My parents were so proud – just three weeks after my graduation from Santa Clara University, and I had landed my first “big girl” job. I was quite relieved myself. After months of worrying about what the future would hold for me, it seemed I had found the answer: a position with one of the top PR agencies in Las Vegas, Kirvin Doak Communications.
Like many recent college graduates, packing up and moving away was not easy for me. I hated leaving people and places that had made the last four years of my life so special. It wasn’t until my first day at KDC that I realized life in the working world could be equally exciting, challenging and fun.
The day was a whirlwind of client meetings, TV appearances, office introductions and paperwork. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t somewhat overwhelmed as I struggled to remember names, places, passwords and procedures. More than that, however, I was invigorated. Many of my peers had recently started entry-level jobs where they were stuck making copies, going on Starbucks runs and filing for weeks on end. Diving in head first, I had seen more action in my first day at Kirvin Doak than some of my friends had in weeks at other companies.
How lucky was I to have this opportunity? Not only was I starting my career at a company with a stellar reputation and working on accounts that interested me, such as the Las Vegas Locos of the United Football League, but I was also in a position where I would be able to grow and contribute immediately. As I’ve settled in over the past two weeks – meeting clients, drafting press releases, listening in on conference calls and decorating my cubicle – I’ve come to appreciate this opportunity even more. Though my coworkers and bosses may not realize it, the friendly hellos,
“good job” emails and “Welcome to @KDCLasVegas” tweets have truly helped me adjust to my new life.
After two weeks at Kirvin Doak, and a little over a month after graduation, it’s finally hitting me that college is over. I’ve realized, however, that this isn’t the terrible thing I thought it was two months ago. I now see that new adventures, challenges and friendships await me here at KDC, and I can’t wait.
– Carolyn Linck
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Tags: Carolyn Linck, KDC, Kirvin Doak Communications, Las Vegas Locos, Santa Clara University, Vegas PR
No, I’m not referring to the short-lived television show. Instead, I’m talking about a weekend I recently spent celebrating a friend’s birthday by grilling out, riding wave runners, swimming in a river and lounging around on a beach. Sounds like a weekend in California, right? Wrong…it’s Laughlin, NV!
A relatively short drive away from Vegas, Laughlin features a number of casino resorts lining the Colorado River, several golf courses, campgrounds and a number of outdoor activities involving the river.
How can you not have fun on one of these?
We spent an entire day enjoying the river from our covered campsite right on the river at Davis Camp. I’d highly suggest checking this place out if you find yourself in the area. Visitors can pay a small fee to enter for the day and enjoy the river. The camp also rents out covered areas right on the water that house tables and grills. We opted to rent out an area.
Following a day at the river, we spent the night at Harrah’s Laughlin. I really enjoyed the place. The property has nice rooms, a full beach complete with tiki huts and chairs, large casino, plenty of dining options and great service. To me though, the greatest amenity is the fact that they offer $1.75 mimosas in their Beach Café.
So if you’re looking for a weekend out of the city and want to try something new…have a look at Laughlin, it just may surprise you!
Tags: Beach Cafe, Brad Seidel, Davis Camp, Harrah's Laughlin, Laughlin, Nevada, Viva Laughlin
Working on the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open has been a blast these past two months, and I have learned a lot from the experience. I knew from our messages and working with the tournament team that our work is important to the community and impacts children every day. But I guess you never truly realize the powerful effects the Shriners Hospitals and the tournament can have on a single family until you experience it for yourself.
I had the opportunity to meet the Perkins family and young Alissa, 2, at the Informational Reception at TPC Las Vegas on Tuesday, July 19. You cannot help but be captivated by Alissa and her spunky energy. Born in 2009 with Fibular Hemimelia, her parents searched for options on lengthening her leg or amputation. It was at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open that they met Katie Walker, a former Shriners patient and the 2009 Shriners Hospitals for Children patient ambassador. After Katie and her family shared their experience with the health care system, the Perkins family had found their answers and hope they had been searching for. Just a short year and two surgeries later, Alissa had received her first prosthesis and was walking one month later.
Her journey with how she came to find the Shriners Hospitals for Children and successful recovery premiered in the Tale of Two Patients video and shown at the Informational Reception on Tuesday evening. As guests from the Shriners Hospitals for Children in Salt Lake City, Crimson Links and the Las Vegas community watched as Alissa’s journey was recounted, there was hardly a single dry eye in the room.
I knew when I first jumped on board to work with the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open team that I was working for a wonderful cause. Little did I know my passion for the tournament and the hope and support it brings to families would be forever deep rooted in my heart from meeting a 2-year-old girl named Alissa.
Tags: Alissa Perkins, Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, Las Vegas, More than a Golf Tournament, Shandi Huber, Shriners Hospitals for Children, TpC Summerlin
It has been a month since Insomniac held the 15th Electric Daisy Carnival June 24-26, 2011 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, marking a major success for North America’s largest electronic dance music festival with an estimated 230,000, more than 100 electronic artists and 430 performance artists, during the three day festival’s debut in Las Vegas. The after-glow of the Electric Daisy Carnival is even stronger today. Last week Pasqual Rotella, Insomniac’s CEO and founder, donated $75,000 from Electric Daisy 
Carnival ticket sales to three Las Vegas charities at a press conference at The Cosmopolitan. The Clark County School-Community Partnership Program, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts and the Injured Police Officers Fund – Las Vegas each received checks for $25,000. Electric Daisy Carnival just didn’t deliver a memorable event that filled Las Vegas’ hotel rooms, but they found a way to make our community better. Thank you!
