This Week’s Newsmoji—A Tribute to Chef Bobby Silva and Idol Returns

An emoticon guide to Las Vegas’ top headlines

By Larry Braverman

There’s No Interest Here, Only Hockey

???? ???? ⛸ Naming rights have been a punchline for decades—think the KFC Yum! Center, Taxslayer Gator Bowl or the Diet Mug Root Beer Dana Carvey Show—and now we all get to have a laugh after the Henderson Silver Knights agreed to sell the naming rights for their in-progress 6,000-seat arena (currently Henderson Event Center) to “Nevada’s Community Short-Term Lender” Dollar Loan Center. Therefore, the arena will be called, wait for it, The Dollar Loan Center.

It’s unusual, but not if you live in Southern Nevada, where The Dollar Loan Center and Glen Lerner jingles are so familiar that teachers sing them to kids in preschool. The new facility will be more than just a home for The Silver Knights; it will be “adaptable to host everything from sports, concerts, community programming and beyond.” We assume there will not be a Dollar Loan Center window at the arena, but we’re not putting anything past them.

A Tribute to Chef Bobby Silva

???? ???? ❤️ The sudden passing of Sparrow + Wolf Chef de Cuisine Bobby Silva is being felt beyond the Las Vegas culinary community. The 39-year-old Silva had worked in this city for two decades at very popular restaurants including SushiSamba, Triple George Grill, Momofuku and Hatsumi, among others. He made a lot of friends along the way, and 11 chefs who worked with him over the years are gathering for a one-night fundraising dinner at Vegas Test Kitchen from 6:30-9:30 p.m. on April 5, which is sold out. There is also a GoFundMe page to benefit Silva’s two sons. 

Billy Idol Sets Las Vegas Return

???? ???? ???????? The turn from 2020 to 2021 is whiplash-inducing. This time last year, Las Vegas was inundated with closing announcements, cancellations and postponements. Now, every day, more good news keeps falling from the sky, especially on the city’s entertainment front. The latest comes courtesy of Mr. William Idol, who is staging his Las Vegas comeback with an exclusive limited engagement at The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Mr. Idol, who had previous residencies at The Palms and Mandalay Bay’s House of Blues, will take The Chelsea stage Oct. 16-17 and October 22-23.

Tickets are on sale Friday via The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas website. October seems far away but will be here before you know it, and keep your fingers crossed that Idol adds “Cradle of Love” and “Fatal Charm” to the setlist.

Styx Sails Away to The Venetian

???? ???? ???? In other concert news, the jig is up and the news is out that Styx is coming back for two nights—Sept. 25 and 26—at The Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian this fall. Tickets to the shows are also on sale Friday at The Venetian website.

The Beach Is Back

???? ???? ???? Pool season is starting off a little more subdued in Las Vegas this year, but at least it’s starting. Drai’s Beach on the roof of The Cromwell is returning Friday, April 2, and will operate Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays for the foreseeable future. Like all venues, Drai’s Beach will operate under strict health and safety guidelines, but there will still be plenty of flesh and alcohol, so don’t think any of that stuff is going away.

Drai’s Beach at Night will be staged Friday and Saturday nights—think of it as a slimmed-down version of the nightclub without the big-time hip-hop headliners that we’re accustomed to. Again, everything hinges on how quickly we make it out of this pandemic. If everybody sticks to the rules and people are getting vaccinated, maybe we’ll get some of those headliners back before the end of summer.