C O M I N G U P AT B R O O KLY N B O W L LAS V E GAS APR
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M Y8 3 ACHT
L AS VEGAS’ WEEKLY CITY MAGAZINE
WITH
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FOUNDED FEBRUARY 2010
PUBLISHER Michael Skenandore
APR
21
EDITORIAL
CHVRCHES
MANAGING EDITOR
WITH WOLF ALICE THU 4/14 FRI 4/15 SAT 4/16
HIGHLY SUSPECT THE JOHN KADLECIK BAND
M83
WITH YACHT
SUN 4/17
THE GREEN
THU 4/21
C H V R C H E S WITH WOLF ALICE DJ QUIK
FRI 4/22 SAT 4/23
THE FRONT BOTTOMS
SUN 4/24
FOALS
MON 4/25 THU 5/5
FRI SAT 5/6 - 5/7
Nicole Ely Genevie Durano SENIOR EDITORS Paul Szydelko, Xania Woodman SENIOR EDITOR, A&E Geoff Carter ASSOCIATE EDITOR Hubble Ray Smith SENIOR WRITER Lissa Townsend Rodgers STAFF WRITER Emmily Bristol CALENDAR COORDINATOR Ian Caramanzana EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
AN EVENING WITH CHRIS ROBINSON BROTHERHOOD VIOLENT FEMMES UMPHREY S MCGEE
SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Melinda Sheckells (style)
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Michael Green (politics), Al Mancini (dining), David G. Schwartz (gaming/hospitality)
ART CREATIVE DIRECTOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Ryan Olbrysh Cierra Pedro Krystal Ramirez
VEGASSEVEN.COM Herbert Akinyele Zoneil Maharaj SENIOR WRITER, RUNREBS.COM Mike Grimala WEB PRODUCER Jessie O’Brien ASSISTANT WEB PRODUCER Amber Sampson TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
ENGAGEMENT EDITOR
PRODUCTION/DISTRIBUTION
THU 5/12
JASON BONHAM S LED ZEPPELIN EXPERIENCE
FRI 5/13
SOMO
WED 5/18
FILTER WITH ORGY
SALES
J BOOG T H E U S E D
Christy Corda Nicole Scherer ACCOUNT MANAGERS Brittany Quintana, Steven Kennedy ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Robyn Weiss DIRECTOR OF SALES, BILLBOARD DIVISION John Tobin
SUN 5/22 TUE WED 5/24 - 5/25 SAT 5/28 SAT 6/4
STRFKR + COM TRUISE B L U E
O C T O B E R
SUN 6/5
CARAVAN PALACE
THU 6/9
PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND
WED 6/15
MORGAN HERITAGE
SAT 6/18
DRU HILL
THU 7/7 MON 7/11 SUN 7/31 MON 8/15
TARRUS RILEY
TOAD THE WET SPROCKET + RUSTED ROOT THE CLAYPOOL LENNON DELIRIUM KURT VILE + THE VIOLATORS
FRI 8/26
MICHAEL FRANTI + SPEARHEAD
SUN 8/28
EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY
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THE LATEST
News, deals and bringing back the historic Moulin Rouge.
Seven Days This week in your city By B O B W H I T B Y
THU 14
Here’s a good thing happening for Springs Preserve: The fashion-centered Springs Preserve Foundation’s Spring Show, 5 p.m., is a fundraiser for educational and programming activities. SpringsPreserve.org.
FRI 15
Bands, burlesque, bowling: Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend is back, Thursday through Sunday, at the Orleans (see Page 51). The event regularly attracts 20,000 attendees who yearn for a simpler time or just dig hot rods, taking in dozens of bands, partying and looking cool. VivaLasVegas.net.
IKEA is a harbinger of growth for the southwest Valley By Emmily Bristol
April 14–20, 2016
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VegasSeven.com
➜ WITH ALL THE ANTICIPATION
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surrounding the IKEA opening in the southwest part of the Valley, you might think that’s the only thing going on in that area. As it turns out, the southwest is in the middle of a mini boom of sorts, and there’s a whole lot more happening there than Swedish meatballs. “We are seeing a lot of growth in that area,” says Nancy Amundsen, director of comprehensive planning for Clark County. “We are getting more applications overall in the southwest, an increase in commercial and residential.” While many know the large-scale master-planned communities of Mountain’s Edge, Rhodes Ranch and Southern Highlands, this surge in building is for residential neighborhoods, Amundsen says. Part of this trend in residential and commercial development in the southwest is a sign of the continued recovery from the recession. However, it is also linked to the simple fact that the southwest Valley has the most available undeveloped land. “There’s not a lot of land in the eastside and northwest,” Amundsen says. “The growth relates to areas where there’s land available.” Last month, SalesTraq reported that home prices in some of the ZIP codes in the southwest had appreci-
ated higher than any other part of the Valley. For instance, Mountain’s Edge’s 89178 and 89179 had appreciated by 6.8 percent and 7.9 percent, respectively. The 89141 ZIP code of Southern Highlands had appreciated by 8.9 percent since 2015, and was ranked as the 10th-best value in the Valley. Projected growth is one reason why Dignity Health picked an undeveloped corner of Blue Diamond Road and Decatur Boulevard for one of four new small hospitals the organization is building. The St. Rose-branded campus will cost $24 million to $28 million to construct and employ 100. And then, of course, there’s that IKEA on 26 acres on Durango Drive and Interstate 215. The 351,000-square-foot store, which will have 300 employees, is the company’s 42nd in the U.S. and is scheduled to open May 18. It will claim the title as the largest retail store in the state, formerly held by a Walmart Supercenter on Tropicana Avenue. IKEA spokesman Joseph Roth says the company was eyeing Las Vegas for some time, waiting for the Valley to reach the target population of 2 million. As for why the retail company with a cult following selected the southwest Valley, Roth says the company sought easy beltway access and
land for expansion. “We looked at where the population was and where it was trending,” he says. “We knew we wanted to be off the 215. We were looking for good access from that highway, as well as support from surface streets.” In addition, Roth says the company had no interest in building a store on or near the Strip. Likewise, the southwest location also left the retailer the option to build additional stores in the Valley without overtapping one specific area. “IKEA stores exist for the permanent residents of the area, not the tourists,” Roth says. “We want to be there for people to be able to furnish their homes.” Roth says that the company estimates there were more than 101,000 Valley residents driving to the closest IKEAs—in Arizona, Utah and California. He declined to speculate on the possibility of similar traffic coming to the Las Vegas store from outside of town or even the state, but did say that “IKEA stores are known for having a regional draw.” Las Vegas was one of the hardest-hit metropolitan areas in the country during the recession and housing market crash, so perhaps growth in the southwest is a cause for cautious optimism in a city known for its comebacks.
