the real estate issue | vegas seven magazine | may 28-june 3, 2015

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P UBL ISHERMichael Skenandore

EDI T ORI A LEDITOR Matt Jacob

SENIOR EDITORS Paul Szydelko, Xania Woodman

A&E EDITOR Cindi Reed

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Camille Cannon

SENIOR WRITERS Steve Bornfeld, Geoff Carter, Lissa Townsend Rodgers

CALENDAR COORDINATOR Ian Caramanzana

SENIOR CON T RIBU T ING EDI T ORMelinda Sheckells (style)

CON T RIBU T ING EDI T ORSMichael Green (politics), Al Mancini (dining),

David G. Schwartz (gaming/hospitality)

A R TCREATIVE DIRECTOR Ryan Olbrysh

GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Jon Estrada, Cierra Pedro

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Anthony Mair

V EGASSE V EN.COMDIRECTOR OF DIGITAL MEDIA Nicole Ely

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Herbert Akinyele

ENGAGEMENT EDITOR Zoneil Maharaj

SENIOR WRITER, RUNREBS.COM Mike Grimala

ASSISTANT WEB PRODUCER Amber Sampson

PRODUC T ION / DIS T RIBU T IONDIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION/DISTRIBUTION Marc Barrington

ADVERTISING MANAGER Jimmy Bearse

DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR Jasen Ono

S A L ESBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Christy Corda

DIGITAL SALES MANAGER Nicole Scherer

ACCOUNT MANAGER Brittany Quintana

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Alyse Britt, Robyn Weiss

IN T ERNS

James Cale, Kayla Dean, Rachel Kerr, Aric Lairmore, Brent Martelli

Ryan T. Doherty | Justin Weniger

PRESIDENT Michael Skenandore

VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING AND EVENTS Kyle Markman

DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS Michael Uriarte

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Sherwin Yumul

MARKETING MANAGER Maureen Hank

FIN A NCEVICE PRESIDENT Rey Alberto

ASSISTANT CONTROLLER Donna Nolls

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT Linda Nash

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER Kara Dennis

LAS VEGAS’ WEEKLY CITY MAGAZINE | FOUNDED FEBRUARY 2010

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DIALOGUE

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OUR SITES TO SEE

FOOD THERAPY

ON THE WAY

Want finer fare without the white tablecloth and stuffy clientele? Then you’re in luck, as Therapy, another new Downtown restaurant that fits that bill, is scheduled to open this summer on Fremont Street. DTLV dining writer Jessie O’Brien dishes on what to expect at DTLV.com/Therapy.

REBELS ROSTER

TAKES SHAPE

After all the graduations, transfers, NBA declarations and recruiting commitments, 12 of the UNLV basketball team’s possible 13 scholarship spots are filled. In his weeklong series, RunRebs.com editor Mike Grimala examines what the Rebels will look like come opening night. RunRebs.com/RosterProjections.

MEET THE BAND

There’s so much musical talent milling around Downtown, we’ve decided to take the time to introduce you to some in a monthly feature. This month, say hello to 1980s tribute band New Waves as they discuss their origins, why their style works and their most memorable gig to date. DTLV.com/NewWaves.

STAYCATION TIME Kayaking. Stargazing. Roasting marshmallows over an open fire pit. If you think this kind of vacation can’t take place in the Las Vegas Valley, think again. Vrated.com recently spent 24 hours at the Westin Lake Las Vegas, and came away refreshed. Vrated.com/LakeLasVegas.

PULING NO

PUNCHES

Between the hard-hitting action in the octagon and some surprising results, UFC 187 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena was one of the most memorable cards in recent years. What’s next for the fighters who came out on top? Find out at VegasSeven.com/UFC187.

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BADASS DASHThe South Point Arena and Equestrian Center

transformed into a 7-kilometer obstacle course

May 23, when more than 3,000 people jumped,

climbed and crawled to support autism research

and awareness in the Badass Dash. Participants

made their way through 45 one-of-a-kind obstacles,

such as the “Lengthy Limbo” and the “Chain Link

Challenge,” with the top two male Elite racers—

Raymond Fong and William Swope—repeating

their first- and second-place finishes from last

year. Although final figures were being tallied at

press time, organizers say the event raised several

thousand dollars to benefit Autism Speaks.

UPCOMING EVENTS • May 30 Junior Achievement of Southern Nevada’s fifth annual poker tournament [JALasVegas.org] • June 6 Epicurean Charitable Foundation’s Mommy and Me Fashion Show [ECFLV.org]

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ONE OF MY FAVORITE LINES IN ONE OF MY favorite books about gambling—Richard Armstrong’s God Doesn’t Shoot Craps—features a character explaining to another character the effectiveness of his system for beating the casino: “It’s a gam-bling system,” he says patiently. “Sometimes it wins and some-times it loses.”

Your odds would be much the same without a system, but there’s something to be said for the com-fort of a system. You’re not at the mercy of blind fate; you are follow-ing a game plan and reaping the rewards. And when it no longer rewards you, well, sometimes it wins and sometimes it loses.

You could say much the same about casino development. Com-panies conduct extensive market research and analytics before investing millions (or in some cases billions) in new projects. But there’s still much left to chance: rising or falling energy prices, the strength or weakness of the dollar, foreign government decrees. So at the end of the day, sometimes it wins and sometimes it loses.

I can’t chase Armstrong’s words from my mind while thinking about the latest news from the Strip. The Cosmopolitan sold for $1.7 billion. The Tropicana sold for $360 mil-lion. Hooters sold for $70 million. Genting just offcially broke ground on the $4 billion Resorts World casino resort. The tag team of James Packer and Andrew Pascal appear close to doing the same on their own resort on the Frontier site.

Five years ago, these kind of

transactions would’ve been wishful thinking. But think about it: Five different interests have decided, in recent months, to buy into Las Vegas (three decided to sell, but that’s a story for another time). When you combine that with the rising visitor numbers, room rates and overall spending, it looks like the sky is the limit.

But haven’t we been here before? From 2005 through much of

2007, things looked similarly sunny. We’d just been through what we thought was a jarring recession (the post-9/11, post dot-com bubble slump), and all the indicators were looking up. The longer you sat on the side-lines waiting to get a piece of the expanding pie, the dumber you looked (and probably felt). It’s the equivalent of watching a blazing run on a craps table: People stand on the periphery, waiting for the opportune time to jump in, while everyone at the table continues to rake in money.

