A Buzz in Tooele City - Tooele Transcript Bulletin

A2 TOOELE TRANSCRIPT-BULLETIN TUESDAY May 3, 2011Peppermill Concert Hall thriving despite tough economyby Missy BirdSTAFF WRITERWeathering a recession and adownturn in gaming revenuesacross Nevada, the PeppermillConcert Hall has found a successfuloperating formula sinceit opened in West Wendover,Nev., in the summer of 2006.Thus far, 120 artists haveperformed at the $21 millionfacility — many of themmore than once. Those rangefrom country singers to oldrock stars to comedians. Andthe 1,032-seat venue sells outregularly, according to JohnSpillman, marketing directorfor Peppermill Resorts inWendover.“Attendance is very good,”he said. “Most shows are sellingout and the ones that don’t arevery close.”Spillman said when the hallfirst opened, it was only themost popular shows that wereselling out. Over time, however,the crowds have increased forall shows.file / Troy BomanThe Peppermill Concert Hall in West Wendover, Nev., opened in 2006. While theaudience is generally full for concerts, it sometimes struggles to book acts.BUSINESS BRIEFSThe Transcript-Bulletin welcomesnews items from the local businesscommunity of 150 words orless. Businesses can send newsof awards, promotions, internalmilestones, new business ventures,new hires, relocations, partnerships,major transactions andother items to Missy Thompson viae-mail at missy@tooeletranscript.com, via fax at (435) 882-6123,or via regular mail at P.O. Box 390,Tooele, UT 84074. by Lisa ChristensenSTAFF WRITERTroopers from the UtahHighway Patrol made three marijuanabusts along I-80 over theweekend, resulting in the seizureof more than 75 pounds ofdrugs.Late Thursday evening,Trooper Chris Lewis pulled over aNissan Maxima near milepost 58for a speeding violation, accordingto UHP Lt. Corey Nye. WhenLewis approached the vehicle, hedetected the smell of marijuanaand asked the driver, 26-yearoldOwings, Md., resident DavidJared Segall, to get out of the carto facilitate the search for thesource of the drug odor. Nye saidat that point in the stop Segallrolled the window up, put the carin gear and drove away.Lewis chased Segall for about10 miles down the highway untilSegall slowed and began to pullover, Nye said.“What we found out later wasthat his girlfriend, who was drivinganother car as part of therun, had convinced him to givehimself up,” Nye said. “But thenit seemed like he changed hismind because he started to pullout again.”Segall was stopped whenLewis maneuvered his car nextto Segall’s. The patrol vehiclewas slightly damaged, and noone was hurt, Nye said. InsideSegall’s vehicle, Lewis found 40pounds of raw marijuana, packagedfor distribution, a smallamount of cocaine for personaluse, Nye said, and more than 150glass pipes and bongs. Nye saidSegall was transporting the drugsfrom Central California back toMaryland.Segall and his girlfriendwere both taken into custody.The woman, also a Marylandresident, was not transportingany drugs in her car and wascourtesy of Saul AndradeRocker Alice Cooper performs at the Peppermill Concert Hall in West Wendover, Nev., on Oct. 17, 2009. The concert hall has acts performing almost every weekend.Achieving those sellouts ispartly a function of ticket pricing,with the price of admissionvarying from $5 to $60 dependingupon the seats and the artist.“A high-end artist like LynyrdSkynryd — they are a highlysought-after group, so naturallywe have to pay a little moremoney for them,” Spillman said.“The ticket prices will be a littlelower for someone who’s not aswell known or sought after, likethe Little River Band. They startat $20 whereas Lynyrd Skynyrdmight start at $50 or $60.”The hall operates as a lossleader for Peppermill Resortsin order to attract customersto casinos and hotels — meaningconcerts just pay the costof covering the band, singer oract, Spillman said.The concert hall’s main challengeis not selling tickets butrather booking acts.“It’s very expensive [for theartists] to put on big productions,get the dates and havethe band and equipment movingaround and setting up,”Spillman said. “That’s beenour biggest challenge: findingenough acts to have everyweekend.”The Peppermill ConcertHall has 44 acts scheduled toperform through December,with tickets on sale for performancesthrough the end of July.Concerts are already sold outfor rocker Joan Jett performingFriday, folk rock band Americaon May 13, stand-up comedianGabriel Iglesias on May 27 andtwo shows for comedian RonWhite on July 1.Some artists have been repeatperformers at the concert hall,such as comedian RodneyCarrington (who’s scheduled toperform two shows on Dec. 3).