The Playground
Work is hard. Everybody needs recess.
09.30.08 · 6:56 PM
Hunting for hauntings in the Vegas night
“If you’re deranged enough to kill yourself, you come here to do it,” remarks Jac, the top hat wearing tour guide for the Vegas Haunted Tour. “Las Vegas is the suicide capital of America.” A handful of middle-aged tourist couples swivel in their bus seats to catch a view of the red-spired Stratosphere at the end of the Strip, the most popular place from which to jump (although the hotel won’t admit it; bad for business). Jac, a retired undertaker ... Read more...
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Facebook09.30.08 · 4:48 PM
The Naked truth: A look inside a new Vegas picture book
Who doesn’t want to look at naked people? You might not by the time you get to the last page of Naked Las Vegas (W.W. Norton and Co., $24.95), a book by photographer Greg Friedler that pairs clothed and unclothed shots of people photographed here (it’s the fourth in the Naked series, after New York, LA and London). The point Friedler tells us he’s making with this parade of body morphologies (“stripped of clothing we are stripped of society’s judgments ... Read more...
09.28.08 · 11:36 PM
All Tease is all good on the burlesque stage
Inside The Rox on Industrial Road this Saturday night a crowd gathered that was not of the Strip, not even of our time. Most of the audience looked as if they had stepped out of the 1940s and ‘50s, or had raided grandma’s closet, or Savers. Real live Marilyns stood next to Bettie Pages, James Deans and Buddy Hollys. The place was packed for the 2nd annual All Tease, No Sleaze Burlesque Pageant, and people lined the zig-zag stairs for ... Read more...
09.28.08 · 6:49 PM
Remembering Paul Newman with a movie marathon
This Friday, Hollywood lost one of its greatest figures and longest burning stars, actor and director Paul Newman. The famed thespian and philanthropist died at his home in Connecticut at 83-years-old. With Hollywood’s fickle tastes, maintaining movie star status for even a decade is an impressive feat, but Newman produced nuanced, inventive performances over the course of five decades, winning an Oscar and garnering nine other Oscar nominations in the process. More important, however, was the affect that Newman had ... Read more...
09.27.08 · 11:13 AM
The world is nutty, but in Barry we trust
Criss Angel and Barry Manilow performed new or newly revamped shows last night in Las Vegas. Of course, one is an enormously confident, supremely gifted performer on any stage whose holds a cult-like spell over his eerily loyal worldwide fan base. The other is Criss Angel. What to make of the success of Manilow at the Las Vegas Hilton? He opened in February 2005 in the theater made famous by Elvis, and has now been around long enough that his ... Read more...
09.27.08 · 9:51 AM
Celebrity NFL picks: Looking for a psychological boost in Week 4
If something unexpected were to happen to me soon – and no, I’m not talking about actually posting a winning record this season, I mean something tragic – I will have at least accomplished one thing of significance before I go. My apologies in advance if I am being overly morbid this week, but hey, this is an NFL column, and every game that goes to overtime goes to “sudden death,” right? Quarterbacks get “sacked” all the time. Punters routinely ... Read more...
09.26.08 · 6:41 PM
A peek behind the curtain of Criss Angel’s “Believe”
A mischievous white rabbit peeks from behind a red curtain; above it Criss Angel’s Severus Snape eyes stare out of the poster promoting his upcoming Cirque de Soleil show, Believe. The poster begs the question, what’s behind the curtain? If it’s anything like the August sneak peak performance on So You Think You Can Dance? by Believe’s Cirque de Soleil cast, it’s something that will captivate your imagination and may even frighten you a little. Entitled “Homage to all of ... Read more...
09.26.08 · 5:09 PM
After all these years, Donny & Marie suitably entertaining
You know how there are Stones people and Beatles people? Letterman people and Leno people? There was a time, many years ago, when the world was divided between Osmond people and Jackson 5 people. I was with the Jackson 5 people; I could not stand the Osmonds. The reason I was with the Jackson 5, why I would have been happy to kink my hair into a Tito-esque Afro if not for the cost, was because the Jackson 5 were ... Read more...
09.26.08 · 1:52 PM
Rehab says goodbye to summer
We know what you did this summer. We saw you — and we saw almost all of you — sunning, strutting and shaking it every Sunday at Las Vegas’ biggest, barest pool party, the afternoon fleshfest known as Rehab. And since this Sunday is the last Rehab of the season, we’ve gotta say goodbye to the summer, with one last, long, lingering look. Las Vegas Sun photographer Tiffany Brown spent several summer Sundays intrepidly documenting the wild wildlife in and ... Read more...
09.25.08 · 7:18 PM
My secret (booze-holding) weapon
About a month ago while attending Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, I had one of those head-slapping “doh!” moments. As I shivered under what the city calls fog (and I argue is clearly rain), wishing desperately I had a mug of spiked hot chocolate, I noticed something strange. In front of me a tall young man was watching the Radiohead concert with a pair of huge binoculars around his neck. Binoculars? At a concert? I’ll ... Read more...