Finally, you reach in your pocket, put your money down … and the dice cool. Certainly, all of us who bought a house or casino in Las Vegas after 2004 and before 2008 can relate. But up until the moment that everyone craps out,

the system looks foolproof.The real tragedy is that a good

system often does win, sometimes much more than it loses. Las Vegas is full of success stories, both at the tables and in boardrooms. So sitting the game out isn’t always the best option.

This isn’t just a Vegas thing, ei-ther. Since the Dutch tulip bubble of the early 17th century, the world has seen speculation rise, fall and rise again. It may be human nature to try to get in while the going is good. In a city of second chances like Las Vegas, it’s entirely under-standable that people—at the craps tables and boardroom tables—will want to do just that.

How will we know when the time is no longer right? There will undoubtedly be a sixth (and a seventh) entity buying into Las Vegas in a big way soon. In the end, some groups will invest wisely, and some will invest rashly. And just like at the dice table, a seemingly random bounce can make geniuses or failures out of either group.

This current wave of invest-ment is more than reassuring; it’s morale-saving. We should relish the return from recession. But we should never lose sight of the fact that, in the end, the broader econ-omy is very much like a gambling system: sometimes it wins and sometimes it loses. As long as we’re aware that the losses will come, there’s nothing wrong with betting sensibly and hoping for a win.

David G. Schwartz is the director of UNLV’s Center for Gaming Research. IL

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GET MORE REWARD THAN RISK AT THE MM Resort is running an interesting offer for

new players-club sign-ups. Join Marquee

Rewards, then play for one hour on any

table game and get a $25 food credit good

for any of the property’s restaurants. It’s not

the best offer out there, but as I said, it’s

interesting. For one thing, there aren’t a lot

of sign-up deals for table-game players. But

more important, this is one of those cool

situations where the reward is greater than

the cost—mathematically, at least. If you play

it right, you’ll be paying well below face value

for that $25 comp.

This idea was brought to light and ham-

mered home several years ago in the classic

book Comp City—A Guide to Free Las Vegas

Vacations by Max Rubin (now out of print, but

available as an e-book). In Comp City, Rubin

advocated the tactic of getting comps off the

back of the slow pace of table games.

For example, if you play craps for an hour

on a $10 minimum table, you might get 30

decisions. By sticking to the low house-edge

pass or don’t pass bets, your expected loss

is 30 (decisions) x $10 (bets) x 1.4 percent

(house edge) = $4.20. That’s a $25 comp for

less than $5 in losses.

Better yet are your odds in blackjack. If you

know how to play basic strategy, the casino

edge on the M’s good games runs from 0.15

percent to 0.65 percent. Even at the high end,

your expected loss on a $10 table at 60 hands

per hour is just $3.90. And, obviously, you

can do even better.

The key is to get as little money on the table

as possible, which is governed by the size of

your bets and the number of hands played per

hour. Of course, you should look for tables

with the lowest minimums, but you also want

to play at the most crowded table you can

get onto, squeezing into the last open seat

whenever possible. Find a full $5 minimum

blackjack table—preferably one with talkative

players yucking it up and wasting time—and

your expected loss can drop below $1.

In these types of scenarios, the elephant

in the room is always the risk—the fact that

you can easily lose more than $25 in an hour.

That’s another reason to slow it down. Limit-

ing the number of hands you play not only

lowers your expected loss, it caps potential

losses when things don’t go well in real time.

Conversely, you can have a good run, in

which case you walk away with the comp and

the cash. Either can happen and to varying

degrees, which is why it’s the average result

that’s important—and the average result in this

deal is way positive. Finally, make sure you’re

being rated by the pit before you start playing,

and remember: Low and slow is the way to go.

Anthony Curtis is the publisher of the Las

Vegas Advisor and LasVegasAdvisor.com.

Let the Good Times RollLas Vegas is riding a hot streak, which is great—so long

as we understand it can’t last forever

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dustry. If you’re designing a casino, you would go into one, walk around and say ‘I like this. I like this. I like this.’ It’s always borrowing ideas, and the home-building industry is the same. Builders will walk into existing homes and say ‘I like this, I want this and I want that.’”

William Ramsey, an architect and a principal with KTGY Architecture and Planning, says his frm has designed homes in Las Vegas for more than 20 years. He agrees that builders and archi-tects have been forced to sharpen their focus in this post-recession market. In-stead of relying on a basic cookie-cutter template, tract homes now feature ele-ments that are more identifable with custom properties. “Before the reces-sion, builders really could get away with simpler designs,” he says. “[These days], they really have to build plans that di-rectly target a demographic more than ever before. People have gotten tighter with their dollars, and they really want something that’s designed for them and their style of living.”

Today’s buyers have the luxury of de-manding more bang for their bucks for one reason: There’s a wealth of inven-tory. Not only are new-home builders competing against each other, they’re also competing against the resale mar-ket and homes they built themselves only a few years ago. “What you have to do as a builder is fnd a niche,” says Nat Hodgson, executive director of

the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association since 2012 and a building professional since 1993. “You’ve got to think outside the box.”

Ron Rulof, owner of Team Power Marketing, advises builders on what and where to build and even how to train their sales staff. From his perspec-tive, the market is radically different because there’s a new group of buyers that’s in a very different position, fnan-cially and mentally: millennials.

“Before the recession, the people who walked into model homes when they were fresh out of college weren’t as deep in debt,” Rulof says. “They weren’t taking longer to decide not to rent.”

To Rulof’s point, many millennials lived through a recession weighed down by student debt while only managing to work part-time jobs. That feeling of economic unease remains even in a post-recession world. The result? Rulof says builders must offer more to draw millennials out of their apartments or parents’ houses and into model homes.

In many cases, these young buyers are not being drawn out at all, thanks to something called multigenerational homes. These are residences built with separate entrances and semi-private areas so family members can live under the same roof while having their own space. “This isn’t really a guest room,” Ramsey explains. “It’s a whole separate living quarter for a person who is part

of the extended family.”When millennials and others do de-

cide to dip their toes into the real es-tate market, it’s taking some unique options to get them to buy. “I always tell my clients, ‘Even if you’re building entry-level homes, you need to add at least one or two features from your nicer [models],” Rulof says. “You’ve got to give them something more than a bunch of windows and walls. There has to be something that turns them on.”

One of the more popular turn-ons is the kind of indoor/outdoor living spaces like the one in Summerlin that piqued Godman’s interest, with those larger sliding-glass doors or even roof-top decks. “In the old days, before the crash, the inside and outside of the house were two different projects,” ar-chitect Perlman says. “The [building] architect didn’t know what the land-scape architect was doing, and vice versa. It didn’t matter, because there wasn’t that much of a connect. But to-day, everyone’s trying to get the house extended to the outside.”

