Desert Companion - June 2016

The Photo Issue

recognize!

Winner of two Maggie Awards for editorial excellence

06 JUNE

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discover new visions

you must see

Together we can ...

Thank you

for helping us put a stop to childhood hunger. $2 Million

Together, we raised which will provide 6 million meals to hungry children in Southern Nevada.

To learn how you can get involved, visit:

threesquare.org 702-644-FOOD (3663)

Together, we can bag childhood hunger.

With our sincere gratitude to our sponsors and supporters

PRESENTING SPONSORS

Monica & Jaswinder Grover, MD

BiBi & Eric Hilton Diane & Robert Bigelow Jill & Frank Fertitta, III

The Frank & Victoria Theresa & Lorenzo Fertitta Fertitta Foundation

MAJOR SPONSORS Andrew & Peggy Cherng, Panda Restaurant Group, Inc. Angel & Brian Nettles Audra & Bobby Baldwin Mr. & Mrs. Bill Hornbuckle Bill & Bonnie Paulos Bill & Shannon McBeath and The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas Carolynn Towbin

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SUPPORTING SPONSORS

Fletcher Jones Management Group, Inc. Michael Doiron Mitchell & Nancy Bobrow Robin Greenspun Scott & Stephanie Sibley Southwest Gas Corporation Foundation Steve Aoki Fund

Angela & Peter Dal Pezzo Anita Romero Bank of Nevada Bill & Bonnie Wortman Blue Heron Design Build City National Bank Evan & Layla Green

AJ & Robbie Tuttle B&P Advertising Media Public Relations Benson Riseman & Lee Medick Dan Coletti (Sun West Custom Homes) Dawn Hume Denise Cashman Dominic & Kathryn Gentile Donald and Dee Snyder Dr. Anthony Stephens Eric Boes Faber Transcription, LLC Faith & James Knight Foundation Frias Transportation Hayley & Steve Brown Ingrid Michelson Jaclyn DelRossi Jason & Jenny Mattson Jean McCusker John & Rene O’Reilly Family Foundation

FRIENDS

John Groom John Klai, II Josephine Tarkanian Diamant Judith Cebulko Katherine Bell Kimberlee Hyp Lexus of Henderson (Lee Butler) Lilli Gober (GFT Charity) Los Vaqueros Las Vegas Lynn Wardley Madeline Andress Mark & Elizabeth Jones Mark Fierro Marty and Lori Mazzara Michael & Renee Yackira Michael & Sanjeeta Khanna MidCountry Bank Mileski Holdings Northern Trust

Steve & Anne Jones, Bary & Cory Jones and The Merlin Team The Irvin Stern Foundation The Shulman Family Foundation & ShulmanSays.com The Tony & Renee Marlon Foundation Theodore & Doris Lee Family Foundation Towbin Automotive Group

Ted & Maria Quirk The Friedmutter Group The Marshall Family The Thomas Spiegel Family Foundation Westheimer Gabel Consulting, LLC (Laura & Andy Gabel) Zappos.com, Inc.

Paradise Development (Rich Worthington) Rachel Shiffrin & David Hirschfeld Renaldo Tiberti Robert Grossman & Carol Sullivan Rogich Communications Group Ryan Welch Stella Roy Steve & Margie Wilkinson Susan Bassford Terence Banich The Firm Public Relations & Marketing The Molasky Group The Ritter Charitable Trust Thomas & Buffie Kerestesi Tito & Sandra Tiberti Foundation Todd and Dr. Christa Morse Valtus Capital Group, LLC Wendy Plaster Winnie Schulman

WITH SPECIAL THANKS Adam Shane Productions Al Powers Photography Amy Hudson Andiron Steak & Sea Arthouse Design Studio Artisanal Foods Big Picture Studios Blue Ribbon Sushi Camille & Larry Ruvo China Poblano

David Steen Destinations by Design Eileen Cox Elizabeth Blau Ezra Menelik Foxtail Floral Geary Company Advertising Jake Miller Jerry Metellus Photography Kayla Agnello Keira Mahoney

Kim Canteenwalla Las Vegas Parking Michael Kors Nancy Nichols Neiman Marcus Paragon Gaming Phil Hernandez Pictographics Production Resource Group Proof Interactive Rebecca Blake

Royal Printing RSVP Party Rentals Sage Sage Tech Sandi Wheeler Scott Menke Southern Wine & Spirits Spago Las Vegas The Firm Public Relations & Marketing

Three Square is grateful for every individual who contributed to the Bag Childhood Hunger campaign. The above listed donated $1,000 or more prior to going to print.

We make all efforts to ensure accuracy; however, errors do occur. Please contact our donor relations department at 702-644-3663 to report corrections.

EDiTOR’S Note

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Seeing is believing

S

tep into your mental time machine and rewind with me for a second to May 17, when I’m hunched at my desk and writing this very Editor’s Note column (of course, in keeping with tradition, right in the screaming teeth of deadline). If you were in the Desert Companion offices, like me, you’d probably be distracted, too, stealing frequent gazes at our north wall, which is burgeoning with mountains, animals and people. See, this wall of our office is a bunch of those office-land fabric panels that usually serve as a giant bulletin board; but in this magazine cycle, it’s hosting printouts of a sizable portion of the entries in our fourth annual Focus on Nevada photo contest and exhibit. Taking it all in, it makes me wish we had 200-plus pages to showcase the amazing work we’ve received from amateur photographers and professional shooters alike, who’ve captured everything from the f lora and fauna of the Silver State to striking slice-of-life portraits to avantgarde snaps that engage the head as much as the eye.

This year, we received 1,068 entries from more than 320 photographers, which means our 24 judges conscripted from various sectors of the community had their work cut out for them, and then some. What you see starting on p. 48 are the best of the best, but rest assured that choosing the winners, while fun, certainly wasn’t easy. Consider this a toast to everyone who entered. And that’s just the start of the eye candy: Also be sure to check out our photo essay on p. 59, in which we set loose photographer Anthony Mair to explore a variety of Vegas subcultures that share one thing in common: a passion for wheeled pastimes, whether it’s bicycles, roller skates, motorcycles or low-riders. Living in such a visually charged city Next can jade us; what I love about MOnth our annual Photo Issue is how Whet your appetite it ref lects back to us the places for another round of DEALicious Meals! we live, work and play through

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different lenses — literally — and in the process, renews our conception of home. ***** Now for a little bragging. I’m proud to announce that Desert Companion took home two Maggie awards (“the Oscars of publishing,” they say!) at the 65th annual Western Publishing Association awards banquet May 6 in Los Angeles. Desert Companion won a Best News Story Maggie for our July 2015 article, “‘I’m a real boy,’” by Kimberley McGee, which delved into the daily challenges, trials and triumphs of raising a transgender child in Las Vegas.

We also earned a Maggie for Best Signed Editorial/Essay for Hugh Jackson’s June 2015 piece, “About those exciting jobs of tomorrow,” a trenchant essay that asks whether Nevada’s education system can evolve to meet the demands of an emerging economy based on technological savvy and knowledge work. While planting a few more acrylic trophies on the shelf is a pleasure all its own, it’s particularly gratifying to be recognized for pursuing serious journalism and commentary in a world of clickbait listicles, PR fluffitorial and, oh, you know, once-respectable daily newspapers turned into zombie cheerleading organs for mercurial billionaires. It means a lot to be able to share vital stories and perspectives about Southern Nevada with you — whether those stories tackle a hot-button topic or simply showcase the Nevada beauAndrew Kiraly editor ty that surrounds us every day.

Follow Desert Companion www.facebook.com/DesertCompanion www.twitter.com/DesertCompanion

The Will TO DO WONDERS The Caesars Foundation is committed to improving the quality of life in the communities where the Caesars Entertainment family of companies operates through the support of organizations that help older individuals live longer, healthier lives, promote a more sustainable world and provide innovative educational opportunities.

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June 2016

letters@desertcompanion.vegas

Vo lU m e 1 4 I s s u e 6

ESSAY NEVADA’S MARKET LEADER

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In our April issue, writer Hugh Jackson examined the funding of corporate charter schools in Nevada. That essay earned him an appearance on the April 28 segment of the CHARTERED Vegas PBS show Ralston Live, CRUISE which was devoted to charters.

(Watch it at vegaspbs.org.) But it also brought us a tart note from a reader named Andrea Noonoo: “Many people have no understanding of the purpose or 36 operation of charter schools, and many don’t even know of their existence. Unfortunately, the essay ‘Chartered Cruise,’

by Hugh Jackson in the April issue of Desert Companion, did nothing to add to their knowledge of this subject. This biased article presented, without statistics, a slanted view of one segment of charter schools. There was no mention of the schools formed by educators committed to serving all students or of the schools sponsored

by CCSD. These schools are public charters, not corporate. They must adhere to the same requirements as all publicly funded schools. This includes the licensing of their teachers, the use of approved curriculum, and the transparent reporting of how they utilize their funding.

These are the schools that accept all students who apply, like any CCSD school; they serve the students who have not profited from a traditional form of education. They work with students and parents who have chosen to pursue education in a more innovative and often individualized mode. Your readers deserve better. They deserve all of the facts so that they can form an intelligent opinion about this very important topic.”

We agree that charter schools comprise a very important topic, and that it’s vital for Nevadans to under-

stand the issue as thoroughly as possible. However, just to be clear, Jackson’s essay was never meant to be a wideangle discussion of the whole charter-school situation, nor a guide to their purpose, operation or educational efficiency.

It set out to be what it is: a more narrowly focused look at the formation of a publicly funded, corporate charterschool industry in Nevada.

Indeed, it’s more about economics and state policy than educating children. It took a small, well-defined but important bite out of a much larger, complex issue. So, yes, it’s true that some charter schools fall outside the scope of Jackson’s analysis — possibly including the local charter school whose website (though not her letter) lists an Andrea Noonoo as a trustee.

A guided tour of the biggest education issue in Nevada — and one of the state’s fastest-growing industries B Y H U G H JA C K S O N

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efore a state judge put Nevada’s high-profile and hotly contested school-voucher program on hold (the ruling is being appealed), fewer than 5,000 families had applied to spend public money on private schools via what are officially called “education savings accounts.”

Meanwhile, more than 35,000 Nevada students are enrolled in charter schools in the current school year — a 21 percent increase over just last year. Over the past five years, charter enrollment has more than doubled, increasing by 133 percent.

As in the voucher program, state per-student spending follows students to charter schools, too, albeit under more varied and often more generous calculations. If those 5,000 families ever get their on-average $5,100 vouchers, about $25 million in public money will be spent on some form of private school. That’s about a 10th of the $254 million that, according to data compiled by the state Department of Education, Nevada taxpayers spent on 39 charter schools, some

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f the quarter-billion dollars Nevada taxpayers provided to charter schools in 2014-15, more than a fifth of it — $54 million, according to state data — went to schools managed by a single for-profit company, a Florida-based firm called Academica. Established in 1996 and boasting close ties to then-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Academica has been the center of numerous controversies in that state, particularly after the Miami Herald reported that the firm used public money to lease real estate from development companies owned by the same people who own Academica, brothers Fernando and Ignacio Zulueta. Academica has also come under fire in Florida for, among other things, setting up a separate “college” in one of its charter high schools and charging taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars to provide students with two-year “degrees” of dubious worth.

Academica is not a publicly traded company, and any financial information about the firm is difficult to come by, let alone the type of granular financial reporting that might indicate how much of Academica’s Nevada revenue stays in Nevada, as opposed to flying out of the state as profit.

Meanwhile, there is no doubt whatsoever that the firm’s revenue from Nevada is going to grow. The company opened two schools last fall, and Academica is in the process of creating at least four more schools in Southern Nevada. The company is also expanding into Washoe County.

Technically, Academica is just the management company, and doesn’t build new schools. Technically, to open a charter school, a group of citizens must form a charter school board and then apply to a sponsoring institution for approval (since its establishment by the state Legislature a few years ago, that institution is almost always the State Public Charter School Authority). It’s not Academica, but the school itself and its board that would ultimately have to ask for state money to build or buy a school.

As a practical matter, Academica is not only relied upon every step of the way, but the instigator. No doubt some charter schools are the result of concerned citizens and parents banding

with multiple campuses, operating in the state in 2014-15.

Public spending on charters is only going to grow. New charter schools, and new campuses for existing schools, opened last fall (helping to account for the aforementioned 21 percent year-over-year increase in enrollment), and still more charters are scheduled to open by the 2016-17 school year … and, presumably, beyond.

Charter schools are publicly funded, but privately operated. The result is a charter-school industry, encompassing what can be a dizzying array of arrangements and contracts between the schools, their unelected boards, state agencies, property developers, for-profit management companies, nonprofit arms of private companies, hedge funds and investment firms, and myriad consultants, contractors and education-industry vendors. Virtually every dollar everyone in the charter-school industry makes is provided by the taxpaying public.

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Reader Howard Watts III on our May roadtrip issue: “It was hands-down the best issue of DC I’ve ever read. I know that most months it wouldn’t work, but I love how the road trip really dominated, from the small pieces to the feature journal and even the food section. I’m disappointed that the featured neighborhood was … not Ely or the historic Comstock, but nobody’s perfect. Also, the editor should have halved the number of jerky references.

“I enjoyed the way themes emerged into full-fledged stories, including the plight of craft breweries, the scars of ‘settlement’ on Native Americans and the importance of water. It’s a masterpiece.

“If you ever do another road trip, take a reader. Specifically, me.”

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Vo lU m e 1 4 I s s u e 0 6

Features 48 FOCUS pocus

It’s time to unveil the snaptastic winners of our shutterific Focus on Nevada photo contest!

59 ROUND

AND ROUND

Photographer Anthony Mair explores a range of diverse subcultures in Las Vegas, all bound by their well-rounded love of wheeled pastimes.

departments All Things

26 community

41 Dining

73 The Guide

13 community A new

What does the future hold for the rundown but beloved Reed Whipple center?

By T.R. Witcher

42 the dish A cluster

Read it, know it, live it

of Korean restaurants make for a Seoulful suburb

80 End note

16 culture Poemfella!

18 zeit bites Straight

from the streets

32 HISTORY

20 profile From

“Tough Tony” Spilotro meets his end

By Geoff Schumacher

dance to dory 22 object lesson

(Pola)roid rage!

24 Open Topic The wild where we live

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44 cocktail of the month A giant bowl

of rum and fire from the Golden Tiki

Alone in a voting booth, the governor battles for his soul.

By Andrew Kiraly

46 at first bite This

is no faux pho.

on the cover historic railroad trail, lake mead Stetson Ybarra

r i v e r : s c ot t wa r n e r

effort to prevent child sexual abuse

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Mission Statement Desert Companion is the premier city magazine that celebrates the pursuits, passions and aspirations of Southern Nevadans. With awardwinning lifestyle journalism and design, Desert Companion does more than inform and entertain.

We spark dialogue, engage people and define the spirit of the Las Vegas Valley.