If you’re more of a jazz/R&B type, check out the City of Lights Jazz and R&B Festival, 1 p.m. today and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Clark County Government Center Amphitheater. Grab a spot on the grass, bring a picnic and enjoy the music. YourJazz.com.
SUN 17
How concerned should you be about terrorism? What steps should you take? Is Las Vegas a target? These questions and more will be addressed at Counterterrorism, one of the free monthly seminars presented by the Mob Museum. Members of Metro's Office of Community Engagement will be doing the talking. TheMobMuseum.org.
MON 18
Do you miss Oscar (as in Goodman)? Then here’s your chance to spend a little time with our former mayor. He’ll be talking about the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and upcoming projects around the Valley, 1 p.m., at Las Ventanas at Summerlin. LasVentanasLV.com.
TUE 19
If orchestral music is what turns your crank, we've got you covered with a concert featuring UNLV’s Symphonic Winds, accompanied by the Las Vegas Academy Wind Symphony, 7:30 p.m. at UNLV’s Artemus Ham Concert Hall. UNLV.edu.
WED 20
The 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death is in a couple of days, but why wait to celebrate the work of the world’s greatest playwright? Dan Decker of the Shakespeare Institute of Nevada will be at Henderson’s Green Valley Library at 6 p.m. to discuss the Bard. What a fool ye’d be were thou not to attend. HendersonLibraries.com.
PHOTO BY KRYSTAL RAMIREZ
From Bust to Boom
SAT 16
roll across the nation, we’ve seen a number of voting-related controversies, whether it’s unprocessed voter registrations in Georgia, lack of ballots in Missouri or confusing voter ID laws in Wisconsin. However, Nevada has recently made it easier for some people to vote, as a lawsuit
VOTER REGISTRATION BY JOSEPH SOHN/SHUTTERSTOCK; TIVOLI VILL AGE BY JUSTINE MADRID
Checking in on Tivoli Village
regarding low-income citizens’ access to voter registration assistance has finally been settled. “It’s important in any election, whether it’s a local election for the school board or a presidential election. People have to be able to exercise their right to vote,” says Ezra Rosenberg, co-director of the Voting Rights Project for
Gypsy 05 assistant manager Ariel Fermil anticipates more customers will come into her boutique apparel shop at Tivoli Village when construction of the second phase is finished later this year. That’s the hope of all retailers and restaurateurs at the upscale, Europeanstyle shopping mall in west Las Vegas, some who’ve been waiting five years to see the $500 million project come to fruition. Tivoli Village hosts Fermil says she’s seen a lot of progress Fresh52 Farmers since Gypsy 05 opened in May, and it seems Market on Saturdays. like someone is always working on the expansion, even if it’s just a skeletal crew. The 270,000-square-foot addition is scheduled for comSo far, only one retailer has confirmed it will lease space pletion in October, says Noam Ziv, chief executive officer of in Tivoli’s second phase. Restoration Hardware is building IDB Group USA, developer of Tivoli Village. It will bring the a four-story, 70,000-square-foot RH Gallery that will be the total to 370,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, and largest of the company’s five luxury home furnishing stores 300,000 square feet of office space. nationwide. L.A. Canter’s Deli has also shown interest in “With a similar look and feel, Phase Two will extend the having a presence at Tivoli, and additional tenants will make community living room concept we are proud to have cretheir own announcements, Ziv says. ated—with public gathering and lifestyle spaces for anyone “From the property perspective, we are excited about to use—but on a grand scale, as we add some of the comwhat’s to come. Our customers can expect a lineup of ponents from the original design that couldn’t be accommounique and boutique brands, as well as some familiar dated in the first phase,” Ziv says. brands,” he says. The second phase will bring a new main entrance off Tivoli Village, at Rampart Boulevard and Alta Drive, opened Rampart Boulevard, larger park and recreational space, valet, in 2011 and boasts 49 shops and offices, including 17 retailers porte cochere and more underground parking to accommoand 11 restaurants. Some of the more popular eateries are date the anticipated increase in customers. Brio Tuscan Grille, Leone Café, Cantina Laredo and Kabuki Ziv says Tivoli plans to host signature events in the new Japanese Restaurant. It attracts shoppers with a variety of space and welcome a curated mix of retailers, restaurants, events including a Farmers Market on Saturdays and live entertainment and offices. entertainment. –Hubble Ray Smith
With 43 Clark County homicides as of April 5, and headlines reporting that our Metropolitan Police Department is pushing detectives from behind desks and into the beat, one may have cause to wonder. I’ve tackled this issue before, in October 2013, just after the FBI released its massive annual crime study replete with statistics. Despite the FBI’s own stern warning about deriving “rankings” from those stats, reader-hungry media outlets remain eager to do so, oversimplifying them with graphics and headlines that manifest far more fear mongering than rational interpretation. It suffices to say that if the most easily misconstrued statistic (crimes per capita, based on a state’s number of permanent residents) is used to rank states, then any state with a lopsided visitor-to-resident ratio is at risk of being unfairly ranked. Nevada’s is about 20-to-1, and in the two years since I initially covered this subject, the state remains in the top three in USA Today’s “Most Dangerous States in America” based solely on that per-capita stat. Perhaps a more relevant interpretation was recently published at casino.org/ crime-in-top-casino-cities. Based on the concept that crime follows cash, the study analyzed the same body of FBI stats, but limited itself to the five largest cities that embrace legalized gambling as part of the culture. According to the chart presented, Atlantic City was found to have more than twice the rate of overall crimes than Las Vegas, while New Orleans saw nearly five times the rate of homicides. According to the study, of the top five gambling cities, only those two were among the 100 Most Dangerous Cities. Still, these rankings also lean on that flawed “crimes per capita” derivative, but at the very least, it compares apples to apples. So is Las Vegas safe? It’s easy to be scared by stats, and fear breeds fear. Plus, Las Vegas is hardly the small, manageable place it was just 25 years ago. So I’ll draw on the advice of a friend in the justice system: He suggests that as far as being a victim of crime, it is less about where you are than with whom you associate. Therefore, choose your friends wisely, trust the hair on the back of your neck and don’t buy into fear-mongering headlines. Instead, grab a giant cup of caffeine and dig into the numbers yourself.
