2014 Story of the Year | Vegas Seven Magazine | December 18-24, 2014 by Vegas Seven

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16 | THE LATEST

“Dear Santa … “ Our last-minute holiday wish list is filled with goodies for the entire Valley … and, OK, a few things for ourselves. Plus, Three Questions on one brothel’s holiday giving.

18 | Sports

“The Future Is Now,” by Mike Grimala. Facing a daunting stretch, the young Rebels must grow up in a hurry. Plus, a look back at memorable Las Vegas Bowl moments.

24 | STORY OF THE YEAR

“With This Ring … ,” by Lissa Townsend Rodgers This year’s landmark decision to repeal Nevada’s ban on gay marriage sent dozens of same-sex couples marching down the aisle. Nobody was more thrilled to lead the way than Kelvin Atkinson. Plus, a look back at other stories that captured our attention in 2014.

29 | NIGHTLIFE

“Eye on the Prize,” by Jessie O’Brien. Breaking into Vegas’ DJ scene is every bit the high-stakes gamble you’d expect. Plus, a Q&A with DJ Impakt, and photos from the week’s hottest parties.

61 | DINING

“Spiritual Awakening,” by Al Mancini. Patricia Richards journeys away from excess and toward balance. Plus, Mancini on Portofino, Dishing With Grace and Cocktail Culture.

67 | A&E

“Live from Las Vegas, It’s … ,” by Jason Scavone. Digging through the past and present to find the most fascinating albums recorded on our not-so-humble stages. Plus, Frankie Moreno’s run ends at Stratosphere, The Hit List, Tour Buzz and a review of Suicidal Tendencies in concert.

74 | Movies

Top Five and our weekly movie capsules.

80 | Going for Broke

College football’s bowl season provides plenty of opportunities to cash in.

86 | Seven Questions

Late Nite Chef Fight co-host Vic ‘Vegas’ Moea on his return to television, camaraderie among competitors and whether he could take Ali.

The Viva Las Vegas wedding chapel welcomes the gay community.

ON THE COVER Illustration by Kirsten Ulve

Dialogue Moment Event Seven Days Gossip National Seven Nights Showstopper

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December 18–24, 2014

PHOTO BY ANTHONY MAIR

DEPARTMENTS

LAS VEGAS’ WEEKLY CITY MAGAZINE

FOUNDED FEBRUARY 2010

PUBLISHER

Michael Skenandore

EDITORIAL

Matt Jacob Paul Szydelko, Xania Woodman A&E EDITOR Cindi Reed ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jason Scavone SENIOR WRITERS Steve Bornfeld, Geoff Carter, Lissa Townsend Rodgers CALENDAR COORDINATOR Camille Cannon EDITOR

SENIOR EDITORS

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Melinda Sheckells (style), Michael Green (politics), Al Mancini (dining), David G. Schwartz (gaming/hospitality)

ART

Ryan Olbrysh Jon Estrada, Cierra Pedro STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Anthony Mair CREATIVE DIRECTOR

GRAPHIC DESIGNERS

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Nicole Ely Herbert Akinyele ENGAGEMENT EDITOR Zoneil Maharaj STAFF WRITER, RUNREBS.COM Mike Grimala ASSISTANT WEB PRODUCER Amber Sampson DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL MEDIA

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BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR DIGITAL SALES MANAGER

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PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE OBSERVER MEDIA GROUP Vegas Seven, 888-792-5877, 3070 West Post Road, Las Vegas, NV 89118 Vegas Seven is distributed each Thursday throughout Southern Nevada c 2014 Vegas Seven, LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without the permission of Vegas Seven, LLC is prohibited.

DIALOGUE

OUR SITES TO SEE

CROSSING THE BORDER

Border Grill’s second location recently opened in the Forum Shops at Caesars, and the space is armed with a cocktail menu all its own. Beverage and dining editor Xania Woodman takes us through Border Grill’s seven best sips and bites at VegasSeven.com/SevenSips. HANDS-ON DEFENSE

MCCAW BY JOSH METZ

While UNLV freshman guard Patrick McCaw is earning a reputation as a solid shooter, his long arms and knack for timing make him one of the Rebels’ top defenders (he leads the team in steals). Mike Grimala breaks down McCaw’s moves at RunRebs.com/ McCawDefense.

ON THE DOWNLOAD

LET IT SNOW

Tired of scouring the Web for all the new music from local artists? Engagement editor Zoneil Maharaj does all the work for you with his online column, Hear Now, in which he includes all the latest and legal downloads and streams. Find this week’s picks, which includes rapper Marion Write and hardcore band In Fugue, at VegasSeven.com/ HearNow

Although Las Vegans spend most of their time in the sunshine, there’s still ways to get in to that wintery holiday spirit. If you’re dreaming of a white Christmas, check out four places where you can play in the snow (or on the ice) at VRated.com/ WinterParks.

DOWNTOWN AFFORDABILITY

People who want to live Downtown desire the complete urban experience—walk to the market, ride a bike to work—but few can afford the housing price tag. Real estate columnist Pj Perez sat down with City of Las Vegas redevelopment boss Bill Arent to chat about the dearth of affordable housing. Read the interview at DTLV.com/UrbAppeal.

FACEBOOK: /VegasSeven TWITTER: /7Vegas INSTAGRAM: /VegasSeven

VEGAS MOMENT

Snow Job

Have you taken a photo that captures the spirit of Las Vegas this week? Share it with us at Moment@VegasSeven.com.

| December 18–24, 2014

The pint-size Eiffel Tower. The miniature Statue of Liberty. A medieval castle next to an Egyptian pyramid. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re pretty shameless when it comes to ripping off the intellectual property of other cities and cultures (and not paying a dime in royalties). In recent years, our sampling has focused on outdoor winter attractions— everywhere you turn this time of year, kids are zipping around ice skating rinks and sledding down hills of real snow, like here at the Give With Me Winter Wonderland at the Western Hotel. Sure, this Downtown attraction is as out of place in the desert as Lady Liberty, but we’re not about to apologize for importing a little Northeastern fun. Just as we won’t apologize in March when we’re walking around in T-shirts while Old Man Winter is still wreaking havoc most everywhere else. Vegas wins again!

VegasSeven.com

Photo by Jon Estrada

EVENT

MIRACLE ON 3RD STREET

UPCOMING EVENTS • Dec. 19

Holiday Toy Drive for Peggy’s Attic at Bunkhouse [BunkhouseDowntown.com.] • Jan. 25 Laps for Charity at Las Vegas Motor Speedway [SpeedwayCharities.org.]

PHOTOS BY JOSH METZ

December 18–24, 2014

VegasSeven.com

Never mind 34th Street. There was a Miracle on 3rd Street on Dec. 14, when Hogs & Heifers’ 10th annual toy drive for the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation gathered an estimated $10,000 in gifts. Festivities Downtown included face-painting, food from vendors such as La Flor de Michoacan and Panda Express, and visits with Santa. Afterward, 85 motorcycle riders—with the help of a couple of trucks—delivered the toys to Sunrise Hospital. Once there, the motorcyclists gave childhood cancer patients and their families a spin around the parking lot. Everyone rode in style, thanks to custom helmets from Ace Cycle.

“Hakkasan CEO Neil Mofft’s Christmas gift in 2015 could be a gift-wrapped Marquee or XS. Does Drai’s come in his size?” GOSSIP {PAGE20}

News, sports, tweets and a vintage Big Apple hotel upgrades to business class

Dear Santa …

Our last-minute holiday wish list includes goodies for the entire Valley … and, OK, a few things for ourselves

***** ➜ It’s a nebulous request at best,

but I’d like something positive that unequivocally ties together residents in this sprawling Valley. The Mountain Ridge Little League team came close for one brief period this year, but a winning team, an

inspiring event, a local personality on the national or international stage—for a good reason—would draw us together, give us reason to celebrate. Short of that, I’ll take a recommendation for a good bowl of clam chowder. – Paul Szydelko ➜ An army of showgirls to greet every tourist at the airport with feather boas. Sure, it’s a cheap rip-off of the revered Hawaiian tradition of orchid lei greetings. But that’s what makes it so delightfully Vegas! – Cindi Moon Reed ➜ I realize this is unlikely to happen

before December 25, but it’s time for a Big Four sports team in Las Vegas. Santa, you can take their games off the betting board if you have to; just give us an NBA, NFL, MLB or

NHL team, so we sports gluttons can fnally have a hometown option to root for. – Mike Grimala ➜ Is it too much to ask for light rail

throughout the Valley? Yeah, probably. In that case, I want Bin 702 to bring back its Everything Bagel Deviled Eggs. – Xania Woodman

➜ I’d love a site-specifc immersive

theater experience inside one of our long-abandoned casinos or motels— something truly inventive. The arts community would surely embrace it, and I promise I would go frequently and tell everyone I know to do the same. – Melinda Sheckells

➜ Frankincense and myrrh to make

the Valley smell like baby Jesus. I’ll keep the gold. – Camille Cannon

➜ Call me greedy if you want, but

my list this year is extensive: Five or six Ellis Island eggnogs, half a dozen Rum Rum Rudolphs from Frankie’s Tiki Room and, when I’m beyond caring, a pint of Old Crow from Atomic Liquors. Of course, considering my behavior this year, Santa might just bring me a vodka and Red Bull instead. And make me drink it at a club. On Double EDM night. – Jason Scavone

➜ How about a tax on obnoxious

Vegas visitors? You know the ones: They think we all live in hotels. Or commute every day from Pittsburgh, because, hell, who would live here? Or that no drop of rain ever plops in the Valley and no snowfake ever dusts the mountain. Or that we play slots all day because we’re

ILLUSTRATION BY CIERRA PEDRO

December 18–24, 2014

VegasSeven.com

WE HEAR SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN.

We also hear that, despite our many … let’s just call them indiscretions … this year, we here at Vegas Seven somehow found our way onto St. Nick’s “nice” list. (So what if we picked up Mrs. Claus’ bottle-service tab when she was in Vegas with the gals back in July? You do what you gotta do.) Anyway, as he begins loading his sleigh, hopefully the jolly ol’ man can leave a little extra room to accommodate these wishes …

Do a lot of people give brothel services as a holiday gift? Can you buy gift certificates?

★

PHILANTHROPY

★

When it comes to the most unlikely places to hold a holiday toy drive, a brothel would probably be near—if not at—the top of the list. Yet each year, guests and employees at Sheri’s Ranch do their part to help brighten the season for Pahrump’s less fortunate kids by collecting gifts for Toys for Tots. We caught up with Destini, a courtesan at Sheri’s Ranch, during the Nye County brothel’s annual Christmas party December 13.

I’ve seen a stepmother give our services as a gift to her stepson. People want to help their family and friends open their minds to what’s going on here. … We’ve just launched a brothel vacation package. We have one for $2,100, and you get a free night’s stay in the hotel, a voucher for $2,000 toward your party, a complimentary meal, as well as an open bar. … You’re defnitely guaranteed a decent party that can blow your mind and give you a sample of what Sheri’s has to offer. What’s the best thing you’ve ever found in your stocking?

To be honest, when I was 18, my sister gave me my frst vibrator. It looked like lipstick, and I had to dig through all kinds of candy to get to it. But when I found it, we were best friends. – Al Mancini

What are the holidays like at Sheri’s Ranch?

They’re fun. Sheri’s always does holiday events for a good cause, and every Christmas we do a party for Toys for Tots. The girls purchase toys and bring them in, and our customers send them in. [Eventually], the tree is completely packed. It’s great, because they keep [the toys] in Pahrump. It’s important to us, because if we give back to the community, then they’ll accept us. If you don’t care about your community, why would they care about you? That’s kind of where I come from as a human being.

degenerates with no bills to pay. Or that we all visit brothels—or that we even have brothels and they’re legal. Or when they do bother to notice we have homes, they’re half-sure those are brothels. A pox on all of them. Or at least a tax— which we could then use to fund the schools … that we don’t have. – Steve Bornfeld

PHOTO COURTESY OF SHERI’S RANCH

➜ What I’d really like are some less-embarrassing state legislators. You know, someone who doesn’t spend a decade penning and publishing racist/misogynist columns and then declares his words were “taken out of context.” Someone who doesn’t believe “no new taxes” means refusing to pay the hefty bill she already owes Uncle Sam. Actually, now that I think of it, Governor Sandoval probably already asked Santa for all that. So I’ll take that red patent leather satchel from the Miu Miu spring collection instead. It’s only about two grand, and heaven knows, I stand a better chance of getting it. – Lissa Townsend Rodgers ➜ I think most transplants from the Chicago/ Northwest Indiana areas would agree that Las Vegas would be a better place with a Portillo’s all up in it. The juicy char-burgers, the jumbo dogs, the extra-wet beef-and-cheddar croissant with sweet and hot peppers … my arteries clog just thinking about all that deliciousness. With two locations in Arizona and two in California, it seems only a matter of time before the Valley is stuffng its collective beef-hole with a fstful of crinkle-cut fries and a Maxwell Street Polish. – Ryan Olbrysh ➜ It would be nice if the Hinge dating app would

come to Las Vegas. It’s to romance what Tinder is to one-night hookups. – Nicole Ely

By Bob Whitby THURSDAY, DEC. 18: If you’re feeling kind of Etsy, but aren’t particularly artsy, UNLV has your inspiration: Visitor-Made: ArtBar Ornaments invites you to take a good look around the Marjorie Barrick Museum from 4-7 p.m., find your artistic muse and then apply what you see to make some cool holiday ornaments. UNLV.edu. FRIDAY, DEC. 19: The Year of the Goat will be upon us quickly, so you’ll no doubt want to know what that portends for you. Well, friend, a good start would be to check out the Year of the Goat exhibit at the Historic 5th Street School, today through Feb. 21 (which is, in fact, the third day of the Chinese New Year). The show features local artists interpreting what the Year of the Goat means to them. ArtsLasVegas.org. SATURDAY, DEC. 20: Got an ugly sweater? Want to run

around Sunset Park in it for a good cause? If so, head down to the Ugly Sweater Run at 11 a.m. This 5K benefits Save the Children, and in addition to the glory of displaying your holiday worst, you get a beer when you’re finished. Sounds like a good deal to us. TheUglySweaterRun.com.