Publisher Melanie Cannon Associate Publisher Christine Kiely Editor Andrew Kiraly Art Director Christopher Smith deputy editor Scott Dickensheets senior designer Scott Lien staff writer Heidi Kyser Graphic Designer Brent Holmes Account executives Sharon Clifton, Parker McCoy, Favian Perez, Noelle Tokar, Markus Van’t Hul

NO DEISRESÞECT to mother nature,

BUT OUR PERFORMERS ARE A LOT LESS STIFF. So you’re planning to see the red rock wonders of Southern Utah’s national parks. Go for it.

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The Greater Escape.

NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Couture Marketing 145 E 17th Street, Suite B4 New York, NY 10003 (917) 821-4429 advertising@couturemarketing Marketing manager Lisa Kelly Subscription manager Tammy Willis Web administrator Danielle Branton print traffic manager Karen Wong ADVERTISING COPY EDITOR Carla J. Zvosec Contributing writers Cybele, Mélanie Hope, Debbie Lee, Jason Scavone, Geoff Schumacher, Steve Sebelius, Mitchell Wilburn, Stacy J. Willis, T.R. Witcher Contributing artists Anthony Mair, Sabin Orr, Virginia Trudeau, Andrea Ucini, Lucky Wenzel Editorial: Andrew Kiraly, (702) 259-7856; andrew@desertcompanion.vegas Fax: (702) 258-5646 Advertising: Christine Kiely (702) 259-7813; christine@desertcompanion.vegas Subscriptions: (702) 258-9895; subscriptions@desertcompanion.vegas Website: www.desertcompanion.vegas Desert Companion is published 12 times a year by Nevada Public Radio, 1289 S. Torrey Pines Dr., Las Vegas, NV 89146. It is available by subscription at desertcompanion.vegas, or as part of Nevada Public Radio membership. It is also distributed free at select locations in the Las Vegas Valley. All photos, artwork and ad designs printed are the sole property of Desert Companion and may not be duplicated or reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. The views of Desert Companion contributing writers are not necessarily the views of Desert Companion or Nevada Public Radio. Contact Tammy Willis for back issues, which are available for purchase for $7.95.

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16

helping c hil dren b y educ ating adu lts

Community

Seeds of change Nevada is an early adopter in a new movement to prevent child sexual abuse — a public-health crisis of epidemic proportions, advocates warn B y H e i d i K ys e r

i llu s t r at i o n a n d r e a u c i n i

Heather Protz’s snaps from the LV streets page 18

I

n a small, windowless room toward the back of the Rape Crisis Center were several pictures — children’s crayon drawings like those parents tack to refrigerators. But these pictures showed scenes that parents might not want to display: for instance, a stick figure girl facing down a stick figure man and spewing a fiery word bubble, “No!” They were as hard to look at as the video in the prevention section on the center’s website is to watch. Celebrity narrators explain that someone is sexually assaulted in the U.S. every two minutes, half the victims are younger than 18, and children are warned by their abusers not to tell. Then, a tiny girl with dark, round eyes looks into the camera and, in a toddler’s lisp, says, “I don’t have to keep a secret.”

Those unfamiliar with current thinking about sexual assault might not expect such images from a rape crisis center. Rape is what happens when a woman walking home alone at night is grabbed by a stranger and dragged into an abandoned alley, right? Yes — but such scenarios are only a small piece of the picture. Eight times out of 10, a rape victim knows her attacker. More than one-third of those who sexually abuse children are family members.

These and many other statistics from many other studies over the last two decades are leading to a shift in the fight against sexual assault.

“I was at a conference where someone likened it to being downriver and fishing someone out every few minutes,” says Daniele Dreitzer, executive director of the Rape Crisis Center, which currently responds to some 60-plus calls from the county hospital

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13

ALL Things

community

Enough is enough:

per month. “You Counselors attend can help them, an Enough Abuse and it may save training session their lives, but you at the Rape Crisis Center in May. also need to send someone upriver to figure out who’s throwing them in to begin with.”

“Up-river,” in this case, can mean back to childhood. If, one school of thought argues, a community could learn to talk and listen to kids stigma-free, spot red flags of assault and intervene before something happens, then it would raise generations of empowered people who are less likely to be victimized, while also disabling potential abusers. As with other public-health crises, early prevention would also have tangible benefits, such as saving the cost of treating long-term mental-health issues that can result from child sexual abuse.

The Rape Crisis Center’s collection of drawings hangs somewhere else now.

Since the media tour of the facility’s then-new expansion last fall, the center has moved again, more than doubling the amount of space it had a year ago. Demand is high for services at Nevada’s only nonprofit dedicated solely to sexual violence awareness and prevention. But with help from donors, the government and a UNLV think tank, a team with a new mission is headed upstream. It’s hoping to stanch the flow of violence at its source.

***** The issue of campus rape has gotten a lot of attention lately. Two years ago, the White House launched a related initiative called “It’s On Us,” which was followed by the Association of American Universities’ controversial study suggesting one in four female college students had been sexually assaulted. The Hunting Ground won several film awards, and Lady Gaga performed its theme song live at the Oscars, flanked by dozens of survivors.

So far, child sexual abuse hasn’t enjoyed much public awareness outside its role in the movie Spotlight. And yet, on average, more boys and girls are sexually abused than college men and women each year.

The CDC estimates that some 13 million kids living in America today are sex-abuse

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victims. Nevada had 540 substantiated cases of child sexual maltreatment in 2013.

“If this were Ebola, the whole world would shut down. … Where are the bracelets, the ribbons, the race to cure this disease?” asked Jill Tolles, a UNR communications studies professor, in her February TEDx talk titled “Finding Courage to Talk About Child Sexual Abuse.”

Tolles was part of a state task force that Child and Family Services, following a law passed in the 2013 Legislature, appointed to study the issue. The group completed its work the following year and issued a report with several recommendations. In the 2015 Legislature, one of those recommendations became a law requiring all Nevada schools to have sexual abuse and safety education for students by 2020. Standards for the curricula are to be completed this summer.

“This was an exciting bill,” says Kristy Oriol, policy specialist for the Nevada Network Against Domestic Violence and another member of the task force. “It’s really important to reach children at a young age and teach them about boundaries, healthy relationships and resources that are available. This not only helps prevent future abuse, but also, if it’s happening, helps them find someone safe to talk to.”

The Rape Crisis Center already works with the Clark County School District through the Child Assault Prevention program, which teaches early elementary-aged children their basic rights to be safe, strong and free, and YourSpace, a safety prevention curriculum for middle- and high-school students Experts applaud programs like these,

but some believe they hit only half the necessary audience. The other half? Adults.

***** In April, Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Vice President Joe Biden and Lady Gaga visited UNLV to promote It’s On Us. Freshman Caitlyn Caruso introduced the theme of the event through her own story of being molested by a family friend when she was 11.

“I was told I should be grateful that my assaulter chose me, since he didn’t do things with girls like me, usually,” Caruso said. “I would say it’s on us to … share our stories. But it’s not. It’s not on us as survivors. It’s on you. … We’re asking you to amplify our voices, to support us, and most importantly, to believe us. We are asking you all to be active bystanders. We’re asking you to intervene before it’s too late.”

Caruso, now a survivors’ advocate, touches on several key themes in current awareness and prevention trends. Perpetrators choose their victims carefully and groom them to stay silent, so it’s important to take shame and silence out of the equation. But for that to happen, grownups have to be comfortable with the language of a difficult subject. And they have to be attuned to risky behaviors.

That’s the idea behind Enough Abuse, a campaign that started in Massachusetts and has since been adopted in seven other states. In 2014, the Rape Crisis Center was looking for an effective prevention program. Working with UNLV-based Prevent Child Abuse Nevada, it settled on Enough Abuse. The two organizations won a $265,000 grant

COMING IN THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE OF

and launched it here.

Since then, more than 300 parents and professionals from churches, community centers, schools, sports teams, youth programs — any place that caters to children — have attended the free Enough Abuse educational seminars. They learn to look for things like adults who text excessively with kids after hours, or who frequently set up unnecessary one-on-one situations with them. They learn what’s myth (“He seemed like such a nice guy”) and what’s fact (predators often use charm to deflect attention).

Enough Abuse also has a policy component to help institutions implement rules that bolster the education staff are receiving.

“An example would be if CCSD had a policy that allowed any employee of the district to only communicate with kids through school-approved communications, like Edmodo,” Dreitzer says, “and if they’re found to do so in other ways, there are disciplinary consequences.”

(CCSD did not respond to Desert Companion’s request for an interview. The school does have a mandatory reporting policy on general child abuse.)

Enough Abuse boldly states that it will reach every area in Nevada by 2018.

Dreitzer believes the goal is within reach, because the program has moved into a train-the-trainer phase. Instead of relying on out-of-state experts to come give seminars, it’s now building its own stable of in-state experts. This means the number of presentations being given can increase exponentially.

In another sign of hope, state organizations that focus on various related issues have been working to form an anti-sexual violence coalition. It would provide the same kind of support — and, hopefully, funding — that’s already available for domestic-violence advocates and victims.

“What’s so nice about this work is the prevention focus,” Oriol says. “So much of what we do is important and necessary … but, of course, it we could prevent it from happening to begin with, that would be better. The goal is to put us all out of work.”

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JUNE 2 0 1 6

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ALL Things

culture

poetry

Verse-case scenario The unexpected dividends of the county’s poet laureate program By scott dickensheets

H

e strolls into The Beat while talking to a Beat — Bruce Isaacson is on the phone with famed San Fran poet Michael McClure as he bops into the Downtown coffeehouse, still ebullient after chatting up some college profs about the physics of a consciously designed universe. As one does, if one’s the Clark County poet laureate, as Isaacson is. Having not missed his Beat, Isaacson hangs up and is ready for this, his Desert Companion close-up, a few more column inches of progress in his tireless march toward a richer poetic life for all of us.

That connectivity with poets of McClure’s stature has helped Isaacson make more than expected of what’s normally a ceremonial position. “We thought the poet would read poems at a few public occasions,” says Patrick Gaffey, director of the county’s Winchester Cultural Center. “Bruce took all of us by surprise.”

After his appointment last June, he quickly brought in then-new U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera, whom Isaacson knew from the Bay Area poetry scene.

The nation’s first Hispanic poet laureate, Herrera is the sort of big-stage figure you might expect to visit Vegas through a more established venue of literary presentation — the library district, UNLV. His appearance “has set the bar high for Bruce’s interpretation of a poet laureate’s duties,” says writer Ed Fuentes, who first floated the idea of a county poet. McClure, a Beat Movement mainstay who came in April, was another big get — again, a poet Isaacson knew. As Fuentes notes, “Bruce has been in Vegas long enough to be localized, while having the life experience of a

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Making a stanza: County Poet Laureate Bruce Isaacson has put on several poetry readings and workshops.

West Coast poet.”

(The big-deal visits continue August 27 with national slam-poetry star Patricia Smith.)

Meanwhile, his well-attended open readings and workshops at Winchester are, Fuentes says, “becoming poetry mini-pilgrimages.” He’s editing an anthology of local poetry, possibly out this winter. “We won’t be exhaustive,” he says, “but I hope we will be representative.” And his inaugural Poetry Promise Award was recently bestowed upon teenager Lisa Brissette (who’ll read at The Beat on June 4). Thanks to her $500 prize, Brissette has earned $500 more from the county poet laureate program than the laureate himself, who’s done all this for free.

“I’m not the smartest guy in the universe,” Isaacson says. “But I’m devoted.”

“Herrera and McClure were hugely important events that brought out hundreds of people,” Gaffey says. “At Herrera’s workshop a man said to me, ‘I’m from out of town. Can you tell me what event this is?’ I did, and he said, ‘You got this many people out for a poetry event? This town must be full of intellectuals!’”

“This community is ready,” Isaacson says. “I’ve been saying I thought it could happen for 10 years.”

As he begins the second year of his

two-year term, he proposes not merely to continue the momentum, but to up his ambition. He plans to push for a version of California’s Poets in Schools program, which would pay poets to visit classrooms to supplement writing instruction. No doubt you caught the key word in that sentence. “I won’t do the program unless the poets get paid,” he says, hopeful but realistic: “We’ll see how far we get with all these ambitious things.”

As for why Vegas is having a poetry moment now, Isaacson isn’t sure. He name-checks local poets — Vogue Robinson, Syd Stewart, Lee Mallory — who’ve cultivated new audiences. There’s some fine slam-poetry action, he allows. Perhaps this town really is full of intellectuals.

And maybe the why matters less than the simple fact of progress.

“I’m one of those people who believe the human condition advances,” he says, “that we’re moving forward, that it’s not all just utter, pointless repetition.” Word.

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chefsforkids.org

ALL Things

zeit bites

1

2

because you noticed them.

In “Treasures Men” (2), the man in the big sunglasses was not happy I was photographing him. Throughout the day our paths kept crossing. He was looking for me, but I kept snapping when I walked by — his glasses were too good to pass up.

Two shots after this image, it was time to move on, but this was a keeper. The man covering his eyes, the next not really caring and big-glasses guy getting ready to tell me off — you feel the tension in this image, which makes us keep looking at it.

What are your criteria for a good street image?

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ASKED AND ANSWERED

The world’s a studio Photographer Heather Protz on street shooting: “Most people are okay with it.” But not always. b y S c o t t D i c k e n s h e e t s Do your subjects know you’re shooting them?

Every situation is different. Many times I start by seeing something that draws my attention and, wanting to keep that moment, I do not interact with the subject. Then, if they notice me, I smile and tell them a little about myself, ask if they are having a good day. That initial smile goes a long way. If people do not want me to use their image I won’t. Most people are okay with it.

In “Leaving Paris” (1) the subjects did not know I was making this image, as they were caught up in their own world. I

moved on after only snapping two frames, wondering what that moment could have been about. Did they lose everything gambling? It is a touching moment of strength and what appears to be sadness.

Have people become upset about being photographed?

I have had people tell me they will call the police. When people are upset I try to defuse the situation and walk away. I was chased into a Denny’s on the Strip last year. Ninety-nine percent of the time people are fine with it; they like it

I look for a connection or a disconnection. In “Looking Up” (3), the man looks to be plugged in. I love the layering of meanings one could draw. First, he is connected. To what? To the power grid, to a higher being? He is happy; he is quiet.

I walked away from making this image feeling good. We made a connection. I did not direct him; I let the moment evolve.

For the most part, people do not smile when they walk around. When I snap the shutter, they might look angry, but it’s just how people look. I shoot a lot to get one good image. You do not come home with a portfolio of images from one or two shoots. Turning the Tables (her street photography) is an ongoing series from the past two years. it has a distinct visual quality. how did you settle on that?

I chose black-and-white to strip the emotion of color away, letting one focus on the people. I further altered the images by putting greater focus on the subject, letting a slight blur occur elsewhere.

