Hail, Caesar! | Vegas Seven Magazine | Aug.4-10, 2016 by Vegas Seven

JUST ANNOUNCED FRIDAY • november 4

BUSH

SATURDAY • NOVEMBER 12

MS. LAURYN HILL UPCOMING SHOWS SUN • SEPT 4

ROGER CLYNE

& THE PEACEMAKERS THU • SEPT 22

FRI • SEPT 16

BOYCE AVENUE SAT • OCT 15

GARBAGE

ALESSIA CARA

FRI • OCT 21

FRI • NOV 18

BAD RELIGION

LUKAS GRAHAM

CONTENTS

AUGUST 4–10, 2016

T H E LAT EST

“Up Close and Personal” A look at three local athletes competing for Olympic gold. By HUBBLE RAY SMITH

“Divided They Fall” Even small cracks in party unity can have consequences. Politics by MICHAEL GREEN

Plus … Paperless sample ballots available, pot proponents ramp up campaign, Style, Seven Days, Ask a Native and The Deal.

NIGH T LIF E

“The New Controllers” Camp Spin-Off is for everyone, but these girls are on a roll. By CAMILLE CANNON

Plus … Seven Nights, a Q&A with Daya and photos from the week’s hottest parties.

DINING

“Sharp as a Knife” Edge Steakhouse cuts a fine figure in the Westgate. By AL MANCINI Plus … Dish & Tell, the newest keepers of the Joël Robuchon magic and Drinking.

A &E Punks in Vegas celebrates five years as the scene’s scrappy hero. By IAN CARAMANZANA

Caesars Palace cocktail waitresses in 1977.

Plus … Seven’s 14, Two More Eggs worth cracking and Life Is Beautiful to welcome Crime on Canvas.

“Toys Gory” Voki Kalfayan cuts and glues playtime to his liking. The Most Fabulous Thing by CHARLIE STARLING

F E AT URE SEVEN Q U EST IONS

“An Empire Like No Other”

Caesars Palace puts 50 years of history on the books. By DAVID G. SCHWARTZ

Plus … The birth of a brand, great nights in boxing and the resort’s image on celluloid. Cover photo by Darren Matthews.

Tom Ryan of Tom’s Urban and Smashburger on the virtues of potato salad, the grammar of comfort food and why small plates aren’t going anywhere.

VegasSeven.com

“Three Cheers for Five Years”

August 4–10, 2016

PHOTO COURTESY L AS VEGAS NEWS BUREAU

C O M I N G U P AT B R O O K L Y N B O W L L A S V E G A S

AUG 13

AUG 15

L AS VEGAS’ WEEKLY CITY MAGAZINE

LION BABE KURT VILE + THE VIOLATORS

FOUNDED FEBRUARY 2010

PUBLISHER Michael Skenandore

EDITORIAL FRI 8/5

ANDRE NICKATINA

FRI 8/12

40oz. TO FREEDOM - SUBLIME TRIBUTE BAND

WED 8/17

RIFF RAFF: THE PEACH PANTHER TOUR THE FIXX DIGABLE PLANETS SILVERSUN PICKUPS BOOTS ON STAGE PRESENTS: ERIC PASLAY WITH JILL + JULIA MICHAEL FRANTI + SPEARHEAD ISLANDER EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY JULIETTE LEWIS KILLSWITCH ENGAGE ANDY FRASCO AND THE U.N. B A Y S I D E WITH THE MENZINGERS EMO NIGHT BROOKLYN LATE SHOW CENTRAL LIVE DUMPSTAPHUNK O . A . R . ST. PAUL + THE BROKEN BONES CHANCE THE RAPPER THE AVETT BROTHERS

THU 8/18 FRI 8/19 SAT 8/20 THU 8/25 FRI 8/26 SAT 8/27 SUN 8/28 FRI 9/2 SAT 9/3 WED 9/7 FRI 9/9 FRI 9/9 WED 9/14 THU 9/15 FRI 9/16 SAT 9/17 SUN 9/18 TUE 9/20 WED 9/28

MON 10/3

THE SOUL REBELS SOUND SYSTEM FT. TALIB KWELI PHANTOGRAM DWEEZIL ZAPPA PLAYS WHATEVER THE F@%K HE WANTS CONOR OBERST

TUE 10/4

TYCHO

WED 10/5

THU 10/20

GROUPLOVE THRICE WITH LA DISPUTE DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT / BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME YELLOWCARD CLUTCH SCHOOLBOY Q WITH JOEY BADA$$ OPETH WITH THE SWORD MESHUGGAH

FRI 10/21

THE FAINT

SAT 10/22

GHOST - POPESTAR ASKING ALEXANDRIA

THU 9/29 SUN 10/2

FRI 10/7 SAT 10/8 FRI 10/14 SAT 10/15 SUN 10/16 TUE 10/18

THU 12/1

CENTER STRIP AT THE LINQ || BROOKLYNBOWL.COM || 702.862.BOWL

Genevie Durano Paul Szydelko SENIOR EDITOR, DINING, BEVERAGE & NIGHTLIFE , 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 MANAGING EDITOR DEPUTY EDITOR

SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Melinda Sheckells (style)

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Michael Green (politics), Al Mancini (dining), David G. Schwartz (gaming/hospitality)

ART Ryan Olbrysh Cierra Pedro STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Krystal Ramirez CREATIVE DIRECTOR SENIOR DESIGNER

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 Marc Barrington Jimmy Bearse

DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION/DISTRIBUTION ADVERTISING MANAGER

SALES Christy Corda Nicole Scherer ACCOUNT MANAGERS Brittany Quintana, Steven Kennedy ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Robyn Weiss DIRECTOR OF SALES, BILLBOARD DIVISION John Tobin BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR DIGITAL SALES MANAGER

INTERNS Jasmina Salas, Ally Tatosian

Ryan T. Doherty

| Justin Weniger

Michael Skenandore VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING AND EVENTS Keith White CREATIVE DIRECTOR Sherwin Yumul CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Sim Salzman CONTROLLER Jane Weigel PRESIDENT

Comments@VegasSeven.com Sales@VegasSeven.com DISTRIBUTION Distribution@VegasSeven.com

LETTERS AND STORY IDEAS ADVERTISING

PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE OBSERVER MEDIA GROUP Vegas Seven, 702-798-7000, 701 Bridger Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89101 Vegas Seven is distributed each Thursday throughout Southern Nevada c 2016 Vegas Seven, LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without the permission of Vegas Seven, LLC is prohibited.

Up Close and Personal

August 4–10, 2016

VegasSeven.com

A look at three local athletes competing for Olympic gold By Hubble Ray Smith

➜ THE THREAT OF TERRORISM, Brazil’s dire financial straits, the specter of the Zika virus and reports of doping by Russian athletes have cast a pall over the 2016 Summer Olympics, opening August 5 in Rio de Janeiro, but Las Vegans have something to cheer for with three local athletes competing in the Games. Vashti Cunningham, who became the youngest U.S. track and field athlete to qualify for the Olympic Games since 1980, will compete in the women’s high jump. Many see her as the face of the sport’s future. Vegas Seven named her Best Athlete in our 2016 Best of the City edition (July 21). She set the world junior record in the high jump at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in March in Portland, Oregon, clearing 6 feet, 6¼ inches. She also won the IAAF World Indoor Championships. The 18-year-old finished second to

Chaunte Lowe, 14 years her senior, at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials in Eugene, Oregon. The 6-foot-1 athlete is the daughter of former UNLV and NFL quarterback Randall Cunningham and Felicity deJager, a former ballerina with Dance Theatre of Harlem. Randall Cunningham, who coached his daughter on the Nevada Gazelles track team, likes her chances for gold. “There’s no other way to train people,” he told The New York Times. “You give them a vision, and they have to keep it in sight.” Women’s high jump qualifying is August 18, and the finals are August 20. Watch for these other Vegas Olympians in Rio: Cody Miller: The 24-year-old Olympic swimmer was born in Billings, Montana, but grew up in Las Vegas and graduated from Palo Verde High School in 2010. As a member of the Sandpipers of Nevada swim

team, Miller set the national record in the 15-16 age division for the 100yard and 200-yard breaststroke. He placed third in the 200-yard individual medley at the 2013 NCAA Championships. Miller, who swam at Indiana University and competed in the U.S. Olympic trials in 2008 and 2012, qualified for his first Olympic team with a runner-up finish in the 100-meter breast (59.26 seconds) at the trials in Omaha, Nebraska. Miller was diagnosed with pectus excavatum (sunken chest) and began swimming at age 8 to help monitor his heart and breathing. He trains four to five hours a day, five days a week, swimming about 13,000 yards each day. “We couldn’t be more proud of Cody,” Sandpipers head coach Ron Aitken says. “We watched him become a champion starting with his early days when he swam for Sandpipers of Nevada. Having an athlete come from Las Vegas and from our club is truly extraordinary.” Men’s 100-meter breast heats and semifinals are August 6, with the finals August 7. Connor Fields: A 2010 graduate of Green Valley High School, Fields is a BMX racer on the 2016 U.S. Olympic Cycling team in action August 17-19. He’ll be competing in his second Olympics, having placed seventh at the 2012 Games in London. “A whole lot of days, I would wake up unsure if I was going to have the chance to compete at the Olympics,” he says on Facebook. “After going through that, waking up early and pushing my body to the limit have never been so exciting.” Fields started competing in BMX racing at age 7 after his mother saw a flier at a bike shop advertising the local BMX track. His parents, Michael and Lisa Fields, drove him to practice five nights a week and sometimes drove five hours so could race against higher levels. In high school, he began competing on the World Cup circuit, earning podium finishes in 2009 and 2010. The racer enjoyed a string of three straight World Cup podium finishes and a national championship in 2012. He added back-to-back world championships in 2012 in Birmingham, England, and in 2013 in Auckland, New Zealand. He won his fifth-grade geography bee with a portending final answer: Rio de Janeiro. A coach and a referee with Las Vegas ties are also at the Summer Games. For the complete story, see VegasSeven. com/Olympics.

