Las Vegas, NV — On January 28th — I began a painting of Vegas Vickie, on-location, at Circa Resort & Casino in Downtown Las Vegas. Typically, I finish a work, post it here — and that’s a wrap. However, Vegas Vickie is a demanding mistress — the painting wasn’t enough.
With this, the wheels of history were put in motion. What began as a conversation with Mr. Jeff Victor, Vice President of Circa, is coming to life — in the Vegas Vickie NFT Project.
On February 2, 2022… I signed Vickie to a round of applause (I share this detail, because it’s extremely rare and incredibly awesome for an artist).
In attendance were… Circa Owner Derek Stevens, Mr. Victor and his lovely wife Sheila (pictured above with yours truly); Scott Roeben of Vital Vegas, the amazing Circa team that supported me all week; a group of my beloved friends including Brandy, Patrick, Raiderman, Chas, Pat, Shannon, Garrett and Angelica; and, of course, some beautiful casino patrons.
Behind the scenes — our historic blockchain project was already under way. Before I go way back and tell you everything — check out The Vegas Vickie NFT Splash Page. Sign-up with your email — we’ll discover the future together.
Now, let’s hop in the DeLorean with Marty, and see the past.
On October 28, 2020… Circa & Resort & Casino opened its doors. Owned by brothers Derek and Greg Stevens, Circa, the first new casino built in downtown Las Vegas since 1980, held many surprises — the biggest sports book in the world, a six-tiered roof-top pool with a 14-million megapixel screen known as Stadium Swim, Barry’s Downtown Prime steakhouse… and, while these beauties are wicked sweet — it was a glowing icon that stopped me dead in my tracks.
Vegas Vickie, designed by Charles F. “Chuck” Bernard, flexed her sassy pose over Glitter Gulch since… wait for it… 1980. This sassy lady (in fact, often erroneously referred to as ‘Sassy Sally’) was removed in 2017, and set for the graveyard… and no, I don’t mean “the formerly known as the Neon Boneyard” Neon Museum — I mean, the trash.
That was until former Fremont Street Experience President, and current Vice President of Circa (and several other entities) — Jeff Victor stepped-in… and not only did Mr. Victor save Vickie — he oversaw her restoration by YESCO to Mr. Bernard’s exact specifications (even having the artist’s signature placed on Vickie’s boot), and had her installed in Circa. Breathtaking isn’t word enough for the result.
I took the photo above at 9:55AM on March 30, 2021 — it was the first time I saw Vickie at Circa, and it was love at first sight.
On April 20, 2013… I met Brandy and Patrick McCormick while live-painting at Broadway Bares, a charity event put on by Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS. They became fast friends, evangelists of my work, and, in time, collectors.
Six years later (to the day), on April 20, 2019… sometime around 3AM — a frenzy of slot jackpots resulted in the McCormick’s acquiring my Atomic Liquors painting. Their passion for Downtown Las Vegas is amazing. In our thrice-annual visits, we experience a master class in everything Vegas — and I’m not just talking about Churchill’s snooker table. We discuss the openings and closings of restaurants, bars, businesses and casinos; visit historical sites; check every spot in the Arts District; and, at times, hit the links for 18 holes of shanks.
And, of course — we talk about art, music (Kate McCormick is an incredible musician) and theatre. When it comes to art, I talk neon… in fact, it was during an art walk that I experienced Vegas Vickie for the first time. I immediately told Brandy and Patrick about my intense desire to paint her… and potentially explore an NFT component.
On May 31, 2021 — my friends had a fortuitous run-in with Mr. Victor at Circa. They discussed this project and sent an email introduction. Mr. Victor and I struck-up an ongoing conversation about Vegas Vickie, painting and NFT’s — and this is how the Vegas Vickie project began.
Famous pottery artist, Seth Rogen… once said, “DMX isn’t a lone wolf. DMX has the Ruff Ryder crew. You can’t stop, drop, and open up shop alone. You need people to help you!”