In “Florida in Vegas” (4), I love how Vegas is as featured as the people. The Stratosphere is a defining element in many of my images. It lets the viewers know they are in Vegas. Florida Man in the foreground knows I am taking his picture.

He is looking at me and not really caring.

I made 10 images, moving and snapping until I had a foreground, middle ground and background that worked to tell the story you see here.

See more at heatherprotz.com

THE BOTTOM LINE >> june-appropriate bucket-list items: see piece of blarney stone at the d (it’s indoors!), visit zion (but stay in car with a/c), ogle homes

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politics

wake up, voters!

Not every race on the June primary ballot is a snoozer. Three that matter. b y s t e v e s e b e l i u s STATE SENATE DISTRICT 6 Candidates: Assemblyman Erv Nelson, R-Las Vegas; Assemblywoman Victoria Seaman, R-Las Vegas The race: The Republican civil war is on full display in this state Senate primary race, as the forces of moderation (Nelson) face off against the forces of conservatism (Seaman). Nelson began his Assembly career vowing to oppose taxes, but famously reversed himself in one of the 2015 session’s most memorable speeches. Seaman stuck to her pledge and is now accusing Nelson of breaking his word to the voters and being untrustworthy. Nelson, meanwhile, is dodging the spotlight and avoiding reporters as the June 14 primary nears.

What’s at stake: Republicans need to retain this seat to keep their control of the upper house and have backed Nelson. If Seaman wins, she’ll not only upset the establishment’s plans, but also potentially hand the seat to the Democrats, who are running Clark County prosecutor Nicole Cannizzaro for the post.

STATE ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 36 Candidates: Assemblyman James Oscarson, R-Pahrump (incumbent); Rusty Stanberry (Republican), Tina Trenner (Republican), Dennis Hof (Libertarian) The race: When it comes to voting for taxes, the last guy you’d expect to push a green button would be a Republican assemblyman from the Kingdom of Nye. But Oscarson cast his lot with Governor Brian Sandoval and a legislative majority to approve a package of taxes and education reforms in 2015. It was a vote he knew would cost him, and he’s drawn two GOP challengers: horse rancher and broadcaster Tina Trenner and gaming industry analyst Rusty Stanberry. The race also features the celebrity of brothel owner Dennis Hof, who considered other races before deciding to run for Assembly as a Libertarian.

What’s at stake: Sandoval vowed to stand with those lawmakers who voted for the tax package, and he’s helped Oscarson raise money. If Oscarson wins, it could demonstrate that a vote for taxes isn’t necessarily fatal, even in a conservative, rural district.

CLARK COUNTY COMMISSION, DISTRICT B Candidates: Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick (appointed incumbent); Las Vegas Councilman Steve Ross The race: Ross is nothing if not a survivor, having won three terms on the council and beaten back a recall election. But his plans to run for mayor of Las Vegas were upset by a 2014 state Supreme Court decision that left him and other longtime incumbents facing term limits. His backup plan to move to the commission was similarly clouded by the resignation of incumbent Tom Collins and the appointment of Assemblywoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick to the job last year. Now, two longtime Democrats and friends of labor are struggling over a seat on an all-Democrat board in a political game of musical chairs.

What’s at stake: Ross’s career in politics, which will either be extended as a county commissioner or end early next year as he’s forced from office by term limits. (Full disclosure: The writer’s wife is an employee of the City of Las Vegas.)

of celebrities (from your car, with a/c), go to buffalo exchange (trade in your old buffalo!)

From the book 100 Things to Do in Las Vegas Before You Die

june 2016

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ALL Things

people

profile

Alissa Dale Ballerina, river guide

W

hat to call Alissa Dale? Nevada Ballet Theatre has no principal dancers; it’s an ensemble, or unranked company, which means everyone above trainees and apprentices has an equal shot at big roles. Yet, at 34, Dale is the theater’s senior ballerina, in both age and time with the company. She’s performed Odile/Odette in Swan Lake and the title character in Giselle. In 2008, the year current artistic director James Canfield arrived, he created a part specifically for her in Cyclical Night.

But to call Dale just “dancer” feels wrong for reasons beyond her stage cred.

Each summer, during NBT’s off-season, she takes on a very different role: certified Grand Canyon river guide. She’s been part of this elite group officially since the age of 18, but unofficially she prepared for it her whole life, growing up in a family — parents, uncles, cousins — of river guides. They’re so well known in the community that they jokingly refer to themselves as the “Dale Dynasty.”

“I did my first full Grand Canyon river trip when I was 4,” she says. “My brother was 6. So my parents were juggling one out-of-control child (points at herself ) with one pretty good child. I was wild and fearless. They made me wear my life jacket pretty much the whole time.”

Wild and fearless sound about right.

In NBT’s rehearsal studio two weeks before the season closer, Romeo and Juliet, ballet mistress Tara Foy runs nine dancers through the scene in which Romeo kills Tybalt. Lady Capulet, played

by Dale, goes mad. She kneels by her son’s side, trying in vain to wake him; rushes onlookers with her bloody hands; picks up her son’s sword and heaves it at Romeo; then throws herself on the dead boy’s body, wracked with grief. The scene ends with her kneeling over him, back arched, broken heart lifting heavenward, her long blond hair cascading toward the floor. Foy stops the music and tells the dancers to take five. Dale’s face is still red with emotion and exertion as

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she begins to relax out of character. “She’s seasoned,” Foy says, describing Dale’s work ethic. “She’s been here a long time and has really grown as an artist.”

Dale believes growing up in Grand Canyon, with its humbling scale, allowed her to internalize an awesome beauty that she can draw on readily.

And then there’s the river. “Boating itself is so fluid, and there’s so much movement to it,” she says. “You have to be really creative on the spot to adapt to situations, much like on stage. If the music is fast, or your partner does something different than what you expect, it’s similar to how it feels on a boat if the water does something different or the wind blows.”

This month, Dale takes on another role, that of wife. She’s set to marry fellow dancer Joshua Kekoa, who’s currently in his third season at NBT. For their honeymoon, he’ll accompany his new wife on her second river tour of the season. Heidi Kyser

P h oto g r a ph y v i r g i n i a t r u d e au

P h oto g r a ph y B I L L H U G H E S

M AY 2 0 1 6

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ALL Things

object lesson

A

COLLECTOR

1

Stephen Silberkraus Thanks to a well-developed love of instant photography, the assemblyman has a picture-perfect collection of Polaroid cameras — and memories B y Ja s o n S c av o n e

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ssemblyman Stephen Silberkraus mainly shoots a Canon 5D Mark III these days, but the Republican from District 29 has a longstanding passion for Polaroid products that eclipses modern conveniences like “WiFi uploading” and “HDR imaging” and “clear, brightly colored pictures.”

“A lot of photos I’ve got (from) when I was a kid, if my dad’s in it, he’s holding a camera,” Silberkraus says. “Growing up, seeing that gave me a love of photography. I did it in elementary school, junior high, high school. I worked on the yearbook. Anything tied to photography.”

That childhood hobby turned into a lifelong passion that saw Silberkraus carve out a career doing multimedia production. Along the way, he’s shot models, musicians and the last days of the space shuttle program for NASA at the California Science Center.

At some point, politics beckoned. But that hasn’t slowed his interest in the shutterific arts. His Polaroid collection now numbers more than 350.

When the Polaroid Museum inside the Linq’s Polaroid Fotobar closed, Silberkraus wound up with most of the exhibits — shelving and all. “That whole timeline is in my garage.

I have a museum ready to go if anybody has a place for it.”

Some of his favorite hardware: Polaroid Model 95 (1)

The 95 was Polaroid founder Edward Land’s baby, the one that got the ball rolling on instant photography. It anticipated a modern sensibility in one crucial area. “They had these fantastic filters you could put on to do all the fancy effects you can do now in Instagram,” Silberkraus notes.

P h oto g r a ph y lu c ky w e n z e l

2 4

Polaroid Big Shot

Polaroid SX-70 (2)

Lighter and tighter than the Model 95, the SX-70 could actually achieve pocket size. Which came into play when Silberkraus was climbing Ayers Rock in Australia. “(The tour guide said) ‘If you want to get out and enjoy the trails or possibly climb it, we’ll leave you for an hour and half and then we’ll come get you. But if you do, don’t be late, because you’re going to be stuck out in the middle of the desert.’ I threw my SX-70 in my back pocket and started up the side of the mountain. I’m climbing and climbing, and next thing I realize I’ve gotten up to the top, but it’s taken me the better part of an hour. I start running across the top of the mountain, half out of breath, pull the camera out of my pocket and take the photo, turn around, run back along the top of the mountain. I have about 15 minutes to get to the bottom. Thankfully, they could see me halfway down. I get down to the bottom and just as I’m about to get off, my camera starts to slip out of my pocket. I grab it in midair, but in the process I go off balance and twist my ankle. I’m hot and sweaty and tired and injured, but I got my shot.”

This bad boy earns its name, dwarfing most other Polaroid bodies. The 1971 camera was designed for portraits, and the Andy Warhol favorite boasts two mirrors mounted top and bottom for focusing in the eyepiece — the photographer moves back and forth until the eyepiece image becomes clear — as well as a giant flash diffuser for Polaroid’s MagiCube system. It was good enough for Warhol portraits of Bianca Jagger and Jack Nicklaus, probably the only time those two had something in common.

Polavision (3)

The first instant video camera, Polaroid lost nearly $70 million on the 1977 flop. Combined with the player that doubled as a film processor, the setup today still looks light and graceful.

Unfortunately, its minute-long video was no match for the emergent-at-thesame-time videocassette market. “It took them so long to get that to market, I wonder how much of the idea for this inspired videocassettes,” Silberkraus says.

Polaroid Spectra (5)

“It’s always been my favorite to shoot,” Silberkraus says. The Spectra line debuted in 1986 and offered bigger pics than previous models. “I’ve shot Polaroids everywhere from the Leaning Tower of Pisa to the Colosseum of Rome to the Eye (in London), the Sydney Opera House, the Statue of Liberty. I’ve probably got 3,000, 4,000 images I’ve captured around the world. Up to the first photo of my son being born is a Polaroid. Probably not one you want to see. It’s him, cord attached, and still a little red. I’m sure one day I’m going to get a hard time from him about that.”

5

Polaroid Swinger (4)

3

Technically the Model 20, the Swinger was a smash hit on its 1965 debut and had its own Barry Manilow-sung jingle to go with an Ali MacGraw-starring commercial. When the light was right, “YES” popped up in the viewfinder and you were good to shoot. Photography for even the most thumb-in-the-frame of us.

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ALL Things

open topic

n at u r e

coexistence

In from the wild Notes on the uncertain borders between civilized and untamed

A

B y S ta c y J. W i l l i s

i.

shes. Burned chunks of wood, chicken wire, metal scraps. That’s what is left of the empty buildings at the defunct Las Vegas Zoo. The smell of smoke still permeates the air on this spring morning, along with a palpable sense of finality. The three-acre zoo was open for 32 controversial years on this ramshackle stretch of Rancho Boulevard and was home to more than 100 animals, from alligators to cougars to emus. As I stand by the bulldozed remains and look at the perimeter fence, I remember Midas, the lion that made news when he fell ill after chewing a ball thrown in from the thrift shop next door. He later died of cancer. I remember Terry, the chimpanzee who, despite pleas from animal activists about his need for socialization, was caged alone for 18 years. I remember the Chinese alligators in the tiny pool within earshot of traffic, the Eurasian lynx panting in the 110-degree summer heat, the random chickens strutting the grounds. When the cash-strapped zoo finally closed, the surviving animals were sent to other zoos, exhibits and sanctuaries.

The empty buildings drew squatters, and the fire decimated the compound, creating this smoldering denouement. I feel a peculiar sense of relief.

ii.

A landscaper opens up the green plastic lid in my suburban front yard to turn the water valves. In the hole, a black-and-white king snake flinches. The landscaper reaches in with large pruning shears and lifts it out. The snake wriggles in the air, fighting capture. The man drops it in a garbage bag and takes it away. Later I will wonder what he did with that snake. I’ll wonder how it got here, how long it lived here, whether it left babies. I’ll be leery about leaving the front door open for air — can a snake slither through the gaps at the bottom of the mesh security door?

Security. That’s what the snake was seeking in that dark hole.

iii.

An upset woman on the news says her pet terrier was attacked by a coyote in her Summerlin yard. Her dog barely survived. The encroacher was a wild canine, a scavenger that sees any small creature as food: a rat, a cat, a terrier.

A few weeks later, a pest control technician is attacked by large pit bull terriers when he enters an unlocked backyard to spray for bugs. Social media explodes

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over the issue of boundaries: He was hired to spray the property, but should he have waited for the owners?

Were the dogs protectors, or are they dangerous, wild, menacing?

iv.

For years, my neighbors have called different pest control companies to get rid of pigeons. For some reason, their house — amid rows of identical houses — is the pigeons’ favorite. Their tiled roof is covered in anti-bird spikes, big and small, sticking this way and that like unkempt hair, making the house itself look flustered. A wind-blown plastic owl is fastened on top. A real owl might scare off the pigeons, but then, a real owl might also attack a domestic pet.

Early this morning, as most mornings, I woke up to the clockwork pigeons: coo, coo, coo. Sometimes I’m irked. But most days, like today, I can’t help but giggle at their enduring victory: coo, coo, coo.

v.

“Hummingbird nests are very hard to spot because they are so small and so well camouflaged,” says worldofhummingbirds.com. Not true for the mama hummingbird on my back porch, who has balanced her nest precariously

P h oto g r a ph y jame s van as

The lot where the zoo stood seems even smaller, now that it’s cleared. It’s hard to believe there were ever so many displaced animals confined here.

between the rafter and a string of lights.

From my kitchen window I watch her fly in and sit, and sit and sit and sit, the strangest thing to see: a hummingbird perfectly still. I worry about her and that nest. Though they live in the suburbs, they are small, wild, fragile creatures, and I want them to live farther out in the wild. Somehow it seems like it would be safer than here, where cats roam and people tinker. I want the nest to be more hidden, somewhere in Red Rock, in a bush no human will see.

At the same time, I want very badly to climb up and look at them. As if they were in a zoo.

vi.

“Las Vegas is an island surrounded by vast tracts of open desert space,” Dave Nielsen, a Nevada Department of Wildlife educator, tells me. “People are very surprised at how much wildlife lives in the Mojave Desert ...

“But this place was criss-crossed with natural washes, and we plowed over them and built on them, and then later we built around them, or built neighborhoods with lakes and added water and vegetation, and that just created a wildlife habitat, squared (multiplied). We built in food sources for the little critters, like mice and rabbits, which are the food sources for predator animals, and we perpetuate this in the way we develop.

We enjoy it and, well, so do they.

“You can’t roll out the buffet and then pick and choose who comes.”

vii.

On the drive to Red Rock, a sign: “Do Not Feed Wild Horses or Burros/$500 Fine.” I walk past rural homes where other horses are corralled, right up against the wilderness where we are asked to leave wildlife alone. I hike until I see nothing but nature. A lizard runs from rock to rock. A kangaroo

mouse dashes under a creosote bush.