➜ Yes, we California transplants can be pre-

tentious dicks. But I swear, I don’t care about organic farmers markets, Uber, overpriced hipster bars, lit crawls, who marries who or recycling. I just wish everyone would drive faster. If you can’t drive more than 60 mph on the freeway, then use the side streets. I’d ask for everyone to stop driving like Mr. Magoo when it rains, but not even Santa could grant that wish. – Zoneil Maharaj ➜ I want a bunch of boring-ass civic stuff, including that light rail thing, more park space and straight-up legalized weed. I want Uber and Lyft and Zipcar here in force; I want the racist rednecks clogging the middle part of our fair state to move to the shittiest parts of Arizona and Florida; I want single-fucking-stream recycling in my neighborhood and a ban on plastic shopping bags. But I’d also love for Las Vegas to get some frivolities, too: A burlesque club like New York’s Slipper Room, a craft booze district like Portland’s Distillery Row, and a costumed super villain like Seattle’s Rex Velvet. Failing all that, I’ll settle for a bottle of Gran Classico, a movie version of Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky’s excellent comic Sex Criminals, starring Krysten Ritter, and the immediate and irrevocable death of Facebook—which would, of course, include the public shaming of everyone who’s ever made money from it. – Geoff Carter ➜ What I want cannot be manufactured or purchased. It’s simply a tender father-son moment, when I walk downstairs on Christmas morning and say, “Merry Christmas, Dad!” And Steve Wynn replies, “Merry Christmas, son!” – Matt Jacob

SUNDAY, DEC. 21: If you’ve already had enough of the holiday treacle, then you’re in for a rough few days. Here’s one small antidote: Clint Carvalho and his Extreme Parrots, weekends through March 1 at Springs Preserve. Carvalho’s birds are sassy, mouthy, smart and a lot of fun. 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, with meet and greets after each show; SpringsPreserve.org. MONDAY, DEC. 22: Perhaps you’ve been to The Smith Center and enjoyed its many and various entertainment offerings. But have you ever really seen the glory that is the place? Have you been behind the scenes to see how it all works? If not, we recommend you take a free, guided walking tour. Tours are at 10:30 a.m., limited to 20 people and take about an hour. TheSmithCenter.com. TUESDAY, DEC. 23: Now that UNLV’s painful football season is behind us, it’s time to turn our full attention to the basketball court! Catch the Runnin’ Rebels as they host highly ranked Arizona at 7:05 p.m. at the Thomas & Mack Center. UNLVTickets.com. WEDNESDAY, DEC. 24: Santa’s coming tonight. Shouldn’t you be at home playing nice? If you must go out, at least head someplace where you can hand the fat old elf your list in person. For that we suggest Spring Preserve’s Santa Train, the popular ride around Springs Preserve that does its final runs of the season today between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. SpringsPreserve.org.

The Future Is Now

LAS VEGAS BOWL TENDS TO KEEP FANS ON EDGE OF SEATS

Facing a daunting upcoming schedule, the young Rebels must grow up in a hurry By Mike Grimala

December 18–24, 2014

VegasSeven.com

WHO HAVE YOU BEATEN?

That’s one of the main questions the NCAA tournament selection committee debates every March when it decides who gets in and who is left out of the feld of 68. The committee’s ultimate goal is simple: Create the most exciting event on the sports calendar by choosing the teams that proved during the regular season they can beat—or at the very least hold their own—against quality competition. And UNLV wants to be one of those teams. This is why coach Dave Rice loaded his 2014-15 schedule with quality non-conference opponents, to give his players every opportunity to log the kind of big wins that impress the committee. But now the question has become: Can the Rebels take advantage of those chances? So far, the answer has been a resounding “no.” Through December 16, UNLV was 6-0 against the weaker opponents on its schedule and 0-for-2 against power conference teams. And those two losses were against merely decent Pac-12 squads Stanford and Arizona State—who crushed the Rebels by the combined score of 166-115. If anything, those blowouts showed that the young Rebels were not ready to compete at a high level so early in the season. That’s the bad news. Here’s the good: They’re only a month into a four-month season, and several more opportunities to measure progress lie ahead, as UNLV is about to kick off a stretch of games against a gauntlet of top programs. The fun begins December 20 against No. 14 Utah at the MGM Grand Garden Arena as part of the MGM Grand Showcase. Three days later, the Rebels get No. 3 Arizona at the Thomas & Mack Center. Then on January 4, they travel to Lawrence, Kansas, to take on No. 10 Kansas at historic Phog Allen Fieldhouse. For a team as talented but inexperienced as the Rebels, how they perform in these marquee matchups could infuence their trajectory for

Freshman Rashad Vaughn paces UNLV in scoring at 16.4 points per game.

the rest of the season. Beat one or two of these juggernauts, and the Rebels could receive a much-needed confdence boost heading into Mountain West Conference play. Lose them all, and a cloud may hang over the team for the rest of the season. If nothing else, the players seem to understand the importance of this stretch. “It’s going to be a big couple of weeks for us,” senior point guard Cody Doolin says. “We’re going to fnd out real quick what type of team we are, and how good we are at this point in the season. We play Arizona, who’s obviously one of the top fve teams in the country, and Utah, who’s a top 25 team. It’s going to be a big test, and we have to have a good week of preparation.” For UNLV to succeed against top-

tier competition, the blueprint is clear: The team’s best players need to produce consistently. Along with indispensable freshman shooting guard Rashad Vaughn (team-leading 16.4 points per game), the Rebels also need sophomore forward Chris Wood to make an impact nightly. Wood is averaging 13 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game, but in the losses to Stanford and Arizona State, he totaled just 17 points and 15 rebounds. When asked if he and his teammates were excited to have a chance for redemption against high-quality opponents, Wood didn’t hold back. “Most defnitely,” he said. “This time, we’re going to be more ready.” For in-depth daily coverage of the UNLV basketball team, visit RunRebs.com.

Over the past two decades, Sam Boyd Stadium hasn’t exactly been a hub of quality college football—at least from late August through November. But that usually changes around this time of year, when the Las Vegas Bowl participants pick up where the disappointing UNLV football team leaves off. While not the most prestigious bowl game or the most lucrative—this year’s per-team payouts of $1.35 million rank in the middle of the pack of 38 bowls—our postseason college football game has traditionally featured a very competitive matchup. In fact, since the Las Vegas Bowl debuted in 1992, more than half of the contests (12 of 22) have been decided by 10 points or fewer. And of those dozen games, eight had a margin of four points or fewer. Are we headed for another nail-biter when Utah and Colorado State square off at 12:30 p.m. December 20 at Sam Boyd Stadium? Local oddsmakers seem to think so; they’ve made Utah a modest 3½- to 4-point favorite. Certainly, bowl officials (not to mention the suits at ESPN/ABC) can only hope this matchup ends up as riveting as these seven Las Vegas Bowl classics: 1992: After blowing a 28-3 halftime lead to UNR, Bowling Green scored a touchdown with 22 seconds to play to escape with a 35-34 victory and claim the inaugural Las Vegas Bowl crown. 1995: UNR fell behind early once again (21-7), rallied once again and fell short once again, this time losing to Toledo 40-37 in overtime—the first overtime game Division I-A football history. 1996: Back in the Las Vegas Bowl for the third time in five years, UNR finally got it right, jumping out to an early lead and holding on for an 18-15 victory over Ball State. The Wolf Pack sealed it with an interception with 2:03 to play. 1999: Utah’s first of now four Las Vegas Bowl appearances came down to the wire, with the Utes needing a 33-yard, late fourthquarter field goal to pull out a 17-16 victory over Fresno State. 2004: Wyoming overcame long odds (the Cowboys were a 12½-point underdog) and an 11-point, fourth-quarter deficit to win its first bowl game in nearly 30 years, topping UCLA 24-21 before a then Las Vegas Bowl-record crowd of 27,784. 2007: BYU kicked a 50-yard field goal to take a 17-16 lead over UCLA with 6:24 to play, and held on from there. It was Cougars’ second straight Las Vegas Bowl victory and their third of a record five consecutive appearances in the game. 2012: After crushing Utah (26-3) and Arizona State (56-24) to win the 2010 and 2011 Las Vegas Bowls, Boise State had a much tougher time against Washington. Despite jumping out to an 18-3 lead, the Broncos needed a chip-shot field goal with 1:16 to play to prevail 28-26, capping the first three-peat in Las Vegas Bowl history. - Matt Jacob

PHOTO BY JOSH METZ

THE LATEST

SPORTS

THE LATEST

@Yassir_Lester Okay yes Vape was the word of the year, but it’s also the name of my niece and she’s already in prison. She’s four.

@JustinNXT Spend days watching people pick over Burt Reynolds celebrity yard sale, leave with a renewed sense of ennui

@MeganGarber To compound all the sadness, they failed to name the items to be auctioned “Burt Reynolds’ Stash”

Hakkasan ponies up nearly $40 million to get past Light Group’s velvet ropes

December 18–24, 2014

VegasSeven.com

IF GOOGLE CAN SCOOP UP YOUTUBE AND

Facebook can gobble Instagram, then what the hell: Let’s get some good, old-fashioned consolidation going on in the nightclub game. In a move that radically alters our delicate nightlife ecosystem like focks of starling released into Central Park, Hakkasan Group has acquired the Light Group for $36 million. (Back in 2011, Morgans Hotel Group bought a 90 percent stake in Light Group for $46.5 million; the deal between Morgans and Hakkasan includes the remaining 10 percent held by Light Group founders Andy Masi and Andrew Sasson.) The move makes Hakkasan the undisputed behemoth of the local nightlife scene—though Morgans will take over Light’s holdings in Miami at the Delano. Morgan’s also remains the leaseholder in three Mandalay Bay restaurants (Kumi, Red Square and Citizens Kitchen). Hakkasan Group is heavily invested in the restaurant game after acquiring San Diego’s Enlightened Hospitality Group in January. After the Hakkasan deal is fnalized, which is expected to be in January, Morgans will have up to 18 months to repurchase a minority stake in Light Group. So for those keeping score, once the deal goes through Hakkasan will control its eponymous fagship at MGM, as well as Omnia (set to open at Caesars Palace in 2015), 1 Oak, The Bank, Gold

Lounge, Revolution, Lily, Alibi, Deuce Lounge, Bare, Liquid, Wet Republic, Social House, Seersucker, Citizens Kitchen, Hearthstone, Diablo’s Cantina, Fix, Kumi, Red Square and Stack. And that’s not even counting what becomes of the under-renovation Haze. If you think that sounds like Hakkasan is running some Standard Oil kind of game, it could have been even bigger: Hakkasan also approached Tao Group about a takeover, but the discussion didn’t end up going anywhere, according to a report in Forbes. But considering this is the second year in a row Hakkasan has had a big, splashy acquisition around this time, CEO Neil Mofft’s Christmas gift in 2015 could be a giftwrapped Marquee or XS. Does Drai’s come in his size? Of course, Hakkasan now has the leverage in negotiating with DJs. Which means maybe this deal is just part of saving some money down the road. Because they defnitely bestowed a chunk of treasure on Calvin Harris, who made $66 million last year, making him the ninth highest-paid musician of

2014. Harris made more money than Rihanna, whose songs he produced to help him hit that mark. Maybe that’s the beneft to being utterly uncontroversial. Deadmau5 isn’t on the highest-paid list, even though he’s infnitely more entertaining. Like when he got into a spitting match with the girls from Krewella, sisters Jahan and Yasmine Yousaf. After Jahan wrote an op-ed for Billboard about sexism in the music industry—and about the reactions to the sisters’ lawsuit against Krewella cofounder Kris Trindl—Deadmau5 blasted her on Twitter. Among other gems: “It has nothing to do with you being a woman, it has everything to do with you sucking at music. I’m an equal sex hater”; and “My favorite female DJ of all time is me … in a dress.” That stampede you heard was a thousand dudes rushing to complete their 2015 Halloween costumes with recycled Deadmau5 heads from their 2012 costumes. The fip side to all that money in the club system is that XS and Tryst did their annual employee toy run on behalf of the Chet Buchanan & The Morning Zoo Toy Drive. Employees raided a local Walmart on December 10 and emerged with enough loot to fll 12 tractortrailers. The haul amounted to a donation of $195,000—or about the cost of Hakkasan’s business-card rebranding budget after picking up all those clubs and restaurants.

Overheard at airport security post Las #Vegas Rodeo: “If you’re wearing a belt buckle the size of Texas it’s gotta go!”

@LVCabChronicles Lady: “Our driver last night didn’t know where the rodeo was, so please tell me you know where the rodeo is?” Me: “It’s not my first rodeo.”

@AmyJoMartin A highly entertaining reality show concept: Follow passengers on their inbound & outbound flights to Vegas. That’s it!

@GregVegas Assuming he never misses a start, Johnny Manziel is on pace to break Brett Favre’s career yardage record by the year 2156.

@SeriouslyEmily Happy Monday! I just saw a seagull throw up a condom then eat it again.

@PennyPibbets We’re all missing out on a fashion trend that the homeless have been doing for years: Tablecloth Capes. Environmental, Affordable AND Magical.

@PourMeCoffee As an adult, all I want from my mom for Hanukkah is maybe don’t talk so loud at restaurants. Just a notch below airplane engine level.

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THE LATEST

NATIONAL An indoor skating rink was just one of the attractions that drew sophisticates to the New Yorker Hotel in the 1930s and ‘40s.

