Bitcoin fnds a home Downtown. What does that say about the Las Vegas core—and about the future?
(an electronic one, at least), which investigators could use to track money laundering or other potential fnancial crimes. Although Bitcoin sounds like a viable currency for gaming in theory, there are some complications in practice. Right now, Bitcoin is extremely volatile; in the past year, the value of a Bitcoin ranged from less than $70 to more than $1,200. After news of a potential software glitch earlier this month, prices temporarily plummeted, and a rash of cyberattacks have given markets cause for cold feet. One of the world’s largest bitcoin exchanges, Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, went offine this week after reportedly racking up catastrophic losses. Plus, as transparent as Bitcoin may be, it does not yet satisfy Nevada regulators. “I don’t see us allowing Bitcoin to be used for gaming purposes in the near future,” Nevada Gaming Control Board chairman A.G. Burnett says. The board may be issuing guidance to the industry on the topic soon, he says. While that seemingly closes the door—at least for now—on Bitcoin as a major gaming player, the currency has already made a difference at The D and Golden Gate. “We’ve had far more transactions than I would have guessed,” Stevens says. “I’m enthused to see it take off.” Over the next few months, we’ll see if other gaming operators— and, more importantly, regulators—share that enthusiasm.
Las Vegas is peppered with slots-only casinos—gambling houses that are bigger than bars, but not full-service casinos, because they don’t have table games. These places cater almost exclusively to locals, so the restaurants tend to be good, and the gambling is often better than the norm. Some look a little rough around the edges, but if you look past what’s on the outside, you can find a few gems. One of the best is the Eureka Casino, located on East Sahara Avenue, halfway between the Strip and Maryland Parkway. If you know the area, you’ll understand what I’m getting at with that “rough edges” comment, but there’s security inside and out like a major casino, and there’s plenty to like inside. True to the slot-house formula, the Eureka has a center bar and a restaurant. The bar is a good one, with several draft selections starting at $1.50 for Bud, but it’s the restaurant that really shines. Insiders know about it, because they’ve followed its chef, Sheridan Su, from his time working in places such as Joël Robuchon and Comme Ça, through his Great Bao food truck, and then a restaurant of the same name inside a beauty salon (no kidding). Last year, he went to the Eureka to open Fat Choy. Don’t be fooled by the humble surroundings— this joint serves fine grub, including rice and noodle dishes, potstickers, wonton soup, a wicked short-rib grilled cheese and Su’s famous bao sandwiches. If you like this sort of Frenchinfluenced Asian fare, you’ll flip. But even if you don’t, there’s a monster ace in the hole: Fat Choy makes one of the best burgers in Vegas. The half-pound Angus cheeseburger is $8, but the one to try is the Fat Choy Burger, made with beef and short ribs and topped with a fried egg, bacon, cheese and roasted tomato for $10. If you play, your Eureka moment will come when you check out the video poker, with some of the best low-stakes schedules in town. The bar has several games with progressives that make them potentially positive plays (returning over 100 percent). The royal flush on the 25-cent 9/6 Bonus Poker Deluxe game, for example, needs to be only $1,200 to have a theoretical breakeven return, and anything above that yields a player advantage. At 50 cents, the same game is breakeven at $2,400, and at $1, the 9/5 Double Double is breakeven at $7,800. On the floor you’ll find more, including 9/6 Jacks or Better returning 99.54 percent and a Jokers Wild game that pays 99.92 percent. That Jacks or Better game is available at 5 cents, 10 cents and 25 cents, but you can do even better for nickels playing one of the city’s few remaining Full Pay Deuces Wild games that potentially returns 100.76 percent. You have to play perfectly to get that result—and you probably won’t. But you don’t have to do anything special to get that burger.
David G. Schwartz is the director of UNLV’s Center for Gaming Research.
Anthony Curtis is the publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor and LasVegasAdvisor.com.