Then something loud buzzes by my ear.

I flinch. A bee? The zip of a hummingbird’s wings? Or, just beyond the next hill, where the desert meets the encroaching suburbs, the high-pitched rip of a motorcycle?

It is the motorcycle I fear here: people.

That’s the fine line I live on. I want to be able to trek into the desert on foot, abandon civilization, commune with nature, see cottontail rabbits and zebra-tailed lizards, not feed the wild burros, nod to the corralled horses, and drive back to a snake-free home and feed my kitten, who will live his entire life indoors.

The kitten climbs into my lap and purrs. He claws at the string hanging from my hoodie — the one that looks like a tiny snake.

Discover Us, Discover You

viii.

The lot where the zoo stood seems even smaller, now that it’s cleared.

It’s hard to believe there were ever so many displaced animals confined here.

Beyond the issue of whether the zoo was humane — the word itself speaks to our arrogance — it seems like folly to imagine that the boundaries between man and nature are ever anything but malleable, constantly in flux. Nielsen told me, “We have to recognize that we are not alone. We share this place with multiple other species.” That is both true and perpetually challenged — fences, categories, control. I stand by the debris contemplating the differences between what we consider civilized and what we think of as wild. Two men approach the burnt pile with a shopping cart. While they quickly scavenge, loading up scrap metal and charred boards, I remember that I have a kitten at home to feed, an animal totally reliant on my understanding of humaneness. Two birds circle confidently overhead, waiting for their turn to dive in.

A WORLD AWAY IN 15 MINUTES

702-567-4700 LAKELASVEGAS.HILTON.COM june 2016

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Community Whipple effect: The Reed Whipple building’s past lives include being an LDS church administrative building and temporary city hall.

‘Everybody wants it’ Shuttered for years but still loved by many, the Reed Whipple building keeps preservationists dreaming, even as its future remains in limbo B y T. R . W i t c h e r

E

arly last year, Bernard Gaddis, founder of the Las Vegas Contemporary Dance Theater, thought he had found a home for his innovative, and itinerant, dance troupe, a staple of Vegas’ cultural life since 2007. The closed Reed Whipple Cultural Center, just north of Downtown, would make a perfect venue. “I also wanted to be Downtown,” he explains. “When I started the company, that was a dream of mine. I never wanted to be in Summerlin or Henderson.”

The building was in the center of the city’s Cultural Corridor; its neighbors include the Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort, the Las Vegas Natural History Museum and the Neon Museum. Whipple was the right size, Gaddis says: “The city does need a smaller theater, 600-700 seats, that’s Downtown, that we could

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work together with the Smith Center in presenting smaller artists from around the world — not just Vegas, and not just nationally, but all over.”

But, as Gaddis has discovered, Reed Whipple seems to exist in a kind of permanent limbo: always down but never quite out, a vessel through which many pour ideas of revitalization, though none come to fruition. Its fate may tell us much about the ceiling of potential in both the city’s Cultural Corridor and Downtown itself.

According to Bob Stoldal, chair of the city’s History Preservation Commission, Reed Whipple was constructed in 1963 by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to serve as a “multistake center, an administrative and recreational hub serving multiple congregations within the denomination.” The

building was named after Las Vegas City Commissioner Reed Whipple, who was also a church leader. The clean lines and handsome symmetry are a worthy addition to the city’s stock of mid-century modern buildings.

The church departed the building after just seven years; between 1970 and 1973 the building served as a temporary city hall while a newer city hall building (the current Zappos HQ) was under construction.

Once the city hall left, the city, which still owned the building, drew up plans in the mid-seventies to convert the building into a cultural center with an 800-seat theater and a mix of offices and arts-and-crafts workshops. The intention, even then, was to provide an off-Strip arts center that catered to local residents. Over time, Reed Whipple added art galleries, workshops, dressing

P h oto g r a p h y B r e n t H O l m e s

rooms and prop storage spaces.

Whipple did fulfill some of its potential as a multiuse space. Architect Craig Palacios remembers it as a place to catch arts events, seasonal shows and take music lessons growing up. The Rainbow Company Children’s Theater resided there for decades. During the aughts, the Neon Museum used Reed Whipple for its administrative offices. Gaddis and the Las Vegas Shakespeare Company also rented space there for a brief time. And Gaddis’ dream isn’t the first: the Las Vegas Shakespeare Company and Nevada Repertory Theatre have in recent years floated similar plans to revitalize the facility.

The building is shuttered now, but walk around it today and you can’t miss the potential. Situated across the street from the Neon Museum and next to the Las Vegas Library, it’s a prime link in a chain of venues that stretch the life of the central city north of Downtown.

Two 8-by-16-foot murals celebrating the arts were installed above the main entrance in 1998, adding a bit of splash to the facade. (Tile murals celebrating the Mormon faith, apparently, are underneath.) But it’s a derelict place, as well.

Those wood murals could use a coat of paint. The day I went to visit, a homeless man was bivouacked at the entrance.

Still, local preservationists and architects rallied to the building’s defense late last year when word got out that it was standing in the way of a potential light-rail line. The Regional Transportation Commission is working on early plans for a line running from McCarran Airport, up the resort corridor and into downtown. (This is separate from RTC’s Maryland Parkway light rail line.)

The city’s Public Works Department was adamant that such a line serve the cultural corridor, as well. A preliminary idea would locate it on Casino Center as it passes through Downtown, ducking beneath the Fremont Street Experience, then “daylighting” on Veterans Memorial Parkway, veering east through the parking lot just south of Reed Whipple, ending at Las Vegas Boulevard. Initially the plans would have wiped out Whipple’s southern wing.

When preservationists objected, the city offered up a few alternatives. One

A silent film hailed as the pioneer of science fiction fantasy movies comes to life with live music by the Henderson Symphony Orchestra.

Henderson Pavilion | 200 S. Green Valley Pkwy.

Friday, June 10 • 8:30pm Tickets start at $10 Complimentary Bike Valet Available

200 S. Green Valley Pkwy.

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Community would have demolished the southern corner of the building. “I had to explain that taking out a corner is still taking out a portion of the building,” says Heidi Swank, executive director of the Nevada Preservation Foundation. “It’s not about the amount of the south wing, it’s about whether or not you’re compromising the street view.”

The other idea was a new alignment that would allow planners to barely fit the line in without taking out any part of Reed Whipple. The challenge? If planners want to take the line over Las Vegas Boulevard and onto the Cashman Center site due east, they will have to overcome a slight skew in the trackway.

Lost in the furor over the demolition threat is the reality that such plans are in an extremely early stage and years away from being a real possibility. They may not happen at all. Mike Janssen, deputy director of the city’s depart-

ment of Public Works, sounded an optimistic note. “Whenever we hear of a concern, no matter what angle it’s from, we want to try to find a solution that resolves that concern. I would think we’d be looking for an alternative that addresses the concern with any impact to the building,” he says. “We would do everything we could to see that through. Sometimes the resolution just ain’t there. There’s not a solution to the problem. But at this location, I think there’s still plenty of room to sift out an alternative that would miss the building.”

Still, late last year the Historic Preservation Commission passed a resolution opposing the demolition of any portion of Reed Whipple. While the resolution is not binding, it “creates a spotlight on the building, and the city has a tendency

In transit: The Reed Whipple building may be in peril from an ambitious light-rail project that would travel downtown.

in the past to listen to the historic preservation commission,” Stoldal says.

Meanwhile, Stoldal says the commission also plans to request that funding be allocated to develop a nomination for Reed Whipple’s

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inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. The commission hired a firm to study the building’s suitability for nomination back in 2011. But it did not measure up for a variety of reasons, most fundamental being that the Reed Whipple, while a “competent work of modern architecture,” was deemed neither rare nor unusual.

Reed Whipple may not have the architectural significance of the Fifth Street School, but surviving nearly 50 volatile years of change in the center of the city must warrant its own kind of respect. Of course, preserving a building is easier if you’re readying it for some new use. A future use for Reed Whipple remains the real question — and the best chance at guaranteeing that it lasts. “We don’t have a lot of adaptive reuse,” Swank says. “It’s kind of a growing thing. I don’t think people yet understand the economic benefit of reusing the building.”

Transit officials have kicked around turning Reed Whipple into a transit stop. And Gaddis still hopes his troupe can find a home there. It had shared the space for a while with the Shakespeare company. Then Gaddis left. When he heard news the drama company had left, he contacted Councilman Ricki Barlow, who has spearheaded other efforts to bring the building back. Barlow put Gaddis in touch with Craig Palacios, of the downtown architecture firm BunnyFish studio, who helped draw up some plans.

In addition to the 650-seat theater, Gaddis wanted to include a dance library and dance museum, and a youth study center on the Whipple site. On the adjacent block

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Community to the south, he hoped to help develop artist lofts and a choreographer’s residence, along with ground-floor businesses.

Gaddis responded to an RFP from the city and prepared a financial and business plan. He figured transforming the building would cost around $25 million, but they were going to move in, begin fixing it up and fundraise in stages. He

was hoping to lease the space for a dollar.

“We already had mirrors and floors; we could already get in and operate it.”

Early last year Gaddis had hoped for a grand opening last November, but he got caught in a typical bind: He says donors were willing to step forward, but not unless the troupe had the building.

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the building without the money. “I guess they felt that I was not financially able to keep the building up.”

So Gaddis moved his company to the edge of the arts district, near Main and Charleston. “They’re still willing to work with us,” Gaddis says of the city. “I don’t know what the city has planned. They haven’t told me anything other than the fact they were not going to do the RFP.” But even as the threat of its destruction roused its defenders, Whipple’s fate is unclear. Copper has been stripped from the building. Repair work will require more than $100,000. It’s unclear whether the city will pay for that or ask a developer to pony up. “Would it be more advantageous to have someone come in and buy it outright with some type of agreement to work with some other partners? Or would it be in the best interest of the city to be the landlord of the property? That’s his decision,” says Joe Mitchell, assistant to Barlow. And it’s a decision, he adds, that Barlow won’t make until “we’re quite clear in how these other things might affect it.”

Fortunately, Swank says three organizations are interested in the space and have toured it in the last month. (None want to be identified.) “There are a couple of arts organizations and a possible tech organization,” she says.

Swank herself has toured the building recently, as well, with Palacios. “We both were extremely pleasantly surprised.” There are some broken windows up front, a storage room that’s not up to code and bathrooms that need to be overhauled. But the building slab is solid, and for organizations satisfied with the current interior layout, the space is about ready to go. Her enthusiasm for the building is palpable. “I think this is an easy win. It pencils easily.”

So Reed Whipple sits and waits. The city seems to want to reuse it. There’s no shortage of exciting ideas, but the longer the city dilly-dallies, the more expensive it’s going to be to save this structure. “Nobody who stops and thinks about it wants to tear it down,” Palacios says. “But you gotta remember that it’s Vegas, man. Our first reaction is to tear things down.”

“I think everybody wants it,” says Gaddis. “I’m optimistic because I believe this city needs it.”

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history

Tony Spilotro’s last act Thirty years ago, the murder of the charismatic Vegas mobster marked the final act in the mob’s 40-year run in Las Vegas — but not the end of its lore B y G e o f f S c h u m a c h e r

O

n Sunday, June 22, 1986, Indiana farmer Michael Kinz was spreading chemicals on his cornfield when he came across a newly dug grave. Suspecting a poacher had buried the carcass of a deer shot out of season, Kinz called biologist Dick Hudson from the Indiana Division of Fish and Wildlife. Hudson drove to the site that evening and started digging. He soon learned that the grave concealed not the remains of a deer but of a human body. “About three

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feet down, my shovel hit him in the midsection,” Hudson told the Chicago Tribune. “I thought to myself, this is a person. I’m not going to dig anymore.”

The Newton County sheriff and his deputies arrived next at the site, about 60 miles southeast of Chicago.

They continued to excavate the grave and found not one but two bodies, one stacked on top of the other. They had been badly beaten and stripped of all clothing except their underwear.

The following morning the bodies

were taken to Indianapolis, where autopsies were performed. Dental records confirmed the victims were Anthony Spilotro, 48, and Michael Spilotro, 41.

The press reported the story the following morning. The brothers were Chicago mobsters. Anthony — “Tough Tony,” “Tony the Ant” — had helmed the Chicago Outfit’s criminal operations in Las Vegas for 15 years. Authorities suspected him of committing and commissioning numerous murders. His younger brother had owned a restaurant, Hoagies, in Chicago and was linked to various criminal enterprises.

Their deaths did not come as a big surprise. Both had trials coming up. They’d been missing for 10 days, and Tony Spilotro was on the outs with his mob bosses. The day after the bodies were found, the Los Angeles Times quoted Bill Roemer, a former FBI agent who investigated organized crime in Chicago: “Spilotro wasn’t doing his job in Las Vegas. He maintained too high a profile there. Mobsters flourish in darkness. Spilotro, facing three major trials, was obviously not following that dictum. He was under the glare of the harshest spotlight.”

Las Vegas police officials had similar thoughts. “The department had been receiving intelligence that Tony’s days were numbered,” Metro detective Gene Smith told author Dennis Griffin. “He’d been falling out of favor with the bosses for quite a while, because he wouldn’t give up his street rackets and keep a low profile.”

Spilotro’s attorney, Oscar Goodman, attended the funeral and noted the absence of several Outfit bosses for whom Spilotro had worked. “That said a lot to me about who was behind Tony’s murder,” Goodman writes in his memoir.

s p i l o t r o / g o o d m a n p h o t o C o u r t e s y UNLV S p e c i a l C o l l e c t i o n s , n o r t h l a s v e g a s l i b r a r y c o l l e c t i o n

The Outfit’s misfit: Tony Spilotro, left, with his attorney Oscar Goodman in April 1980.

T

* * * * *

wenty years later, details of the Spilotro murders finally came out, and they validated Goodman’s suspicions. In 2005, the feds indicted 14 members and associates of the Chicago Outfit, charging them with, among other offenses, 18 murders. This was the so-called Family Secrets case.

Just as Roemer, Smith, Goodman and others suspected in 1986, the Chicago bosses had decided it was time for Tony and Michael Spilotro to go. “The Spilotro act in Las Vegas had worn thin,” mobster-turned-informant Frank Calabrese Jr. wrote in his memoir. Chicago crime boss Joey Aiuppa had recently received a prison sentence for his role in the Las Vegas skim, and he blamed Tony’s high-profile misbehavior for having to spend his golden years behind bars.

The Spilotro brothers were summoned to Chicago for a meeting. They were given the impression it was going to be a positive affair, with Michael becoming a “made” member and Tony being promoted to “capo.” They misread the situation.

On June 14, 1986, the “murder party” gathered in the basement of a home in Bensenville, Illinois. Jimmy Marcello picked up the Spilotros. When the brothers descended into the basement, they quickly realized they were in deep trouble. They were beaten to death, then and there, and later buried in the cornfield.

