In 2022 I read stories about an incredible entertainer who had accomplished more in his life than I will accomplish in 10 lifetimes. I read about Joe Chavira's incredible accomplishments via Vegas 411, a website that provides a wide array of Vegas news and information, and doesn't get the recognition it deserves. Sure, it has some of the more predictable things you'd find on a website vying for Vegas tourists, but it has a lot of unique information and interesting stories you won't get elsewhere. It's not a tourist publication, and therefore it allows writers like my friend Sam Novak to write ..read more

As a kid, I loved the NBC show "Unsolved Mysteries."  If featured great stories that often left you with plenty of questions and an opportunity to draw your own conclusions about what happened, and how.  I still love a good mystery, and there's an intriguing one that floated through Vegas this past winter. It's a story didn't gain a lot of media attention and scrutiny at the time, and will likely be lost in the annals of Vegas history. But damn, it's a spectacular tale that left me with plenty of questions I cannot answer. Where's Robert Stack when I need him? Last November I was int ..read more

There were a few things I've read/watched the past few weeks that have stuck with me. I won't say all of it is stuff you can't overlook, but it was memorable for me for one reason or another.  I'll start with a detailed synopsis of “Awakening,” a stage show at Wynn. It comes from Sam Novak at Vegas 411, who consumes a wide array of live entertainment, and was fond of the previous Wynn extravaganza, “Le Rêve – The Dream.” I saw Le Rêve five or six years ago, and it was an outstanding spectacle. I get that few things last forever, and stage entertainment is more difficult than ever, bu ..read more

I didn't spend a lot of time reading a lot of fascinating Vegas stories this past week. There are a couple of things I have wanted to check out, but never got to them.  One thing that stood out was this article I stumbled upon via Yahoo. This article isn't really stunning, but it speaks to a common phenomena. People who work in fancy, expensive tourist destinations may have a hard time living where they work. Not exactly shocking, I know.  It's easy to work in the Beverly Hills service industry and commute to and from your job, although I have it on good authority it's not exactly ch ..read more

Lots of good stuff out there this week in the world of Vegas reporting and conversation, and I found a few things that have stuck with me.  Let's start with the Jeff Does Vegas podcast interview with Chris Hansen.  Hansen is not quite on par with Tom Brokaw, but his name is well known. During his years at NBC, he was part of several undercover investigations dubbed "To Catch a Predator." If you don't know: Adults seeking minors for sexual liaisons are busted in undercover law enforcement stings, which are recorded for broadcast to the masses. There are clips from these stings all ove ..read more

I don't read any news source exhaustively, and I don't have time to listen to every episode of every podcast. Neither do you.  I'm not a news aggregator, nor will I be, but I thought it might be worth sharing things I have consumed, and enjoyed, on an occasional basis.  The Jeff Does Vegas podcast shared this article in late November, and it provided a great inside look at the world of organized busking. (I like to call those folks tipsters. Take your pick.) Nevada Independent article I have always wondered why folks who invest in a decent costume, as well as those who don't bother ..read more

Halloween 2021 was not what I expected.  It was my seventh #VegasHalloween in 11 years, and my plan, typically, is to spend the evening downtown.  In 2019 my life partner really wanted to see Lady Gaga on Halloween Night. She didn't want to pay $400 per ticket, and that was lowest priced ticket days before the show, if you were shopping the online ticket resale sites.  Fearing a major overhaul was in the works at the dirty circus, we stopped at Circus Circus the day before  Halloween, in the middle of the afternoon. I hadn't seen the inside of that joint in years, and wante ..read more

Halloween, a bittersweet day in my world.  As a child, Halloween was always an exciting time. Yes, there's a historic, religious origin that gave way to the commercial silliness of today. Be it the promise of candy, the creepiness of the afterlife that dwells in the hallways of haunted attractions across the United States or the convenient excuse for adults to showcase their creativity and be anything other than who they are, Halloween is fun for all ages. If you're into any of those sorts of things.  I can't explain my attraction to horror, the undead or the creepiness that lurks do ..read more

My first full day in Las Vegas qualifies as atypical in several ways.  Having a rental vehicle, I have easy access to places many tourists may never go.  Having fallen asleep before midnight on Friday, I must have gotten a full eight hours of sleep. I set my alarm for sometime after 7 a.m., and didn't jump out of bed at the sound of the first, second or third alarm. Eventually I rolled out of bed and began getting ready for the day ahead. But my first destination of the day was sidetracked by breakfast.  My life partner texted me. She and her sisters were coming to the Plaza for ..read more

I am old and lazy, so I don't write as often, or as frequently as I would like, about my trips to Las Vegas. but I will chronicle a lot of details from my trip during the next few days.  In 2011 I spent my first Halloween in Las Vegas. That was a solo trip. In 2021 I spent my 7th Halloween in Vegas. It's that much fun.  This year's trip wasn't necessarily going to happen. My life partner and her sisters were traveling together to Vegas for their cousin's wedding. I was not obligated to go. I did not book a trip with them. The two sisters are married, with two children. Their families ..read more