February 27–March 5, 2014
SOMETIMES A STORY about
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newfangled technology doubles as one about old-fashioned neighborhood gumption. When The D and the Golden Gate became the frst casinos to accept Bitcoin (albeit only for non-gaming purchases) it was a sign of the way Downtown Las Vegas, by dint of geography and necessity, is pushing the boundaries of innovation in the casino business. Bitcoin, in case you missed it, is an open-source peer-to-peer system of exchange. Unlike traditional currencies, which are issued by national governments, Bitcoin is completely decentralized. It offers instant, low-fee transactions, with no chance of credit-card chargebacks—seemingly a godsend for merchants, and potentially a great convenience for customers. Derek Stevens—owner of both casinos—chose to accept Bitcoin as an outgrowth of what has been a notably customer-friendly approach. “I’d been following Bitcoin through the fnancial press,” Stevens says, “watching as it gained in both valuation and popularity. Every now and then, I’d see someone at the Longbar ask if we accepted Bitcoins. About six months ago, the frequency picked up, and three months ago it became almost a daily occurrence. So our management team looked at it from a business perspective.” Stevens and his team couldn’t come up with any good reason not to accept Bitcoins for non-gaming transactions (more on that distinction later). With the infux of young, tech-savvy entrepreneurs into Downtown Las Vegas, Fremont Street makes sense as a Bitcoin hot spot. Tony Hsieh’s impact on Las Vegas, it seems, is already manifesting in unexpected ways. Of course, the real test for Bitcoin in casinos will be whether regulators allow its use for gaming purposes. That’s begun to happen worldwide—a few online gaming sites, such as SatoshiDice.com (named for pseudonymous Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto), transact entirely in Bitcoin. An Ars Technica look at the site early last year reported that it pulled in nearly $600,000 in winnings over seven months in 2012. With global gaming numbers usually reckoned in the billions, that’s still a niche market, but
Stuart Hoegner, an attorney at Toronto-based Gaming Counsel, believes Bitcoin may yet become a driving force in commerce, gaming included. “It’s the biggest innovation in money,” Hoegner says, “since the invention of money.” Hoegner is quick to point out that Bitcoin has some hurdles to clear, particularly when it comes to gaming. It needs to be integrated into properly functioning anti-money-laundering and counterterrorism systems, he says, and regulators need to get comfortable with the new currency. He points to Vera & John, a Malta-based online casino that has begun accepting Bitcoin for deposits, alongside traditional fnancial instruments like credit cards and e-wallets, as the direction that, regulation permitting, the industry might head. But, as Hoegner suggests, many regulators are leery of Bitcoins being used in money-laundering schemes. But that’s not necessarily a deal-breaker. Although Bitcoin is a crypto-currency, it is not anonymous; all transactions are a matter of public record and can be viewed by anyone, including regulators and law enforcement. In other words, Bitcoin leaves a paper trail
STRIKING GOLD AT THE EUREKA
ILLUSTRATION BY JON ESTRADA
THE LATEST
Bit by Bit, a Currency Stakes Its Territory
February 27–March 5, 2014 VEGAS SEVEN
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Spring Fling Make a date for a fashionable affair at Spring Mountain Ranch
Photography Z A C K W Contributing Fashion Editor
CLAIRE WIGGLESWORTH Styling J I M I U R Q U I A G A
Stylist’s Assistant D E V I N H O W E L L Hair V I C K I C A S C I O L A Makeup S P E N C E R L O P E Z Manicurist M I C H E L L E R I N C O N Assistant S U S A N N A K E L LY Talent D A N I E L / T W O M A N A G E M E N T and
CHANEL/WILHELMINA
● T H I S PA G E : Versace dress and shoes. O P P O S I T E PA G E :
Him Ermenegildo
February 27–March 5, 2014
Zegna top, pants, coat and shoes. Her Dior top, skirt and shoes.
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February 27–March 5, 2014
● T H I S PA G E : M Missoni top, pants and sweater. Tory Burch shoes. O P P O S I T E PA G E :
Him: Salvatore
February 27–March 5, 2014
Ferragamo suit and top. Her: Gucci dress. David Yurman necklace and ring.
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Where to Buy BCBG MAXAZRIA
The Forum Shops at Caesars, 699-5498, bcbg.com DAVID YURMAN
The Forum Shops at Caesars, 794-4545, davidyurman.com DIOR
The Forum Shops at Caesars, 737-9777, dior.com DKNY
The Forum Shops at Caesars, 650-9670, dkny.com ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA
The Forum Shops at Caesars, 369-5458, zegna.com GIUSEPPE ZANOTTI
The Forum Shops at Caesars, 866-0055, giuseppezanottidesign.com GUCCI
The Forum Shops at Caesars, 369-7333, gucci.com JOHN VARVATOS
The Forum Shops at Caesars, 939-0922, johnvarvatos.com MARC JACOBS
The Forum Shops at Caesars, 734-0220, marcjacobs.com M MISSONI
The Forum Shops at Caesars, 862-4583, m-missoni.com
SALVATORE FERRAGAMO
The Forum Shops at Caesars, 933-9333, ferragamo.com TORY BURCH
The Forum Shops at Caesars, 369-3459, toryburch.com VERSACE
The Forum Shops at Caesars, 932-5757, versace.com
27 VEGAS SEVEN
The Forum Shops at Caesars, 737-7614, redvalentino.com
February 27–March 5, 2014
RED VALENTINO
NIGHTLIFE
House-music fans were pretty stoked when it was announced you’d have a residency at Light. But you’ve got quite a history of playing Las Vegas, don’t you? I’ve been trying to play music in Vegas since 1988 or ’89. The frst kind of after-hours club party happened there [at Utopia]. DJ Dan used to play there, Doc Martin and all the boys. At that time, that was the place. It got burnt down, then it came back again and everything changed. Then there was Ice. Then I got booked to play at The Bank and at Jet. Then I took up my frst residency at the Palms. That was OK for a minute; I was at Moon, I did their pool party, which was pretty cool. But it was never regular, it was sporadic. Fans are a bit worried you’ll go the route of other major headlining DJs in Las Vegas and, for lack of a better term, “sell out.” People are always asking, “What am I gonna do when I get to Vegas? Am I just gonna sell out and play David Guetta records?” I’m going completely left feld. I’m gonna be playing music that I would be playing at Time Warp Festival in Mannheim, Germany. This is the vibe I want to bring to Vegas. And if I’m not able to do that, there’s no point in me being there. So I’ve got my fngers crossed that this is the time that things start to change in Vegas.