Questions? AskaNative@VegasSeven.com.
VegasSeven.com
➜ As the presidential primaries
Crime rates sure seem to be rising. Is Las Vegas safe?
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New ruling expands registration access for low-income citizens By Lissa Townsend Rodgers
J A M E S P. R E Z A
April 14–20, 2016
A Vote for All
the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law. He helped represent the National Council of La Raza and the Reno-Sparks branches of the NAACP in bringing the suit. “We and the other organizations involved are just glad we have a settlement that ensures that everybody has the opportunity to vote.” At issue was a failure by the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services to offer assistance to SNAP, WIC and Medicaid clients with their voter registration. “They were not in compliance with the National Voter Registration Act,” Rosenberg says. “When people come in to apply for assistance or change their address or reactivate their application, they have to be made aware that they can also register to vote or update their registration.” The ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ends a threeyear legal battle and has several requirements intended to put the Nevada DHHS in agreement with federal laws. “There are certain regulations that need to be followed, and there’s training and compliance,” Rosenberg says. “We’ll be monitoring that for three years.” Of course, that doesn’t mean the fight is over. As he also points out, “Nevada isn’t the only state with this issue.”
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THE LATEST
ANTHONY CURTIS
Moulin Rouge Rebirth? A revival of the historic casino could mean a boon for Westside neighborhood
April 14–20, 2016
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VegasSeven.com
➜ THE MOULIN ROUGE WAS ONE
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of the shortest-lived—and historic—casinos in Las Vegas. Doubly significant for its role in the history of civil rights in the Valley, the property’s deterioration created both a physical and spiritual blight on the surrounding Westside community, as a series of redevelopment plans came to naught. But a new ownership group with strong ties to the community insists that the time is now for the Moulin Rouge to rise again on Bonanza Road. Opened on May 24, 1955, the Moulin Rouge was the first racially integrated hotel-casino in Las Vegas. It drew customers but, apparently, not enough money to satisfy its creditors. Closed after an October 1955 bankruptcy, the casino opened sporadically under different owners over the next few years, and was best known for being the site where the March 1960 agreement to desegregate the city’s casinos was announced. It operated in a diminished capacity for years, ultimately becoming a short-term residential motel. A series of fires destroyed anything salvageable of the original structure, leading to a more or less empty space—and a blank slate. The Moulin Rouge is significant enough to be on the National Registry of Historic Places. Since it received that designation in 1992, there have been several attempts to revive it, starting with thenowners James Walker, Joe Preddy and Sarann Knight Preddy. A host of community members and out-
siders—ranging from Connecticut’s Mashantucket Pequot Indian tribe to Bob Stupak—showed varying levels of interest in bringing the property back in the 1990s. Following the property’s destruction, even more potential rebuilders have come—and gone. That interest, though, never translated into meaningful action, which leads us to 2016. Scott Johnson, president of Moulin Rouge Holdings LLC, is committed to change on the Westside. His family has owned small businesses in the area for more than a half-century. Born in Arkansas, he’s been in Las Vegas for 30 years. But why take on the Moulin Rouge? “Why not?” he answers with a smile. “It’s time.” He explains how his family’s history—and his own success in the construction industry—make the Moulin Rouge’s revival a natural next step, both for him and the community. Project spokeswoman China Hudson is even more explicit. “This project can be the paddles for the defibrillator,” she says, noting that the project can spark a broader redevelopment in the area, which has recently seen the opening of a Starbucks and the Tenaya Creek Brewery. Resurrecting the Moulin Rouge, as Hudson hints, is about more than giving Las Vegans another place to gamble. It’s a way, she says, to “let people know that they matter.” To that end, the project will also have a resource center and museum to both help and preserve the history of the sur-
DAVID G. SCHWARTZ
rounding Westside neighborhood. In addition, a planned nonprofit, Moulin Rouge Cares, will reach out to the Westside. Creating the nonprofit, marketing and branding maven Deborah Porter says, “will help make sure people get connected” to the project from the start. Johnson points out that a reborn Moulin Rouge will create jobs in the community. The big question, of course, is where the money is coming from. Johnson says he has commitments from a hedge fund and EB-5 investors. The latter program allows big-ticket (think $500,000 minimum) foreign nationals to apply for green cards in return for their investment (see “Invest in America: Building an Economy That Lasts”). Pamela Saleres, a venture capital and private equity specialist, is working with Johnson to corral the necessary capital. While she is still in the information-gathering stage, she is “95 percent optimistic” that the project will be a success. “If I thought otherwise,” Saleres says, “I wouldn’t have taken it on.” With a planned groundbreaking on May 24—the 61st anniversary of the Moulin Rouge’s famous opening—we will soon know whether the current group will succeed where others have failed. For his part, Johnson is optimistic and adamant. “I’ve met with groups, met with the community,” he says. “People are tired of nothing happening here. I promised them I would do it.” When reminded that the site has seen its share of promises, Johnson turns to his family for inspiration. “Like my mom said, ‘Why not you?’”
