Water Cooler Than Yours

Some very exciting news hit Las Vegas this past week with the announcement of a much anticipated music festival to grace our valley. In short, LIB, which stands Life Is Beautiful, will take over downtown Las Vegas in the fall of 2013, downtown has already been making waves over the past year and this is a big cherry to top it all off.

The former entertainment director for the Cosmopolitan, now head of Vegas-based Aurelian Marketing Group, will partner with Another Planet (one of the promoters behind San Francisco’s Outside Lands and Treasure Island festivals) and Maktub Marketing (the group responsible for running Downtown’s First Friday monthly fest) to produce the new Life Is Beautiful festival.

The 2-day festival will utilize lots of unique spaces downtown, not just your typical big stage performances, but also throw in some smaller more intimate shows and showcase some of our favorite local spots. It looks as if they are giving back to the locals with this by making the ticket prices affordable to see arena size acts we have been craving to bring to our city.

One aspect that us “Vegas Foodies” can get excited about is the culinary aspect they are bringing to the table. It won't be your typical festival cheeseburgers, funnel cakes and pizza. Instead, tops chefs and culinary thought leaders will be showcased from around the country guaranteeing to satisfy our taste buds. If you aren’t coming for the music, you’ll be just as happy coming for the food.

To stay updated on the line ups and more exciting news about Life Is Beautiful, check out their website lifeisbeautifulfestival.com or like them on Facebook.

Foot Locker commercials have recently stepped-up to provide hilarious, and sometimes random, thirty second spots. Now they’ve taken their typical slice-of-life template and twisted it into a series of surreal and entertaining moments, including one right here in Las Vegas.
 
Before Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Kevin Love headed to London to win Olympic gold for USA’s Men’s Basketball team, they were joined by injured (and would have been Olympic teammate) Chris Bosh at Palms Pool & Bungalows. They may not have been in typical swimwear or wanted to get wet, but as you’ll see from this Foot Locker commercial, they still enjoyed their time at Palms Casino Resort. Pinky Up!

Are you an avid golfer? I don’t golf. The closest I get is Putt-Putt. I do, however, like to be on a golf course as long as I am the one behind the wheel of a mini-sized but mega-fun golf cart. Of course, I don’t follow the proper “etiquette”... I feel these are suggestions rather than rules. I also will not confirm nor deny that I’ve pulled an “Austin Powers” while trying to make a U-turn.



Anyway, I’ve always had this strange, deep-rooted feeling that I could jump over one. Blame it on my mom. She always said I was the best looking, funniest, most athletic, etc., but I have now given up on this thought. If you’ve had the same feeling, here’s a video of our hero... kind of. Click on the image below to check it out. Maybe now you’ll stick to the back nine instead of your back pocket. FOOOUR!

Pinky Up!

Enjoy these before and after pics of me and some of my fellow 9ers in honor of #ThrowbackThursday!

Then


Now

Summer playlist alert! DJ, producer, and remixer Zen Freeman just made his June 23rd mix from his live performance at Rain Nightclub, available for everyone.
 
Perfect for a Hump Day pick-me-up, blast this today while working and it will put you in a better mood immediately (I’m talking from experience here). With a little bit of everything, this playlist features disco, pop songs, electronic and even some ’80s. Joyriders Vs. Eurythmics "Sweet F**king Dreams" just made my office into a dance floor, pens into glow sticks, post-its are now my confetti and I’m sipping coffee like it’s champagne!
 
Listen here: http://soundcloud.com/zenfreeman/zen-freeman-live-in-las-vegas

Pinky up!


 

Today is a dangerous day around our parts. Payday and National Tequila Day!

Not to be confused with National Margarita day… National Tequila Day isn’t for sipping on some girlie, over-sized glass the color of my favorite blush or flower… today is about the classic yet ever-popular SHOT (please stop singing LMFAO).

I love this day because no awesome story ever started with, “There I was sipping on my water when…”. This Mexican national treasure has brought me many memorable (from what I remember) nights, outlandish stories and help me make the best of friends from what were initially stranger dangers.