February 27–March 5, 2014
Do you know how often you’ll be spinning at Light? Because the defnition of “residency” has changed a lot over the past few years. I’ll put it this way: I won’t be there every week for 52 weeks, but I will be there at least four to fve times this year.
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Do you know if you’ll have dedicated visuals and performers based around you at Light? My idea has always been like this: If you had no lighting in a club whatsoever, just a DJ booth and some speakers, there’s nothing to set you apart from what you’re hearing and what you’re feeling. Then you put in some strobe lights or some color inside the area, and you have to create a mood from the foor. Then maybe put in some art installations or an LED wall and some lights for a graphic effect. Then, if you want to, go the extra mile and hire some dancers from Cirque
“I’M GOING COMPLETELY LEFT FIELD. I’M GONNA BE PLAYING MUSIC THAT I WOULD BE PLAYING AT TIME WARP FESTIVAL IN MANNHEIM, GERMANY. THIS IS THE VIBE I WANT TO BRING TO VEGAS." – Carl Cox du Soleil to add to what you’re seeing. All those things are an absolute bonus. If you have all the lights on, get all the dancers going, get all the confetti cannons? Boom! You’ve got nowhere else to go, apart from down. My idea is less is more. Therefore people can concentrate on what I’m doing, and what the sound is primarily. My idea is to give people more of what
the music is about, and less what it looks like. Diffcult in Vegas, though. Will they let you spin more than a two-hour set? It will be. I can’t go there like the superstar DJs and play for one-and-a-half hours and be good! I’ve got to more or less start at the beginning and take it right to the end. That’s what I do. There’s the possibility of
me having an unknown warmup DJ, and if that’s the case, I’ll be choosing those DJs. The idea is that the night has a story, and I’m the only one who can tell that story. So it’ll be much longer than a two-hour set. To what would you attribute your long success in the industry? Every day I want to know what the next record sounds
like, where the next artist is coming from. I want to still excite myself by listening to music. I want to play those records and share them with people. I enjoy it; my offce is behind the DJ booth. … Without all the sparkles and lights around it, at the end of the day, it’s just me and the music. For more with Carl Cox, visit VegasSeven.com/Carl-Cox.
NIGHTLIFE
PARTIES
HALFWAY TO EDC
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See more photos from this gallery at SPYONVegas.com
PHOTOS BY BOBBY JAMEIDAR
February 27–March 5, 2014
Marquee Dayclub Dome at the Cosmopolitan
NIGHTLIFE
PARTIES
STK
The Cosmopolitan [ UPCOMING ]
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See more photos from this gallery at SPYONVegas.com
PHOTOS BY BOBBY JAMEIDAR
February 27–March 5, 2014
March 3 M!ke Attack spins at Magnum Mondays March 17 M!ke Attack spins at Magnum Mondays
NIGHTLIFE
PARTIES
LAX Luxor
[ UPCOMING ]
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See more photos from this gallery at SPYONVegas.com
PHOTOS BY SEAN AK ARI
February 27–March 5, 2014
March 1 DJ Wellman spins March 2 Cass spins March 5 Gusto spins
DINING
Wait in communal seats after ordering at the counter.
devoured an entire sandwich. But Flay’s genius here goes far beyond perfecting the simple burger. He also offers more than a dozen favors of milkshakes and malteds, including three alcohol-spiked varieties. The mocha Kahlua vodka and the nonalcoholic pistachio are worth a visit even if you aren’t in the mood to eat. His french fries and sweet-potato fries are fresh cut and delicious, as are the richly battered onion rings. Even the condiments are outstanding. In addition to simple ketchup and mustard, every table also features bottles of chipotle ketchup, jalapeño hot sauce and a “burger sauce” that tastes a lot like
bottled steak sauce. And the fries come with either a mayo-based barbecue sauce or a honey-mustard horseradish sauce. Burgers are priced between $8.50 and $9.50—low by gourmet burger standards, but higher than most counter-service places. Cynics might accuse Flay of price gouging based on his celebrity status. But given the prime Strip-front real estate, the bill is pretty reasonable. Bobby’s Burger Palace will never come close to the importance of his fagship Mesa Grill at Caesars Palace. But for a guy who says he just wanted to create a burger so memorable you’ll want to come back for more, it’s a success.
BOBBY’S BURGER PALACE The Shops at Crystals, 598-0191. Open daily for lunch and dinner, 10 a.m.–midnight. Dinner for two $20-$40. AL’S MENU PICKS
Vegas burger ($9.50), Philadelphia burger ($9.50), Pistachio milkshake ($6.50), mocha Kahlua vodka milkshake ($9.50).