Seven Days This week in your city By B O B W H I T B Y

THU 4

If you or someone you know is elderly, make some time to be at UNLV’s Foundations Building at 11:30 a.m. for Overhauling Eldercare, a program put on by the UNLV School of Nursing. Dr. Allan Teel will discuss keeping the elderly in their own homes and keeping them connected with the community. UNLV.edu.

FRI 5

Toys. Celebrity panels. Cosplay. Gaming. Oh, yeah, it’s that kind of weekend. It’s SuperToyCon, through Sunday at the Orleans Arena. This one is the largest diecast toy, comic and pop culture convention we have all year in Las Vegas. SuperToyCon.com.

SAT 6

You may not realize this because of all the light pollution emanating from the Valley, but we’ve got some excellent views of the night skies here. All you have to do is get away from the bright lights and head out to Red Rock Canyon, 8 p.m., for Astronomy in the Park. The gates close at 8 p.m. sharp, so be on time. RedRockCanyonLV.org.

SUN 7

You like bowling. You like animals. You should be at Sam’s Town at noon for Out of the Gutters, a bowling tournament featuring local celebs, prizes and good times for a good cause: the Nevada SPCA’s efforts to rescue, rehabilitate and find homes for animals. SamsTownLV.com.

MON 8

Summer may be winding down, but you’re not out of the woods yet, parents. Springs Preserve has you covered for a few more days with Desert Adventures, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Friday. It’s everything about Las Vegas, from the wild West to the bright lights, with a dollop of environmental realism thrown in. SpringsPreserve.org.

TUE 9

The hills are alive again, and you need to get to The Smith Center to experience The Sound of Music, 7:30 p.m. through Aug. 14. Directed by threetime Tony winner Jack O’Brien, it features all the classic tunes from Rodgers and Hammerstein. TheSmithCenter.com.

WED 10

We hear that adult coloring is big these days. It’s supposed to be therapeutic. Rediscover your inner kindergartener and listen to some soothing music, 6:30 p.m. at the Green Valley Library. HendersonLibraries.com.

CUNNINGHAM BY KIRBY LEE/USA TODAY SPORTS; MILLER COURTESY OF BOLD ACTION MEDIA FOR SANDPIPERS OF NEVADA SWIMCLUB; FIELDS COURTESY OF FACEBOOK

THE LATEST

News, deals and how party unity affects statewide voting outcomes

Brezny, spokesman for the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. “Our work now is to organize the folks who have been supporters for years and build coalitions with support groups. We’ve had groups of veterans, groups of former law enforcement officers and even a group of schoolteachers come to the table and say they realize regulation is a better way.” Changing public opinion

VIRTUAL BALLOTS New paperless sample ballot program saves money

ILLUSTRATIONS BY CIERRA PEDRO

By Emmily Bristol ➜ Forget Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton (or Libertarian presidential hopeful Gary Johnson), the big news at the Clark County Election Department is the push to get registered voters to go paperless. Thanks to legislation passed in 2015, Clark and Washoe counties have launched efforts to encourage voters to get their sample ballots by email rather than the traditional paper ones mailed out before Election Day. “The change to state law allows voters to choose paperless sample ballots,” Clark County spokesman

Dan Kulin says. The change could save $1.20 per voter before Election Day on November 8. This savings includes the printing and postage costs. (Sample ballots for the primaries were smaller and therefore the costwas about $1 per voter.) Some 9,000 people have changed to a paperless sample ballot, Kulin says. About 6,900 of those switched before the primaries, saving the county $6,900 on those sample ballots. With about 930,000 registered voters in

Clark County—a number that grows each week with registration drives gearing up for the general election—the county is hoping to do better than the meager 1 percent who have signed up so far. The county is hoping the initiative will gain momentum from word-of-mouth. It hasn’t bought any ads

to help spread the word. Kulin says he is doing his small part. “I’ve personally walked several people through the sign-up process online,” Kulin says. To switch your sample ballot to paperless or to update your voter registration, go to ClarkCountyNv.gov/election.

➜ The Naugles column (July 21) generated a flurry of responses. “Place was the best ever,” tweeted @ogyafs, while @dickvegas1 recalled “many late-night Macho Combo Burritos after a night of drinking ... like going to sleep with a dead cat in my belly.” Pretty sure he meant that in a good way. Charles W. emailed to ask which branch was my Naugles; his was in a shopping center on Jones Boulevard just north of U.S. 95 (a laundromat, Naugles and the Four Kegs tavern; what else does a bachelor need, really?), while mine was on Sahara Avenue just east of Jones Boulevard. Both are now Del Tacos. An interesting tweet came from @ shannie410 alerting me to an unofficial Naugles cranking out classic grub in Visalia, California. A little digging revealed that BT’s (Buns & Torts) is operated by one Jeff Naugle, and according to a folder of BT’s photos found on Flikr, the food looks as I remember. The joint even has a sign sporting Naugles’ original motto: “Prepare food fresh. Serve customer fast. Keep place clean.” As Jeff Naugle posted on an Orange County Mexican restaurants blog, “Dick Naugle was my uncle, I do own BT’s in Visalia, and use the original Naugles recipes (Dick) gave me in his own handwriting.” That’s pretty impressive. It should be noted that BT’s is a separate operation from Christian Ziebarth’s relaunch of the brand in Huntington Beach, but Visalia’s underground reboot appears to have garnered much love from the fan cult up north. Which brings us to this: If Las Vegas likes its chains (and it does), then our city of mostly visitors and transplants is absolutely nuts over its fave food from back home. For proof, look no further than the anticipation of both Cracker Barrel and Chick-fil-A. Casinos can brag about celeb chefs and Michelin stars all they want, but tapping into accessible nostalgia is a surefire way to be celebrated (or at least recognized) on social media. Witness cult fave White Castle, a spot so beloved by homesick locals that a trademark-infringing impostor sprung up decades before the real one opened in January 2015 at Casino Royale, a location that has already garnered nearly 700 Yelp reviews. Maybe some resort mogul will recognize this and we’ll see a reborn Naugles pop up in a casino soon. Until then, get your fix in HB ... or Visalia. Have a question about Las Vegas, past, present or future? Send it to askanative@vegasseven.com.

VegasSeven.com

➜ WHILE AIRWAVES AND COLumn inches may still be on a postconvention buzz, the presidential campaigns are not the only ones kicking into high gear. Supporters of Question 2, the ballot initiative that would legalize and tax adult recreational marijuana use in Nevada, are amping up their efforts in advance of November 8. “It’s an issue that everyone is aware of and a lot of people have an opinion on,” says Joe

Mucho Amor for Naugles

Legalizing recreational marijuana on November ballot By Lissa Townsend Rodgers

J A M E S P. R E Z A

August 4–10, 2016

Question 2 Advocates Hopeful

has supporters optimistic. At a Las Vegas fundraiser for the Marijuana Policy Project last month, longtime advocate U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, said, “We’ve reached the point in this country where now we have a strong majority that favors legalization.” He noted that 10 states will vote for recreational marijuana. “This is a watershed year … We have had six votes on the floor of this House of Representatives that are pro-cannabis that have passed.” To encourage the positive take on legalization, the Coalition has released a study by Las Vegasbased RCG Economics and the Marijuana Policy Group on the potential economic impact of adult recreational marijuana in Nevada. Their forecast states that it could create more than 6,200 jobs in our state and generate $1.1 billion in economic activity by 2024. As for fiscal benefits, the study estimates that sales, use and excise tax revenues could be more than $400 million in the first seven years. Supporters are also getting a bit of a jump-start on their opposition. However, gaming mogul Sheldon Adelson’s vehemently anti-cannabis stance and open wallet looms; additionally, several well-funded out-of-state organizations are beginning to get involved. Recreational marijuana has failed on the Nevada ballot twice, but Brezny is hopeful: “Public opinion has caught up, and it’s fair to say that people are ahead of elected officials on this.”

THE LATEST

Divided They Fall Even small cracks in party unity can have consequences

HEAT-BUSTERS AND A NEWBIE

August 4–10, 2016

VegasSeven.com

➜ WILL ROGERS ONCE SAID

ANTHONY CURTIS

he didn’t belong to an organized political party; he was a Democrat. How divided were Democrats at their convention? Obviously, it depends on your perspective. But even the smallest fissures may matter. Nevada’s political history provides educational examples: • In the 1940s, Pat McCarran was the state’s senior senator and ostensibly top Democrat. But McCarran didn’t just think Communists lurked under every bush. He also saw threats from fellow Democrats. He was right: Other factions wanted to undercut or oust him. But as McCarran often did, he went a bit far. In 1946, he encouraged Nevada’s lone congressman, Berkeley Bunker, to challenge Democratic Senator Ted Carville in a primary. Why? Because McCarran and Carville had a falling-out after having once been allies. Bunker won the primary. Irony alert: Bunker had been a U.S. senator, appointed in 1940 by then-Governor … Carville. In 1942, Bunker sought a full term but lost in the primary to a candidate backed by … McCarran. In 1946, Bunker went into the general election against a Republican in a Republican year. Carville supporters stayed home, and the Republican won. In 1952, that Republican, George Malone, was going to lose re-election to McCarran protégé and former state Attorney General Alan Bible. But Bible lost the Democratic primary to Tom Mechling, who attacked Bible as the tool of a corrupt, dictatorial senator. As the general election approached, McCarran’s financial allies caught Mechling on tape offering to stop criticizing the senator—for a price. McCarran announced he wouldn’t support his fellow Democrat. Malone won a second term. Agree or disagree with him, he was much more conservative than the average Democrat, including McCarran. • By 1958, McCarran was gone and Democrats divided in every way imaginable. Three prominent Democrats ran for governor; Grant Sawyer won—and his opponents backed him in the general election, even after some viciousness during the primary. The U.S. Senate primary pitted moderate Las Vegan Howard Cannon and liberal Renoite Fred Anderson. Cannon won and Democrats came out strong for Cannon, who was elected. Maybe they thought the Republi-