Some of these new amenities seemed inevitable—in fact, Perlman, Ramsey and others admit that builders would’ve incorporated them ... eventu-ally. They say the post-recession compe-tition simply accelerated things. “Today, we assume every room has a TV and it’s mounted to the wall,” Perlman says. “Before the crash, we had media niches,

a thing with a freplace on one side and a huge alcove on the other for a projec-tion TV. No more.”

And remember that huge bathtub, once a mainstay of the master bath-room? It’s gone the way of the dinosaur (or the compact disc, depending on your frame of reference). “One thing I’ve found in Pulte, one of my clients, is there isn’t a big tub in the master bed-room anymore,” Rulof says. “Who soaks in tubs anymore? People want a great big, fun shower.”

Another popular 21st-century selling feature: fex spaces, places set aside to use tablets or laptops. “It’s a design change that has been well received,” Ramsay says. “You’re putting in small spaces, like 6 feet by 8 feet or 4 by 8, off the kitchen or the primary living area.

“It’s a spot where people can go and use their laptops to pay their bills, or if they don’t want to watch what their husband is watching on television, they can go into this nook with an iPad and relax without having to go into the bed-room. And [the space is] not that big, so you don’t have to give up a bedroom in order to have it in your home.”

But what about changes to exterior design? Unfortunately for many, even post-recession, stucco and Spanish-style homes with tile roofs are here to stay. Hodgson points to some changes and improvements in the way home exteriors in Las Vegas look, but he’s not exactly effusive about it. “We’ve had a couple of builders—Blue Heron, for ex-ample—jump on the square boxy look,” he says. “And we do have lots of beiges and browns … and cultured stone. I remember in the early ’90s there were only four paint colors. We’ve come a long way from that.”

One theory as to why homebuilders aren’t quick to adopt a more modern approach to design: Modern doesn’t mean homey. And homey is what to-day’s buyers want. “Contemporary-[style design] is coming in, but you’ll never see it as a dominant force, be-cause it’s not as comfortable as the tra-ditional style,” Rulof says. “It is having its play, but mainly in move-up and higher-end homes.”

Another thing that hasn’t changed is the special place home ownership has in the minds of many. It’s the rea-son why some builders have installed a deck on the roof, or why there’s pres-sure—even in less expensive develop-ments—to have a bigger yard or drive-way than similar homes would have had, say, a decade ago.

“There have been some problems [selling] houses with smaller lots,” Ru-lof says. “[Maybe it’s] because they don’t have full driveways so the guys can work on their cars. Or the buyer might say, ‘You know, I want a little bit more of a yard so I can have the guys over for a barbecue, or [have] a hot tub.’

“Maybe you’ll never do any of these things. But when you’re a buyer and you’re young, you have these things in your mind. And when you’re a builder offering homes, you have to have a space for these dreams.” 27

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“I tell my clients, ‘You’ve got to give buyers more than a bunch of windows and walls. There has to be something that turns them on.’”

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EDITOR’S NOTE: In conjunction with our inaugural Real Estate Issue, Vegas Seven is honoring eight local Realtors who are among the leaders in their field. Each Realtor was selected based on a variety of criteria, including longevity in the Las Vegas market (at least 10 years) and sales volume (each ranks in the top 50, according to the Greater Las Vegas Association of Real-tors). We asked the honorees to share their experiences and insight about the Valley’s real estate market, as well as provide tips to potential buyers and sellers.

LAURA HARBISONRealty Executives, 770 Coronado Center Dr., Suite 100, Henderson, 702-777-1234, HarbisonRealEstate.com.

REALTOR SINCE: 1986.

WORKING IN LAS VEGAS

REAL ESTATE SINCE: 1990.

PRIMARY AREAS SERVED: Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas.

I got into real estate because … I felt it was a profession in which a woman could excel without the “glass ceiling” that I was seeing in so many other felds. More than 6,000 successful transactions later, I know I was right.

The most important thing you should

look for in a Realtor … is education. If the agent doesn’t care enough about their career to invest the time to learn more than the minimum required for licensing, that should be a red fag.

The biggest mistake first-time buy-

ers make … is getting too emotional. That can cause [a buyer] to jump too quickly at the wrong house. Or worse, not jump quickly enough at the right house.

In most cases, I don’t recommend … investing in home improvements be-fore putting a home up for sale. The exception would be if the “improve-ment” is needed to bring the home up to a comparable condition to other homes in the neighborhood.

My most memorable sale … was when a buyer once wanted me to ask [the sell-er] for the master bedroom furniture, the kitchen table and the dog—yes, the dog. I thought I would be thrown out on my ear when presenting that of-fer, but the seller agreed. The buyer I represented was tickled, and I learned that everything is truly negotiable.

If the first three rules of real estate are

location, location, location … the fourth is cleanliness. And the ffth is location.

THOMAS J. LOVEThe Tom Love Group, 10801 W. Charleston Blvd., Suite 102, 702-838-5100, TheTomLoveGroup.com.




PRIMARY AREAS SERVED: Valley-wide in the luxury market; guard-gated and golf-course communities.

The biggest misconception … about Realtors is that they are all the same. Trust me, they are all different, and like many other things in life, you get what you pay for. Experience is very important and directly impacts the client’s results.

It is critical for first-time buyers … to get pre-approved for a loan prior to looking at homes. That’s the very frst step.

Before putting your home on the market … have it appraised by a licensed [pro-fessional] to ascertain the fair market value of the home. The appraisal re-moves all the mystery and uncertainty around pricing a home, and justifes the list price to a prospective buyer.

Most home improvements … will not give the seller a signifcant return on investment. Only those improve-ments that increase the net to the seller, add value to the property and make it more appealing to prospec-tive buyers are worth it. A good bro-ker can advise their clients on which improvements make sense.

I’m not concerned at all … about an-other housing bubble, because banks have made it very diffcult for buyers to obtain fnancing. Buyers now ac-tually have skin in the game and are very well qualifed.

KEN LOWMANLuxury Homes of Las Vegas, 7854 W. Sahara Ave., 702-216-4663, LuxuryHomesOfLasVegas.com.



REAL ESTATE SINCE: April 1995.

PRIMARY AREAS SERVED: Luxury homes and guard-gated country-club neighborhoods.

I always say that real estate … is one of lowest-paying easy jobs in the world, but it can be one of the highest-paying hard-working jobs in the world. You have to work hard to make money.

The biggest mistake first-time buyers

make … is buying a home in the wrong location or one that’s not large enough. Those mistakes cost money, because the buyers will have to buy again.