➜ Tax Day probably doesn’t evoke the anticipation of a deal, but it provides an opportunity for casinos to run related promotions, which can make the day just a bit better. This year, the official day is actually April 18, so the promotions run longer. The granddaddy of all Vegas tax bonuses is actually available all year long at El Cortez, where you can cash your refund check at the cage to get a bonus of 5 percent up to a maximum of $50 in slot free play. Note that this offer can be done with any federal government-issued check, but not with checks from state governments. You also get a bonus for cashing refunds at Triple Sevens. The bonus you’ll get isn’t specifically stated, but ranges from a 2-for-1 bingo blue pack to $5,000 in free play. (I’d go for El Cortez.) The Cannery is dispensing slot free play to active players from 4-8 p.m. on April 15. There’s also a drawing for cash prizes totaling $5,000 that evening, but you have to have tickets in the drawing drum, dispensed at the rate of one per 100 club points earned. Both Arizona Charlie’s will distribute bonuses of $100 and $50 to randomly selected players on the 15th. At Ellis Island, earn 500 base points ($500 coin-in) on April 15 to get $5 in free-play and 15X points on the rest of your play that day. Earn 500 points at the Lucky Club or the Silver Nugget from 2-10 p.m. on April 15 to get a Tax Day bonus ranging from dining comps to $50. Bingo players will be the focus on April 15 at Rampart, where a bingo with B-15 will pay an extra $500. On April 18, the Plaza will pay your taxes on a jackpot hit that day. Since people are taxed at different rates, the Plaza is using 28 percent as an across-the-board amount for the bonus, and it has to be a taxable jackpot of $1,200 and above. For example, hit a $2,000 royal on a 50-cent video poker machine and get $2,560. The bonus will be paid up to jackpots of $20,000 (an additional $5,600). It’s a neat little promo, but you have to hit a jackpot to get the benefit. The offer is available “on eligible machines” and the bonus is paid in free play. Club Fortune is running a giveaway from 3-8 p.m. on the 18th with $15,000 in cash. Finally, the annual deal from Shark Reef is running again. Mail your tax return from a designated area in the Mandalay Bay parking lot from noon to 8 p.m. on April 18 and get free admission to Shark Reef. Even if your tax return isn’t in the envelope, you’ll still get the tix if you mail something addressed to the IRS from there. Anthony Curtis is the publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor and LasVegasAdvisor.com.
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNLV SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
TAX-DAY DEALS
Enlightened Beauty EMSUM jewelry highlights the power of gemstones By Hubble Ray Smith
April 14–20, 2016
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VegasSeven.com
➜
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JEWELRY DESIGNER AND
entrepreneur Marcia Campbell Bergenfield draws upon her spirituality and cosmic enlightenment to create custom jewelry for her brand EMSUM. Every piece provides healing and calmness of mind, body and spirit, the designer says. Bergenfield, a Las Vegas native, will display her wares in a trunk show from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 16 at Grape Street Café Wine Bar in Downtown Summerlin. Guest artist Tanja Nikolic, founder of online boutique and gallery ElephantSquare.com, will have original geode and agate paintings for sale at the show. A percentage of proceeds are donated to nonprofit organizations benefiting the welfare of endangered elephants.
Vegas Seven caught up with Bergenfield, and she shares the intention behind the designs. How did you come up with your company name?
EMSUM Designs and the acronym came to me in a dream—Enlightening Millions Synergistically Under One Moon. It is also a combination of my children’s names, Emerson and Sumner. The following morning I wrote everything down, and within 15 minutes reserved the domain name. What makes your jewelry unique?
Everything is handcrafted and one of a kind. All EMSUM pieces come with a description of the stone and its healing elements.
You use “consciously sourced” gemstones from around the world. What does that mean?
Gemstones, with their powerful energy and profound resonance with the human body, are perfect healing tools. Each type of gemstone embodies a unique energy that focuses and amplifies [the inherent] healing force [within our bodies] to produce specific therapeutic effects. How did you start this business?
This experience has been a journey. [When] I [began] creating jewelry, [I wrote] down all the healing properties each stone offered and [gave] it away to relatives, childhood friends and business associates in exchange for their feedback. I photographed and staged every
design and posted to social media. People started buying. A childhood friend gifted Oprah Winfrey an EMSUM, and from that day forward, I never looked back. After a long career in real estate, I’m doing what I’m destined to do—creating jewelry that not only has a beautiful, distinct look, but also heals and radiates. It’s my passion, my love. Where do you find the right gemstones?
I’ve made it a mission to create relationships in places such as Africa, where the best pyrite is mined, or Afghanistan for the lapis lazuli. [These connections help me procure] drusy agates encased in silver or malas consisting of tourmaline, sandalwood and horsetail, or
spectacular Brazilian agate geodes [hung] using hand-rolled Alpaca [cord]. What inspires your designs?
