City Cast Las Vegas
🏁 Is F1 playing hard and fast with Strip venues?
July 25, 2023
Good morning! Here’s a quote from a UNLV scientist that didn’t fit into the segment below about black widows: “It would alarm most people how many tiny spiders are in your house that you don’t see. There are hundreds, maybe thousands.” Not to worry, though. “They are eating pest insects you don’t want.”
Nice to know. Still: *shudder!*
What's CITY Talking About?
🏁 Fast and, Possibly, Furious
According to a New York Post story quoting anonymous sources, F1 officials are reportedly telling Strip-adjacent venues that if they don’t cough up hefty licensing fees, they might find their views of the racecourse obscured by grandstands, light rigging, and other objects. A source says that race officials might even aim big lights at the windows of nonpaying venues. [New York Post]
🌳 Money Grows With Trees
As seasoned City Cast Las Vegas podcast listeners know, (🎧) trees help mitigate urban heat islands. Now, the Southern Nevada Water District will pay residents to plant more trees — $100 per approved planting — even as we all continue to rip out our grass. [Review-Journal]
🐕 Time Was, Disney Would’ve Turned This Into a Movie
A Chihuahua that went missing from a local yard on July 3 has turned up weeks later outside of a Ross store — in El Cajon, Calif. The dog’s name? Ryder. [KLAS]
📹 He’s a Viral Magic Man
Rick Lax has a wildly varied resume — magician, nonpracticing lawyer, author … and the impresario of a successful company of viral content-makers, which he recently sold. Has he cracked the secret of social-media virality? He tells his story to co-host Vogue Robinson. Note: I was Rick’s editor at the Las Vegas Weekly a couple lifetimes ago. [City Cast Las Vegas 🎧]
What To Do
🎹 ‘Vegas Is for Songwriters’ | Wednesday | 9 p.m.
A showcase featuring local songwriters Robert Stokes, Brock Fabrielle, AJ Wyatt, and Dave Cavallo. [The Griffin, downtown; no cover]
🎤 ‘An Evening With the Phantom’ | Thursday | 7 p.m.
Broadway and Metropolitan Opera singers perform the works of Andrew Lloyd Webber, with a special emphasis on “Phantom of the Opera.” [Clark County Library; free]
🚨 ‘DEA Agents and Drug Lords’ | Thursday | 7 p.m.
Current and former DEA agents “share stories of undercover intrigue and dangerous operations” from the agency’s 50-year history. [Mob Museum, downtown; free with museum admission]
Today on City Cast
📹 The Vegas Magic Behind Viral Videos
Rick Lax's formula for making viral videos — from deep-frying a whole watermelon to a pilot proposing mid-flight — have reportedly amassed billions of views. His model was so successful that last month he sold his company. Rick tells co-host Vogue Robinson how Las Vegas helped his company grow during the pandemic, and the secret to making millions from viral videos.
That’s it for today. Give my regard to your hundreds of house spiders! See you tomorrow.
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