“When Rodney Carrington ishere, we try to book him forthe following year,” he said.“We’re still trying to book actsin August. More are last-minute,some of the shows we bookfar out in advance.”There are other acts, suchreleased, so far without chargespressed against her, after providinginformation to investigators,as Saigon by Night, an oldvaudeville-type group, whereSpillman is never sure whattypes of entertainers will beperforming.“They’re like a mishmash ofthe old vaudeville with singersand dancers,” he said. “We’llhave four or five of those a year.They just never confirm whothe actual artists are going to beuntil a few months before.”Spillman said he tries to landdiverse acts — within certainparameters.“We put offers out to allgenres,” he said. “We’re hustlingcountry stars, comedians,old rockers and newer rock.”Most of the market for theconcert hall comes from theNye said.“Working with our state bureauof investigations, she’s given a lotof statements,” Nye said. “She’sbeen helpful.”Segall, however, is being heldin the Tooele County DetentionCenter.At approximately 10:30 Fridaynight, Trooper Evan Kirbystopped a rental car near milepost67 for a moving violation.Upon approaching the vehicle,he noticed the smell of marijuana,Nye said, and requested a K-9unit to investigate. Five poundsof marijuana were found in thecar. The driver, a 39-year-oldmale, and the passenger, a 35-year-old woman, who were ontheir way from Central Californiato Chicago, were both arrested.On Saturday, Trooper ChrisTerry pulled over a HondaElement near milepost 26 anddetected the smell of marijuana.When he approached the driver,35-year-old Chesterfield, Va., residentAlan Pew, about the smell,Pew became noncompliant andbegan yelling and flailing. NyeWasatch Front. Demand andpopularity have determinedwhat types of acts they go after.“We have tested various typesof acts and found country to bethe most popular genre amongour patrons followed by classicrock, comedy and alternative,”he said.The concert hall was nominatedby the Academy ofCountry Music as the CasinoVenue of the Year in 2008,2009 and 2010, according toSpillman.“Even to be nominated is ahuge honor,” he said. “It’s casinovenues all across the UnitedStates and Canada and LasVegas casinos. There’s a lot ofnice facilities. For us to be recognizedis a significant deal.”With fewer bands touringdue to the economy, Spillmansaid it’s become increasinglydifficult to book bands andacts. However, the number ofpeople attending shows has notdecreased.“We’re still seeing the samenumber of people, but they’renot bringing as much money,”he said. “The thing that’s affectingus right now is gas prices.People bring a couple hundredout to play the tables or slotsand have to spend $80 on gas.Still, the ticket sales are a testamentto the customers reallyenjoying the shows.”missy@tooeletranscript.comI-80 sees three more weekend marijuana bustsShare youropinion withover 27,000readers.Write a letter to the editortbp@tooeletranscript.comP.O. Box 390, Tooele, UT 84074courtesy of Utah Highway PatrolMore than 75 pounds of marijuana and drug paraphernalia were seized duringthree separate busts along I-80 over the weekend. 1/2 lb Double5.49CheeseburgerCombo NOW SERVING! $5.49Breakfast inGrantsville8am–11am490 N. 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Main, TooeleMOTOR VUAdmission Adults $7 | Child/Senior $5 | 5pm Matinee $5Admission- Adults $ 7 | Child $ 1 | Senior $ 5GNOMEO & JULIETGNOMEO & JULIETalsoG PG-13Sun - Thurs 5:00Ends ThursdayPG-13Helen Mirren, Russell BrandArthurAdmission Adults $7 | Child/Senior $5 | 5pm Matinee $58:45 • THURS - FRI - SATSun - Thurs 7:10Ends ThursdayPG-13HannaCate BlanchettAdmission Adults $7 | Child/Senior $5 | 5pm Matinee $5FM Radio Required for SoundMARS NEEDS MOMSMARS NEEDS MOMSsaid a second trooper and adeputy from the Tooele CountySheriff’s Office were called to thescene, where Pew’s actions hadgotten more belligerent.“The individual took his keysand threw them into the salt flatsso we couldn’t gain access to thevehicle,” Nye said.When the officers did searchthe vehicle, Nye said, they found30 pounds of raw marijuana. Pewwas arrested and booked into thecounty jail.lchristensen@tooeletranscript.comTOOELE“Your Neighborhood Family Theatre”1600 N. 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