A Springfield, Illinois, man claims to have a buffalo barbecue sandwich partially eaten by then-Vice President Richard Nixon. The little nub of bread and meat has landed Steve Jenne on the Tonight Show, which got us at the Weekly thinking (always a dubious proposition, at best), what half-eaten snacks from Vegas folks might garner us our 15 minutes?
A nibbled-upon, gin-drowned olive from Mayor Oscar Goodman? The rejected jail-cell bologna of former County Commissioner Mary Kincaid-Chauncey? The lone crumb left from Elton John's box of Krispy Kremes? An entire plate of untouched (American) food left by Celine? Oh, we're catty. But with residents like this potentially leaving scraps, we want our 15 minutes, Jay!
Pacino in Vegas! Can we get a Hoo-Ahh! How About an Att-i-CA! Att-i-CA! And Don't Forget to Say Allo to His Little Friend! ...
The newest actor added to the star-spangled cast of the upcoming, Vegas-based sequel Ocean's 13—with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Ellen Barkin already onboard—is Barkin's one-time Sea of Love co-star Al Pacino. The Emmy- and Oscar-winning legend has signed on to play Willie Banks, owner of a high-profile Vegas casino/hotel, in the film that begins shooting July 21 here and in LA.
Boozy Blues
Who would have ever thunk it—that more people would die per year on account of complications stemming from alcohol in Las Vegas and Reno than anywhere else in the nation? What with the nation's highest amount of alcohol we Nevadans consume each year—3.67 gallons, or more than a dozen bottles of Jack Daniels, per person, according to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism—who in the world could have ever predicted this:
According to a newly-published reference book, The Data Almanac, which amalgamates and analyzes printed facts from other various almanacs, 20. 45 out of every 100,000 people in the Reno metropolitan area succumb to booze's mortal blow in one way or another. For Las Vegans, it's 15.52.
Inconceivable.
One-Minute Drunk
And yet, there we were at UNLVino and Auss-Some and Then-Some, wonderful events, running over with good wine, education and incorruptible motive. The real treasure was the first third—Bubble-Licious, a sexy event at the Hard Rock Hotel's tropical pool, where beautiful people gather to give in to the irresistible temptation of champagne and sparkling wines—for everyone knows it is the bubbles that conjure the good times faster than anything.
With more than 100 types of the bubbly distributed over stands set up in a circle around the pool, the 500-plus attendees soon grew dizzy with delight on Thursday, May 4, and one of the co-creators of the UNLVino tradition, Jerry Vallen, in whose name the proceeds of the event benefited a visiting professorship at UNLV, watched it all with the sentimental eyes of a proud grandpa. And in a moment of sheer lucidity, while UNLV's Andy Feinstein, coordinator of the event, spoke of the many students, sparkling wines and happy people at the event, Jerry cut in and spoke the truth:
"Is there any place in the world better to be?" Absolutely not.
Return of the Gangsta?
Though synonymous with the treacherous Crips gang that roams it, Donna Street has experienced a drop in crime in recent years, thanks to stricter police enforcement, some infusion of civic services and the wholesale lockup of thugs. But a recent murder and allegations that a group beat an MGM Grand worker—and was implicated in other attacks around the Valley during the weekend of April 22—has some wondering if Donna Street is returning to its violent form. Timothy Bedwell, public information officer for the North Las Vegas Police Department, doesn't think so.
"This is not the kind of violence we're used to seeing in the area, the drug crimes and such," Bedwell says of the attacks. "These people [in the April 30 murder] knew each other. This was not a planned murder or a drug thing."
Alma Estrada, 40, is being held in the North Las Vegas Detention Center on the charge of murder with a deadly weapon in the stabbing death of a 38-year-old man. Cops allege that Estrada stabled the victim after an altercation spilled out of an apartment at 2525 Donna Street and into the parking lot. Nine people have been arrested in the MGM Grand attacks.
Says Bedwell of the Donna Street-related violence: "I tend to think that these things aren't indicative of a return to the types of crimes the area was known for."
Urban Slang Phrase of the Week
Throwed (Throwed off; Get Throwed)
Means: Drunk, dazed, confused, crazy.
Etymology: Who knows.
Usage: (Multiple) That Hennessey got me throwed. This girl got me throwed, I don't know what to do.
Don't mess with that dude, he's throwed off.