Long Famous But Not Quite Fabulous: The New Yorker Hotel As Hudson Yards rises, the New Yorker upgrades to business class

FROM THE 39TH-FLOOR BREAKFAST ROOM OF

the New Yorker Hotel, one can see the whole of downtown and clear across the river to Brooklyn. It’s a master-of-theuniverse view—East River glinting in the sun, Empire State rising above a jumble of lesser skyscrapers, clouds and sky and construction cranes—situated amid the cheap carpet and generic furnishings of a budget motel: A titan’s perch occupied by tourists and business travelers munching boxed cereal. Welcome to the New Yorker: aging art deco behemoth, former destination of

machers and movie stars, prize fghters and politicians, now a redoubt of budget-conscious tourists, Class B offce tenants and 600 college students who dwell in a block of dorm-room conversions. The Hotel New Yorker was a relic of a bygone era even before the frst guests checked in. Conceived and constructed in the fnal, feverish years of the 1920s, the hotel didn’t open until January 2, 1930, a few months after the stock market crash, leaving more than a million stateof-the-art square feet, three ballrooms, bars, restaurants, barbershops, an in-

door ice rink and 2,500 rooms to fll at a time of anemic leisure budgets. Legend has it that on one night during its frst year when the hotel was virtually empty, the general manager ordered every light turned on and all the curtains opened. New arrivals were told there was no vacancy and escorted to arch nemesis, the Hotel Pennsylvania. Maybe it wasn’t that, but something, certainly, worked. The place was soon packed with the kinds of people who made the papers, if not necessarily the society section. Barbara Stanwyck dined and danced,

Benny Goodman played the Terrace Room nightclub and Muhammad Ali recuperated in one of the suites after losing the fght of the century. It was also a favorite of Mickey Rooney, that satyr of the studio system, as well as Joan Crawford and Joe DiMaggio. Nikola Tesla died in his rooms on the 33rd foor, where he spent the last 10 years of his life, sheltering injured pigeons he found in parks and falling in love with one pure white specimen, of whom he wrote: “I loved that pigeon as a man loves a woman, and she loved

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NEW YORKER HOTEL ARCHIVES

December 18–24, 2014

VegasSeven.com

By Kim Velsey The New York Observer

Whereas other mid-tier establishments like the Hotel Carter—drug busts, murders and warring family members—sunk into destitution, the New Yorker plodded on, surviving a hospital conversion attempt and homeless shelter plan before the Moonies picked it up for $5.6 million in 1976. At that time in the city’s history, an interlude with a religious group that championed family-centric, drug- and alcohol-free living was just about the best thing a shabby skyscraper could hope for. “It makes sense that Reverend Moon would buy something iconic; he was so into being iconically American,” said Lisa Kohn, who spent her pre-teen

“EVEN TAKING THE NAME OF THE CITY AND PUTTING IT IN SUCH A PROMINENT PLACE IN THE ARCHITECTURAL COMPOSITION; THERE’S A KIND OF BRAGGADOCIO IN THAT.”

The lobby of the New Yorker Hotel following its art deco revamp.

left, so we decided to return it back to art deco and play up when it was the largest hotel in the U.S.—or at least in New York. Anyway, it was a major hotel, or at least it was more grand,” Taylor said. “The elevator doors are original, and there is some wonderful art deco bronze work. But we didn’t have the money to continue the beautiful bronze work, so it’s plastic laminate.” The lobby furnishings, meanwhile, have become a little bit more “boutique-y”—“Not just like a bunch of tables and chairs, but taking some cues from the lifestyle hotels,” Taylor continued. “The problem is that it’s been so popular with the guests that they’re sitting out there all the time. They’re not necessarily the most attractive people. It drives the staff crazy.”

years playing in the halls with Reverend Moon’s kids after her mom joined the church. “I have memories of how dilapidated it was—of course, I didn’t realize it at the time— the carpets weren’t kept up, the paint was old, the rooms were cold. But it was a wonderful place. “I remember sliding down the escalator railing, and we used to run up and down in the halls. It was like a building that you knew should be more formal, but we’d get to do things you’d never get to do in a real building—hanging out in the kitchen, exploring the bowels, playing in the old barbershop, other people’s suites.” It’s true that the rooms are small and that cafeteria smells sometimes waft through the halls. But somehow, the students in their underwear sharing elevators with offce workers on their

way to the laundry room, the small rooms [and] even the smells feel as of-a-piece with the New Yorker as its iconic sign. There’s a kind of cheerful perseverance that seems to be built right into its solid masonry walls—walls that make it near-impossible to rewire anything, Taylor said, accounting for the unfortunate over-the-bed placement of the light fxtures. But it’s also unexpectedly lovely, all the more so in a city where every other new or newly remodeled building promises to yield some form of unrivaled luxury in which to check email and brush one’s teeth. Even the most ungenerous lodgers grudgingly admit that the New Yorker is clean and the views stellar. A lot of the tower rooms even have massive terraces, though they lack niceties, such as furniture and plants. “A nice place to have cham-pag-ne as they say in The Stooges,” Kinney said when he showed us around one of the big, empty terraces. “I don’t think there are many hotels in the city where you can have this view.” It’s true: Most other grand old hotels have converted all the higher foors to condos, reserving the choicest cuts for buyers. Kinney’s own offce, a spacious room cluttered with hotel ephemera, is in one of the hotel’s many basements. He’s spent the last 18 years working to preserve both the hotel’s legacy—collecting old photos, Terrace Room menus, programs from ice skating revues and snippets of social history—and its Depression-era mechanicals, many of which he’s merged with modern facilities. “You look at the modern hotels where everything is squeaky and new, and we’re headed in that direction, but yet the way this hotel was built and the nature of it, those other hotels will reach the end of their life and the New Yorker will keep going,” he said. “The name implies that it’s a citizen. There’s the Plaza and the Waldorf and the St. Regis, but this is the only one that’s a participant. But unlike people who only age in one direction, the building can be modernized.” And unlike those elite hotels, the New Yorker has always been quintessentially of the city from which it draws its name, a fundamentally democratic sort of establishment that didn’t have the kind of wealthy patrons or social register clout— the debutante balls and the charity benefts—to protect it from the rough patches in the city’s history, or the luxury of being situated in more rarefed parkside environs like the Carlyle or the Ritz. The hotel will never be fve stars, Kinney admits. “We did the business plans, and it would cost hundreds of millions of dollars.” The rooms aren’t big enough, the neighborhood’s not right “and this never was a fve-star hotel in the frst place.” “You have to be true to what you are,” he refected. The New Yorker Hotel, he said, “was meant for business people, not the King of Siam.”

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“I’ll tell you how it’s going to change: topfight corporate accounts, once Hudson Yards comes to fruition,” said John Yazbeck, the New Yorker’s director of sales and marketing, when we met with him and hotel general manager and president Ann Peterson on a recent morning. In anticipation of the infux of higherend clientele, management is increasing the number of rooms from 986 to 1,149, maybe more if enough top-fight accounts come knocking. “The integrity of the art deco look will be maintained, but with a business slant,” Peterson said. To that end, Wyndham has supplanted economy-minded Ramada as the hotel operator and a major renovation is

*****

PHOTO BY MICHAEL NAGLE/THE OBSERVER

*****

under way: rooms are being revamped, old cast-iron tubs exchanged for gleaming shower stalls, espresso machines installed and ceilings gussied up with new light fxtures. The pub off the lobby has been upgraded to a trattoria and soon the coffee stand in the lobby, an oversize muffn kind of place, will be replaced with something “Starbucks caliber.” The lobby is also undergoing an aesthetic scouring, with ersatz art deco elements displacing most remaining traces of an ill-advised late 1970s fauxVictorian makeover, says architect Paul Taylor of Stonehill & Taylor, the frm in charge of the building-wide renovation. “The lobby has a bit of an identity issue. There was really nothing original

December 18–24, 2014

me. As long as I had her, there was a purpose to my life.” He died before the hotel switched its electric system to the alternating current he invented. But like Tesla, the hotel never quite reconciled its grand intentions with reality. It was often the kind of place that saw famous names pass through in the wan afterglow of faded stardom, a place forever a little bit at odds with itself. The largest hotel in the city and the second largest in the world, possessor of its own power plant, its name emblazoned in glowing red letters affxed to its roof, the New Yorker was always something of a social upstart. “Even taking the name of the city and putting it in such a prominent place in the architectural composition; there’s a kind of braggadocio in that,” said Rick Bell, the executive director of the New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects. “Once a favorite of congressman,” The New York Times noted when the hotel closed its doors in 1972, its location across from Penn Station having shifted from being just about the best place a hotel could be to just about the worst. Time could be as kind as it is cruel. There were the years when the hotel wasn’t a hotel at all, but housing for followers of the late Reverend Sun Myung Moon—the Unifcation Church still owns the hotel through a subsidiary— many of whom were betrothed in its grand ballroom and married en masse at the nearby Madison Square Garden. Down at the heels but never quite derelict, the New Yorker has spent the last two decades “bootstrapping itself back into existence” in the words of its chief engineer and historian Joe Kinney. “I always saw the hotel as one step away from a youth hostel. Booked this hotel for a business trip by mistake through my assistant. However, it was far better than I expected,” reads a typical comment on Yelp, where the hotel is rated a respectable three stars. But now, with Hudson Yards rising to the West, the hotel is angling to become the kind of place that a prosperous businessman might stay on purpose.

VegasSeven.com

| December 18–24, 2014

Hours after same-sex marriage becomes legal in Nevada on Oct. 9, District Court Judge Nancy Allf marries state Senator Kelvin Atkinson (bow tie) and Sherwood Howard. They’re the state’s first gay couple to tie the knot.

Story of the Year

This year’s landmark decision to repeal Nevada’s ban on gay marriage sent hundreds of same-sex couples marching down the aisle. Nobody was more thrilled to lead the way than Kelvin Atkinson.

cliven bundy. medical marijuana. A group of 12-year-old local Little Leaguers making Nevada history. Two Metro police offers tragically and senselessly murdered. There certainly was no shortage of candidates for our Story of the Year (see Page 26). But more than anything else, 2014 will be remembered as the year same-sex marriage became legal, not only in Nevada, but across much of the United States. It will also be remembered for the overwhelmingly positive reaction the landmark decision engendered. “We in the community are amazed at how marriage equality has swept across the nation and exceeded our wildest imagination,” says Michael Dimengo, CEO of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada. Indeed, most Americans living in the 21st century have at least one friend, family member or colleague who is gay,

which probably goes a long way toward explaining the huge cultural opinion shift on the issue of gay marriage. But getting the majority of the country to that point was a long, diffcult struggle for those in the LGBT community. For Atkinson, the journey has been both personal and political. After moving to Las Vegas in 1992, he worked for Clark County, where he developed “the itch for politics and serving people.” At the time, Atkinson was engaged to a woman, and they had a daughter together. But after what he says was a “personal struggle [about] who I was and who I was trying to be,” Atkinson called off the wedding. He came out to family and friends, but chose not to make a public announcement. “I didn’t feel the need to,” he says. That changed in April 2013, when the Nevada Legislature was debating a repeal of the 2002 ban on same-sex marriage. As the discussion continued late into the night, it began to shift toward more personal experiences, as well as more general ideas about love and equality. “I think one of the biggest things was when Senator [Aaron] Ford stood up and talked about being in a different place with gay marriage than he used to be,” recalls Atkinson, a Democrat whose district mostly encompasses North Las Vegas. “He talked about African-Americans and Caucasians not being able to marry [each other] 25-30 years ago because of laws similar to this.” Marriage equality had long been important to Atkinson, but Ford’s comparison to interracial marriage brought it home in a very personal way, because Atkinson’s stepmother is white. “My dad and stepmom were together for 25 years, and I remember my father going through that. … I thought, ‘I can’t sit here and allow this to continue without making a strong statement.’” With that, Atkinson stood up and spoke. “I exposed to everybody that I was a black, gay, proud male, and equality was something that should be available to everybody. I didn’t have a

imagine the scales of justice. On one side: religious edict, social norm and legal precedent. On the other side: love. Even the most confrmed cynic knew how this battle was going to end. But the twists in Nevada’s roller-coaster ride to marriage equality were something nobody could have predicted. The ride fnally ended in October, when a legal ruling—many would argue a long-overdue legal ruling—opened the doors to same-sex marriage. Hundreds of couples, supported by loved ones of every sexual orientation, immediately and blissfully burst through those doors, while the Las Vegas tourism industry immediately and blissfully pounced on a new revenue stream. Amid the bouquets, boutonnieres and tears of joy, two things became clear: First, marriage equality, while enormously signifcant to the LGBT community, was never just a “gay issue.” Second, society at-large has fnally accepted a fact that Nevada Senator Kelvin Atkinson has long known: “You don’t control your heart and who you fall in love with.”

December 18–24, 2014

➺

VegasSeven.com

BY LISSA TOWNSEND RODGERS

Story of the Year speech prepared or anything; I just spoke from the heart.” That night, the measure to repeal the gay marriage ban passed the Senate, and Atkinson headed home, unaware that his revelation had resonated far beyond Carson City, and indeed far beyond the Silver State. “I woke up the next day, turned my phone on and the notifcations wouldn’t stop from Facebook, Twitter, email, text messages—I’ve never seen anything like that,” he says. “I got messages from Africa, China, Chicago, Atlanta, everywhere.” Some messages were delivered in person. “I met with a lady who wanted just to tell me that because I came out, her son did,” he says, “and she’s so proud of him.” Atkinson’s then-partner (now-husband), Sherwood Howard, wasn’t aware of the big announcement. “He’s a behind-the-scenes kind of guy,” Atkinson says. But Howard’s phone also lit up that morning. “He said, ‘What did Kelvin do now?!’” Atkinson laughs. “Then he realized … [and] was very, very happy.” But there was still one opinion that mattered to Atkinson more than 10,000 “Likes.” “One of the frst calls was from my daughter,” he says. “She saw it on Facebook before I could tell her. She said, ‘Dad, my gosh, what made you do that? I’m so proud of you!’ That was really all I needed to hear.” The next month—May 2013—the Nevada Assembly voted in favor of repealing the constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. At the beginning of this year, Governor Brian Sandoval and Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto announced they would withdraw their brief defending the ban. “It has become clear,” Sandoval said, “that this case is no longer defensible in court.” Even though state leaders were ready to throw rice, the battle still had to play out before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The Coalition for the Protection of Marriage, a California-based lobbying group, supported the ban, while Lambda Legal continued to plead for a repeal on behalf of eight Nevada couples. The 9th Circuit fnally heard the

case in September, at which point couples across the state prepared to spend the rest of the year fipping through Perfect Wedding magazines and watching Bridezillas while awaiting a ruling that surely wouldn’t come until 2015. Then the U.S. Supreme Court provided an unexpected assist. On October 6, the high court announced it would let stand rulings allowing same-sex marriage in fve states. Dimengo calls it a “peculiar action by inaction,” but it had a potent and immediate effect: The very next day, the 9th Circuit ruled against the Coalition for the Protection

Atkinson and Howard had discussed marriage, but neither imagined it would be possible so soon. “I remember texting Woody,” Atkinson recalls, “and he said, ‘What happens now?’ I said, ‘What do you mean, dummy? We get married!’” of Marriage, making same-sex marriage legal in Nevada and Idaho. (Thanks to a somewhat complicated legal procedure, the states shared a ruling, as both cases were based on the same legal argument, and the court doesn’t waste its time stamping the same specious theory invalid twice.) “The court ruled much faster than we thought it would,” Atkinson says. “One of my colleagues texted me: ‘Did you see the 9th Circuit ruling on gay marriage in our state?’ I said, ‘Are you kidding me?’” Atkinson and Howard had been together for six years and had discussed marriage, but neither imagined it would

December 18–24, 2014

VegasSeven.com

Top Stories of 2014

be possible so soon. “I remember texting Woody [about the ruling], and he said, ‘What happens now?’ I said, ‘What do you mean, dummy? We get married!’” On the evening of the 9th Circuit’s decision, people began to congregate at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center, where Dimengo was coincidentally wrapping up his frst day as CEO. “It had a circus-like quality,” he recalls, laughing. “Everyone kept saying, ‘See what you’ve done on your frst day! What will you do tomorrow?’” As the sun dipped below the Spring Mountain Range, the crowd grew. Chil-

dren played out front, senior citizens sat on benches and couples stood with their arms around each other, dazed smiles on their faces. “It was absolutely thrilling,” Dimengo says. “It was the whole gamut of emotions, from people jubilant to people in tears. One of them said it was like the frst day out of jail. He and his partner had been together for close to 20 years. They never thought they would live to see the day they could marry.” “All of these people have been fghting for this for years,” Atkinson recalls. “It made me happy and proud, and it was a great night.”