T

* * * * *

ony Spilotro’s death is generally agreed to mark the end of traditional organized crime in Las Vegas. Surely a few wise guys still lurked in the shadows of Las Vegas in the years following, but if they were active, it was mostly penny-ante stuff.

Lucrative casino-skimming operations were a thing of the past, and nobody was orchestrating the kind of criminal rackets that Spilotro had going in the ’70s and early ’80s.

Goodman told journalist John L. Smith that Spilotro’s death left a huge void not only in his law practice but his life: “Until Tony got killed, I didn’t realize how much time out of my life he took. It was like I had nothing to do.

It was like my whole life was taken up taking care of Tony Spilotro, and everything else was ancillary and had to be fit into little niches.”

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HISTORY

sionally rousted a troublemaking gangster, but the big players — such as Dalitz — were left alone.

That started to change in the 1970s as state and federal law-enforcement agencies devoted more resources to rooting organized crime out of Las Vegas.

Spilotro’s main job was to make sure the Stardust skim made its way safely to Chicago. But Tony had bigger plans for Las Vegas. He wanted to export the mob’s tried-and-true criminal rackets — loan-sharking, extortion, robbery, burglary — to his new hometown in the desert. It would be his undoing.

F

* * * * *

rank Cullotta is a living link to Tony Spilotro. They were teenage friends in Chicago and committed crimes together there for several years. In 1979, Spilotro summoned Cullotta to Las Vegas to serve as his criminal lieutenant. Cullotta put together a crew that became known as the Hole in the Wall Gang. They burglar-

Spilotro’s main job was to make sure the Stardust skim made it safely to Chicago. But Tony had bigger plans. He wanted to export the mob’s triedand-true criminal rackets to his new hometown in the desert. It would be his undoing.

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ized businesses, houses and hotel rooms, sometimes by punching a hole in the wall to avoid tripping the alarm. Along the way, Cullotta murdered a man named Jerry Lisner, who was feeding information to police about Cullotta and Spilotro’s activities.

In 1982, Cullotta and Spilotro were on the outs. Facing a long prison sentence and fearing that Spilotro was going to have him killed, Cullotta switched sides and became a government witness. Entering the Witness Protection Program, he moved away, assumed a new name and ran a small business.

In the mid-’90s, when he felt comfortable he wouldn’t be whacked, Cullotta left Witness Protection and resumed living as Frank Cullotta. He served as an adviser for the movie Casino and had a small role. He essentially played himself.

Today, Cullotta is 77 years old and long retired from the criminal life. He has a gruff, grandfatherly presence and drives a Prius. Yet he still lives and breathes the mob as a freelance raconteur. He’s published two books about his life, and he’s working on a third, focused on Spilotro.

He’s the star attraction on mob-themed bus tours, and he’s often paid to talk to conventioneers. His blunt, unapologetic recollections about his criminal past are delivered with a Chicago accent freckled with colorful language.

Las Vegas has grown and changed so much since the late ’70s that it can be difficult to picture what it was like when Spilotro and other Outfit members and associates were running around like they owned the place. To get a few glimpses of that era, I asked Cullotta to give me a

S p i l o t r o / g o o d m a n p h o t o C o u r t e s y UNLV S p e c i a l C o l l e c t i o n s , n o r t h l a s v e g a s l i b r a r y c o l l e c t i o n ; F r a n k C u l l o t t a : G e o ff Sc h u m a c h e r

Spilotro’s death also left a void for the local press, which had thrived for years on news coverage of his criminal exploits. Spilotro was a full-time job for some local reporters, as he was constantly in court facing charges or battling with gaming regulators over his eventual inclusion in the Black Book, Nevada’s list of “undesirables” banned from entering casinos.

“During that period of time, almost every day we were doing a story on Spilotro,” says Bob Stoldal, who was KLAS Channel 8’s news director during that era. “Almost every day there was a breaking piece of information.”

The mob had a 40-year run in Las Vegas. It started in 1945 with the purchase of the El Cortez hotel-casino by Meyer Lansky, Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, Gus Greenbaum and Moe Sedway. It accelerated with the opening of Siegel’s Flamingo in 1946 and Lansky’s Thunderbird in 1948.

The Cleveland Syndicate, led by Moe Dalitz, financed the Desert Inn in 1950. Mobsters also were behind the Sands (1952), Riviera (1955), Dunes (1955), Tropicana (1957) and Stardust (1958). The mob had its hooks into other casinos as well.

Skimming was the primary enterprise.

Over four decades, hundreds of millions of dollars of untaxed cash was quietly removed from Las Vegas casinos and shuttled to mob chieftains in Chicago, New York, Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas City and other places. The Stardust alone was netting $400,000 per month in untaxed cash for the Chicago Outfit, according to testimony from Carl Thomas, who orchestrated the skimming operation there.

During the ’50s and ’60s, the mob was relatively free to maneuver in Las Vegas.

Nevada’s regulation of the casino industry was meager, and the FBI had not yet ramped up its Las Vegas office, leaving room for mobsters to enjoy secret ownership of casinos and to skim the profits.

Clark County Sheriff Ralph Lamb occa-

Crime and time: Right, former mobster Frank Cullotta today; below, Goodman and Spilotro, 1980.

driving tour of some of the places where significant events occurred.

We met in the parking lot of a small shopping center in the southeast corner of Maryland Parkway and Flamingo Road. This was where Cullotta owned a restaurant, Upper Crust Pizzeria. “I came out to Las Vegas to do things for Tony, but I needed money to live on,” Cullotta explains. “I was short about $35,000 to open the place, so I did two burglaries to get the money.” Next to Upper Crust was a bar, My Place Lounge, which had strong Outfit connections.

Today, those establishments are gone, replaced by a Cricket cellular outlet and a furniture store. But Cullotta remembers sitting on the patio in front of his restaurant, talking with Spilotro and others with whom they collaborated on their criminal exploits. “It was our hangout,” he says.

“We’d spend a good portion of our day there. Tony would come in every day.”

Across the parking lot is an old Pioneer Citizens Bank. One day in 1980, a bank employee walked into the restaurant and told Cullotta’s wife that FBI agents were lurking on the bank’s second floor. They were spying on Cullotta and company.

Then Cullotta’s restaurant partner, Leo Guardino, found an FBI camera and microphone in the ceiling of the restaurant’s storage room. Cullotta traced the camera’s wire into the adjacent real estate office.

He unhooked the equipment and took it to Spilotro’s house, where they scraped off some paint and discovered “Property of U.S. Government” printed beneath it.

A couple of days later, FBI agents showed up at the restaurant and said they wanted their equipment back. At first Cullotta played dumb, but attorneys advised him to give it back or possibly face charges. “I wanted to put the thing on a Greyhound bus,” Cullotta says.

It was indicative of the scrutiny on Spilotro and friends. “We were trying to go legit with this joint, but the cops kept bothering us,” he says. “There was no way in the world they were going to let me go legit.”

It was in the My Place Lounge where Spilotro told Cullotta to kill Jerry Lisner.

“We discussed it in the lounge because it was louder with the music, etc.”

Our next tour stop was a store on Sahara Avenue a few blocks east of Las Vegas Boulevard. This was the place

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35

History where the Hole in the Wall Gang met its demise.

In 1981, the store was called Bertha’s Gifts and Home Furnishings.

Cullotta says the crew had cased the store for years and believed the vault contained $1.5 million in cash and jewelry. They decided to avoid the alarm by climbing on the roof and drilling down into the vault.

The plan was kept close to the vest among the burglars, but one of them told an associate named Sal Romano about it. Cullotta says he didn’t trust Romano, whom he suspected was working with the FBI. He told Spilotro about his concerns, but Spilotro wasn’t worried. “He was punch drunk, Tony was,” Cullotta says.

On the night of July 4, 1981, the burglars climbed onto the roof. Cullotta was watching from his car idling on Sahara. FBI agents and Metro Police officers, hiding all around the store, waited until the burglars drilled into the building before they closed in. “I says, ‘It’s all over,’” Cullotta recalls.

Just as Cullotta had suspected, Romano had become a government informant a few months before the Bertha’s burglary.

Dennis Arnoldy is a retired FBI agent who participated in busting the Bertha’s burglars. He remembers how it all went down: “We came up over the back building. We hid behind these air conditioners that were as loud as hell. I got the word to go forward when they had broken through the roof. That was the completion of the burglary charge. We arrested them on the roof.”

Relations soured between Spilotro and Cullotta after Bertha’s. Cullotta became worried that Spilotro, his childhood friend, was planning to have him killed. Then FBI agents in Chicago heard that the Outfit had put out a contract on Cullotta. When they told Cullotta this, it confirmed his worst fears, and he switched sides.

A

* * * * *

lthough Spilotro was an intense, murderous gangster, he also was one of the few of his ilk who attempted to put down roots in Las Vegas, to engage

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What is the Outfit?

In Chicago, the mob is called the Outfit. It’s not the Mafia or the Syndicate or the Combination. If you pay even passing attention to mob history and legend, when you see the phrase “the Outfit,” you know it’s a reference to traditional organized crime in Chicago.

The Outfit boasts the most notorious lineup of bosses, racketeers and killers in American mob history. It all started with Big Jim Colosimo, who built a prostitution empire before he was knocked off in 1920 to make way for his clever nephew, Johnny Torrio. Thanks to Prohibition, Torrio made the Outfit bigger and richer than Big Jim could have imagined.

In 1925, bootlegging rivals tried to take out Torrio with gunshots, kicks and baton blows. He survived, but the experience got him thinking about retirement. He handed the reins to his tough young disciple, Al Capone.

You know ol’ Snorky — “Scarface” in the papers — the most famous mobster of all time. He ramped up everything, including the violence, making the Outfit the most powerful mob in the country. Most of Chicago’s cops and politicians were on Capone’s payroll, giving him the idea he was invincible.

The feds, however, were untouchable — at least some of them were.

While the Prohibition Bureau’s Eliot Ness annoyed Capone by busting his illicit breweries, the Treasury Department’s Elmer Irey assigned his Intelligence Unit to build a tax case against the Big Guy. In 1931, Capone’s epic run ended with a conviction and an 11-year prison sentence.

Capone was suddenly out of the picture, but the Outfit prospered under a succession of bosses who kept a lower profile: Frank Nitti, Paul Ricca, Murray Humphreys, Tony Accardo. The Outfit actually grew larger and stronger after Capone, shifting its primary focus from bootlegging to gambling. “By 1934, Accardo was overseeing an empire that numbered more than 7,500 gambling establishments in Chicago alone,” writes Gus Russo in The Outfit. The Outfit’s run of success culminated with, arguably, its most audacious achievement — the election of a president in 1960.

The Outfit has existed for almost 100 years now. Today, it’s a shadow of its former self — depleted by relentless law-enforcement pressure — but it’s still working various rackets around Chicago.

Geoff Schumacher

with the community beyond the Strip.

And since for much of his time in Las Vegas he was banned from the casinos, he often was seen around town, coexisting with regular people on multiple levels.

Besides Upper Crust Pizzeria and My Place Lounge, Spilotro was a frequent visitor to restaurants such as Port Tack on West Sahara Avenue and Villa d’Este on Convention Center Drive, bars such as Champagnes Café on Maryland Parkway and discos such as Jubilation

on Harmon Avenue. He also found time for family activities, such as watching his son’s Little League games. One night at Villa d’Este, he raised a healthy cash donation for a busload of nuns.

In his memoir, longtime casino host Bernie Sindler tells a touching Spilotro story. Muriel Rothkopf, wife of Desert Inn executive Bernie Rothkopf, was a lush and a lounge lizard. One night at the Chateau Vegas, a popular bar on Desert Inn Road, she got loaded with a guy at

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HISTORY the bar and woke up the next morning lacking her $100,000 diamond ring. “She was devastated,” Sindler writes, “and very afraid of what Bernie would do if he found out about her escapade.”

Muriel went to Sindler for help. He contacted a wiseguy named Tony Domino, who in turn contacted Spilotro. Spilotro distributed a description of the ring throughout his criminal network and soon had a line on where it was. Employing some hardball tactics, Spilotro’s henchmen recovered the ring, and Tony presented it to the eternally grateful Muriel.

W

* * * * *

hen you look at mob history objectively, with emotional distance, free of that intangible relish, you start to ask questions. Why do these particular criminals get so much attention?

Why are their crimes remembered when so many others are long forgotten? What does it say about us that we’re endlessly fascinated with the mob?

“You feel like you’re looking at this tapestry that never ends,” says Tony DeStefano, a New York journalist and author of several mob histories. “You see how everything relates to everything else that came before it. And there’s lots of drama to it, lots of betrayal, some very Shakespearean-type stories.”

Thirty years after his death, Tony Spilotro remains practically a household name in Las Vegas. This would be true even if Joe Pesci had not portrayed him in Casino. A lifelong criminal and a vicious killer who was involved in a scheme that took millions of dollars out of community tax coffers, Spilotro nonetheless maintains a central role in the oft-repeated reflection that Las Vegas was a better, safer place when the mob was in charge.

Spilotro looked and acted the part.

With his charismatic, tough-talking lawyer by his side, he went toe-to-toe with the powers that be, and he won more often than he lost. Authorities suspected Spilotro of participating in as many as two dozen murders, yet he was never convicted of homicide.

Whenever somebody turned up dead in Las Vegas, investigators immediately suspected Spilotro. A Las Vegas Review-Journal editorial once ridiculed this

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Some Las Vegans admired Spilotro’s defiance of the feds, who’ve often had a difficult time looking like the good guys in Las Vegas. Spilotro went toe-to-toe with them and others — and often won. cavalier approach as “Blame Tony Syndrome.” In 1975, Caesars Palace pit boss Marty Buccieri was murdered. Spilotro was the prime suspect, but it turned out two guys from out of town did the deed.

The fact that Buccieri was shot with a .25-caliber handgun, rather than Spilotro’s trademark .22, was a telling piece of evidence. Of course, Spilotro still could have done it or hired the guys who did.

Some Las Vegans admired Spilotro’s defiance of the feds, who’ve often had a difficult time looking like the good guys in Las Vegas. Goodman, Spilotro’s lawyer, once said he’d rather his daughter date Spilotro than an FBI agent. Goodman’s hyperbole reflected an attitude in some circles at the time that the feds were overzealous in Las Vegas.

Arnoldy looks back on his years chasing Spilotro as the best of his life. But he doesn’t glamorize the era or the hoodlums who dominated the headlines. “On the outside it may have looked good, but inside it was a cancerous thing,” he says.

The skim, after all, was not a victimless crime. “Our tax money was going to Kansas City and Chicago,” Arnoldy says. “It was a drain on taxes.” Also, the fact that the Outfit had hijacked the Stardust from its owner, Allen Glick, created “a wariness to invest in the hotels in Las Vegas because you don’t want to put a lot of money into something and one day a guy knocks on your door and says, ‘I own this now.’”

