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TABLE OF CONTENTS
JANUARY 19-25, 2017 TO DO
31 Christina Roush
13 24/7
A truly groundbreaking developer.
BY SHANNON MILLER
32 Alex Igelman
What to do around the clock. PLUS: The
Deal
FEATURE
18 Jon Ralston
The Nevada Independent gives a new take on the news.
Millennial Esports comes to DTLV. BY ZONEIL MAHARAJ
33 Natasha Pace
Silver Lining Estate Sales manages loved treasures. BY JASON R. LATHAM
BY LISSA TOWNSEND RODGERS
CONVERSATIONS
TASTE
35 Mercedes Yardley
21 Jeff and Joe Thomas
Writer renders childhood terrors.
Donut Bar’s sweet sensations.
BY JARRET KEENE
BY JASON R. LATHAM
36 Patrick McCaw
22 Stacey Dougan
New colors, same Warrior.
Simply Pure’s success story.
BY ZAUNI TANIL
BY DIANA EDELMAN
Dave Kallas
Lorena Garcia The Miami chef brings arepa burgers and more to The Venetian. BY DAVID MORRIS
23 Raul Faria
BY ROB KACHELRIESS
37 Eileen Moore
Not your typical gaming executive.
BY XANIA WOODMAN
Two sides of the arts community.
SOCIAL INFLUENCE
BY ROB KACHELRIESS
25 Danielle Polk
FLIP SIDE
BY JASON R. LATHAM
What to do after dark.
26 Richard B. Alexander
BY MARK ADAMS
BY JASON R. LATHAM
Jon Boogz Heightening awareness through art. BY ZAUNI TANIL
27 Jen Barnet
and Norvis Junior
Seven Nights
BY DAVID MORRIS
State of the City If you missed Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman’s State of the City address last week, you can read our recap of the night at DTLV.com.
Tiësto Holds the Key Hakkasan Group’s resident DJ receives the ultimate birthday gift.
BY JUDY STONE
Club Tour
28 Pete Ruiz Jr.
Hyde at Bellagio.
Hunter Hopewell Creative director Rock*Comedy*Film. BY JASON R. LATHAM
SPACES AND PLACES
Green Felt Journal Recent power outages at casinos have highlighted just how critical a backup plan is. David G. Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at UNLV, explains why Las Vegas casinos need better infrastructure at vegasseven.com/greenfeltjournal.
DTLV.com
James Cameron’s film comes to life at T-Mobile Arena.
BY MELINDA SHECKELLS
BY JESSI C. ACUÑA
VegasSeven.com
Avatar in Action
Cycling into the fitness community.
Car and artist for hire.
OUR SITES TO SEE
BY DAVID MORRIS
38 Whitney McGuire
The returning champ has come a long way from Alaska.
Whitney McGuire and Norvis Junior
From Metro to marijuana.
U.S. Bartenders’ Guild’s new leader.
Creative chameleon.
PHOTO BY KRYSTAL RAMIREZ
BY JESSIE O’BRIEN
BY KAT BOEHRER
RunRebs.com The Rebels Recap Senior forward Christian Jones has turned into a post-up threat under coach Marvin Menzies. Tyler Bischoff examines his progression at runrebs.com.
Eat This Crispy quail. BY XANIA WOODMAN
SpyOnVegas.com The Hookup Find upcoming events, see highlights from the hottest parties, meet the DJs and more.
30 Ryan Labbe
and Jason Craig
The men about town. BY ASHLEY MILES Janua r y 19 -25 2017 vegasseven.com
9
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
Photography KRYSTAL RAMIREZ
tastic Opportunities. H I R I NG BA R T E N DE R S, SE RV E R S, POOL AT T E N DA N T S A N D HOS T S. We are looking for fun, enthusiastic and talented individuals for our 2017 Pool Season! Bring your smile, passion for people and updated resume. JOI N US I N PE R SON January 20 and 21, 2017 Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas The Gallery 10:00 am – 4:00 pm A PPLY O N L I N E I N AD VAN C E mandarinoriental.com/careers
Joe and Jeff Thomas, owners of Donut Bar
Ryan T. Doherty | Justin Weniger President Michael Skenandore Chief Financial Officer Sim Salzman Vice President, Marketing and Events Keith White Creative Director Sherwin Yumul Graphic Designer Javon Isaac Technical Director Herbert Akinyele Controller Jane Weigel
Letters and Story Ideas Comments@VegasSeven.com Advertising Sales@VegasSeven.com Distribution Distribution@VegasSeven.com
Winner of the 2016 Forbes Travel Guide Triple Five-Star Award, the 2016 AAA Five Diamond Award and the 2016 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Award. 3752 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, NV 89158
PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE OBSERVER MEDIA GROUP Vegas Seven 701 Bridger Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89101 702-798-7000 Vegas Seven is distributed each Thursday throughout Southern Nevada. © 2017 Vegas Seven, LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without the permission of Vegas Seven, LLC is prohibited.
Publisher
Michael Skenandore Editorial EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Melinda Sheckells MANAGING EDITOR
Genevie Durano SENIOR EDITOR, DINING, BEVERAGE & NIGHTLIFE
Xania Woodman ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Mark Adams SENIOR WRITER
Lissa Townsend Rodgers EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Shannon Miller Contributing Editors Michael Green (Politics), David G. Schwartz (Gaming/Hospitality) Art CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Benjamin Ward SENIOR DESIGNER
Cierra Pedro STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Krystal Ramirez VegasSeven.com DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL CONTENT
Zoneil Maharaj EDITOR, DTLV.COM
Jessie O’Brien WEB EDITOR
Amber Sampson CONTRIBUTING WRITER, RUNREBS.COM
Tyler Bischoff Production/Distribution DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION/DISTRIBUTION
Marc Barrington ADVERTISING MANAGER
Jimmy Bearse Sales BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Christy Corda DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL SALES
Nicole Scherer ACCOUNT MANAGER
Brittany Quintana ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
Robyn Weiss, Matt Iles DIRECTOR OF SALES, BILLBOARD DIVISION
John Tobin
What to do around the clock in Las Vegas By Shannon Miller
Charlie Palmer’s Aureole recently reopened.
THURSDAY 19
Writer’s Block Book Club discusses Henry James’ Washington Square, an 1880 bourgeois tale of self-discovery and love. 6–7:30 p.m., thewritersblock.org/events The Mob Museum’s Wiseguy Speaker Series welcomes Ioan Grillo, author of Gangster Warlords: Drug Dollars, Killing Fields and the New Politics of Latin America, for a talk and book signing. 7 p.m., free for members or with museum admission, themobmuseum.org
FRIDAY 20
SATURDAY 21
Roberto Cavalli in The Shops at Crystals invites you to discover your true colors for the new year. Book a complimentary 10-minute appointment with master psychic and aura reader Serafina to find colors that complement your personality and help you achieve success in 2017. 12–5 p.m., 702-736-7300
Drive an hour and a half out of town to witness colorful hot-air balloons take to the sky at the Mesquite Balloon Festival. Day and nighttime festivities and entertainment continue through Sunday in the beautiful Virgin Valley. balloon launch 7:30 a.m., CasaBlanca Resort, casablancaresort.com
Did you know Sunset Park contains the Las Vegas Valley’s last remaining sand dunes? Check them out and other points of historic interest on a tour guided by Pawn Stars’ Mark Hall-Patton. 11 a.m., meet at Parks and Recreation department office (north-central in the park), clarkcountynv.gov, RSVP for tour at 702-455-8200
Medical marijuana dispensary The+Source foresees a future where you don’t need to have a medical card to patronize their store. Sadly, Nevada dispensaries have not gotten the green light to sell to nonmedical cardholders—yet. Get ready for the legal green and educate yourself about the medicinal uses of cannabis by attending their monthly patient orientation, open to the public. 11 a.m., 2550 S. Rainbow Blvd., thesourcenv.com
Performing troupe Golden Gates bring Russian music and dance to Lloyd D. George Federal Courthouse’s Jury Assembly Room. Noon, 333 Las Vegas Blvd. South, artslasvegas.org
Steel Panther puts the glam in rock at Drai’s, guaranteeing an intoxicating night—or are those just the Aqua Net fumes? 10:30 p.m., $20–$30, draislv.com
Grateful Dead founder Phil Lesh’s friends are some of the best performing musicians in the live-music universe. Dead Heads unite for Phil Lesh and Friends tonight at Brooklyn Bowl. 6:30 p.m., $70–$104, brooklynbowl.com/las-vegas
Follow Berry Gordy’s musical journey to founding one of the most iconic music labels in Motown the Musical. Through Jan. 22, 7:30 p.m., $29–$127, thesmithcenter.com
It’s finally here: The Long Awaited Tribute to the Cure. Hear local bands’ renditions of their influential music. 8 p.m., The Bunkhouse Saloon, bunkhousedowntown.com
Party it up at the AVN Awards official afterparty tonight at Light Nightclub. Celebrate with some of the hottest nominees from the adult film industry. 10:30 p.m., $20–$30, in Mandalay Bay, thelightvegas.com Mrs. Kasha Davis and Darienne Lake from RuPaul’s Drag Race host Drag Racers and Chasers at country-western gay bar Charlie’s. Drink up with an $8 beer bust that starts at 9 p.m., then get down to beats by DJ Mohawk at 11 p.m. charlieslasvegas.com
Janua r y 19 -25 2017 vegasseven.com
13
THE DEAL BY ANTHONY CURTIS
Eating Las Vegas for $25 or Less THE 2017 EDITION OF EATING LAS VEGAS—
Ioan Grillo, author of Gangster Warlords: Drug Dollars, Killing Fields and the New Politics of Latin America, speaks at the Mob Museum’s Wiseguy Speaker Series.