Before putting your home on the market … make sure to follow the three C’s: clean, clear and clutter-free. You have to start de-cluttering the home. Think: What can I take out of this room? What can I do to make my home feel larger, more orderly and more like a model home?

Spending money on home improvements

… is a wise investment before putting a home up for sale. It’s like a car: If you wash, wax and clean it, it sells for a higher price.

I’m not concerned at all … about an-other housing bubble right now. The market has a lot more upside poten-tial. We’re not even close to the peak pricing we saw in 2006-07. Barring unforeseen shock to the economy, there’s no reason why home values would go down.

If the first three rules of real estate are

location, location, location … the fourth is timing.

FRANK NAPOLIThe Napoli Group, 6620 S. Tenaya Way, Suite 120, 702-378-3629, TheNapoliGroup.com.




PRIMARY AREAS SERVED: Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson.

The biggest mistake first-time buy-

ers make … is buying out of emotion without long-term planning. Emo-tion is going to come into play when purchasing a home, but making a smart and educated purchase is most important. Your frst home purchase most likely won’t be your last, so de-cide what your long-term goals are before you purchase and set yourself up properly [for the future].

The most important lesson learned from

the Great Recession … is you should never buy outside of your means. Whether you are buying for a per-sonal residence or investment, you should always examine your abilities to service the property long term, even if you have short-term inten-tions. We were all blindsided by the market crash, and many of us were left holding properties that were un-affordable. You should analyze best- and worst-case scenarios when mak-ing any investment to determine your ability to overcome any situation.

If I weren’t in the real estate business … I’d be a lawyer. I live for the thrill of the deal. I love to write contracts and negotiate on behalf of my clients. The next best thing would be to experi-ence that thrill in a courtroom.

Location is generally the most important

rule of real estate … but I [think] edu-cation should be frst. Before making any investment in the market, edu-cate yourself on all aspects of your purchase—including location.

Eight of the Valley’s top Realtors on common mistakes of first-time buyers, their most memorable sales and the possibility of another housing bubble

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travel to University of California, San Francisco for extensive reconstruc-tive surgery, tentatively slated for July. And while the bulk of his medi-cal bills are covered, that doesn’t mean his day-to-day living expenses have stopped. It’s been a long four months of no work, and Marques doesn’t expect to be back in the game until late in the year—at the earliest. As expected, the Las Vegas nightlife community has rallied; there are fundraising events under way via a dedicated Facebook page, and his family is raising donations using GoFundMe. Marques’ prospects for recovery look good, but the overall fnancial impact of his condition can only be described as daunting.

“Health insurance is an absolute ne-cessity, especially being self-employed. I’ve had personal health insurance for more than 10 years, since graduating college. It was never as expensive as everyone seemed to think, and it’s just been solid peace of mind that if shit happens, I’d be covered,” Marques says. “I have always been very healthy and active, so at times it defnitely

seemed like a waste of money to pay thousands per year and only ever go to the doctor for quick check-ups. None-theless, as I recently learned, having insurance is worth every penny.”

Fellow DJ Mikey Swift, on the other hand, has been down a similar road, but even so remains staunchly anti-insurance. “[I] was misdiagnosed for years with a bad gallbladder. Finally, after eight years, they got it right and I got it removed. [With] no insurance, all the hospital visits and the surgery ate a huge chunk of my savings. I am defnitely anti-doctor, and feel a cata-strophic plan may be all that’s neces-sary, but I still don’t have insurance.”

Locally, Downtown Project’s Turn-table Health (aptly named, for this story) is a membership-based model offering up a fresh option to help the uninsured save money while stay-ing healthy. “For $80 per month, our patients receive unlimited, no-copay, all-you-can-treat access to every-thing our team of board-certifed family medicine doctors, health coaches, social workers and nurses can provide,” founder Dr. Zubin Da-mania says. “This often can help the uninsured avoid expensive ER and urgent care visits; in addition, we pass along wholesale lab discounts and help coordinate care to keep

patients healthy, both physically and fnancially. Being able to email your doctor or call in the middle of the night can often avoid an expensive trip to the emergency room. We have a good number of patients who have no other insurance, and we do our best to take great care of them.”

Of course, with the Patient Protec-tion and Affordable Care Act (Obam-acare), many Americans can qualify for basic coverage for less than $100 per month. For DJs, that’s less than the cost of a phono cartridge (and way less than the latest version of Ableton Live).

Hindsight being 20/20, it’s easy to say “shoulda” when confronted with a life-changing, wallet-emptying disaster. But rather than being reac-tive, the ones so often found behind the turntables at medical fundrais-ers might want to consider what they’ll do if, and when, the tables are turned.

To donate to Marques Lewis’ medical fund, visit GoFundMe.com/RiskOne or Facebook.com/Groups/HelpRiskOne.

NIGH

TLIFE

“At times it definitely seemed like a waste of money ... Nonetheless, as I recently learned

having insurance is worth every penny.”

F R I M A Y 2 9

C A L V I N H A R R I S

S A T M A Y 3 0

K R E W E L L A

S U N M A Y 3 1

C H U C K I E

T U E J U N 0 2

S U L T A N + S H E P A R D

T I C K E T S & V I P R E S E R V A T I O N S | O M N I A N I G H T C L U B . C O M | 7 0 2 . 7 8 5 . 6 2 0 0 |

C H U C K I EM A Y 3 1

PARTIES

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XS NIGHTSWIMEncore

[ UPCOMING ]

May 31 Skrillex spins

June 7 Tommy Trash spins

June 14 Major Lazer spins

DRAI’S GROUP TO TAKE OVER INTERLUDE IN THE CROMWELLThere’s a casino bar in The Cromwell that isn’t the celebrity-mixologist-driven Bound by Salvatore Calabrese. However, Interlude—part gaming bar, partluxe nongaming lounge with open seating—is about to have its moment when Drai’s Group takes over operations of the space.

And that will happen “within the next few weeks,” says a source within Drai’s Group, adding, “We will make some small aesthetic changes.” This will include a change of upholstery, possibly some additional furnishings and a tweak to the lighting scheme. Interlude is just a beat’s drop from the entrance to Drai’s Beach Club & Nightclub, and under Drai’s Group will retain its part-gaming, part-nongaming layout.

The takeover shouldn’t dramatically affect lounge operations, as Interlude is already open till 2 a.m. most nights, and till 4 a.m. on the weekend. “We expect more of our clients will stop by for a cocktail before going up [to the club],” the source says. “The drink program will really concentrate on classic cocktails—not necessarily trying to be a mixology bar, but will have elements of mixology.” While that may sound a little confusing at this early stage, the prospect of having yet another Las Vegas bar investing in the proper execution of the classics is enticing.