February 27–March 5, 2014
[ A SMALL BITE ]
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SAY FAREWELL TO SAMOSA FACTORY Customers of longtime locals favorite Samosa Factory, which had been in operation for more than 10 years, will be sad to learn the Indian restaurant on West Sahara Avenue has closed its doors after losing its lease. Owner Rick Aco says the problems began several years ago when the property on which the restaurant was located took a downturn. While Aco was able to obtain a temporary rent reduction, the bank that eventually foreclosed on the property demanded a return to the original rent. Samosa Factory’s problems got worse when a construction project on West Sahara made the restaurant difficult to access. “Sahara was basically shut down, and traffic went around Sahara Avenue from Boulder Highway to Hualapai,” he says. “For one whole year our world was upside down, struggling to stay afloat.” Aco says several restaurants in the area closed their doors as he fell further and further behind on his rent. When his lease came up for renewal, he was unable to negotiate an acceptable deal. The restaurateur is currently helping to rewrite the menu at the vegetarian restaurant Fresh Mama in Spring Valley. He is uncertain if he will reopen Samosa Factory elsewhere. - Al Mancini
Despite not having a style of pizza to call its own, Las Vegas is certainly racking up some pizza street cred, thanks to additions such as Pizza Rock, Due Forni and Settebello, the original pizzeria that famously brought Neapolitan pizza to our town. Now prepare to add Brooklyn’s Paulie Gee’s (PaulieGee.com) to our list. During a recent stop at Greenpoint, Brooklyn, I met owner and pizzaiolo Paul Giannone. He and his Las Vegas partner (whom he declined to identify) are still looking at what side of town to open. Chinatown is a contender, he says, because he’d heard it’s a big draw for industry folks looking to eat after their shifts, as is a location on the other side of the Strip on Paradise Road. Consider Paulie Gee’s to be neo-Neapolitanstyle pizza: the familiar, chewy, blistered and charred crust that’s blasted for about 90 seconds in the wood-fired Italian oven. This is topped with nontraditional ingredients, many of them a balance of savory and spicy with hints of sweet. I was turned on to the Hellified Porkpie White, adorned with fresh mozz, Berkshire sopressata, sweet Italian fennel sausage and Mike’s Hot Honey. It’s a nice change of pace from your standard pepperoni and sausage pie, and I can’t wait to be able to order it here. If you’re looking to start topping dishes with out-of-the-ordinary ingredients, please allow me to suggest shaving a truffle over everything you eat. Or better yet, have Restaurant Guy Savoy (in Caesars Palace, 731-7110) do it for you, as the restaurant recently purchased the largest black truffle ever featured on property, weighing in at 1.17 pounds, which in truffle terms is enormous. That translates to about eight eight-course Black Truffle Prestige menus at the restaurant, with a flurry of truffles shaved over nearly every dish, including Savoy’s famous artichoke and black truffle soup with toasted mushroom brioche and truffle butter. When it comes to the earthy delicacy, I gladly channel my inner Liberace and say that too much of this good thing is wonderful. On the subject of eating glamorously, the Academy Awards on March 2 is as good a reason as any to feel like an A-lister at Spago (in the Forum Shops at Caesars, 369-6300), where executive chef Eric Klein will feature dishes served at the Governors Ball post-Oscars by Wolfgang Puck. Puck has been behind the menu for this extravagant meal for 19 years, and this year he returns to comforting Spago classics such as wienerschnitzel, Chinois chicken salad, smoked salmon pizza and spicy tuna tartare in sesame miso cones. You can practice your acceptance speech in the car on the way to the restaurant. Grace Bascos eats, sleeps, raves and repeats. Read more from Grace at VegasSeven.com/ DishingWithGrace, as well as on her dining-andmusic blog, FoodPlusTechno.com.
PHOTO BY JON ESTRADA
NEO-NEAPOLITAN PIES AND ONE BLACK TRUFFLE TO RULE THEM ALL
A&E February 27–March 5, 2014
and conjecture, but it’s trained my attention on the proverbial—and, statistically, literal, since 76 percent of them have testicles—man behind the curtain: the Academy voter, otherwise known as the dark horse in what seems increasingly like a fxed race. Ever since Dylan Farrow’s explosive February 1 New York Times op-ed about Woody Allen’s sexual abuse, countless articles have sprung up about how it might cost Cate Blanchett her Oscar. (Let’s try to ignore, temporarily, the fact that this is a truly absurd and offensively point-missing takeaway from a gut-wrenching frst-person account of being molested at age 7.) Like many movie buffs I know, I spent early February wondering morosely if I could ever watch Annie Hall again without guilt, fnally deciding that I would unapologetically remain an admirer of his past work (a decision which may have been infuenced by the box set of DVDs I have owned since the late ’90s). But in the end, as unfair as it may be, artistic talent knows no bounds of moral decency; despicable people have created some of the most beautiful and profound artifacts of our culture. And so it follows that since the Oscars are supposed to award artistic and/or technical achievement and not life choices, Blue Jasmine should be judged on its merits as a flm—and Blanchett on her acting—rather than on the crimes its director may have committed. But this is where it gets really murky and interesting, because Academy voters aren’t Supreme Court justices. They’re not dutybound to be fair and balanced. They can vote based on whatever criteria they deem important. For example, last year, an anonymous director
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60 Will these Oscar contenders (clockwise from left: 12 Years a Slave, Blue Jasmine, Gravity) win on merit alone?