MONDAY 23
Charlie Palmer’s Aureole has reopened with a modern tasting table experience in their intimate bar and lounge, approachable main dining room, fine dining Fountain Terrace and selection of more than 3,000 wines. Check out their new menu, including Raclette fondue, beef and octopus carpaccio and coldpressed coffee panna cotta. 5:30–10:30 p.m. Mon–Sat, charliepalmer.com/aureole-las-vegas TUESDAY 24
Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Return the favor and show some love at the Pearl at the Palms. 8 p.m., $31–$200, palms.com SUNDAY 22
Kelly Cardenas Salon at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino ups their Sunday Funday game with Champagne and Shampoo Sundays. Pamper yourself with salon services while drinking complimentary bubbly and vibing to DJs’ sounds. 10 a.m.–5 p.m., kellycardenassalon.com At the State of the City address, Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman named public safety as one of her priorities for 2017. Get informed about one related issue during a Community Safety Forum on DUI and distracted driving awareness at The Mob Museum. If you can’t make it in person, catch the livestream on the museum’s website. 2 p.m., themobmuseum.org Get your metal on with Mobile Death Camp and Willie Psycho’s Cirkus of Mayhem at The Dive Bar. 8 p.m., $10, 4110 S. Maryland Pkwy., facebook.com/divebarlv Chevelle brings their post-grunge/alternative metal to House of Blues for a night of headbanging. 6 p.m., $29, houseofblues.com/lasvegas See Anton Chekhov’s Cherry Orchard of the Living Dead put a gory spin on the late 19thcentury Russian playwright’s works. 5 p.m., no late seating permitted, $20, Alios, 1217 S. Main St., majesticrepertory.com
The UNLV Public Surplus Sale gets rid of excess university equipment at fixed and negotiated prices. Find desktop computers (starting at $40), office furniture and more. 1:30–4 p.m., only major credit cards accepted (no cash), unlv.edu Clark County Library screens Lady Killer, a lighthearted gangster movie starring James Cagney playing a gangster–turned–Hollywood star. 1 p.m., 1401 S. Flamingo Rd., lvccld.org WEDNESDAY 25
Did you know Baja Miguel’s offers a $9.95 meal deal Wednesday through Sunday? Choose two items from a selection of enchiladas, flautas, tacos and chile relleno, and wash it down with a frozen margarita! 11 a.m.–3 p.m., South Point, southpointcasino.com Hear Santana play some of his popular favorites such as “Black Magic Woman” at House of Blues, as the iconic rocker continues his residency at the Mandalay Bay venue. 7 p.m., $90–$170, houseofblues.com/lasvegas Looking for more stuff to do in Las Vegas? Check out vegasseven.com/calendar.
The 50 Essential Restaurants has just come back from the printer. The book brings together three local food critics—John Curtas, Greg Thilmont and Mitchell Wilburn—to collectively select Las Vegas’ best dining establishments. I publish ELV, but I don’t do the choosing, so the selections are always interesting to me, especially those who come in on the low end for price. Each restaurant in the Essential 50 has one of four price designations: “$125 and up,” “$75 to $125,” “$25 to $75,” or “$25 or less,” which reflects the per-person cost for a complete meal. This is the fifth edition of the book and the number of restaurants in that lowest category, compared to the earlier editions, reflects what all of us already know, that prices continue to rise. Whereas the earlier editions had six or seven options for under $25, this edition has only three. However, another 14 come in at the second-lowest designation of $25–$75, which means that two people having an appetizer, an entrée, a side or dessert, and one or two lower-priced cocktails can easily get out for under $100 total before tip. That’s more than half of the 50 restaurants in the two lowest price categories. Not bad. The three most affordable are District One, The Goodwich and Khoury’s. District One (3400 S. Jones Blvd.) features low-cost small plates, including noodle soups of all sorts for $9 and an awesome whole grilled squid for $12. Good happy hours that run Mon–Fri from 5–7 p.m. and midnight to 2 a.m. feature $1.25 raw oysters and 50-cent serrano pepper wings. The Goodwich is the sandwich shop that used to work out of a stand near Dino’s Lounge and is now stationed in Soho Lofts. The creative sandwiches are $7–$10, and there’s a punch card for a free one after you buy 10. Khoury’s, in the Village Square at S. Ft. Apache Blvd. and W. Sahara Ave., serves Mediterranean cuisine, primarily Lebanese. The House Mezza plate alone will feed an entire table for $33. Gyros, Mediterranean salads and the best grape leaves in town are all under $10. During happy hour, Mon–Fri from 3–6 p.m., kabobs are $5 and beer is $2. At the next lowest level, $25 to $75, there are more than a dozen selections: Allegro (Wynn), Border Grill (at Mandalay Bay), Bouchon (The Venetian), Carson Kitchen, Chada Street, Cleo (SLS Las Vegas), Due Forni, Hearthstone (Red Rock Casino), Hiroyoshi Japanese Cuisine, Lotus of Siam, Marché Bacchus, Other Mama, Sen of Japan and Yonaka Modern Japanese. These aren’t supercheap, but they still rate as a deal when considering what it costs for this quality elsewhere. By the way, another interesting development in this year’s edition of the book is the exit of Joël Robuchon, Guy Savoy and Twist by Pierre Gagnaire from the Top 10. These temples of food were heretofore considered untouchable. Who would dare? These authors did! 7 Anthony Curtis is the publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor and LasVegasAdvisor.com.
14
Janua r y 19 -25, 2017 vegasseven.com
THIS IS HOW YOU HAPPY HOUR
HAPPY HOUR DAILY 4-7PM WEDNESDAYS IN THE LOUNGE • HAPPY HOUR ALL NIGHT LONG • HALF OFF BOTTLES OF WINE AND CHAMPAGNE • LIVE DJ THURSDAYS IN THE LOUNGE • LADIES NIGHT • HALF OFF HAPPY HOUR DRINKS 4-7PM
9(*$6 67$57(' +(5( á 0$,1 675((7 á '2:172:1 á 3OD]D/9 á %HHI%RR]H%URDGV
INTRIGUING PEOPLE
People Are People … but these are the
PEOPLE WE FIND MOST INTRIGUING IN 2017
Thought Leaders • Noisemakers • City Changers • Cultural Innovators Janua r y 19 -25 2017 vegasseven.com
17
SECTION
A NEW TAKE ON THE
Can Jon
Ralston's NEVADA INDEPENDENT give the Silver State a new voice?
By Lissa Townsend Rodgers Photography Anthony Mair
18
Janua r y 19 -25, 2017 vegasseven.com
NEWS Journalist Jon Ralston
has been a fixture of the Nevada political scene since Madonna was “Like a Virgin” and Harry Reid was a novice congressman. He’s been a columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Reno Gazette-Journal, a commentator on Fox News and MSNBC and had a political newsletter, blog and PBS show. His newest project is by far his most ambitious: The Nevada Independent, a website that will cover Silver State politics. It will be a nonprofit publication funded by donations (MGM Resorts International and Switch have already signed up for $250,000 each). Vegas Seven talked to Ralston about today’s media climate, the importance of transparency and “changing the paradigm of journalism.”
INTRIGUING PEOPLE
The major portion of the budget is education, and we’re going to cover education heavily, including what will be one of the most controversial parts of the governor’s budget, his line item for Education Savings Accounts. We’re going to cover issues surrounding energy. And then there’s just a whole raft of issues we will be devoting a lot of time to covering in-depth—trying to get to the bottom of the policy and to make them accessible to readers in a way that I don’t think anyone else has done either here or elsewhere.
Why is now the time to start something like The Nevada Independent? The one thing in my career I haven’t done … is run a news organization. I’ve mused about it for a while. I started to think more seriously about it after my PBS show got canceled, so I decided around the middle of the year to start seriously exploring doing this. I just thought it was the perfect time to do it in Nevada for a variety of reasons, and I think it’s an even better time now with all of the blowback after the presidential election, with fake news and Trump and the media. I hate to use this term, but I think it’s the perfect storm for us. I think that people here and also nationally just don’t trust traditional sources of media anymore. They’re looking for something different. They feel the media is almost an alien force—it’s out for itself, it talks down. We want to be much more interactive and engage with our readers. ... Our brand is essentially going to be about trust, transparency, truth and experience. The Nevada Independent will kick off with the 2017 state legislative session. How will
your coverage differ from that of other media outlets? The general approach is not to be the stone skipping across the surface of the lake, but we’re going to go in-depth, diving deeply into a lot of different issues as opposed to being handcuffed by the day-to-day committee hearings. We’re not going to have people siloed—“You cover the assembly, you cover the senate.” We’re going to have three reporters who are experienced in covering the legislature. The Review-Journal, even when I was there, had two reporters, and I would occasionally go up. But to have three reporters based there for 120 days, really getting to know the personalities, the issues, the politics, the rhythm—that’s never been done before. Is there anything in particular you’re already thinking about covering in the legislature this year? People who are experienced in covering the legislature know that everything springs from the budget. It controls everything … even policy issues that may not necessarily be budget-related, because they will be subject to the political horse trading and negotiating that goes with major budget items.
