Thursday, June 14, 2001 | 8:22 a.m.
When most people are tucked in their beds at night, a different world emerges in Las Vegas.
The night shift exposes a city that, by day, can be relatively normal. But at night the clientele can become, as night-shift workers say, a bit quirky.
Elvis may appear at the Clark County Marriage License Bureau.
A drunken potbellied pig is brought back to good health by a veterinarian.
Even the laundromat takes a different turn when the sun goes down.
The night shift in Las Vegas can be unusual, and those who work the wee hours of the morning have many tales to tell.
For Las Vegas veterinarian Brian Hewitt, the night shift is a different animal from daylight hours.
"It's a whole different group of people that come out at night," said Hewitt, who works at Cheyenne West Animal Hospital at 8630 W. Cheyenne Ave.
As part of his work week, Hewitt has worked on-call for the past 11 years at area veterinary hospitals.
Evening calls can be anything but typical. "You never know what is going to walk in the door," he said.
Hewitt has taken many calls from pet owners who come home from an evening of celebrating to discover that there's something very wrong with their beloved animal.
Drinks in hand, owners have shown up at the hospital with the pet in tow, only to have Hewitt declare it to be in tip-top shape.
Some owners have asked for a tour of the empty veterinary office. "Half the time we are treating the owners as well as the pets," Hewitt said.
Recently the imbibing was the pet's problem rather than that of its owner.
The drunken potbellied pig at first amused the owner, who had inadvertently left a box of wine within the curious pig's reach.
It was funny -- until the pig went into an alcohol-induced coma.
After Hewitt treated the ailing animal, the pig and its owner walked out of the hospital, possibly wiser after three days of care of the pet.
"It can be anything at night," he said. "There's no limit."
Tying one on
The Clark County Marriage License Bureau, at 200 S. Third Street, is open 24 hours each week from 8 a.m. Friday through midnight Sunday.
Cheryl Vernon, supervisor for the marriage bureau, said that it is not unusual for an Elvis impersonator or other costumed celebrity look-alikes to stand in line at the bureau for a marriage license.
"We get all kinds," Vernon said. "Elvis is pretty popular, though."
The night shift is actually not that much different than the day, Vernon said.
"They see more of an intoxication problem than on the day shift," Vernon said. "Although we get our fair share."
The celebrating couples' rowdy behavior occasionally makes the clerk's job difficult, Vernon said.
"It's such a busy, noisy office," Vernon said. "There are couples standing in line, having a good time."
Couples line the halls of the bureau as they wait -- some nervous, some brawling, some fainting from heat exhaustion or nerves as they arrive at the window to fill out the license.
"We get four or five brides in the summertime who just pass out because they get so hot," Vernon said.
The rambunctious intendeds usually keep themselves under control and pass through the bureau with minimal bickering. But some couples have become snippy with each other over simple details --important dates, the spelling of a family name and even their own name.
They don't, however, usually become violent with anyone -- other than each other. One man, Vernon recalls, reached inside the clerk's window, grabbed his nearly finished license from the typewriter and tore it into pieces.
He then threw himself on the floor and cried out that he could not go through with the wedding.
The bride looked on in disgust and followed her fiance, escorted by a county bailiff, out of the bureau's offices.
"It's never dull," Vernon said.
Clean company
The Wizard of Suds, at 4275 Arville St., has been open 24 hours, seven days a week, since 1994. The laundromat is connected to a deli and bar area with slot machines.
Barb Fincher has worked alternate day and night shifts at the laundromat for the past year.
She has become fond of some of the regular night customers who simply want some company as a chaser with their clean clothes.
"They have come in and stayed my whole (eight-hour) shift," Fincher said. "They like it because it's not as busy and they can relax."
Sometimes too much. Clothes have been left behind by customers who forget their purpose for being at the laundromat.
"We call people all the time to come and pick up their laundry," Fincher said. "They don't always come back."
The lack of daytime hubbub also lends itself to the occasional oddity. Recently Fincher found a man -- naked -- shaving in the bathroom late at night.
He appeared to be homeless, Fincher said, and was possibly there to do his laundry and move on. But Fincher took precautions.
She surprised him as he groomed and ordered him to collect his clothes, which were in a heap on the floor.
"He cut himself," Fincher said. "But I didn't care what he was there for, he couldn't be naked."
The night shift is usually calm, Fincher said, and full of regulars looking for a respite from the rigors of daily life.
"It's quiet at night," Fincher said. "People like that. They come in just for that, and to talk to us."
Late-night loners
The art of conversation is part of pharmacist Dave Toscano's job when he works the late shift.
Toscano, who works at Village East Drugs on 5025 S. Eastern Ave., said the evenings are low-key and full of customers who idle at his counter for company.
Most of the orders Toscano receives are for legitimate medications. But as the night wears on, there are the occasional requests for drug needles, an obviously forged prescription or obnoxious customer looking to increase the number of pills allowed by a doctor's prescription.
But after 7 p.m. and into the later hours of his shift, Toscano receives visits from his regulars, mostly senior citizens who are out for a stroll and a bit of conversation.
"They don't have anyone else they can talk to," Toscano said. He lets the customers bend his ear while it's slow at night.
"That's what we're here for," he said. "They're lonely, so we talk about whatever until it's time to go home."
It's a life
Some find that working when the rest of the world is asleep offers them a more normal lifestyle.
For the past five years Kathy Giacobbe has been the night manager for the Bootlegger Bistro, formerly on South Eastern Avenue before the restaurant's recent move to Las Vegas Boulevard South. She has worked the night shift at the restaurant for 30 years.
The allure of the evening hours intrigued her from the start.
"The daytime customers are so much more stressed out," Giacobbe said. "They have to go back to the real world. At night they let their hair down and they can just be themselves."
Giacobbe uses the daylight hours to run errands and shop when stores are nearly empty. "This way I get to enjoy my day," she said.
And nights, too. The ease of the night-shift crowd makes for a more interesting workday, she said. "I get to come into work and it's like a party atmosphere more than a job."
John Johnson is a longtime night-shift connoisseur, having worked for restaurants in California before coming to Las Vegas two years ago.
He has worked as an evening host at the Bootlegger Bistro for the past five months.
"People are characters in Vegas," he said. "At night you never know what is going to happen."
An office job, he said, would be a bore after what he has experienced as part of the night crew.
Customers have thrown food on the floor and at each other out of exasperation.
The night shift, which can last well past midnight, also sees its share of sparring spouses and intoxicated adversaries, Johnson said.
"We have to tiptoe around those types of things," Johnson said. "It's definitely a different group of people that comes in. It's hard to put your finger on, but they are definitely quirkier."
Night-shift workers are often asked, Johnson said, why they would want to work nights.
In his case, he can pursue his hobbies, such as hiking, as well as explore opportunities that he would not have time for if he worked all day long. He recently started a printing distribution business from his home.
"Working nights allows me to do the things I enjoy during the day," Johnson said. "It's the best of both worlds."
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