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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