Beyond the legislature, what else will you be writing about? We’ve hired a Las Vegas reporter as well. She is going to cover education, gaming, business, maybe the municipal elections. The great thing about covering government and politics, especially with that kind of focus, is there’s always something going on, whether the legislature is in session or not, and you transition pretty quickly from a legislative session to a campaign year, so there’ll be plenty for our reporters to cover. Obviously, during the slower times, we’ll concentrate more on investigative journalism, which we also hope will become one of our signatures. You’ll also be doing Spanishlanguage reporting. I know that’s good marketing, but is it also reflective of the growing political influence of Nevada’s Latino population? I can see how people see it as good marketing, and I hope it is. But also the Latino population in Nevada—which has expanded and become a huge political force—has not been well-understood or well-served by the English-speaking media. There is no reason to think that the Latino community is any different than anyone else in finding Carson City remote. Then think about adding a language barrier. So we want to change that, help people better understand what’s going on in Carson City, and how it affects them. It’s not just the quote, unquote Hispanic issues, not just immigration. There’s a great desire to learn more about any issue—whether it’s jobs, the economy or Education Savings Accounts—that affects their daily lives, so that’s why we hired a Spanish-language reporter and why we’re going to hire a service to translate stories into Spanish that are reported in English.
You have a long history in Nevada journalism. Do you think your reputation will boost people’s interest in The Nevada Independent? I hope to some extent the reputation and brand I’ve built over 30 years helped jump-start the project. But what this is really about is assembling a team of reporters—I had specific people in mind when I conceived this idea, and those are the people I hired. That’s what’s really going to make this thing go. Sure, people may have donated, they may have had enthusiasm about the project because of me, but this is not about me—it’s going to be about the content that’s being produced by this spectacular young group of reporters who are going to be allowed to do things they could not do before and spread their wings. Do you think being a nonprofit adds to the credibility of the project? We’re going to be very careful—I emphasize the word transparent: We’re going to be transparent in how we do everything. Not just our journalism, but everything. This is a nonprofit, and we will disclose every donor on the site from Day 1. Our readers will know who our donors are. We’re going to give them a chance to ask questions about the influence of our donors that we’ll be happy to answer. I hope to do a weekly chat with the editors on Facebook or some other venue where people can fire away and ask questions about our journalism. We want people to ask those kinds of questions. Do you feel that kind of transparency is key in building reader trust, especially now, given current attitudes toward the media? I don’t want to compare ourselves to other media outlets, but certainly I do think that the media has been—I guess the right word is “prickly”—about any questions that are asked. In some senses, arrogant: “We know better than you.” But we have respect for our readers. We’re going to make mistakes and we’re going to correct them very quickly, but we also are willing to learn from those mistakes and do a better job because of them. We think there are a lot of people out there who aren’t professional journalists, but who are smart and informed about the media, who will question things we do and help make us better. We want to start that dialogue. 7
Janua r y 19 -25, 2017 vegasseven.com
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April 1-7, 2010 March 11-17, 2010
March 18-24, 2010
March 29-May 5, 2010 April 29-May 5, 2010
The State of Comedy The Business of Celebrity for hollY maDisoN aND other clUb DraWs, it paYs to shoW Up (YoU’ll Never gUess hoW mUch) By Melissa Arseniuk
Is Funny Back in Business?
Premiere Issue
The Best Open-Mike Bars A One-Week Stand at the Love-Proof Hotel Plus: Vote for Las Vegas’ Best Comedian!
Welcome to the NeW geNeratioN of NeWspapers
stYle treNDs 40-0 floYD maYWeather Jr.
In Search of Cocktail Culture
Will be iN for a fight iDeas
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fUtUre of eNtertaiNmeNt politics
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tWo Years aND coUNtiNg: DiNiNg WhY Jersey Boys Works
The Run to Glory
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INTRIGUING PEOPLE
The
Sweet Sensation
Launching in April 2016 with all the right ingredients—a social media following that loves dissecting doughnuts on video and instant love from Las Vegans in need of a sugar rush— Donut Bar put brothers Jeff and Joe on the map after years of For Donut Bar Las Vegas Thomas entrepreneurial starts and stops. co-owners Jeff and Joe Thomas, At Life Is Beautiful, Donut Bar sold doughnuts a day from a pop2016 was a year sprinkled 4,000 up booth at the festival, and during with goodness last May’s Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, “People stopped here instead of finishing the race,” Jeff says. But with year 2 approaching, how do the pair keep the momentum as fresh as their By Jason R. Latham doughnuts? “By building relationships,” Joe says. Photography Krystal Ramirez Before becoming the self-described makers of the “Best Donuts in the World,” the brothers Thomas arrived in Las Vegas in 2001 and began making connections while launching a number of successful—and some unsuccessful—businesses around town. From renting scooters on the Strip to running a Caesars Palace gift shop, they stayed busy while looking for the opportunity that might set them up for life. They appear to have found it in San Diego’s ac-
TASTE
claimed Donut Bar. The shop’s reputation for inspired, unconventional recipes, such as the Big Poppa-Tart (a doughnut stuffed with a Pop Tart) and the Oreo-infused Birthday Cake doughnut, had landed the business at the top of numerous travel and dining lists, while drawing viral attention from the likes of Steve Harvey and Conan O’Brien. The brothers spent a year and a half training with Donut Bar owners Santiago Campa and Wendy Bartels before bringing a franchise to Downtown’s John E. Carson building, in a spot formerly occupied by O Face Doughnuts. Jeff and Joe say they pay a “small royalty,” but the store is theirs. Working in conjunction with the San Diego chefs, they change the menu every day, but keep some of the most popular items (including The Simpsons fan favorite Homer’s Donut) in constant rotation. The store currently sells about 1,500 doughnuts on weekdays and 3,000 on weekends, Joe says, and devotees know to arrive early. Donut Bar usually sells out by 1 p.m., at which point the lights go out and the brothers write “Sold Out” on the windows. Of course, that doesn’t always stop the occasional passerby from pulling on the front door handle, just in case. 7
Janua r y 19 -25 2017 vegasseven.com
21
TASTE
INTRIGUING PEOPLE
STACEYDOUGAN How Bill Clinton changed the future for one vegan chef in Las Vegas By Diana Edelman Photography Krystal Ramirez IT WAS NO SURPRISE WHEN THE LETTER ARRIVED ON PRESIDENT’S DAY weekend in February 2016, delivered to Simply Pure and addressed to owner Stacey Dougan. It was done. She had to vacate. Dougan’s vegan restaurant was too far in debt to Downtown Project, which had worked hard to keep her afloat. Her little plant-based haven never quite took hold in Downtown Container Park, even after she relocated the restaurant from the desolate second floor to prime real estate on the first. “I was so sad,” Dougan says. “Here I am, a single mom, and [Simply Pure] is my whole source of income. That weekend, I prayed about it and let it go.” That’s when the universe perked up its ears and answered with the unlikeliest savior: former President Bill Clinton. The day Container Park was supposed to send a letter dissolving Dougan’s newly signed two-year lease, she received a call from Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager. A vegan most days, Bill was in town to stomp for Hillary and needed a place to eat. Simply Pure was recommended, and then the story unfolds like a Hollywood film: President comes in. President loves food. The internet explodes with photos of a jovial Clinton next to Dougan, a smile across her face from ear-to-ear. “It was crazy,” she recalls. “It went viral. Friends were calling me from all over the country and saying, ‘Bill Clinton came to your restaurant?!’ It was God. He could have sent anyone to come into the restaurant … but the [former] president of the United States? Seriously?” Dougan was asked the next day to speak on a panel with Hillary about affordable child care—an issue she has struggled with as a single parent to her 2-year-old son, Zion. The following day, “She ordered so much food we had to shut down,” Dougan says. “Ever since then, it has been blessings on blessings on blessings.” Every time the Clintons have stopped in Las Vegas since, Simply Pure prepares food for the team. Nachos for Bill, and for Hillary, enchiladas, kale chips and nachos. On December 5, Simply Pure turned 3, a milestone that nearly almost didn’t happen. Less than a year after Dougan was set to close and return to the world of private cheffing, the Clintons’ visits have put her little Downtown restaurant on the global vegan map and has brought her to new heights. A former chef to celebrities, she’s in talks with Whole Foods to mass-market her most popular dish, lasagna made with a blend of tofu cheeses. As President’s Day weekend once again rounds the corner, Simply Pure and Dougan are in a far better position. “Now, I don’t worry about anything,” she says. “God sent Bill Clinton into my place. I’m clearly not in control of my life. I’m going to do my thing and whatever happens, happens.” 7
LORENAGARCIA Miami chef will bring arepa burgers and her fiery passion to The Venetian By David Morris Photography Michael Pisarri
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F
rom Top Chef Masters contestant to Taco Bell spokeswoman, chef Lorena Garcia’s passion can be felt through the television. Even over the phone, you can’t help but become excited about whatever project this busy Venezuelan is working on. Presently, she serves as the executive chef for the Miami International Airport and operates airport cafés in Dallas/Ft.