It was about to get better: Atkinson had proposed to Howard via phone earlier that day, but their secret got out. As Atkinson took the stage during the news conference at the Center, the crowd began chanting: “Do it now! Do it now!” So in front of a packed room, with cameras rolling and fashbulbs popping, Atkinson popped the question again, and was accepted again. “It went viral. It was like me coming out all over again, with everybody Facebooking and tweeting.” Atkinson and Howard weren’t the only joyous couple. Collis Laton and her partner, Wanda Floyd—who is an interim pastor at a Las Vegas church and has performed more than a dozen commitment ceremonies for samesex couples—are transplants from North Carolina, which legalized gay marriage almost simultaneously with Nevada. “I thought it would take a couple of years,” Laton says. “We were on the fence about whether to get married, but once both [states] recognized it, we started planning.” Alas, there would be one more plot twist before the happy ending. While Nevada was ready to welcome same-sex couples to its hundred-plus wedding chapels, Idaho was not: It requested a stay of the 9th Circuit’s ruling, a request granted by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. Because of the nature of the ruling, the stay also applied to Nevada. Couples who thought they would be exchanging rings and vows instead found themselves in limbo, standing outside the Clark County Marriage Bureau, noses pressed against the glass. “It was a roller coaster of emotion, and I remember getting irritated and kind of dismayed,” Atkinson says. But he knew a lot of eyes were on him, and he had to keep his cool. “I even called and left a message for [Clark County District Attorney] Steve Wolfson.” At the exact same moment, Wolfson was leaving a message for Atkinson, informing him the stay had been lifted, and that Atkinson and Howard could proceed with their nuptials. “I still have

From a youth baseball team that galvanized our community to a senseless tragedy that devastated it, here were seven other stories that made headlines in and around Southern Nevada this year.

CLIVEN BUNDY VS. THE FEDS

A DIFFERENT KIND OF TOKE

FALLEN HEROES

A BIG HIT

Back in early spring, the Bureau of Land Management sought to carry out federal orders to remove rancher Cliven Bundy’s cattle, which had been grazing on BLMadministered land near Bunkerville. Bundy refused to budge, and neither did the armed supporters who came to his defense. That led to a lengthy standoff— which was catnip for national news organizations—before federal authorities eventually withdrew from the area. The dispute, which dates to 1993, remains unresolved.

The medical marijuana movement finally made its way to Nevada this year, with some very prominent members of our community submitting applications (and receiving approval) to operate the Valley’s first med-marijuana dispensaries, which are expected to open in early 2015. Among the lucky few to be given the “green” light: Sig Rogich, onetime political adviser to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush during the “Just Say No” era.

On June 8, the Valley was shaken by the news that Metropolitan Police officers Alyn Beck, 41, and Igor Soldo, 31, had been shot dead while having lunch at a pizza restaurant in east Las Vegas. The two assailants, Jerad and Amanda Miller, ambushed the officers in the restaurant, murdered them, then overtook a nearby Walmart, shooting and killing a third victim. After an in-store standoff between officers and the assailants, the nightmare ended when police shot and killed Jerad Miller, and Amanda Miller turned her gun on herself.

In more uplifting news, for the first time in history, Nevada placed a representative in the Little League World Series. The team of wide-eyed 12-year-olds from Mountain Ridge Little League arrived in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in August and did the community proud: They advanced all the way to the U.S. championship game, falling one game short of facing South Korea for the title. After the players returned to Las Vegas, the city held a parade in their honor, and Mayor Carolyn Goodman presented them with a key to the city.

The couple has promised friends and family a full celebration in 2015. Meanwhile, Wanda Floyd and Collis Laton have made plans to tie the knot on New Year’s Eve. “It’s a fabulous day to celebrate new beginnings,” Laton says. “Plus, it’s easy to remember!”

DIAMOND GEMS

DRIVING A HARD BARGAIN

SAME OLD, SAME OLD

For more than two decades, Greg Maddux systematically and unassumingly put together one of the most dominant pitching careers in Major League Baseball history. On July 27, the Valley High School alum received the ultimate recognition for his efforts when he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Among the other inductees was slugger Frank Thomas, a longtime Henderson resident who was also enshrined in his first year on the ballot.

For years, Nevada lawmakers have been stressing the need for this gambling mecca to diversify its economy. In September, they put their money—a lot of money—where their mouths are, agreeing to a $1.3 billion tax-incentive package for electric-car manufacturer Tesla Motors to open a massive battery plant 20 miles east of Reno. Governor Brian Sandoval projects the plant, which is scheduled to open in two to three years, will create 22,000 jobs for the state.

On the Las Vegas Strip, 2014 will go down as the year everything old became new again. In May, the Cromwell opened on the northeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road, taking over where Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall (and before it Barbary Coast) left off. A couple of months later, SLS Las Vegas finally emerged from the bones of the Sahara, and the Delano brought a South Beach vibe to the spot once occupied by THEHotel. Perhaps acknowledging that bigger isn’t necessarily better, the Strip is banking on the “boutique” trend.

“would i have done this 10 years ago?” Atkinson says. “I would not have done it, for one major reason: my daughter. She was in the school system

HONORABLE MENTION: > Downtown Project downsizes with layoffs > Linq/High Roller opens to rave reviews > Uber comes (and goes) > Rock in Rio announces 2015 Vegas shows > Giada De Laurentiis adds a

woman’s touch to fine-dining scene > Vegas Nocturne and Rose.Rabbit.Lie. part ways (controversially) > Soccer stadium gains momentum, then stalls > NHL flirts with Las Vegas > Downtown Summerlin swings open doors > We say goodbye to Nevada icons Bob Faiss and Jim Rogers. – Matt Jacob

VegasSeven.com

the ceremony—yielded to Atkinson and Howard. “They just wanted to be frst to receive their licenses,” Atkinson says. On October 9, Kelvin and Sherwood Atkinson became the frst gay couple married in Nevada. Their loved ones were delighted, but those loved ones also had the same reaction most families do to quickie Vegas nuptials: What, no big wedding? “Our families weren’t necessarily happy,” Atkinson says, laughing. “But they understood the opportunity to be a part of history.”

[Wolfson’s] message on my phone,” Atkinson says, “I remember calling my fancé and saying, ‘We’ve got it! Get down here, pack your shoes, get ready!’” Some progressive groups wanted Atkinson and Howard to be the frst at the altar, but Atkinson believed that honor belonged to another couple—namely the litigants who fought to overturn the same-sex-marriage ban. But those couples—perhaps because they hadn’t secured a caterer for the reception or lined up a top-level Elvis to offciate

December 18–24, 2014

PHOTO BY ANTHONY MAIR; PREVIOUS SPREAD PHOTO BY ETHAN MILLER/GETTY IMAGES

The Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel is one of dozens in the Valley courting same-sex couples.

then; now she’s in college. If I made a big public [announcement], there’s no doubt kids [can be] cruel, and someone would’ve said something, and that would break my heart.” Today, though, kids are growing up in a world where attitudes toward homosexuality are quickly evolving, and much like in the wake of the civil rights movement, tolerance is increasing with each passing day. “It was less of an issue for us than for our parents,” Laton says. “And it’s less of an issue for my daughter’s generation than it was for mine. … There’s not the isolation. People are not as fearful of coming out as they were in our generation.” Few would question that sentiment. Still, Dimengo is quick to point out that, while the war has been won, there are still battles to be fought. “There’s been a sea change of attitudes in our society, and we in the community are grateful,” he says. “[But] you can be a same-sex couple who gets married on Friday, celebrates over the weekend, then announces it to co-workers on Monday and be ostracized.” Nevertheless, Dimengo acknowledges making that announcement is necessary, invoking the words of the late gay-rights activist Harvey Milk. “He said it so well: ‘We do society no good if we remain invisible.’ We need to be out and proud.” Today, Atkinson is settling into married life, as well as a new political role: national vice chairman of the Council of State Governments (he’s slated to take over as chairman in 2017). “It’s an organization that has never been led by an African-American or an openly gay person, and I’m very proud of that,” he says. He has been involved in energy, transportation, employment and children’s issues, but acknowledges that marriage equality will always be close to his heart. “It’s why I got behind the cause: I had friends who have been together 18 years who couldn’t marry, who never thought they’d be able to— it brings me so much joy.” Soon, there will no longer be gay weddings or straight weddings, but just … weddings between two people in love. Says Dimengo: “We invite people to know us as someone just like them, who just happens to love someone of the same sex.”

NIGHTLIFE

Breaking into Las Vegas’ DJ scene is every bit the high-stakes gamble you’d expect By Jessie O’Brien

VegasSeven.com

Eye on the Prize

PRISCILLA TORRES IS NEW to the Las Vegas music scene. The DJ, a.k.a. Silla the Thrilla, recently landed a spot spinning Fridays at 3535 center bar in the Linq. And it’s been a grind to get there, with multiple career changes and moves from her home state of Colorado to Arizona to Las Vegas to Nashville and fnally back to Las Vegas. Before hitting the decks, Torres worked as a sports broadcaster, a Latin country singer, a lounge singer and was a member of Arizona girl group Phoenix Rayne. Along with vocalist (and boyfriend) Michael Nannini, her group, Team 22, released its debut track, “Teach Me How to DJ,” on November 28 on iTunes. Twentytwo percent of the song’s proceeds go to Nevada Child Seekers’ Be Brave campaign against bullying. Now that things are starting to turn a corner, Torres explains what it’s been like trying to make it as a local DJ in a city that worships headliners.

December 18–24, 2014

PHOTO BY SAM ZEL AYA

Your city after dark, photos from the week’s hottest parties and a New Year’s resolution gone all right

NIGHTLIFE

What’s it been like, DJing in Las Vegas as opposed to Colorado or elsewhere?

Vegas is a city full of personalities, and you can be you. I got my eye patch—it’s about having that type of fair and personality. DJs are entertainers here, so it’s cool to be a little colorful and famboyant when appropriate, and you can do that here. I couldn’t in Colorado or anywhere else. You’ve tried multiple careers. How did you settle on DJing?

DJing came more natural to me. It didn’t seem like I had to beg for the opportunity. That’s why I stuck to it, and since it satisfed my craving for music—it was no doubt a passion. How did your audition for 3535 go?

I was so nervous I couldn’t sleep. They were like, “You’ve got to look super sexy and hot, like you’re going to a pool party,” and you feel like a goon. Only in Vegas do you wear a swimsuit in the offce. You know, I actually used a mix that I used at X Bar in Denver ... and [that mix] got me the job in Vegas. How have you gone about getting your name out there? The scene is so saturated.

I am taking a different approach. Nightclubs are huge, and I know everybody’s trying now to be a producer and get in the big nightclubs. We have to get the kids’ votes, even to hit Billboard charts. So I’m focusing more on the community and, honestly, on being a positive infuence on the schools: anti-bullying campaigns, being part of pep rallies—I think that’s really big. And then the nightclubs will come. Describe your sound on “Teach Me How to DJ.”

When I frst sent this to a radio station in California they said, “It sounds like it’s dance mixed with old-school hip-hop mixed with Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch,” and I was like, “Yes! Exactly!” It’s a new sound, but when you break it down, and you hear the instrumentals, it’s disco infuenced. What is your biggest criticism of the Las Vegas DJ scene?

“What do you use? Are you digital or do you use vinyl?” I don’t use vinyl, I use digital—it doesn’t matter. If you know your music and you know how to read crowds, know where to go, know how to switch it up, that is the most important thing beyond mixing.

I’ve always worn an eye patch for fun since I could remember. It used to be a cheap Halloween pirate patch that I’d carry around in case of an emergency, an awkward moment. It would defnitely make light of the moment. Until one day I saw a necklace and said, “That’s one ugly necklace.” Then I put it around my forehead and it fell directly over one eye, and I said, “Bingo! That’s it.” And I love it. You’re admittedly starting at the bottom, eking out a place behind the decks in a city that helped make DJs into superstars. What’s your goal?

I want to spread joy and love through our music, make a difference in our community, and play all over the world. It sounds childish, but that’s really it. I don’t care about being gold or platinum on iTunes, I want to make a difference. There are enough egotistical DJs out there who fst-pump their way into nightclubs. That’s there if I want it, but I don’t.

PHOTO BY SAM ZEL AYA

December 18–24, 2014

VegasSeven.com

OK—explain the bedazzled eye patch, please.

NIGHTLIFE

Camille Cannon

Sansa, and he announced the debut of his own record label, Arkade. “There is an abundance of raw talent out there, now more than ever. There is also a dire need for new talent to be brought to the forefront,” he posted to Tumblr. Hopefully we’ll get a sample when he spins at XS. (In Encore, 10:30 p.m., XSLasVegas.com.)

Kaskade.

Mighty Mi.

SUN 21 Get swanky at Foundation Room where the venue is celebrating 22 years of House of Blues with Happy Anniversary Hours, a series of 22 fundraisers for local charities. Vegas Shepard Rescue will be honored tonight. (In Mandalay Bay, 5 p.m., HouseofBlues.com/FR.)

