, 2009) and chief of investment strategy at Envision Capital Management in Beverly Hills, Calif. For instance, a new Fannie Mae “step-up” bond offers a 2 percent yield until November 2011 but promises to pay 5 percent after that. The rate would rise to 6 percent in 2015 and to 7 percent in 2020. The catch? If market interest rates rise faster than the “step-up” on this bond, you’re stuck with the lower rate and no way to sell without taking a hit on the bond’s principal value. Do you get the benefit of an above-market rate if market interest rates rise more slowly than the “stepup” schedule on the bond? Probably not, Cohen says. If interest rates are lower than the promised rate on the bond, the issuer has the right to “call”—or pay back—investors at any time, she says. Check out floating rates. Corporate borrowers also issue some floating-rate debt that pays a variable interest rate based on an index, such as the London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, says Ann Benjamin, managing director and chief investment
officer at Neuberger Berman, a New York-based investment firm. Individual investors can get into this market by buying mutual funds that invest in floating-rate corporate debt. That gives you a “natural hedge” against rising interest rates, she says. Consider junk. Interest rates are primed to rise now because the economy appears to be recovering, Benjamin says. That makes highly leveraged companies that issue high-yielding debt—often termed junk bonds—appear more financially stable. As a result the debt that these companies issue can rise in value even as interest rates rise because buying this debt becomes comparatively less risky. “The high-yield market does well, even in a rising rate environment, because improving economic conditions tend to help companies’ credit quality,” Benjamin says. “You still have room for rates to rise before you have any impact on high-yield bond prices.” Look at quality corporate bonds. Good-quality companies also have solidified their finances over the last year, cutting costs and hoarding cash, Cohen says. These companies now have balance sheets that should sustain their bond payments for a long time. That makes quality corporate bonds look attractive, too. A-rated corporate bonds don’t pay as much as junk bonds, but they still pay considerably more than Treasuries, with very little additional risk. Tour the international markets. Buying the bonds of foreign governments may make some investors feel queasy, thanks to the Greek debt crisis that’s reverberated through the financial markets. But T. Rowe Price strategists think that the debt of some less-leveraged countries, such as Germany, France and Canada, is a good buy. The caveat: When you buy bonds issued by foreign governments you also have to cope with currency risk because you must convert your U.S. dollars into foreign currencies when you buy and convert back into U.S. dollars when you sell and repatriate your money. Currency swings can have as big an effect on your investment as the yield on the bond. Also be sure to diversify your bond portfolio just as you do with stocks. Investors sometimes forget to buy different types of bonds because bonds are typically less volatile than stocks. But that changes when interest rates are on the rise. You would be smart to hedge your bets by buying many different types of bonds.
Investors need bonds as part of their portfolio, even in an environment of rising interest rates.
Kathy Kristof’s column is syndicated by Tribune Media Services. She welcomes comments and suggestions but regrets that she cannot respond to each one. E-mail her at kathykristof24@gmail.com.
Arts & Entertainment
Art
Single-shot nihilism: Preston’s images of Jimmy and the boys can be found in Led Zeppelin: Photographs by Neal Preston (Omnibus Press, 2009).
Every Picture Tells a Story Iconic rock photographer Neal Preston has a nostalgic past and a long future at the Hard Rock
By Cindi Moon Reed Indianapolis, 1975. A frozen motion of Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page chugging a bottle of Jack. The composition, the “decisive moment” of arched-back abandon, is so perfect that the 2010-era viewer would naturally assume it was staged. But if you look closely, you’ll notice the many “imperfections” of real life that muss up the canvas and simultaneously serve to authenticate it. Tumbled luggage in the bottom left side of the frame. A cluttered backstage rider table of fruit and bottles. A random man whose face is mostly obscured by Page’s elbow. Nobody is looking at the camera. Nobody is even looking at Page. Robert Plant seems to be caught in an unflattering mid-sentence gesture. And two other figures have their backs turned.
You can’t see him because he was on the other side of the lens, but rock ’n’ roll photographer Neal Preston was also in that backstage dressing room. Zoom out 35 years and that photographer is sitting across from me on the couch in the rock library in the “Altered States” suite in the new wing of the Hard Rock Hotel. He’s here to promote the June 17 unveiling of a special photo exhibit of 30 new photos at the Hard Rock and his energy is contagious as he shuffles through photos of his life, America’s life, in music. With his curly gray hair, he wears the glow of one who has been to the top of the mountain. “Sometimes a photo of someone’s back is more interesting than a picture of their front,” Preston says, quoting advice from former People photo editor M.C. Marden. “Which meant, don’t always be concerned
about people looking at the camera; come back and let the scene happen.” In this case and in many others—he’s famously shot the Rolling Stones, Queen, U2, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd and Michael Jackson—the advice proved golden. If you want to know what it feels like to be backstage at a vintage Zeppelin concert, this photo shows you. The genius is the absolute back-turned casualness of it. Page is taking part in the quintessential rock-star act and nobody seems to notice or care, revealing its quotidian nature. This is what reality TV wishes it could capture, if only it had the patience, freedom and integrity to “let the scene happen.” In fact, media’s loss of quality, honesty and access is, to Preston, one of the main reasons that photojournalContinued on page 78 June 3-9, 2010 Vegas Seven 77
Arts & Entertainment
Rock Art Continued from page 77
ism isn’t what it once was. “If I ever did a book that really told my feelings about everything, the title of the book would be The Publicists Finally Won, and you know, that says it all,” he says and then harkens back to the golden era of both photography and rock music. “If we were doing a People magazine cover, we used to be able to shoot three, four, five days and there weren’t publicists hanging around and watching what you shot, and telling people, ‘Don’t let him shoot that. Whatever you do, don’t let him shoot that.’ You just did what you do, and there was a certain amount of trust.” Likewise, the Jimmy Page-Jack Daniels photo is the exact type of image that today would be forbidden and then later staged by an army of publicists, stylists, makeup artists and following re-touchers. “It’s really a shame what’s happened, certainly in terms of magazine photography,” Preston laments. “It’s either super set-up, super-contrived, faux-intimacy or it’s paparazzi stuff.” Erik Kabik, a local rock ’n’ roll photographer who also has photos hanging at the Hard Rock, is a bit envious of Preston’s access. “I’ve been looking at all his images over at the Hard Rock the last few months, and I pretty much know all of them because he’s shooting these artists that certainly I don’t have access to anymore,” Kabik says. “That’s something I’d love to be able to have—more access to the artists.” I caught up with Kabik at a 20-year retrospective of his photography at Mandarin Oriental (dedicated to rock photographer Jim Marshall), which means he got his start a good 15 years after Preston did. Kabik lists Preston as one of his heroes. “The way he captures light, and he’s shooting on film. I’m shooting digital now. … So I look at the photos and I’m just in awe of how beautiful they are as pieces of artwork because I know how hard it would be to capture those images. … They are artwork. They’re not just concert shots.” Perhaps used to operating behind the scenes, Preston humbly dismisses his fans. “I always tell people, because they get so reverential and they love the stuff so much, and I always say, ‘It’s not me that you’re responding to, it’s the people in the photographs.’ ‘No, but you were there, you were there.’ Everyone wants to touch the guy that touched the guy.” But Preston is selling himself short. He may enjoy proximity to greatness—such as getting to call singer Stevie Nicks his muse and director Cameron Crowe his best friend—but through his photos, he also helped create the greatness he gets to be near. For example, can anyone imagine the Dionysian glory of Led Zeppelin without such debaucherous backstage candids? Preston’s photos document a “high-water mark”
Low to High Brow Knight Gallery gives rock photography a new home in Las Vegas By Cindi Moon Reed
Peace, beer and cigarettes: Preston’s 1973 shot of Robert Plant.
(to invoke Hunter S. Thompson) in both music and photography that has since faded. But that’s the great part about photos; they preserve what’s gone. And in this case, whenever you feel nostalgic, you can always go to the Hard Rock and “visit your friends” (to invoke the film Almost Famous for which he shot the film stills). They’ll be right where you left them. Hanging on the walls and for sale in the Hard Rock retail store.