Worth and Atlanta. Next on Garcia’s to-do list is preparations for the opening of her first Las Vegas restaurant, Chica, by Yardbird parent company 50 Eggs, which is slated for a spring opening in the former DB Brasserie footprint in The Venetian. Vegas Seven managed to steal a few very-early-morning minutes with Garcia, who just returned from a trip to Peru, to get to know the Las Vegas culinary scene’s next leading lady. What’s the concept for Chica?
I’ve been cooking for so many years, and my style of cuisine is what I call “fresh, modern Latin.” It’s the representation of Latin cuisine in the United States, where we become one culture when we land in the U.S. That’s what I wanted to bring to Chica: the emphasis from Venezuela, where I was born, but also Argentina, Peru,
Brazil, Colombia and Central America. We have such amazingly beautiful ingredients and techniques, but I wanted to have that common thread of how we make food. Food that you can relate to whether you’re from Mexico or Argentina. When you come to Chica, you’re going to be able to relate to our food. I’ve made and tested every single recipe on the menu. I want to make sure that I represent who I am: a Latina in the U.S. [It’s] the flavors that we have and the cuisine that has developed from all the Latin American cultures that we have here in the U.S. After [my trip to] Peru, I am revived. I am already making a few tweaks in the menu, being inspired by so many beautiful ingredients and techniques that I saw during my stay. I’m excited to jump into the menu again before we get into the restaurant.
TASTE
By Xania Woodman
Photography Krystal Ramirez
RAUL FARIA
THE NEW USBG LAS VEGAS CHAPTER PRESIDENT KEEPS THE SPIRIT OF HOSPITALITY ALIVE Raul Faria has some pretty big heels to fill. The two-year term of Kristen Schaefer, the outgoing president of the United States Bartenders’ Guild’s Las Vegas chapter, saw the professional group reach its highest membership ever (at one point eclipsing every other chapter in the country, including Manhattan and San Francisco). With Faria as vice president, Schaefer’s council introduced monthly roundtable meetings, appointed members to facilitate charitable efforts and job searches, and established other essential checks and balances that culminated in a celebration of the chapter’s 15-year anniversary, a new logo and the burying of a time capsule at Nora’s Cuisine. Schaefer was never far from support and encouragement from past presidents including Breakthru Beverage development specialist Andrew Pollard. And now that the reins have passed to Faria, he is poised to usher USBGLV into its next 15 years. Faria, who is also the Southwest brand ambassador for Absolut Vodka, ran on a threefold platform. While keeping numbers up is important to any organization, he wants to focus on quality over quantity. “We’re already going in the right direction,” Faria says. “That being said, I want to bring back a Las Vegas chapter cocktail competition, [one that] focuses on technical [aspects] and the actual art and craft of bartending.” Second, Faria transformed the positions appointed during Schaefer’s term into committees: education, health and wellness, social
What’s on the menu? I wanted the menu to be approachable. I take inspiration from the main dishes that you will find in the U.S. For example, the burger—that, everybody knows. If you want a great burger, you’re going to be able to have it at Chica, but Lorena style: The arepa is our bread in Venezuela, and I [use] these breads for our burger. It’s gonna be delicious, but at the same time different. I have the mac con queso; instead of using pasta, I use Peruvian corn, but with the same fusion of cheeses and delicious fresh hearts of palm and spinach. With the ceviches, to honor Mexican cuisine, I have a presentation of my white ceviche where I make the tostadas with a little pico de gallo, made with poblano peppers. And we bring the aji dulce, which is a delicious aji or chili that you find,
media, job search, charitable efforts and more. “It’s a way for members to affect policy and the trajectory of their chapter,” he says. And third, he admits he’ll have to play the numbers game: “I do want to be the No. 1 in the nation— and that’s why we have a Membership Engagement Committee.” In his first 100 days in office, Faria wants to see those committees formed and working, and to get the ball rolling on the competition. One of Faria’s secret weapons is his ability to diffuse conflict and maintain focus on the big picture. “We’re all family here—you fight with your family, things happen,” the father of two says. “I grew up in a Portuguese-Irish household, so I know how to navigate that territory well. That’s part of bringing people into the fold.” So why should we care if Faria and his council succeed in their mission? “In a word, hospitality,” he says. “Our [members] are the most hospitable bartenders because they have taken the time out of their day to study their craft and trade. They care enough to take the extra step to learn more. When you go to a bar and want to come back—that’s when you know you’re at a USBG bar.” 7
again, in the northern part of South America. We have coctel de camarones, which is a shrimp cocktail presented in a different way. We have arepitas, a different approach to Latin cuisine that has never been done before. We’re going to bring something different to Vegas, a representation of Latin cuisine as we see it in the United States. I hear you actually once worked in law? Yes, I went to law school and
graduated in Venezuela, and then I became a paralegal once I arrived in the U.S. That wasn’t my passion, but food was. I had the chance to go to culinary school here in the States, which I didn’t in Venezuela. So I came to the States, traded my law books for the knife and cutting board, and dove into the career that I’m so passionate about. And
like I always say, if you’re passionate about what you’re doing, success will come later. You have also been involved with an anti-obesity campaign, as well. I created the program,
Big Chef Little Chef, about 10 years ago, and we actually have a school here in Miami that we adopted. We hold classes for children and their parents on the basics of cooking, and how to eat and cook healthy. What I like is that we’re teaching kids where ingredients come from, how to store them, how to prepare them and how to serve them. It gives them a little more ownership of what they make. 7 Traveling the world cooking? Garcia’s been there. And there. And there! Find out more at VegasSeven.com/LorenaGarcia.
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R EA TIV E
SOCIAL INFLUENCE
D
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N EO EL
DAN IE
INTRIGUING PEOPLE
Photography Krystal Ramirez
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By Jason R. Latham
anielle Polk is living more lives than you and I, and she won’t stop. The Oklahoma native, who arrived in Las Vegas in 2009, shines bright as a member of the city’s emerging creative class. She’s doing everything she wants, while deciding what she wants to do. “I figured I would somehow merge my left and right brain someday,” she says. “I’m still trying to figure that out.” Right now the computer engineering grad is on the entrepreneurial path, delicately balancing careers in fashion (she co-founded a clothing label named Melonhopper), web design, acting, modeling, singing/ songwriting and DJing. You might know Polk by her turntable alias, Carouselle. “It’s kind of the embodiment of my love of cute things,” she says of her DJ handle. “I’m heavily influenced by Japanese fashion and subculture—the Lolita subculture— and so I was trying to think of a name that sort of [represented] the cuteness of my visual sense.” Her style is on display even on a gray, 44-degree Las Vegas day: candy-colored pastels, blue-green tints and pink lipstick. She is anime, and she’s right at home. “I feel like I fit in a little bit better [in Las Vegas] than I do in L.A.,” Polk says. “I appreciate the way that people here talk to each other. It feels a little more direct and authentic.” It’s also the ideal place for an entrepreneur, she says, citing the city’s all-around affordability and a commute that doesn’t leave you “tired when finally you get to where you’re going.” That’s a good thing, because today Polk is in crunch mode. She and her husband, who works behind the scenes for Cirque du Soleil, are putting the finishing touches on another project, an immersive show production titled Heartcorps: Riders of the Storyboard, for the Sundance Film Festival’s New Frontier exhibition. Described as a “digital-light poem,” the show combines projection mapping with live acrobats and break-dancers. For those unfamiliar, projection mapping involves putting an image or video onto an object rather than a screen, creating an augmented, interactive reality. It’s an evolving technology that Polk and her husband would like to see more of in Las Vegas. She envisions a Downtown theater space immersed in visuals with no chairs, allowing a person to explore and interact with the show. “Like a storybook or graphic novel that’s come to life,” she says. After Sundance, Polk is set to record and release her debut EP, which is inspired heavily by Italian disco and electronic-music pioneers such as Kraftwerk. She has no plans to slow down. “I’m on the search for truth, beauty and goodness,” she says. “Although I do a bunch of cool stuff, I’m actually more interested in just existing than I am in doing things. I’m trying to find some presence in my life and a creative outlet for my feelings.” 7
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SOCIAL INFLUENCE
INTRIGUING PEOPLE
Richard B.
ALEXANDER
The returning champ has come a long way from Alaska
By Jason R. Latham Photography Anthony Mair
RICHARD B. ALEXANDER IS THE REASON WHY you should get out of your comfort zone.