MON 22 Forget turtledoves and golden rings. Todd English P.U.B. is giving us the 12 Beers of Christmas for just $2 through Dec. 25. On this ninth day, you can enjoy Newcastle Werewolf for two bucks a glass. Other day’s gifts include Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale and Tricerahops Double IPA. (In the Shops at Crystals, ToddEnglishPub.com.)

TUE 23

December 18–24, 2014

VegasSeven.com

It’s Christmas Eve eve! And Joe Maz is on hand at Hyde to help get you through to to-

THU 18

FRI 19

Hard to believe it’s been two years since the openings of Triple B and Fremont Country Club, but it has. That stretch of Fremont near Sixth Street just wouldn’t feel right now without the bright interiors of those blue and pink bars, welcoming passersby with their warm neon glow and the promise of reasonably priced booze. It’s only right that we toast to the Two-Year Anniversary of the venues, and the birthday of partner DJ Lethal, whose House of Pain records grace Triple B’s walls. The red carpet starts at 8 p.m., and live music follows at 9 p.m. (601 Fremont St., BackstageBarAndBilliards.com.)

Rising electronic DJ Ashley Wallbridge recently enlightened Vegas Seven on what an average day looks like for him: “I go through a good 15 coffees in a day, so by the end of the day I’m on caffeine explosion.” Expect him to be delightfully wired in the booth at Marquee. (In the Cosmopolitan, 10 p.m., CosmopolitanLasVegas. com.) Still craving wonky beats? The electronic division of the SKAM Artist collective takes over Life. Tony Arzadon, Sgt Slick, Nathan Scott, Chris Garcia and Caroline D’Amore will all be representing on the ones and twos. (In SLS, 10:30 p.m., SLSLasVegas.com.) Meanwhile, fellow SKAM Artist Bad Boy Bill takes to the decks

morrow. Then you had better start baking some cookies … Santa’s coming soon! (In Bellagio, 9 p.m., HydeBellagio.com.)

WED 24 Local favorite DJ Mighty Mi commands Surrender for the second annual Bad Milo bash. (That’s just a reference to Mighty Mi’s birth name, Milo Berger. Not to be confused with the straight-to-DVD dark comedy, Bad Milo.) (In Encore, 10:30 p.m., EncoreLasVegas.com.) Before he does a Christmas Day gig with Sami Beigi at Life (10:30 p.m.), Sharam— one half of house duo Deep Dish—delivers a more intimate set at Foxtail. (In SLS, 10 p.m., SLSLasVegas.com.)

at Drai’s. Here's hoping the Chicago house-music pioneer sprinkles his signature sound into his set. (In the Cromwell, 10 p.m., DraisNightlife.com.)

SAT 20 Is your ugly sweater unraveling? Are you searching for a fresh way to express your holiday cheer? Enter the Ugly Ornament Contest (running through Dec. 18) at Commonwealth. The foulest tree fxture will walk away with $1,500 and a $500 donation to the winner’s chosen charity. (525 Fremont St., CommonwealthLV.com.) Kaskade has had a busy month. He released the video for “A Little More” with John Dahlbäck and

Ashley Wallbridge.

NIGHTLIFE

Maximum Impakt Meet the local DJ who resolved to make Vegas his new town By Kat Boehrer

GLENN RAMOS—KNOWN AROUND

Downtown as DJ Impakt—moved to Las Vegas from San Diego this past summer in search of a fresh perspective and new inspiration. After working as a radio and club DJ in Southern California, he now mans the decks Wednesdays at Commonwealth. Despite being a newcomer, the DJ has already infltrated the complex inner workings of the Downtown music scene and plans to revamp his brand and go even harder in 2015. Ramos is a down-toearth guy with a relatable backstory who defnitely knows how to have a rockin’ good time. What drew you into music?

My friends and I were always into the hip-hop scene, from graffti to break dancing. However, I used to play football and wrestle, so I wasn’t agile enough to break dance. My other friends and I were like, “Hey, let’s try DJing.” So did you ever try to break dance?

Yeah, and I almost broke my wrist.

December 18–24, 2014

VegasSeven.com

When was your first performance, and how did it go?

My frst gig was six months into DJing, at a wedding with a friend. I also used to promote for a production company in San Diego, and we’d do clubs on the side and then one day the head promoter said, “Yo, the DJ from L.A. can’t make it. Do you wanna DJ the nightclub?” That was my second gig. The frst was easy. But the second was a club gig, and I was pretty scared. My hands were shaking when I would place the needle onto the record. At the time, this was on vinyl, so it was a lot more scary back then, too. You picked up your stage name around then, right?

That party was called “Impact,” spelled the normal way. I [still] didn’t have a DJ name. So after the event I said, “I’m gonna call myself ‘Impact.’” And then I just changed the C to a K. Why did you stick with DJing as a career?

Because of timing and lack of options. I graduated from college with a degree in business administration in 2007. And that’s when the recession happened, and no one was hiring. Getting an interview was diffcult. I was fortunate to still be DJing clubs in Southern California and I was also DJing on the radio, so I was still earning a good income compared with my classmates. They couldn’t fnd jobs, [but] I’m getting paid to party. So it’s a job that I’m very blessed to have. What makes for a memorable gig?

My most memorable gigs aren’t really at the gigs. It’s afterward, when I’m with friends or family and we get up to something stupid, and it ends up

as a good memory. What genres do you spin, and who are your influences?

In elementary school I used to play the trumpet, and I would mess with drums and also play piano. Living in SoCal, I had friends of all different nationalities who all listened to different types of music. So I’ve always liked different genres. The stuff I grew up on was hip-hop and R&B. I love the classics, such as Motown and anything with a funky beat and a good rhythm. What are your hobbies?

Making fun of my friends as they make fun of me. [Laughs]. Also, work-

ing out and just self-improvement. I try to read quite a bit; I try to be active and stay in shape. What lured you from San Diego to Las Vegas?

I got to the point in San Diego where I couldn’t fnd any inspiration. I was in a rut. And I felt like I needed to challenge myself and get out of my comfort zone. I love San Diego, but the problem is that you get comfortable and everyone there is too relaxed. I know Vegas is a small town, but it’s fast-paced, especially compared with San Diego. So last New Year’s Eve I made a promise: “However well I’m doing at the end of June, [come the] beginning of July, I’m moving to Vegas.” And that’s what I did.

NIGHTLIFE

PARTIES

Encore [ UPCOMING ]

See more photos from this gallery at SPYONvegas.com

PHOTOS BY DANNY MAHONEY

December 18â&#x20AC;&#x201C;24, 2014

VegasSeven.com

Dec. 19 Manufactured Superstars spin Dec. 20 Kaskade spins Dec. 21 Dave Fogg spins

NIGHTLIFE

PARTIES

HAKKASAN MGM Grand

[ UPCOMING ]

See more photos from this gallery at SPYONvegas.com

PHOTOS BY TOBY ACUNA AND JOE FURY

December 18â&#x20AC;&#x201C;24, 2014

VegasSeven.com

Dec. 26 Fergie DJ spins Dec. 27 Afrojack and Apster spin Dec. 28 Steve Aoki spins

DECEMBER 30

FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 14

KATT WILLIAMS

RASCAL FLATTS

MARCH 27 & 28

APRIL 3 & 4

WIDESPREAD PANIC

KENNY CHESNEY

BORN AGAIN... AGAIN

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THE BIG REVIVAL TOUR

FRIDAY WITH SPECIAL GUESTS

KARL DENSON’S TINY UNIVERSE SATURDAY WITH SPECIAL GUESTS

THE CHRIS ROBINSON BROTHERHOOD

JAN 21-24 .........................................AVN SHOW FEB 7 ....................................................SEETHER & PAPA ROACH WITH SPECIAL GUESTS KYNG & ISLANDER FEB 21...................................................ELLIS MANIA 10 FEB 22..................................................TRAILER PARK BOYS’ STILL DRUNK, HIGH AND UNEMPLOYED TOUR FEATURING RICKY, JULIAN AND BUBBLES

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FOR VIP PACKAGES & RESERVATIONS CONTACT JOINTVIP@HRHVEGAS.COM OR 702.693.5220 AXS.COM

888-9-AXS-TIX

HARDROCKHOTEL.COM/THEJOINT

NIGHTLIFE

PARTIES

LAVO BRUNCH The Palazzo

[ UPCOMING ]

See more photos from this gallery at SPYONvegas.com

PHOTOS BY AMIT DADL ANEY AND JOSH METZ

December 18â&#x20AC;&#x201C;24, 2014

VegasSeven.com

Dec. 20 Holiday edition Dec. 27 College football edition Jan. 3 Industry NYE

NIGHTLIFE

PARTIES

FOXTAIL SLS

[ UPCOMING ]

December 18â&#x20AC;&#x201C;24, 2014

VegasSeven.com

Dec. 22 DJ Spider spins Dec. 24 Sharam spins Dec. 29 Kiesza performs

See more photos from this gallery at SPYONvegas.com

DINING

“Walk past the semi-cool lounge ... and you’ll fnd a cavernous dining room that looks like it’s been passed over for a much-needed makeover for a couple of decades.” {PAGE 64}

Restaurant reviews, news and seven cocktail books to get you into the holiday spirit

Spiritual Awakening Patricia Richards journeys away from excess and toward balance

VegasSeven.com

LET’S FACE IT: As much as we may love them, cocktails aren’t exactly healthful. So it’s a little odd sitting across from one of the country’s top mixologists, hearing her views on physical, mental and spiritual health. But these days, Patricia Richards is more interested in helping her colleagues prevent burnout than teaching them how to mix a drink. Richards’ 11-year bartending career boasts some stellar accomplishments. For six years, she ran the beverage program for all of the bars at Wynn, and later Encore. She’s participated in cocktail competitions in Finland, Italy and New Orleans; moderated a seminar in Cognac, France; and judged the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Her writing has appeared in Food & Wine and People. But she says the 60-hour work weeks, Las Vegas’ constant need for something new and the town’s 24hour party lifestyle took a serious toll on her health. “I was starting to feel some fatigue issues, because of the demands [of the job],” she explains between sips of a Starbucks pumpkin latte (which she describes as one of her few remaining vices). “A lot of it was just adrenal exhaustion from just the go, go, go lifestyle we have here in Las Vegas.” Richards began to seek out holistic healers. “I was getting intravenous treatments for chronic fatigue. I was getting acupuncture and things like that to try to cope,” she recalls of her worst days. “Finally, I had to listen to myself.” A year before her contract with Wynn was up in August, Richards had already resolved that she wasn’t going to renew. And after a six-month stint with Bacardi, she decided to return to college. While she still tends bar

December 18–24, 2014

PHOTO BY JON ESTRADA

By Al Mancini

DINING part time, Richards is fnishing her psychology degree (3.7 GPA!) at UNLV and is considering going on to acupuncture school to become a doctor of oriental medicine. “I’m feeling a very strong longing to get into work that’s healing, uplifting, inspiring and more spiritually fulflling,” she says. In July, Richards helped deliver a three-day seminar called Mind, Body, Spirits at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans. It was aimed at “trying to create more balance in order to have longevity in the industry,” and included presentations by an acupuncturist, a tai chi instructor and a dietician.

“There are people who party really hard in the industry, and then they burn out,” Richards says. “Or they wear out. Or they gain 50 pounds. Or they are completely unhealthy and they’re sick all the time. So it’s about creating awareness for the people in our industry to listen to yourself and to be more conscious of balance in your life. Because if you’re not aware of it now, it’s going to take a toll on you in some way. Whether it’s in your relationships, your health or your work, it’s going to affect something somewhere.” Richards is hoping to stage similar seminars—including a more extensive program at Tales of the

Cocktail—and is currently shopping the idea around the Southwest. In the meantime, she has a simple request of her hardworking colleagues: “Just have a green juice here and there. Have a couple of days that are clean. Just exercise to burn off toxins. The little things can really make a difference in your long-term and overall health, and your outlook on life.” Actually, that’s pretty good advice for all us. “Stop and smell the coffee!” Get Richards’ seven tips for a more balanced, healthier, happier New Year at VegasSeven.com/Patricia_Richards.

Get the latest on local restaurant openings and closings, interviews with top chefs, cocktail recipes, menu previews and more in our weekly “Sips and Bites” newsletter. Subscribe at VegasSeven.com/SipsAndBites.

In extravagant dish news, Mix (in the Delano, 702-632-7200) celebrates its 10th (and final!) year with a holiday booze-themed dessert called the XXL Rum Baba. Mix pastry chef Mickael Maignan-Bauer has taken chef Alain Ducasse’s signature baba au rhum and Vegassized it. The rich cake is three feet long and presented tableside, shiny with apricot glaze and saturated with Sailor Jerry Caribbean rum, Pyrat XO Reserve or Zaya Gran Reserva before being dressed with vanilla cream. It’s both a dessert and an after-dinner drink in yard form ($12 per piece). Speaking of special occasions, Alizé at the top of the Palms (702-951-7000, AlizeLV. com) just opened the door to making dinner there much more magical. Mention that you’re celebrating something cool when making your reservation—a birthday, popping the question, invitation to the Peace Corps—and a golden key will be waiting on your table when you arrive, along with a personalized note from the staff. What does the key open, exactly? You’ll be kept in suspense throughout your meal, but you’re welcome to let your imagination run wild. Once dinner has finished, a box is brought to the table, and only your key can unlock it. At this point, you will now resist the urge to channel your best Brad Pitt at the end of the film Se7en, only to be pleasantly surprised by the chest’s contents. The boxes can contain anything, from a custom pastry from chef Tammy Alana to that rock you just spent two months’ salary on. Whatever it is, it’s meant to make your Alizé experience that much more extraordinary. Food nerds around the country will have to reset their calendars. Vegas Uncork’d just announced that it will take place April 23-26, two weeks earlier than Mother’s Day weekend, when the culinary blowout usually happens (mental note: Get your mom a real present next year). Tickets are on sale now for the next installment, which will feature Bon Appétit’s partnership with Bravo to spotlight the winner of its show Best New Restaurant at the Grand Tasting, as well as a chance to see if you can stand the heat in Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen. Lucky participants will be divided into two teams for a live cooking demo with Ramsay and previous Hell’s Kitchen winners Christina Wilson and Scott Commings. Other new events include Sunday brunches by new-for-2015 restaurants Lago by Julian Serrano and Bardot Brasserie, which stacks its deck with dishes by Shawn McClain, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Jean-Philippe Maury, Michael Mina and Serrano. I usually don’t like to rush through the holidays, but this news has me eager for spring. Grace Bascos eats, sleeps, raves and repeats. Read more from Grace at VegasSeven.com/ DishingWithGrace, as well as on her diningand-music blog, FoodPlusTechno.com.