NeAl PRestoN Photo UNveiliNg Hard Rock SKYBAR June 17, 9-11 p.m. Featuring a limited-edition oversize proof sheet of Led Zeppelin presented by HRH Magazine and sold exclusively at the Hard Rock.
the LIbrArIAn Loves ... Selected by Jeanne Goodrich, executive director for the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District. Join me in entering a hot new subgenre, Scandinavian crime fiction/thrillers, with Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Knopf, 2008). First in a trilogy (alas, the decology will not be completed because of Larsson’s untimely death), this meaty book has it all: disgraced journalist looking for redemption, pierced and tatted investigator/hacker, slimy corruption, family dysfunction of the highest order and political intrigue of the lowest. Thriller writer Lee Child says of this book, “As vivid as bloodstains on snow.” Settle down with an aquavit and enter this neo-noir world. 78
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It just so happens that Neal Preston isn’t the only rock ’n’ roll photographer to be bringing something new to Las Vegas. On May 28, star classic-rock photographer and Las Vegas transplant, Robert Knight celebrated the opening of his gallery at the Las Vegas Hilton. The gallery features Knight’s shots of rock royalty (Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, et al.) as well as conceptual portraits by his photographer wife, Maryanne Bilham (she recently did a studio shoot for Santana), photo collages by collaborator Jim Evans and a few Elvis photos by Richard Upper for good measure. More than the usual cocktails and crumpets, the opening featured a concert by a collection of young rock guitarists that Knight is mentoring (Find out more by watching the documentary of Knight’s life and work, Rock Prophesies, when it’s available this autumn). Even at his own party, Knight didn’t take a break. Wearing his signature black beret, he was constantly moving around the base of the stage, searching for the best shot. And this is what his gallery is really about: The warm yet ephemeral guitar sound transferred to an image that lasts. It’s this record of a bygone time— he was the last to photograph Stevie Ray Vaughan, for example—that’s made him famous. “Robert is more of a documentarian. It’s the way he Evans and Knight portray Slash. prefers to work. So much of his work, because of that, has been pivotal to historical times,” says Bilham, who herself prefers risky studio work, such as “God Bless the GoGo’s,” a portrayal of each band member as the Virgin Mary. But his wife isn’t his only fan. At the gallery opening, WireImage photographer Denise Truscello said, “Well, there’s nobody like Robert. You can have 10 photographers take a picture of the same person, and you can tell Robert’s photography. You can pick it out right away because there’s something—I don’t know what it is. It’s a moment after the moment. You know what I mean?” Like the “decisive moment” plus one? (a term coined by Henri Cartier-Bresson, the father of photojournalism). “Plus one. Plus 20. Plus 100. He’s phenomenal.” Knight Gallery at the Las Vegas Hilton. 10 a.m.-8 p.m. (Wednesday, Friday, Saturday till 11 p.m.), knight-gallery.com, 732-5101.
Stage Showstopper
Show your stag horns for Silverton’s summer concerts By Richard Abowitz Among summer concert series, Silverton’s gets little attention compared with competition such as Mandalay Beach, a splashier venue (literally) that can afford bigger names. The anti-wave pool, Silverton’s space channels the Old West, with stag antler chandeliers, chairs lined up on a flat floor and a stage setup that recalls a high school gymnasium. All of which was a perfect fit for the May 21 series kickoff with Dwight Yoakam. The range of concerts is mostly country and some rockers with hits extolling fun, such as Sugar Ray. But the best shows at Silverton, like Yoakam, do a good job matching talent to room. On June 4, for example, Jonny Lang’s blues will mesh well with the room’s antler vibe. Also, set for June (18-19) is country star Clint Black and tour veterans Everclear ( June 26). Tickets for all shows are $40 or less. Golden Rainbow. HIV/AIDS doesn’t often make headlines anymore, but the suffering in the Las Vegas Valley has not stopped. Fortunately, neither has Golden Rainbow, which presents its 24th annual Ribbon of Life fundraising production show to benefit HIV/AIDS-related charities on June 13 (1 p.m., $25-$200, inside the Las Vegas Hilton). According to Golden Rainbow executive director (and former Jubilee! dancer) Lea Clayville, the event is different from other charity events because it was created by the Vegas entertainment community to help their own. “This was made by Vegas performers for Vegas performers,” she says. About 400 Vegas people volunteer—from sound to stagehands to lighting gurus to choreographers and, of course, performers. And that’s why the show takes place during the day: because the performers work at night. Among the shows that have lent cast members to this year’s unique production: Jubilee!, Viva Elvis, Peepshow, Phantom—The Las
Vegas Spectacular, Jersey Boys, Zumanity, The Beatles LOVE, KÀ and Le Rêve. “HIV is not going away, and people really need to give back to the community.” This has proven particularly true during the recession, and Golden Rainbow depends on this benefit. “We have two smaller ones, but we hope to raise $250,000 on this one for much of the money we use to operate,” Clayville says. “It has been a struggle. I won’t lie. Some of us are being forced to cut services or think outside the box to get funding. People don’t just have as much to give.” The advantage of Golden Rainbow is that the entertainment sells itself: “For people going for the first time, they realize what a special show [it is] and they always come back.” So, despite the recession, now is the time to give back and have a fun afternoon in the process. Fashionistas creator goes to trial. When adult film company millionaire John Stagliano couldn’t convince entertainment directors to host Fashionistas, he created his own venue by helping finance Krave. The first openly gay club on the Strip, Krave housed his vision for a modern dance show based on his original, epic adult film of the same name. Fashionistas opened in 2004 and blew away critics, from the Review-Journal to Rolling Stone. But stellar reviews didn’t mean tickets sales. In 2008, Stagliano closed the show to focus on his day job. The former Vegas producer will stand trial in a Washington, D.C., federal court on July 7 for a series of obscenity charges: all from distributing films. Still, in a recent conversation, Stagliano says he would like to return to Vegas: “I have an idea for another show. And I also have an idea for dance numbers that would integrate into a nightclub setting. I have learned how to get a Vegas audience excited. I plan to come back to Vegas.” That is, if he does not go to prison.
Clint Black
Read Richard Abowitz at GoldPlatedDoor.com. June 3-9, 2010 Vegas Seven 79
Arts & Entertainment
Music Soundscraper
Interactive Art Upon rock (music) a sculpture will be built
Doom (in June) town
By Becky Bosshart
By Jarret Keene
Sculpt this: Five bands will battle for $500 in Boulder Plaza.
kinetic sculpture by Israeli Yaacov Agam. It’s planned to be a spectacle of three dozen 18-foot-tall hexagon pillars with different images so the view changes upon perspective. But it’s been more than five years since the association first contacted Agam, and only the 3-foot-square model has been completed. Association President Wes Myles says if they don’t get a contract that fits the association’s budget by late July, they will seek other artists. “I want to see local, national and international sculptures in there by the end of the year,” says Myles, who owns the Arts Factory. “I want to get it in there instead of looking at this empty thing every night.” He admits Agam’s price may be too high for downtown. The octogenarian’s art is found in cultural hubs such as Paris and Tel Aviv, and money isn’t flowing as freely in Vegas these days. “We’re still standing down here.” Myles puts his hand near the ground. “And we need a step that we can get to.” June 4, $10, 5-11 p.m., 107 E. Charleston Blvd.
Beach Music
Rusted Root and thoughts on the Vegas pool concert season By Cindi Moon Reed The experience of seeing Rusted Root perform May 28 at the Hard Rock’s pool concert series, Rogue’s Friday Night Live (presented by Vegas Seven sister company SpyOnVegas. com), was as much about the vibe as it was the music. The pleasure of relaxing in a tropical paradise almost overpowered the sound. Nonetheless, their music was a perfect complement to a laid-back spring evening. Boasting the 1995 Billboard Hot 100 hit “Send Me on My Way,” Rusted Root clocked in its fourth appearance at the Hard Rock’s pool. This performance included the addition of drummer Preach Freedom, whom frontman Michael Glabicki describes as having “more raw and pure emotion than we’ve ever had.” That emotion 80 Vegas Seven June 3-9, 2010
seemed to vibe well with the unusually light crowd, which was sparse due to the mayhem of Memorial Day weekend. All in all, I had a blast. But to be honest, it would have been just as much fun with a lesser band. This is not a bad thing. Since music is only one aspect (albeit, a large one) of the pool concert experience, casinos save money by booking Michael Glabicki performs at Friday Night Live. mainly midrange bands soms are next at the Hard Rock’s that tap into GenX nostalgia. For Friday Night Live ($25, June 4, 9 example, the Spin Doctors play the p.m.). Or you can always enjoy the Palm’s Skin Pool Lounge ( June 17, waves at Mandalay Beach with Boz $30-$50), Rob Thomas plays Red Scaggs ($39.50, June 5, 9 p.m.). Rock’s Sandbar (Aug. 14, $49-$89), Hoobastank plays Rio’s Voodoo Beach ( July 8, Free) and Gin BlosAdditional reporting by Mary Beth Sales.
