Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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POWER STRIP With a little luck, this aging casino will soon be a trendy, modern urban oasis. "At the age of 7, I put on a suit and tie and tried acting like my dad at the Golden Nugget." Schorr and his sister, Courtney, in front of $1 million at Binion's Horseshoe Club. 54 VIEW FROM THE TOP Seth Schorr's inclinations and inspirations. *great outdoors "I like going to Mount Charleston to hike. You drive 38 minutes and feel like you're no longer in Las Vegas." *guilty pleasure "I can eat more dim sum than anyone I know. My favorite dumpling is tofu wrapped around pork. Throw in a Chinese foot massage and it's my perfect night." *i moved back to las vegas from new york because… "The hospitality business is in my blood, and I missed it. I missed creating experiences for people and watching them enjoy those experiences." *shop 'til you drop "Coterie is my new favorite store. I've never walked in there and not walked out with something. They carry Scotch & Soda, which is one of my favorite brands. Plus, they have the best socks in Las Vegas." PHOTOGRAPHY BY ETHAN MILLER/GETTY IMAGES (LADY LUCK); COURTESY OF THE SCHORR FAMILY (SETH AND COURTNEY) continued from page 53 Schorr envisions CIM's hunk of real estate—stretching five blocks along Third Street—eventually resembling a kind of big-city oasis. He's starting with a strip that runs parallel to the Grand and includes the Mob Bar, Triple George Grill, and Hogs & Heifers Saloon; coming soon will be the self-explanatory I Love Burgers, the showboating pie palace Pizza Rock, and Daily Kitchen & Wellness Bar. "Las Vegas never had small streets with bars and restaurants and retail," he says. "There will be landscaping; you'll enjoy walking around and engaging with people. We're bringing to Las Vegas what is already successful in Manhattan's Meatpacking District, in Austin, and on Beale Street in Memphis." With mounting evidence seeming to augur long-term success for Downtown, a big pop here feels like Sin City's spin on manifest destiny. Told that he's situated himself in the perfect spot, Schorr smiles wide and says, "It seems a lot more appealing today than it was three years ago when we got started. The economy was in a tenuous place. Everything was on the horizon and nothing was guaranteed." But that's okay with Schorr. His heart has always been in it, as the work he's doing right now represents something of a homecoming. A second-generation casino man (his father, Marc, was a long-serving top executive for Steve Wynn), he spent 14 months living in the Golden Nugget back in the mid-'80s and first learned about the business from a Downtown vantage point. "At the age of 7, I put on a suit and tie and tried acting like my dad at the Golden Nugget," he says. "I had business cards that read 'Director of Children's Marketing.'" Since giving himself that title, Schorr has worked as a Wynn executive for real and helped to launch Wynn's operation in Macau. He had a short stint toiling in Manhattan's financial services industry, opened his own string of casinos in North —SETH SCHORR Las Vegas, and maintains a travel services business that packages Vegas trips for Chinese gamblers. As with the last two of those ventures, Schorr feels as if he's filling a gap by implementing his ideas for Downtown development. "Downtown is authentic," he says. "It's historical and real." Of course, Schorr also understands the importance of spectacle and innovations aimed at customer convenience. He'll cater to Asian clients by putting rice steamers and teapots in their rooms, and partiers will get rooftop bashes with live music. And he's particularly excited about one amenity: "Out by the infinity pool, each cabana will have its own blender. You know the way you get guacamole made tableside? We'll have tableside blended drinks." He hesitates for a beat before putting things in perspective. "Will it move the needle? Of course not. But it's just one extra thing. And they all add up." V VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 053-054_V_SP_PS_Schorr_Oct13.indd 54 9/17/13 4:57 PM