can alternatives were too conservative for them? • In 1978, Republican Attorney General Bob List battled Democratic Lieutenant Governor Bob Rose to succeed Governor Mike O’Callaghan. Rose won as many primary votes as his two main opponents combined. But conservative Democrats deemed Rose far too liberal. Amid rumblings that O’Callaghan wasn’t thrilled with Rose, either, List won big and had the pleasure of presiding over a recession. Four years later, Democrats had another tough primary—Attorney General Richard Bryan defeated Lieutenant Governor Myron Leavitt and State Treasurer Stan Colton. In the general election, Leavitt and Colton backed Bryan, who easily won and led the state back to something resembling prosperity. • Ah, but all was not well in 1982. Four-term Democratic Representative Jim Santini didn’t want to wait another six years for Cannon, then in his fourth term, to retire. So he challenged Cannon and lost the primary by about 4,500 votes. Some of the Santini faithful then stayed home or voted for the Republican, Chic Hecht, who won and didn’t exactly set the world on fire. • In 2006, state Senator Dina Titus defeated Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson in what was supposed to be a three-way primary involving Gibson’s fellow conservative Mormon Democrat, Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, who dropped out of the race. Gibson and his allies didn’t exactly fall all over themselves to help Titus in the general election, which she lost by 4 percent to Representative Jim Gibbons. Perhaps it’s enough to say of Gibbons that he once declared Democrats had bought off The Wall Street Journal—you read that right—to write nasty things about his personal and financial issues. Not that Nevada has the only Democrats who shoot themselves in the foot. In 1968, some liberals wouldn’t vote for Hubert Humphrey; in 1972, some conservatives wouldn’t vote for George McGovern. The beneficiary of each scenario was Richard Nixon, who lied a lot, had a bad complexion, benefited from dirty tricks, committed treason during his first campaign and claimed to be the “law and order” candidate. Uh-oh. Michael Green is an associate professor of history at UNLV.

➜ Las Vegas’ first Cracker Barrel restaurant opened at the Silverton July 25. Openings of other restaurants with a cult following—White Castle, Detroit Coney Island, Shake Shack, to name a few—were major events for a whole lot of people, and word is the line was 70 deep on opening day to get some of Cracker Barrel’s famous Southern-style comfort food. A second one is set to open this month in North Las Vegas. (All you Chick-fil-A folks have only another few months till it’s your turn.) Also at Silverton, earn 50 points on Thursdays in August and get a comped lunch buffet. Earn 100 points and get dinner. Fifty points is just $50 coin-in, which is less than 10 minutes of play on 25-cent video poker. I don’t know of a better comp than that. When you live in this town, you gotta love it when there’s a payoff for the heat. And so there is this month at Ellis Island, where 20-ounce microbrews are $1 when “the temperature hits 100 degrees.” That will be most days for the next month or so anyway, but I’m guessing there’s a good chance this deal will be good regardless of temperature, daily from noon to 5 p.m. in EI’s karaoke lounge. Glutton Downtown is running Toast & Toppings on Tuesdays and Thursdays in August. From 5 p.m. till closing, get a crostini board (little toast things with fancy bites on top) and a bottle of wine for $20. I’m not a crostini kind of guy, but that bottle makes it a play. A couple of locals-only discounts will save on sushi. Andrea’s at Encore has a special Bronze Menu for locals available Sun.-Thu. from 6 to 10:30 p.m., with select sushi rolls for $6 and wine and specialty cocktails for $7. Sushi Roku in the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace takes 20 percent off your entire menu when you show your Nevada ID. Pub 365 has opened at Tuscany in the space that used to be the Cantina. The barstyle restaurant offers 365 different craft beers with 40 draft selections, and you can get them all comped by playing the good video poker games at the bar. The best is quarter 9/7/5 Double Bonus with a progressive that’s break-even when the royal hits $1,440—it was at $1,300 when I was there— yielding a 99.69 percent return. Looking for low limits? Play $3 blackjack and $1 craps all the time and 25-cent roulette Mon.Thu. at Jokers Wild on Boulder Highway. While you’re in the neighborhood, check out Klondike Sunset, which reopens this week. This was always a place to find old-school bargains before it closed two years ago. It’s under new management, but I have to believe there’ll be some good things happening there. Who knows? Maybe a whole column’s worth for “The Deal.” Anthony Curtis is the publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor and LasVegasAdvisor.com.

Marco Glaviano. He saw a tall, skinny kid and he said, “I’m sorry to bother you, but are you with an agency? If not, I would love for you to please go see [model agency executive] Eileen Ford tomorrow morning.” And I went. I did pay my dues: It’s not like I was overnight. But I had a strong career at a fabulous time that lasted for a very long time. I’m still shooting covers for magazines, I still walk L.A. Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week. It’s fun for me every so often to do that stuff. You’ve followed a few different career paths, including blogging for The Huffington Post.

Deep Dive

Susan Holmes-McKagan on modeling, swimwear and Guns N’ Roses

August 4–10, 2016

VegasSeven.com

by Lissa Townsend Rodgers

➜

SUSAN HOLMES-MCKAGAN

began her career during the golden age of the supermodel, walking runways for Valentino, Prada and Chanel and doing campaigns for everyone from Yves Saint Laurent to Victoria’s Secret. Like many models of the era, she married a rock star, Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses. The couple is about to celebrate their 17th wedding

anniversary. But Susan is more Renaissance woman than rock star arm candy. She continues to model, but also designs her own swimwear line, Susan Holmes Swimwear, which regularly appears in Sports Illustrated, as well as Cosmopolitan and Playboy. She is also a writer whose work can be found in The Huffington Post and has a book coming out in 2017.

I was approached to write some posts and I said “OK, I want to try my hand at this.” I just thought, “I’m going to write about what I know best: fashion, modeling, music, traveling, relationships.” And almost four years later, I’m still writing for them, interviewing wonderful celebrities like Billy Bob Thornton, Cindy Crawford, Linda Ramone about the Ramones’ museum exhibit in New York. I love the opportunity to talk to people and hear their side of the story directly from the source. And now you’re working on a book.

How did you get started modeling?

I was on the cover of San Diego magazine at 16—billboards, advertising for various stores, doing local fashion shows and stuff. I went to New York with my mom and we treated ourselves one night: We saw Cats, then we ate at a restaurant called the Quilted Giraffe. At one of the tables near us was Jodie Foster and a fashion photographer,

I was approached by a publisher because I would tell her these exciting, colorful stories about my modeling life, the fashion world, traveling and music, and she was like, “Wow, you should really put this all on paper.” And I thought, maybe I will someday. So is it an autobiography, a beauty book, or …?

It’s a fun, fictitious novel. It’s based more on my time in the ’90s—obviously I’m pulling from a few experi-

ences or moments. That includes the fashion world, modeling, New York City, Paris, Los Angeles living. That includes rock star stuff, that includes supermodel stuff, that includes the jetsetter lifestyle—but also the down and dirty. There’s a lot of twists and turns with a female protagonist. You also have your own line of swimsuits. Is that something that came out of modeling?

Well, I’m originally a San Diego girl, growing up at the beach. I grew up going to Catholic school, wearing uniforms. So I took a lot of sewing classes—I was the president of my sewing club in high school. Later, I modeled so much swimwear, I’d be a fool not to learn something about aesthetics and silhouettes. I constructed a few samples, got my business license, did my own fittings, met with buyers and it took off right away. A lot of designers are recognized by a certain vibe or cut: I always think of what I would wear, but there’s such an oversaturation of swimwear and swimwear designers right now that you have to have some sort of niche. I’ve always had edgy, fashion-forward pieces: I’ve worked with studding, fabrics that are like peacock feathers, stripes and denim, or adorning them with seashells and novelty jewelry pieces so they stand out. What’s it like seeing Guns N’ Roses together onstage again?

It [is] absolutely wonderful. I [am] exhilarated and just having so much fun. I look around and see people crying and singing the songs, people dancing—we all feed off of one another’s energy. I [get] goosebumps.

PHOTOS BY KRYSTAL RAMIREZ

THE LATEST

STYLE

N O EC

T R E C

/ 1ST / M / / 9P 6 T US G U A Y, A D R SA T U

FRE

AGE T S T REE

IDG THER E A H ELISS OUT - M M 0 H 2 AS UST - SM AUG 3 R E EMB SEPT

& DRI

EENS R QU U O F // GGET N HE D N NU O T E I / D S / N I L GO AT I O RNIA VIVA V T E // T ST LIFO A E A G E C R N // ST OLDE N’S MAIN T // G BINIO N O FREM

INM E R TA T N E //

// ZILLA T O L S

OOD T // F

s Ve g a S VEGA

to n w o ’D

EXP

NCE ERIE

.COM

An Empire Like No Other

➺ caesars palace has always been more than the sum of its parts. Yes, it’s just a place where people pay for rooms, eat dinner, watch shows and gamble. But there remains something compelling about the property. It may no longer be the highest-grossing on the Strip, and as of 2016 it still isn’t the oldest, but it might just be the most successful. Unlike the older Flamingo and Tropicana hotels, Caesars Palace has, since its 1966 opening, been near the top echelon of Strip casinos. From the first throw of the dice until the 1989 opening of Steve Wynn’s Mirage (which was at least partially inspired by Caesars), it was indisputably the top joint in town. That 23-year run— an eternity in Las Vegas years—likely won’t be matched. The Mirage had nine years on top, replaced by Wynn’s own Bellagio. After the 2005 opening of Wynn Las Vegas, things get less clear. Did Bellagio retain the crown

of the premier Vegas casino? Or did the master take it back? In any event, there are several claimants for the top spot—Wynn, Bellagio, Aria, the Venetian, and, still, Caesars Palace. With the growing diversity of Las Vegas’ attractions and clientele, it seems unlikely that another undisputed champion will emerge. Caesars, however, is more than a successful casino: It has become a global brand. Thanks to decades of special events as well as a recognizable, marketable name and logo, Caesars is in its own class. At the core, though, the most remarkable thing about Caesars Palace is that it redefined what a casino—and the tourist core of Las Vegas—could be. Founding visionary Jay Sarno wanted to build something that smashed every idea of what Las Vegas was. Caesars (or the Desert Cabana, as it was known in its earliest incarnation) would offer gambling, and lots of it, but unlike other

DAVID G. SCHWARTZ

properties, it would offer much more: the chance to live a fantasy, even for just a few days. Sarno wanted visitors to not just gamble and vacation, but to live another life, to be the person they aspired to be. And that, in a nutshell, launched modern Las Vegas.