If your idea of a music festival involves a leisurely picnic amid a sonic background of smooth jazz, then you may be put off by Doom in June (myspace.com/doominjune). But if you consider Nevada’s more aggressive contexts—the mob, Nevada Test Site, the carnal dens of Pahrump—then this festival seems apt. Festival organizers are hoping its debut June 5 at Cheyenne Saloon (3103 N. Rancho Dr.) will develop into an annual summer gathering of doom metal, sludge punk and stoner rock. Fifteen bands will be coming to Sin City to darken our neon dreams: Fireball Ministry, Black Cobra, Slough Feg, The Gates of Slumber, Radio Moscow, Sasquatch, House of Broken Promises, Ride the Sun, Supergiant, Behold! The Monolith, Green & Wood, Aranya, Salvador, Lead Burns Red and Dirt Communion (1 p.m. to dawn, $20, brownpapertickets.com). It’s all the idea of Marco Barbieri, a Las Vegan with the deepest roots in metal of anyone I’ve known. Barbieri used to run Century Media, and before that he worked at Metal Blade (the two best-known metal-only record labels in the world). He left the headbanging biz because he began to notice ominous changes in the industry—Tower Records stores shuttering, file-steal- … er, I mean sharing and HR hassles that accompany the expansion of any successful company. “I thought I was just going to revert back to being a fan [of metal] again,” he says. “Turns out I’m heavily involved in music, but in a different capacity.” One such capacity is Salem Rose Music, a publishing company that helps bands with the legal creative work necessary in order to administer copyright and ensure that their rights are honored. “Online streaming and publishing is complicated,” Barbieri says. “Still, whether you’re talking download platforms or Internet radio play, there’s income generated, and it can be monitored. It’s fractions of a penny, sure, but it’s there to collect.” So far, Salem Rose has done a handful of deals for local bands such as Seventh Calling. Barbieri’s main hobby is booking events such as Doom in June. “The genesis for Doom was that Gates of Slumber approached me for a show, and I took it. I thought, ‘What can I do to make this more interesting?’ I realized there’s only a handful of these doom festivals around, and doom’s my guilty pleasure. Also, June’s early enough in the summer that the weather isn’t unbearably hot.” Two cool bits: The Clydesdale are opening for Shooter Jennings on July 2 at Crown Theater in the Rio. Alternative Press, the Ohio-based punk mag, is throwing a free, all-ages 25th anniversary concert on June 23 at Area 702 indoor skate park. Interestingly, it’s all Brit bands—Your Demise, You Me at Six and Enter Shikari, and Me the Horizon headlines. Punk’s old and English, apparently. Sat in a “couch” at Crown Theater and Nightclub? How was it? Contact jarret_keene@yahoo.com.
Art District photo by Anthony Mair, Rusted Root photo by Hew Burney
Riotous girl punk, drunken country and electro-pop are just some of the sounds that will christen the Downtown sculpture park’s First Friday inaugural 18b Music Festival, a battle of the bands with the greater goal of putting art in the art-less park. While it awaits its proposed $1 million contemporary sculpture, the empty Boulder Plaza will serve as an ad hoc venue. Local musicians will contribute their talents to the space, lit up like a neon-andconcrete holodeck in the urban landscape of the 18-block downtown Arts District. “We’ve got five incredible talents from the Las Vegas music scene,” says Erik Amblad, Born and Raised Productions co-founder (brnrsd.com). “It covers the entire spectrum of musical style.” That means music seldom heard on the same billing: punk rockers Dirty Panties, electro-pop duo Kid Meets Cougar, indie-rock Mother McKenzie, hard rockers Formality and NYC hypno-groovers Interzone. “Metaphorically what we’re doing is a living, moving sculpture piece that celebrates music,” says Amblad, who produces concerts with fellow Las Vegan Mundana EssHaghabadi. “We’re hoping we can boost the profile of the sculpture park as a great destination in the 18b Arts District.” Organizers hope to continue the festival every quarter with help from Solotech, which is providing staging, lighting and sound. Proceeds will go to placing art inside the city park, which was completed in March with $1 million from Bureau of Land Management. The nonprofit Las Vegas Sculpture Park Association has raised about $80,000 for the $1 million optical and
Arts & Entertainment
Music: CD Reviews
By Jarret Keene
POWER POP
SUMMER-ROCK
DANCE PARTY
Pernice Brothers Goodbye, Killer (Ashmont)
Teenage Fanclub Shadows (Merge)
Sia We Are Born (Monkey Puzzle)
After 2001’s perfect and much celebrated gem The World Won’t End, Joe Pernice seemed to struggle a bit in delivering the Big Starstyled pop hooks, instead heading in a moodier Britpop direction with 2005’s Discover a Lovelier You, followed by the dead-end, soft-rock orchestrations of 2006’s Live a Little. Since then, Pernice has been quiet, suggesting a back-to-the-woodshed period. He emerges with a return to the classic open-chord song constructions that dazzled critics a decade ago. A formally trained poet, Pernice presents his best lyrics—at once clever and heartfelt—to date, particularly in the driving rocker “Jacqueline Susann” and the furious Neil Young & Crazy Horse tribute, “F**cking and Flowers.” Goodbye, Killer is a killer summer pop record, even if some critics (like this one) could do without the Western-swing spoof of “We Love the Stage,” which sounds like filler. ★★★✩✩
The three gifted songwriter/guitarists who comprise Scottish alt-rock band Teenage Fanclub have always displayed a kinder, gentler, romantic side. Never before, though, has it been so completely realized as it is in Shadows, the band’s ninth album and second for the Merge label. The sunny “Baby Lee” has everything we’ve come to love about Fanclub—sweet lyrics, falsetto vocals, layers of strummed Telecasters, and a “chamber” arrangement replete with strings and glockenspiel. The songs never turn coy or limp-wristed; as the album’s title implies, there is a melancholy strain that runs throughout, and there’s enough simmering firepower bubbling under the surface of tracks such as “Dark Clouds” and “Shock and Awe” to keep power-pop aficionados hooked. Irresistible but never saccharine, Fanclub is one of the few grunge-era bands to have developed into real group of artists. ★★★★✩
Sia was all set to prosper in Starbucks music sampler CDs amid the muffins and java, her soulful electronic-pop making her an ideal candidate for the NPR crowd. To the subculture’s dismay, Sia dug up her old Madonna records and set to work on the best dance-party album since, well, True Blue. The funky, guitar-centered “The Fight” hits like a brilliant but unused Thriller-era track worthy of the late Gloved One. “You’ve Changed,” meanwhile, has a buoyant ’80s radio smash vibe that’s hard to achieve— unless your first and last name happens to be Duran. “Clap Your Hands” cops a generous and giddy feel off Lady Ciccone. Less a craft exercise and more a reach toward positive energy, We Are Born will make you feel young again, whether your angst stems from inhabiting a teenage wasteland or a senior home. ★★★★✩
82 Vegas Seven June 3-9, 2010
Arts & Entertainment
Movies
Just say no? On the scene of a moral rockslide in Holy Rollers.
An Orthodox Jew Walks Into a Bar … Holy Rollers tells the true story of what happens when religion meets drug smuggling By Rex Reed Despite the misleading title, Holy Rollers is not a film about an offbeat Protestant talking in tongues. It is, instead, a harrowing, fact-based footnote to the history of the illicit drug trade, involving a small group of Hasidic Jews who were recruited as mules to smuggle ecstasy from Europe into the United States in the late 1990s. For a period of six months between 1998 and 1999, officials estimate this small ring of young orthodox Jews imported more than one million ecstasy pills from Amsterdam to New York. Holy Rollers is about how they did it, and about one boy in particular who grew up so fast that his life changed irrevocably as a result. Jesse Eisenberg is excellent as Sammy Gold, a nice Jewish boy from Brooklyn who works in his father’s fabric store on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, with an arranged marriage pending and plans to become a rabbi. Watching his family struggle to afford something as simple as a new stove while spending hours in Hebrew school and facing approaching manhood with no guarantee of economic security, Sammy is torn between the claustrophobic community of orthodox Judaism and the excitement of the secular world. When a neighbor named Yosef is suddenly spotted sporting a new Rolex watch, Sammy’s envy is understandable. With tales of fast cars, beautiful girls and financial security, Yosef offers the curious Sammy $1,000 to import “medicine” from Europe. Stimulated by the idea of easy 84
Vegas Seven June 3-9, 2010
money, he naïvely decides to give the potentially lucrative job a try, so he and his best friend, Leon, fly to Amsterdam, spend one night in the heart of the red-light district and return with suitcases full of illegal ecstasy. It’s the faster road to luxury than Sammy has ever dreamed. Suspecting something dangerous and immoral about their little caper, Leon is so traumatized by the experience that he retires after one job, but Sammy is hooked by the lure of prosperity. In Amsterdam, this corrupted innocent would still rather visit the Anne Frank house, but there’s no time. Instead, he gets his first vision-blurring hit of ecstasy from a party girl named Rachel (played by an Ellen Barkin look-alike named Ari Graynor, who has lit up many a Broadway stage) and an eye-opening tour of Amsterdam’s sex clubs, as well as of a serious Ethiopian drug operation, surrounded by security guards with machine guns, run by a gang of Israeli businessmen; it produces 100,000 pills an hour. Learning fast on the job, Sammy becomes not only a trusty smuggler but a crafty salesman, too, moving the stuff on the streets of Brooklyn for a hefty profit—a valuable part of a transatlantic courier service that slips effortlessly in and out of J.F.K. undetected. Who could look less suspicious passing through customs than an orthodox Jew dressed in black and wearing a porkpie hat and long curls? Of course, it’s not
long before Sammy’s double life goes haywire; his family disowns him; and he cuts off his Hasidic curls and graduates to the role of drafting new mules, dispensing the same sage advice he was taught: “Relax, have a good time, mind your business and act Jewish.” Part of the film’s ability to hold attention must be credited to the guileless sincerity of Eisenberg’s performance. The direction by Kevin Asch and the sometimes clumsy script by Antonio Macia have their moments, but the film has obvious shortcomings. Holy Rollers is nicely staged, though not always dramatically engaging, and so lacking in structure that whole sections of the story seem to have ended up on the cutting-room floor. Why did Leon realize right away the bounty was something more threatening and lethal than “medicine for rich people,” but Sammy’s gullibility plunged him further in the direction of disaster? It’s not easy to sympathize with a kid who knows the difference between right and wrong but still greedily and stubbornly distances himself from everything he’s been taught with full knowledge of the consequences. Young Eisenberg and a fine cast give Holy Rollers the ballast it otherwise lacks, but we’ve been down this road so often that there are times when I could only wonder why I was watching it at all. E-mail the famous Rex Reed at rreed@observer.com.
