Spirit Magazine - December 2013 - (Page 82)

MOST MORNINGS Tony Hsieh walks to The Beat coffee shop at Sixth and Fremont in downtown Las Vegas as carefree as he strolls between his kitchen and living room. Hsieh's here this morning in the clothes he wears so often you might call them his uniform: blue jeans, black Asics, and a T-shirt affixed with a Zappos logo. Zappos is the online retailer of shoes, apparel, and a growing array of other items that Hsieh, the company's 40-yearold CEO, has turned into a multibillion-dollar juggernaut over the past decade. Hsieh (pronounced shay) is meeting with Brent Bushnell, whose Los Angeles fi rm, Two Bit Circus, creates high-tech amusements like "Human Asteroids," a large-scale laser game in which the player-seated on a rolling stool and equipped with a souped-up smartphone- attempts to obliterate the barrage of asteroids being digitally projected on the floor around him. Armed with some $350 million of his own money plus that of some partners, Hsieh has vowed to boost entertainment, education, real estate, and startup tech businesses in one of the most forgotten urban zones in America. The money is already making a difference, at least for these first few blocks east of Fremont Street's intersection with Las Vegas Boulevard. Hsieh is taking Bushnell to the site of one of his new purchases and restoration projects: the once thriving but now shuttered Western Hotel and Casino. "Only six months ago, I wouldn't walk here at night," Hsieh tells Bush- 82 SPIRIT DECEMBER 2013 nell, smiling as he talks-which is saying a lot for someone who isn't known for sweeping emotional gestures and who was a stone-faced poker player in Vegas before he moved his company here. "We want to [create a safe environment] all the way down to Maryland Parkway." But one company doesn't turn around an urban core by itself. Signs of community stability and vibrant economic and cultural diversity are beginning to appear in many places around Las Vegas-as a result of Hsieh's efforts and the town's gutsy recovery from the devastation of the Great Recession. The story of that recovery is told, in part, by the growing number of real estate transactions in the area. In 2011, 45 properties in

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Spirit Magazine - December 2013

Spirit Magazine - December 2013
Contents
Gary's Greeting
Gary's Greeting en EspaƱol
Star of the Month
Freedom Story
From the Editor
Your Worlds
Your Pictures
Media Center
Spice up your drink repertoire
Eat Drink Sleep
Cook with chickpeas
Stay Overnight in Nashville
The Numbers
Make a Case for Paper Maps
Look out for Bigfoot
Plan Interplanetary Trek
Wise Guide
Co-opt Criticism
Business
Meet your New Favourite Travel Buddy
Provoke Productivity
Tales of a Tippling City
Rediscover Sin City
The Other Side of Vegas
Your Adventure In Albuquerque
Promotional Series: Spirit of Florida
Focus On: Health Resolutions
Calendar
Fun!
Spotlight
Community Outreach
Products & Services
Flight Services
Terminal Maps
Information
Rapid Rewards and A+ Rewards Partners
Route Map
The "If" List

Spirit Magazine - December 2013

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