Interlude isn’t the only new project on Victor Drai’s horizon, as his team is poised to take over operations of a small indoor/outdoor nightclub and pool at Trump International Hotel & Tower in Vancouver. Although the new venue will bear the name Drai’s, don’t worry about it rivaling the maestro’s rooftop party perch at The Cromwell; Drai’s Beachclub & Nightclub at Trump Vancouver, our source adds, will be “smaller than even Drai’s Afterhours.” An opening date has yet to be set. – Xania Woodman”

See more photos from this gallery at SPYONvegas.com

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GHOSTBARThe Palms

[ UPCOMING ]

May 29 DJ Sev One spins

May 30 DJs Mark Stylz and Exodus spin

June 5 DJ Skribble spins

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MARQUEEThe Cosmopolitan

[ UPCOMING ]

May 29 Benny Benassi spins

May 30 Porter Robinson spins

June 1 Vice spins

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Restaurant reviews, news and Negroni Week pairs the classic cocktail with giving to charity

“I can’t remember a decent Japanese meal I had

in the frst year after I moved to this city other

than the one I had at Nobu.” {PAGE 60}

Table 56 at Eiffel

Tower Restaurant.

Best Seats in the House

The iconic tables VIPs covet

By Al Mancini

FOR MERE MORTALS, JUST SCORING A RESERVATION AT a hot or venerable restaurant can feel like an ac-complishment. But for celebrities and other VIP diners, the real demonstration of importance is securing the right table. Some top restaurants around the Valley have a table (or perhaps two) for which savvy guests lobby. Some are coveted for their view, others for their privacy, and still others for their position in the center of the ac-tion. Some can be reserved, while many may sit empty all night, just in case a favored customer arrives unannounced. Here are some of Las Vegas’ top power tables, but before you pick up the phone, a quick word of advice: Despite what you’ve seen in the movies, your chances of securing one by greasing the maître d’ are practically nonexistent—a fact I embarrassingly learned at Picasso on my frst visit to Las Vegas.

ALIZÉ

The east windows of Alizé offer one of the most comprehensive views of the Strip and Down-town. Four tables are along that window, and the two in the center (Nos. 26 and 42) are the ones everybody wants. These aren’t for people seeking privacy. They’re front-and-center for those who enjoy the spotlight. When I ask about celebri-ties who have dined at one of them, I’m handed a list of 96 people, including Melissa Etheridge, Jamie Foxx, Sting and Kobe Bryant. Neither table can be reserved. If you’re willing to settle for a lesser window table, however, the restaurant will reserve them in advance for early seatings only. In the Palms, 702-951-7000, AlizeLV.com.

EIFFEL TOWER

Tucked into the northwest corner of the Eiffel Tower Restaurant, with glass windows on both sides, sits Table 56. It’s craved for its perfect view of the Bellagio Fountains and the Strip below. But restaurant supervisor Lyle Tolhurst says its real beauty emerges after you’ve been seated a few minutes with your back to the restaurant. “The rest of the room falls away behind you,” he says. “It’s just this romantic little corner that’s beyond intimate.” Table 56 has hosted Bill Clinton, Tony Bennett and Tiësto, and about fve nights a week someone proposes marriage while

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Taste of the Rising SunOur critic gives us two-bite reviews of three new Japanese restaurants

By Al Mancini

I COMMENT FREQUENTLY ABOUT HOW VIBRANT AND diverse Las Vegas’ Japanese dining scene has become in recent years. I can’t remember a decent Japanese meal I had in the frst year after I movedhere other than the one I had at Nobu. Today though, I only have time to eat at a fraction of the interesting new Japanese spots that are opening. Here are my three latest visits:

ITSY BITSY RAMEN AND WHISKEY

If there’s a ground zero for Downtown cool, it has to be the Ogden, so its residents deserve a super-cool restaurant. And Itsy Bitsy delivers. Full disclosure: The joint belongs to the owners of this magazine—but they don’t pay me enough to lie. So believe me when I tell you that I love the layout, the locale, the hip artwork, the staff and most of the snacks I’ve sampled so far. Defnitely try the wonderfully scored kurobuta sausages bursting at the seams with spicy favor, as well as the yummy vegetable pot stickers. And while the sushi rolls made with soy paper don’t have the snap of traditional nori, they’re still pretty darn good. I’ve yet to try the signature dish, ramen. I do know, however, that the noodles, available thick or thin, are a bit untraditional as they’re made with eggs. I’ll report back when I try them in one of three available broths. 150 Las Vegas Blvd. N., 702-405-9393, ItsyBitsyRamen.com.

JAPAÑEIRO

The last time Japañiero’s chef and owner Kevin Chong cooked for me he was behind the teppan grill at Nobu in Caesars Palace, and the meal was outstanding. So I feel bad it’s taken me this long to try his new west-side restaurant. Having fnally had a few nibbles here, I already love the place. Items on the printed menu are simple and ex-tremely inexpensive. Be sure to try the black cod lettuce wraps (a play on a Nobu signature dish) and the Angus gyoza. But the real treats are on the ever-changing specials board. Be forewarned, however: Those can get pricey. I’ve yet to indulge with the hairy crab done three ways for $120, or live abalone for $80. But I enjoyed the much more affordable baby squid in miso sauce. 7315 W. Warm Springs Rd., 702-260-8668, Facebook.com/Japaneiro.

YOJIE JAPANESE FONDUE

There’s nothing I hate more than dumbing things down to make them accessible. Yes, shabu-shabu is the Japanese equivalent of fondue, where you cook your choice of meat by immersing it in a broth. But are Las Vegans so stupid they need it spelled out in the name of the restaurant? I don’t think so. Oh, wait—there is something I hate more than dumbing down a description: totally mislabeling a dish, as these guys do with the “sukiyaki” they offer alongside the shabu-shabu. That’s supposed to be a skillet dish, as opposed the broth-cooked shabu-shabu. But Yojie’s ver-sion is just a sweeter broth to dip your meat in. Despite my frustrations over the labels, I still really like their food. And while I haven’t tried it yet, they offer a chocolate dessert that appears to be a true Swiss fondue. But I’m not betting on it. 9440 W. Sahara Ave., 702-445-7008, Yojie.com.

Japañiero's abalone, fried rice and gyoza.

Hairy crab at Japañiero.

The dining room at Itsy Bitsy Ramen & Whiskey.