With that in mind, it’s perhaps no coincidence that just three years after Spilotro’s death, the most expensive Las Vegas resort in history to that point opened its doors, triggering a building boom that completely reinvented the Strip and the surrounding community.

Nicholas Pileggi, in his book Casino, argues that a Tony Spilotro could not exist in today’s Las Vegas.

“Today in Las Vegas the men in fedoras are gone,” he writes. “The gamblers with no last names and suitcases filled with cash are reluctant to show up in the new Las Vegas for fear of being

turned in to the IRS by a 25-year-old hotel-school graduate working casino credit on weekends.”

Perhaps this helps to explain why, three decades after Tony Spilotro’s death, the public remains as interested as ever in his story. We pine for a past when Las Vegas was smaller and simpler, when a slot jackpot sent coins streaming out of the machine, when there was no texting while driving — when a small shopping plaza at Maryland and Flamingo was the community’s focus of attention.

O

* * * * *

ne cannot write about Tony Spilotro without mentioning his darkest claim to fame. In 1962 in Chicago, two young crooks, Billy McCarthy and Jimmy Miraglia, killed two connected men and a waitress in the Chicago suburb of Elmwood Park. This was a big mistake, because the Outfit’s top leaders lived there and didn’t want to make any waves that might draw police to their doorsteps. Spilotro was assigned to deal with the situation.

With Cullotta’s help, Spilotro found McCarthy, but he couldn’t locate Miraglia, and McCarthy didn’t want to talk. So Spilotro put his head in a vise and started squeezing. He tightened the pressure each time McCarthy failed to give up his partner’s whereabouts. When one of McCarthy’s eyes popped out of its socket, he finally told Spilotro where to find Miraglia. Then Spilotro slit the burglar’s throat. Spilotro tracked down Miraglia the next day and slit his throat as well. The victims were later discovered in the trunk of an abandoned car.

This is the sobering story one needs to repeat on those occasions when a local nostalgist remembers Spilotro as a polite, church-going fellow who liked to watch his son’s Little League games.

Geoff Schumacher is the director of content for the Mob Museum and the author of Sun, Sin & Suburbia: The History of Modern Las Vegas.

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t h e p a r kv e g a s .c o m

The Dish 42

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cocktail of the month 44

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At FirST BITE 46

Our c i ty's be st spots to eat & drink

Top of the pots: Dolsot bibimbap at Soyo Korean Barstaurant

P hoto g ra p h y Sabin Orr

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Dining out

The DISH

Seoul of the southwest A lively cluster of neighboring eateries are recreating the feel and flavors of South Korea B y D e bb i e L e e

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omewhere over on Rainbow, troubles melt like soju lemon drops — or, if you’re a true Korean food aficionado, peach-flavored magkeolli.

Think of it as the frat-boy hunch punch of Seoul. Milky rice wine, mixed with bottled fruit juice, is ladled from a communal bowl to fuel the after-work

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crowd and late-night revelers between bites of crispy haemul pajeon (seafood and scallion pancakes). Koreans consider it an ideal food and beverage pairing on stormy days — the sound of sizzling batter mimicking the musical pitter-patter of raindrops — and Soyo restaurant nails both to a tee.

It used to be that Spring Mountain Road was our city’s default destination for a decent Asian meal. But over the past 10 years, the Southwest has slowly established itself as an alternative to Chinatown. A oneblock stretch of Rainbow Boulevard alone (between Robindale Road and Windmill Lane) is currently home to a dozen Asian restaurants, many of which successfully recreate the dining scene in Seoul.

David Sim deserves most of the credit.

An émigré of Incheon, South Korea, the 39-year-old moved to the U.S. as a teenager, living with his uncle and grandparents to attend high school in Los Angeles. In 2007, armed with a degree in hotel management from UNLV, he opened Oyshi, a consistently crowded all-you-can-eat sushi joint. While the gluttonous concept (not to mention cream cheese-slathered rolls) is of American provenance, guests can find traces of Korea on the menu. Skip the imitation crab rolls for an order of dwaejibulgolgi, a pork dish seasoned with a face-melting red chili paste, or soy-marinated rib eye, both served on searing-hot cast-iron platters.

P h oto g r a p h y S a b i n o r r

D oh 7920 S. Rainbow Blvd. #105 702-538-7887

G o ong

Sizzle and spice: Three years later, yearning Clockwise from left, for more than the occasional Soyo's spicy noodles; taste of home, Sim opened Soyo selections from a few doors down. The self-deGoong Korean BBQ; dolsot bibimbap at scribed “barstaurant” is modSoyo. eled after Korean pojangmachas. The makeshift bars dot the streets of Korea, serving beer and dirtsure, but Koreans swear by it as a proper cheap snacks under plastic tents. Soyo, hangover cure.

“Most Korean restaurants in the States with its outdoor patio, blaring K-pop are sit-down barbecue places but I wanted tunes and late-night hours, is a more sanitized version of the real thing. Howto bring diners a different experience,” says Sim. “There is more to Korean cuiever, the menu is anything but Westernized. Students and families gather here sine. Soups, small plates, tteokbokki (rice in groups to share platters of gamey soon cakes) … authentic dishes with few places dae (blood sausage) and bubbling hot pots. in Vegas to find them.”

A popular choice is budae jigae, otherThe Korean catalyst wise known as “Army base stew.” Born im’s success may have been a catalyst for out of necessity, it was invented using Army rations during the Korean War to other Korean entrepreneurs to set up feed starving civilians. Hot dogs, Spam, shop in the neighborhood. Across the instant ramen, and melted slices of Amerstreet is Serenade, a café with a decidedly ican cheese are cooked in a cauldron of Asian vibe. The interior — a hodgepodge of concrete, exposed brick, and hardwood — kimchi broth for a communal dish that screams of modern-day Seoul, and the menu would send any of today’s health nuts into a tailspin. It’s an acquired taste for is what one would find in the city’s countless

S

7729 S. Rainbow Blvd. #5 702-979-9118

Oyshi 7775 S. Rainbow Blvd. #145 702-646-9744, oyshilv.com

Serenade 7920 S. Rainbow

coffee shops. The focus is on Blvd. #100 espresso drinks (sorry, no drip 702-466-0616 coffee here) and dainty pastries S oyo with a special side menu of 7775 S. Rainbow Asian treats. Their honey toast, Blvd. #105 an over-the-top Japanese des702-897-7696, sert made by slathering a cinder soyolv.com block of bread in butter and sugar—and then stuffing it with ice cream (Because why not? You’re already halfway to diabetes) — has a gained a cult following. It’s also good for sustaining customers through their all-nighters.

“We get a lot of Ph.D. and doctorate students who come here to study,” explains server Jae Min Lee. “When you keep late hours, Spring Mountain Road can be a little dangerous.”

And why drive to Spring Mountain

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Dining out Cocktail of the month

The Scorpion Bowl at The Golden Tiki

It’s not often that you feel a sense of giddy anticipation when you walk into a bar, but I shivered and smiled upon stepping into the exotic, subsea gloom of The Golden Tiki, an invitingly murky beach bum’s basement stocked with skulls, velvet nudes, carved wood and cargo nets.

It felt like the first time you walk into Disneyland — the promise of safe immersion in a powerful fantasy — except here, you’re immersed in alcohol. For that purpose, I recommend The Golden Tiki’s Scorpion Bowl ($35). Feeding one very thirsty alcoholic or three sorry-ass lightweights who should get out of my sight, it’s a citrus-heavy punch bowl plied generously with pineapple juice, gin and heavy pours from a couple of rums, including a notoriously potent 151 version (in other words, 75.5-percent alcohol).

Flaming limes top it off, because tiki! Best of all, it’s not the molar-melting sugar bomb you might expect; the judicious dose of citrus flavors give The Scorpion Bowl a respectable, grown-up drinkability, so your craft-cocktail friends can hang — at least, that is, until they start oozing slowly to the floor. Andrew Kiraly 3939 Spring Mountain Road, 702-222-3196, thegoldentiki.com

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when South Rainbow spots such as Doh Korean BBQ give Chinatown restaurants a run for their money? Located next to Serenade, the six-month-old restaurant is a sister to Chinatown’s Tofu Hut and Doh Sushi. It’s also the first in the neighborhood where guests can grill meat at communal tables. Proteins include standard cuts like paper-thin slices of brisket and tongue, as well as fancier options (red wine-marinated pork belly.)

Despite his original vision for Soyo as a barbecue alternative, Sim is also getting in the game. This past March he expanded his mini-empire with Goong Korean BBQ. The 150-seat restaurant sets the standard for grill-it-yourself concepts, putting equal emphasis on food and atmosphere. Guests can opt for traditional Korean seating on the floor or tuck into a standard booth. Just like Doh, the allyou-can-eat menu mixes authentic low cuts (pork jowl) with high-end options (wagyu sirloin).

And there is still more to come. This month marks the arrival of Bonchon, a popular fried chicken chain that puts the Colonel and Popeye’s to shame. The American classic is a staple at Korean hofs, or pubs, where it’s paired with pitchers of icy beer.

Could the Southwest establish itself as a rival to the Koreatowns of Los Angeles and New York? The area’s suburban strip mall landscape isn’t necessarily conducive to it, but Sim is optimistic.

“Las Vegas needs more good Korean food,” he says. “Compared to L.A. and New York? They have more options, but our city has a growing Asian population so hopefully we’ll see more restaurants open.

“When we chose the Southwest, it was still developing and I figured it would be a good place for opportunity. Everyone said running a restaurant is hard, but I never thought it would be this hard. But all business is a gamble, right?”

It’s the American dream, an immigrant work ethic, and a dash of Las Vegas attitude rolled into one. And with other restaurateurs following suit, the neighborhood is finally swelling with infinite options to satisfy our Asian food fix. I’ll raise a glass of magkeolli to that.

On the evening of May 13th, Town Square Las Vegas hosted a social dinner as part of the Taste of Town Square event.

Guests enjoyed an open bar, live music and a variety of cuisine showcased in a four course dinner prepared by Brio Tuscan Grille, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar and Tommy Bahama Restaurant & Bar. A portion of the proceeds from the social dinner benefits Nevada Public Radio.

Check out more photos at facebook.com/desertcompanion

Dining out

AT First Bite

Friend of pho Two restaurateurs join forces to craft an inventive menu of Vietnamese comfort food that will bowl you over B y M i t c h e ll W i lb u r n

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he legal district — that area between Bonneville and Bridger avenues comprising courthouses, legal offices, and the handful of our city’s tall buildings that aren’t casinos, condos, or Zappos — isn’t the sexiest part of Downtown. There are no happening destination bars to speak of, and the restaurants cater safely to the suitand-tie lunch crowd. But with hungry new residents migrating to the area’s modern apartments, two restaurateurs, Khai Vu of District One and Dan Coughlin of Le Thai, have brought a pho joint — but not just any pho joint — to the neighborhood.

Pho has rarely been done with any justice in this town. The closest anyone’s come is, oddly enough, District One, famous for its pho bowls garnished with either an entire Maine lobster or a softball-sized end of a cow femur. If you like the pho at District One, you will fall in love with Le Pho. The new spot, situated at the bottom of the Juhl residential high-rise, falls right in line with the “hip urban eatery” format — big on the raw materials, funky art, industrial vibe.

The cook line is exposed, and you’re likely to see Khai or Dan themselves back there putting the finishing touches on a dish. But underlying the trendy exterior is a serious commitment to the craft of this seemingly humble Vietnamese noodle soup.

Pho is a deceptively difficult and time-consuming dish to do well. Ingredients must be charred, spices portioned and

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wrapped in a cheesecloth like a tea bag, and various cuts of beef, bones, and oxtail must be simmered for hours. Unless they want to dedicate a person to babysit a steaming pot of water all day, lesser chefs try to fake the flavor by loading up on the salt and fat and cooking way too fast. That’s clearly not the case here at Le Pho, where the eponymous dish is labored over obsessively. They’ve extracted so much flavor in the making of their pho bone broth, you might think it’s actually based on a deep and complex dashi-based ramen stock. But there are no tricks here — and no cheating, either.

Each bowl is served with the various garnishes that make pho a fun, customizable dish: Thai basil, bean sprouts, lime wedges, cilantro, jalapeño, red onion. (In my book, there’s nothing wrong with going

all the way and dumping all the garnishes right into the bowl.) You can get pho with oxtail, chicken, rib eye, or go for the “house special,” which is nearly the whole kitchen: rib eye, flank, tendon, tripe, and meatball.

As you might suspect, the house special is for adventurous eaters.

While great, the pho is not necessarily the star of Le Pho. They have a section of spring rolls that will make you question every flimsy excuse for a spring roll you’ve ever had.

Here they offer bold versions that combine grilled five-spice pork, basil, and scallion oil (the Le Pho Roll), as well as one full of Lap Cheong sweet sausage, dried shrimp, shredded egg, and jicama (the Bo Bia Roll), among others. Their starters section features a couple deep cuts from Vietnamese favorites: the rich and tender “Grandma’s

P h oto g r a p h y C h r i sto p h e r S m i t h

Rolls and bowls: Left, Le Pho's ribeye pho; above, assorted spring rolls; below, the Pho Dipped.

L e Pho a l s o takes on another hybrid, the bahn xeo, or Vietnamese crêpe — think a very wide and flat spring roll in a much tastier wrapper. Also in this section is Ben Thanh Market Fried Rice, named so after a massive marketplace in District One of Ho Chi Minh City. It’s a place where vendors have been gathering since the 17th century to hawk street food, and Le Pho’s fried rice reflects the restless, cosmopolitan spirit of Vietnamese cuisine: Dried shrimp, egg whites, diced asparagus, and a salt-cured egg yolk make this savory, complex rice dish a standout. And just when you thought this place had everything, you realize they have some decent cocktails (try the green apple) and damn good desserts, too, including a burnt caramel flan that Grilled Pork Cheek,” a Da Nang-style fish balances sweetness and cream beautifully. cake, and some tasty pork and crab egg rolls Le Pho isn’t perched amid the vibrant with wood ear mushroom. Their chicken Downtown nightlife like Le Thai, but it can wings are, well, chicken wings. They seem be no less a success if it can build a regular a bit out of place, but the tamarind sauce clientele. With businesspeople circulating during the day and apartment-dwellers with thinly sliced and fried garlic make these ones to beat. all around, Le Pho has an opportunity to Their selection of French-Vietnamese be “the place” among this subsection of sandwiches, bahn mi, isn’t as customizable Downtowners. Le Pho just has to do three as Lee’s Sandwiches, but they’re far better things: They must serve — or be perceived in quality, packed with cold cuts and pork to serve — healthy fare; they must keep people’s attention through rotating menus or pâté. It also features one of the best items on the menu, the Pho Dipped. Braised beef chalkboard specials; and they must remain brisket, bean sprouts, basil, consistent. By my early imhoisin and Sriracha nestle in pressions, there’s little doubt Le Pho a crusty baguette, with a side that Khai Vu and Dan Cough353 Bonneville of pho broth for dipping. This lin will pull it off and quickly #115, dish is the definition of comcement this venture as a new 702-382-0209, lephodtlv.com Downtown favorite. fort food.