Tags: Electric Daisy Carnival, Injured Police Officers Fund Las Vegas, Insomniac, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Terri Maruca, The Clark County School-Community Parntership Program, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts
Do you know where the last coin-operated slot machine is on the Strip? I bet you don’t, and a month ago, neither did I. (It’s the Blazing 7’s at Circus Circus)
When I first came to Las Vegas and joined KDC’s MGM Resorts team, I spent as much time as I could going over document after document, trying to familiarize myself with the ten casino/hotel properties that I now represent. And let’s be realistic here. It’s hard to memorize 50+ room products, another 50+ spa products, plus another 30+ attractions all in one week before I jumped on the pitching machine.
Fast forward. It’s been four months now, and I’m glad to say I know the hotels well enough that I can visualize different story angles. But, I still don’t know everything.
That became glaringly obvious to me when I was invited on guided tours at each of the properties. I was blown away at how much I didn’t know. MGM’s PR veterans compared room rates, showcased top amenities and shared their secrets of best places for journalists to experience Las Vegas, all without batting an eyelash.
Clearly, reading doesn’t mean knowing.
And now, after hours of hiking through hallways and restaurants, learning insider tips and riding on two roller coasters, I’m slowly grasping the whole picture of each property. Best of all, I’m pitching from my own first-hand experience in addition to the memorized facts.
It’s important to get to know your clients. Take an afternoon and go visit them, listen for insider tips, and see a different side of the product through their eyes. And it’s even better when one of them has a dolphin habitat.
Here are a few things that I learnt from these adventures:
1. The Roller Coaster at New York-New York is scary. Really scary.
2. The next time I want to go to a Mandalay Bay Beach concert, you’ll find me grabbing a bite at the outdoor terrace of Border Grill. Talk about sitting right on top of the stage!
3. Mandalay Bay suites have interesting mini-bar items such as the travel box (razor, slaving cream, comb etc.) and the…er… love box. I’ll let you figure that out yourself.
4. There are beer pong tables in Excalibur. ‘Nuff said.
5. And my favorite hidden gem: Circus Circus has gorgeous rooms and unbeatable room rates that are rarely advertised. Not to mention their resort passport includes two free drinks and two free rides at Adventuredome.
*MGM Resorts International properties in Las Vegas include CityCenter, Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, The Mirage, Monte Carlo, New York-New York, Luxor, Excalibur and Circus Circus.
Tags: Adventuredome, Bellagio, Border Grill, Circus Circus, CityCenter, Clara Tsang, Excalibur, KDC, Kirvin Doak Communications, Luxor, Mandalay Bay Beach, MGM Grand, MGM Resorts, MGM Resorts International, Monte Carlo, New York-New York, The Mirage
On Thursday, June 23, Phantom—The Las Vegas Spectacular celebrated five smash-hit years at The Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino. To celebrate this inc
redible milestone, members of the media were invited to attend the celebratory performance that evening. It consistently amazes me that most everybody who I have spoken to, even if they’ve seen the show five, six or in the case of one super fan, 55 times, still rave about what an amazing show Phantom is. I have to say—I totally agree!
When I started my job here at Kirvin Doak last June, Phantom’s fourth anniversary took place during my first week and it was the first event that I had the pleasure to work at. I remember soaking it all in and watching my new teammates create a remarkable event—and they made it look easy! I was hooked after that and couldn’t wait to become an integral member of the team.
Now a year later, as I stood in the packed theatre watching “The Phantom,” Anthony Crivello, lead a champagne toast with his fellow cast members at curtain call, I flashed back to that first night and how I was feeling then versus what I felt today. I have to say my excitement and enthusiasm for this job and Phantom in particular hasn’t wavered. I have gotten to work on so many projects with the talented Phantom Company over the past year and when I saw all 142 of them gather on the famed Masquerade staircase for a photo, I couldn’t help but be amazed that these individuals come together each night making a million moving parts come together as a whole.
Congratulations to the entire Phantom—The Las Vegas Spectacular team! I look forward to celebrating many more milestones to come with this magnificent production.
Here is a small glimpse at some incredible statistics from the show and proof that true to the title of the show, Phantom is “spectacular!”
• Since opening night, Phantom has enchanted audiences with 500,000 unbelievable special effects
• The breathtaking, $5-million chandelier has “crashed” the distance equal to five times the height of Mt. Everest
• “The Phantom” has spent approximately 2,200 hours in the make-up chair to transform into the haunting character each night, equating more than 91 days
• The beautiful “Christine Daae” has had more than 24,000 costume changes
• More than 10,950 romantic kisses have been shared on stage between Christine Daae, Raoul and “The Phantom”
• More than 28,000 elaborate set changes have been executed by the crew
Photo Credit: Denise Truscello/WireImage
Tags: Anthony Crivello, Broadway, Fifth Anniversary, Kirvin Doak Communications, Las Vegas, Las Vegas Entertainment, Las Vegas Shows, Phantom of the Opera, Phantom-The Las Vegas Spectacular, Rebecca Smith, Shows, The Venetian