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.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/242563
FOOD FOR THOUGHT Simply Red LOOKING FOR THE SECRET ROOMS IN LAS VEGAS WHERE DEALS ARE BROKERED AND INFORMATION IS TRADED? THERE'S ONE THING THEY HAVE IN COMMON: A RIVER OF MARINARA FLOWS THROUGH THEM. BY JOHN KATSILOMETES A of the famous, powerful, and influential. There was the night an entrepreneur named Dana White sat in Piero's with members of the local Fertitta family (which founded the Station Casinos resort chain) to assemble a deal that would lead to the Fertittas' ownership of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. And the night a decade ago when Freddie and Evan Glusman gazed around their Piero's dining room and started calculating how much wealth and power was represented. "We had Frank Fertitta, Warren Buffett, Kirk Kerkorian, Lee Iacocca, Frank Fahrenkopf [president of the American Gaming Association and former chairman of the Republican National Committee], all in the restaurant at the same time," Glusman recalls. "And they were not at the same table. They were all just here, randomly, one night." Also random was the recent night when Magic Johnson sat at one table and Michael Douglas at another. Or Jerry Lewis in a corner booth and across the room Rich Little, watching a cabaret show hosted by Pia Zadora. These restaurantgoers might or might not live in Las Vegas, or might or might not engage in what would be deemed reputable practices. As continued on page 60 The longevity of Piero's is matched only by that of its fiercely loyal clientele. PHOTOGRAPHY BY BEVERLY POPPE (PIERO'S); SETH OLENICK (LADLE) s journalists and football fans around the country wondered whom the San Diego Chargers would hire as their new head coach, the owners of the restaurant Piero's in Las Vegas had the scoop. "We knew several days before it was announced that Mike McCoy would take over for Norv Turner," says Evan Glusman, operating partner of Piero's and son of restaurant founder Freddie Glusman. "We were pretty sure of it." Why would the proprietors of an Italian eatery sitting inconspicuously just east of the Strip be so well informed about the future of an NFL franchise? "Alex Spanos, the owner of the Chargers, is in here every time he's in town," says Glusman, whose restaurant, famously featured in the 1995 film Casino, opened in 1982. "We kept seeing him in here meeting with one guy in particular." One Mr. McCoy, as it turned out. Deals are made, relationships are cemented, and news unfolds (eventually) at throwback Italian restaurants throughout Las Vegas. Such long-standing late-night haunts as Bootlegger Bistro, Battista's Hole in the Wall (known for its strolling accordionist of more than 30 years, Gordy Jaffe), Casa di Amore, and Capo's Italian Steakhouse are havens for chummy gatherings 58 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 058-060_V_Taste_RedSauce_Winter14.indd 58 1/10/14 10:40 AM