The director of marketing for Hakkasan Group’s Omnia Nightclub could be living closer to nature in a quaint, picturesque Alaska town with a population of 7,000. “It’s not on the map, and you probably won’t even find it on Google,” he jokes about his hometown of Kenai. For the record, it’s there. Kenai has its own Wikipedia page, and the mountains are just as gorgeous as Alexander describes: “Like you see in movies and magazines.” But you’ve got to take risks to get places in life. Dreams of working on the creative side of advertising and marketing brought Alexander to UNLV, and in 2006—at 22 years old—he co-founded the megapopular Down & Derby roller-skating event series. After rolling out in Pittsburgh, Alexander’s “unique and wacky” idea started to take off in more cities, including Las Vegas. “When we launched the Los Angeles party at Echoplex and signed the Coachella deal, that’s when it became apparent this could be a career,” he says. Down & Derby’s 10-plus years of success (it’s still going strong at Downtown’s Gold Spike) added to Alexander’s reputation as one of Las Vegas’ elite event planners. But he still didn’t want to risk settling into the comfort zone and left town for Los Angeles in 2012, looking for inspiration in neighborhoods such as Echo Park and Silver Lake. “When you live in Las Vegas, I think you sometimes feel like you’re in a bubble,” he says. “When you’re in New York and L.A., you feel you’re at the epicenter of [the industry]. “You have to go look and see these experiences before you bring them back,” he says. Alexander returned to Las Vegas and Hakkasan Group (where he previously served as a corporate marketing manager) last year with the goal of bringing Omnia to another level, and while the nightclub calendar is stacked with the likes of Fergie, Kaskade and Afrojack, he’d really like to see the next big name break out of Las Vegas. “We’re launching a lot of careers [in nightlife]. I enjoy seeing artist growth. It’s fun to watch and say, ‘I remember he or she was an opening act, and now they have a hit song.’” 7
jon
boogz there are people on this planet who
aren’t aware of how innately inspirational they are. They don’t seem to realize how their words infiltrate the souls of those around them—awakening bodies, powering minds and encouraging people forward. Movement artist, creative director and choreographer Jon Boogz is one of those people. The Las Vegas resident’s résumé alone is nothing short of remarkable. From humble beginnings working on the Carnival Cruise line to performing on the street in Venice Beach to choreographing on Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson ONE show, Boogz’s journey has been extensive. In 2016, the artist released the short film Color of Reality, which he says was inspired by his hope to increase awareness about critical issues facing society. The film, which received high praise from The New York Times and The Huffington Post, combines the passionate dancing of Boogz and fellow movement artist Lil Buck with the perspective-bending painting of artist Alexa Meade. “Art speaks to people in a way that words can’t,” Boogz says. “If I’ve got a platform to say something, I feel like it’s my job to do it.” But the most intriguing thing about Boogz isn’t his talent, his ability to manifest his creative vision into reality or even his perseverance. Boogz’s beauty lies in his unwavering faith, his belief in his own power and how he is unapologetically himself. “I’m comfortable in my own skin,” he says. “I’m not scared because I have faith. I believe in God. Everything happens for a reason, and I’m trying not to fear things I
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can’t control. I can only control what I do, and that’s trying to put out the best-quality art I can to help heighten awareness around real issues.” In 2017, Boogz will continue using his platform to call attention to social issues. He’s attending this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where he will perform a piece dedicated to Standing Rock, a cause that’s very important to him. And while he can’t give away too many details, Boogz mentions currently working on a big project with the Discovery Channel. Something Boogz doesn’t question is the fact that there is no end to pursuing one’s dreams. “It’s like probability,” he says. “If you put in the work, it’s guaranteed something’s going to come back. You just can’t put a time frame on it,” he says. “It’s not skill that separates people, but work ethic. … Who’s going to work harder? Who will lose sleep?” And Boogz is definitely losing some sleep. It’s an exciting year for the movement artist, but even with increased notoriety and ample opportunities coming his way, he realizes that ultimately, everything comes back to one thing: loving what one does. “I don’t know how many lives we get,” he says. “But if this is the only one I get, I want to do what I love to do.” 7 A version of this story was published on UnXommonVegas.com.
By Zauni Tanil Photography Ryan Alexander
Movement artist heightens awareness about social issues through creative expression
jen
barnet CYCLING HER WAY INTO THE LAS VEGAS FITNESS COMMUNITY
en Barnet had never taught an indoor cycling class until the morning she opened her own studio, XCYCLE in Boca Park on the west side. “I was on the car ride there and I told myself I had a decision to make,” she says. “I can either royally mess this up and have my nerves take over, or I can get up there and knock their socks off. When the lights got low and the first song came on, something came over me. There were 35 people in front of me believing in me, they were here for me, and that gave me so much confidence.” That was almost a year ago. Now, XCYCLE classes are so packed there is a daily waitlist, and the 32-year-old is planning an expansion by late spring so more riders can join her community. That’s right, Barnet’s doing more than just helping people get in shape. “It really is a sense of family,” she says. “The whole reason why I wanted to do this was mainly community, bringing a community together that I was addicted to. It’s happening right now. I have people coming up to me crying, laughing, saying they would have never been friends with half of the people in here. They would have walked right past them on the street. They thank me. They say there are so many great men and women here that [they’ve] become friends with that [they’re] going to take [with them] throughout life. That makes me smile.” A dancer all her life, Barnet’s passion for fitness and cycling started when she was 18 and took her first class at a 24-Hour Fitness. “What I liked about it was the movement and the music,” she says. “It was nothing like what I am doing right now, but it was a start.” After moving to West Hollywood at 24, Barnet became obsessed with the growing fitness trend, sometimes even going twice a day. Several years later, while in a long-distance relationship with her fiancé, Larry Rudolph, she began making lengthy visits to Las Vegas and was surprised to learn that there wasn’t an indoor cycling studio. Though the famed cycling company SoulCycle was recruiting her to join their team, Barnet knew her true passion would be to open her own studio in Vegas. So she declined to go through their training and instead moved to the west side and started to work on creating XCYCLE. “Playlists and finding instructors are two of the biggest challenges in owning an indoor cycling studio,” she says. “Everyone wants to be up there, but not everyone is right for it. I picked people based on personality. I allow them to be who they are.” When she’s off the bike, Barnet enjoys dining at Carbone at Aria, catching a great show and maybe having a glass of wine. “Vegas has really welcomed me,” she says. “The community is way better than I even thought.” 7
j
By Judy Stone Photography Jesse J Sutherland
INTRIGUING PEOPLE
Pete Ruiz
SOCIAL INFLUENCE
Artist for hire: UberEntrepreneur drives it home By Jessi C. Acuña Pete Ruiz Jr., a Las Vegas native, is the first local Uber driver to be named to the UberEntrepreneur initiative for his art business, as he creates and sells original graphite realism drawings. UberEntrepreneur is the ride-sharing company’s way of celebrating small business owners and recognizing its drivers for their entrepreneurial pursuits. The Backstory
When Ruiz joined Uber in September 2015, he had been pulling double duty as a taxi driver for three years. The lack of financial success and 12-hour shifts proved to be too much. “It consumed my whole life, and I just quit one day.” It was then that Ruiz returned to drawing. Prior to becoming a taxi driver, he spent 22 years in the concrete business with little time to draw. “After I closed my business in that tough time, 2011, I was engaged to [be] married. But with all the problems that were happening financially, I decided to end that relationship,” he says. “Something happened where I was just inspired to draw again. I was alone.” Self-Taught Student
While he has only taken one art class—a semester of beginning drawing at El Camino Junior College—Ruiz has been drawing since he can remember. Eventually, he began studying online. “I found a few [realism] artists [who] are extremely talented guys
HUNTER
HOPEWELL CREATIVE DIRECTOR, ROCK*COMEDY*FILM You can’t put Hunter Hopewell in a box. Is he a filmmaker? An actor? Impressionist? Musician? Entrepreneur? “That’s part of what I’m trying to figure out right now,” the 20-year-old UNLV graduate says. For now, let’s just call him the complete package. An artist on the rise, Hopewell’s filmmaking career began in his teens, and since 2011 he’s collected dozens of awards, including a first-place prize for his anti-bullying film Numbskull at the Peace in the Streets Global Film Festival in 2015. As creative director of his family-run production company, Rock*Comedy*Film, Hopewell continues to produce short films and comedy sketches, and has taken on commercial projects for companies such as Crayola and Marriott. This year (remember, he’s 20) he’ll start shooting his first feature film, Clicking Ovation.
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By Jason R. Latham
Photography Kin Lui
[who] would give YouTube tutorials.” Building a Base
Uber prides itself on its flexible work schedule, but for Ruiz, it’s so much more. It’s given him a customer base, and that’s what UberEntrepreneur is encouraging. “Most [passengers] will ask if I do something else, and I’ll say I’m an artist,” he says, adding that he is prepared with flyers for potential clients. The Breakthrough
Not many artists can say they sold their first piece to a Hollywood connection. Ruiz’s first hyperrealism drawing, a picture of Willie Nelson he’d done for the challenge of capturing the subtleties of Nelson’s skin texture, was purchased by the former manager of the late Dennis Hopper, who then commissioned Ruiz to complete one of Hopper. “From the time I quit that taxi job ... I had about three or four high-end art customers request pieces of art,” Ruiz says. The Hand that Feeds
Ruiz’s gratitude for Uber extends far beyond being selected to UberEntrepreneur. It’s really the lifestyle shift for which he’s most thankful. “It’s opened up so many opportunities to pursue what I care about and to be available.” 7 Check out Ruiz’s art on Instagram @iart_vegas and on Facebook at facebook.com/peteruizjr.
Photography Anthony Mair
My dad worked on the entertainment side of McDonald’s Corporation for 35 years, and my mother works as the vice president of a bank. Growing up, I had different influences about what I should do with my life, kind of like the practical side from my mom and the creative side from my dad.
an open mic night and my grandmother and her friend were in town. It was two hours of watching comedians say the filthiest stuff in front of my grandmother, and my act was as clean as can be— it’s mostly impressions. At the end of the night, they had the audience vote for the best comedian. I ended up winning first place and $50.
What was your first camera? When I was 12 years
Where does your inspiration come from? Probably
Talk about your first standup experience. I did it at the
Why do you do what you do? I guess I’m trying
What kind of home did you grow up in? I’m an only child.
old, my mother got a MacBook and she couldn’t figure it out, so I got it. It had a webcam, and I just started making silly videos for my friends. That was the first real indication that [filmmaking] was not only something I enjoy doing, but something other people enjoy seeing me do.