My inspiration comes from knowing gemstones are among the most beloved treasures of the earth. Gems are beautiful, but it is the radiance of life force contained in gemstones to which people are instinctively drawn. Deep within, people know that there is more to gemstones than meets the eye— and when my special customers wear their EMSUM pieces, they feel an instant energy. How much does your jewelry cost, and where can you buy it?
The most commonly purchased items are statement bracelets priced at $100 to Brazilian agate crystal geodes with hand-rolled Alpaca [cord] that start at $150. I also have a men’s bracelet line, women’s bracelets, anklets, necklaces and headpieces. You can find EMSUM Designs at Stitched in Cosmopolitan, Elephant Square and EMSUM.com.
PHOTOS BY KRYSTAL RAMIREZ
THE LATEST
STYLE
The real science of technology in the kitchen and how chefs are using it to advance the art of cooking By AL MANCINI Photography by KRYSTAL RAMIREZ
Cooking is both an art and a science—ask any pastry chef. But in recent years, modern technology has played an increasingly important role in the kitchen. We spoke to chefs about the machines that help them do their job.
NIGHTLIFE
UNLV grad Ryan Wieczorek is turning the pregame into a party By Ian Caramanzana
VegasSeven.com
cocktail competition in a nightclub may seem outlandish for some, but for Ryan Wieczorek and thousands of others, it’s the start of a glorious evening. The 31-year-old director of sales and marketing at Vegas Beverage Group introduced the concept at Rehab at Hard Rock Hotel in 2011, and since then has bounced back and forth between Las Vegas, Orange County and San Diego, planting the seeds for further opportunities.
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Prêt-à-Par-tay
➜ THE IDEA OF ATTENDING A BEER FESTIVAL OR
April 14–20, 2016
PHOTO BY JOSH DAHL
Your city after dark, photos from the week’s hottest parties and Party Favor’s party
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NIGHTLIFE
What similarities have you found between the food-and-beverage and nightlife industries?
Both industries are ever-changing and are becoming more innovative. From supper-club concepts bringing entertainment appeal into restaurants to nightclubs bringing in pre-nightclub dinners, the two are merging. The trendy restaurants are now bringing in DJs for their dinner shifts. What are the biggest differences?
Nightlife is definitely more in your face, with the focus on DJs and the party. You always see new faces at all the clubs. Locals aren’t going to those events on Friday and Saturday night; they’re all heading to industry nights in the middle of the week, and it’s all about competition. Everybody is trying to do something bigger and better than the next person. These days, you just can’t throw in a cool DJ with a two-hour open bar. You need to think about other things. There are always 15 other DJs playing at 15 other clubs in the city. Then you have to think of things such as the ambience, cocktail menu and the new club that just opened. Our events focus on having fun, but they’re definitely not as wild as the ones in the clubs. The focus is on the cocktails or the craft beer, and the people. They don’t have to worry about the dress code; they can show up in casual clothes. The [events] also start and end early. What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your career thus far?
It’s all about getting above the competition and bringing in new concepts, new ideas. We want to put on events that bring back old guests while bringing new ones in—whether by finding new ways to get the liquor flowing or new customer service options. We have to put ourselves in their shoes, because they have so many options. [Otherwise], why stick to one group or one place when there are so many other things going on?
April 14–20, 2016
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VegasSeven.com
You graduated from UNLV’s Harrah College of Hotel Administration in 2011. Describe your ongoing relationship with the university.
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I was president of the UNLV Beverage Club while attending. My friend Rob Crawford—who was my neighbor and classmate when I attended the Culinary Institute of America in New York in 2008—asked me to run it. We realized we had the same interests and became competitive friends. The UNLV club got huge; I met half of the people who work with me today through it. Now we’ve got an internship program with them with five students who do hands-on work and travel. So far, they’ve all been great in helping us with events. It’s another way of giving back.
What are some events you’ve worked on recently?
The sushi/mixology event is held quarterly at Surrender Nightclub, where local bartenders enter a competition against one another for their best signature cocktails while Andrea’s serves sushi. On March 18, we did a beer festival at Foxtail Pool. It was a cross between a concert and a craft beer festival, with Metro Station as the headliner. How did you manage to get these events into nightclubs?
Honestly, it was weird. We put on a small beer fest at UNLV while we were attending in 2011. The premise was simple: We wanted to have a UNLVino-type event, but for beer. It was a long-term idea, too;
it had to be something we can do at other places. So we did it. The guys at Hard Rock Hotel and Rehab came to that event, met up with us and said, “This was great. Why don’t you do something like this at Hard Rock Hotel?” With that, we did Rehab’s opening weekend in 2012. It set the standard of what we wanted to do going forward: a partystyle beer festival with tons of options from more than a dozen breweries. Then in 2013, I left Vegas for California. There, the sky was the limit. Our first event had 1,500 people, and that number just keeps growing. We try to do things out of the norm via beer fests and cocktail competitions that people wouldn’t even think twice would be held in nightclubs.
The biggest thing we want to do is a cool craft beer festival with food and music—something like BottleRock in Napa Valley, but next-level and with craft beer. It’ll have a $2 million-$3 million talent roster. The location is still up in the air—we’ll probably develop it in San Diego, since that’s the [Southwest’s] hub of beer culture, but we can also have it in Las Vegas because of the huge tourist market. We’ve even considered doing it in both cities. Vegas works because we’ll be able to give back by reaching out to UNLV alumni, and bring some heavy names. There’s also so much potential with spaces such as the Rock in Rio spot, the iHeartRadio lot and so many others. We expect to serve 30,00040,000 people, numbers like [Denver’s] Great American Beer Fest. We want to stay in the same niche scene while being innovative at the same time. Get the lowdown on Wieczorek’s next party and other epicurean events on Page 23.