As my conversations with Circa developed further, I quickly realized I’m no lone wolf in the NFT space. Conor McClintock, one of my lifetime besties, went deep into the NFT world a year ago — and has become extremely well-versed in the space. We had been looking for a collaboration in as much time — so when I locked-in the Vegas trip, I called him and said, “I need you.” He booked his trip to Circa one hour later.
But wait, what about the tech component of this project? I’m glad you asked… that’s where Piers Rollinson arrived on the scene. Having worked for Square and DoorDash, Piers had obvious tech pedigree… but when he collaborated with my artist brother Jeremy Penn on his Hot Lips NFT release — I knew he was our guy.
And so — NFToftheART LLC was formed to collaborate with Circa.
On November 26, 2021… Mr. Victor and I met in-person for a Circa property tour, and a long discussion about the project.
While I consider myself a Las Vegas buff, Mr. Victor’s knowledge puts me in the amateur column. As the Fremont Street Experience President, he lived in an apartment with a view… so he could oversee the development of Slotzilla. I learned Derek Stevens, owner of Circa, The D and The Golden Gate, has long been an innovator. He installed a Bitcoin ATM at The D in 2014 (!!!!). As for Circa? It represents a celebration of the history and pulse of Las Vegas in every detail, from the aforementioned world’s largest sports book and Stadium Swim, to the 500 custom branded gold bars on display in the Legacy Club.
The concept of being the first casino to the Blockchain was very on-brand… but, like everything else done by this group — it had to be masterfully crafted. And, with this objective in place… I packed my easel, paint and a 30″X40″X1.5″ canvas in a Red Tahoe (thank you Lowman’s), popped Oscar Goodman’s biography on Audible, and hit the road to Vegas.
On January 28, 2022… I woke up, opened the blinds, soaked-in some Stadium Swim action, and got ready to hit the casino floor for a seven-day-date with Vegas Vickie.
Before I arrived… I spent some serious time drawing out Vickie, adding my standard warm-colored underpainting. While people don’t mind watching happy trees being painted in real-time… fine line drawing is no way to entertain.
But wait, my Wolfpack got larger… with the INCREDIBLE Circa social media team. They were on-site, capturing the action as it happened to great effect.
Adding the tubes… and how they interact with a neon sign, however, is something of interest. Beyond being involved with an innovative, ground-breaking NFT project — I set out to make “watching paint dry” in a Vegas casino interesting.
At this stage, Vickie was starting to come to life, one five-zero brush stroke at a time.
Here, the gorgeous Vickie… required a background to match, so I got to work on Circa’s lush ambiance… at this moment, I knew I’d make it to the finish line on time, so I could get back to Idaho for my daughter’s birthday. Oh, yes, and I should mention — she is named Vega after, you guessed it — Vegas.
And after seven days working 11AM-7PM… the visual backbone of our collaboration was complete! And, thanks to the Circa PR, Marketing and Branding team — our project caught fire.
Scott Roeben… the power behind the incredible Vital Vegas — stopped-by, captured photos, and shared our project with the world. Las Vegas Locally, another Vegas Twitter account of record run by an unknown party, also took note.
Vital Vegas then… interviewed me on his podcast — our segment begins at 52:40.
Fox 5 Las Vegas… joined the party with this dandy of a feature.
As soon as the Splash Page landed… CBS Las Vegas got in on the action.
But wait, NBC… would also jump into the scene.
The Teton Valley periodical of record,… the Teton Valley News also shared the news. Since, the Vegas Vickie NFT project has begun to light up Instagram, with insiders like itsdaniel.leo.
Vegas Vickie the painting… is now on display at the luxurious Legacy Club, high atop Circa.
And so… Circa and NFToftheART continue to work around the clock to develop a release that will not only innovate in the casino space… but also the NFT world as a whole. We cannot wait to bring Vickie to the blockchain, and hope you will join us. To my incredible wife Erin, and everyone involved — I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Here’s to what now… what comes next.
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