•••••

sarno conceived the idea for caesars after a February 1963 Flamingo junket. It was the die-hard gambler’s first stay in Las Vegas, and he was completely underwhelmed. Convinced he could do better, Sarno persuaded Jimmy Hoffa—who had already helped him build Cabana hotels in Atlanta, Dallas and Palo Alto, California—to arrange a Teamster loan. The concept was impressive; financing a $19 million resort with no collateral and less good will was audacious. But a $10 million guarantee from the Teamsters Cen-

PHOTO BY PUREPIX

August 4–10, 2016

VegasSeven.com

Caesars Palace puts 50 years of history on the books B Y

THE BIRTH OF A BRAND “Fanfare for the Common Man” quieted the 5,000 Teamster officers and their invited guests who were jammed in a Caesars Palace ballroom. They’d enjoyed an open bar and a limitless buffet including, but not limited to, crab legs, caviar, roast beef, pigs in a blanket, a dozen cheeses and chocolate mousse. It was May 20, 1986, and this party was an adjunct to the annual Teamster convention at the Las Vegas Convention Center. As the crowd buzzed—what could surpass that cheese spread?—four beefy men dressed as centurions entered, bearing 300-pound Teamster President Jackie Presser on a golden sedan chair. Presser, dressed in a cream-colored suit, had just been indicted on federal racketeering charges. As Department of Labor onlookers stood by, incredulous, Presser leaned down to shake hands with the Teamster faithful, spoke briefly and was carried back out to a private dining room. A union official making that kind of entrance, while under indictment for embezzlement no less, requires not just chutzpah, but a certain live-for-the-moment spirit that isn’t so common, even in Las Vegas. The Teamsters could have thrown a lavish bash at any number of Strip casinos, but only Caesars Palace could have produced the spectacle of a Teamster president being carried in a litter. And it was fitting: Caesars was, quite literally, the house that Jimmy Hoffa built. Without his loan to Jay Sarno, Caesars likely never would have seen the light of day. Yet this Teamster homecoming was the end of an era. Twenty years on, Caesars Palace had surpassed its roots as the last place built on Teamster loans and idiosyncratic appeal and had become a marketing juggernaut. The same year that Presser made his grand entrance, Caesars began selling branded apparel and accessories, one of the first casinos to do so. Initial offerings included terry cloth robes, polo shirts, bathing suits and an entire line of velour leisurewear. Visors, sunglasses, keychains, sunblock, watches—you could deck yourself from head to toe in Caesars-ness. Within two years, the casino would add fragrances—Caesars Man and Caesars Woman—that allowed you to bathe in the scent of a Caesar. While Presser’s party marked the fading of one Caesars empire, branding the name marked the rise of a second. Caesars was a lifestyle. Enjoying Caesars Palace went beyond catching Joan Rivers or Julio Iglesias at the Circus Maximus or dining at Palace Court; it meant taking a piece of Caesars home with you. Jay Sarno’s initial vision—a casino that would transcend Las Vegas—had become a reality. –David G. Schwartz

VegasSeven.com

➺ The opening strains of Aaron Copland’s

ILLUSTRATION COURTESY UNLV SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

••••• but there was more to caesars than met the eye. Very quickly, workers and managers gelled into something more than a workplace. “Ash Resnick,” longtime dealer Bennie Figgins recalls, “he was my man.” Figgins was $200 short of cash when buying his house. Resnick walked him to the cage and told the cashier, “Give him $200 and he’ll pay it back when he’s ready.” It was a helping hand, but not charity, given to a trusted friend. “That’s the way it was back then,” Figgins says. “It was just like a big family here. You didn’t have to worry about nothing because they’d take care of you.” The executives got their hands dirty, too. Figgins remembers food and beverage vice president Billy Weinberger pulling his coat off and jumping in to assist a backed-up bartender during a banquet. Figgins, then working as a porter, removed his coat and started helping out, too. “That stuck with me ever since,” he says. Not that the Caesars managers, who’d learned the ins and outs of gambling in less-than-legal settings, were a bunch of softies. Zarowitz insisted his word be law. Showroom server Pete George, for example, remembers that Mr. Z. demanded Circus Maximus shows end exactly on time—not five minutes later, not five minutes sooner—and that patrons be back out on the casino floor, pronto. “So we started taking the tablecloths off the tables the second the curtain fell,” George remembers. Since music from the showroom could be heard from Zarowitz’s perch in the casino, any deviation from the schedule had immediate repercussions. Once, George recalls Zarowitz demanding to know why Tom Jones was still performing after the show’s scheduled end. Seconds later, the curtain dropped on Jones mid-song, the tablecloths were

coming off and guests were heading out the doors. “He was strictly business,” George says. Zarowitz’s focus on detail, combined with Sarno’s fantasy world, created an incredibly popular and profitable casino. Even with the highest room rates in Las Vegas by a large margin, the hotel was consistently packed and the games full. Despite the early success of Caesars, the three principals could not get along. Sarno, Jacobson and Zarowitz each wanted to call the shots. With both Nevada’s Gaming Control Board and the U.S. Department of Justice increasingly asking about the possibility of skimming, Jacobson and Sarno looked for a buyer. They came close to selling the casino to the Denny’s restaurant chain in late 1968, but that deal fell through. Meanwhile, the Gaming Control Board ratcheted up the pressure, threatening $3 million in fines after Caesars was found to be hosting a group of 12 (reputed) members of the Kansas City underworld. So when another fast-food chain, Lum’s, owned by the Perlmans, came calling in 1969, the Caesars owners were eager to close. For a promised $58 million, the Florida-based, publicly traded company took the keys to Caesars’ empire. Jacobson built Lake Tahoe’s King’s Castle casino, and Sarno immersed himself in Circus Circus, which he had opened the previous October. The Perlmans brought corporate ownership to Caesars Palace. The casino proved so profitable that Lum’s soon sold off all its other interests and renamed itself Caesars World. Caesars Palace simply had so much more profit potential than Lum’s other businesses—including not just its flagship hot dog and beer restaurants, but also a Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In-themed restaurant and a chain of Army-Navy stores—that the Perlmans chose to get out of the food franchising business and double down on resorts. “[Clifford Perlman] was very personable,” valet Dunbar remembers. “The most personable chairman we had.” The new regime wasted no time in expanding Caesars, opening the 222-room Centurion Tower on August 6, 1970. Farther afield, Caesars World bought two Poconos honeymoon resorts in Pennsylvania and leased Florida land with plans to build a hotel and condominium complex. And in 1972, Caesars World bought the Strip’s Thunderbird casino, which it planned to replace with the 38-story, 2,000-room Mark Anthony hotel. Geared toward the convention and family markets, the Mark Anthony would have complemented Caesars’ focus on the high-end gambling segment. After sinking more than $2 million into the project, the company abandoned it in 1975 after being unable to line up suitable financing. Expansion at Caesars Palace, though, continued apace with a 361-room addition to the original tower opening in early 1974. Perhaps not wishing to abandon the Mark Anthony’s convention aspirations, Caesars Palace added 50,000 square feet of convention space the following year. Caesars became a true globe-spanning brand in those years. Sports, as stadium proponents argue today, was one way to build a brand. With little prospect of luring a big-league team, Caesars borrowed a page from the Desert Inn’s playbook. Moe Dalitz and Allard Roen, looking to raise Las Vegas’ profile in 1953, hit upon the idea of hosting the Tournament of Champions on the new Desert Inn Golf Course. With coverage from NBC, the tournament gave the Desert Inn and Las Vegas loads of free publicity—until new DI owner Howard Hughes evicted the popular event from the course in 1967. Caesars Palace didn’t have the ability to build its own golf course, but tennis, which could be

August 4–10, 2016

tral States Pension Fund only got him halfway to the finish line. After traveling the country looking for investors, he met Baltimore insurance executive Nate Jacobson, who gladly traded his Maryland business for the title of president of Caesars. Getting the money to build Caesars wasn’t easy. It was the last casino built before the corporate rules of casino finance. Lacking access to banks and other mainstream lenders, casino builders from Ben Siegel to Moe Dalitz solicited investments from those who knew the gambling business. This group fell into two subgroups with considerable overlap: big gamblers and those involved in illicit gambling. Sarno and Jacobson successfully recruited nearly 60 investors. Some commitments came with strings attached; one was Miami bookmaker Jerry Zarowitz (who opening-day valet Jim Dunbar remembers as “a real casino man”). He became the official, albeit unlicensed, boss of the casino. The opening of Caesars Palace (see “How Jay Sarno Made Las Vegas,” October 9, 2013) was a triumph fit for a Caesar. A host of Hollywood celebrities and dignitaries attended. But when given the microphone, Sarno singled out one man for praise: Jimmy Hoffa. “Only someone with his class, his integrity,” Sarno said, “could have added a little Greco-Roman class to Vegas.” Caesars would become the biggest success in Las Vegas casino history up to that point. “Every wiseguy in the world, you know—gambler, action Jackson guy, everybody—was there,” Steve Wynn said of Caesars’ opening. As Howard Hughes was beginning to foist corporate ownership on Las Vegas, there was an alternative. “All of Nate Jacobson’s gambling buddies that were Flamingo customers and Sands customers, boom, right into Caesars,” Wynn elaborated. “It was perfect timing. Good night, Sands. Good morning, Caesars.”