June 3 - 16
For tickets call 702.891.7800 • mgmgrand.com/davidcopperfield
Arts & Entertainment
Movies
Spinning Apatow Russell Brand and Jonah Hill take a long, strange (and funny) trip By Cole Smithey The sparkling element to Judd Apatow comedies is the lingering air of danger that wafts across films such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up. Here, that pearl of peril is a debilitating addiction to sex, drugs and drink that leads to a less-than-funny suicide attempt. It’s a moment where the comic impulse is lost in a misguided dramatic turn. However, that still doesn’t mean you won’t get your fill of amusing surprises in this entertaining summer film. Get Him to the Greek has all the earmarks of an Apatow spin-off, and that’s a good thing. Jason Segel (Knocked Up) created the characters for co-writer/director Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) to bake this Apatow-produced cinematic cake that expands with bizarre comic proportions. Russell Brand reprises his Sarah Marshall incarnation as Aldous Snow, a rock ’n’ roll Lord Byron-styled music star on the wane. The portrayal is a thing of comic genius as played opposite Jonah Hill as record company intern Aaron Green. Ostensibly a road movie, as the title predicts, the story finds Aaron assigned by his Capitol Records boss, Sergio (Sean Combs), to escort the drug-addled Aldous from London to New York, and on to L.A. in time for a greatest-hits concert at the famous Greek Theater. After breaking up with his doctor girlfriend, Daphne (Elisabeth Moss), Aaron turns into a human repository for drugs and drink around his entrusted talent when he isn’t being waylaid into particularly awkward sexual encounters during the three-day journey. While not as dramatically developed as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, there are plenty of guffaw-inducing moments of queasy hilarity to relish.
The movie opens with a series of funny tabloid television exposés about Aldous and his rocker girlfriend Jackie Q (Rose Byrne), along with risqué interview clips, and a silly video for the singer’s worst musical achievement—a song called “African Child” that was cited The indignities of internship: Rock minion (Jonah Hill) and his charge (Russell Brand) flee Sean Combs. as “the worst thing to happen to Africa since apartheid.” Envisioning himself heroin in his rectum. When Aaron announces that he has to sneeze, Aldous advises him to simultaneously as an “African White Christ” during the video, the “clinch and sneeze.” Laughs come with the squeaky song does more than just ruin Aldous’s career, it also eruptions that Hill executes as a master of physical causes a split with Jackie, which sends the singer into a comedy. The little bursts could go down in history as the relapse of addiction. funniest sneeze ever committed on film. So it is that the wide-eyed Aaron comes unprepared Get Him to the Greek is a small step forward in the to Aldous’ rescue as an unorthodox therapist of sorts. Apatow arsenal, even if it slips periodically into gagsMore than anything, Aaron is a genuine fan of Aldous for-gags sake. Watching Hill pet a furry wall in a Vegas and his music, except for the “African Child” album. nightclub, where Aldous has a surprise reunion with He is beside himself at the prospect of bringing his his orchestra band dad (Colm Meaney), isn’t as funny musical hero into the public spotlight and reinvigorator uncomfortable as when Aaron, Aldous and Aaron’s ing Aldous’ flagging career. girlfriend broach the subject of having a threesome. The irony at play here is that the over-the-top Brand Likewise, the miscasting of Combs dampens what could is, for much of the time, playing straight man to Hill’s have been a great opportunity for humor. slapstick-prone character whose escalating humiliations hit a fever pitch. Before a Vegas-to-L.A. flight, Aldous demands that Aaron smuggle a balloon package of Get him to the Greek (R) ★★★✩✩
By Cole Smithey
ShoRT ReviewS
Movie TiMeS
Splice (R)
★★★✩✩
This promising sci-fi thriller loses steam in an underwhelming climax seemingly limited by budget. Co-writer/director Vincenzo Natali (Cube) presents biochemists Clive (Adrien Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley) who insert Elsa’s DNA into an animal hybrid they’ve created. The film is under-designed to a fault and pitted with glaring plot holes. Still, Delphine Chanéac is mesmerizing as Dren, the adult hybrid.
86 Vegas Seven June 3-9, 2010
Sex and the City 2 (R)
✩✩✩✩✩
With the advent of Real Housewives of New York and the global economic collapse, Sex and the City now resembles a bad idea with good PR. Crass, narcissistic and attention-starved, our four glorified bimbos go from an over-the-top gay wedding to an inexplicable vacation in Abu Dhabi. When Liza Minnelli’s performance of “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” is a breath of fresh air, you know you’re in trouble.
Shrek Forever After (PG)
★★★✩✩
The fourth installment of Shrek is the most polished. Even new viewers will enjoy the slapstick tone of the easily likable characters. Married with kids, Shrek (Mike Myers) yearns for his bachelor days. Rumpelstiltskin (wonderfully voiced by Walt Dohrn) tempts Shrek to trouble. The film’s 3-D effects seem extraneous, but the spunky vocal characterizations are spot-on and the jokes elicit laughs.
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One Jump Ahead The anachronistic Prince of ‘Predictability’ is sandy summer fun By Sharon Kehoe
Parkour plays a large role in Prince of Persia.
With Pirates of the Caribbean captain Jerry Bruckheimer at the helm, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time offers plenty of action with snakes, sand storms, overdone gymnastics and a buffed-up Jake Gyllenhaal. The video-game-based Disney film is enjoyable enough, yet easily forgotten and irritatingly predictable. The story follows Dastan (Gyllenhaal), a good-hearted street rat adopted by the munificent King Sharaman (Ronald Pickup). In response to a claim of weapons of mass destruction, a grown-up Dastan teams up with his foster brothers Tus and Garsiv (Richard Coyle and Toby Kebbell) to invade the Holy City of Alamut. Dastan eventually finds a mystical dagger that can rewind time and he falls for its protector, the beautiful Princess Tamina (Clash of the Titans beauty Gemma Arterton). Meanwhile, the King’s adviser Nizam (lazily played by Ben Kingsley) lurks in the background. Anyone who’s seen Aladdin knows by his Jafar-esque goatee and heavy eyeliner that he is evil. But this goes unnoticed as the King is murdered and the act pinned on Dastan. He flees with the Princess and the dagger, both eager to return the dangerously tempting weapon in its rightful hiding place. Along the way, they bicker and brush noses like trepid high school sweethearts. Their flirtatious one-liners are forced, a
Bruckheimered ingredient also seen in his National Treasure franchise, but executed between Nicolas Cage and Diane Kruger with more believable sass. But nothing is more transparent than the present-day politics that squeeze their way into fictional pre-Persia. From Alfred Molina’s comic-relief “small business” entrepreneur complaining of high taxes to the preemptive strike against weapons of mass destruction that—by golly—don’t exist after all, Sands of Time seems to fast-forward in time rather than stay put and just have some otherworldly fun. The story itself tries to be convoluted but remains simple thanks to the foolproof dialogue that spells out every step. Perhaps this is its video game blueprint, as the goings-on are explained amid the action. But frustratingly, the movie doesn’t give viewers a chance to exert some intelligence or enjoy an element of surprise. Replacing the void is Gyllenhaal’s overwhelming acrobatics and the Bruckheimer-team’s notorious action effects. Director Mike Newell is no stranger to directing some action (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) but seems to miss the boat on the maturity of what this summer epic could’ve been. The kiddies will most likely love it, but the Newell/Bruckheimer flick seems to need a little extra boost. That’s too bad because Sands of Time had potential, but perhaps they should use their own dagger to reverse time and refine this youthful medieval flick into something worthy of another look.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (PG-13)
★★★✩✩
June 3-9, 2010 Vegas Seven 87
Gadgets & Tech
Even a 6-year-old can be Spielberg with Flip Slide HD By Eric Benderoff