PHOTO BY JOSH DAHL
What’s next on your to-do list?
NIGHTLIFE
PARTIES
MARQUEE DAYCLUB The Cosmopolitan [ UPCOMING ]
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See more photos from this gallery at SPYONvegas.com
PHOTOS BY THOMAS TRAN
April 14–20, 2016
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April 15 DJ Lema spins April 16 Cash Cash spins April 17 Lost Kings spin
DINING
Restaurant reviews, news and meal-kit dining is for everyone
This is an industry in its infancy, struggling to find its footing in Nevada's brave new world of medical marijuana. IN THE WEEDS | PAGE 48
Diner en Blanc 2014 in New York.
Dressed for Dinner the location secret until the last minute so as not to alert authorities. Since then, the event has been reprised in Paris numerous times, including a 2013 meal in front of the Eiffel Tower. It’s also spread to locations around the world, including New York’s Hudson River Park, the Sydney Opera House, Federal Plaza in Chicago and Montreal’s Quai de l’Horloge. Four years ago, a Las Vegas edition of Diner en Blanc was announced, but two of the three planned local hosts backed out at the last minute. A staged version of the event was held at the Venetian and used as the setting for a September 2012 episode
of Bravo’s Top Chef Masters—admittedly not a typical Diner en Blanc experience. Hopefully the event taking place on April 17 will be a bit more organic. First, a few notes on what Diner en Blanc is, and what it is not. Diner en Blanc is very definitely not a restaurant experience. It’s not even a typical pop-up. Las Vegas cohost Michael Habicht describes it as a culinary “flash mob.” Guests generally bring their own food and nonalcoholic beverages, although you can order picnic baskets, water, Champagne and other alcoholic beverages in advance from the organizers. You’re even expected to bring your own china,
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diners dressed head-to-toe in white enjoying a high-class picnic at some of the world’s most iconic landmarks. Diner en Blanc is an international dining series that began in 1988 when founder François Pasquier returned to Paris after some time abroad and invited a group of friends to meet him for an impromptu meal in the city’s Bois de Boulogne park. Since many didn’t know the other invitees, he told them all to dress in white so they would be able to find each other. Four years later, they revisited the idea at the Pont des Arts in the heart of Paris, keeping
April 14–20, 2016
PHOTO BY ERIC VITALE
➜ THE PHOTOS ARE PRETTY AWESOME: a sea of
VegasSeven.com
The decidedly French Diner en Blanc brings its exclusive culinary flash mob to Las Vegas By Al Mancini
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band name and then started buying equipment, so I felt committed.” After nine months practicing in her basement, Harris started her first band and began developing her stage persona. “I have an alter ego that can get onstage, dress a certain way and just have fun,” she says. Another part of the music’s lure for her is its wide audience: “I like to see how much people of all ages and walks of life like rockabilly music.” Aside from her rockabilly band, Little Rachel and the Loot Rock Gang, Rachel Wilson has performed as a solo artist, as part of a singing-sisters duo and in a girl-group quartet. When she was a child, her father and uncle had a country band, which led to her first appearances onstage.
“I sang some songs with them, and band, I discovered there was a whole people began saying, ‘Such a big voice scene of people who were as intercoming from such a little person!’ I ested in vintage music and style as was compared a lot to I was,” she says. Patsy Cline in my early “There was a whole years of performing, lot more attention to VIVA LAS VEGAS and by the time I was artistic detail in the ROCKABILLY WEEKEND about 21, a friend style of everything in hired me to perform the past, as comApril 14-17, as a Patsy Cline impared to today. As the Orleans, $30-$150, personator in his resfor the music, there 562-496-4287; taurant. From there, I is no denying, rockaVivaLasVegas.net. discovered rockabilly billy is just fun.” music, and joined a Singer Lara Hope, rockabilly band.” of Lara Hope and the Since then, Wilson Ark-Tones, came to has played around the world, but she rockabilly after sampling a number of always stays true to the old school. other flavors on the musical buffet—an “Once I joined my first rockabilly experience that has added a little ex-
tra flavor to her current sound. “After years of playing punk rock and more straightforward rock ’n’ roll, I had an opportunity to front a traditional rockabilly band, one that eventually progressed into what we are today—a blend of rockabilly, rhythm and blues, country, jazz, etc.” Hope has been trying to make it out to Sin City’s big shindig for a few years now, and is thrilled to finally attend her first Viva Las Vegas weekender. “The rockabilly/retro scene opened up many doors for me, introduced me to some of the best people and music I know,” she says. “This scene has welcomed us with open arms and taught me that this is the music that is meant for my voice and soul.”
SUZANNAH HARRIS BY TONY VANDALSEM; RACHEL WILSON BY MUDD PHOTOGRAPHY
A&E April 14–20, 2016
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Clockwise from top: Lara Hope, Suzannah Harris and “Little Rachel” Wilson.
A&E
[ BOOKS ]
Outside the Lines These seven adult coloring books are a bit off-color By Emmily Bristol ➜ Who cares if adult coloring books
have reached peak saturation? You don’t have to be into mandalas, or even sober, to enjoy this earnest trend. You just need crayons, courage, and these seven black-and-white wonders, most of which are available through Amazon.