E-String Grill and Poker Bar in Henderson. They were having
a lot from my dad, I love collaborating with him. Literally every other morning he’ll write me an email— even though we live in the same house—that says, “Son, I woke up with this idea!” There’s a 40-year age gap between us, but somehow it all works.
to make some sort of lasting impression on the
world—like films from the ’30s that we’re still watching and are still remembered. I’d love to do something iconic that’s preserved forever. How many hours of sleep do you average a night? Last
night I got one hour of sleep. Maybe six hours average, not enough. But then once a week, 11 [hours]. 7
SPACES & PLACES
INTRIGUING PEOPLE
Ryan Labbe and JRoc Craig
By Ashley Miles
Photography Nick Isabella
The Men About Town
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O
ver the past several years, Ryan Labbe and Jason “JRoc” Craig have become prominent figures in Las Vegas’ hospitality scene. The dynamic duo has cemented their presence by consulting for nearly every major nightlife company in town through their business 81/82 Group. They specialize in an array of services such as marketing campaigns and operational management for high-profile events, spaces and brands. Labbe and Craig often partner with Andy Masi’s company Clique Hospitality on various venues, creating an ultimate match made in nightlife heaven. For the first time since they joined forces in 2012, Labbe and Craig are extending their talents beyond Las Vegas, branching off into the San Diego nightlife scene. They are managing partners with Clique Hospitality on two chic new gathering places within the Pendry Hotel, set to open soon. Their venues include outdoor haven Pool House and refined lounge Oxford Social Club. “Our target demo is 21-year-olds to that guy that’s 50 years old that still wants to go out and party, [but]
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doesn’t want the hustle and bustle of a large nightclub, something that’s a bit more intimate and fun with a good vibe,” Labbe says. The behind-the-scenes operations have proven to be no simple task for Craig and Labbe, as they continue to manage several Las Vegas projects while balancing the opening of the Pendry properties. “[We’re doing] everything from head to toe,” Labbe says. “We’re building the team— from the host team to the waitstaff, the management staff. [We’re] securing talent, putting marketing initiatives together, really setting the tone for how we’re going to program the venue in San Diego to create our own niche. San Diego is very interesting because it’s such a small big city, if that makes any sense. Everybody’s so tied in together, it’s really important that you’re fully ingrained in the city.” When it comes to the expectations surrounding the venues, Craig insists that the duo will continue to make patrons their No. 1 priority, much like when working in Vegas. “For us it’s all about customer experience. Every venue is different, but at the end
of the day, we want our customers walking out of there feeling like they got the experience they were looking for,” he says. “That [credit] goes to our staff, known [for] the way that they treat customers and the programming that we have, kind of like the full circle of not just meeting expectations but exceeding the expectations of our guests.” While launching high-profile venues in a different city is bound to be challenging, Labbe prefers to look at these obstacles as learning experiences. “In Las Vegas, when I first moved here and as long as JRoc’s lived here, we eat, breathe and sleep Las Vegas. So getting to go and do that in [another] market, it’s something new and fun for us because it’s very different. Out here, you can program huge talents at huge venues and have these customers come out who’ll spend $10,000 to $100,000 on a table. In San Diego, the market is more about who’s in the venue and at the party and the way everybody’s treated. That’s really interesting to us because that’s how we perceive things when we go to a venue.”
CHRISTINA ROUSH A TRULY GROUNDBREAKING DEVELOPER By Jessie O’Brien
Photography Krystal Ramirez
CHRISTINA ROUSH GREW UP IN LAS VEGAS, going to Luv-it Frozen Custard after the Bishop
Despite their newfound love for San Diego, both Labbe and Craig do not foresee a departure from Vegas anytime soon. “There are opportunities in San Diego that we’ve been exploring, but we’re always going to have something going on in Las Vegas,” Craig says. “Vegas is the top market in the country for what we do. Food and beverage and nightlife—there’s nothing like Las Vegas, and there’s a lot of opportunity.” “We would love to have more [projects] in San Diego in the future, but for at least [for now], I think Vegas will be our home,” Labbe says. “The end goal is to grow our company as far as we can grow it and hopefully have some sort of part-time residence in San Diego. It’s such a beautiful city. JRoc and I would also like to venture into some different projects in Las Vegas outside of casinos, some more locally driven [ventures], because we have a huge support system.” 7
Gorman bell rang and catching a movie at the Huntridge Theater on the weekends. Sometimes her dad would take her to his work at the Valley Bank Plaza (now Bank of America) and reward Roush’s and her sister’s straight As with lunch at Cohen and Kelly’s pub or Chicago Joe’s. Since then, Roush’s life has come full circle, by creating memories for other families as she brings new business to Downtown. Flying under the radar, Roush has been redeveloping Downtown over the past five years (around the same time Downtown Project started their five-year plan) with her company, Portfolio Investments. Her projects range from small apartment complexes such as the Prickly Pear Apartments in the Arts District; and Trailer Terrace coming to Stewart and Bonneville avenues; and the mixed-use office and retail space HOP on South Third Street and Tenaya Creek Brewery on Bonanza Road. Stylish and fast-talking (and letting the occasional swear word slip), Roush is hard to keep up with. She’s exactly what you’d expect a person with so many projects going on at once to be like: organized and energized. Which may be why on her downtime, she likes to knit—though she knits as ferociously as she works. “At any given time I have 10 projects or more going, from socks to sweaters, hats and blankets. You name it, I’ve probably made it,” she says. “It’s my Zen time, when I get my creative ideas solved and free-flow associations happen in my brain.” She sometimes knits for the homeless, a cause she is connected with through her work as a developer. Other than simple infrastructure issues that come with building in older areas, she says finding a way to work with the homeless population is the most challenging part of developing Downtown. “I am trying in earnest to learn from other cities that have created a successful model for enabling homeless populations a path forward for the future,” she says. “The concept of how to identify those who want and need help and get them to accept the resources available can be surprisingly difficult.” But that doesn’t stop her from making progress. “It’s difficult to be the first to start in an area, but [with each of my projects], I had a vision for what the neighborhood could become, and an idea of what we could build, to start the process of neighborhood reinvention.” 7
Alex Igelman E-SPORTS VISIONARY LANDS DOWNTOWN By Zoneil Maharaj
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Alex Igelman has been a gaming lawyer and consultant since the early ’90s. Based in Toronto, he helped enforce gambling debts in Canada on behalf of MGM Resorts International and Wynn Resorts properties, among other Nevada casinos. When gambling went online, Igelman jumped on it, becoming one of the first internet gaming attorneys. Fast-forward to today and he’s cornering a different type of online gaming: the emerging e-sports market—where competitors play videogames for cash prizes—as CEO of Canadian company Millennial Esports. The company’s massive arena is slated to open in late March in Downtown Las Vegas.