my help. I gave him one demonstration When networking gear maker Cisco Syson how to use the Flip Slide HD, and tems bought the Flip line of pocket-size that was all he needed. camcorders last year for $590 million, I can’t say that for any other video people thought Cisco had lost its sense product I’ve used. of good business. The nation was mired The competition in the portable video in a recession and Flip’s competition was market is intense, with several options mounting. But Cisco made a bet on what for pocket-size camcorders out there. made Flip the leader in a category it creKodak, RCA, Cannon, Sony and others ated in May 2006, when the then-named have created new (or newer and less Pure Digital Point & Shoot camcorder costly) camcorders to compete with Flip. was introduced: its simplicity. Meanwhile, point-and-shoot digital Pure Digital Technologies subsecamera makers are also in the market, quently gave all of its camcorders the since almost all new digital cameras shoot Flip brand name—a USB port “flips” up video. Then there are mobile phones, the from the camcorder to download videos majority of which are able to shoot video. straight to your computer. Competitors Indeed, the video I shot have since been trying to with the new HTC Incredcreate some Flip magic of ible ($199 after contract at their own. No luck so far. Verizon) is about as good Meanwhile, Flip prodas I’ve seen from a phone, ucts continue to improve. and rivals the video quality The Flip Slide HD—the of the Flip Slide. most full-featured product So why buy a separate yet—was introduced in pocket-size camcorder? April. It is iPod-easy to You may not need to but use, as we’ve come to you will enjoy one if you expect, so it is an ideal have a young family or companion for vacations, grandchildren; you love family events or capturcapturing family events on ing video around the video—holiday dinners, neighborhood. At $279, weekend vacations, etc; the Flip Slide HD is the or you prefer a specific priciest model to date, but gadget for a specific task. several other Flip products That last item may sound are priced below $200. wasteful, but if you use The reason for the your smartphone to shoot a high price on this model is The Flip Slide HD lot of video, you will fill up the storage. It can hold four hours storage quickly as well as drain the battery. of video—twice as much internal storage Flip provides customers with another than other Flip models. It shoots high-def benefit: software. FlipShare software video (720 progressive scan resolution), is included with the camcorder and but not as high-def as competitors’ models, downloads automatically onto your such as the 1080 progressive scan Kodak computer the first time you attach the PlaySport, which I’ll get to in a bit. video camera to your computer via How easy is the Flip Slide HD to use? USB. The software stores your videos, Well, I let my 6-year-old loose with the but even better, it allows you to easily video camera at a family wedding. He send videos as e-mail attachments, or came back with roughly 30 little videos, post to YouTube or Facebook. Like the each one providing a slice of the wedcamera, the software is simple to use ding the professional videographer likely and understand. Indeed, it is one of the didn’t consider. He shot videos from a few third-party software products that I balcony, while sitting on the floor, from actually prefer to Apple’s media software a table-high view of the bride and groom that came with my MacBook laptop. cutting the cake, and a lot of other Besides storage, the Flip Slide adds angles adults wouldn’t attempt. Yes, his other new features. The video screen finger occasionally obscured the camera can be viewed in landscape (or wideand the video was shaky at times, but screen) mode by sliding the player open here’s the upshot: He never once needed 90
Vegas Seven June 3-9, 2010
(the screen pops up as if it were sitting on a stand). Then, with a finger swipe on the touch-controlled slide bar, users can scroll though videos (forward and backward) or open a video by tapping on the slide bar. This configuration is a good way to show The Kodak PlaySport onlookers the videos you’ve just shot, even if the screen is only 3 inches wide (which, for the record, is the biggest Flip screen to date). A better way would be to attach the Flip to an HDTV, but this where Cisco made a frustrating gaffe for a $279 item: It didn’t include a cable to attach to a TV. The Flip Slide has a port for a mini-HDMI cable, but you need to buy it separately (Flip sells them for $25). Also, you can’t use standard RCA cables with this new Flip, which is another frustration if you want to plug your player into grandma’s older TV. Kodak, on the other hand, includes both of those cables in its new video product, the PlaySport. And while this player is not as iPod-simple to use as the Flip Slide, it isn’t difficult, either. Another bonus: It’s waterproof, so you can take this camera into the pool with the kids, use it on a rainy day during a vacation or use it on the ski slopes without worry if you take a tumble. Kodak says the video player is waterproof up to 10 feet, but the pool I used it in wasn’t that deep. However, I did give it a thorough soaking over the Memorial Day weekend, and it survived just fine. I took videos from the pool as the kids jumped and thrashed in the water, I experimented with underwater shots, captured scenes from splash battles and got to act like a child myself—all under the guise of “research.” In the end, I was left with some memorable videos, which I uploaded to YouTube to share with the family. The PlaySport allows you to take shots you can’t get with other video cameras, such as racing down a giant slide at a water park. And while the price is right (and it comes with HDMI and RCA cables, too), the PlaySport doesn’t include internal memory, so you need to buy an SD card to store the video. Still, with an SD card, you can be expansive with how much video you shoot, while not being limited by internal storage. Still, Kodak’s approach makes me appreciate the Flip even more. I’ve been using a 1 GB memory card in the PlaySport, which provides only
11 minutes of video shooting at 1080 progressive scan quality. (I’d have twice that shooting in VGA quality.) And yes, quality: Shooting in HD provides sharper videos, something you’ll appreciate as you show your creations on bigger computer screens or HDTVs.(You’ll want a bigger storage card when you go on vacation.) As for video quality, the PlaySport is roughly the same as the Flip, despite having better resolution. Outside, both cameras performed very well, with the Kodak videos slightly sharper. Indoors, when I used both to shoot a basketball game in an old gym, the Flip performed better in the challenging light. The Kodak was admirable, however. As for video software, the Kodak camera worked well with my standardissue Apple software (iMovie). For Microsoft users, Kodak offers a free download of video editing software, courtesy of Arcsoft. The software includes sharing tools, just like the software that accompanies the Flip. Still, I prefer the Flip products. I found them easiest to use overall—and I think ease of use is important when considering a consumer technology. But the PlaySport’s unique ability to work in the pool or in challenging weather environments will appeal to active families, and it offers a better resolution and a much better price—even if you need to spend more on SD cards. Chicago-based technolog y columnist Eric Benderoff writes about consumer electronics and runs BendableMedia.com, an editorial services firm. He frequently discusses tech trends and new gadgets on various national radio and TV programs. Follow him on Twitter @ericbendy.
The flip side of Flip Slide HD
June 3-9, 2010 Vegas Seven 91
Dining
Photo by Danielle DeBruno
Nu’s banh mi, a Vietnamese-style pork sandwich.
A Spiritual Awakening at Town Square? Not quite, but the food at Nu Sanctuary is a near religious experience
By Max Jacobson
“Sanctuary, sanctuary,” cried Charles Laughton, famously, in the 1939 classic film The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I know the feeling. Here at Town Square, I need a respite from the parade of mindless brewpubs that dot the landscape. So thank heaven for Nu Sanctuary Lounge, a spiritually themed New Age restaurant where chef Brian Howard, late of the Bradley Ogden and CatHouse restaurants, plies his trade. Both the décor and menu here are, if you’ll forgive a turn of phrase, rather unorthodox. Lights are purposely kept dim, and the centerpiece of the large dining room is the Tree of Life, a floor-to-ceiling replica of a tree hovering portentously over the center bar. Meanwhile, a private
backroom, dubbed “The Nu Supper,” features symbols depicting various religious faiths—Sikh, Hindu and Buddhist, among them—displayed on a rear wall. Lunchtime is slow, but dinners seem to be busy, especially as evening wears on. This time of year, the most sought-after tables are on the outdoor patio. Inside, the spirits collide with a sports-bar ambience, as a bevy of television screens seem constantly tuned to Major League Baseball. But there’s nothing friv about Howard’s cooking. One evening he did a small tasting that featured pineapple with yuzu and olive oil, and his clever “steak and eggs,” which is really a delicious beef carpaccio topped with avocado, red onion, black truffle, Parmesan cheese and a fried egg. Continued on page 94 June 3-9, 2010 Vegas Seven 93
Dining
Diner’s Notebook Nu sanctuary Continued from page 93
Two tasty surprises on Windmill Lane By Max Jacobson
Above: tandoori chicken and grilled beef. Top: the Tree of Life.
The restaurant is fairly green, too. For example, they bottle their own water using the Nordic System. Is this the future? Consult the spirits. At Town Square Mall, 6605 Las Vegas Blvd. South, 527-7851. Dinner for two, $54-$89. Open 11 a.m.-11 p.m. daily. Bar open nightly until 2 a.m.