09.24.08 · 3:04 PM
No stretch: Cutler muscles way to Olympian stature
He brings to mind Stretch Armstrong. You might not remember Stretch, one of the strangest, pointless toys ever produced. Stretch Armstrong was a blond, muscular, Speedos-wearing plaything filled with some mysterious goo that made him uncommonly malleable. You could play with Stretch only in a maddeningly limited number of ways – pull his arms and watch him retract, pull his legs and watch him retract, or pull on arm and one leg and watch him retract, OR have a friend ... Read more...
09.22.08 · 7:20 PM
Wine and rock: A perfect pairing
I would consider myself more of a music lover than a wine lover, but Rock ‘n Roll Wine is against choosing one passion over another. It’s not rock or wine; it’s both! This summer, the Las Vegas-based wine events company has held several parties where guests sampled delicious wines paired not with Gruyere or pate, but with music, and this weekend marks Rock ‘n Roll Wine’s blow out bash, the 3rd Annual Wine Amplified Festival at The Beach at Mandalay ... Read more...
09.21.08 · 5:13 PM
Lidine wins the Battle of the Bands at Rox Club
Some of the competitors in the Battle of the Bands finals at Rox Club had to ask their parents for a ride to their gig, while others were proud parents themselves. The ages of the participants ranged between fourteen to thirty-six. Top honors went to indie metal band Lidine, whose large contingent of fans made sure they didn’t walk away empty handed. This competition wasn’t just for bragging rights. There was a lot at stake. Lidine’s prizes included studio recording ... Read more...
09.19.08 · 12:05 PM
The Jones boys: A true rock-star relationship
When I settled into the family Mazda 626 to take my driving test for my first driver’s license, I turned the ignition key and the song, “Juke Box Hero” blared from the car stereo. I sat still for a moment, listening to one of the hits from the Foreigner 4 album, with Lou Gramm belting, “This one guitar! Slung way, down low! Was the one-way ticket! Only one way to go!” Seated in the passenger’s seat was a California Department ... Read more...
09.19.08 · 12 PM
A Killer of a night at the Entertainer/Artist Hall of Fame
One of the inductees said of her posthumously honored husband, “I miss him with every breath I take, but how lucky was I to have spent 28 years with such a wonderful man.” Another ended his speech with an enthusiastic, “Hell yeah!” The first comment was made by Vera Goulet, widow of Robert Goulet. The second was by Ronnie Vannucci, drummer of The Killers. The statements from the stage revealed the wide range of inductees at Thursday night’s Nevada Entertainment/Artist ... Read more...
09.19.08 · 7:59 AM
Celebrity NFL picks: Chargers still recovering from shocker
The lightning bolt on the side of the helmets couldn’t be a more fitting emblem these days for the San Diego Chargers. No matter what they have seemed to do, at least for the first two weeks of the season, they get struck. In their season opener, they led by five with two seconds remaining, only to watch Carolina’s Jake Delhomme double-pump and zip a pass through a sea of defenders to a leap Dante Rosario for the game-winning touchdown ... Read more...
09.18.08 · 12:44 AM
Still rockin’ in the free world
In Las Vegas gaming means gambling, and playing slots or table games in the hopes of hitting it big — or at least coming out on top. But in most of the world, gaming is what you do in front of a TV, computer or an arcade game with a hand clasped around a controller or a joystick, or maybe a guitar neck and some drum sticks. The first time I picked up the plastic guitar was about six months ... Read more...
09.17.08 · 10:44 AM
Poker Lounge an ultra-lounge, where you can also play cards
The décor is as dark as a spade flush and it takes a few moments to sort out that this is, in fact, a poker room. But even that’s not totally accurate. “It’s a Poker Lounge,” says Hard Rock Hotel Poker Lounge marketing director Steve Cyr, who, as his title implies, is in charge of making this hand a winner. He’s got some hot cards. A rarity among poker rooms, the Poker Lounge provides bottle service and a full menu ... Read more...
09.16.08 · 4:53 PM
North of the border in Little Mexico
A lime green low-rider pulled up to me in a Green Valley parking lot, and the young Mexican driver informed me that I was in the wrong Las Vegas neighborhood. “In North Las Vegas, hay mucho más diversión” (it’s much more fun). He listed street racing, dance clubs and pick-up soccer games as some of the diversión in a community that has been developing over the past few years into a Little Mexico, or at least a Little Tijuana. So ... Read more...
09.13.08 · 1:46 PM
For stylish pair, life as sweet as Creamcheese
It wasn’t too long ago that Garrett Bauman was entrenched in real estate, married, constantly thinking up entrepreneurial ideas, but “too busy” to make them happen. In the late ‘90s his wife died. A friend, Annie, tried to get him to start dating again and frequently fixed him up with women, including her sister. But Annie began to get jealous. As Garrett tells it, “the next thing I knew, she moved in and took over my closets. I always knew ... Read more...