BETTING ON THE FUTURE Already huge in Asia, Igelman is certain that e-sports is more than a fad. “I’ve had a knack for identifying big things such as online poker,” he says. “The numbers don’t lie.” According to Business Insider, global e-sports revenue is expected to surpass $1 billion this year. It’s a market too massive to ignore. ESPN now provides dedicated coverage at espn. com/esports, and local casinos such as Downtown Grand started getting in on the competitive gaming action last year. More than a hunch, Igelman forecast the trend from his own home. “As a father of three boys, I see what they do on a daily basis. They’re not watching traditional sports; they’re watching YouTubers play video games,” he says. “The new generation grew up with the internet as a way to consume media; it’s obvious it’s here to stay. Is League of Legends or Overwatch going to be around in five years? I don’t know. But is another game going to be the flavor of the year? Definitely.” A GAMER AT HEART At 50, Igelman is twice the age of everyone else at Millennial Esports. Though he may not be a hard-core gamer like his young colleagues, he’s been an adopter from the start. He fondly recalls his first game console: the APF Imagination Machine, purchased by his parents in 1979 when he was 12. “Atari was high-resolution compared to the APF,” he says. DOWNTOWN OR BUST Given his knowledge and relationship with Las Vegas, Igelman urged Millennial Esports president Chad Larsson and the rest of his team to open their arena in Sin City. It wasn’t a tough sell, but the second point was a little more challenging: It had to be Downtown. “If you look at the e-sports demographics, it’s not your highbrow, $400-a-nightroom crowd. It’s $2 beer, good food and genuine value. No one wants to walk a mile through a casino,” says Igelman, who banked on Downtown Las Vegas years ago and purchased a home in the Huntridge neighborhood in 2009. While most e-sports arenas and LAN centers are tucked in industrial and business parks, Millennial Esports Arena is in the
middle of a bustling environment. “You can have any food you want, any drink you want. You’re 50 feet away from anything you can imagine,” Igelman says. That’s one of its major selling points. “Am I going to go to an industrial park in Ohio? Probably not. Am I going to make a weekend in Vegas out of it? Absolutely,” he says. E-sports tournaments have the potential to turn into large tourist gatherings like Super Bowl weekend or March Madness, Igelman says. “It’s a natural progression for Las Vegas. … Nevada can become the e-sports capital of America, if not the world.” ENTER THE ARENA Located on the third floor of Neonopolis in the space that formerly housed Krave Nightclub, Millennial Esports gave a sneak peek of its new 15,000-square-foot arena in November during an official Halo Championship Series tournament. The space was entirely rewired, the floors were gutted and bathrooms renovated. It was alive with energy once again— with elaborate staging and dozens of Xbox consoles scattered throughout for its 160 tournament players and 240 Free-for-All entrants. Even more people watched online, as the weekend-long event was broadcast to the company’s quarter million viewers on livestreaming platform Twitch. But the space will be used for more than just tournaments. Millennial Esports Arena will soon be open to the public for corporate events, launch parties and activations. People will be able to stream games from there, and Igelman hopes to also function as a training facility for teens. “We’re more than an organizer and tech company,” Igelman says. “We’re a hub for e-sports in town.” 7
INTRIGUING PEOPLE
SPACES & PLACES
Silver Lining Estate Sales founder is on the hunt for well-loved treasures NATASHA PACE JUST CONVINCED ME TO TAKE A
long pause the next time I’m about to click “Proceed to checkout.” “People become slaves to their stuff—I do it, too,” she says. “In my house, I had bins of things I was waiting to use, and one day I just said, ‘This is ridiculous.’” Pace, the founder and owner of Silver Lining Estate Sales, explains how she repurposed unused string for makeshift hangers before telling me about her newest clients: a couple who is downsizing and selling off a massive collection of maritime antiques, including anchors, masts and wooden ship models that the husband has hoarded for years. She’s calling it the “Maritime Madness” sale. “[The couple] is moving to the next chapter, and they don’t need it,” Pace says. “The wife is very funny. She tells me, ‘I never liked it.’” Since breaking into the estate sales business in 2013, Pace has gotten to know a few people with unusual collecting habits. One woman even left behind “bins and bins of false eyelashes,” she says. But she didn’t get into this line of workjust to go through people’s closets. A New York native who relocated to Las Vegas in 2003, Pace was working in fashion when her estranged father died suddenly, leaving behind homes in Montreal, New York and Boston, three storage units full of church furnishings and antique pinball games … and no will. “I was left to clean out every one of the estates,” she recalls. “I was just so overwhelmed.” Relief—and inspiration—came via assistance from a professional liquidator. Pace then decided to combine her entrepreneurial instincts, organizing skills and passion for sustainable living into a one-woman venture. Clients find comfort, she says, in knowing that the person handling their loved one’s belongings— their memories, essentially—has been through a similar situation. “Usually no one calls me when they’re happy,” Pace says. “So I want to do the right thing for them and take everything I can off their plate, so they can focus on their family member.” Estate sales are big business in Las Vegas, and that’s not as morbid as it sounds. Many of Pace’s clients are downsizing for a move or just looking to shrink their footprint. Sales typically take about a month, and homes with unique collections—art, antiques, mid-century modern furniture—can draw buyers from outside of Nevada. Seeing once-cherished items in the hands of new owners who will continue to treasure them can bring closure during difficult times. Just as importantly, Pace says, it leads to greener living. “You’re not creating any more waste in the world,” she says. “It’s kind of a nice way to think about it.” 7
By Jason Latham
Photography Krystal Ramirez
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CONVERSATIONS
By Jarret Keene
Photography Krystal Ramirez
INTRIGUING PEOPLE
DARK-FANTASY AUTHOR PALPABLY RENDERS CHILDHOOD TERRORS
Mercedes m. YaRdley
ercedes M. Yardley, the Bram Stoker Award–winning Las Vegas author who has been called a female Joe Hill, is running late. She explains it’s because after taking her children to school, she saw, hanging over the Valley’s north end, a giant rainbow. She says she was curious to know if she could see its end. It’s the perfect metaphor for Yardley’s storytelling approach. Despite the tight structure of her two new novellas—Detritus in Love (co-authored with John Boden) and Little Dead Red (for which she won the Horror Writers Association’s Stoker in May 2016)—the wife and mother of three takes readers into creepy, psychologically complex places. For Yardley, a story begins with characters, and she isn’t afraid to let them determine what happens next. “I don’t plot,” she says matter-of-factly. “I just sit down and write. But I’m getting better at cutting away the excess. I start with a concept of the character, but the way a plot develops is always a surprise to me. It’s something new every time.” Another thing that surprises Yardley? The feminist symbolism some readers discover in her work. For example, in Little Dead Red (a haunting retelling of the “Little Red Riding Hood” fairy tale), the male characters are wicked, while the female protagonist, struggling to solve her daughter’s murder by gathering the killer’s DNA, falls victim to a conspiracy. “Yes, it’s something I even notice in my work,” she admits. “But I don’t bring an agenda. When I think of victims, I think of women and children. I believe men are inherently good, and I don’t believe in superiority but equality. I found that, for a serial killer and for the purposes of the story, a wolf fits the profile of a man.” Yardley’s knowledge of evil derives from firsthand experience. At 21, after graduating from college with a sociology degree, she worked as a counselor in a home for sex-offender
m
teens, all males, not much younger than she was at the time. “Everyone there had been a victim, but they were also perpetrators,” she recalls. “It was interesting to see how emotionally nuanced they were. I’d see their raw fear, but then I’d see they had adult processes to deal with their problems.” The darkness of that experience was formative. Yardley acknowledges that she draws from that time in her life to round out her child characters and to shape her adult villains, who sometimes redeem themselves—until they can’t. “That job helped me, scarred me. And when it was done scarring me, it helped me add depth to my characters.” Yardley’s prose brings to mind Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes, a chilling tale about boys coping with an uncanny carnival that comes to town. Similarly, in Yardley’s universe, what children believe in is often more real and deadly than what grownups can accept. What rings most true, though, is what her young characters fear—namely being abandoned and abused by adults. “My parents did a good job protecting me,” she says. “But I have friends whose parents failed them; it shows. I think my brand of horror is true [and] realistic, even when I include the supernatural.” She can’t look at blood and guts. She watches horror films through her fingers. What scared her as a kid—what scares her now—is lying awake at night and thinking about what’s going on next door. When not chasing rainbows, Yardley pursues the darkness of reality. Commercially speaking, novellas are a hard sell in today’s market. But her talent for writing short novels (and very short stories) sets her apart from her horror-penning peers. “I do well in a leaner form,” she says. “And I like trying different things. I like the shorter form of the novella, because it allows me to explore a theme and move on.” 7
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CONVERSATIONS
INTRIGUING PEOPLE
Patrick McCaw A former Rebel steps up his game Former UNLV Runnin’ Rebel and current Golden State Warrior Patrick McCaw is trying to figure out what shoes he’d wear for a championship game. “It all depends.” McCaw is silent for a moment until he suddenly looks up and smiles. “Yeezys. That’s a good way to go out. The high-top ones. The black ones.” While he answers hypothetically, the dilemma is a very real possibility for the 21-year-old, who dove headfirst into his next chapter, debuting as a pro player back in October. Sitting down with McCaw, he exudes effortless cool: there is confidence without ego. When the topic of the 2016 draft comes up, McCaw’s eyes grow wide and he shakes his head in disbelief. “Once my name was called, I kind of didn’t believe it. I was just crying for 30 minutes ... a lot of people didn’t even think I’d be in college.” “And to be an NBA player now? It’s crazy.” McCaw, who spent two years in Las Vegas playing for UNLV, brings up his college career. “The chemistry and the talent that we had was just amazing. I think the best memory is when we beat Arizona. It was my freshman year [2014], and beating the No. 3 team in the country and seeing everyone storm the court like that? It’s a dream come true for any type of basketball player.” Teammate and friend Jelan Kendrick recalls the first time he met McCaw: “He walked in all smooth, and he didn’t say much. Patrick’s sleek. He’s like a unicorn. Oh, and he doesn’t miss a shot.”
By Zauni Tanil
“The relationships I built with my teammates were something special. I can call each and every one of them to this day and just sit and have a conversation with them,” McCaw says. He also sheds light on the magnitude of what getting a scholarship to UNLV meant. “People always doubted how far I would go with basketball, and I think that type of stuff has always motivated me. The time and work I’ve put in is paying off,” he says. As he talks, one is reminded of a line in J.Cole’s “Intro” from 2014 Forest Hills Drive: “They say that dreams come true and when they do, that there’s a beautiful thing.” So what’s it like when your dreams come true? “It hasn’t really hit me yet. In this next chapter everything is kind of continuing to get better. I always think of both the negative and the positives, but it’s surreal I’m actually in the NBA,” McCaw says. As the interview draws to a close, McCaw heads off to practice, where he’ll be surrounded by the likes of Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson—guys he admired are now peers. He stands to leave and hesitates for a second. “I got to do the [filming for video game] NBA 2k17,” he says. “It was crazy, they had me make the game-winning face.” Grabbing his phone, he stops once more to glance around the room. Golden State– embossed gear lay scattered. McCaw smiles. “It was all just really cool.” 7 A version of this story was published on UnXommonVegas.com.