Clockwise from top left: The Electric Horseman, Oh, God! You Devil!, Rain Man, Iron Man

CAESARS ON CELLULOID

August 4–10, 2016

VegasSeven.com

The imperial glory of Vegas is captured in films shot at the legendary casino B Y L I S S A T O W N S E N D R O D G E R S

HELL’S ANGELS ’69 (1969) The biker flick meets the heist movie. A pair of L.A. posers infiltrate the Hells Angels to use them as a diversion while they rob Caesars Palace. Just for shits and grins: These fellows have trust funds. However, things don’t go as planned and, unsurprisingly, badass bikers don’t dig being rich boys’ patsies. Playing the gang are actual members of the Oakland Hells Angels, including “maximum leader” Sonny Barger.

THE ELECTRIC HORSEMAN (1979) Ah, the ’70s, when animal rights and anti-corporatism were the backdrop for a big-budget Hollywood romance. In The Electric Horseman, Robert Redford plays a washed-up rodeo star, now pushing breakfast cereal by riding a horse while wearing a bunch of Christmas lights. Redford discovers his steed is drugged and fouls up the big Vegas product launch by riding the horse through Caesars, down the Strip and to freedom … or at least to Primm.

OH, GOD! YOU DEVIL! (1984) Oh, God, You Devil! features George Burns in a dual role as God and the Devil. Devil George convinces a young musician to sell his soul for a headlining gig at Caesars, then God George plays poker against Devil George in the Crystal Casino for said soul. Burns is reliably fun, but leading man Ted Wass will make viewers long for the fireball of molten charisma that was John Denver in the first two flicks.

RAIN MAN (1988) In this Oscar-winning hit, two brothers—slick Tom Cruise and autistic Dustin Hoffman—go on a cross-country road trip, inevitably stopping in Vegas. The two hit Caesars and, thanks to Hoffman’s way with numbers, cash in. From the action at the casino tables to the highest of high-roller suites to the working girls at Cleopatra’s Barge, Rain Man showcases the property at its ’80s height.

FOOLS RUSH IN (1997) Las Vegas offers plenty of romantic-comedy fodder—the chance meetings, the drunken blackouts, the quickie weddings. Fools Rush In hits all of the tropes, as uptight architect Matthew Perry meets feisty Mexican-American Caesars Palace photographer Salma Hayek, and their onenight stand comes with an unexpected little dividend. Can two very different people (and their very stereotyped families) find happiness? Honey, do you even have to ask?

IRON MAN (2008) Naturally, billionaire playboy Tony Stark likes to hang in Sin City. In Iron Man, he rolls up to Caesars Palace with a full entourage to receive an award, but blows off the ceremony to hang out in the casino, swilling cocktails, shooting craps and hitting on foxy blond journalists. When he finally gets his coveted statuette, he passes it on to a passing costumed centurion, “rendering unto Caesar what is Caesar’s.”

KNIGHT OF CUPS (2015) Terrence Malick’s artsy midlife crisis follows Christian Bale on an existential journey surrounded by beautiful women and luxurious settings. When Bale tires of Los Angeles’ empty decadence, he heads for the one place even further on the scale: Las Vegas. He is melancholy by the Caesars Palace pool, in The Forum Shops. Even a beautiful stripper doesn’t lift his mood. However, gorgeous cinematography renders Vegas luminous, down to the food court.

NIGHTLIFE Your city after dark, photos from the week’s hottest parties and pop princess Daya

Camp Spin-Off is for everyone, but these girls are on a roll By Camille Cannon

VegasSeven.com

Camp Spin-Off founder Tina Turnbull. Every summer since 2010, Forest Home Camp in Ojai, California, has welcomed about 50 13-to-17-year-old boys and girls for five days of DJ instruction, production and music business courses taught by professional DJs. It’s a resource that Turnbull (a.k.a. DJ Tina T) didn’t have when she began DJing about 20 years ago, but one that has already catalyzed new careers. Two such Spin-Off success stories come from Las Vegas locals Jaelyn Carter (stage name Queen J), 15, and Jessenia Miller (DJ

The New Controllers

➜ AS ANY SUNTANNED, BUG-BITTEN KID will tell you, there are two types of summer camps. The first is the kind to which children are dragged. Parents need a break from long, school-free days, so they send their kids off to craft, canoe and bring home a few dozen boondoggle keychains. The second is the kind kids beg to attend—the type of warm-weather heaven where you make s’mores with the Beastie Boys’ Mix Master Mike. “My vision has always been to put the kids in a unique situation, something that you can’t do in the real world,” says

August 4–10, 2016

PHOTO BY SHANE ONEAL

Camp Spin-Off founder Tina Turnbull.

August 4–10, 2016

VegasSeven.com

NIGHTLIFE

Clockwise from left: Jaelyn Carter; and Jessenia Miller at work and practice.

Jiggy Jaayy), 18. Both women discovered Camp Spin-Off through an outreach program led by Turnbull at the Boys & Girls Club and attended on scholarship. It was also their first camp experience. “I always had an interest in music,” Miller says. “I wanted to be a producer because I used to watch a lot of TV shows about it. But I thought I couldn’t do it. I didn’t know where to start.” In just a few days at Camp SpinOff, Turnbull and her team of professionals teach campers the essentials of the music business and production. Teens learn about turntabilism and digital controllers from Scratch Academy staff, and more from guest visitors such as Samantha Ronson. All the while, campers receive side-by-side support from their counselors, a roster that includes Strip residents Crykit, Yo Yolie, Kontrol and others. What the camp doesn’t offer is any kind of “gig placement program,” and

that’s on purpose. “They need to work for it,” Turnbull says. For Carter, who had DJ’d at First Friday’s Kid Zone before her 2015 camp session, “working for it” meant approaching local businesses to secure her first grown-up gig—and landing one at Pinches Tacos at The Gramercy. “I wanted to take everything I learned [at camp] and push myself,” she says. “I’ve wanted to work since I was little. So it makes me happy that I don’t have to ask my mom for money. I get money doing something that I really love.” Miller, who attended Camp SpinOff in 2013 and 2015, has been working at H&M in the Forum Shops at Caesars since May. “I wanted to work there [in sales], but I also noticed that they had DJs. I saw it was two guys. So, I asked one of the managers, ‘Why don’t you have a girl DJ in here?’ And she said, ‘Oh, we’re actually looking for one. Do you want to try out?’ So I got hired as a DJ and a sales adviser.”

Turnbull asserts that turning the tables on the male-dominated DJ industry was an early motivation for creating Camp Spin-Off. “I never thought there was any reason for DJing to be so male-dominated. Women are definitely just as creative, better at multitasking. Having the camp run by women, having female counselors and having so many women there and in an equal ratio to men, [girls] don’t feel like they’re not capable. Even if they don’t DJ, [girls] can see: Women run shit.” Another principle of Camp SpinOff is giving back. As a nonprofit entity, the organization aims to offer scholarships to at least half of its attendees. Each year, the number of alumni who want to devote their time as staff always exceeds capacity, Turnbull says. And all of the counselors are unpaid volunteers whose dedication to their young pupils lasts long after the session.

Both Carter and Miller’s eyes light up when speaking about Turnbull and their counselors. They often text and call their mentors, whether it’s to troubleshoot during a gig or share good news. “I feel like it’s a family,” Miller says. Counselor Lynnie Robbins (a.k.a. DJ Highmaintenance) agrees. “[These girls] are at the age where if someone says, ‘Oh no, you can’t do that,’ they’re like ‘OK.’ And they might brush it off. Just being someone positive that they can look up to … the reward is so worth it. I would do it 10 more times.” And thanks to Camp Spin-Off staff and volunteers, both campers say they see many years of DJing in their futures. “I want to do it no matter what,” Carter says. Adds Miller: “I feel like I’m on the right path. I’m going to succeed in this.” Camp Spin-Off resumes Aug. 7-11. For more information, visit CampSpinOff.com.

LABOR DAY WEEKEND THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1

ALUNAGEORGE

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2

ALUNAGEORGE

WYNNSOCIAL.COM

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3

KIESZA

@INTRIGUEVEGAS

BORGEOUS AUG 8

JAUZ

AUG 15

NERVO AUG 22

3LAU

AUG 29

herringbone HOOKED ON MONDAYS

alibi ultra lounge PREPARE YOUR ALIBI

jewel nightclub FLAWLESS MONDAYS

HALF PRICE SELECT BOTTLES OF CHAMPAGNE AND EXCLUSIVE FOOD SPECIALS BEGINNING AT 9PM EVERY MONDAY

FEATURING COMPLIMENTARY CHAMPAGNE FOR LADIES FROM 9:30PM Ð 11:30PM EVERY MONDAY

COMPLETE YOUR NIGHT AT THE HOTTEST NEW NIGHTLIFE DESTINATION IN LAS VEGAS COMPLIMENTARY FOR LOCALS

a flawless experience at aria

OPEN MONDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY & SATURDAY \ JEWELNIGHTCLUB.COM \ 702.590.8000

NIGHTLIFE

favorite part of everything. [It would be cool] if I could perform all the time and go to different countries and travel. What can we look forward to at your next Intrigue performance on August 12?

A lot of energy, a lot of fun. I have some new songs coming out in the fall. I’m releasing an entire album. I just finished it up in L.A. yesterday, and I’m super excited for the songs on it, so hopefully I’ll tease some of those for you guys. Are you kind of bummed that you can’t actually party when you’re in Las Vegas?

It kind of sucks. I’m four years under age, but it’s so fun anyway. I love when crowds are rowdy and getting into it. It was a blast last time I went. It’s so fun for me to perform no matter what the circumstances are. Who are some musicians you really look up to?

Musician-wise: Sia. She’s so talented and she has an amazing voice. Rihanna: I love her music. Amy Winehouse was a huge inspiration early on. She got me into the more soulful R&B music. What are you listening to right now?

