Summerlin serves as backdrop, home for reality shows and stars

Fess up. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a reality TV star? Some of them live in Summerlin.

LAURA CROFT OF 'HOLLY'S WORLD'
CALLS SUMMERLIN HOME

As Playmate of the Month for the July 2008 issue of Playboy, Laura Croft is used to turning heads. The Summerlin resident has appeared on three reality TV shows -- "Outback Jack," "The Girls Next Door" and now "Holly's World."

She said she had no idea how much her life would change by being on TV. The Holly Madison show "Holly's World" is shot over three or four months, and Croft works five to seven days a week.

"You don't really have any control over it," she said. "They just send you the schedule, and sometimes they don't send it until like 11 at night, and if I'm out or something, I'll go, 'Oops, I'd better get some sleep' because they want you at 8 in the morning."

What's the most fun of being famous?

"I get to go to all the parties, all the different events they have around town and the movie premieres, stuff like that," she said, adding that the least fun was "having somebody recognize you when you look like crap."

Still, she said she doesn't feel obligated to always wear makeup when she leaves her house and does not try to conceal her identity with dark sunglasses but will don a hat when her hair's not looking its best. She has made new friends and communicates with them on Twitter.

It's not unusual for people to recognize her when she's out in public.

"I was at Walmart buying some embarrassing items, and some lady was taking pictures of me with her phone from down the aisle," she said. "But I've never had anybody be too intrusive ... It's fun when they come up to you when you're at a bar and you'll, like, have drinks or do shots, and that's pretty fun."

Croft said she always had hoped she'd grow up to be a star but had no idea how her life would change. Her celebrity status saw her going backstage to have champagne and meet Liza Minnelli when the singer appeared at the Las Vegas Hotel (formerly the Las Vegas Hilton) in October. But it does not, however, get her upgrades when she flies.

YOU MIGHT SEE THE 'SISTER WIVES'
AROUND TOWN

Meri Brown is on the TLC reality show "Sister Wives," which details her life as one of Kody Brown's four wives. The Browns relocated from Utah to the Summerlin area, and she said her life has gotten incredibly busy due to the demands of the show and fans who will whip out cellphones and ask to have their photo taken with her.

"It happens quite often," she said. "But it's really funny to me because I still look at myself as just a normal person. I don't think of myself as a celebrity. So it's, I don't know, I'm just a person, so it's funny that people are so starstruck."

She said people stare at her wherever she goes, whispering to friends behind their hands. It's a reaction she and a girlfriend found funny when they took their kids to Disneyland earlier this year.

Does she feel she always has to be on her best behavior?

"I should be on my best behavior all the time, anyway," she said and laughed. "I still blow my nose if I need to blow my nose in public."

She said she was never one to leave the house, let alone her bedroom, without her hair and makeup already done, even as a teenager. So, that hasn't changed. What has changed since she was in high school is that she has more friends.

"I was kind of a nerd as a teenager," Brown said. "I had the big '80s glasses and the braces, and I had a friend who (told) me that her baby sister was afraid of me because I looked like an alien."

She amended the "nerd" comment and said, "In reality, it's more that I have always been really shy. It has always been hard for me to be open to people I didn't know. In the past eight or 10 years, I've been working on coming out of my shell. But it hasn't been until our show came out and our family went public that I have really had to overcome that. It has definitely been an opportunity for my personal growth and development."

Brown credited the show with aiding other people's personal growth, as well, and said it has "opened people's minds" about the polygamist lifestyle.

SUMMERLIN RESIDENT PETER LIK APPEARS
ON REALITY SHOW ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY

Photographer Peter Lik may be a Summerlin resident, but he's not in town a lot. He's often traveling the world, trekking into pristine locations to get the perfect shot.

His show "From the Edge With Peter Lik" is seen on The Weather Channel. It follows him on his quest to capture Mother Nature at her best with his wide-format camera equipment. His works command thousands of dollars for a single photograph. One sold for $1 million to an unnamed buyer.

Hundreds of people attended his recent gallery opening at The Shoppes at Mandalay Place. Many lined up to have their photo taken with him.

Although it may not be noticeable to the casual observer at events such as that, Lik has expressed hesitation at meeting the public.

How well does he deal with big events?

"I'm not a loner, but I spend a (lot of) time in Mother Nature. And it's, it's instant gratification," he said of capturing the shot he was after. But of having fans around, he said, "It's the opposite of that. It's like a rock star. Everyone wants to know you ... You have hundreds and hundreds of people in front of you just appreciating your work. It's a little overwhelming."

Where does he escape to, when on vacation?

"I go back to Hawaii ... (to) the Big
Island, because it's more secluded, where nobody would know me," he said.

SUMMERLIN-AREA BUSINESSES CAN ALSO BE SEEN ON TV

Just as people appear on reality TV, places in Summerlin have been highlighted, as well.

Chad Sumida is the manager of Menchie's Frozen Yogurt, 7500 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 2. The children of "Sister Wives" were filmed there before going ice skating in the SoBe Ice Arena at the Fiesta Rancho.

"I know a lot of people are really into the show, so I was very excited when they called ... I don't know how many businesses he could have gone to, but he chose mine," Sumida said.

The producer outlined how shooting would work. He asked that no one stare at them, just act the way they normally would and not pay attention to the youngsters. The production did not restrict how many people came in during filming or disrupt normal operations much. Sumida opted not to be on TV. To celebrate, he did not charge any patrons who came in that day.

The show aired last November, and he made sure he caught the episode on TV.

"I was, like, super excited," he said.
" 'Oh, man, that's my store.' It was our little 15 minutes of fame. They cut a lot, though. They were shooting for a couple hours, but it was just a five-minute clip when it aired."

Red Rock Resort, 11011 W. Charleston Blvd., was splashed across the small screen on two separate episodes of Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Orange County." One was shot in 2009 and the other in 2011.

The exposure is great, but allowing a TV crew on site can also be a disruption to the casino operations, said Lori Nelson, corporate communications director at Station Casinos, so weeks of planning go into preparing for the cast and crew to minimize guest disruption.

"My goal is to get as much good exposure for the property as possible," said Nelson, "so that means showcasing our offerings, getting the resort's name mentioned."

Areas of the resort had to be blocked off with an eye to traffic patterns and having the least amount of impact on regular patrons. Few people complained about the inconvenience. They were more apt to gather around the roped-off areas to watch or speak with the stars, Nelson said.

The two camera crews and the cast totaled about 40 people, Nelson said. The crew shot from about 10 a.m. to as late as 2 p.m.

The show wanted to use a variety of locations during the three-day, two-night shooting schedule -- the pool, the spa, the cabanas, Lucky Bar, Hachi and T-Bones Chophouse. It shot scenes in the presidential suites, where the women stayed, as well.

"Whether it's a reality ... TV show or a movie, there's a lot of 'hurry up and wait,' " Nelson said. "So there's a lot of down time."

She said the property did not inform the public of filming, "but once you're in public space, and people see it, they get very excited ... the cast has always been great about interacting with guests."

When the director said he'd also like a shot of a star on the grand staircase, Nelson and the resort's security staff hustled to block off the area and detour patrons to the other staircase.

"For every filming we say 'yes' to, I've probably said 'no' to 15 others," she said.

When all was said and done, the casino got free advertising that reached millions of viewers nationally.

"After they air, the phone rings off the hook," Nelson said. "People want to book the suites that were used or eat at the restaurants ... the best part about having a reality TV show shot here is that they rerun it over and over again, so each time, you get another hit (influx of patrons)."

Contact Summerlin/Summerlin South View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 387-2949.