The Grape Nut
Following the leaders By Xania Woodman
IMporTers To WaTch France: Neal Rosenthal spain: Eric Solomon Germany: Rudi Wiest Italy: Indigenous Selections australia: Old Bridge Cellars argentina: Vine Connections
I was tucking into the stuffed squash blossoms at Nora’s Wine Bar & Osteria recently when the som dropped a bomb. He was confidently ordering us up a bottle of something even he’d never tried. “So, how can you be sure it’s any good?” I inquired squeamishly as our bartender cut the foil, passing the point of no return on our $58 investment. But Matt Leos merely smiled knowingly as the Il Colorino di Casanova Della Spinetta 2005 was decanted and poured. An advanced sommelier and wine broker, Leos explained that you can order or buy with confidence (yes, even blindly) once you become familiar with importers who are renowned for impeccable taste and knowledge of a wine region. So, the next time you happen upon a particularly delectable import, make note of the importer’s label and do some research; it could be just the tip of a very tasty iceberg. 94
Vegas Seven June 3-9, 2010
Make room for Bachi Burger, a new Asian fusion burger stop at 470 E. Windmill Lane. The concept belongs to Lorin Watada, formerly of the Roy’s chain, and it’s already making waves. The nontraditional burgers include the banh mi with Vietnamese nuoc mam fish sauce; the Lonely Bird, made from ground chicken and turkey; and the simple BBQ Bachi Burger, five ounces of Angus beef served with lettuce, tomato and onion with a caramelized soy glaze. Watada is also serious about beverages. There are several boba drinks available in milk tea or milk shake form, and a number of oddball soda concoctions such as calamansi lime and jasmine lemonade. Bachi Burger (242-2244) is open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily. Sometimes an accidental discovery yields the most appealing result. Imagine my surprise when I walked into Miko’s Izakaya (500 E. Windmill Lane, 823-2779) and ate some of the most authentic Japanese dishes I have ever tasted in this country. The chef and owner are from Tokyo, and both are adherents to the slow-food theory. Izakaya means “sake pub” in Japanese, so the dishes tend not to be sushi, although the restaurant serves it. What impressed me were sanma (broiled wild pike/mackerel), nimono (stewed root vegetables topped with meat) and makounuchi bento (a traditional Japanese lunch box filled with goodies). May 30 was a happy day for ice cream lovers in the Valley, thanks to the opening of the new Atomic #7 (605 Mall Ring Circle in Henderson, 458-4777). It is named for the seventh element in the Periodic Table, nitrogen, which has to do with the proprietary freezing process that enables the sweet scientists to customize ice creams, smoothies, milk shakes and hot puddings. What’s more, this is a vegan-friendly operation, as ice creams can be made with soy milk, almond milk and other ingredients, as well as New Age sweeteners such as agave. You read recently in Vegas Seven that Kerry Simon, the “Rock ’n’ Roll Chef” and participant on the TV show Iron Chef America, has announced a new burger concept, KGB, which will open in early July at Harrah’s. My first thought was, Will the burger train never stop picking up more freight cars? This one will feature socialist art from the Soviet era, as KGB is a cute pun on the acronym that in reality stands for Kerry’s Gourmet Burgers. More importantly, true to his reputation as a health enthusiast, Simon will be using responsibly raised beef, no factory-farmed beef here, and the produce will be from farmer’s markets. Hungry, yet? Follow Max Jacobson’s latest epicurean observations, reviews and tips at foodwinekitchen.com.
Nu Sanctuary photos by Danielle DeBruno
The chef clearly likes his eggs. My favorite pizza here features local basil, pancetta, ricotta cheese, crushed tomato and, yes, fried eggs. If you come for lunch, beef shawarma (done wrap style) is terrific, and so is a traditional Vietnamese banh mi—basically a broiled pork sub that he stuffs with pickled carrot and radish. On my first visit, the server “blessed” my table with a contraption that spewed smoke created by liquid nitrogen, the same component he uses to flash-freeze the caramel corn from the dessert menu. I left worried that this cutting-edge approach might not work in the forest of Town Square, where the excellent Louis died a premature death. I needn’t have. For every dish like braised lamb tagine with basmati rice, Howard has included a dish like spaghetti and meatballs, and the spillover crowd from places like Yard House shouldn’t mind these transgressions. (For the record, Howard makes his meatballs with short ribs, shoulder and ground chuck from Angus cattle.) That said, my favorite dishes range from the sacred to the profane. The Caesar, for instance, uses clever anchovy beignets instead of the more ordinary filets. Fried chicken wings are done up Thai-style, with lemongrass, Fresno chili, fried garlic and a cooling cucumber relish. Save room for one of pastry chef Martha Araiza’s unusual desserts: sticky toffee pudding cake, a rose-scented pistachio crème brûlée and a delicious concoction called the Chocolate Hookah, featuring dark chocolate, hazelnut and carmelized banana. General Manager John Anthony has compiled a nice wine list, as well, with value priced choices such as an Onix Garñacha/ Carinena blend from Spain, for only $25 a bottle.
Dining
Dishing Got a favorite dish? Tell us at comments@weeklyseven.com.
Partygoers flock to this trendy restaurant before a night on the Strip to get a taste of this popular dish. The chief ingredients—shredded duck, scallions, and cucumbers—come to the table ready to assemble into tiny pancakes. Dip them in hoison sauce to bring out the flavor of the duck. $35 half and $65 whole, in Aria at CityCenter, 693-8300.
Turkey Burger at DW Bistro
Amid the restaurant’s sophisticated dining environment, executive chef Dalton Wilson serves mouth-watering Caribbean delights with a modern twist. The DW Turkey Burger, served on a brioche bun with mango pear apple chutney, is a great way to start exploring his menu. $12, 6115 S. Fort Apache Road, Suite 112, 527-5200.
Truffle Parmesan Potato Chips at Delmonico Steakhouse
Pork Barbacoa Salad at Café Rio
On a large, fresh flour tortilla is a mixture of blended Mexican cheese, rice, beans, romaine lettuce, pico de gallo, guacamole, tortilla strips and cotija cheese. But, of course, it’s the pork barbacoa—slow roasted with secret spices for five hours, then hand-shredded and marinated for 24 hours—that makes this salad so special. It comes with a choice of tomatillo or cilantro-lime vinaigrette dressing. $7.75, 9002 W. Sahara Ave., 948-1500, multiple locations.
Made fresh to order, these chips are a great pairing with any dish. The small red potatoes are cut into thin slices and then fried with salt, truffle oil and finely shaved Parmesan cheese. Try it with the bone-in rib steak and you won’t be disappointed! $10, 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. South, 414-3737.
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Salmon and Turkey Burger photos by Anthony Mair
Signature Crispy Duck at Union
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Elements of Success Life-changing weight loss and worldly experiences contribute to a couple’s unique restaurant Catherine and her husband of 30 years, Jose Luis Pawelek, recently celebrated the first anniversary of their restaurant, Elements Kitchen & Martini Bar, 4950 S. Rainbow Blvd. An even better sign that the pair has made their concept work in Las Vegas is that they received more than a hundred congratulatory cards from loyal customers. With so many restaurants having to close during these hard times, what is it about this one that has attracted such a large local following? The Paweleks’ “world’s largest martini list,” featuring 318 varieties, may have something to do
Catherine Pawelek and a sampler of her low-sugar pastries.
Seven Things She Can’t Live Without Scuba diving. I received my certification about eight years ago and it opened up an incredible and colorful world for me. Even the sharks, barracuda and moray eels bring a certain beauty to the underwater world. Mayonnaise. Growing up in the Netherlands, it was the condiment served with french fries. I can savor six crispy hand-cut fries with a dollop of mayo any day. A glass of wine or champagne at the end of a shift. I look forward to a glass of Sokol Blosser Evolution No. 9, an Oregon varietal—crisp, tropical. On our day off, by midafternoon, a glass of Pommery Pop hits the spot (it’s the perfect individual bottle). My 18-inch Danesco Rolling Pin. When we opened our first restaurant 20 98 Vegas Seven June 3-9, 2010
years ago, I could not afford a good rolling pin and had to use an empty wine bottle to roll out my doughs. Soccer. For me this is the No. 1 sport, and with my husband rooting for Argentina, we are looking forward to World Cup soccer. Writing. I am an avid fan of Jonathan Kellerman, James Patterson, Sue Grafton and Janet Evanovich. I have been writing a detective/mystery novel, and whenever I have a moment, my laptop comes out and story lines go down. Co-op 99 Tea. Every afternoon, for the past 15 years, before we leave for the restaurant we have a cup, but we are down to our last couple of dozen bags and have not found a local distributor. Anybody?
with it. Or it could be the biscotti and chocolate truffles that Catherine makes for customers to take home after a meal. Mostly they like to think it has to do with Elements’ unique menu, which has been shaped by their collective culinary world experiences. The most dramatic experience, though, happened right here at home. It’s difficult to believe now, looking at Catherine’s sleek figure, but 10 years ago she weighed 250 pounds. After gastric bypass surgery, she lost 125 pounds and had to limit her intake of fats and processed sugar. Being part of the restaurant industry, she didn’t want to sacrifice her great love of food. Her pastry chef experience played to her advantage, because she knew what to do to make her desserts both healthful and delicious: “substituting a lot of the sugars with fresh fruits and spices.” For example, when Catherine makes a strudel, enough for 12 slices, she uses only one and a half tablespoons of brown sugar for the entire dessert. “The
sweetness,” she says, “comes from the fresh fruits, cinnamon and light drizzle of ginger sauce.” Catherine applies that same strategy to her other desserts. “My bread pudding, the cheesecake, the pies, the crème brûlées—all of those are made in house with two-thirds less sugar than the original recipe called for. You might say, ‘Well, it’s not going to taste like a dessert.’ Oh, it will! Because the fruits are sweet and fresh, I might use apple, mango, pear, blueberry, or papaya. … Whatever the fruit is, if it is sweet enough it will give it all the natural sweetness that you need.” The exotic fruits used in Catherine’s pastries and Jose’s cuisine are a product of their many travels. She is from the Netherlands and Jose is from Argentina, and they met while working on a Caribbean cruise. From that point on, they developed a repertoire of “global cuisine without boundaries,” and the results have been enjoyed in their restaurants over the last two decades. In one establishment, a country inn they owned in New Hampshire, they made the discoveries for their famous martini list. “One winter, we had a huge blizzard, nobody could get to us and we couldn’t leave the Inn,” Catherine recalls. “So by the end of that season we had 252 martinis, because all my husband and I could do was do a little research and development on the martini side, and that’s how we became known for all those martinis.” Their healthful way of cooking was developed in the kitchen, however. “Most of chef Jose Luis’ dishes are prepared with olive oil instead of butter,” Catherine says. “And to make his cream soups he uses a spoon of mashed potato instead of heavy cream. But flavor is still essential. It is the little things that we are able to change in our recipes that make a big difference.” Catherine explains that customers won’t notice a difference in the taste of their food or pastries. “It’s not where we are only a health food kind of a restaurant; we’ve just learned to cook with some healthy thoughts in mind. So you’re getting all the same things you’ve always had, and you don’t miss anything. It’s a nice little plus when you find out, wow, this tasted great and it didn’t have as much sugar or carbs in it as normal.”