I like “Are You Home” by Broods. I like Chance the Rapper’s whole new album Coloring Book—it’s amazing.

We’re calling it right now: Daya will be the next big thing By Kat Boehrer

August 4–10, 2016

VegasSeven.com

➜ SINGER/SONGWRITER GRACE TANDON is making the radio rounds at age 17 under her artist moniker, Daya. Her self-titled EP

dropped in late 2015 with the catchy coming-of-age tune, “Sit Still, Look Pretty,” and her breakout hit, “Hideaway.” Most notable for the EDM crowd is her track with the Chainsmokers, “Don’t Let Me Down,” which hit the Top 5 on Billboard’s Hot 100. With a perfect foundation for a promising career and a shiny new residency at Intrigue in Wynn, Daya reflects on what mainstream music success means for her, all while trying to be a typical teenage girl. You are on track to be the next pop superstar. How do you think you’ll handle fame?

I am in it mainly for the music. It’s been a huge part of my life since I was 3 years old [sitting] at the piano. I love it, and I could never imagine myself doing anything but music. The other things that come with it are just [on the] side. If

people love and can relate to my music, that’s amazing. I love that, and I love connecting to other people through it. I just want to continue to make music that people can connect with and not go after it for something else. It seems like these days fame can be a double-edged sword.

There are definitely ups and downs to it, but I think that it is manageable and some artists have really succeeded with keeping their private lives private and exposing different parts of their lives to the world. I believe there’s definitely a strategy to it. Do you pay attention to tabloids

or to other celebrities’ lives?

I guess it’s part of my job now to know what’s going on with other celebrities in the pop world, but normally I wouldn’t. What is your ultimate goal for your career?

I hope to play stadiums and a world tour. That’d be so much fun. Performing is my

It spans a ton of genres, but I like listening to electronic pop and EDM, and sometimes synth pop.

You just graduated from high school and you even made it to your senior prom. How was it?

It was fun. It was definitely weird to be home, because I really haven’t been a lot this year, but it was great to be home for a week and see everyone and everything. Prom was fun, and I’m super happy that high school’s over and I graduated. What do your friends at home think about all of the success that you’ve had?

They’ve been supportive of me from the get-go, from when I was playing small gigs in my hometown of Pittsburgh. So it’s cool for them to see how far everything has come.

PHOTO BY NOAH BILITY

The New Pop Royalty

That’s a diverse selection of artists and sounds. What kind of music do you typically listen to?

NIGHTLIFE

PARTIES NIGHT-LITES

SOUNDYARD BY MOMENTUS BRINGS FRESH DANCE MUSIC TO DOWNTOWN

VEGAS SEVEN’S 2016 BEST OF THE CITY

August 4–10, 2016

VegasSeven.com

BeerHaus at the Park, July 21

See more photos from this gallery at SPYONvegas.com

not, Momentus Entertainment (WeAreMomentus.com) has carved a niche for itself by locating, repurposing and enlivening spots not widely used for dance music events. The local music-event promotions company debuted at Brooklyn Bowl in February. Six months and many enthusiastic crowds later, Momentus is ready for its seventh affair, the second edition of its monthly SoundYard series, 8 p.m. August 12 at Place on 7th, featuring Ardalan from Dirtybird, Sevenn, Fritz Carton, Flash.Gang and Skye. Fulfilling your need for fresh talent is Momentus CEO and founder, Michael Uriarte, whose love of music and resulting 11 years in the industry began in childhood. “I remember having to beg my Mom to buy me each of Tiësto’s Forbidden Paradise albums if my report card was solid in elementary school,” he says. “[I also remember] getting Carl Cox’s music on my mini disk player that always seemed to be broken.” His devotion established early, booking quality talent in a choice location is cake for him in 2016. “At many of our events, we try to set up activations to stimulate conversation and give our guests the ability to create their own memories,” Uriarte says. Place on 7th features couches and ornate lights to set the mood for relaxed socializing, plus a wide view of the outdoor dancing area. On either side of the grand LED display, cornhole and life-size chess offer even more diversion. Uriarte adds that Momentus aims to enrich Las Vegas with dynamically eclectic music and activities that give it context: “If we are the reason one person begins to love another genre of music, we’ve done our job.” –John Carr

PHOTOS BY TONY TRAN

➜ Whether intentionally or

NIGHTLIFE

PARTIES

DRAI’S BEACHCLUB The Cromwell [ UPCOMING ]

See more photos from this gallery at SPYONvegas.com

PHOTOS BY THOMAS TRAN

August 4–10, 2016

VegasSeven.com

Aug. 5 Quintino spins Aug. 6 Zeds Dead and 4B spin Aug. 7 Tropical Sundaze with Kayper

DJ RUCKUS

DJ IRIE

SAT / SEP / 03

SUN / SEP / 04

SCOOTER & LAVELLE THU / SEP / 01

SCOTTY BOY FRI / SEP / 02

BRKLYN

MON / SEP / 05

L I Q U I D P O O L LV . C O M / 7 0 2 5 9 0 9 9 7 9 / # L I Q U I D LV

DINING

Kentaro Komoda and Christophe De Lellis.

One-Two Punch

August 4–10, 2016

VegasSeven.com

Christophe De Lellis and Kentaro Komoda are the newest keepers of the Joël Robuchon magic By Al Mancini

➜ PERHAPS NO KITCHEN in Las Vegas is as respected and as honored as that of Joël Robuchon in MGM Grand. Perfection is the expectation of every aspect of every dish in every meal. So when James Beard Award-winning executive chef Claude Le-Tohic announced his departure earlier this year, curiosity about his replacement spread. The decision, straight from the restaurant’s namesake “Chef of the Century,” was to enlist two relatively young chefs to work in tandem. Las Vegas has a tradition of younger talent helming celebrity chef kitchens, but the youth in this team is still noteworthy. Executive chef Christophe De Lellis is just 28, while his right-hand man, chef de cuisine Kentaro Komoda, is 31. Independently, each boasts an impressive résumé, and together they make an unparalleled team. “Each of these chefs has his specific areas of expertise,” says Sebastian Dumonet, director of restaurants for MGM Grand. “And the reason we have two very young chefs heading what is most likely the most prominent restaurant in the MGM’s portfolio, as

well as probably the most prominent restaurant in Las Vegas at this time, is because Mr. Robuchon truly trusts each of those individual skill sets.” The man at the top of the ticket, De Lellis, graduated first in his class at Paris’ prestigious École Supérieure de Cuisine Française in 2008. He then helped open La Brasserie Renaissance at the renowned Marriott Hotel ChampsEllysees before coming to Las Vegas to accept a sous chef position at Robuchon. Cooking in the U.S., however, opened De Lellis up to new ideas. “Coming from France, or when you go to Italy or go to Spain, 80 or 90 percent of the people eat only French food, only Spanish food, only Italian food,” he says. “But when you come here, people eat different types of food. And the diversity is not just the type of food. It’s also dietary, such as gluten-free or [vegetarian].” Contrary to the stereotypical unyielding French chef, Robuchon encourages his teams to cater to the specific tastes of their customers. So to better understand the American palate, the young chef left his mentor for a year to serve as chef de cuisine at

Shawn McClain’s distinctly American restaurant Sage in Aria. “It changed my mentality a lot,” De Lellis says of his working sabbatical. “It gave me a better understanding of the American palate. For example, now whenever I work on a dish, I’m always worried about whether there’s enough salt, enough acidity and enough texture for American guests.” Komoda was born in Hiroshima, Japan. Introduced to French food through an uncle, he was so enamored with it that he studied cooking at Paris’ École Château de Vigny. He was a trainee at La Tour d’Argent in Paris before joining Robuchon as commis chef at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Tokyo. Komoda then went to Robuchon au Dôme in Macau, followed by a brief stint at Joël Robuchon Restaurant in Singapore before returning to Macau. But Robuchon lured him back into the fold to assist De Lellis in Las Vegas, where Komoda, too, had to adjust to the American palate. (His offduty research includes an obsession with local chicken wings.) Like his executive chef, Komoda discovered that salt ranks “very high” in American preferences.

When asked how each might put his mark on the menu, Komoda answered quickly, with Dumonet translating from French. “I don’t feel that I, myself, put my mark on a lot of the dishes,” he says, “because everything I do is in following with Mr. Robuchon’s teachings.” De Lellis was quick to agree. And that, Dumonet explains, is part of the Robuchon experience. “When somebody steps into any Robuchon restaurant,” he says, “it shouldn’t be about the executive chef. It shouldn’t be about the manager who is welcoming you, or the maître‘d or the sommelier who walks you through the pairing. It should be the experience and the culture that Mr. Robuchon has created.” To assure that consistency, both chefs consult with their mentor and boss on every aspect of menu additions. But it says a lot that when engagements at the European Cup soccer tournament prevented Robuchon’s regular inspection visit to Las Vegas, he didn’t hesitate in approving the rollout of new items. They include what appears at first to be the world’s most ornate deviled egg topped with a dollop of caviar, but opens to reveal lump crab meat. Another includes corn mousseline surrounded with green dots of parsley and chlorophyll and topped with foie gras, shaved Iberico ham, snow peas and beet gelée. Those, of course, are the types of surreal plates one expects from Robuchon. Even the most loyal repeat customers would be hard-pressed to tell they came from Komoda and De Lellis. And that’s just fine with them.