admitted to The Hollywood Reporter that he didn’t vote for Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook because he didn’t like her Saturday Night Live episode. That’s like a ref giving Peyton Manning a fag because he hated his Papa John’s commercial: not at all relevant! But Academy voters are just regular (white, male) people with opinions, and so if they’re creeped out by Allen, they’re
a broader, and probably misguided, meaning of late. The New York Post challenged Academy voters to “make history” in selecting the flm, arguing that any other vote would be a “copout,” while Time helpfully pointed out that “more agreeable” movies tend to win out over those with diffcult subject matter. The message seems to be that if 12 Years a Slave loses, then the Academy is racist, but if it wins then we will all
IF 12 YEARS A SLAVE LOSES, THEN THE ACADEMY IS RACIST. IF IT WINS, THEN WE WILL ALL BE TRANSPORTED TO THE POST-RACIAL SHANGRI-LA THAT WAS PROMISED WHEN OBAMA TOOK OFFICE. allowed to take it out on Blanchett. Them’s the breaks. There’s no telling yet which way voters will break for 12 Years a Slave, the powerhouse historical epic currently favored (ever so slightly over fellow frontrunners Gravity and American Hustle) to take home Best Picture. Few would deny, at least in print, that 12 Years deserves the top honor—it’s the kind of bleak, excellent prestige drama Oscar’s wet dreams are made of—but its chances of winning have taken on
instantly be transported to the “postracial” Shangri-La that was promised to us when Obama took offce. While I don’t have space to go into it in detail, I do believe that the reason we don’t have more famous black actors and flmmakers, or more Oscar-winning flms with largely or all-black casts, can be traced, directly or indirectly, to racism (although, to be clear: An Academy member declining to nominate or vote for a black actor, writer or director is not an
inherently racist act in and of itself). 12 Years a Slave has nine nominations; Gravity and American Hustle each have 10. So with all other factors being more or less equal, giving the night’s crowning statuette to an unfinching look at the horrors of slavery, written and directed by black men, would probably do more for society than handing it to George Clooney for smirking a lot in space. Yes, of course, flms should be judged on their artistic and technical merits and not on the color of their actors. But if personal feelings are going to play into it anyway [insert loaded ellipses] I fgure they might as well be standing on the right side of history, in service of major social and cultural change, and not based on a bad Coumadin reaction—the median age of Academy voters is a spry 62—or a weak fve minutes of sketch comedy. So while I may not always agree with their reasoning, and think they could budge a few dozen percentage points in terms of ethnic and generational diversity, I guess I’m glad, deep down, that the secrets of this overproduced spectacle rest in the whims of a bunch of potentially petty and opinionated individuals who bear no resemblance to the stodgy robots of Pricewaterhouse Coopers. At 86, the Oscars has long since had its crow’s feet Botoxed away and its teeth professionally capped, but it’s still got a delicate, bloody, beating human heart inside. And there’s no telling what it might do. What’s the Vegas-iest of all Best Picture nominees? Our pop culture columnist Jason Scavone reveals the surprising answer at VegasSeven.com/Oscars.
TONGUES WILL WAG: Miley Cyrus brings her Bangerz tour to the MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 1 ($63.50-$93.50), and she says she wants to be taken seriously as a vocalist. But it’s hard to see past the sheer spectacle. I’m talking about her sequined unitard festooned with cannabis leaves, the backup dancer dressed like a gigantic blunt, the point in the show where Miley slides down an enormous replica of her own tongue, the part where she sings atop a 20-foot hot dog suspended in the air. What is this crazy hillbilly going to do next? Check out the merch table: the “Marry Me Miley” T-shirts, the souvenir underwear, the Bangerz rolling papers. Miley’s got some impressive pipes, but as she writhes around the stage, twerking here, sticking out her tongue there, I can’t help but think she’s giving some of us the finger, even if it is only made out of foam. ON SALE NOW: What do we want? Childish Gambino tickets. When do we want ’em? Preferably before May 2, when Gambino plays the Chelsea ($30). I’ll miss Donald Glover on Community, but I’m totally OK with Childish Gambino conquering Troy. This rap stuff is magic.
Sing and Gab On round two of his Planet Hollywood residency, Meat Loaf has more stories to tell By Cindi Moon Reed The friendly, jocular and, above all, loquacious Bat Out of Hell singer defes the traditional question-and answer format of an interview. Talking to Meat Loaf, it’s hard to get a word in, which isn’t always a bad thing because Meat’s monologues are fun. As he says, “I am a storyteller. It’s a gift; it’s something that I can do. And when I get bored, I make up great stories.” This works for the singing and storytelling format of his RockTellz & CockTails residency. Here, we sit back and listen. His voice-saving routine: I don’t have fun away from the show. I call it prisoner release. I have a one-bedroom apartment; it has seven humidifers in it. And I don’t leave. I don’t go to dinner; I don’t go to other shows. The dressing
room has one big humidifer and six small ones, and I stay there. One hearty ‘meat’ and greet: My meet and greets aren’t three seconds long and take a picture. I talk to each and every person— know their name, know where they’re coming from, know if they have kids, know what they do. And I made [management] bring the money down for the meet and greet. Last time, I really had to go out of the way for [fans] because the guilt was overwhelming me at the amount of money people spent to meet me. I’m not worth that kind of money. To me, like 20 bucks was good. He’ll fx your leaks: I owe [my fans] everything. That’s why I don’t have “superstar, star-legend” [on my
show advertising]. To me, I’m the plumber who's fxing your sink. You call me, I come fx your sink, I do it for a reasonable price, I do a good job. It’s not leaking anymore, and next time you got a problem you’ll call me. Based on a true story: The show is always different, the stories are different. I’ll fip them around. It’s like improv. The best stories always have a foundation in truth. It’s like a Hollywood movie. There’s a basis of truth, but it's embellished and exaggerated. He funked music appreciation: I have appreciation for artists much more than I have appreciation for music. If an artist is down to earth, grounded and friendly—whether I like their style of music or not—I’ll buy their records
and listen to them. I got every LL Cool J record there is, I got every Garth [Brooks] record, I’ve got every Queen record because Brian [May] is a friend and Freddie [Mercury] was a friend. I’ve got all the Bon Jovi records because I met Bon Jovi when he was 16. Before anybody knew him, I talked to him and went to my car and listened to his demos. If they’re good people, then I really love them. If I think that they’re nasty, I don’t care how good their stuff is, I won’t like them. Because they’re not real people, and I like real people. Why does Meat Loaf love Garth Brooks, New Yorkers and his band? Find out at VegasSeven.com/Meatloaf.