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[ ART ]

Surfing the Paintings of Adam CaldwellThe exhibit is called Mindscape for a reason. Viewing Adam

Caldwell’s paintings at Downtown's Brett Wesley Gallery is like

flipping through TV channels—after-images layering under new

images until several are backlogged on your mental clipboard.

The California artist's global jumble contains screen captures

of movie trailers, travel shows, war zones, commercials and

documentaries. The mixture of Western iconography, Hol-

lywood, consumerism and politics brings to mind the art of

James Rosenquist. But Caldwell extends the visual vocabulary

to include Eastern ideas and conflicts.

In “Europa,” the artist studio and the warzone collide. Marble

busts, power cords and clay pots litter the floor. Soldiers—ex-

cerpted from a historical painting—rest in the back corner. A

glamorous woman stares into the distance, while the pained

visage of an old woman questions the viewer. The work refer-

ences the volatile relationship between West and East.

“Archery 1 & 2,” collages the image of Japanese archers

with a painted fragment of the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1976

photo of Joseph Rakes, armed with an American flag, lung-

ing forward menacingly. Like the tension of the drawn bows,

the tension running up and down the historical timeline

reverberates into the present.

A central figure in “Cogito Ergo Sum” blurs the line between

the Catholic Madonna and a Middle Eastern burka while also

invoking surrealist René Magritte. The setting is a cluttered

war-battered hallway, and it corresponds with the complex

task of sorting out an identity. It’s a declaration of existence

followed by self-interrogation—I am. But what am I?

Caldwell works are built up one visual element at a time.

Space and shape supersede

content, which provides an

element of serendipity. In the

process of gradually piecing

together random group-

ings of images, epiphanies

emerge from unexpected

juxtapositions … Just like

when channel surfing.

– Jenessa Kenway

CATCHING THE SUN

Bring a blanket and some snacks to Clark

County Government Center because New

York jazz greats Spyro Gyra are playing

a free concert! The show is part of the

Jazz in the Park concert series, which is

celebrating its 26th year. Seating begins at 5

p.m. May 30, and we suggest arriving early

to get the best view. ClarkCountyNV.gov.

YOUNG AND IN LOVE

See the future of local ballet in the

Academy of Nevada Ballet Theatre’s

production of La Bayadère. Children ages

18 months to 18-years-old will re-create

Marius Petipa’s classic tale about a love

triangle between a temple dancer, a noble

warrior and a High Brahmin in Royal India’s

past. The drama unfolds at UNLV’s Ham

Hall on May 30. NevadaBallet.org.

ROYAL FLUSH

The weather’s getting warmer, so that

means it’s time for Dive In Movies! On

June 1, catch Elvis’ 1964 classic, Viva Las

Vegas at the Cosmopolitan’s Boulevard

Pool. There’s no better way to see the film

about a race car driver’s romance with a

swimming instructor in the Entertainment

Capital of the World than in the center of

the Strip itself. CosmopolitanLasVegas.com.

BOW DOWN

Dick Dale, “King of the Surf Guitar,” hits Hard

Rock Live on June 3. You’ve probably heard

his signature buzzsaw style in “Misirlou,”

which is the opening theme of Quentin

Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. The 78-year-old

surf-rock pioneer fought through diabetes

and cancer, so show some respect when he

launches into the reverb-soaked melody of

“Esperanza.” HardRock.com.

The

HITLIST

TARGETING THIS WEEK'S

MOST-WANTED EVENTS

By Ian Caramanzana

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Viva Las Vegas.

[ ART ]

Uncommon Canvas Combines Painting With Booze I haven’t taken an art class since

fourth grade, and for good reason:

I’m terrible at it, and the teachers

always make you feel like you’re the

worst artist in the world because

you used the wrong shade of blue

while painting the sky.

But other than making me relive

terrible memories, Uncommon Canvas

is great. At Commonwealth’s once-a-

week art gathering, patrons pay $30

for a three-hour paint session with

artist Christina Ambubuyog, as well

as a Jameson Irish Mule. The booze is

worth the price of admission. And even

someone with no art ability like me can

feel like the next Picasso.

It’s a minimalist setup: Tables, bar-

stools and a workstation with a small

canvas and seven paints on a paper

plate. For the next three hours, the

task is to paint an eye.

Ambubuyog’s bio states that ev-

eryone is “a divine and extraordinary

being. All of you, even the parts that

you don’t think so.” She treats artists

of all experience levels the same,

which made the learning environment

as rich as possible.

As we traced the outline of the eye,

I couldn’t resist peeking at my neigh-

bors’ paintings. I was a doodle drawer

compared to everyone else. My eye

was more circle than oval, and I was

using about a gallon more of paint.

When I finally touched the canvas

with paint, it became a mess of epic

proportions. I added colors that

weren’t even supposed to be added.

Each time Ambubuyog passed by,

she’d insist that my painting looked

cool. It felt like a cruel joke.

I hadn’t yet used the biggest

paintbrush, and I thought it would be

a good idea to even out the colors. My

attempt resulted in red paint dripping

down the side of the canvas, making

it look like the eye was crying blood.

“The Bleeding Eye,” as we dubbed

it, had been created, and it looks like

something from the underworld.

My terrible art skills showed again,

but at least the experience was fun. It

was a relaxed environment with great

music and a creative activity. Just

make sure to enjoy the Jameson Irish

Mule and you’ll do fine. Seriously.

– Danny Webster

UNCOMMON CANVAS

6-9 p.m. Sundays,

Commonwealth,

525 E. Fremont St., $30,

702-445-6400.

MINDSCAPE

Through May 30 at

Brett Wesley Gallery,

1025 S. First St.,

Suite 150,

702-433-4433.

Commonwealth hosts an unlikely

artistic experience.

A detail from "Archery Empty Kingdom."