PHOTO BY JON ESTRADA

VegasSeven.com

| December 18–24, 2014

A GIANT DESSERT, ALIZÉ UNLOCKED AND AN EARLY UNCORK’D

DINING

Clockwise from left: Diamond and Gold Lasagna, the Portofino dining room and chef Michael LaPlaca at the pass.

Al’s

Menu Picks

Picking up where others have lef of, Portofno ofers sophisticated spins on classic Italian dishes By Al Mancini

December 18–24, 2014

VegasSeven.com

THERE AREN’T MANY STYLES OF COOKING

that Las Vegas is missing. But the closing of Valentino in the Venetian late last year left a noticeable void in the form of Italian haute cuisine. While there are plenty of great Italian restaurants in town, none offer the style of sophisticated, high-end cooking that Luciano Pellegrini provided there. Or so I thought. Recently, however, I began to hear word of the great work executive chef Michael LaPlaca (formerly of Bradley Ogden and Due Forni) is doing at Portofno in The Mirage. And after two visits in as many nights, I’m, happy to report that void has been flled with some of the most elegant and delicious Italian food imaginable. At frst glance, there’s little indication of just how great Portofno is—or that it's even there, as it's tucked into a forgotten corner of the casino foor. Walk past the semi-cool lounge, with vaulted ceilings and exposed brick, and you’ll fnd a cavernous dining room that looks like it’s been passed over for a much-needed makeover for

a couple of decades. Throw in pastas actually a delicious blend of lemon-safpriced from $26-$36 and entrées $32fron risotto and crab meat shaped into $48, and dining here requires a leap crab-cake form and perfectly fried. of faith. Take that leap, however, and Another great appetizer is the meatI can assure you that you won’t be balls, topped with red sauce and acdisappointed. companied by a fried squash blossom The restaurant’s menu is packed with that’s stuffed with goat cheese and baItalian classics, and many con. It’s ridiculously rich, of the descriptions fail to but loaded with favor. list the most interesting From the entrée section, PORTOFINO aspects of the preparathe branzino is prepared In The Mirage, tions. A prime illustration simply and perfectly. 866-339-4566. is its listing for spaghetti But the veal saltimbocca Open for dinner carbonara. It states the is where the chef truly 5-10 p.m. Thu-Mon. dish is made with pork shows his creativity. In Dinner for two, belly—probably the most this case, the menu at $80-$160. over-hyped cut of meat out least hints at the bold there, and an abomination decision to deconstruct to anyone who believes the classic dish, offering that true carbonara should be made a beautifully rendered veal medallion with guanciale (pork jowl) or, at the very lightly wrapped in prosciutto, served least, pancetta. What the menu doesn’t with a spinach coulis and accompanied tell you is that the belly is mixed with by a potato and cheese gratin. smoked guanciale. The result is one of Still, the real highlights are in the the best carbonaras I’ve ever had. I was pasta section. In addition to spaghetti also confused by the vague description in the brilliant carbonara, the chef of the “crab cake” arancini, which are does wonders with several other

noodles. The fresh hand-torn ripatelli (a noodle LaPlaca claims to have invented, but at the very least named) is wonderful with lamb Bolognese and roasted red peppers with a light hint of mint pesto. And his lighterthan-air burrata-stuffed agnolotti are a perfect accompaniment for lobster knuckles cooked in corn butter with chanterelle mushrooms. If you really want to splurge, shell out a hundred bucks for the “Diamond and Gold” lasagna made with Kobe beef, Iberico ham, prosciutto di Parma, Parmigiano-Reggiano, buffalo mozzarella, porcini mushrooms and foie gras Alfredo sauce, topped with shaved white-diamond truffes and 23-karat gold leaf. It’s only on the menu through the end of the year, and it’s a super-rich feast made more for bragging rights than anything else— but you will be bragging about it. The only even mildly disappointing dish was an order of calamari: While the seasoning was great, the squid itself was a bit on the chewy side, a minor sin that will not prevent me from returning. In addition to being one of the city’s best Italian restaurants, Portofno is possibly its best-kept secret. I, for one, am happy to try to change that.

INTERIOR BY JON ESTRADA; CHEF AND FOOD COURTESY OF MGM RESORTS INTERNATIONAL

Talk of the Town

“Crab Cake” arancini ($18), Ripatelli ($26), burrata agnolotti ($36) and veal saltimbocca ($38).

DRINKING [ SCENE STIRS ]

SEVEN COCKTAIL BOOKS TO GET YOU INTO THE GIFT-GIVING SPIRIT Moonshine Nation: The Art of Creating Cornbread in a Bottle, by Mark Spivak. An intoxicating little tome that puts moonshine into historical context and introduces legendary bootleggers, as well as today’s modern moonshiners. A thoughtful gift for someone considering getting one of those Moroccan mini stills—you know, “for display.” Lyons Press, $17. Skinnygirl Cocktails: 100 Fun & Flirty Guilt-Free Recipes, by Bethenny Frankel. A stocking stuffer for the vodka-soda set. Honestly, she lost me early, somewhere between “Fun” and “Flirty.” But then this isn’t for me. It’s a gift. For the girl who hates the taste of booze, but likes the way it makes her feel. Should we tell her that Skinnygirl booze only appears reduced in calories because of its lower proof? Maybe after the holidays. Simon & Schuster, $15. The Old-Fashioned: The Story of the World’s First Classic Cocktail with Recipes and Lore, by Robert Simonson. Essential reading for anyone who serves or enjoys Old-Fashioneds, so as to better understand the drink’s progenitor, the Whiskey Cocktail. It might even change the way the world spells “Old-Fashioned”! Ten Speed Press, $19. The French Quarter Drinking Companion: A Guide to Bars in America’s Most Eclectic Neighborhood, by Allison Alsup, Elizabeth Pearce and Richard Read. A thoughtful gift for someone heading to our sister city, New Orleans, in 2015 as it offers a realistic preview of the bars in and around the French Quarter, from what you’re swilling to with whom you’ll be swilling it. Pelican, $23. Proof: The Science of Booze, by Adam Rogers. Along with Drink: A Cultural History of Alcohol and The History of the World in Six Glasses, Proof completes a kind of advanced home course on the nerdier aspects of booze, but in easily swallowed chapters: Yeast, Sugar, Fermentation, etc. Expect the reader to regale you with liquor facts and lore for some time. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $26.

➜ If word that you make even a decent

Manhattan has reached relations, it’s likely that you’ll be drafted as the offcial bartender at your family’s holiday gatherings. Arrive armed with two or three recipes and a basic bar set (try TheModernMixologist.com), and request ahead of time for the necessary liquors, mixers,

garnishes and quality ice. For streamlined service, I recommend offering stirred Manhattans and martinis (vodka and gin, please), as well as a themed specialty punch that you’ve prepared in advance, such as the tequila-based Chocomole ($7), served at Mercadito in Red Rock Resort. Feliz Navidad! Get the recipe at VegasSeven.com/CocktailCulture.

December 18–24, 2014

Mole—Pleasing As Punch

The Bar Book: Elements of Cocktail Technique, by Jeffrey Morgenthaler. The Clyde Commons barman spits straight talk and time-tested skills—better ice, stirring and shaking technique, egg-white use—that can be implemented immediately. More than just essential reading, these are essential bar skills, distilled. Chronicle Books, $30. – X.W.

VegasSeven.com

The Spirit of Gin: A Stirring Miscellany of the New Gin Revival, by Matt Teacher. Part gin-cyclopedia, part recipe book, The Spirit of Gin winds its way through history, craftsmanship, gin in mixology and the current, deliciously diverse state of gin. An easy, fun read. Cider Mill Press, $25.

A&E

“It’s a true display of wit and lyrical gymnastics to see who’s got the best wordplay and delivery.” SOUND PROOF {PAGE 72}

Movies, music, stage and cats that go poof

Digging through the past and present to fnd the most fascinating albums recorded on our not-so-humble stages By Jason Scavone

VegasSeven.com

Live from Las Vegas

December 18–24, 2014

ILLUSTRATION BY CIERRA PEDRO

THE DUDE WALKS INTO RED ROCK RESORT. STOP US IF YOU’VE HEARD THIS ONE BEFORE.

No, literally: Jeff Bridges put out a live album (called, uh, Live) with his backing band the Abiders in September. They recorded it during their previous stint at Red Rock Resort in June, and when Bridges did so, he was standing on the shoulders of giants. Other than the Coen Brothers, this time. ¶ The Las Vegas live album has a long, proud tradition. It also has entries from Ethel Merman and the Dave Matthews Band. They ain’t all gonna be ring-a-ding-ding stalwarts. But we combed through the stacks to bring you 13 albums that span the history of live recording in our various and sundry showrooms and concert halls. They’re not necessarily the best, and it’s not the most comprehensive. But it sure as hell doesn’t have any Phish. (Special thanks to Kristie Nelsen, whose work on LasVegasDiscography.com is tremendous.)

A&E

Noel Coward at Las Vegas, by Noel Coward (1955, Desert Inn). May as well start at the beginning. This is the earliest live-from-Las Vegas record out there, and the intro “And now ladies and gentlemen, the Desert Inn takes great pleasure in presenting … Mr. Noel Coward” gives you that chilly time-machine feeling that the best live albums are capable of. Which is good, because Coward sounds like Bela Lugosi singing standards. Johnnie Ray in Las Vegas, by Johnnie Ray (1957, Desert Inn). Coward pulled it off so well that Mr. Emotion himself returned to the scene of the crime to deliver his proto-R&B two years later. Look, this album is worth checking out just so you’ll understand the name-check in “Come On Eileen.”

Dean Martin: An Evening of Music, Laughter and Hard Liquor, by Dean Martin (1964, Sands). Why this and not the more historically and culturally signifcant The Rat Pack: Live at the Sands from a year before? Because the frst line is “Drink to me.” Then he goes into “Bourbon From Heaven” and follows with a take on “It’s All Right With Me” that goes I like gamblin’/I like boozin’/Boozin’ makes it pleasant when you’re losin’ … Jack Entratter said play blackjack/and I play because I want a crack, jack.” Dino: God among men, or simply the greatest human being who ever lived? Bottoms Up/Belle Barth at Las Vegas, by Rusty Warren/Belle Barth (1965, Aladdin/1964 Thunderbird or Caesars Palace). From the grand era of the “party album” when brassy broads roamed the Strip. Warren’s signature tune was “Knockers Up.” It’s exactly what you think it is, and it’s tremendous. ‘Live’ Las Vegas, by Redd Foxx (1967, Aladdin). “This is Las Vegas, Nevada, friends. You might as well relax because your phony neighbors aren’t here.” Redd Foxx, immediately hitting on the city’s secret weapon.

December 18–24, 2014

VegasSeven.com

Las Vegas Prima Style, by Louis Prima (1958, Sahara). This is just mainlining Prima, in full possession of his power with the classic lineup: Keely Smith and Sam Butera & the Witnesses. This is a weird thing to write about a Prima record, but it’s a little more restrained than some of the later albums. Though Prima’s version of restraint doesn’t exactly mean a stiff upper lip. (Unless we’re maybe talking about it in the AC/DC sense.) The band is just tight as can be, and Prima’s good-natured vamping during Smith’s numbers is dialed down to, oh, 9 1/2. Although it does force you into the uncomfortable position that great, old live albums always do: During Smith’s quieter solo numbers, you kind of come to the slow-horror realization that the casual crowd chatter is made by people who are all probably now dead. So, uh. Get out there and dance?

Jayne Mansfeld Busts Up Las Vegas, by Jayne Mansfeld (1962, Dunes). Get it? “Busts up?” Do you? Do you get it? Oh, the ’60s. We will never tire of your cheeky double entendres. Mansfeld’s breathy come-ons from her short-lived Dunes residency, House of Love, are a cautionary tale in letting former Playmates have singing engagements on Vegas stages. ... Wait.

Jerry Lee Lewis Live at the International, by Jerry Lee Lewis (1970, International). The Killer still had gas in the tank on this one. Two things stand out: Whether the engineer ginned the crowd noise or not, the audience is positively melting down. The other? That you could have seen Jerry Lee and Elvis onstage at the same hotel in the same 12-month span almost 15 years after they ruled the airwaves. An Evening With Wally Londo Featuring Bill Slaszo, by George Carlin (1975, UNLV). With all the history Carlin had in Las Vegas, his only recording here came on campus. This one has the debut of his “Baseball-Football” routine, which alone should cement this city in comedy history. I Am … Yours: An Intimate Performance at Wynn Las Vegas, by Beyoncé (2009, Encore). Really, this is just on the list because we’re afraid Bey would fnd out if we left it off.

Hello Dummy, by Don Rickles (1968, Sahara). But here’s the king of Las Vegas comedy records. Rickles only put out two albums: this one and 1969’s Don Rickles Speaks! This is the only one that takes his blistering club act and freezes it in amber. You can fnd out which one of your friends are terrible by playing this album and seeing who’s genuinely offended. Elvis in Person at the International Hotel, by Elvis Presley (1969, International). You didn’t think we were doing this without the King, did you? This was Elvis’ frst live album, and at this point you have come to the reasonable conclusion that living in Las Vegas in the ’60s was the best choice you could possibly make.

Appetite for Democracy in 3-D, by Guns N’ Roses (2014, Hard Rock Hotel). Recorded during the band’s Joint residency this past spring, you get two CDs’ worth of music and a 3-D concert flm on Bluray. Did anyone need 3-D Axl? No. No they did not.

