The Latest
The Week
They Came, They Glowered … They Left the Town Intact
June 28th, 2012
Boulder City’s famed bighorn sheep grazed as lazily as usual in Hemenway Park early Friday afternoon, June 22, oblivious to the “danger” that was just now rolling into town. A couple of miles up the road, it was the moment the sleepy hamlet’s 15,000 residents had dreaded for weeks: the arrival of scores of masked members of the Mongols Motorcycle Club for their three-day national convention. Read more »
Downtown
Blasting Back
June 28th, 2012
The new owners hope to keep as much of the original Atomic Liquors stuff as possible, only making changes where necessary—the bathrooms, for example, need to be expanded to meet ADA requirements. Later, they plan to create a beer garden and performance space in the vacated garage next door. Read more »
Spare Change
Retiring Behind the Bar(s)
June 28th, 2012
I would imagine I’m not alone in this ingenious plan; and probably not the only one whose crime will be the felonious but unarmed threatening of the credit-card company that continues to charge ungodly fees and fiddle with my interest rate and send me balance-transfer checks riddled with fine print. Read more »
Real Estate
Foreclosure Flux
June 28th, 2012
Foreclosure figures have their layers. Many reports highlight foreclosure “activity” as being anything from a notice of default for a first missed payment to a foreclosure auction-sale listing. Some statistics include the number of actual formal bank repossessions, while others leave that figure out. RealtyTrac identifies new foreclosure activity using all three of these elements. Whether one publication uses all three or only one or two can create headlines using the most sensitive words in journalism today —“increase” and “decrease”—words that sway public views and confidence. Read more »
Henderson
For Boyd, It All Started Here
June 28th, 2012
When Sam Boyd and his son Bill purchased the vacant Wheel Casino in downtown Henderson in 1962 and renamed it the Eldorado, it was one of the first acquisitions by a family that would become synonymous with gaming in Southern Nevada. Boyd Gaming Corp. now owns and operates 17 casinos nationwide, including nine in Southern Nevada, but it’s the small property on Water Street that remains most special to Bill Boyd. Read more »
About Town
Multiplicity
For Las Vegans, July 4 proves to be fertile ground
June 28th, 2012
Now, I don’t recall anything in the Declaration of Independence that urged the fledgling country’s citizens to copulate, but then there is that line about the pursuit of happiness … Independence Day, when there’s gunpowder and magic in the air … Or maybe it was all the red, white and blue popsicle-licking, the laying on your back in the grass intoning, “Oooooh!” and “Ahhhhh!” You saw fireworks, all right. And then you got preggers. Read more »
The Deal
The Price of a Slice
June 28th, 2012
A new restaurant called Slice of Vegas Pizza opened in April at Mandalay Place. It serves pasta, salads and other Italian dishes—but as the name and set-up imply, a big part of the business model is to sell pizza by the slice to passersby in the mall. A slice of pizza is always a good play when you’re on the move and don’t want to stop to eat, but $4.95 for cheese or $6.95 for one with toppings? That’s too much. Read more »
Ask a Native
Whatever happened to jai alai in Vegas?
June 28th, 2012
Both of Kirk Kerkorian’s MGM Grand locations held wagered jai alai matches; Reno’s tepid run lasted from 1978-1980, while in Las Vegas, the matches began in 1974 and ended abruptly in November 1980 with the tragic MGM fire. Given an interest that never reached expectations, the fronton was repurposed as a convention facility when the hotel reopened the following July. Read more »
Seven Days
A curated tour of this week in your city
June 28th, 2012
Wednesday, July 4: It’s been 236 years since we broke up with Great Britain. Summerlin puts on an old-school parade, 9 a.m. at Hills Center Drive and Hillpointe Road. Henderson is always a party, and this holiday is no exception: 6-9 p.m. at Mission Hills Park, culminating with a fireworks show. And Station Casinos is once again painting the sky with gunpowder from five of its Valley properties. Just step outside around 9 p.m. wherever you happen to be. Read more »
The Latest Thought
Character Assassination
A costumed menace on the Strip? This sounds like a job for the Copyright Gestapo.
June 28th, 2012
No, the most unsavory thing I’ve recently encountered while walking the Strip—the one thing that gets my blood going—is that rat bastard Mickey Mouse. I wish I knew how it happened or why, but sometime between when I left Las Vegas in 2002 and when I returned last month, this town became infested with people—drunk men, mostly—dressed up like superheroes, pirates, ninjas, anime sprites and, yes, Disney characters. Read more »