MUSIC

[ OLD LADY IN A MOSH PIT ]

THREE MUST-HEAR PUNK ALBUMS FOR SPRING

By Lissa Townsend Rodgers

Downtown Boys, Full Communism (Don Giovanni)Downtown Boys are a six-piece band out of Rhode Island, who back their politics with a barrage of punk energy and not one but two saxophones. Half of the tracks on their frst full-length, Full Communism, get their point across in less than two minutes, whether decrying racism or supporting the inheritance tax. “Desde Arriba” and “Traders” churn at a fast, frantic pace: Crowds may be too busy pogo-ing and partying to make the message anything but subliminal, but it’s there. Singer Victoria Ruiz shifts from English to Spanish, often in mid-song, and shares vocals with guitarist Joey DeFrancesco—the two met while working to unionize hotel employees. The album closes with two covers: “Poder Elegir” by Los Prisioneros and Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark.” The former turns a diatribe against dictatorship into an angry dance party; the latter adds a taste of “working people living for the weekend” to the original’s pop bounce, which is probably closer to what the Boss meant anyway. ★★★✩✩

Torres, Sprinter (Partisan)There is more than a little hope and despair on Sprinter, the second album from Torres, a.k.a. singer/songwriter/guitarist Mackenzie Scott. The disc’s producer is Rob Ellis, who’s known for his work as a drummer and producer for P.J. Harvey; Scott’s combination of lo-f semi-folk and furious noise and confessional lyrics are reminiscent of Harvey. “Cowboy Guilt” applies a delicate touch, with shimmery guitar and fourishes of primitive electronica. The album’s standout track is “Strange Hellos,” a quiet-loud-louder exercise that opens dole-fully and builds to a maelstrom of howling guitars and malevolent vocals that make “I hope you fnd what you’re looking for” sound less like a wish than a curse. If the rest of the songs on Sprinter don’t quite match up to its seething power, there are moments that do—Scott also has a power-ful way with a lyric, often balancing the religious imagery of her Baptist upbringing with the offhand ordinariness of collecting hotel soap from every city. ★★★✩✩

Girl Band, The Early Years EP (Rough Trade)There is little that’s subdued about the dudes of Ireland’s Girl Band. They’ve already devel-oped a reputation for their chaotic sound and unhinged live shows. That they would also have the swagger to call their frst EP The Early Years comes as no surprise. The disc is a collec-tion of singles from the past year-and-a-half, all of which emphasize the band’s demented noise-rock, which owes something to the stac-cato guitar shredding of Wire, the feedback barrages of Sonic Youth and the schizophren-ic vocal style of the Blood Brothers. “Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage” is a hypnotic rave-up punctuated by blasts of white noise, while “The Cha Cha Cha” is a thrashed-up bit of hardcore that lasts about a minute. But “Lawman” is the killer: The bassline loops, the guitar skitters and screeches, the vocals rise and fall—each instrument appears, swapping riffs bass-to-guitar or singer-to-drums before all four fnd common ground and fnally explode off of a shared fuse. It’s accidental, it’s genius and it makes me eager for Girl Band’s The Later Years. ★★★★✩

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THE CLOSING CREDITS FOR GIL KENAN’S RE-make of the 1982 horror classic Polter-geist feature the band Spoon covering the Cramps’ 1980 punk classic “TV Set.” Spoon is a tasteful, studious yet largely anodyne indie-rock outft that has be-come an NPR staple; the Cramps were a scuzzy, unhinged psychobilly band whose most famous gig took place in an actual mental hospital.

It’s hard to think of a more ftting postscript for this professionally executed yet bloodless flm, itself an act of homage that hews reverently to its source material while missing the essential spirit and vitality that once powered it.

In addition to being one of the most unsettling PG-rated flms ever made, the original Poltergeist touched a par-ticularly sensitive nerve thanks to its grasp on the early Reagan-era zeitgeist. Steeped in the consumer comforts of the upwardly mobile middle class, the flm ingeniously turned its most innocuous status symbols—the brand-name appliances, the cookie-cutter planned communities built on seem-ingly virgin territory, the comforting hum of static coming from TV sets in every room—into nexuses of terror.

Now three decades later, Kenan and writer David Lindsay-Abaire

have made efforts to contemporize the story’s framework, but these new touches never dig anywhere near as deep. Rather than a successful real estate agent, for example, paterfa-milias Eric (Sam Rockwell) has recently been laid off from his job; his wife, Amy (Rosemarie DeWitt), is no longer simply a homemaker but rather an unsuccessful writer who effectively functions as a homemaker.

Faced with fnancial pressures, the two have moved their three children to an idyllic yet permanently overcast suburban community. These kids include bratty teenager Kendra (Saxon Sharbino), cherubic 6-year-old Madi-son (Kennedi Clements) and middle child Griffn (Kyle Catlett), who is af-ficted with a level of anxiety beftting an early Woody Allen character and is the frst to notice strange, ghostly

phenomena in their new abode.Substantially shorter than its

predecessor, the new Poltergeist has hardly even established its charac-ters’ names before the kids are being attacked by demonic clown dolls and reanimated corpses, and Madison, magnetically drawn to a malfunction-ing TV set, is quickly abducted by the house’s malevolent spirits. From here, Kenan mimics the story beats of the original almost exactly, as the family turns frst to a paranormal academic (Jane Adams) and later to a famboyant medium (Jared Harris) to try to rescue their little one.

Less a steadily escalating thriller thana guided tour through a county fair-style haunted house, Poltergeist offers some quality jump scares, and Kenan has a knack for staging solid individual set pieces. But he proves weirdly inca-

pable of modulation or mood setting here, stringing together loud noises and “right behind you!” jolts without much regard for pacing or buildup.His directorial debut, Monster House, actually offered a far more clever take on traditional haunting tropes.

The cast largely acquit themselves well, even when deprived of much opportu-nity to really develop their characters.

Indeed, even when one is inclined to admire the cleverness with which the remake revisits and reincorporates Poltergeist’s themes, it’s hard to pinpoint a single moment where it improves on them, and the aura of inessentiality hangs thick over the proceedings. Some franchises die, but they don’t know they’re gone. And then some franchises just get lost on their way to the reboot.

Poltergeist (PG-13) ★★✩✩✩

SHORT REVIEWS By Tribune Media Services

SPIRITLESSThis Poltergeist remake

captures the ennui of

contemporary suburbia

By Andrew Barker Tribune Media Services

A&E

I’ll See You in My Dreams (PG-13) ★★★✩✩Blythe Danner plays Carol, a retired and

widowed schoolteacher who lives in L.A. Her

pals, portrayed by June Squibb, Rhea Perl-

man and Mary Kay Place, urge her to get back

in the game. Right on cue, the game begins

when a sly, cigar-chomping fellow (played by

Sam Elliott) asks her out. This is one of those

scripts that might have been more interesting

a couple of drafts ago, before the detours

were closed. Yet, when Danner’s Carol

shares scenes with Elliott’s calmly deter-

mined suitor, there’s considerable charm.

Mad Max: Fury Road (R) ★★★✩✩George Miller’s remake stars Tom Hardy

in the old Mel Gibson role of the post-

apocalyptic road warrior. Here the char-

acter’s bacon is saved, over and over, by

Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron). High

above a rock formation sits the Citadel,

where the brutish overlord Immortan Joe

(Hugh Keays-Byrne) rules a society built

on slave labor, water rations and cruelty.

