Commissioner Tom Collins throws birthday party, fundraiser
Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins celebrated his 65th birthday Monday night at the Aliante and drew nearly 200 guests to the glorified political fundraiser.
Officially, the event drew 161 revelers who paid $65 each to party with the cowboy commissioner. Other late arrivals turned out to toast Collins, and perhaps to see what he was really up to.
Although he has not officially announced his candidacy for the unsteady North Las Vegas mayor’s chair currently occupied by John Lee, Collins isn’t shy about leveling criticism at a fellow he once considered a pretty good friend.
But talk about getting an early start. The NLV mayor’s race isn’t until 2017 — the time Collins is set to finish his third term on the commission.
HUMBLE KING: There are many reasons the late business billionaire Kirk Kerkorian will always be a big man in Las Vegas casino host Gene Kilroy’s book.
Izzy Schwartz is one of them.
Don’t remember Izzy?
Known by the sports page monikers of “Corporal Izzy” and “the Ghetto Midget,” Isadore Schwartz was one tough flyweight. At 5-foot-1, he rose from the streets of New York to claim the world title at 112 pounds in 1927. He held the belt a couple of years, then battled his way back down to the middle.
Kerkorian, a former boxer, admired Schwartz’s toughness and hired him to work at MGM’s New York screening room, where he eventually met most major stars.
“Because of Kirk, Izzy had the best job in New York,” Kilroy says. “Izzy was a good guy. He’d had some tough times, and Kirk was kind to him. Kirk liked him because he was a fighter. Izzy liked Kirk as a person.”
Kilroy worked for Kerkorian in New York and attended many fights with him in Las Vegas in the company of then-Sheriff Ralph Lamb.
Kerkorian was so quiet that, Kilroy says, it’s possible many Las Vegans failed to appreciate just how important he was to the community.
“Kirk was good to a lot of people,” Kilroy says. “Because of his ingenuity and his hotels, a lot of poor people who worked for his casinos sent their kids to college, and those kids became something. He always had time for what others called little people. He was just a humble guy. I never met a guy like him.”
CIVIL LIBERTARIAN: Former seven-term U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley is set to receive the 2015 Emilie Wanderer Civil Libertarian of the Year Award tonight at Panevino Ristorante during the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada’s annual celebration.
“She fought for the civil rights and liberties of Nevadans her entire public career,” ACLU of Nevada Executive Director Tod Story says.
He followed Berkley’s congressional career at close range, serving for many years as her district director.
These days Berkley is the CEO and senior provost of Touro University’s Nevada and California campuses.
For last-minute tickets, you can go to aclunv.org.
BUGSY BUSINESS: The wise guys and gals at El Cortez continue to market the powerful imagery of the downtown casino’s early investor Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel.
In addition to being a killer, Siegel was a handsome guy who flowed smoothly through the Hollywood scene of the 1940s.
Their latest effort is Siegel’s 41, which was part of an intriguing piece this week by R-J food fanatic Heidi Knapp Rinella chronicling the downtown restaurant expansion.
It’s a great name because it captures Siegel’s image before it got, shall we say, much messier. He was shot in the head in 1947.
The restaurant looks great, but I’m guessing some wisecracking customer will still joke, “Waiter, there’s an eye in my soup.”
ON THE BOULEVARD: Sen. Harry Reid has challenged the Nevada Board of Regents to consider changing UNLV’s Runnin’ Rebels nickname due to its historical link to Confederate imagery. He’s not wrong about that. But there’s no truth to the rumor that UNLV’s new mascot will be the “Runnin’ Reids.” … Fresh from its presentation on the disappearance of Teamsters titan Jimmy Hoffa, The Mob Museum is said to be planning an exhibit on the FIFA soccer scandal, which was cracked wide open by the efforts of the IRS and FBI.
Have an item for the Bard of the Boulevard? Email comments and contributions to Smith@reviewjournal.com or call 702-383-0295. Find him on Twitter: @jlnevadasmith