Photography by Anthony Mair
By Kelly Corcoran
Travel If You Go …
Where the Myth Turns Real Colossal yet intimate Monument Valley puts America the beautiful in just the right light
By Timothy O’Grady I once drove across the whole of South Dakota, east to west. The sun bore down like a lamp in a police interrogation room, and this land of corn, soybeans and wheat was so flat it seemed more a state of mind than a landscape. Here are the vast beige and green rectangles most Americans see only from the air. At the Missouri River, the land and atmosphere changed, growing rounder and softer. The grass was a mint green, so subtle it seemed like mist. Battered pick-up trucks rolled along the roads with dogs or grandfathers in armchairs propped up in back. The harsh geometry of American industrial agriculture had given way to the Cheyenne River Sioux reservation. It had a springwater sweetness that made you feel well and to like to stay. Something similar happened on a long drive from Las Vegas up to the southeast corner of Utah, when the endless pine forest and unassimilable grandeur of the Grand Canyon opened onto the Painted Desert, a mineral land of rose and beige and violet, huge, silent, pared to the skeletal, timeless and, surprisingly, delicate. It was like
coming out of a tunneled chute and into an evening sky. We drove on through the lightflooded air of this desert along the Utah-Arizona state line, sometimes passing little wooden stalls where Navajo women sitting under canopies sold their jewelry of silver and turquoise. The tortured Marsden Hartley, a painter from Maine who came to the Southwest in 1919, wrote of it: “It is the only place in America where true color exists. It is not a country of light on things—it is a country of things in light.” It is also the part of America where you can experience the road in a way that lives up to its myth—the skies and the vistas thrillingly vast, the silence and emptiness preternatural. You feel both freedom and anonymity, the colossal and the intimate. The shapes are so strange and compelling it seems you are driving through the Collective Unconscious as imagined by Carl Jung. We got to Monument Valley at dusk. This is a spectacle of nature unlike any other I have experienced. It could only have the name that it has—the russet sandstone buttes and pinnacles rising to heights of up to a thousand feet from
rounded earth plinths as though on exhibit. The low-lying light turned the desert floor and the air above it into bands of red and blue, with a green hue because of the spring vegetation. I got out of the car and sunk a little into the soft, powdery earth under a butte, let the almost imperceptible currents of air play over my face and listened to the birdsong. I felt I could have stayed that way for hours and still been entertained. Huge natural spectacles, particularly those involving stone, can thrill you or diminish you to the microscopic in the face of their scale and great age. Monument Valley, grand and inert though it is, felt unaccountably different—receptive, actively alive and with something of the sweetness I experienced in South Dakota when I crossed the Missouri River. Here you do not watch, you connect. Or so it seemed that spring dusk. Was it thus because it is Indian land?
Although Monument Valley is as iconic as the Empire State Building or the Golden Gate Bridge, it lacks tourists in volume because it is far from an interstate and is not on a direct route between large population centers. In its immediate vicinity, however, I experienced the spectacular twists of the meandering San Juan River (six miles of river for every mile advanced westward) at Goosenecks State Reserve; the slalom course of the Moki Dugway, which leads on to the Natural Bridge National Monument, the 800-yearold towers at Hovenweep and the otherworldly red towers of the Valley of the Gods. You can now stay right beside Monument Valley at a new and efficient hotel called The View (435-727-5555), or 20 miles to the north at Mexican Hat, Utah, population 35. One of the 35 grills excellent steaks on an iron hammock at the Mexican Hat Lodge, where he can tell you, as he did me, the tale of how his father and mother married and divorced 11 times. The best hotel here is the San Juan Inn (800-447-2220). We stayed a little farther on at Bluff, listed by travel writer Patricia Schultz as among The Thousand Places to See Before You Die (Workman Publishing Co., 2003). This is a fine place to go river rafting, to look at petroglyphs or to eat in the San Juan River Kitchen (435-672-9956), the best restaurant in the area. It has a greater density of painters than Los Angeles or New York, with galleries along the length of the town, such as Cow Canyon or the old gas station where the extraordinary J.R. Lancaster works on and exhibits his photographs and ingeniously textured paintings. A fine place for breakfast is Comb Ridge Coffee (435-672-9931), fully organic and replete with books and paintings, most of which are by the Navajo activist/intellectual Gloria Emerson, who walked in just as I was reading about her. A very pleasant hotel with cabins is the all-wood Desert Rose Inn (888-475-7673); more individualistic, intriguing and intimate is the Decker House Inn (435-672-2304), an old Mormon pioneer house converted into a bed and breakfast and now run by two women brought together by the marriage of their children. – T.O.
Timothy O’Grady is a novelist whose fellowship at UNLV’s Black Mountain Institute recently ended. He now lives in Poland with his wife. His most recent book is Divine Magnetic Lands (CCV, 2009). The San Juan River Kitchen in Bluff, Utah.
100 Vegas Seven June 3-9, 2010
SportS & LeiSure reaching the Goal
Las Vegan Gomez caps career turnaround with spot on U.S. World Cup team
By Sean DeFrank
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Herculez Gomez’s play with Puebla of the Mexican league got him noticed by Team USA officials.
It’s an unbelievable feeling, “ a dream I’ve had since I first touched a soccer ball. … I can’t really put into words what these last six months have been for me.”
“I don’t know who’s been more excited about these last six months, me or him,” Gomez says. “When I had the opportunity to play [in Mexico], he was ecstatic, and when I had some success down there, he was overwhelmed and overjoyed to see his son playing in that type of atmosphere.” While Gomez’s role with the U.S. team
hasn’t been established yet, he says he’s prepared to just work hard, do whatever it takes to help the team win and be ready when he’s called upon. “I’m not your prototypical striker as far as American forwards go,” he says. “I’m not the little speedster, and I’m not that big hold-up guy. I guess I’m somewhere in between.”
Photo by Jim Rogash / Getty Images
10 to 18 on the Neusport Football Club In just under six months, Herculez in Las Vegas. Gomez’s career has skyrocketed from Lemmon, now one of Gomez’s best one of soccer journeyman to a role on friends, attended the U.S. team’s exhibithe biggest stage in sports. tion in Connecticut and will be making The 2000 Las Vegas High School the trip to South Africa to watch his graduate was named on May 26 to one former player on the pitch. of the 23 spots on the U.S. World Cup “It seems like for him to get noticed, team. Considering that Gomez’s career he’s had to achieve almost the unthinkseemed to be stagnating just last year, able,” Lemmon says. “Whether he realizing a lifelong dream is still a bit gets an opportunity or not [to play], surreal for the 28-year-old striker. we’ll see, but I know the type of kid “It’s an unbelievable feeling, a dream he is. He’s not just content to wear the I’ve had since I first touched a soccer uniform and sit on the bench. He wants ball and since I first knew what the to be a contributor.” World Cup was,” Gomez says. “I can’t Lemmon says since Gomez didn’t really put into words what these last six advance through the formal structure of months have been for me, what I’ve gone the U.S. Soccer Federation, that makes through and what I’ve seen.” his achievement all the more impressive. Gomez’s run to the World Cup really “He was always the type of kid who, picked up speed this January after he without question, had an incredible signed with Puebla of the Mexican nose for the goal,” Lemmon says. “He league and scored 10 goals, tying for probably developed a little bit later the league lead and becoming the first than some of the other kids in terms of American to ever lead a foreign first-tier his physicality, his speed and his size, team in scoring. and that’s probably one reason why he That showing got him a spot on the didn’t get heavily recruited coming out 30-man U.S. preliminary roster on May of youth soccer.” 11, but he still was considered a long After graduating from high school, shot to make the final squad. Those Gomez played in Mexico’s lower leagues odds turned even more in his favor before catching on with the L.A. Galwhen he scored on a header May 25 in axy of Major League Soccer in 2003. the Americans’ 4-2 exhibition loss to He was the Galaxy’s leading scorer the Czech Republic in East Hartford, with 18 goals in 2005, Conn. It was that goal and helped the team that convinced U.S. win the MLS Cup. coach Bob Bradley to However, that didn’t keep Gomez on the TEAM USA SchEDUlE parlay into good roster. fortune for Gomez, Gomez says he U.S. vs. England, June 12, who was traded to learned he made the 11:30 a.m., ABC Colorado and suffered World Cup team at a a season-ending knee team meeting around U.S. vs. Slovenia, June 18, injury in 2007. After 2 a.m. on the day the 7 a.m., ESPN/ESPN3.com being traded again in roster was announced. 2008, to Kansas City, “It’s like one of those U.S. vs. Algeria, June 23, and playing mostly Hollywood things,” 7 a.m., ESPN/ESPN3.com out of position at Gomez says. “I know midfielder, Gomez’s that I’m fortunate. I’ve contract with MLS had some great people expired. It was then that his career along the way who’ve really helped me rebirth began. and guided me. And I know there are The son of Mexican immigrants, people who aren’t as lucky to have had Gomez was born in Los Angeles and the support system I’ve had around me.” moved to Las Vegas at the age of 10. His Along with Gomez’s family, which father, a diehard soccer fan, has been still lives in Las Vegas, one of his main living vicariously through his son since supporters has been Frank Lemmon, Gomez signed with Puebla. who coached Gomez from the ages of