Suicidal Tendencies Were “Cyco,” but Stellar

A&E

CONCERT

Hard Rock Live, December 13

This show had all the makings of a major sporting event. The California crossover thrash legends sported their band’s signature T-shirts and blue bandannas, which many in attendance mimicked. They encouraged fans to chant “S! T!” and displayed the athleticism of a college football team. The band jousted at each other—spinning to narrowly avoid collisions while performing “Trip at the Brain” and “Possessed to Skate.” Lead guitarist Dean Pleasants only kept still while performing the blazing fast solos of “Cyco Vision” and “How I Will Laugh Tomorrow.” Drummer Eric Moore was the emcee, and he provided the gallows humor by relating police brutality protests with song names. “All this hatred … this police brutality … it’s causing a ‘War Inside My Head!’” The band asked fans to storm the stage during ender “Institutionalized,” and audience members hopped over the barricade to share microphones with the band. ★★★★✩ – Ian Caramanzana

Fans of kitschy art know all about Margaret and Walter Keane, whose paintings of big-eyed children were a huge success in the 1950s. Walter claimed the art as his own, but it was subsequently revealed that Margaret was the artist. Leah Gallo’s Big Eyes: The Film, The Art (Titan Books, $30, out Jan. 27) is a lavish look at Keane’s art, and also Tim Burton’s upcoming film about the Keanes. – M. Scott Krause

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas in Nevada As an inhabitant of the Sun Belt, I’ve always felt excluded from the stuff of Christmas carols. All that dashing through the snow just doesn’t describe my Nevada holiday. But at last comes a book that does. Christmas in Nevada (University of Nevada Press, $27), by former Nevada Treasurer Patricia D. Cafferata, compiles photos and stories about how the Silver State celebrates. Highlights include tales of late-1800s “Christmas on the Comstock”; photos of snow-covered casinos (El Rancho Vegas, Sahara, Stardust and Sands); and nods to contemporary traditions such as Opportunity Village’s Magical Forest. – Cindi Moon Reed

DECLARING WAR After a full day of Christmas shopping, you’re probably ready for War. Count on original vocalist Lonnie Jordan to deliver the hits (“The Cisco Kid,” “Low Rider” and “Why Can’t We Be Friends?”) when War plays Brooklyn Bowl on Dec. 19 ($27.50-$33).

BOOGIE WOOGIE SANTA Former Stray Cat Brian Setzer has been jumping and jiving with the Brian Setzer Orchestra for almost 25 years. BSO brings its 11th annual Christmas Rocks! Extravaganza to the Pearl on Dec. 20 ($43-$93), with swing and rockabilly versions of Christmas classics.

ON SALE NOW “Night Moves.” “We’ve Got Tonight.” “Against the Wind.” How many more reasons do you need to see Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band? How about Ride Out, his first new album in eight years? Bob Seger plays Mandalay Bay on Feb. 21 ($75-$125).

PHOTO BY ALEX ANDER ZAYAS

December 18–24, 2014

VegasSeven.com

[ I WANT THAT BOOK ]

The

[ HEAR NOW ]

ALBUMS WE'RE BUYING

NEW BAND SAFELY OPENS SOME SCARS

By Zoneil Maharaj

1 Smashing Pumpkins, Monuments to an Elegy

TARGETING THIS WEEK'S MOST-WANTED EVENTS

By Camille Cannon

J. Cole, 2014 Forest Hills Drive 2

E-40, Sharp on All 4 Corners: Corner 1

Wendy Kveck's "Munch."

Safely

T.R@bb

Two-man indie/emo band Safely dropped their debut album, Some Scars, earlier this month. It’s a quality record with a sound that reminds me a little of the Get Up Kids. That’s a good thing (to me, at least). If the vocals sound familiar, it’s because singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Rob Kemerson also fronts poppunk band Calmosa. He and bandmate Jonas Vece played all the instruments, recorded and mixed Some Scars themselves. Safely.BandCamp.com.

In the intro to Art Always, T.R@bb pairs 808 trunk-rattlers with rhymes referencing Wassily Kandinsky and Salvador Dali. It might be the crunkest art lecture ever. The juxtaposition caught me a little off guard, but it works. The 21-track project contains some gems, such as the earnest “Wax Museum” and soulful “Claude Monet.” A versatile emcee and producer, he can also flex lyrically over dirty drum samples (“Slow Down”) and minimal bangers (“Rang 2 Rang”). TheTruthRabb.com.

Some Scars E-40, Sharp on All 4 Corners: Corner 2 4

5 AC/DC, Rock or Bust

According to sales at Zia Record Exchange at 4503 W. Sahara Ave., December 8-14.

HIT LIST

Art Always

Check out Zoneil’s other music recommendations at VegasSeven.com/HearNow and follow him on Twitter @zoneil.

GIVE BACK AND RECEIVE Why pay to wait around a mall when you can get free photos with St. Nick at Triple B? Stop by the Jingle Ball Benefit on Dec. 20 and you’ll also enjoy music from Almost Normal and Sasha Sirota, plus a silent auction with more than 50 items upfor-grabs. Proceeds benefit the Cleveland Clinic and Keep Memory Alive. Ticketfly.com.

Frankie Moreno’s Stratospheric Ending After nearly 600 performances at the Stratosphere, “singer, songwriter and showman” Frankie Moreno is looking to move up in the world of entertainment. And that means leaving the comfort of the stage he’s called home since 2011. “I had a great run at the Stratosphere,” Moreno says. “We promise to raise the bar for 2015 and put on an even bigger, better show. I’m very excited.” His final gig at the Stratosphere is at 8 p.m. December 20, and, knowing Moreno, we’re betting it'll be one hell of a party. – Cindi Moon Reed

VegasSeven.com

FAREWELL, TRIFECTA Unfortunately, Wendy Kveck’s Stanley Hall is Trifecta Gallery’s final exhibit. Fortunately, her bold exploration of all things feminine brings the 10-year-old art haven to a beautiful finish. See it on display through Dec. 27 (closed Christmas Day). TrifectaGallery.com.

SWEET SPLENDOR Melody Sweets presents XXXMas: A Burlesque Christmas Spectacular! on Dec. 23 in Absinthe Theater at Caesars Palace. The fundraiser for HELP of Southern Nevada will feature some of Sweets’ Absinthe costars and a super group of performers and musicians from several Strip shows. Nothing says “the holidays” quite like philanthropy … and pasties. MelodySweets.com.

December 18–24, 2014

MORENO BY KILLER IMAGING; KVECK'S BY CHECKO SALGADO

DRINK YOUR OVALTINE A Christmas Story is everywhere this time of year. TBS runs an annual 24-hour marathon and that uncle of yours won’t stop shouting, “You’ll shoot your eye out!” But we still suggest you see the seasonal classic live in all its leg lamp glory at Las Vegas Little Theatre now through Dec. 21. No BB guns allowed. LVLT.org.

MUSIC Las Vegas’ own Dizzy Wright.

[ SOUND PROOF ]

WHO’S THE (RAP) KING OF THE CITY? Local emcees compete for the crown. Plus: A soulful Christmas, Dizzy’s return and a pre-NYE Party at Hard Rock.

THE CITY’S TOP SPIT BOXERS ENTER THE

ring at Beauty Bar on December 28 for the King of the City 2014 Finals. Less of an insult-hurling battle and more a test of lyrical skills, the event pits eight winners from the Academy Beat League’s monthly rap competitions against one another to see who can deliver the best 16-bar verse, be it freestyle or written. Emcees will have to prove themselves both in a capella and over instrumentals. The rappers are putting their money where their mouth is, too. Each participant pays $25 to enter. The victor takes the $200 pot home. Or, at least, to the bar. While the lineup wasn’t released by press time, organizer DJ Shakespeare, who also runs monthly beat battles Downtown, says to expect a show. Members of the AHAT Las Vegas battle league—yes, rap battle leagues are a thing—have participated in past events. If you’ve never witnessed a rap competition, it’s a true display of wit and lyrical gymnastics to see who’s got the best wordplay and delivery. Though some verbal jabs might get thrown, “It’s all respect,” DJ Shakespeare says. If huddling around a bunch of dudes all night isn’t your idea of a good time, there are plenty of nonbackpack options this week, too. Vegas’ own Barry Black, who gained national attention from his run on NBC’s The Voice last year, spreads the holiday cheer with a fve-night gig at the House of Blues for A Soulful Christmas With Barry Black and Friends. From December 16-20, the Samoan-Ameri-

can crooner will belt out holiday classics and original songs, which draw from classic soul and 90s R&B. Joining him are former The Voice contestants Preston Pohl and Josh Logan. Dizzy Wright might be a skinny dude, but his name is the heaviest in Vegas hip-hop. The hometown hero brings his blunted, positive vibes to Brooklyn Bowl on December 27. With the nation in so much turmoil, his September single “I Need Answers” has never been more poignant: Why do we always feel like a target? If I know it’s because my skin, what would you call it? As serious as that song might be, if you caught his set at Life Is Beautiful, then you know Dizzy can rock a party right. Let’s hope he has a live band with him again. Also on the bill are SoCal tagger-turned-rapper Phora and Vegas emcees Euroz and Sedrew Price. Finally, start your NYE turn-up early with Canadian crooner PartyNextDoor at Hard Rock Live on December 30. Signed to Drake’s OVO Sound, the rising R&B star makes crude, melodic bangers about sex and drugs. Needless to say, of all the concerts ever mentioned in Sound Proof, this one will have the best male-to-female ratio of attendees. Plus, with Drake performing the following night at Marquee, maybe the Champagne Papi will make a guest appearance. Ladies, don’t forget to paint “OVO” on your toenails. Got new music or upcoming shows? Holler at Zoneil.Maharaj@wendohmedia. com or @zoneil on Twitter.

PHOTO BY LINDA EVANS

By Zoneil Maharaj

STAGE

MEOW FIX

PHOTO COURTESY OF DIRK ARTHUR

Returning Dirk Arthur injects big-cat antics back into the Strip RISKING STRIP SACRILEGE (STRIP-RILEGE?), I’ll admit: After the third or fourth disappearing-reappearing tiger/ leopard/panther/Sylvester the Puddytat/whatever, illusionist shows leave me disillusioned. Wondrous as the magic might be, I can’t help thinking: Move on, or let me get a head start toward the 26th level of the parking garage. Seems only fair to acknowledge a bias before discussing the return of Vegas veteran (33 years and counting) prestidigitator Dirk Arthur in his new Wild Illusions! at the Riviera’s Starlite Theatre. More palatable than some magicians who perform with smirky self-satisfaction as if they’re otherworldly demigods (fll in the names yourself), Arthur’s a mellower wizard—a likable chap with whom to spend an evening (barely an hour, actually). We’ve already covered more than half the action of this modestly sized show in the cozily apportioned Starlite—a snow leopard, black panther and tigers of various tints and hues are shuttled in and out of cages, vanish behind draped chambers to be replaced by female dancers/assistants and Arthur himself, and strike regal poses. (Oddly, in the middle of this, a lethargic chicken that looks like it’s pecked at a few martini glasses pops in and out of sight in a separate bit.) Should this give you thrills and chills, there are a number to be had. Otherwise, you could set your yawns by them. Different strokes, kids. Though one trick—in which an overgrown kitty appears where a giant container set ablaze had been a moment earlier—is a legitimate fash of wow. Trying way too hard to give the show a rockin’ pulse, a throbbing soundtrack

(think Crazy Girls and Chippendales) is cranked to ear-bleed levels, to the point that at a recent show, Arthur twice had to request it be dialed down so we could hear him. Predictably treacly—with several awww moments— a video from his Big Cat Magic special on Animal Planet chronicles his care of the cute beasties (and ignores his safety violations cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture—since resolved—and PETA protests). When he goes smaller scale—making birds appear, disappear and multiply, ripping a $100 bill, then reassembling it, or doing likewise with a newspaper—and couples it with his easygoing way with audience members, the results are charming interludes to break up the feline drumbeat. Bigger non-pussycat moments offer some intrigue, including Arthur escaping from a chamber with looming corkscrew thingamabobs that threaten to shred him, then reappearing in the audience. Levitating a sports car before making it go poof is one of two big-ticket tricks. Conjuring up a helicopter onstage is the other. Inexplicably, the latter is linked to a James Bond theme, even though 007’s vehicular adventures are almost exclusively in the planes/trains/automobiles/space shuttle vein (yes, the unfortunate Moonraker), rather than choppers. Forgive me for assigning all this to Magic Business as Usual, but it all seems to follow the checklist, rather than rewrite it. Avid fans of the abraCAT-dabra arts will be substantially entertained. Others will fnd Wild Illusions! to be mild amusement. Got an entertainment tip? Email Steve.Bornfeld@VegasSeven.com.

MOVIES

A&E

STAR POWER Chris Rock rocks in this thoughtful rom-com about a comic-turned-serious actor By Michael Phillips Tribune Media Services

“I DON’T FEEL FUNNY ANYMORE,” COMPLAINS

the movie star played by Chris Rock in Top Five, but don’t worry. Unlike Woody Allen’s Stardust Memories, this cinematic confessional, which is also a genial wishfulfllment fantasy, is actually funny. It’s also indulgent, uneven and naggingly misogynist, which is weird, given how sharp writer-director Rock has been on any number of other subjects lately. In the runup to the release of Top Five, Rock has been everywhere, writing beautifully about racism in The Hollywood Reporter and being interviewed by Frank Rich on politics, ethnicity and comedy in New York magazine. Rock is a genuine 2014 media hero, one of the most thoughtful pop cultural voices of the day. His latest movie, following Head of State and the Eric Rohmer remake I Think I Love My Wife, isn’t quite what it could’ve been. But it’s the rare commercial mainstream comedy that improves as it goes. The best of it favors the loose, conversational universe of Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise/Before Sunset/Before Midnight trilogy. The Rock character, Andre Allen, is a comic turned flmmaker. He’s best known as Hammy the bear in the Hammy trilogy, the bear equivalent of Big Momma’s House. But times are changing, if he has his way. His frst

Rock and Dawson make celebrity journalism seem fun.

serious drama—an 18th-century Haitian slave revolt epic called Uprize!—is about to come out in theaters. The New York Times assigns a feature writer, played by Rosario Dawson, to shadow Andre for a profle. Subject and interviewer thrust and parry all around New York and vow a mutual pledge of “rigorous honesty,” though that proves easier for one than the other. Both are recovering alcoholics. Andre’s crass, fame-hungry fancée (Gabrielle Union) has Andre tied up in a Bravo reality series about their upcoming wedding. She’s just transparent and unpleasant enough, in screenwriting terms, to nudge Andre toward his interviewer/interrogator without any undue nuance. Zigzagging through fashbacks to Andre’s debauched drinking days, Top Five marshals a wealth of comic talent in the supporting ranks. Kevin Hart, Tracy Morgan, Cedric the Entertainer and Romany Malco spice their scenes,

some fresher than others, and everyone from Jerry Seinfeld to Adam Sandler to Whoopi Goldberg pops in as well. The movie’s other foot is planted in stand-up and what Rock learned from it. Andre reconnects with his comedian instincts in a scene (after the movie’s big reveal, a ridiculous one) where he performs an impromptu set at a Manhattan comedy club. As a comic and as a comic actor, Rock is easy company. He can get away with pungent cultural critique (at one point he dings all the “bad, darkskinned boyfriends” in Tyler Perry’s movies) simply because he’s a deft hitand-run artist, never lingering for long in any one comic intersection. Well, one exception: the scene in a Houston hotel room with a couple of gold-digging hookers, also featuring Cedric the Entertainer, goes on a while. It belongs to a dumber movie than this one, and in a script alert to all kinds of behavior and perspectives, why can’t Rock envision

December 18–24, 2014

VegasSeven.com

SHORT REVIEWS

The Imitation Game (PG-13) ★★★✩✩

As mathematician, code-breaker and martyred gay icon Alan Turing, one of the most ill-served heroes of World War II, Benedict Cumberbatch goes to town—discreetly—in The Imitation Game. Director Morten Tyldum adheres to the tradition of uncomplicated, well-acted biopics about complicated makers of history. The movie is entertaining and, at the same time, extremely nervous about going over the heads of the average moviegoer, to the point of boiling down its code-breaking technicalities to watery generalities.

