Joe Downtown: Electric Daisy promoter told to stay away from his downtown clubs

By Joe Schoenmann

Thursday, April 3, 2014 | 3:09 p.m.

Pasquale Rotella, whose Insomniac Inc. puts on the popular Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, has been banned by the city from visiting two downtown clubs in which he is an investor.

The City Council on Wednesday approved a one-year extension of the tavern-limited licenses for the Park On Fremont, a bar and restaurant, and the Commonwealth, a tavern. But the extension came with the stipulation that Rotella stay away from the clubs for a year.

Rotella, who is married to entertainer/model/producer Holly Madison, is one of several partners in the businesses. Others listed on the applications are Justin Weniger, Ryan Doherty, Michael Parks and Kenna Warner.

Las Vegas City Councilman Bob Coffin said the condition was placed on Rotella while he awaits trial on counts of bribery and conspiracy to embezzle in an unrelated case in California.

Rotella and two others were accused of making payments to the events manager of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to gain easier access to the Coliseum for concerts.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Coffin said Rotella “has to stay out of these properties, has to have nothing to do with them.”

Later, Coffin reiterated the point, stating, “That is agreed upon.”

“Yes,” replied Rotella’s representative at the meeting, attorney David Brown.

Coffin said the two downtown properties “are good clubs, and they’re right at the heart of East Fremont, and the people I know who are affiliated with these clubs are good people. They present well and have done their best to run an honest business.”

Rotella’s Electric Daisy Carnival, meanwhile, will be staged for the fourth year at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway from June 20-22. The electronic dance music festival’s website says general admission and VIP tickets are sold out.

Because the festival is under the jurisdiction of Clark County, not the city, the County Commission approves it.

The Las Vegas Motor Speedway lies in Commissioner Tom Collins’ district. Collins said Thursday the county welcomes the Electric Daisy Carnival with open arms. In some cases, he said, the city “is so overreaching.”

Joe Schoenmann doesn’t just cover downtown; he lives and works there. Schoenmann is Greenspun Media Group’s embedded downtown journalist, working from an office in the Emergency Arts building.