Sexiest Las Vegan
(Tie) Sonja, Kerry Simon
Sonja
This woman has sexual stories to share, and we're proud to say she does that right here in the pages of the Weekly. In her much beloved column Wink (yowch, do we hear it when she goes on vacation!), Sonja warms up an entire city with her, um, touching tales of love, loving herself and being wildly disappointed with the opposite sex. She's hot, dirty, and literate—not to mention keenly attuned to the workings of the grown-up heart.
Here's one of our favorite samples of Sonja's fine
That kind of talk about nutrition gets Sonja dozens of letters from similarly minded diners.
Kerry Simon
What's not sexy about beautiful food and the man who makes it? Kerry Simon, chef and owner of the sleek Simon's Kitchen and Bar inside the Hard Rock, puts a fine point on the chef-as-celebrity gig. Formerly chef at Mercer Kitchen in New York and at Prime in the Bellagio, Kerry has made a name for himself in the hearts and hormonal impulses of many a Las Vegan. With his trademark long locks and smooth style, not to mention his occasional harem of admirers and plenty of cat-titude, Simon is a fine example of sex appeal and culinary prowess all rolled up into one big…chicken wrap. A couple of years ago, he was courted by Playgirl—this, at nearly 50 years old.
Athlete
Andre Agassi
A no-brainer. Sure, there's future baseball Hall of Famer Greg Maddux, he of the multiple Cy Young Awards and world championship (with the Atlanta Braves) and Randall Cunningham, the former UNLV footall standout who defined the modern era of the mobile quarterback, and a batch of other playas with tax-shelter addresses here. But no other athlete epitomizes Vegas or, for that matter, has such a symbiotic relationship with Sin City. Consider: His game rose around the same time of Vegas' national reemergence (late '80s), each went AWOL at times in the 90s—occasionally, he fell off the tennis map; Vegas' attempt at Disneyfication tanked—and each is undergoing a renaissance. Agassi's ranked No. 5 in the world and Vegas is the current It City.
Philanthropist
Andre Agassi
The man's a giver's giver, sports' version of Bill Gates, the A-Rod of athletic philanthropy. Agassi has donated millions and lent his sway to cause after cause after... There's education (the Agassi College Preparatory Academy in West Las Vegas), youth sports (Inner City Games) and the social and recreational outlets for the underprivileged (the Andre Agassi Boys & Girls Club).
TV Personality
Kim Capozzo
Channel 3, the glam-channel for TV news, always makes your favorite list. Is it their breaking stories? Their in-depth reporting? Their hot reporters and anchors? Last year, Kendall Tenney made the list. In years past, it's been Nina Radetich. This year, you've selected KVBC's Kim Capozzo, who's not only a reporter, she's also an anchor. Capozzo sits desk weekend evenings, and other times she's running the mean streets of Las Vegas, sniffing down sources and shaking things up. And doing so in a fancy fur-lined weather coat, on the station where news comes first.
Entertainer
Mac King
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands. If you're not happy, you will be by the end of Mac King's hilarious comedy magic show at Harrah's. The sleight-of-hand artist's laid-back manner makes it look easy at this twice-daily show, as he makes cards fly from person to pocket, goldfish appear out of the air and even turns himself invisible. 1 p.m., 3 p.m. Tues.-Sat., 800-392-9002, ext. 5222.
Chef
Wolfgang Puck
What can we say? Since coming here from Austria more than 25 years ago, the cherubic, 54-year-old Puck, probably the second-most famous Austrian in the country, has turned American dining habits on their ear, giving us designer pizzas, Asian fusion and several other innovations that have quickly woven themselves into our foodconsciousness. (Five'll get ya 10 you've got a can or two of his soup in the cupboard.) Puck still operates four Vegas restaurants—Spago Las Vegas, Lupo, Postrio and Chinois—and he is about to open a completely redone Wolfgang Puck Café at MGM Grand.
Local Hero
Oscar Goodman
Goodman charms the votes off of the city's residents time and time again. Maybe it's his man-of-the-people persona—from his frequent coffee-with-the-community affairs to his roadside radio contest stunts to his fondness for tossing back a few Bombay-endorsed martinis all around town, this is a mayor who's not afraid to get down and dirty with the locals. And when the city comes under fire from, say, the United States Department of Energy or Vanity Fair magazine, Goodman stands up and takes aim. Here's to the man who frequently uses his chutzpah in the city's best interest.
Local Villain
The Amazing Johnathan
In an ideal world, this man would not be allowed near sharp instruments or working microphones. Happily, this is not an ideal world. The fact that the nutburger comic/magician self-crowned The Amazing Johnathan—a.k.a., the "Freddy Krueger of Comedy" who haunts Downtown six nights a week at the Golden Nugget—uses both to inflict blood-curdling laughter during fake-limb-severing sight gags uncapping mega-gushers of mock gore garnished with sick, insensitive, outrageous jokes guaranteed to offend every race, creed, color and gender is what makes his shtick so tastelessly, disgustingly, stomach-churningly, but entertainingly villainous. A sampler of his evil:
• "A pedophile is taking a 6-year-old into the woods at night. She starts to cry, 'I'm scared!' 'How do you think I feel?' the pedophile replied. 'I have to walk out of these woods alone.'"
• "Three women were in the waiting room of a gynecologist and each of them was knitting a sweater for their baby-to-be. The first one stopped and took a pill. 'What was that?' the others asked her. 'Oh, it was Vitamin C—I want my baby to be healthy.' A few minutes later, another woman took a pill. 'What was that?' the others asked. 'Oh, it was iron—I want my baby to be big and strong.' They continued knitting. Finally, the third woman took a pill. 'What was that?' the others asked her. 'It was thalidomide,' she said. 'I just can't get the arms right on this sweater.'"
• "What's 18 inches long and makes women scream? Crib death."
With a thump of our bloody stump, we rest your case.
Biggest Ego
Oscar Goodman
You could park a Hummer in that ego. You could build a slipshod subdivision on it. Steve Wynn and his own not-small-sense-of-self could curl up and take a nap inside Oscar's ego. This is a man who can't get enough of himself, and—what luck—he's in the perfect job in the perfect city for the constant inflation of self. Someday, there will be a B movie called The Mayor's Plus-Sized Ego Takes Over Vegas! or maybe an investigative documentary titled What Is That Giant Thing At City Hall? It's bigger than the Fashion Show's Cloud, it's taller than the Stratosphere, it's able to leap sharp criticism in a single bound. It's a belly-swollen-over the belt amount of self-fondness, a behemoth self-tribute … it's Oscar's ego!
Radio Personality
Howard Stern
All you Stern fans are counting your longhaired, big-nosed blessings that our radio waves at KXTE-FM 107.5 are still graced with the Shock Jock. Thanks to the FCC nazis, not all cities have such luck. But you still love him, you still hate him, you still love to hate him. We won't heckle you for picking a guy who broadcasts out of New York for the best radio personality. At least he stops by Vegas every so often.