April 14–20, 2016
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TRUMP THIS: Love him or hate him,
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GOP front-runner Donald Trump has been immortalized in The Trump Coloring Book (M.G. Anthony, $12). Any disappointment that this book isn’t gold-plated is quickly nullified by the premise: Trump as a Superman-like hero. Inside, you’ll find Trump playing Battleship with South Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, making first contact with an actual alien on Nevada’s Extraterrestrial Highway, and (obviously) being added to Mount Rushmore. In short, this is one classy piece of work. PRIMARY COLORING: The offerings
for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are not quite as witty as some
of the other political coloring books, but as the Democratic front-runner, she merits mention. There’s Hillary Says! An Off-Color Hillary Clinton Coloring Book (Tom F. O'Leary, $8) which has page after austere page of Hillary in different pantsuits with inspirational quotes. This is a real missed opportunity to pair Clinton with, say, Henry Kissinger, in a game of Sorry! A better option is to ditch the crayons altogether and pick up the Hillary Rodham Clinton Presidential Playset (Caitlin Kuhwald, $15), a paper doll kit which includes a “phantom” George Washington (to “commune with” when you need to parse a difficult problem) and a set of interchangeable heads that includes Amelia Earhart, Jackie O, and Nancy Reagan. It also includes Supreme Court Justices, Republican adversaries, more pantsuits, an Oprah, a Bono, and an eagle. Caw! Bring it! NOTORIOUS RBG: Speaking of the highest court in the land, try the Ruth Bader
Ginsburg Coloring Pages, created by She Knows. In a dozen (free!) pages, Bader is shown in full #NotoriousRBG fashion— riding a unicorn in front of a rainbow, as a superhero, wearing a puffy jacket, baring ink, taking selfies. This one is really fun. Print yours at SheKnows.com. BERNIE AT THE BEACH:
In Buff Bernie: A Coloring Book for Berniacs (Nicole Daddona, $12), Senator Bernie Sanders is reimagined as the Beach Bro who kicked sand in the Wimpy Guy’s face in those quaint Charles Atlas ads of the 1950s that sold a strict code of masculinity to a generation of men (and women). The book endows Bernie with “the strength of five grizzly bears and the rugged good looks of 10 lumberjacks.” Buff Bernie is just silly enough for any devotee of the singleentendre gag. IT'S FELITO, RAFAEL IF YOU’RE NASTY: In Ted Cruz to the Future: Comic
Coloring Activity Book (ColoringBook. com, $6), we find Senator Cruz, whose childhood nickname was Felito, in one of the best propaganda pieces of the bunch. Released in 2013, this book
was clearly meant to be a “fun” way to learn the facts about Cruz, with images of him hunting and celebrating an “epic” 21-hour filibuster—because that’s what the kids are hot for these days, those epic filibusters. (Check out the Amazon comments section on this one. As “Norse” says in his five-star review: “I didn’t know how well I’d enjoy this book, seeing as how I only have white crayons. But, as it turns out, that’s the only color required!”) BEER GOGGLES SOLD SEPARATELY:
What can’t alcohol improve? Well, besides pregnancy. (Although if anyone ever needed a beer, it’s baby mamas.) The Color Me Drunk: A Drinking and Drawing Activity Book (Potter Style, $13) is the adult coloring book for adults who hate coloring books. Maybe you have the art skills to draw a Picassostyle portrait of a person while sober, but let’s see you get all cubist after you’ve had a few. Not all of the activities in the book are quite so highbrow in nature: You can design your own beer labels and play wino bingo, too. LUCKY STARS: In Unicorns Are Jerks: A
Coloring Book Exposing the Cold, Hard, Sparkly Truth (Theo Nicole Lorenz, $7), we learn the truth about the magical beasts. And the truth is a harsh one— from farting in elevators to stealing kid’s backpacks, it happens that unicorns are real dicks.
MOVIES
JUNGLE FEVER, REVISITED ➜ MAN IS IN THE FOREST. One night,
deep in an Indian jungle, a father and son huddle together in a cave, lit by a roaring fire. A Bengal tiger called Shere Khan, undeterred by the glowing “red flower,” enters the cave and slaughters the father, getting badly burned in the process. As he flees to tend to his wounds, he fails to realize that the dead man’s son—an infant “man cub”—is still alive, and wandering the jungle. When the tiger learns of the boy’s survival, he vows to kill him. These are the events that set The Jungle Book, director Jon Favreau’s astonishing visual and storytelling accomplishment, into motion. They’re seen in flashback, which is substantial improvement upon Disney’s first pass at this Rudyard Kipling story—the classic 1967 animated film, referenced in Favreau’s film in a myriad of clever ways. In the 1967 film, the man cub Mowgli is simply discovered in a basket, like Moses. And while that kind of take-it-from-us storytelling might have worked on 1960s audiences, I’ve always wondered, having never read the book: Who in the hell does that? Just leaves their kid in the jungle, tra-la-la? Did his parents forget? Now we know. The script for Favreau’s Jungle Book was written by Justin Marks—whose only other produced film, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. And yet, together, these two man-cubs have done what I previously thought impossible: They have improved on Walt Disney’s storytelling. Gone are the silly storytelling cul-de-sacs of the original film (the mop-topped vultures stand out in my mind); and many of the minor characters of the original film are given new, urgent purpose: The elephant pack now serves a storytelling need, and the wolf pack that raised Mowgli doesn’t disappear after the film’s first few minutes. In this jungle, everyone works. And the story they serve to support has real weight and pathos. (That isn’t to say the film doesn’t have funny moments; it does. And