09.12.08 · 2:34 PM
DeGeneres, Seinfeld returning to The Comedy Festival
Ellen DeGeneres and Jerry Seinfeld are among the comics returning to The Comedy Festival at Caesars Palace, according to the Festival’s official Web site. The event, co-sponsored by TBS and AEG Live, has settled on Nov. 20-22 as the performance dates for its series of shows and performances, all of which will be held at Caesars. Joining DeGeneres, who returns with Ellen’s Really Big Show, is Mike Epps, Tracy Morgan, Russell Peters, David Allen Grier and Andrew Dice Clay, according ... Read more...
09.12.08 · 9:52 AM
Twenty years on, Golden Tee still an ace
I remember my first hole-in-one like it was yesterday, or ore accurately last night. It was about nine years ago. I pulled out a 7-iron on a 160-yard par-3 and shaped the shot with a slight draw, working with about a 5 mph wind running right-to-left. I knew I had the distance, but the wind – it was pushing the ball left, and if it didn’t hole out, I’d probably slide into the green-side bunker. And with my crappy sand ... Read more...
09.11.08 · 6:58 PM
Celebrity NFL picks: Fantasy league selection fells Brady
I’d like to take responsibility right now for Tom Brady’s season-ending injury. Don’t blame Bernard Pollard of the Chiefs -– after all, the hit on Brady that caused the injury during New England’s 17-10 victory over Kansas City was ruled perfectly legal by the league. Don’t blame the lack of exhibition playing time for Brady, who didn’t take a snap in the preseason because, somewhat ironically, he didn’t want to risk further injury on his right foot. Don’t blame the ... Read more...
09.10.08 · 12:55 PM
Mirage Volcano makes sure tourism stays hot on the Strip
It was Jimi Hendrix who once said, “Let me stand next to your fire.” Now it is Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, co-composer Zakir Hussain and the wizards at WET (who designed the Fountains at Bellagio) who are bringing the fire to you. If you’re walking along the Strip after the first couple of weeks in December, at least. Formally announced today at a news conference at the Love Theater at The Mirage was the new Volcano, to replace the ... Read more...
09.9.08 · 12:59 PM
One father. One son. One documentary.
“One Father. One Son. One Dream.” reads the movie poster for the documentary Boys of Summer, screening through Thursday at Neonopolis’s Galaxy Theatres. The line sounds straight out of Hollywood, but the film is a Vegas original, made by Las Vegas resident Robert Cochrane about the Field of Dreams-inspired road trip he took with his father to all 30 Major League ballpark after his father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2001. “Time, once so liquid and abundant, now felt ... Read more...
09.8.08 · 1:21 PM
A Friday night meander through Vegas: priceless
If my Friday night were a MasterCard commercial it would read something like this: Entrance to First Friday: $2 Crappy Mexican dinner for two at Yayo Taco: $18 Nostalgia-inducing bottle of Magic Hat Circus Boy at Freakin’ Frog: $8 Meeting Video Bob in the Whiskey Attic: Priceless. It was that kind of Friday night – full of random, bloggable moments and characters. If the folks at the credit card company cared enough about my unexceptional evening to film it, the ... Read more...
09.5.08 · 12 PM
Celebrity NFL picks: The return of Mr. Cuatro Cinco
Sal’s Celebrity Selectors, Week 1 That’s Mr. Cuatro Cinco to you. Yep, I think that’s what I’m gonna do. Change my name to Sal Cuatro Cinco, in honor of my annual winning percentage against the spread in NFL games. When I drive by a speed limit sign with a big 45 on it, I’ll think it’s saluting me. Maybe I’ll even slow down a little. Over the top? Well, sure it is, but it’s no crazier than the receiver-formerly-known-as-Chad-Johnson of ... Read more...
09.4.08 · 4:42 PM
Three months early, Tom Cruise’s Valkyrie lands in Nevada
Three and half months before it is scheduled to hit the screen, Tom Cruise’s fiercely debated film about Nazi saboteurs is playing right here in Nevada. According to E! Online reporter Marc Malkin, moviegoers in an undisclosed small town in the Silver State were invited to a free screening at their local theater of, well, something. Something turned out to be Valkyrie, the Bryan Singer movie that chronicles the true story of an unsuccessful assassination plot by German officers against ... Read more...
09.2.08 · 3:25 PM
The Wright Stuff
When I think of Frank Lloyd Wright and religion, my first thought usually goes to the legendary architect’s legendary self-regard: Wright as a kind of god in his own head. But then I recall his arresting Unity Temple in Oak Park, Illinois—a starkly beautiful building that looks as ancient as the Great Pyramids—and I think, well, maybe he was a god. UNLV’s School of Architecture kicks off its annual Klai Juba Lecture Series with a lecture by documentary filmmaker Michael ... Read more...
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Friday
2013-05-24
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2013-05-24
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2013-05-24
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2013-05-28
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2013-05-29
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2013-05-29
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SMS Alerts
Featured Cocktail
May 15, 2013
by
Sabrina Chapman
The Golden Pillar: An architectural cocktail built for XS
This Sunday, XS nightclub celebrates the grand reopening of its after-dark pool party, Night Swim. Along with the bash comes a new offering of signature cocktails served by the pitcher, ...
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