Today I salute you Tequila and promise to donate a portion of my paycheck to your ongoing efforts. Pinky up!

Apparently the Emmy nominations are out. I say apparently due to the high volume of snubs. Glee? Survivor? House?

Past winners, and some of this Tiny Dancer’s favorites, are mourning the omission of their nomination. Some of the injustices (in my opinion) include:

• Hugh Laurie! No lead actor nod? Who doesn’t want a cranky yet brilliant doctor?! I mean, even if they didn’t like the acting, they could at least throw him a bone… it is the final year of "House"… gezz!
• Three seasons of "Community" and still nothing!
• "Glee" … knife to heart! Their only nomination was in the guest-acting category. Thank you Lindsay Lohan!
• Do you really want to piss-off bikers, Emmys?! No love for "Sons of Anarchy" or its cast this year. Uh oh!
•  Smells like smoke… oh, it’s because Jeff Probst’s torch was snuffed! This is the first time the "Survivor" host wasn’t nominated.
• Nothing for "Cougar Town" this year. *Guilty pleasure alert* Don’t judge… I can relate to Courteney Cox and Big Joe!

With this being said, we are happy to see "Mad Men" leading this year's nominees with 17, the a-dork-able Zooey Deschanel nominated for Lead Actress in a Comedy and I’m pretty much in love with the Outstanding Comedy Series nominations (30 Rock, Modern Family and The Big Bang Theory).

Full list of snubs nominees can be found here.

Pinky Up!

Imagine an intimate dinner for 150 at a unique locale, all gathered around one very lengthy table… think “pass the plate, please?” kind of dinner.  Project Dinner Table is this experience and Gina Gavan, or so we like to call the Patron Saint of Las Vegas, has created a way to cultivate our community through everyone’s love of food. For every dinner, two charities are highlighted and a donation is awarded to each during the event.  For a $140 ticket, guests indulge in a cocktail hour, six-course meal and dining with genuinely good company for a truly great cause. We say this is money well spent.

A beloved local Las Vegas chef prepares the meal and must incorporate as many locally grown ingredients into their menu as possible.  This is sustainability at its finest.  Most of us complain about how hard it is to find fresh produce in Vegas – guilty. However, what most people don’t realize is that we have grown as a community when it comes to local food production. Take for example Downtown 3rd’s Farmers Market which occurs every Friday from 9am to 2pm; a haven for a health nut.

The most recent PDT was a bit more special because 9Group’s very own Chef Geno of Nove Italiano was the master meal maker. The two charities honored were Vegas Roots Community Garden and The Gay & Lesbian Center. The table was set at the UNCE Orchard.  Yes, you read it right, an orchard. Fresh peaches were picked solely to be used for the tastiest Bellini we’ve ever had … it was an alcoholic orgasm. Our favorite dish was the Summer Truffle Risotto with Farm Squash Blossom & Petso. Moreover, the squash was grown from Chef Geno’s very own farm. We bombarded Instagram with food porn (see below).

To summarize my babbling: wonderful meal + laughter shared = a charity helped.  A deep sense of community is highlighted in Project Dinner table.  Make sure you come out to one. Pinky Up!

Did you know doing jumping jacks while drinking beer in the nude actually extends your life-expectancy? Really! My grandmother did it for years and lived to 110. I know… not the best mental picture but… living longer, naked, with beer. Sold. Try it and let us know how it goes.

Welcome to Water Cooler Than Yours. This is 9Group’s new blog. Who is 9Group? Oh… just those creative peeps at Palms Resort & Casino in Las Vegas throwing the awesomely crazy parties at the dayclub, nightclubs and restaurants.

Anyways. Water Cooler Than Yours (yep, we said it) is just a little outlet for our creativity. When we’re not crafting new offerings, planning parties, researching trends, booking popular talent for performances at our venues or cultivating unforgettable Las Vegas experiences for our guests, we will be here. Water Cooler Than Yours is for anyone and everyone curious about the people responsible for what happens behind the scenes in Las Vegas while mixing in a little randomness fun.

Stay tuned. Pinky Up!