ROCKTELLZ & COCKTAILS PRESENTS MEAT LOAF PH Showroom at Planet Hollywood, 7 p.m. Tue, Thu and Sat through April 8, $69-$149, meet & greet $400, 800-745-3000.
MEAT LOAF PHOTO BY ERIK K ABIK
A&E February 27–March 5, 2014 VEGAS SEVEN
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THOROUGHLY GOOD: My brother is a Marine who can’t listen to Celine Dion without crying, so the better concert choice for him is probably George Thorogood & the Destroyers, who play The Smith Center on February 27 ($35-$75). Thorogood started his career covering classics by Bo Diddley (“Who Do You Love”), Hank Williams (“Move It on Over”), and John Lee Hooker (“One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer”), but he’d just be another hard-working blues rocker if he hadn’t written “Bad to the Bone.” That’s the tune that gets Thorogood the most airplay and made him the pride of Delaware.
A&E
ART
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YOU CAN DO serious yodeling here. Run foot races. Hold a volleyball tourney. Maybe do some modest pole-vaulting. Or hang an art piece or two or 40. Just like they could in the good old days. Just like they can again. “It’s like a coming home for the local art community,” says Jeanne Goodrich, executive director of the Clark County Library District, as she surveys the vast venue dubbed The Studio at the Sahara West Library. “It feels really good to be able to bring this back.” Once upon better economic times, this impressive space—all 4,427 square feet of it—housed the Las Vegas Art Museum, which shuttered in February 2009 amid much mourning and garment-rending in the local art community. Since then, many pieces in the LVAM collection transitioned to UNLV’s Marjorie Barrick Museum. Meanwhile, though occasionally rented out by community groups, LVAM’s ex-home became a big, lonely chamber, at least artistically. Last October, creative life returned when the rechristened venue debuted with Canon 21, an exhibit by Jose Bellver that ran into late Janu-
Can’t Keep a Good Gallery Down Art returns to a vast library space that once housed the Las Vegas Art Museum By Steve Bornfeld ary, and was followed by My Painted Desert, a collection by local artist Suzanne HackettMorgan that’s on display through March 1. “You really have to have strong credentials,” says Denise Alvarado, the district’s galleryservices coordinator, about the artistic standards for The Studio, which will host three or four shows annually. Artists must be invited to exhibit, and will be considered from both within Nevada and around the country. Next up after My Painted Desert will be Richard Hooker’s Pregnant Neon: A Tale of Conspicuous Devotion, May 23-July 12. “I hang all the shows,” Alvarado says. “Sometimes artists ... have so much [art] it’s hard for a patron to focus in on one piece because another piece is right
next to it. I always love to give space—especially in this gallery.” Giving space is easy in this cavernous hall, which stretches 44 feet from the foor to the tip of the skylight, the room’s dimensions almost seeming to dwarf the exhibits, but also lending them a grandeur they likely wouldn’t enjoy in most other venues. Adding to the expansiveness is its linkage, through a connecting doorway, to The Gallery, the library’s smaller art outlet featuring complementary shows. (New works by Roberto Rico occupy it through March 11.) “The venue makes a big difference; it’s the frame that goes around the whole work. This one says ‘museum’ to people, and there is an expectation people have when
they are going to a museum; their behavior changes,” says Hackett-Morgan, whose history with the space dates back to the early ’90s, when the library district hired her to consult on its possible uses. “When I’ve been at other [smaller] galleries, people would go to one piece, then one piece, then one piece. But this one, I saw people actually stop, back up, take the whole painting in. And it could be a really interesting challenge to local artists to create works specifcally for that space. When I got offered the show, I started several new pieces that didn’t get fnished in time for the show, but I defnitely went larger.” Enhancing The Studio ambience is the lighting. Ceiling panels can be adjusted to al-
low natural light to stream in through the skylight during the day, sometimes casting intriguing shadows in and around the pieces, while additional illumination is provided by spotlights hung from overhead grids. “People are excited this space has come back among the panoply of spaces that are available to the community,” Goodrich says. “We can do ceramics and sculptures and pieces on a pedestal or freestanding pieces or installations. Whatever is shown in this space, it will be a premier art experience.” During downtime between exhibits, The Studio will accommodate non-art events, such as ethnic festivals and business fairs. But fve years after art reluctantly few this county-run coop, it has happily returned to its library nest.
