Charitable outpouring shows Vegas’ spirit
TKats! Bureau at this writing is the South Point sports book, and it’s loud. Even amid the MLB playoffs, NHL openers, “Thursday Night Football” and pony races, the charitable spirit of Las Vegas is inescapable.
An example: South Point General Manager Ryan Growney stopped by after chatting with casino owner Michael Gaughan. The longtime Vegas hotelier, who is not so hip to social media (he barely uses his flip phone), asked Growney about the #Vegasstrong hashtag being used to show support for the city.
“I want that logo,” Gaughan told Growney, asking that it be painted on the No. 62 Chevy Camaro driven by Gaughan’s racing son, Brendan Gaughan ,INTHENASCAR Xfinity Series. So look for the suddenly universal #Vegasstrong message spinning around Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday in the Drive for the Cure 300.
The elder Gaughan has also made special accommodations for families of victims of Sunday’s Route 91 shootings, and all ticket sales for Frankie Moreno’s shows at South Point Showroom this week and next will be donated to relief efforts.
More from the scene:
The return of A.J.
Sunday’s tragedy and its aftermath have overshadowed The Amazing Johnathan’s stunning return to the Las Vegas stage. A local headliner for 14 years, most notably at Golden Nugget in the 2000s, A.J. was diagnosed with a degenerative heart condition in 2013. Doctors told the veteran comic magician he would never recover.
In October 2014, Johnathan told an audience at Andy Walmsley’s “Entspeaks” celebrity speakers series at Inspire Theatre that he had a year and a half to live, and would be leaving the stage for good. His final performance in Las Vegas was at the Wonderground magic showcase at The Olive restaurant last October.
This same entertainer headlines at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Rocks Lounge at Red Rock Resort.
“I don’t even know what to say about it anymore,” Johnathan said in an interview a couple weeks ago (he has since declined to discuss Sunday’s tragedy). “It’s kind of embarrassing, actually. I don’t know what to tell people. I try not to touch on the subject. Maybe it’ll fade away.”
A.J. has been buoyed by performing and his heart rate improved to normal for a time, though it has recently declined once more. Johnathan wants to be put on “the list” for a heart transplant, but must first mitigate his diabetes to qualify. “There’s nothing else they can do for me but the transplant,” he says. “I’m already taking 18 pills a day. I’m dizzy all the time. It sucks, but I’m still here.”
Johnathan has spent much of this year on a national tour, playing primarily improv comedy clubs on select weekends, about once a month, as stamina merits.
The difference in A.J.’S act today and when he was at his peak more than a decade ago is that he performs while seated, and takes breaks as his wife and current performing partner, Anastasia Synn, performs in 7- or 8-minute segments.
The 59-year-old showman says the laughs during his performances are as strong as ever, but he’s been received differently offstage than he was early in his career.
“People come up crying, and they say I’m inspirational,” he says. “I’m like, ‘Really.’ I never, ever thought anyone would say that to me. But they are so happy to see me still alive.”
A time of knead
Since Monday, Evel Pie managing partner Branden Powers has been a veritable pizza-delivery factory. His business on Fremont East has been sending pizzas to first responders and victims’ families all over the valley.
“We’re a down-and-dirty, punk-rock place that never turns away someone who needs help,” said Powers, who also runs Golden Tiki (where dreams come true). “We’ve probably delivered 500 pizzas, total, and truckload upon truckload of care products to families.”
On Monday, Powers welcomed Kendra Wilkinson of “Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man” at Paris Las Vegas to Evel Pie’s pizza-making effort. “She just wanted to help out and showed up and dug in.” And representatives of Paris Hilton have also offered her assistance. She’s hitting town Sunday.
“No Gucci glasses, just a T-shirt and jeans,” Powers says of Hilton’s expected attire. “All rock ‘n’ roll.”
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @Johnnykats1 on Instagram. As of 9 p.m. Thursday:
1. Las Vegas Strip shooter targeted aviation fuel tanks, source says
Las Vegas Strip mass murderer Stephen Paddock used his Mandalay Bay hotel room to spray massive aviation fuel tanks with bullets Sunday night, a knowledgeable source told the Las Vegas Review-journal.
2. Explosive possessed by Stephen Paddock may have been used in NYC bombing
An explosive compound known as Tannerite was found in Las Vegas mass shooter Stephen Paddock’s car and home is believed to have previously been used in an alleged terrorist bombing in New York City.
3. Escape from Las Vegas Strip shooting — RAW
About 10 p.m. Sunday, Raymond Page heard the first gunshots. The Henderson man grabbed his phone, turned it on and started recording.
4. Paddock’s game of choice, video poker, allowed him to blend in
Stephen Paddock’s casino game of choice — video poker — was a perfect means to win money in a way that he could get complimentary rooms, like the Mandalay
Bay suite where he died Sunday night, without raising suspicion.
5. Drug given to Paddock calms some, provokes others, experts say
Diazepam, the anti-anxiety medicine prescribed for Las Vegas gunman less than four months before the mass shooting, has a deserved reputation as a Jekyll-andhyde drug, calming some and causing others to become more aggressive. As of 9 p.m. Thursday:
1. RAW VIDEO: Escape from Las Vegas shooting
Raymond Page, a Clark County employee working near the Route 91 Harvest festival, captured 10 minutes of video documenting Sunday’s deadly shooting near Mandalay Bay.
2. Photos leaked online were from hotel room of Las Vegas shooter
During a press briefing, Las Vegas police confirmed that photos leaked online were from the Mandalay Bay hotel room of the Las Vegas shooter.
3. Andre Agassi is voice for Las Vegas ad titled ‘Vegas Strong’
The newest television advertisement for Las Vegas isn’t anything like what people are used to seeing from the Entertainment Capital of the World.