By Judy Thorburn This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Owner/Editor in Chief/writer - Las Vegas Round The Clock
Owner/Editor in Chief/writer - The Flick Chicks
Director of Communications - Nevada Film Alliance
http://www.theflickchicks.com
The Bellagio hosts 17th Annual Canon Customer Appreciation Reception/Fundraiser for National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
The 17th Annual Canon Customer Appreciation Reception and Celebrity Red Carpet Event to Benefit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) was held January 7, 2016 in the Tower Ballroom at the Bellagio Hotel. The gala event began with a cocktail reception and a silent auction featuring all sorts of valuable items, followed by a gourmet style buffet style dinner where, during a live auction, guests were able to bid on several travel and celebrity chef dinner prizes. Emcee for the event was actor Richard Burgi with entertainment provided by powerhouse singer/musician Frankie Moreno and his band. All proceeds benefitted NCMEC.
John Walsh
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
John W. Arnos, Sr. Board Member and Special Advisor to the President, NCMEC
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Founded by John Walsh, NCMEC is the leading private nonprofit 501 organization in the US working with law enforcement, families, and the professionals who served them on issues related to missing and exploited children. Canon U.S.A. and the National Center has partnered since 1997 to make children safer. They have collaborated on efforts to find missing children and educate the public about the issue.
A significant part of their collaboration is The Canon4Kids program which donates product to help law enforcement disseminate photos and information about missing children, produces PSAs with missing children photos, and educates parents about maintaining updated photos of their children. In the years since its inception, the NCMEC has recovered over 199,000 children, proving that these efforts have had a remarkable impact.
As usual, the event drew a myriad of celebrities, entertainers, actors, and legendary sports figures to show their support for the worthy cause. Among those who walked the red carpet were singer/dancer/actor Adrian Zmed and wife, singer Lyssa Lynne; singer Pia Zidora; magician Murray Sawchuck, his stage assistant April Leopardi Anneberg and master slight of hand card artist Doug “Lefty” Leferovich; magician Tommy Wind; entertainer/TV host Tony Sacca; violinist Lydia Ansel, Zowie Bowie's Chris Phillips; British comedian Lenny Windsor; comedienne Kathleen Dunbar; Reckless in Vegas musician Michael Shapiro; singer Nelson Sardellli; the hunks from Thunder From Down Under; singer Chadwick Johnson; rocker John Payne; actor Chris McDonald; actor Chris Rich, actor Danny Masterson, Michael Bennett, HGTV stars The Property Brothers: Jonathan and Drew Scott and younger brother JD Scott; actor Richard Burgi and wife Liliana, actress Paula Trickey, baseball legends Roger Clemens, olympian Willie Gault; Tommy John; boxing legend Gerry Cooney; TV personality Todd Newton, actor Joe Regalbuto, actor Robert Hays, actor Tom Welling, America's Got Talent former contestants Triple Threat, “Professor of Antiquities” Doc Phineas from History Channel's Pawn Stars, and many more. Also in attendance were elected officials and patrons of NCMEC including Joe Adachi, Canon U.S.A Chairman and CEO, John W. Arnos, Sr. Board Member and Special Advisor to the President, NCMEC; and special guest, John Walsh of “The Hunt with John Walsh,” a weekly investigative/documentary TV series airing on CNN.