MY PAINTED DESERT By Suzanne HackettMorgan, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thu, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Fri-Sat, through March 1, The Studio at Sahara West Library, 9600 W. Sahara Ave., free, 507-3630.
PHOTO BY JON ESTRADA
February 27–March 5, 2014
My Painted Desert is one of the first shows to return to the Sahara West Library’s grand space.
STAGE
Shunock, center, is the host with (almost) the most.
AW, SHUNOCK
PHOTO BY DENISE TRUSCELLO/WIREIMAGE
Mondays Dark creator needs some hosting seasoning DICTIONARIES DISAGREE, but “likable” is spelled S-h-u-n-o-c-k. First name: Mark. Occupations: Loony “Lonny” in Rock of Ages and good guy with a good heart. My own ticker has a soft spot for the effusive Canadian thespian, born of a delightful day hangin’ with him— lunching, shopping, show-prepping—for a Vegas Seven feature last year (The Rocket of ‘Ages,’ March 19). That said … Mark. Babe. Dude. Pussycat. Let’s discuss your side gig—the charity star-jam, Mondays Dark, at the Hard Rock Hotel, every third Monday of the month. Guiding/narrating Rock? You rock, man. Doing likewise here? Closer to a clumsy polka. Mistake me not: Mondays Dark is a noble invention—a showcase, organized by Shunock, of major Vegas talent, each time benefting a different charity, such as AFAN, Opportunity Village and, most recently, St. Therese Center HIV Outreach. Charities are lined up through November. Bravo, Mark: You’ve woven yourself beautifully into the fabric of the community. And that last blowout boasted a killer crew—the casts of Jersey Boys, Million Dollar Quartet and Rock of Ages, Anthony Cools, Murray Sawchuck, Savannah Smith (Vegas The Show) and Jamie Lynch (Fantasy). Yet your show suffers from haphazard hosting, Mark. Granted, an off-the-cuff vibe powers this hearty party—but there’s loose, then there’s sloppy. Words like “charity’ and “fundraiser” don’t guarantee you won’t alienate an audience. They stuck with you last time. They won’t always. “If you don’t know how excited I am, YOU HAVE NO IDEA!” you shouted. Therein may lie the problem—too much passion juice.
Perhaps it was the Freddie Mercury/Queen theme this last go-round and your obvious fandom that left you fustered. Paying tribute to Mercury’s dignity as he died of AIDS, and his music-frst devotion, you fawned and fumbled so effusively—droning on about his courageous saintliness fve (yes, fve) times—that “Bohemian Rhapsody” probably took less time to compose. Breaking into giggle fts is fun, but stops being amusing for us long before it does for you. While improvising is undoubtedly one of your acting skills, your ad-libbing here has a herky-jerky awkwardness. We’re unsure whether to laugh because it’s funny, which mostly it isn’t, or because we don’t want to make you—and us— uncomfortable. Conducting an auction for Rod Stewart tickets and a meet-and-greet, you got lost—the audience knew who bid what better than you did. You got ever-so-briefy pissed—whether at us or yourself wasn’t clear. Tighten the screws, Mark. Stick to prepared intros until you’re more seasoned at this and feel comfy going off-script. Reveal your excitement, but keep it grounded—you don’t have the luxury of joining us in the crowd. You’ve got to herd the sheep (excuse the expression) onstage. When you feel something getting away from you, such as the auction, slow it down. We’ll follow the tempo you set. Your goofy hipness, your vise-hugs with performers, your irrepressible likability—you’re an endearing, invigorating presence, Mark. Just keep it cool. Because you are. Got an entertainment tip? Email Steve.Bornfeld@VegasSeven.com.
MOVIES
Vampire Academy (PG-13) ★★✩✩✩
The young bloodsuckers of Vampire Academy belong to warring clans, with a royal family, “guardians” of those royals, silver daggers and varying degrees of sun sensitivity. It’s a self-aware horror/ action comedy, first in a possible franchise based on Richelle Mead’s books, that sits between Twilight, Harry Potter and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Sexy, PG-13 sassy, flip and funnier than it has a right to be, written by Daniel Waters (Heathers) and directed by his brother Mark (Mean Girls), this film still feels slapdash.
The Monuments Men (PG-13) ★★✩✩✩
The Lego Movie (PG) ★★★★✩
Finally! A comedy that works. An animated film with a look—a kinetic aesthetic honoring its product line’s bright, bricklike origins—that isn’t like every other clinically rounded and bland, digital 3-D effort. It’s a movie that works for parents and their offspring, a movie that will work even if you don’t give a rip about Legos. The Lego Movie proves that you can soar directly into and then straight past product placement into a realm of the sublime, if you’re clever enough. This is the funniest film, period, in months.
At Middleton (R) ★★★✩✩
A genial disappointment about the preciousness of art amid the destructive horrors of war, The Monuments Men is scored to a military march by composer Alexandre Desplat. The whole film, with its unfashionable techniques (slow fades and dissolves by the dozen) and uber-relaxed, old-school vibe, almost works. George Clooney plays a Harvard art historian based on George Stout, a World War I veteran returning to the fields and villages of battle with a different objective this time.
