State Senator Steven Horsford (D-Nor'Town) and several black leaders did not appreciate a recent blogpost by local blogger and freelance author Steve Freiss. (Sun)
Freiss's remark appeared in his blog Vegas Happens Here where he was commenting on a move by the owners of the Palazzo to change a sports bar into a sports book.
wasn't a surprise. The surprise was that anybody thought that a place
that elsewhere is known for drawing large numbers of black customers
would fit in well in a $2 billion resort like Palazzo where the only
minorities they're really aiming to please are Asian whales.
Is
that a racist statement? I don't mean it to be. I mean it to be an
objective look at an inappropriate pairing between the aesthetic of a
resort that envisions itself and markets itself as the lap of luxury
and a place known for being popular among rappers and folks who like a
good chicken wing. Do you think that Palazzo has ever taken out an ad
in Jet or Ebony? Hell to the no! They're busy advertising in Conde Nast
Traveler and Forbes. (VHH)
Freiss denied that the chicken wing remark was meant to make fun of blacks. Rather, it was intended to make fun of denizens of sports bars:
In an e-mail response to the Sun asking about his remarks, Friess
said: "I would never have considered chicken wings to be viewed as a
black food and did not write it in order to evoke that sense. Chicken
wings are a staple of every sports bars I've ever been in, which is why
I made reference to them."
He also said, "Some may view it as inappropriate to view 40/40 Club
as a black-oriented business. Those people would be deliberately
ignorant." (Sun)
In a recent update, Friess suggests that the fracas was partially some payback from a Sun reporter who had been the subject of some embarrassing posts by Freiss. (VHH)
Which, if true, raises the question, why did Horsford get in the middle of the fight?
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