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4th annual

FOCUS ON NEVADA

photo contest

W

hat are the consequences for photography when simple phone apps let anyone jazz up images to a degree unimaginable not so long ago? Considering the results of this contest, it’s clear to us that good photographers, professional and amateur alike, have responded to technology’s challenge by relying even more on what’s most human in the art form: a sophisticated eye, an open mind and a firm aesthetic confidence. It’s an encouraging development, beautifully showcased on these pages.

Linda Alterwitz artist Dawn-Michelle Baude art critic

Jeanne Brown UNLV Libraries emerita

scott dickensheets Desert Companion

kim hudson photographer

Troy heard Onyx Theatre

Patrick Gaffey Winchester Cultural Center

Brent Holmes Desert Companion

Bobbie Ann Howell artist

andrew kiraly Desert Companion

Heidi Kyser Desert Companion

Scott lien Desert Companion

Gene Lubas Caesars Entertainment

aaron mayes photographer/curator, UNLV Libraries

Jerry Misko artist Heather Protz photographer

Eddie Roberts art director

Gerri Schroder Henderson City Council

Scott Seeley The Writer’s Block

melinda sheckells Wendoh Media

christopher smith Desert Companion

Robert Tracy professor of art history, UNLV

Lucky Wenzel photographer

T.R. Witcher cultural journalist

judges

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Honorable Mention, Artistic/abstract

Ambre Daudet J U N E 2 0 1Amateur 6

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4th annual F O C U S O N N E VA D A photo contest

1st Place

Peter Bowley Amateur

p l a ce s / a r c h i t e c t u r e

2nd Place

C a r l o s Ma n z o Amateur

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landscape

1st Place

Sc o t t F i s h e r AMATEUR

2nd Place

Sa l l i e S t u a r t Amateur

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4th annual F O C U S O N N E VA D A photo contest

1st Place

A n at o ly P e t r e n k o PROfessional

wo r k a n d p l ay 2nd Place

B e n Sa h a g u n PROfessional

Honorable Mention

Ambre Daudet Amateur

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altered 2nd Place

Cristina Ghilan PROfessional

Honorable Mention

Michael Pease Amateur

1st Place

Mat t h e w Sutton Amateur

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4th annual F O C U S O N N E VA D A photo contest

1st Place

K D Mat h e s o n amateur

a r t i s t i c /a b s t ra c t

2nd Place

F r a s e r A l m e i da PROfessional

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in the moment

1st Place

Irene Yee Amateur

Honorable Mention

Skylar Stephens PROfessional

2nd Place

Dana Peters Amateur

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4th annual F O C U S O N N E VA D A photo contest

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Grand Prize

B r ya n K e r s t e t t e r Amateur

JUNE 2016

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Yousuf Karsh, Audrey Hepburn, Photograph, 1956, Gift of Estrellita Karsh in memory of Yousuf Karsh, © Estate of Yousuf Karsh

Yousuf Karsh, Humphrey Bogart, Photograph, 1946, Gift of Estrellita Karsh in memory of Yousuf Karsh, © Estate of Yousuf Karsh

ICONS

Tickets and information 702.693.7871 • bellagio.com/bgfa

OF THE

TWENTIETH CENTURY

YOUSUF KARSH

March 18 – September 5, 2016

They build custom lowriders. They perfect their moves at the roller rink. They race through the desert on steel machines.

They fly high at the skate park. Whatever their pastime, these Las Vegans have a passion for thrills on wheels.

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Roll

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By Anthony Mair

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Tara Pierce | Motorcycle racer What drew you to racing motorcycles? Traveling on cross-country motorcycle trips with my family. Is there an experience that stands out? My first race. It was an 8-hour endurance race with an all-girl team. What does it take to get good at racing?

Lots of miles. Good coaching. Visualizing the ride. What surprised you the most about racing? Motorcycles are a universal language. Riding awakens the senses and activates the soul.

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Chris Tuma | mountain biker What drew me to this was an injury from running, in the form of shin splints. My high school cross-country coach would send me out for a 20-mile ride while the rest of the team ran 10 miles. Cycling in the off season made me a faster runner.

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Ghislain Maladier | Unicyclist, the beatles Love Is riding a unicycle hard? It can be very frustrating at first. It’s just like learning to ride a bicycle — you need to understand how to keep your balance and how to control it, but it takes a lot more time. Just like with a bicycle, once you know how to ride it, you never forget!

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Victor Orozco, aka “Pokie” | Desirable Ones car club How did you get into lowriders? My brother got me in the hobby ’cause I seen how passionate he was building his car. When he passed, I couldn’t believe all the lowrider car clubs that came out and showed support — over 50 cars at his funeral. When it comes to building our cars, we come together like family. What does it take to build a great lowrider? It takes a lot of dedication to your car — small details are what matter, and not giving up on your car and, of course, breaking the bank on it.

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Roman Gomez | Bike-maker Growing up, my father kept me and my brothers out of trouble by building lowrider bikes. Since I’ve gotten older, the passion for bicycles never left me, so I build custom cruisers now.

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Amy Smith | Motorcyclist What drew you to motorcycles? My grandfather was a hall-of-fame stock car racer, and other members of my family also raced — even my mother and her sister. It was in my blood, to want to ride or race something that had a powerful engine. The look of the motorcycle was very intriguing. These sleek, small yet mighty machines allowed you the freedom of being able to see and feel everything around you. I have met so many different people through motorcycle riding: doctors, lawyers, police officers, judges, attorneys, pastors, nurses, entrepreneurs. Some of my closest friends have come through the love of riding motorcycles.

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Ralph Raymond | Jeep enthusiast What got you into off-roading? I wanted to get off the beaten path and explore the amazing sights of the Mojave Desert after being transplanted here from Florida. The single best decision to learn and quickly improve my “wheeling” skills was joining the Las Vegas Desert Wranglers, which has hundreds of active members who conduct family-friendly runs every week. There are so many amazing sights I have seen that a regular vehicle could never get near! Within 200 miles of Las Vegas, there are hundreds of great trails that provide excellent opportunities for all levels of wheelers to enjoy Nevada’s beauty.

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Ralph Patterson | Roller skater Why roller skating? Seeing people dance and do flips on roller skates really motivated me to wanna learn, and after a while it became my passion! Roller skating has really paid off a lot for me — its gotten me music-video gigs and has given me the chance to perform in different places onstage. It has motivated me to open up my own skate clothing line called Influence the Movement.

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Ricardo Laguna | BMX Is there one riding experience that stands out for you? When a kid from the One Wish Foundation wanted to meet me and ride bikes with me in my backyard. What surprises you most about this pastime?

How addicted I got. I just can’t get enough of riding my bike!

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BMW Motorrad USA

Motorcycles since 1923

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5

e k ta

06

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your Arts+Entertainment calendar for june

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11 14-19

The Making of Seven Roundabout Magic Theatre Mountains 19 Company’s Cabaret Juneteenth Festival inspire theatre

You’ve seen them on social media, TV and worldwide media — The Smith Center and hopefully in person You know what to do, old — those neon-colored chum! 2p and 7:30p. $29- rock stacks in the $129, thesmithcenter.com desert south of town: Seven Magic Mountains, a big-deal art installation by Ugo Rondinone.

This panel talk and multimedia display (part of the Las Vegas Film Festival) will take you behind the scenes. 1p, sevenmagicmountains. com

Sammy Davis Jr. Festival Plaza

Though it’s of special relevance to African-Americans, Juneteenth — marking the day (June 19, 1865) when the last slaves were freed — ought to be celebrated by a wide swath of Americans who believe in freedom and equality. This event will feature food, entertainment, vendors and activities for kids. 6-9p, free, june19lv.com

10

I Know I Came in Reception Here for for Martin Something Kreloff: A Retrospective Summerlin Library

A rousing musical comedy about the foibles of middle age. Sample song titles: “I’ve Become My Mother,” “Baby Boomer Blues” and the too-real “More of Me to Love.” Presented by the Gateway Arts Foundation as a fundraiser for its scholarship program benefitting young performers.

2p, $15-$20, iknowi cameinhereforsome thing.brownpapertick ets.com

Sahara West Library

The earnest glamour and hard pop gloss of Kreloff’s work is appealingly retro, but doesn’t come off as dated — its Vegasby-way-of-Miami vibe keeps it colorful and fun.

The show will include pieces spanning an astounding 50 years.

Through August 8.

7p, lvccld.org

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THE GUIDE ART

CLAY ARTS VEGAS: VEGAS TO A LOCAL THROUGH JUNE 2 The artists explore the elements of what makes Las Vegas a great place to live and call home. They have been asked which of these elements they feel should be preserved for all time.

Free. Las Vegas City Hall Grand Gallery, 495 S. Main St., first floor, 702-229-1012

FRAMING THE WEST THROUGH JUNE 24 Artist Rachel Stiff presents abstract landscape-inspired paintings that explore forms suggesting interlacing clouds, sunlight, rocks and landforms.

Free. Winchester Gallery at Winchester Cultural Center, 3130 McLeod Drive, 702-455-7340

A MOTHER AND DAUGHTER REMEMBER THROUGH JULY 7, MON–FRI 7A–5:30P Miriam Shavit and Vered Galor, both Holocaust survivors, remember the past. The mother remembers what she went through, in her paintings.

The daughter, too young to remember, recalls the history with her photographic collages. The third artist, Cole Thompson, a photographer and friend, visited the death camps in 2006. His black-andwhite images add reality and spirituality to the exhibit. Free. Las Vegas City Hall Chamber Gallery, 495 S. Main St., artslasvegas.org

HIGH NOON THROUGH JULY 8 To emphasize the importance of conservation and cohabitation in the desert, artist Myranda Bair will treat the Rotunda Gallery as a giant glass dome. She will fill it with multiple mock-terrariums containing the “tiny giants” of the Mojave Desert, such as the Gila monster, horned lizard, desert tortoise and tarantula. Free. Clark County Government Center Rotunda Gallery, clarkcountynv.gov

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Strings attacked Guitarist Frank Vignola is prone to jogging in place when he’s in the home stretch of a gypsy jazz number — that frenetic molten snowball touchdown-run of percussive strumming spiked with leaps and dimestops. You can’t blame him, or anyone else who might happen to be hotfooting along: Gypsy jazz (also known as jazz manouche), largely created by the legendary Romani musician Dean “Django” Reinhardt in 1930s France, is notoriously infectious. Well, break out a fresh pair of Dr. Scholl’s: The Frank Vignola Trio, The Rhythm Future Quartet, Hot House West and The Hot Club of Las Vegas celebrate the music of Django and other gypsy jazz pioneers at the DjangoVegas! Gypsy Jazz Festival. 6p June 18, Historic Fifth Street School Auditorium. Tickets: $15-$20. Info: artslasvegas.org

FORCE OF NATURE JUNE 18, WED–FRI 12:30–9P; SAT 9A–6P Artists Elizabeth Blau, Rossitza Todorova and Orlando Montenegro Cruz explore similar topics having to do with nature, movement relating to travel through space, and human effect on the environment.

Charleston Heights Arts Center, 800 S. Brush St., artslasvegas.org

NEVADA WATERCOLOR SOCIETY SPRING SHOW JUNE 10–JULY 10, 10A–6P View an exquisite array of watercolor paintings in this exhibit that showcases works by outstanding

local watercolorists exploring subjects as varied as still life, abstracts, portraits and landscapes. Free with paid general admission. Springs Preserve, artandwriting.org

MUSIC

SINGIN’ & SWINGIN’ JUNE 3, 8P The Bruce Harper Big Band consists of Las Vegas musicians and features jazz vocalist, Elisa Fiorillo. The band plays jazz classics from the American Songbook highlighting the compositions of Allen Imbach. $20–$35. Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com

Channel 10

DYNAMIC TROMBONE QUARTET JUNE 4, 2P Directed by Walt Boenig, a veteran of the Glenn Miller Orchestra, the band features Bobby Scann, Kevin Stout and Sonny Hernandez. They present a lively concert with a repertoire spanning styles and genres, including classical, popular and contemporary songs. Free.

Charleston Heights Arts Center, 800 S. Brush St., artslasvegas.org

THE INK SPOTS AND FRIENDS JUNE 4, 2P A Las Vegas resident since the end of the ’70s, Lou Ragland tours the world performing his own music and that of The Ink Spots. $10 in advance; $12 concert day. Winchester Cultural Center, clarkcountynv.gov

Carol Burnett’s Favorite Sketches Friday, June 3 at 9 p.m.

BLUE OCTOBER JUNE 4, 6:30P Find inner peace with the San Marcos, TX-based band known for its shimmering melodies and heartstringpulling lyrics. The band boasts one of the most emotionally charged and magnetic front men in music today, Justin Furstenfeld. $27–$47.

Brooklyn Bowl at The Linq, brooklynbowl.com

Music Gone Public: Frankie Moreno

Great Performances: Joan Baez 75th Birthday Celebration

Monday, June 6 at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, June 10 at 9 p.m.

The Beach Boys Good Timin’ — Live in Concert Knebworth, England 1980

Endeavour, Season 3 on Masterpiece

DREAM OF NOW, DREAM OF THEN JUNE 4, 7:30P Lisa Vroman has won Theatre Critic awards for her performance as Christine in Phantom of the Opera on Broadway.

She will be performing Broadway classics accompanied by the Las Vegas Philharmonic, including songs by Gershwin, Berlin and Sondheim. $26–$96. Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com

STARS OF TODAY AND TOMORROW JUNE 5, 2P Pete Barbutti showcases his unique storytelling routines and unusual musical stylings. He will be joined by

Monday, June 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Sundays at 9 p.m., Premiering June 19

VegasPBS.org | 3050 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV 89121 • 702.799.1010 J U ne 2 0 1 6

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THE GUIDE The Boneheads, the Jam Sandwich Quartet and the UNLV Jazz Singers. $20 Starbright Theatre at Sun City Summerlin, scscai.com

CARAVAN PALACE JUNE 5, 6P The surprise breakout band of the last decade, the apostles of electro swing and precursors of a laid-back yet terribly upbeat trend, is coming up with an evocative second album: Panic! 18+ only. $22 in advance; $27 day of show. Brooklyn Bowl at The Linq, brooklynbowl.com

METAL CHURCH & ARMORED SAINT JUNE 6, 6:30P Two classic metal powerhouses under one roof. You don’t want to miss this show. 18+ only. $25 in advance; $30 day of show. Brooklyn Bowl at The Linq, brooklynbowl.com

CARMEN JUNE 10, 7:30P; JUNE 12, 2P Set in Seville, this four-act French opera

by Georges Bizet tells the story of Don José, a naïve soldier who is first seduced by the calculated wiles of the fiery gypsy Carmen and then succumbs to a slow and inexorable descent into passion, obsession and despair. José rejects his devoted village sweetheart, Micaela, and abandons his military duties, yet he ultimately loses Carmen’s love to the charismatic toreador Escamillo. $55–$95.