At Middleton is formulaic and contrived. It’s also worth seeing because Vera Farmiga and Andy Garcia know what they’re doing as they guide this appealingly simple brief encounter of a romance. Their characters, Edith and George, meet at fictional Middleton College, where they’ve come with their respective offspring for a tour. Both Edith and George are married, not miserably but not happily. A lot of it feels slightly pushy in the comedy. The film itself functions as a catchy, bittersweet waltz. You’ve heard it before, but the dancers are fun to watch.
Labor Day (PG-13) ★★✩✩✩
That Awkward Moment (R) ★★✩✩✩
We can buy a lot in fiction, on the page. The movies make romantic balderdash easier to swallow in some ways but tougher in others. Kate Winslet has such sound and reliable dramatic instincts (that face doesn’t hurt, either) she very nearly makes something of Adele. Josh Brolin lets his mellow, insinuating voice do the heavy lifting as tight-lipped Frank, a hunky amalgam of Shane and a drifter out of a William Inge play. For all his skills, Jason Reitman hasn’t fully mastered the director’s most important tool: the BS detector.
More grating than peppy, this Manhattan-set romantic comedy proceeds as a series of awkward moments in search of a premise and a protagonist a little less stupid. Zac Efron bed-hops around as writer-director Tom Gormican’s narrator/hero. He’s a graphic designer whose life is one long hookup. This lady-killer, meant to be fetchingly blasé on the surface and a fine fellow underneath, comes off like such a pluperfect egotist, you find yourself rooting for everyone but him. That Awkward Moment sets such a low bar for Jason’s redemption it becomes a drag.
Marketplace
SEVEN QUESTIONS
the only difference was that he had a guinea pig. He even named it Mr. Piffes. He said Chihuahuas were so yesterday. That’s kind of funny, but all of his props were shit. It was my act, but really shitty. I found out about it the day before I few to Las Vegas [to negotiate the show here]. I got off the plane and bumped into Lance Burton. He said, “Oh I just saw someone ripped off your act on YouTube.” That’s how fast it spread. We made a video where we cut up both acts side by side. And then that turned into some stories on me. So I guess I should thank him for doing a really shitty job of ripping me off. All publicity is good publicity, I suppose. Although maybe you’ll prove me wrong. Who are your favorite magicians? Penn & Teller, not only because they are good, but they gave me my career. [Piff appeared on the BBC show Penn & Teller: Fool Us.] Mac King, because he’s the funniest magician on the Strip. Copperfeld, because there’s nobody more magical. And the Amazing Johnathan, because when I was growing up, he inspired me to become a magical dragon. Otherwise I could have been an accountant-dragon.
VEGAS SEVEN
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The newest Strip entertainer on his show at Rose.Rabbit.Lie, his Mount Rushmore of magicians and why Chihuahuas are easily replaceable in Las Vegas By Cate Weeks How would you describe your show? A magic dragon. With a Chihuahua. Doing magic tricks. Attempting to attract princesses. It’s a niche. A market of one. Unless I meet the right princess, it’s going to die out.
Most magicians project slick confdence onstage. You, not so much. Are you more of a magician or a comedian? That’s because they’re compensating for something. I am an actual magic dragon. A special skill of magic
Do you miss home? The patron saint of England is King George, and he’s famous for killing dragons. So really, that’s not the country for me. I’ve left that land of ingratitude. I wanted to come to a more open place for magical dragons, and Las Vegas is the capital for magic. Also, Las Vegas is a big Chihuahua town. A lot of them here. A lot of abandoned ones, but at least Las Vegans love them enough to get them in the frst place. And that means there are a lot of duplicates, so if [my sidekick] Mr. Piffes ever gets sick, I can just drive out to the I-15 and get a barrelful.
So Mr. Piffes is easily replaceable? See, here’s the thing: When you rescue a dog, what I found was that they’re so beaten down by life that anything else is a good option. So when I told him I wanted him to do card tricks, he said “no problem.” He ran out and read some books. Studied with the greats. That’s what I respect about him. He puts in the work. In the last two years you’ve gone from fringe festival appearances in England to a steady gig at Rose.Rabbit. Lie at the Cosmopolitan. Any drawbacks to that? There was this Russian who ripped off my act. He came out in a dragon costume—it was a costume, obviously, because he wasn’t really a magic dragon, like me—and
You mentioned attempting to attract princesses. Is there a special one in your life? Dragons don’t commit. We like kidnapping them, but don’t know what to do with them once we’ve got them.
PIFF THE MAGIC DRAGON Performs Thursday-Sunday as part of the 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. cantos of Vegas Nocturne at Rose.Rabbit. Lie in the Cosmopolitan. He also performs “Breakfast at Piffany’s” at midnight daily in the Study, 698-7440, RoseRabbitLie.com.
PHOTO BY JIM K. DECKER
February 27–March 5, 2014
Piff the Magic Dragon
dragons is that they’re as funny as they’re magical. We get you from both angles.
Is there a magic trick you can’t do that you wish you could? Getting a princess to love me just for who I am: a magic dragon. Also, I want to make gold out of nothing. That’d be a good one. Also, I’d quite like to make biscuits whenever I want—Jaffa cakes. You call them cookies, but they’re biscuits.