April Leopardi Anneberg, Murray Sawchuck, and Douglas 'Lefty' Leferovich
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Brittney Shae Cobb and Chadwick Johnson
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Chris McDonald
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Chris Phillips of Zowie Bowie
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Chris Rich
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Danny Masterson
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Doc Phineas Kastle
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Gerry Cooney
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Jabbawockeez
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Vanessa LeGrand and Jeff Molitz
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Joe Regalbuto
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Property Brothers Jonathan and Drew Scott
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
John Payne
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Kaley Littlefield
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Kathleen Dunbar
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Kurt Bevacqua
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Lenny Windsor
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Lydia Ansel
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Lyssa Lynne and Adrian Zmed
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Michael Bennett
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Michael Shapiro
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Minnie Foxx
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Nat Moore
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Nelson Sardelli
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Paula Trickey
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Pia Zadora and husband Michael Jeffries
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Richard Burgi and wife Liliana
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Robert Hays
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Roger Clemmens (right)
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Absinthe stars The Gazillionaire and Melody Sweets
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Thunder From Down Under
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Tiffani Foote and LJ Harness
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Tommy John
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Tommy and Stacy Wind
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Tom Welling
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Tony Sacca
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
America's Got Talent's Triple Threat
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Olympian Willie Gault
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
This year's Canon Customer Appreciation Reception/fundraiser and the following morning's NCMEC Celebrity Golf Tournament raised money which will directly benefit the organization's mission of finding returning mission children and the prevention of child abduction and exploitation. For more information and how you can help visit http://www.missingkids.com/home
Additional recent and upcoming “happenings” in and around Las Vegas include:
SAHARA WELLNESS, the first all-women-owned medical marijuana dispensary in Nevada, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at exactly 4:20 PM on Saturday, January 9th
at at their location at 420 E. Sahara. Read about the event in this week's edition of Jaqueline Monahan's column “About the Town”.
Sahara Wellness
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Sahara Wellness interior
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
The 15th ANNUAL STORAGE VISIONS CONFERENCE AWARDS (partner program to the 2016 International CES)were presented during the reception at the end of the first day of the show, Tuesday, January 5, at the Luxor Hotel Convention Center. The awards recognized companies advancing the state of the art in storage technologies utilized in consumer electronics, the media and entertainment industries, visionary products for the digital content value chain and digital storage end users.
Visionary Products Category:
* The Consumer Storage award was won by the Samsung 950 Pro 512 GB V-NAND SSD.
* The award for Enabling Consumer Storage Technology award went to Marvell for their 88NV1140/88NV1120 SSD Controller.
* The Enabling Storage Technology award goes to Aspera for their Aspera Files Software as a Service Offering.
* The award for Professional Class Storage went to DataDirect Networks for its WOS 360 version 2.0 Object Storage Software.
* Quantum won the award for Professional Class System for its Xcellis Shared Workflow Storage System.
Visionary End User Awards:
* Montreux Jazz Digital Project Using HGST Active Storage System
* Backblaze Unlimited Cloud Backup and Business Cloud Storage Offering
BRUCE MERRIN'S CELEBRITY SPEAKER, one of the elite bureaus worldwide, recently celebrated its 42 year anniversary. Legendary Jackie Robinson, Brooklyn Dodgers superstar, and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, was the first sports star that Merrin booked. Jackie wore number 42 on his uniform. The company has booked every past president starting with President Reagan for personal appearances.
The master-planned community, SUMMERLIN, home to more than 100,000 residents, celebrated major milestones for in 2015, most notably the 25th anniversary of the commencement of development. The year was highlighted with the opening of The Cliffs, the community’s first new village in nearly a dozen years; the one-year anniversary of Downtown Summerlin – a 106-acre fashion, dining and entertainment destination and the first phase of a planned urban village; the opening of eight neighborhoods by six home builders; and new home sales which exceeded the 600 mark nearing a 40 percent year-over-year increase.
The community earned the #6 spot on the list of best-selling master-planned communities in the country in terms of new home sales, up from #15 in 2014, according to national real estate consultant, RCLCO. Summerlin is the highest ranking Nevada master-planned community and one of only two in Nevada to make the list.
Hip hop artist WIZ KHALIFA launched an exclusive residency TAO Nightclub in Las Vegas as his DJ alter-ego, DJ Daddy Kat, on Friday, January 1 with additional dates at TAO that include Friday, January 8, Saturday, February 6 and Friday, March 18. With a total of eight engagements, future dates and TAO Group venues to be announced at a later time.
The PLAZA HOTEL & CASINO began an extensive, multi-million dollar renovation to its rooftop pool on Jan. 4. The renovations will create a brand new rooftop pool experience at the Plaza with the addition of new cabanas, daybeds, dining areas, bars and greenery. The project will also include resurfacing and maintenance to the iconic downtown Las Vegas property’s 70,000 sq. ft. pool deck.
FANTASY, the award-winning adult revue at Luxor Hotel & Casino, has welcomed multi-talented entertainer SETH GRABEL to its cast Tuesday nights. Grabel’s unique combination of acrobatics, illusions, audience interaction and comedic relief make him one of the stand-out stars on the Las Vegas Strip. Grabel joins the FANTASY cast alongside fan favorite Sean E. Cooper, who will continue his hilarious routine six nights a week.