Going for Broke
Lakers worth the cost despite hefty price By Matt Jacob Siegfried & Roy. Beavis & Butt-head. Mark McGwire and a syringe. O.J. and handcuffs. Pizza, beer and my mouth. Let’s face it, some things are meant to go together—which brings me to the NBA Finals. For the 12th time in history—and second time in three years—the Lakers and Celtics will clash for the NBA championship. Although the league’s executives and advertisers were deprived once again of a LeBron-Kobe matchup, they got the next best thing. In reality, though, there’s nothing “next best” about a Lakers-Celtics Finals. Whenever you get the two most storied franchises in any sport squaring off in a winner-take-all event, nothing tops it. This is Dodgers vs. Yankees, Steelers vs. Cowboys, Ali vs. Frazier, John Daly vs. sobriety, all classic rivalries. So let’s break down the series and see where some money can be made (with my bankroll at $5,205 after losing $50 taking Orlando to win the NBA title). Playoff Performances: Boston, the No. 4 seed in the East, is 12-5 straight up and against the spread in the postseason. Most impressively, the Celtics have been solid on the road, going 5-3 SU and ATS. The Lakers are 12-4 in the playoffs but just 9-7 ATS (including 5-4 as a favorite). Los Angeles has won all eight of its home games (5-3 ATS), but only three of those wins were by more than eight points. Series History: These teams played a pair of one-point nail-biters three weeks apart this winter, with the road team prevailing each time. In fact, the visitor has scored a one-point victory in the last three meetings (L.A. won two of them). Since losing the 2008 Finals to the Celtics in six games, the Lakers are 3-1 SU and 2-1-1 ATS against their archrivals. However, Boston has had the upper hand in this rivalry when it comes to the Finals, winning nine of 11 all-time championship series. Four of the 11 series went seven games, while five of them— including the last three—went six games. Experience: Los Angeles is in the Finals for the third consecutive year and defending the title it won last year (when it beat Orlando in five games). The core
of the squad—Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Derek Fisher—has been together throughout this run. Boston ended a 21-year title drought when it beat the Lakers in 2008. The Celtics, who cashed in all six games of that series, feature mostly the same cast of characters with All-Stars Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo. Intangibles: Lakers coach Phil Jackson owns 10 championship rings (six with the Bulls, four with the Lakers), and he’s won 46 consecutive playoff series when winning Game 1. Doc Rivers has been Boston’s coach since the 2004-05 season, and his only previous NBA Finals experience came in 2008. Also of interest: The team with homecourt advantage in the NBA Finals has won the last three championships, 11 of the last 14, and 20 of the last 26. Conclusion: Because of L.A.’s dominance at home all season (42-7) and the track record of teams with home-court advantage in the Finals, I’m more than willing to lay 2-to-1 odds that the Lakers will avenge their 2008 loss to Boston (by the way, the home team won five of the six games in that series). And I think Los Angeles gets the job done in six games, winning the first two at home, taking one of three in Boston and closing things out at home in Game 6. That said, I do believe Game 1 will be tight, and to get 5½ points with a rested, veteran squad like Boston is worth a shot, especially since the Celtics are 9-2-1 ATS in the last 12 meetings with the Lakers (and the underdog is 6-2-1 ATS in the last nine, with seven of those games decided by six points or less). So this week’s plays are as follows: • $600 (to win $300): Lakers (-200) to win the series. • $50 (to win $150): Lakers to win the series in 6 games (3-to-1 odds). • $110 (to win $100): Celtics (+5½) in Game 1. Matt Jacob is a former local sports writer who has been in the sports handicapping business for more than four years. For his weekly column, Vegas Seven has granted Matt a “$7,000” bankroll. If he blows it all, we’ll fire him and replace him with a monkey. June 3-9, 2010 Vegas Seven 103
Seven QueStionS tony Hsieh
The man who made Zappos.com a household word talks about the company, his new book and why Henderson is a little like San Francisco By Elizabeth Sewell
What inspired you to write a book? Part of the point of the book was spreading this idea that you don’t have to choose between profits and making customers happy or making employees happy, you can actually have it all. Maybe it was different 50 years ago, but now we’re living in this Internet world where everyone is hyper-connected and information travels quickly. There actually is a way to make employees happy and make customers happy and make investors happy through profits. I think that was the point of the book, to hopefully inspire other companies to take that approach instead of feeling like they have to choose. Zappos interviews job applicants for both skills and personality. What is the most important question in the personality portion of the interview? Honestly, I don’t think it’s the questions themselves. It ultimately it just 110
Vegas Seven June 3-9, 2010
comes down to a gut feeling and that’s something that our recruiting team develops over time and they just get better and better at it. If they let someone into the Zappos culture that’s not a culture fit and then a year or two later they get fired or leave, they’ll learn through that process. It would be like asking you, if you have to make a new friend, what questions could you ask to determine whether you would be good friends or not? Ultimately, it comes down to a feeling, right? Would you get hired by Zappos? I guess maybe the better question is whether I would apply to work at a company. I think I’ve just always been very entrepreneurial. We’ve always encouraged a lot of entrepreneurism within Zappos, but I don’t know if we actually do a good enough job of getting that message out there. Once you’re actually hired into Zappos one of the things I push for is that it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. If you’re passionate about something, even if it’s not a part of your job description, then just run with it, make it happen. We’ll figure out how to make it into a business later, but if you’re really truly passionate about something it’ll work out in the end. What is your favorite thing to do outside of work? A lot of people talk about work/life balance … but the implication in that is that what you’re doing at work is somehow limiting. For a lot of people it means work sucks and you’re leaving a certain part of yourself at home when you go to work. What we’re striving for is work/ life integration. The only way that can happen is when you can truly be yourself in the company. We don’t want you to
be a different person, whether you’re hanging out with your friends or in the office, and the only way that can happen is if the people in the office are truly your friends. So that’s something we really push for; it’s something that is hard for a lot of people who are used to the corporate world to grasp because they’re so used to putting on this one front at the office and then being themselves outside the office. What’s next for Zappos? Zappos started out selling shoes online. Hopefully 10 years from now people won’t even realize we started out selling shoes online and really the brand is just about the very best customer service and treating employees well. … We could have a Zappos airlines or Zappos hotel or Zappos bar, whatever, and really just take the whole customer service to the next level. What do you like about living here? I’ve been here six years. I like that the
Strip is always there if you need it, but as a resident it’s almost like any other suburb—you wouldn’t even know you were in Las Vegas. Everyone comes and visits you. I moved from San Francisco and a lot of my friends from San Francisco I see more often than when I lived there. … There are direct flights to almost anywhere. I love the summers, going outside at midnight during the summer and it’s 80 degrees out so all the restaurants and bars and clubs have patios. What don’t you like about the area? There’s definitely a significant portion of the people that I meet that are very transient. It takes a while to get a feel of who’s real and who’s not. A lot of people say a lot of things and I think that’s probably more just a reflection of the casino industry. … People promise things left and right because that’s just how a lot of the Strip culture is, but I think for us at Zappos, being our own little oasis, there’s really much more of a San Francisco culture in that.
Photo by Tomas Muscionico
Tony Hsieh, the oldest of three sons, was born to Taiwanese immigrants. He grew up in Marin County, Calif., and never liked the idea of working for others—he quit a promising post-college job at Oracle to start LinkExchange out of his apartment living room, a company he eventually sold to Microsoft for $265 million when he was 24. His next step was co-founding a venture capital company called Venture Frogs. It was there that Hsieh learned of a fledgling online shoe retailer named Zappos.com, which he invested in and eventually took over. Since then, Hsieh has helped Zappos, based in Henderson, grow from a fledgling Internet shoe company to having $1 billion in annual sales. Even after selling Zappos to Amazon in 2009 for an estimated $1.2 billion, Hsieh stayed on as CEO to make sure the Zappos way would remain intact. Spreading the word on workplace culture is the focus of Hsieh’s new book, Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose (Grand Central Publishing, $24), available June 7.
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Phone: (702) 369-9192 Miracle Mile Shops 3663 Las Vegas Blvd S. (Across from the Gap) Phone: (702) 369-7394 Premium Outlets 805 S. Grand Central Pkwy., Suite 1945 (Near W. Bonneville Ave.) Phone: (702) 437-7932 Text AASTORE + zip code to 23000 to find American Apparel locations nearest you.
Meet Tesa, a store employee at our Waikiki store. Photographed on the beach in Hawaii, Tesa wears the Printed Malibu Swimsuit and Vinyl UV Visor.
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