Judy Bayley Theatre at UNLV, unlv. edu/event/opera-las-vegas-carmen

LINHONG LI AND STUDENTS JUNE 11, 2P Chinese musician Linhong Li teaches her students to play a variety of her native musical instruments, on which the students perform both the beautiful music of China and Western popular music. $7. Winchester Cultural Center, clarkcountynv.gov

BEE GEES AND BEYOND JUNE 11, 7P Relive the emotional journey of this incredible trio through electrifying

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Electronic exotique It’s a crazy world out there — global warming, terrorism, the looming prospect of our next president being a shouty Stay Puft baby-clown.

Sometimes, you just want to forget it all and feel like a natty, stylized cartoon cat living in a world of sleek intrigue. That’s how Caravan Palace will make you feel with their smart, propulsive, zany French electro-swing. Oh, you may wake up to an Angry Gingerbread Man administration, but you still danced your cares away the night before, and they can never, ever take that away from you. Caravan Palace performs 6p June 5 at The Brooklyn Bowl. Tickets: $22. Info: brooklynbowl.com

vocals, high-energy dance, and storytelling narrative. From their early hits in the late ’60s, to their meteoric rise to super-stardom during the disco era, to their continued success on the contemporary charts in the ’80s and ’90s, including their wonderful contributions to the catalogues of many of the world’s greatest recording artists. $20. Starbright Theatre at Sun City Summerlin, scscai.com

THE SPECIAL CONSENSUS & RED ROCK RAMBLERS JUNE 13, 7P Enjoy this award-winning acoustic bluegrass band with a repertoire that features traditional bluegrass standards, original compositions and songs from other musical genres performed in the bluegrass format.

$20. Starbright Theatre at Sun City Summerlin, scscai.com

ALICE — A STEAMPUNK CONCERT FANTASY JUNE 14, 9:30P Take a magical journey down the rabbit hole with this combination of favorite pop/rock songs with unforgettable vocals, thrilling dancers, and a hot nine-piece band that will create a frenetic theatrical experience. $20–$30. Brooklyn Bowl at The Linq, brooklynbowl.com

DJANGOVEGAS! GYPSY JAZZ FESTIVAL JUNE 18, 6P This annual celebration of the music of Django Reinhardt and other gypsy jazz musicians past

TICKETS ON SALE NOW The 30th Annual Ribbon of Life

and present will feature the Frank Vignola Trio, The Rhythm Future Quartet, Hot House West and The Hot Club of Las Vegas. $15-$20. Fifth Street School, artslasvegas.org

DRU HILL JUNE 18, 7P This R&B group, named in honor of Druid Hill Park (their Baltimore neighborhood), has been topping the charts nation-wide since 1992.

18+ only. $35–$50. Brooklyn Bowl at The Linq, brooklynbowl.com

JOAN COLLASO: TRIBUTE TO NANCY WILSON & SHIRLEY HORNE JUNE 18, 7P Collaso’s tribute to these two powerhouse divas gets rave reviews wherever she goes. $40.

Baobab Stage Theatre, 6587 Las Vegas Blvd. S., baobabstage.com

A retrospect of the best musical numbers from the past 30 years reimagined for 2016

sunday june 12th, 2016 • 1:00pm GOLDENRAINBOW.ORG | 702.739.2555

All proceeds go to support Golden Rainbow’s mission to assist men, women, children, and families affected by HIV/AIDS.

MICHAEL GRIMM JUNE 18, 7P With his soulful voice and earthy, southern manner, Grimm charmed millions of viewers as a contestant on season five of NBC’s popular America’s Got Talent. Parlaying his substantial singer-songwriter appeal into a first-place finish, Grimm took home the $1 million prize and headlined the first-ever national America’s Got Talent Tour. $20. Starbright Theatre at Sun City Summerlin, scscai.com

Join Clifford and his friends for “paws-on fun” at the Museum!

TM

DANCE

DANCE AND LEARN WITH MISS NEVADA JUNE 27–JULY 1, MON–FRI 9A–12P A dance and theatre workshop your kids won’t want to miss! The reigning Miss Nevada leads this workshop that culminates in a performance on the big stage. $249 per child includes costumes for the performance at the end. Pink Tutu Ballet, Tivoli Village, pinktutuballet@gmail.com

May 28 - Sept. 11 Media Sponsor:

DiscoveryKidsLV.org Adventures with Clifford The Big Red Dog was created by Minnesota Children’s Museum together with Scholastic Entertainment. (c) 2010 Scholastic Entertainment Inc. SCHOLASTIC and logos are trademarks of Scholastic Inc. CLIFORD, CLIFORD THE BIG RED DOG, BE BIG and logos are trademarks of Norman Bridwell. All rights reserved.

JUNE 2016

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LECTURES, SPEAKERS AND PANELS

INFRAREALIST POETRY READING AND DISCUSSION JUNE 11, 12–2P Poet James Norman will discuss the InfraRealist poets who were brought together in Mexico City in 1976 by Mariano Santiago and were made famous by Roberto Bolaño’s novel Los Detectives Salvajes (The Savage Detectives), translated into English

by Natasha Wimmers. While the poetry is in Spanish, the Infras and their work will be discussed in English. Free. Winchester Cultural Center, clarkcountynv.gov

TOUGH TONY’S LIFE OF CRIME JUNE 14, 7P Thirty years ago, Spilotro was killed and buried in an Indiana cornfield.

Before that, he was a childhood friend of mobster Frank Cullotta and leader of the notorious Hole in the Wall Gang, linked to a string of robberies in Las Vegas. Join in this interesting and wide-ranging conversation as Geoff Schumacher interviews Cullotta. Free for members or with museum admission. The Mob Museum, themobmuseum.org

POETS’ CORNER JUNE 17, 7:30P A forum for established poets and open-mic participants ,featuring the best local poetry talent. West Las Vegas Arts Center Community Gallery, 947 W. Lake Mead Blvd., artslasvegas.org

THEATER

BRIGHT SIDE JUNE 2 & 4, 8P; JUNE 5, 2P A new musical that tells the story of a father who finds hidden strength as he fights to keep his family together through illness and his wife’s deployment. $16–$20. Cockroach Theatre, 1025 S. First St. #110, cockroachtheatre.com

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DECADES APART: REFLECTIONS OF THREE GAY MEN JUNE 3-4, 10-11, 8P; JUNE 5, 12, 3P. This multimedia theatrical performance captures significant moments in the lives of three gay American men from different eras and cities — a carefree soul from ’70s San Franciso, a gay Republican from ’80s New York, and a club kid from 1990s L.A. $20. Onyx Theatre, 953 E. Saraha Ave. #16B, onyxtheatre.com

JUBILINGO STORY PERFORMERS PRESENT: PAJAMA TALES JUNE 4, 7P Children of all ages (yes, even adult children) are welcome for this evening of storytelling by a troupe of masters.

Feel free to wear your pajamas! Free.

The Journey Education Building, 2710 S. Rainbow Blvd., karlahuntsman@ gmail.com, 702-816-8333

(W)RITES OF PASSAGE JUNE 10, 7P Humorous and warm, touching and tender, this collection of student writings presented by the Rainbow Company Youth Theatre offers a glimpse at the joys and challenges of growing up in Las Vegas. A must-see for all kids and the parents who watch them grow. Free. The Black Box Theatre at UNLV, artslasvegas.org

DAN AND PHIL: THE AMAZING TOUR IS NOT ON FIRE JUNE 12, 7:30P A theatrical stage show with hilarious anecdotes, sketches, lots of audience interaction we’ll probably regret, a loose story tying it all together and some surprises you’ll never see coming. $49-$114. Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com

CABARET JUNE 14–19, THU–SUN 7:30P; SAT–SUN 2P Welcome to the infamous Kit Kat

Klub, where a raucous ensemble takes the stage nightly to tantalize the crowd. But as life in pre-WWII Germany grows more and more uncertain, will the decadent allure of Berlin nightlife be enough to get them through the dangerous times? $29-$129. Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com

FAMILY & FESTIVALS

VEGAS FRINGE FESTIVAL JUNE 10–19, THU–SUN 8P Celebrate the oddness that is Vegas with these short (30–90 minute) dramas and comedies from talent all over the valley. Visit the site for updates on exact times and shows. $12 each production; $100 full festival. Las Vegas Little Theatre, lvlt.org

“WOMEN EMPOWERING WOMEN” CONFERENCE JUNE 25, 12-5P This empowering event will provide women with an opportunity to hear expert speakers from various fields in the areas of health, education, finance and the overall welfare of self and family. Each woman is encouraged to bring another. The conference is free and open to all women at least 16 years old, but registration is required.

Free. West Las Vegas Arts Center, 947 W. Lake Mead Blvd., artslasvegas.org

FATHER’S DAY BARBECUE JUNE 19, 10A–5P Treat dad for Father’s Day at Divine Cafe’s Beer Garden! Enjoy spectacular, 180-degree views of the Las Vegas Strip and beautiful garden surroundings from the cafe’s patio, a barbecue-inspired menu just for dad, and fun for the whole family. $19 bottomless ribs, $2 draft PBR. Members receive 10% off. Springs Preserve, artandwriting.org

16TH ANNUAL JUNETEENTH FESTIVAL JUNE 19, 6–9P Join in for some festive fun, entertainment, shopping, historical storytelling and good food. Lawn seating; bring low-back lawn chairs or blankets. Refreshments will be available for purchase; outside food not permitted. Free. Sammy Davis Jr. Festival Plaza in Lorenzi Park, 720 Twin Lakes Drive, june19lv.com

FUNDRAISERS

GOLF 4 KIDS TOURNAMENT JUNE 6, 7:30A Golfers throughout Southern Nevada are invited to take part in this fundraiser for two nonprofit organizations which provide

unduplicated services in Nevada — Cure 4 The Kids Foundation and the Nevada Chapter of the National Hemophilia Foundation. The tournament is played on the private, Arnold Palmer-designed mountain course and will be limited to 144 golfers. Red Rock Country Club, dmpavuk@cure4thekids.org

THE 30TH ANNUAL RIBBON OF LIFE JUNE 12, 1P Featuring custom production numbers from the best singers, dancers and performers from premier shows on the Las Vegas Strip. The infamous Golden Rainbow Silent Auction will feature many exciting Las Vegas show tickets and travel packages, along with special items donated by

various local merchants. There will be a “Throw Back 30 After-Party” immediately following the show where attendees can mix and mingle with some of the performers and partake in a cash bar and hors d’oeuvres. $50-$200. The Tropicana, troplv.com/ribbonoflife

SHINE A LIGHT ON AUTISM: BLUE MAN GROUP JUNE 12, 4P The Blue Man Group continues their partnership with Grant a Gift Autism Foundation for the second consecutive year by hosting a sensory-friendly show suitable for children with autism spectrum disorders. All proceeds go directly to the foundation. $36. Luxor Hotel and Casino, blueman.com/ autismspeaks

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END NOTE Satire

The reckoning

B y A n d r e w K i r a ly

N

OV. 8, CARSON CITY — When Donald Trump emerged as the GOP’s likely presidential nominee last month, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval said, in an oddly strained statement, that he would ultimately vote for the Republican party’s “presumptive nominee” — despite past remarks in which Sandoval criticized Trump for his racially charged rhetoric about Hispanics, questioned his political experience and raised doubts about his suitability to be the nation’s next commander-in-chief. It’s almost as though Sandoval, a moderate Republican, views Trump as many do: as a volatile, untrustworthy demagogue. When it comes down to party loyalty or simple sanity, what will Sandoval choose?

Now comes the reckoning. It is Election Day, and Gov. Sandoval stands alone in the curtained voting booth in the Carson City Community Center, his finger hovering over the box marked “DONALD J. TRUMP.” A drop of nervous sweat from his brow splashes on the touchscreen, and Sandoval, roused from contemplation, begins a troubled soliloquy ...

It is easy. You are here. You are here to vote. You are Brian Sandoval, and you are standing here and you will vote. You will vote for Donald Trump for president, as you said you would. As is expected of you. It is a good and right thing to do what you say you are going to do. If you have learned nothing else from politics, it is that one thing: If you do what you say you’re going to do, everything will be alright. You are Brian Sandoval, and you said you will vote for Donald Trump, and now you will ... vote ... for Donald Trump.

Sandoval moves to touch the DONALD J. TRUMP box, but his hand involuntarily curls into a tight fist.

You acknowledge that you are in a dark place.

It is self-delusion not to acknowledge that.

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But you are here, Brian, and you will vote for Donald Trump. You will press the button for Trump, and you will walk out of here, untroubled, uncompromised, unperturbed, no less a person, confident in the knowledge that you have made the best choice for the American people. You are going to press that button with this finger, this very finger, the finger of Brian Sandoval, governor of Nevada. A public servant and a man of principle. A family man.

A clean man with nice hair and good teeth. A decent man. You are a decent man, Brian.

Again, he moves to touch the DONALD J. TRUMP box, but his finger reflexively retracts back into his now-trembling hand.

You are a good and decent man, Brian. You are a man of your word. You do not cry when a duty is asked of you. You accept your duty, and you perform it. You do not ... cry. You are ... not ... crying ...

stomach with nauseating existential dread, regardless of whether it makes you want to rip off this suit — now revealed as nothing but the mask of a charlatan — and run through the parking lot and fall into the arms of your wife, naked and afraid, screaming hopelessly for an absolution that you know will never come.

Breathe through it, Brian. Breathe with me. Breathe.

A third time, he reaches out a trembling hand to touch the DONALD J. TRUMP box.

This time, he succeeds, officially casting his vote for Donald Trump for president.

A teardrop falls on the touchscreen panel, and Sandoval rubs it away meditatively.

You are still standing, Brian. You are still alive, Brian. You are a good and decent man, and you are whole. You are worthy and capable. You are deserving of love. And you will love again.

You ... you do not succumb to self-pity when a duty is asked of you. You do not shirk your duty. You stop your crying, and you carry out the duty, Brian. You face the duty. You look into the black maw of duty, you embrace its filth, you accept the unbearable stench of the duty.

You do it — you press that Trump button — regardless of whether it turns the root of your

Gov. Sandoval emerges through the curtains, clearly drained, but smiling weakly.

However, there’s a collective gasp from the other voters in line, as they look upon an utterly changed Brian Sandoval — his perfect politician’s coif replaced by a translucent ginger swirl of Trump’s grotesque, spun-sugar hair.

(Aide: Governor, are you okay in there?)

I’m fine. I’ll be just a minute.

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2016-2017

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Subscribe Today! Visit NevadaBallet.org The Resident Ballet Company of The Smith Center for the Performing Arts Photo by Virginia Trudeau.