Dave Kallas
An ex-cop finds a new career selling weed By Rob Kachelriess Photography Krystal Ramirez It’s a good time to be Dave Kallas. As owner of the Apothecarium cannabis dispensary, he’s riding a wave of momentum for the marijuana industry. It’s a long journey away from his old job as a Las Vegas police officer. “I worked for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for 30 years,” Kallas says of a career that began in 1979. “Ten and a half years was as a patrol officer averaging almost 300 arrests a year. A lot of that was for the sale of a controlled substance, including marijuana.” Things changed in his life when a knee injury turned out to be a case of disseminated Valley Fever, a fungal condition that was incurable. To cope with the pain, he was prescribed opioids, the only option legally available. “I didn’t like the use of opioids,” Kallas says. “I could tell why people would overdose and become addicted to it. … It’s because your tolerance level is built up.” He later found marijuana to be a “natural and nonaddictive” alternative to effectively treat the pain. By the time the Nevada legislature cleared the legal path for cannabis dispensaries in 2013,
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Kallas had retired from the force and was working for Findlay Toyota. He pitched his boss, the late Rich Abajian, on opening one themselves. The two did their research, a license was secured and they went into business with the Apothecarium, a dispensary and production facility in San Francisco that was ready to open a second location in Las Vegas. It welcomed its first customers in early 2016, and with Nevada voters recently legalizing the recreational use of weed, sales are only going to get better. “We have to wait for the legislature to figure it out,” Kallas says. But he believes the regulations will go into effect sooner rather than later to prevent the black market from taking advantage of the new environment. So does Kallas support marijuana for recreational use as much as medical use? “On a personal level, I support it because that’s what the voters said they wanted to do,” he says before taking a moment to recall his time as a police officer. “I would much rather deal with somebody who’s ingested marijuana than somebody who’s ingested alcohol.” 7
INTRIGUING PEOPLE
Eileen Moore One of only two women who serve as president of Strip casinos, she isn’t your typical gaming executive She’s perhaps the most likable executive you’ll ever meet. Eileen Moore is president of not one, but three Strip properties (The Linq, Flamingo and The Cromwell). Having worked for Fairmont in San Francisco and Waldorf Astoria in New York City, one of Las Vegas’ busiest denizens is damn good at her job. The working mom has created a “lean in” culture at Caesars Entertainment globally. Shall I call you Madame President? Casino Boss Lady is what some folks like to call me. How does one become that? I started working in this business when I was 15 years old. My father worked for hotels and my mother worked for United Airlines. As a child, I got the travel bug and knew that I would grow up and be in this industry. I begged my parents to go to hotel school. They told me, “No, there’s no women in charge. It’s long hours and low pay.” Now we laugh because my dream was to run one hotel, and now I run three on the Strip. And by “hotel school,” you mean getting your start at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration. I was in the business even before attending Cornell. When I was a teenager at West Point Military Academy, I was a hostess in the restaurant and I was promoted to supervisor within my first year. I guess I liked being a boss early on. What defines service for you? Huvafen Fushi in the Maldives. [The staff] puts you completely in a state of relaxation and peacefulness just through their genuineness, authenticity and hospitality, and their anticipation of your needs. ... [They] really cater to you to make sure that they have everything on that small island that you would ever want. You were there after going to Dubai with the Young Presidents Organization? Yes, through our global conference. And I hear you partied with the sheik? It was amazing. We went to his beach palace. We also went on his yacht, the Dubai, which is the third largest yacht in the world. We were unable to take any cell phones or any photographs. It was an amazing oncein-a-lifetime experience. Did you try to bring that ethos back to Vegas? I definitely did. I think it’s inspirational to say, “Hey, maybe not everything that they do on a 15-room bungalow setup can be done,” but, again, I run the only boutique hotel on the Strip with 188 rooms. There are things I could do here at The Cromwell that we wouldn’t necessarily do at Flamingo or The Linq. One of the things I’m proud of is I have one of the most diverse teams in gaming. We cut across every demographic that you can think [of], every generation and any category. The best part about the properties that I run is [that] I have something for everyone. I run the oldest property on the Strip. Flamingo just turned 70. We were started in 1946 by the notorious
gangster Bugsy Siegel. We’re the longest operating and one of the last original casinos that’s left on the Strip, [which] was built around us. It’s a classic, and we attract baby boomers, international travelers, people from all over and every age group. Then we have The Linq, which is absolutely geared toward millennials, and that’s exactly the demographic that we’re pulling in. Then [there’s] The Cromwell, which is really a millennial and Gen X playground between Giada’s and what we do at Drai’s. How did you become one of only two women Strip presidents? I’m very fortunate to work for Caesars, which is a meritocracy. People putting up the strongest results get promoted. It doesn’t matter what they look like or where they came from. Although I started in our corporate office, I went on to be the No. 2 in operations with our New Orleans property. I opened our first hotel ever there, which made the Condé Nast Top 100 Hotels in the World [list] the year that we opened. From there I went on to run a casino outside of Louisville, Kentucky, The Horseshoe in southern Indiana. Then [I] grew the region to run the two casinos in Illinois, Harrah’s Metropolis and Harrah’s Joliet. That isn’t necessarily the track record of people who are running Strip properties, but because I put up great results and drove great teams and developed people who got promoted, the company saw it fit to put me in charge of a billion-plus dollars in development and really rethink this entire side of the Strip. The bet has paid off through our performance.
CONVERSATIONS
By David Morris Photography Kin Lui
room renovation, which will get us about a third of our rooms. We’re renovating all of our 100,000 square feet of convention space. We’ve completed more than $25 million in infrastructure upgrades. Then we’ll embark on a food and beverage master plan that redesigns the entryway into the casino and the entire first floor of the Flamingo. It’s a very exciting time for us. What intrigues you? The ever-changing nature of this business and being able to market to all these different demographics. I like to think about what should the casino of the future look like? What kinds of games are going to appeal to customers of tomorrow? We’re doing a virtual reality game test right now at The Linq that’s super interesting. That is what’s going to really attract customers in the future and keep them interested in gaming. 7
What do you envision for the decade? I’ll tell you what I’m most excited about. It’s going to take the next five years for sure. That’s going to be the big unveiling of the Flamingo. ... That’s really the last piece of the puzzle. Our future development is how we return the Flamingo brand to its iconic and legendary status. We’re starting this year with a $100 million
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“I’m the hand and she’s the mind,” says Norvis Junior of his working relationship with his wife, Whitney McGuire. Together, they’ve formed a creative agency for the arts called SwiMMMers Ear. And yes, the extra M is intentional: to represent music, math and mechanics—elements the couple says are all essential for human progress. She’s a legal pro. He’s an artist. But their roles in the company aren’t so easily defined. McGuire tends to handle the business side but will provide consulting and generate ideas for aspiring artists. She also recently directed a music video for Brooklyn duo Dave Giles II and Sam O.B. “W e help people develop their artistry and take it to the next level,” she says. “We try to incorporate our own philosophy of freedom, love, happiness and value creation—and apply it to everything we do.” Junior, who says that “sometimes the thinking is more within the body than within your head,” focuses on music as an artist, producer, songwriter, singer and performer. “My uncles and my father, they all played different instruments,” the Dallas native says. “I was raised around bands, but I never had a designation of ‘You are a musician’ or ‘You are a singer’ even though they knew I could sing, they knew I could play a few different instruments.” “And he can dance,” Whitney interjects with a laugh. “And I can dance,” Junior agrees. “I took dance classes. I was raised in the arts.” Junior, born Nelson Nance, records at the couple’s Henderson home, with the general goal of creating three to five beats a day, and selling them for placement in songs. Otherwise he’s usually practicing piano, editing videos or designing animations. “The roles vary, but they’re always steeped in creativity,” he says. Junior met McGuire in New York when they were introduced by a mutual friend at a Christmas party. The connection was instant. “We found each other at a time when we were both feeling very at home with ourselves,” Junior recalls. “We saw that in each other.” The two bonded over a passion for the arts and promoted smallscale music festivals together. Junior had been doing videos for websites but actually found greater financial success in music. He quickly realized he could take things in a new direction with McGuire by his side. “She said, ‘Your videos are good, but maybe we can create a business that treats people with respect in handling freelance workers or small artists in the production field.’” McGuire was practicing as a licensed attorney at the time and had built a reputation for her work in fashion law. “Every industry is regulated by laws, so fashion is no different,” she says. It can include labor issues, trademarks, patents, criminal laws regarding counterfeiting as well as mergers and acquisitions. During a stint in Washington, D.C., she worked with a lobbying firm on a bill that enhanced copyright protections for fashion designs. McGuire says the struggle of factory workers overseas is also an issue that captures her attention. “Everything that’s made cheaply is made by someone who sacrificed a lot,” she says. The couple relocated from New York to Southern Nevada so McGuire could take a job as a judicial law clerk for a federal judge. She hopes to eventually have a practice of her own in Las Vegas, focusing on familiar topics such as intellectual property rights within the arts community. She was recently named a board member for both the Las Vegas Arts District and the Las Vegas Fashion Council. Meanwhile, SwiMMMers Ear will continue to be a priority. Junior and McGuire enjoy working and collaborating with other artists, but stop short of managing them. “Managing myself is enough of a day-to-day victory that I want to focus on,” Junior says. “I don’t want it to be required that I’m responsible for someone else’s success.” He is quick to offer help, however, including free beats, to artists who are struggling to make money on their music, especially with streaming services such as Spotify. “They hate on it and say, ‘I don’t even have enough money to pay my Spotify subscription,’ and I understand that,” he says. “But they’re putting out a release every other year on Spotify. I’m putting out four or five things a year on Spotify, and as a result, all those clicks add up.” McGuire knows that as well. “I’m always analyzing from a legal standpoint how he can maximize those royalties.” 7
WHITNEY MCGUIRE & NORVIS JUNIOR
By Rob Kachelriess
Two sides of the Las Vegas arts community
Photography Krystal Ramirez
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