DRINKING

Against the Odds

Tales of the Cocktail founders Ann and Paul Tuennerman kicked off the show hosted by The 86 Co.’s Simon Ford and actress Aisha Tyler. Scattered around New Orleans, still more Las Vegans were glued to a WhatsApp stream for the latest, and back at Herbs & Rye, the awards were being live-streamed. The next moments were a blur as the four finalists were read, but Herbs & Rye was the only name called when it counted most. Bar manager Adam O’Donnell was the first to reach the podium, then barman Joe Pereira, followed by Mendoza. The Las Vegas contingent wouldn’t sit down then or for much of the rest of the night: In an unexpected twist, Herbs & Rye also made the short list for the eight best bars in the world (spoiler: London’s The Connaught Bar took it), an unannounced honor that still has Mendoza reeling, perhaps even more than the award he did get. “For us to be Top 8 in the world is absolutely mind-boggling to me. I still haven’t processed it,” he says. This might look like the happy end to a sweet story, but really, it’s just the beginning for the entire Herbs & Rye team and for every Las Vegas bar that hopes to follow in their footsteps. “I was told that winning Best High-Volume Bar—or winning any [Spirited] Award as a Las Vegas cocktail bar—was impossible,” Mendoza says. “Why this can’t be possible? We do it in every other thing here in Vegas. Everything is possible. So this is just a new journey and a new chapter in this book that we’ve written, and we’ll go from there.”

PHOTO BY KRYSTAL RAMIREZ

torically accurate classic cocktails (as many as 1,300 in a shift) alongside house-butchered steaks, and crisscrossing the world for popups and charitable efforts. “New York, San Francisco, L.A.—they’re known for having a great cocktail scene. We are not. We’re known for having amazing megaclubs, amazing casinos, amazing everything but cocktail bars,” Mendoza says. “The same people who go to cocktail bars in your city are the same ones who come to our city, go to the club and order a vodka Red Bull. It’s kind of a double-edged sword: There are so many other things you can do [in Las Vegas] besides have cocktails. But, obviously, we’ve changed that now.” Change came slowly to Red Bull Town, however. In 2012, Vesper in the Cosmopolitan was the first Las Vegas bar to be long-listed by Tales’ judging panel, but that year and the two that followed, when the Top 10 nominees were narrowed to four finalists, the lights always dimmed on Sin City’s hopes for recognition. In 2015, Herbs & Rye joined Vesper as a nominee in two categories, but … well, you know. Still, that year, Bound Bar in The Cromwell was the first brick-andmortar venue to showcase itself at the awards preparty, surrounded by brands. This year, Bound—a 2016 award nominee along with Vesper, Herbs & Rye and Southern Wine & Spirits educator Francesco Lafranconi—returned, and was joined by staff from the Parlor Lounge in The Mirage. Las Vegas attendance was as high as the tension in the moments before

August 4–10, 2016

A guy opens a Las Vegas bar on a shoestring budget at the start of the Great Recession. Seven years later, he returns from the Academy Awards of bartending having been bestowed one of the greatest honors in the beverage industry. Of course, a lot happened at Herbs & Rye (3713 W. Sahara Ave., 702-982-8036, HerbsAndRye.com) between those two milestones. There were epic menu changes, multiple renovations, philosophical culture shifts, staff turnover and personal challenges. Progress came with a price, but not without a payoff, which came on July 23 when Herbs & Rye was named the Best American High-Volume Cocktail Bar at Tales of the Cocktail, America’s preeminent gathering of the spirits and bar industry. “To be the first [Las Vegas bar] to ever make it to the Top 4 was enough for us. To actually win—it was surreal,” Herbs & Rye owner Nectaly Mendoza says. “I truly feel that it’s always been within our reach, we just had a tougher path than a lot of the other major cities. I always knew it was obtainable, I just didn’t know when or how we were going to get there, and now we’re here.” In a sense, Mendoza just walked on Mars. In winning this Spirited Award, Herbs & Rye has put Las Vegas on a map that previously bore only such boozy hubs as New York, San Francisco and London, and paid little mind to what, if anything, was going on out here in the desert. And what’s been going on is that Herbs & Rye has hit its stride, consistently cranking out his-

➜ STOP ME IF YOU’VE HEARD THIS ONE:

VegasSeven.com

Las Vegas knows it, and now so does the rest of the world: Herbs & Rye is the Best American High-Volume Cocktail Bar By Xania Woodman

A&E

PAGE 56

Art, music, television and bloody toy mayhem

PEEK-A-BOO PUNKS Ashley and Steven Matview of Punks in Vegas peruse the goods at 11th Street Records.

PunksInVegas.com launched in March 2011, it’s been a cornerstone of the city’s ever-changing music scene. The site began as a labor of love within the confines of a classroom. Matview created the prototype as a project for his web development class at the University of North Texas, where he was pursuing a master’s degree in library and information science. It was dusty books and outdated computers by day and sweaty punk gigs in basements or bars by night. And for the most part, not much has changed. Matview currently serves as the youth services li-

brarian at Windmill Library while running the site. “The dummy site was initially just a show guide that laid out gigs that were coming to Vegas. After graduating, I had a ton of free time, so I was going to multiple shows a week, and just started writing about them,” Matview says. At a time when the city’s house show and all-ages scene was blossoming, his goal was to centralize the handful of Las Vegas tour stops from some of his favorite bands during his daily internet lurking. “I had this idea of putting [the show listings] all in one

➜ NOBODY KNOWS MORE about the dynamic Las Vegas music scene than Steven Matview. Matview, 33, is the founder of PunksInVegas. com—an all-volunteer website that has a plethora of music-related content. Although the site has the word “punks” in the name, Punks in Vegas doesn’t just target the boots, studs and Mohawks crowd. Its eclectic coverage includes everything from a review and photos of Chicago pop-punk stalwarts Screeching Weasel rocking at Beauty Bar to an exclusive, intimate session with local singer/songwriter Kat Kalling. Since

August 4–10, 2016

PHOTO BY KRYSTAL RAMIREZ

Punks in Vegas celebrates five years as the scene’s scrappy hero By Ian Caramanzana

VegasSeven.com

Three Cheers for Five Years 51

place because I would spend a lot of time on sites such as PunkNews or AbsolutePunk and incessantly post about them on MySpace. It drove all my nonmusic friends crazy.” Matview’s post-concert coverage— which consisted of blurry cellphone photos and short write-ups—received widespread acclaim from his circle of music colleagues and friends, who may have overlooked the smaller gigs. And they weren’t the only ones missing out: Matview became frustrated when many of his favorite upand-coming bands would perform to slim audiences, or skip the city altogether on tours. “I really wanted to promote those shows I was excited about, and try to get other people excited as I am. If I

couldn’t get them excited, I could at least give something to the band: A nice photo or a clip to show off.” Matview to include the word “Vegas” in the name to let the world know that, yes, Las Vegas has a punk scene— and it’s thriving. Punks in Vegas’ event calendar and concert reviews have remained mainstays since the beginning, but no aspect of the site has taken off like the Stripped Down Sessions. The live performance videos, which have garnered the attention of national media outlets such as New Noise magazine and PunkNews.org, are exactly what they sound like—toned-down, bare-bones renditions of what are otherwise chaotic, feedback-ridden numbers. Matview has shot video in

such diverse locations as the Discovery Children’s Museum, Cowtown Guitars and his very own apartment. Some of punk’s biggest names such as Less Than Jake, Chris Conley of Saves the Day and the Bouncing Souls (from which Matview took the name of the site) have contributed cuts to Stripped Down Sessions during tour stops, and they sit pretty alongside videos by locals such as Moonboots, Cameron Calloway and Headwinds. Matview believes this opens up the door for discovery. “If someone outside of Vegas is watching the Less Than Jake sessions, the Be Like Max ones will pop up in the sidebars, and they’ll get exposed to that new music,” he says. It’s working: As of this writing, the YouTube

PUNKS IN VEGAS 5TH ANNIVERSARY

August 5, 5 p.m., 1023 Fremont St., 11th Street Records, $5, 702-527-7990, 11thStreetRecords.com.

PHOTO OF STEVEN AND ASHLEIGH MAT VIEW BY KRYSTAL RAMIREZ

A&E August 4–10, 2016

VegasSeven.com

Clockwise from top left: The Matviews take the cake, Toy Guitar, Alan Six and Pears.

channel for Stripped Down Sessions clocked in at an impressive 2 million collective views. Five years on, Punks in Vegas remains a scrappy unsung hero of the music scene, but it’s no longer just Matview running the show. His allvolunteer team consists of copy editor (and wife) Ashleigh Matview; seasoned concert photographers Anthony Constantine, Aaron Mattern, Tylor Newton, Tyler Thurier and Hunter Wallace; and young writers Jazmin Boulton, Michelle Cardin, Alan Madrigal, Rhiannon Price and Lance Wells. Together, the group uploads content to the site several times a week. “We’ve got a really solid team, but of course, I don’t want to close the door on new people,” he says. (Volunteers can contact Matview at Steven@PunksInVegas.com.) Punks in Vegas will blow out the candles at 11th Street Records August 5—a celebration Matview says will be all-inclusive. “We knew we wanted it to be an all-ages show, and we knew we wanted to have it somewhere music-related,” Matview says. In the months since Neon Reverb, he’s built a close relationship with 11th Street Records owner Ronald Corso. “Ronald and his crew know what we’re trying to do, and once I told him we were shooting for a live band thing rather than an acoustic one like years past, it was a no-brainer.” Matview has invited five solid local bands for the celebration: Riot Grrl rockers Alan Six, Kat Kalling, Bee Master, Illicitor and Last Call. Last Call has had a close relationship with Punks in Vegas since both were in their infancy. The pop punk stalwarts premiered their first release on an indie label (2011’s Stay on the Outside) and five years later, they’re playing their final show at the 11th Street gig. “We’ve kind of had this mutual growth, and Austin [Jeffers, singer] and Adam [Blasco, drummer] have always been rad dudes,” Matview says. This endeavor is a charitable one, too; all proceeds from the suggested $5 donation are going to Girls Rock Vegas—a charity that empowers women through music education, creation and performance. As for the next five years, Matview wants to continue providing the scene with more of the same, but on a much larger scale. “More sessions, more reviews,” he says. “I always want to keep as many involved as possible so we can keep promoting the awesome stuff that happens in our city.” By music fans, for music fans. Now that’s punk.

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

A&E

Crazy Beautiful

Crime on Canvas is a pop surrealist art festival-within-a-festival By Geoff Carter

Black Swan by Deirdre Sullivan Beeman.