Max and Furiosa flee the Citadel and the

bad men pursue in many loud, street-illegal

chariots. And there you have it. More plot

than the movie actually contains.

Tomorrowland (PG) ★★★✩✩Built for Disneyland in 1955, Tomorrowland

was a gleaming vision of a future. And,

whatever its faults, the new Brad Bird movie

Tomorrowland is never less than on-mes-

sage, a buoyant old-school, Disney-certified

imagineering of hopefulness. George Cloo-

ney is gruff and grizzle, predictably warming

up to a young dreamer (Britt Robertson) of

cheer and vision. Yet—aside from the film’s

goofy last moments, a hilariously odd mis-

step that appears to rework It’s a Small World

as a doomsday cult—there’s nothing cheap

or particularly ironic about Tomorrowland.

Slow West (R) ★★★✩✩This is a Western about a romantic tender-

foot provided safe passage to the frontier

by a grizzled, unsentimental gunman. Young

Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit-McPhee) dared to

love Rose (Caren Pistorius) back in Ireland,

but a misunderstanding forced her and her

father to flee to America and Jay has re-

solved to find her. Rose and her father (Rory

McCann) carry on at their western home-

stead, unaware of the fate that is coming to

them. Building your movie on archetypes

and a time-worn initiation/quest plot means

that there are no real surprises here.

MOVIES

First-world hauntings: Madison (Kennedi Clements) is overpowered by the family TV.

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TUESDAY

JUNE 9

FRIDAY & SATURDAY

JUNE 12 & 13

FRIDAY

AUGUST 21FRIDAY

AUGUST 28SATURDAY

SEPTEMBER 12

SATURDAY

JULY 18FRIDAY

AUGUST 7THURSDAY

AUGUST 13

SUNDAY

SEPTEMBER 6

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FORMER TAO GROUP IN-HOUSE PROMOTION MANAGER Levon Budding was about to embark on a new job and life in Los Angeles on April 25 when a 7.8-magnitude quake, the frst of two devastat-ing temblors, struck Nepal. A humanitarian with experience in Nepal through JRM Founda-tion for Humanity, Budding dropped every-thing and spent nearly two weeks delivering aid to the country’s most affected rural communi-ties. Although the L.A. job fell through, Budding has found a new function as the spokesman for the JRM Foundation and will return to Nepal in July to keep the mission alive.

Where were you when the first quake struck,

and how did that lead you back to Nepal?

I was in Las Vegas that Saturday morning. I got an email about the earthquake from friends at the Little Sisters Fund in Kathmandu. I was horrifed. As the day went on, I felt strongly compelled to go. My friend Dr. Fahim Rahim was scheduled to go to the Everest region as part of the Himalayan Stove Project, but instead he said he would be going to set up medical relief camps and outreach missions to the rural ar-eas. Since I had been on a trip with him just six months before doing the same things, I told him

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Levon Budding The former Las Vegas nightlife manager on the Nepal earthquake

afermath, red tape and how you can help

By Xania Woodman

I was coming along. I bought my plane ticket, rendezvoused with him in Dubai and [trav-eled] on to Kathmandu with the rest of our medical team.

What did you and the team do

once you arrived in Nepal?

We knew we had to get out to the rural areas as soon as we could, so we went to Dhulikhel hospital the next day. We put our trauma surgeons, Drs. Kurt Howard and Matthew Lin, to work in the operating rooms. Drs. Rahim and Ehsun Mirza are both kidney special-ists. Many of the victims end up dying of kidney failure as their internal organs are damaged in the collapsing buildings. We spent fve nights camped in the courtyard at Dhulikhel and then four nights sleeping at an elementary school in Lalitpur. Each day we did outreach in the rural ar-eas, dropping food, medicine and shelters to those in need. And on May 7, we set up a med-ical clinic at the school in Lal-itpur, serving more than 450 patients in a single day with medicine, food, and counsel-ing for sanitation and PTSD.

Who was in charge of

this rescue mission?

Dr. Rahim is the man who helped pull this whole mission together. He is a true hero, transcending cultures with his positive attitude and magnetic personality. He understands the geo-political as well as the cultural situation in the region. He has the insight, the drive and the charisma to get things done on short notice. Governmental organizations and large nongovernmental organizations, such as the Red Cross, are almost completely paralyzed. There is red tape everywhere, and only the smallest of private organiza-tions like Dr. Rahim’s JRM Foundation are able to really make an impact.

And what exactly is the

political situation there?

The biggest hindrance to the humanitarian mission is the [confict] between India and China, with Nepal caught in the middle. The Himalayan mountains are a strategic water source between India and China, with Tibet on the north face and Nepal along the south face. Both India and China have been jockeying for control of the area for decades. Their leaders have promised the Nepalese prime minister a blank check to deal with the earthquake disaster under the

condition that he not accept aid from the other side. This has created a political gridlock, halting all but smaller private humanitarian missions from getting anything done. This is how our team, a group of friends who convened from all over the world, was able to have the biggest effect in disas-ter relief.

What can people in Las Vegas

do to help?

It will help very little to make donations to larger nongov-ernmental organizations with high levels of overhead. Smaller, privately funded nonproft groups such as Childreach, the Little Sisters Fund, JRM Foundation and the Orphan Project have been most effective so far.

Describe the

#MillionDollarChallenge.

We have been driving our fundraising through Crow-drise (Crowdrise.com/Nep-alEarthquakes2015) on social media. Our drive is to raise $1 million, and we have reached [at press time] $179,456. With the support from Senator Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and other members of Congress, the JRM Foundation has issued a challenge to President Obama: If we, the people, raise $1 mil-lion in donations, the U.S. gov-ernment will contribute $100 million to the human cause in Nepal for disaster relief, via our Nepalese nonproft partners to circumvent cor-ruption and bureaucracy. We are working hard to fundraise through all possible avenues to meet this challenge and get President Obama’s attention.

Where were you on May 12 when

the second quake occurred?

I was at home in Los Angeles, working on my computer. I feel very sad about it, but I’m not surprised that there was another big earthquake. It was just a matter of time. The situ-ation continues to change and, unfortunately, it goes from bad to worse. Today, we got news that a U.S. Marine he-licopter and their crew went missing during the second big earthquake. [The crash of the helicopter delivering aid killed six U.S. Marines and two Nepalese service members.] My heart goes out to those ser-vicemen and their families.

What did Budding see in Nepal that brought him to

tears? Read the full interview and see his personal gallery at VegasSeven.com/Nepal.

the real estate issue | vegas seven magazine | may 28-june 3, 2015

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