Seth Grabel
DOWNTOWN SUMMERLIN'S ROCK RINK, Located in Winter Wonderland, near the Pavilion, is pleased to host a FREE private skating session for the blind and visually impaired on Wednesday, January 13 from 2:30 – 4:00 p.m. The private event will boast professional ice skaters, teachers of visually impaired along with orientation and mobility instructors who will all be present for assistance. The event is open to all who are visually impaired along with friends and family. There is no cost to participate.
THE NEON MUSEUM in downtown Las Vegas has partnered with the Las Vegas Astronomical Society to present its third-annual stargazing event “STARS AND STARDUST: SIDEWALK ASTRONOMY IN THE NEON BONEYARD”, Saturday, January 16, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. The evening will begin in the dramatically illuminated Neon Boneyard as the lights are dimmed to afford a clear view of the stars. Participants in the “Stars and Stardust” astronomy event will have the chance to use a variety of professional telescope equipment to observe the night sky. Children will be able to enjoy a self-paced solar system scavenger hunt and make space-themed scratchboard art. The program is part of the Neon Museum’s ongoing effort to provide enriching educational experiences to people of all ages in a culturally important setting. Admission to Stars and Stardust is FREE, but advanced registration for particular time is required; times available include 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.; 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. or 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. Go to www.neonmuseum.org/happenings to register.
VANILLA ICE will throwback at LAX Nightclub at Luxor Hotel and Casino on Thursday, Jan. 21. The GRAMMY-nominated rapper, actor and television host will launch LAX Nightclub's revamped 2016 Throwback Thursday lineup, which will feature iconic artists from the '80s and '90s every other week in 2016.
Las Vegas author JULIA LEE will discuss and sign copies of her new book Our Gang: A Racial History of The Little Rascals, 7:00 PM, Friday, January 22nd at The Writer's Block, 1020 Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas.
Versatile artist MORRIS DAY will join his band, THE TIME, for a one-night-only performance at Sam’s Town Live! on Saturday, Jan. 23. The show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are available starting at $25 plus taxes and convenience fees and can be purchased at any Boyd Gaming Box Office.
Renowned rhythm and blues musician ROBERT CRAY AND HIS BAND will perform at The Orleans Showroom Jan. 23-24. The show begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are available starting from $29.95, plus tax and fees, and can be purchased at any Boyd Gaming Box Office
REMEDY'S AT CONESTOGA hosts the party of the year with their annual HILLBILLY BALL on Saturday, Jan. 23. Billy Bobs and Trailer Park Girls can enjoy live music by Thrillbilly Deluxe. Guests can also enjoy a variety of theme-inspired snacks including beef jerky, Vienna sausages, pork rinds, cheese puffs, spray cheese on crackers and drink specials including Pabst Blue Ribbon beer for $2 a can. All guests are encouraged to grab their overalls, rock their a-shirts, don their trucker hats and embrace their inner redneck in the costume contest. The down-home party begins at 8 p.m. There is no cover for the party, however all guests at Remedy’s must be over 21 valid ID. Remedy’s Hillbilly Ball is at the Conestoga location only at 530 Conestoga Way in Henderson, just off the I-95 at the intersection of Wagon Wheel and Nevada State Drive.
For the first time in North America, the BLANCPAIN OCEAN COMMITMENT EXHIBITION opens at The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Visitors to the exhibition are able to explore and discover the underwater universe and learn about the tangible and meaningful results that have been achieved by the organizations Blancpain supports. The Blancpain Ocean Commitment Exhibition will be located directly in front of the Blancpain Boutique at The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The exhibition will be open to the public from January 26, 2016 until February 8, 2016.
Photo courtesy of The Swatch Group
Photo courtesy of The Swatch Group
Photo courtesy of The Swatch Group
MINUS5 ICE BAR, the company that launched America's first ice bar, is gearing up for the new year with a complete makeover of its flagship location inside The Shoppes at Mandalay Place. Slated to be unveiled early 2016, Las Vegas' original ice bar will offer guests a newly renovated venue with 100% new material and a frosty, winter wonderland that is double its original size.