Exodus: Gods And Kings (PG-13) ★★ ✩✩

What do the entrails say about Exodus: Gods and Kings, director Ridley Scott’s ambitious retelling of the Moses story, the exodus from Egypt, the burning bush, the frogs, the boils, the hail, the commandments, the Red Sea crossing and the rest of it? Not bad, they say. Christian Bale is Moses, raised as Ramses’ brother and protector and eventual adversary. How you respond to the totality of Exodus: Gods and Kings will, I suspect, relate directly to how you responded to Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood from 2010.

Wild (R) ★★★✩✩

Cheryl Strayed’s 2012 memoir Wild has become a swift, solidly built movie capturing most of its author’s most interesting baggage—the weedy tangle of regrets, the reckless bumper-car behavior borne of grief. I can’t unread the book, which I love. I can only offer my feelings about this film, a showcase for a pareddown and very fine performance from Reese Witherspoon, in relation to its source. Screenwriter Nick Hornby (About a Boy, An Education) creates a dense interweave of flashbacks to Strayed’s past life.

female characters that aren’t in some way duplicitous or shrews? So there’s that. There’s also the rapper formerly known as DMX singing Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile” as you’ve never heard it before, in a prison cell sequence. It’s inexplicably terrifc—my vote for the comic setup least likely to succeed but successful anyway. In Top Five, you sense Rock trying to load all these disparate talents onto a conventional romantic-comedy structure. It’s a close call, but it holds. Certain aspects of Rock’s flm feel extra-topical thanks to real life, 2014 division. Andre struggling to breathe while in a New York Police Department offcer’s chokehold is supposed to be a feeting transitional image, but with the late Eric Garner still on the collective American mind, it’s a startling moment in a flm more into genial provocation, and Dawson’s smile in close-up. Top Five (R) ★★★✩✩

By Tribune Media Services

Panic 5 Bravo (R) ★★✩✩✩

This tin-can thriller is set almost entirely inside a paramedic ambulance under siege, just below the U.S.-Mexican divide south of Arizona. Writer-director-star Kuno Becker plays an Arizona paramedic whose crew includes a retirement-bound chief (John Henry Richardson,); the hazed newbie (Dan Rovzar); and the racist (Aurora Papile), who will eventually strip down to her bra. Parked on the U.S. side, the paramedics receive word of a code 5 Bravo, a shooting, and as luck would have it, they are yards from the gunshot victim on the other side.

Horrible Bosses 2 (R) ★✩✩✩✩

This incredibly tasteless sequel is an excuse to bring back Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis for another round of amateur-criminal high jinks and semi-improvised vulgarity. After finding a wealthy investor (Christoph Waltz) to help them manufacture and distribute their new invention, our heroes find themselves double-crossed when the investor reneges on their deal. With no legal recourse, the three friends kidnap the investor’s handsome, preening son (Chris Pine), and demand a ransom.

Foxcatcher (R) ★★★✩✩

Director Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher is a truecrime drama hailed as a modern classic since it debuted at the Cannes Film Festival. The facts are rich. In 1996, on his Foxcatcher Farm estate, wrestling enthusiast and chemical company heir John du Pont killed Olympic gold medalist Dave Schultz. When we first see Channing Tatum’s Mark, he’s speaking before students. Steve Carell portrays du Pont, and it’s a canny performance. Mark Ruffalo as Dave Schultz plays the script’s one truly happy man. Foxcatcher grapples with the subjects of class and money.

The Homesman (R) ★★★✩✩

Director, co-writer and star Tommy Lee Jones’ The Homesman is a film out of time. It takes place in 1855, the year after the creation of the Nebraska Territory. Frustratingly uneven, rarely dull, it comes from Glendon Swarthout’s 1988 novel and deals with isolated characters living in the margins of history far away from the historic gunfights or the Colorado Rockies. We first see the virtuous single farm woman Mary Bee Cuddy behind a two-horse plow, and when you have Hilary Swank playing this sort of role, that’s a ton of virtue straight off.

Penguins of Madagascar (PG) ★★✩✩✩

Charming in small doses, the Penguins of Madagascar are less irresistible in their feature-length starring debut. The intent is to explore the backstory of the penguin quartet from the previous Madagascar films. Dr. Octavius Brine (voiced by John Malkovich) is an octopus disguised as an eccentric human scientist who hates penguins. Brine commands an octopus army with the plan of turning penguins a into mutants. The jokes may be plentiful, but they’re rarely inspired.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 (PG-13) ★★★✩✩

This is a worthy third movie in the Suzanne Collins franchise—destined to satisfy the legions of filmgoers willing to swing with a lot of scheming and skulking in an underground bunker in order to get to the revolution. The third book in Collins’ dystopian-lit juggernaut has been halved. And it works. Not everything in Mockingjay is dynamic; director Francis Lawrence occasionally mistakes somnambulance for solemnity. The series wraps up with the release of Mockingjay 2 in November 2015.

The Theory of Everything (PG-13) ★★★✩✩

You can’t entirely trust this romanticized portrait of astrophysicist Stephen Hawking and his first wife, Jane. The film is a story of a marriage that survives in the face of crushing disease, and within the framework of a caretaker scenario that led to Jane’s depression in the midst of Stephen’s global fame. As Hawking, Eddie Redmayne has the most interesting role of his career, and he’s up to it. In a more recessive role, Felicity Jones hints at Jane’s internal struggles even when the film chooses a more decorous route.

MARKETPLACE

NOW OPEN Tuesday - Saturday 5pm - Close On the corner of Ogden and 6th Parking available across the street Downtown Ages 25+

MARKETPLACE

BETTING

BOWLING FOR DOLLARS College football’s bowl season provides plenty of opportunities to cash in THREE THINGS YOU DON’T WANT TO DO IN THE

fnal days of 2014: let Amanda Bynes make your New Year’s Eve plans (you probably won’t make it to 2015 if you do); give your wife a gift card to Lane Bryant for Christmas (you defnitely won’t make it to 2015 if you do); and dive into college football’s bowl-betting season without developing (and sticking with!) a solid game plan. With the frst of 38 bowl games set to kick off December 20, here are a few tips that should get you to the January 12 national championship game in position to play with the house’s money: ➜ Fight or Flight? The quickest path to a big payday is to identify the games in which one team is excited to be playing and the other team would rather be eating glass and chasing it with a ffth of Jack Daniel’s. Once such game in the early part of the schedule pits Memphis against BYU in the Miami Beach Bowl. BYU started the season 4-0 (including a 41-7 thrashing of Texas in Austin) and had dreams of playing with the big boys come January. Then the Cougars lost their star quarterback and stud running back to season-ending injuries, and went on a four-game slide. Yes, they closed the regular season with four straight victories, but three of those were against Middle Tennessee State, UNLV and Savannah State. Meanwhile, Memphis was a surprising 9-3. Eight of those wins were by double digits, and two of the losses (to UCLA and Houston) were by a total of 11 points. The Tigers arrive in Miami on a six-game winning streak and are shooting for their frst 10-win season in school history, so I know Memphis is coming to play. Not so sure about BYU. ➜ Conference Call. When all things appear to be equal in a given matchup, stop and ask yourself this question: Which team comes from the stronger conference? Then look long and hard at betting on that team. For example, Utah (8-4) is a 3½- to 4-point favorite over Colorado State (10-2) in the Las Vegas Bowl, despite having a worse record and inferior stats (at least offensively). But Utah played in the Pac-12—arguably the second-best conference in the nation—and faced the likes of UCLA, USC, Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon and Stanford, plus a non-conference road game at Michigan. Meanwhile, Colorado State played in one of the worst conferences (Mountain West), and the Rams’ nonconference com-

MATT JACOB

LUCKY SEVEN

Chargers-49ers UNDER 41.5 (Best Bet) Falcons +6.5 at Saints Seahawks -8 at Cardinals Colts +3 at Cowboys Air Force -1.5 vs. W. Michigan (Dec. 20) Utah -3.5 vs. Colorado State (Dec. 20) Memphis -1 vs. BYU (Dec. 22)

petition (Colorado, Boston College, Tulsa, UC Davis) was awful. ➜ Styles Make Fights. Just as you wouldn’t want to bet on a glass-jawed boxer who faces a knockout artist, you wouldn’t want to wager on a squad whose defense struggles to stop the run, yet had the misfortune of drawing a bowl opponent that operates the triple option to precision. Which leads us to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Air Force is a master of the triple option (the Falcons averaged 272 rushing yard per game), while Western Michigan struggled to stop the run against its four toughest opponents, yielding about 6 yards per carry to Purdue, Virginia Tech, Toledo and Northern Illinois. Somehow, the Falcons are just a 1½-point favorite—even though Western Michigan comes from the MidAmerican Conference, which lost all fve bowl games last year and is 8-19 ATS in the postseason since 2008. ➜ When in Doubt … Punt! Just because there are now more bowl games than there are favors at Baskin-Robbins doesn’t mean you have to sample every single one. Be disciplined and pick your spots, and if your research doesn’t yield a defnitive edge in, say, the South Alabama-Bowling Green showdown in the Camellia Bowl—I swear I’m not making these names up—take a pass. (Not so coincidentally, I’ll be passing on the Camellia Bowl). Last Week: 3-3-1 (0-0-1 Best Bet). Season Record: 51-53 (27-30 NFL; 24-23 college; 5-9-1 Best Bets). Matt Jacob appears at 10 a.m. Thursdays on Pregame.com’s First Preview on ESPN Radio 1100-AM and 100.9-FM.

SEVEN QUESTIONS

LATE NITE CHEF FIGHT

Airs at 11 p.m. Saturdays on FYI through Jan. 17.

chef] Christian Dolias for really taking the street culinary scene and [blowing it up] and believing in it—sticking together and telling every other city, “Who do you think you are? Look what we’re doing over here!” What does this show mean for Las Vegas?

Here’s what I really love about this show: You’ve got something going on in Las Vegas that’s not going on anywhere else. You take these badto-the-bone chefs who pretty much hang it up at the end of the night and battle in a parking lot after they’ve put in their dues for the week—because it always happens at the end of the [restaurant work] week. This show is highlighting those hard-working guys who don’t have the notoriety of the Gordon Ramsays and the Robert Irvines and the Bobby Flays. It’s showing that there really is a strong, tight culinary scene in Las Vegas. And even though these guys are battling each other, at the end of the day they can crack a brew together and compliment each other. It’s funny, in the frst episode I was wondering how they were gonna do it. Were they gonna compete more? Were they gonna be friends more? And I think they had the perfect balance of peace and harmony and battling in their little fght that they had. You know most of these chefs. Were you rooting for anybody at any point?

Vic ‘Vegas’ Moea The Late Nite Chef Fight co-host on his return to television, camaraderie among competitors and whether he could take Ali By Al Mancini

It’s kind of like this: You have your football team. But when you watch Monday Night Football and your team’s not playing, you just want to see a good game. And I have so much respect for all these chefs that I just wanted to see them be their best and bring everything that they’ve learned in this Las Vegas culinary scene and in their careers. It’s their day to highlight who they are and what they can do, and represent Vegas—something I love to do.

It’s been more than three years since you made it to the Season 7 finale of Food Network Star. What have those three years been like?

Food Network Star was almost like schooling. Then you go off on your own and make that decision whether you’re gonna better yourself as a chef, pursue the TV thing, or a little of both. It’s been a long road. After Food Network Star, nothing really happened [in TV] for two years. And in that time, you can either give up or continue. And I made the choice to continue. There were lots of sacrifces. I work in the day [as regional

corporate executive chef for U.S Foods]. I’ve got a restaurant at night, Café V in Anthem. I’m a father. And, while I should be sleeping, I’m doing food television. You’re co-hosting Late Night Chef Fight, inspired by Jolene Mannina’s Back of House Brawl cooking competitions at Tommy Rocker’s. How does it feel to finally have your own show on the air?

It feels amazing to get to this point. This is just the beginning. If you do pretty good at this food TV thing, other opportunities come about. The more things like this we do, the more exposure we get. So I feel good.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen you at one of the brawls. Did you ever attend?

Unfortunately, you don’t really see many pictures of me out there at a party or a club or a gathering with a drink in my hand like I would love to. I kind of bloomed a little later in life. Right now I’m all work and no play. At 1 a.m. on a Saturday night—that’s one of the nights I have my little daughter out of two nights a week—it would be very diffcult to bring her to the Back of House Brawl, even though she would love to go. But I was there in spirit. Whenever I did local appearances, I made sure I’d get onstage and thank Jolene and [local

Yes. I’m proud to say that when we were flming Food Network Star, I won the Tyler Florence food truck face-off. That was actually the only week that I won. It was the week that I decided not to dress the way they wanted me to dress, but the way I wanted to dress. No sweater vest. I went Vic-style on the wardrobe. Bobby Flay got a little mad at me. And that was the week I won. What does that tell you? You’re a pretty buff guy. But your co-host Laila Ali is a former pro boxer, and the daughter of Muhammad Ali. Could you take her in the ring?

Hell no! [laughs] Exclamation point! Exclamation point! Exclamation point!

PHOTO BY RICHARD KNAPP

December 18–24, 2014

VegasSeven.com

Have you ever cooked on a food truck?