Jack Houston

Jack was born and raised in suburban Philadelphia and joined the Las Vegas Magazine staff in 2006. He's known for his quick wit, vast musical knowledge and omnipresent five o'clock shadow, and loves cookies, adverbs and Philly sports. He's a Taurus but has been called a Cancer by 2011 Playmate of the Year Claire Sinclair.

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Story Archive

Lofty libations: Melody Sheppard rises to challenge at Mandarin Bar; Sunday, Jan. 24, 2010; Sophisticated is a word that gets tossed around a lot these days, especially when it comes to bars and nightclubs. But the difference between a tuxedo T-shirt and clip-on bow tie and the real deal always makes itself apparent sooner or later. In the case of Mandarin Bar, it's tailor-made, designer-brand sophistication all the way.
Spray savant: Terry Hunter gives the gift of golden glow; Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010; He's been a dancer onstage in Las Vegas and a manicurist by trade, but what Terry Hunter really wanted to do was spray tan.
Rock rules: Inside the Strip's rowdy party with Melinda Lee; Sunday, Jan. 10, 2010; You may have seen, or at least heard, a small club while walking the Las Vegas Strip at night - bumpin' music, line out the door, packed inside - and wondered what was going on in that place called Rockhouse. Cocktail waitress Melinda Lee let us in on the action.
Right-Hand Man: Q-Juan Taylor a key player in rock ’n’ roll chef’s empire; Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2010; It's no accident that Sunday brunch at Simon has become the place to see and be seen in Las Vegas. Chef Kerry Simon's menu paired with the posh digs — a sixth-floor perch overlooking a secluded pool deck at Palms Place — would be enough to draw most people, but there's a secret weapon, too: general manager Q-Juan Taylor.
Get connected: Richard Wilk, VIP incarnate; Monday, Jan. 4, 2010; What is it about Richard Wilk that makes him one of the most connected people in Las Vegas? Is it his background protecting high-level politicians? Is it his employment at one of the coolest hotels in the city? Is it something in the water in his native Toronto? To hear him tell it, it's a lot simpler than that.
Raising the Bar: Yellowtail’s Kat Gonzales knows her cocktails; Sunday, Jan. 3, 2010; When it comes to discussing the cocktail list at Yellowtail Japanese Restaurant & Lounge at Bellagio, bartender Kat Gonzales does not hold back.
Going gourmet: Las Vegas native bets on upscale burgers; Sunday, Jan. 3, 2010; For Billy Richardson, it all comes down to burgers.
Acting Naturally: Come and knock on Mike Cardella’s door; Saturday, Jan. 2, 2010; Mike Cardella leads a double life. On the weekends, he's the N9NE Group's door host, ushering in the hottest of the hot to Palms nightspots like Rain and Ghostbar. The rest of the week he's in L.A. plotting his next acting venture, or in Las Vegas starring in his two-man improv show, The Last Men on Earth, at the Onyx Theatre. It's not the life of your everyday door host, to be sure.
Get Filled In: Expert needlework from Stephanie Canosa; Friday, Jan. 1, 2010; Stephanie Canosa has a needle and she's not afraid to use it. A registered clinical assistant and one of only two collagen-therapy specialists in Nevada, Canosa makes the men and women of Las Vegas look a little better and a little younger. Years spent working under top plastic surgeons and dermatologists proved she had a particular knack for injecting some of the city's top faces.
Artful Insights: Sarah Johnson takes visitors beyond the wall text; Thursday, Dec. 31, 2009; Las Vegas is about to get a long-overdue infusion of culture, and it's up to Sarah Johnson to spread the word. The assistant manager of the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, where '12+7: Artists and Architects of CityCenter' is on display through April, Johnson spends her time educating school groups about the importance of the soon-to-open complex, which counts Frank Stella and Helmut Jahn among its contributors.
Grille Master: Mark Bradley lends an ear - and some mighty fine drinks; Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2009; Bartender Mark Bradley arrived in Las Vegas in 1992 at the height of the construction boom that turned the Strip into an international destination. (Good thing, too, since Bradley dabbles in real estate investment on the side.) However, the best property, as Bradley explains, is behind the bar at The Capital Grille at Fashion Show.
Making additions: Prema Zombori adds locks (and awards) to career; Sunday, Dec. 27, 2009; When Hairdreams was looking to name its Top Extension Specialist in Las Vegas for 2009, there was plenty of competition. After all, Las Vegas is a city that thrives on cultivating an image, whether naturally or unnaturally, and sometimes a short do just won't ... do. The hair-extension brand looked no further than Prema Zombori, a stylist at Michael Boychuck's AMP Salon in Palms.
Behind the glass: Exhibition kitchens no biggie for First Food's Jake Mual; Sunday, Dec. 20, 2009; If you're ever passing by First Food & Bar inside The Shoppes at The Palazzo, take a look at who's in the exhibition kitchen. Jake Mual just might be in there whipping up a batch of tuna nachos or a lobster roll, and you can watch the French Culinary Institute-trained chef at work. With eyes on him, the pressure's on, but he takes it in stride.
Beverage guru: Paul Peterson talks classic cocktails, French wine; Sunday, Dec. 6, 2009; It's 3 p.m. and the lights are dimming as the oyster bar and cocktails crowd filters into Bouchon, Thomas Keller's French bistro perched on the 10th floor of The Venetian.
The matchmaker: Going grape with wine sommelier Krista Rediske; Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009; After a peripatetic childhood that took her from Louisville to Houston to Iowa following her father, "a bigwig with KFC," Krista Rediske is back where it all began in Las Vegas, sharing her knowledge of wine as head sommelier at Rao's inside Caesars Palace.
Tommy's boy: Arturo Coronel gets in the island spirit; Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009; Sitting just off the patio at Tommy Bahama's Restaurant and Bar, a light breeze wafting through in the late afternoon sunlight, you see why Arturo Coronel has such affection for the island-inspired brand.