KARMA IS NO CHAMELEON

 

Before TheVegasEye.com even was a thought, I founded Food & Beverage Magazine. In the very early stages I attended UNLV’s UNLVINO which was sponsored by Southern Wine & Spirits here in Las Vegas. I was lucky enough to meet the founder of the company who was generally excited about a young entrepreneur coming to Vegas with a great vision. He too was an entrepreneur and risk taker. He offered me great help and committed to being my very first advertiser. I was to meet him at his office to finalize the details.

 

There were a number of gentleman from Southern Wine and Spirits in the conference room with me. One executive nicer than the next. Then came a man waiving my media kit in hand stating, ”We don’t need this ##@*ing magazine in this town.” He continued ranting all the way out of the room. This man had no sense of entrepreneur or risk taking. The fact that I was trying to build something wonderful not to mention having a child to support.

 

The man was executive marketing director Rino Armeni. Armeni has since left Southern Wine & Spirits. He has opened Pips Cucina & Wine Bar at Aliante Station Casino. Should we wish him good luck or tell him that the city doesn’t need another ####ing Italian restaurant? FYI, years later we did receive one ad from Southern Wine & Spirits. I’m still hoping to get the other 19 I was promised that day at UNLVino. Oh, and Rino remember, Karma is a bitch!

 

 

DAVID & GOLIATH

 

This town is starting to get the enema it needs to clean out the crap. Unfortunately, the brilliant higher ups felt that employee cuts could solve the financial problems. The real reason may be that “someone” has been making poor decisions. After the employee cuts don’t work to save a financially sinking ship then there is only one place to point your fingers. That’s right, at the upper management level that has been hiding behind the front line defense of loyal employees. Given the breaking news a few weeks ago that MGM’s beloved supreme master, philanthropist, God fearing CEO Terry Lanni shamefully either lied about holding a Masters degree or never corrected the over-exaggeration of his education, allowing the world to see the inner working of the Vegas spin machine. How many people were rejected for employment at an MGM /Mirage or at Lanni’s previous post Caesar’s Entertainment because they did not have the appropriate degree credentials? Are these people able to come back now and be hired on an even plane? How many other executives are living with this lie? What would the executives or management do if someone of lower rank was discovered to have lied on a resume? Lanni realized this because, in good faith, he declined his seat on the board and stepped down from other boards.

 

When we wrote our original story on the topic of Lanni’s exaggerated education, MGM/Mirage official response was to me was to tell me that; I continue to attack their

executives and furthermore, Lanni’s decision to retire had nothing to do with this fraudulent claim of holding the masters degree. Luckily, the same statement was given to the world press and the world laughed at this cheap attempt of a cover up. TheVegasEye.com has certainly never attacked any MGM/Mirage executive. We have simply pointed out our opinion on a few issues of integrity, ethics and over-looking. The good thing is that, according to the actions of their PR and Marketing departments they see no value in TheVegasEye.com or our overwhelming amount of readers. They don’t want you to know about The Lion King coming into Mandalay Bay, puppet master Terry Fator, BLT Burger or the new volcano at The Mirage, the Pink Taco knockoff TnT at the Luxor or anything that they would normally use the free press to disseminate the information. This is directly from a multiple of sources.  Your guess on where they worked and in what department.

 

Local newspapers covered the Lanni story just as we did. Nevertheless, the real joke in Vegas is that certain other local journalists and bloggers never mentioned the situation. How is this possible? Is it out of thier line of sight? How could they ignore the fact that one of the most powerful men in Vegas left his post in scandal? Is the fear losing free meals and getting backstage at the Jonas brothers that overwhelming? Obviously it is.

 

TAO / LAVO

 

Saturday evening was a star-studded night at both LAVO (The Palazzo) and TAO (The Venetian) as celebs in town for the De La Hoya/Pacquiao bout chose these two hot venues for post fight parties.

 

Heading first to LAVO, Eva Longoria, Marc Anthony and Russell Crowe took a dance floor table and showed off their moves to the sounds of DJ Five. Also there for a

 

 

second night in a row was former NBA star Charles Barkley,  who sent a magnum of champagne over to the group’s table.  After enjoying LAVO for a few hours Longoria and friends decided to head to TAO via the LAVO/TAO custom Escalade golf cart.  They were seen cheering their driver on to go faster as they made their way across the casino floor. Once there, R&B superstar Usher joined their table for the rest of the evening.

 

 

 

Also dining at LAVO was Grammy nominee singer and songwriter Keyshia Cole, enjoying some of the menu favorites before heading up to the nightclub. Also dining at LAVO regular, poker player Daniel Negreanu and cohorts from the Real Deal.

 

 

 

---