A new live production titled "TWISTED VEGAS" hosted by French Superstar Alex Goude is set to debut this February at the iconic International Theater inside the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. A show about the show, Twisted Vegas is an all in one, all-you-can-handle, insanely interactive Las Vegas highlight reel for everyone to enjoy featuring aerialists, contortionists, balancing acrobats, impersonators, magic, comedy, singing, and dancing - the best of it all, in one show. Twisted Vegas is set to debut in early February with one show nightly Tuesday – Saturday at 7 p.m. Dark on Monday. Tickets are now available for purchase and start at $45 plus tax and fees.
The 18th ANNUAL PUNK ROCK BOWLING TOURNAMENT AND MUSIC FESTIVAL will take place in downtown Las Vegas near Fremont Street from May 26-30. The event will kick off on Thurs. May 26 with club shows running every night through Mon. May 30. The outdoor festival stage takes place on Sat. May 28 through Mon. May 30 and runs from 3pm -11pm on Sat. and Sun. and 2pm – 10pm on Mon. with club shows taking place after the festival is over in various clubs downtown all within walking distance of the festival and hotels. The festival is all ages, but you must be 21 yrs. of age to attend the club shows.Tickets for the 3 Day Festival Pass is $120; 3 Day VIP Fest Pass: $350.
Celebrity sightings:
Saturday night, January 9...
Quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts Andrew Luck was spotted at LAVO Italian Restaurant with friends.
Former soccer player Davor Suker was spotted dining with friends at Carmine’s in the Forum Shops at Caesars.
Friday, January 8...
DJ Daddy Kat continued his TAO Group residency at TAO Nightclub. The multi-faceted artist fueled up at TAO Asian Bistro with a group of friend before heading upstairs where he took over the DJ booth playing hit after hit.
DJ Daddy Kat
Photo credit: Tony Tran
Thursday night, January 7...
Hip hop artist Juicy J took over TAO Nightclub with a blowout performance. Delighting party-goers, the rapper took to the stage and performed a selection of his top hits before returning to his VIP table where he took in the sounds of DJ Five.
Juicy J
Photo credit: Tony Tran
Also at TAO was NFL star Reggie Bush with his wife Lilit Avagyan Bush.
At a separate VIP table was Detroit Lions' wide receiver Calvin Johnson with friends.
Tuesday, January 5...
Sons of Anarchy stars Charlie Hunnam (Jackson “Jax” Teller) and Chuck Zito (Frankie Diamonds) returned to the D to join co-star Christopher Reed (Filthy Phil) for an exciting night of craps and blackjack.
Charlie Hunnam Christopher Reed and Chuck Zito at the D Las Vegas
Photo courtesy of The D Las Vegas
Monday, January 4...
“Sons of Anarchy” stars Charlie Hunnam (Jackson “Jax” Teller) and Chuck Zito (Frankie Diamonds) were seen dining at Andiamo Italian Steakhouse at the D Las Vegas. The actors joined the D executive Richard Wilk alongside a host of friends.
Charlie Hunnam with Chuck Zito and Exec. Richard Wilk Andiamo Italian Steakhouse
Photo courtesy of The D Las Vegas
Charlie Hunnam with waiter John at Andiamo Las-Vegas
Photo courtesy of The D Las Vegas
Saturday night, January 2...
DJ Khaled delighted party-goers when he took over the DJ booth at TAO Nightclub. Before heading into the club, Khaled fueled up at TAO Asian Bistro.
DJ Khaledan
Photo credit: Tony Tran
Also at TAO Asian Bistro was celebrity blogger and TV personality Perez Hilton with a friend.
Wednesday night, December 30...
Dancing with the Stars pro Mark Ballas was spotted enjoying dinner with friends at TAO Asian Bistro.
Over at LAVO Italian Restaurant, celebrity blogger and TV personality Perez Hilton was seen having dinner with friends.
Monday night, December 28...
Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl was spotted at Marquee Nightclub with his wife and other members of the band. The rockstar took photos with fans and even jumped into the DJ booth with DJ Vice before enjoying the rest of the night at his VIP table.
At TAO Asian Bistro, the pop rock band R5 enjoyed dinner with family and friends.