Favreau skillfully manages to incorporate the musical elements of the original film, including several of Richard and Robert B. Sherman’s songs, among them “I Wan’na Be Like You” and “Trust in Me.” And yes, Terry Glikyson’s “The Bare Necessities” is in there, too.) Now, I wanted to tell you how good the storytelling was before I told you the other, obvious thing: This movie is gorgeous. Favreau has demonstrated time and again that he has a sure hand with a crowd-pleaser, but Jungle Book proves him an auteur. Using nothing but soundstages and CGI, he’s built a green world from scratch, one that makes the landscapes of Avatar look slapdash and cheap. (I don’t often say this, but you should spring for the 3-D; this is one of the rare cases where it benefits the film.) And the animals inhabiting that jungle are exquisitely rendered, as well—to the point where you almost immediately stop focusing on the computer animation and begin dissecting the performances. Favreau has assembled a rock-solid voice cast that includes Idris Elba, Bill Murray, Scarlett Johannson, Ben Kingsley, Lupita Nyong’o, Christopher Walken, Giancarlo Esposito and even the late Garry Shandling. And he captures the finest parts of their individual styles—Kingsley’s regal bearing, Murray’s perfect sad-sack expression—and transfers them to the faces of panthers and sloth bears, without losing their animal primacy. By the way, there’s only one “real” constant in the film—actor Neel Sethi, who plays Mowgli. The whole thing could fall apart if the kid wasn’t good (see Star Wars: The Phantom Menace), but Sethi delivers a solidly likeable performance—one which is all the more remarkable because he gave it not in a jungle, but in a studio in the heart of Los Angeles. We live in a new world, now, and Sethi—with Favreau’s help—has led us to it. The Jungle Book (PG) ★★★★★
PHOTO COURTESY OF DISNEY ENTERPRISES
Jon Favreau’s remake of Disney’s The Jungle Book is an unprecedented wonder By Geoff Carter
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SEVEN QUESTIONS
incredibly marketable. We were getting crazy numbers on our social media and our website. When I got there, there was no outreach. The animals weren’t even on the website [when I started]! When I left, we were getting 100,000 unique visits to our website a month. From those 100,000 visits, we were getting about a million to a million-and-a-half page views. We were driving, through social media and e-blasts, people to our website. They were flipping through animals. That’s why we were getting so many page views. And now you’ve jumped from cute animals to cute kids. What made you want to work at the Boys & Girls Club?
Again, the startup aspect drove me. It’s funny. You don’t get backlash. It’s Teflon. You don’t [get] attacked, because you’re doing good things for kids. I’ll give you a perfect example: We had to be very careful with the press when I was with the Animal Foundation. It’s nice that I can just talk now. I don’t have to measure every word. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Henderson and Las Vegas merged into one organization in 2014. What’s next?
The Boys & Girls Club of Southern Nevada president-CEO on how he ‘coached’ golf, the appeal of animal photos and the need for a Downtown benefactor By Emmily Bristol
April 14–20, 2016
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How does someone who doesn’t like golf end up as UNLV’s assistant golf coach?
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A swimming scholarship is how I got to Las Vegas. I swam at UNLV from 19831987. I got a degree in hotel administration and worked for Marriott for about four years, but I just didn’t like the industry. [While] I was getting my teaching credential at UNLV, I [helped] my former coach. The athletic department was looking for a former athlete to do fundraising [and] ticket sales. I figured out that the best job on campus was the assistant golf coach. It has a $3 million endowment that pays for everything. The [coach] took care of the golf, so he needed someone for administrative work—managing the endowment, the boosters and team travel, and academic advising. I did that for 10 years. You then worked for the nonprofit Animal Foundation, which runs the Lied Animal Shelter.
In 2009, I was looking for something different and wanted to use my fun-
draising skills and advance those. [The Animal Foundation] was looking for someone to start a development department. The organization didn’t have any externally focused employee. You came in at a difficult time, following a 2007 controversy about the number of animals euthanized by the Animal Foundation.
The Humane Society of America’s assessment triggered all the bad publicity. It was never mismanagement. [There were] good intentions without the proper funding or practices in place. The Animal Foundation just had the contract [with] the City of Las Vegas, and they were bringing in about 18,000 animals a year. When they accepted the North Las Vegas and Clark County contracts just prior to 2007, they went from 18,000 to 50,000 intakes. It just overwhelmed the organization. They got crucified because the community was dictating who they were and what they did. So
[Animal Foundation executive director Christine Robinson] hired me to help try to reverse that—to tell the community who we were as an organization; what the challenges are; and how we need the community’s help to solve those challenges. The scandal didn’t scare you away?
The startup of a department and the creative aspects intrigued me. I could go in any direction possible and create some good. We started, first, by rebranding to tell the foundation’s story. It’s the largest single-site animal shelter in the country. You get more animals through that site than any other facility in the country. And [the message to the community was] if you stop bringing ’em, we’ll stop having to euthanize them. But until that happens, that’s an unfortunate aspect of the organization. How did this lead to viral animal photos?
We found out that animals are
You have 14 clubs throughout the Valley, including Downtown, Henderson, Summerlin and Southern Highlands. Is there anything in the works at the existing clubs?
We desperately need to renovate our Downtown club (2801 E. Stewart Ave.). It’s a former liquor store, and I can’t think of a better repurposing. [But] the building is very old. We have close to 200 kids going through there a day. That’s how big the need is for that area—to give those kids a safe place to be in that neighborhood. [There’s] a lot of gangs. We’re in a competition for [grant] funds and we’re matching those funds, but we need that other half. The parents are active, [but they] are holding down two and three jobs. They love us, and they do everything they can to support us. They do taco nights. They are very much a hand-up group, not a handout group. They will do everything they can within their means to support our club, but there aren’t any parents that can write a check for a $600,000 renovation.
PHOTO BY KRYSTAL RAMIREZ
Andy Bischel
We have [a new club] opening in mid-2017, in a partnership with Nevada HAND. It is building a lowincome (250-unit) housing project at Boulder Highway and Desert Inn Road. It is going to build us a 10,000-square-foot Boys & Girls Club. Lutheran Social Services will have a food pantry, so it’s kind of a one-stop shop, and it’s in a very underserved neighborhood. We need places to provide programming and services. We’re looking for great partnerships with municipalities, the school district and others [so we can] minimize capital expenses and focus on providing services.