Restaurateur gets dig out of archaeology
When she isn’t running restaurants in Las Vegas, Jenna Morton returns to Jordan to join her father on archaeology digs.
It’s been her second home since the 1970s.
That won’t change, she said, even with Jordan suddenly at the epicenter of the tinderbox that is the Middle East.
Morton was in Jordan in October and is going ahead with plans to return in June with 13-year-old son, Eli.
“We feel perfectly safe,” said Morton, who, along with her husband, Michael, owns and operates Crush restaurant at the MGM Grand, La Cave at Wynn Las Vegas and La Comida downtown.
Her father, archaeologist Bert DeVries, called her Saturday from Michigan after a month at the historical site, Umm el- Jimal, in northern Jordan near the Syrian border.
Jordan struck back last week, bombing Islamic State targets after a video was released showing a captive Jordanian pilot, Moath al-Kasasbeh, burned alive in a cage.
The fighter pilot’s death “has become a rallying point,” Morton’s father told her. “Terror is not Islam,” she said.
Morton attended the same school where Jordan’s King Abdullah was a student. “My sister was in his class,” he said.
Her father and mother, Sara, have been working at Umm el-Jimal for 30 years. The 1,200-year-old village was built out of black basalt, which led to it being called the “Black Gem of the Desert.”
It was established on many major trade routes connecting the Red Sea and Damascus in Syria. An earthquake destroyed it many centuries ago.
Because of the war in Syria, a refugee city estimated at 80,000 to 100,000 has sprung up near Umm el-Jimal.
“The people in north Jordan have opened their arms” to the refugees, Morton said. “So many beautiful, generous and kind things are being done.”
Her father’s focus for the last 20 years has been to have the local community have a vested interest in the land. “It’s their land and there’s a real economic potential,” Morton said.
Morton has put her energies into joining other groups in women’s empowerment programs.
DUNNE RETURNS
Jennifer Dunne is returning to Las Vegas as a senior entertainment executive for the new hotel going up on the old New Frontier site.
Dunne, a longtime Cirque du Soleil executive, announced on Facebook on Friday that she will be joining Andrew Pascal’s team to develop Crown Resorts’ project on the 34.6-acre site.
Crown chairman James Packer, the Australian billionaire, has controlling interest in the project. Dunne, who joined Franco Dragone in Brussels last year, said she will be tasked with the definition, production and marketing of the interactive, social and entertainment offerings.
She worked with Pascal during her five years with Wynn Resorts.
THE SCENE AND HEARD
Future Caesars Palace headliner Mariah Carey was back in the headlines last week. There were reports she lip-synched and forgot lines throughout her Jan. 30 appearance at the Jamaican Jazz and Blues Festival. That follows her Dec. 3 and Dec. 15 Christmas appearances that went off the rails. ...
A March 29 tribute dinner is scheduled to celebrate chef Andre Rochat’s 35 years in Las Vegas. Sixteen of his former chefs will join Rochat in his kitchen at Andre’s at Monte Carlo for a feast for 120.
SIGHTINGS
Richard Branson, dining at Morels French Steakhouse (Palazzo) on Saturday. ... Nicolas Cage, having midnight appetizers and wine with friends Friday after filming scenes downtown for the crime thriller “The Trust.” ... Comedian and actor Andy Dick, meeting with Donny and Marie Osmond after their show Friday at the Flamingo. … Rapper Coolio, meeting with “Absinthe” tap dancing stars Sean and John and meeting with “Green Fairy” Melody Sweets, Charlie Starling and Lea Hinz after Friday’s show at Caesars Palace.
THE PUNCH LINE
“Scientists have discovered that a 5,000-year-old mummy is covered with at least 60 tattoos. Scientists are calling him the earliest known member of the NBA.” — Conan O’Brien
Norm Clarke’s column appears Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He can be reached at 702-383-0244 or email him at norm@reviewjournal.com. Find more online at www.normclarke.com. Follow Norm on Twitter @Norm_Clarke.