August 4–10, 2016

VegasSeven.com

➜ WHETHER YOU CALL IT

“lowbrow art,” “pop surrealism” or simply “that cool, trippy shit I’ll never afford in a million years,” Jay Nailor and MiShell Modern are bringing it to Life Is Beautiful next month. The husband-and-wife team— founders of Palm Springs’ influential M Modern Gallery—is curating a special group show at the Western Hotel during the festival, the provocatively named Crime on Canvas. And for anyone who’s ever leafed through an issue of Hi-Fructose or Juxtapoz and admired the goods, this show could be even more rousing than the music playing outside. “I thought it would be nice for locals to see what Los Angeles and New York are doing, as far as this particular genre,” Nailor says. He expects that most of the 80-plus artists whose works will be on display will actually attend Life Is Beautiful, making Crime on Canvas something of a pop surrealist art superstar festival-within-a-festival. Scheduled to appear are works by Shag, Isabel Samaras, Travis Louie, Tim Biskup, Jessicka Addams, Luke Chueh, Brian M. Viveros, Camille Rose Garcia, Glenn Barr, Dierdre SullivanBeeman, Shepard Fairey and dozens of others. Some of the art will come from comparative unknowns—Elisabeth

Baby Stomachache by Jessicka Addams.

Ansimow is a 9-year-old artist recently featured on Nickelodeon’s All In With Cam Newton—while other pieces come from celebrities you might not have known were artists, including Frances Bean Cobain, Incubus frontman Brandon Boyd and Damien Echols of the exonerated West Memphis Three. And a number of Las Vegas-based artists, among

them Casey Weldon, Amy Sol and Giovanni Morales, will also appear in the show, providing a chance for those international artists to see what Vegas is doing. The artist turnout for Crime on Canvas was very nearly overwhelming to Nailor, who only began making the necessary calls a few months back. “We got pretty much everyone we

wanted, with the exception of Mark Ryden,” he says. “He’s currently in the process of doing a ballet—the sets, the costumes, everything. He’ll be in the show next year.” When Nailor says “next year,” he speaks with the confidence of someone who’s been specializing in this genre for a good, long time, and has seen it blow the hell up. “In the mid-2000s,

we went from being one of six galleries in the world showing this genre to about seven or eight on one block in Culver City.” He grins. “It was crazy.” And now, in 2016, the only thing that’s crazy about a show like Crime on Canvas is how much of its cool, trippy art you’ll be tempted to buy at the festival’s pop-up shop. Today, lowbrow is beautiful.

THE MOST FABULOUS THING gruesomely lovely things. His obsession took off from there. Over time his ambitions grew, as did his mods. His first larger sculpture was a Snow Trooper Centaur carrying a gutted Ewok. Quite charming, really ... and definitely insanely cool. Up to now, his creations have been for his own amusement and as gifts for friends. Upon learning of Toy Con, however, he made the decision to sell his mods. His toys have a very specific appeal—for example, the Zombie Harley Quinn-bank that I That went well. am definitely buying, once it’s done—so now that he’s beginning to sell his art, there will be a definite focus on commissions. Each piece takes a hell of a long time to complete, so mass production isn’t really an option. But hey, you can’t rush brilliance. There is a brand-new range up for sale at Toy Con to keep a look out and a hand in your wallet for. KalVoki Kalfayan cuts and fayan’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” series glues playtime to his liking of gay soldiers, which were supposed to be quick to produce, have ended By Charlie Starling up leading him a merry dance. Classic army men are made from a plastic that’s totally resistant to any ➜ LATE JULY, for me, brings with it a deep and distressing FOMO. I’m type of adhesive. It took hours spent heat-struck here in the blistering in an internet rabbit hole for him to sun of Las Vegas, while elsewhere hone the technique, taking care not people are seeing all the things at to gas his girlfriend and little dog San Diego Comic Con and drinking Charlie (sometime star of The Penny all the stuff at Tales of the Cocktail. Pibbets Show) in the process. (Always (Related: Massive congratulations to melt plastic in well-ventilated areas, the crew at Herbs & Rye for bringing away from air conditioning units. back the Best High Volume Cocktail Thankfully, both girlfriend and Bar at the Spirited Awards. Yes.) pooch lived to clown another day.) However, I’m not one to wallow— I’m looking forward to seeing these and we have our very own Con to homoerotic, house-working soldiers attend. This year’s edition of the Las in the flesh. And they’re also availVegas Super Toy Con, coming to Orable as jewelry pieces … leans Arena August 5-7, will feature Super Toy Con also features meetthe weird and wonderful workings and-greets with stars, cosplay comof Voki Kalfayan, whose name may petitions and lots of vendors. Come strike a twinkle of recognition in you on down. And if you can’t make it Strip-populating showgoers. You’ll but are interested in Kalfayan’s work, find him at Super Toy Con on Artist’s find him on Instagram: @Artisnerd. Alley, with his second convention outLastly, the Kickstarter fund for Vegas ing as “Artisnerd,” creator of creepy Theatre Hub is now up and running. and imaginative toy modifications. Visit VegasTheatreHub.com to support Toy mods have been a hobby of this wonderful local organization durKalfayan’s since he was a kid, when ing its final week of fundraising. Let’s he started painting Ral Partha and furnish the Hub’s new home! Grenadier miniatures (before we disSee Charlie Starling in Absinthe, twice nightly covered that lead wasn’t safe ... hooray in the Spiegeltent at Caesars Palace, 8 p.m. and for science!) and picked it up again 10 p.m. Wed.-Sun. Visit AbsintheVegas.com for about eight years ago after being gifted tickets. Follow her on Twitter: @charlistarling. a copy of the board game Last Night on Earth by a friend. While painting the zombie figurines that came with the game, he discovered that the rubber LAS VEGAS SUPER TOY CON pieces were easy to cut and change— August 5-7 at Orleans Arena, $12 taking off legs and putting them in ($35 for three days), 702-284-7777, hands, opening stomachs to cascading SuperToyCon.com. guts made of Sculpey, removing heads, submitting to burns and all sorts of

TOYS GORY

MARKETPLACE

SEVEN QUESTIONS

One of our developmental models at Tom’s [Urban] is to take a noun everybody can relate to and then figure out interesting, dynamic and diverse adjectives for that noun to really breed on people’s notions of familiarity with a spin. People love grilled cheese sandwiches—they just do! But I have a grilled three-cheese sandwich with fig and the ability to add bacon to it. That grilled cheese sandwich has all the hallmarks of the rich and filling and gooey and satisfying. But it has this flavor spin where it’s got the derivations of cheese and derivations of a sweet sauce and then the savory, smoky bacon flavor. That’s the hallmark of Tom’s. I can’t go to any restaurant that doesn’t have small plates or shareable dishes on the menu. Will we be going back to the big entrée or family style?

We sell a ton of small plates. It’s the way Americans want to eat. It’s this perpetual need to share things and take pictures of things, and pictures of your friends sharing things with pictures of their friends behind them. It’s getting a little crazy. The problem with big portions or family style is that you’ve got to make a lot of people decide on two or three things, and unless you come from a very dominant family or people who are rather myopic on their food choices, it becomes a tough decision. As it relates to big entrees, that is more occasion-driven than menu-driven. We introduced this pickle-brined crispy chicken done Nashville hot-style— we sell a ton of it. People order it as an entrée, and they do end up sharing. Nashville hot chicken has recently become a trend outside of Nashville. When you’re trying to adopt a regional dish, how do you achieve authenticity while also making it your own?

August 4–10, 2016

VegasSeven.com

The brains behind Tom’s Urban and Smashburger on the virtues of potato salad, the grammar of comfort food and why small plates aren’t going anywhere By Grace Bascos

Let’s talk about summer cooking. What have you been eating this season?

I’ve been cooking a lot this summer, so over the weekend I did two really cool things: I did a big traditional thing, with everything you’d think—cheeseburgers, bratwurst, baked beans, potato salad and corn pudding for my extended family in Minneapolis. Then it was just my wife, my son and me, and we did a Korean barbecue kalbi marinaded chicken and glazed that on the grill, which was fantastic. Add some grilled Japanese eggplant and a little rosé, and it was a well-imbibed and sated weekend.

What’s on your favorite burger?

A truffle mushroom arugula burger with a fried egg on top. It’s what we call an Umami Tsunami. I had a version of it at Smash[burger] for a while, but when we make our own, it’s a 50/50 blend of Best Foods or Hellmann’s mayo whisked with truffle oil, organic arugula, some Swiss cheese, grilled portobello mushrooms and then a fried egg as soft as you can keep on top of that thing. It’s great with red wine. Describe the notion of comfort food.

[The food has] to be universally loved

and familiar to everybody. What I love about that familiarity is that everybody has their spin. Potato salad is potato salad, but not really, because everyone has their own nuance—more of this, or none of that, or “I add that.” That’s the fourth dimension of it besides popularity, authenticity and familiarity; there’s that sense of ownership. The best comfort foods are doctored in a way to where people actually own the outcome, and that’s really cool. What goes into the science of making food that people crave no matter their culture?

Do you find that more guests, especially Las Vegas guests, becoming increasingly food forward?

A great number of them are, but not everybody. And that’s why we’ve got to strike this balance between having all the bases covered. But I really want this notion of discovery to be there for most of our menu items, this nuance of either a new architecture or a new flavor note or a whole new way to think about a common noun. I want that discovery to be there.

PHOTO BY TONI A XELROD

Tom Ryan

I’m going to go back to what we started with about people having their own version of their potato salad. I went to Nashville’s iconic places, and Hattie’s fried chicken was my favorite. And Hattie’s has a recipe online that is her version. Now, I am sure that at Hattie’s they do a little local magic and they wouldn’t put their star thing online, but we took their star recipe and we did a few little tweaks to it to make it more Tom’s specific. So anybody could argue, short of being at Hattie’s or in Nashville, that our Nashville hot chicken is the real deal.