The Voice Behind WWE and the Vegas Golden Knights | Mark Shunock

Welcome And Guest Introduction

Welcome to Vegas Circle Podcast with your hosts, Pocky and Chris. We are people who are passionate about business, success, and culture. And this is our platform to showcase people in our city who are making it happen. And on today's podcast, we've got actor, hosts, philanthropists. This gentleman's got many hats, one of the Las Vegas' most recognizable voices, known in the arena as the host of the Vegas Golden Knights, and he's also the ring announcer for WWE's SmackDown, and also the owner of the space, which we're gonna get into. So let's welcome to the circle. Mr. Mark Chinook, uh better known as Mark Nash, which we're gonna get into. Yeah, thank you. So good to see you in person, brother.

Listen, listen, I'm I'm a follower. I've watched your show, and uh when I got the I don't know, one of you hit me up there.

Come on on. I was like, I responded right away. I was like, let's do it. I appreciate that, man. Yeah, we know a lot of the same people, man. From I think you also know Nino Galloway, too, right? Nino, Nick Days, yeah. I'm sorry, Nick Dosa. Nick Dosa. Vegas Auto Gallery. Yes. Nino uh Galloway, uh fire, retired vet, 30 years on the force. I think we had Nino on maybe seven to eight years ago. Yeah, long ago. We had to come back.

That's Vegas just shows you how cool our city is.

You're name dropping just cool boys. Yep, 100%, man. So let's jump right in,

Canada To New York To Vegas

man. So originally from Ontario, Canada, right? How did you end up in Las Vegas?

You know, it was as a kid who grows up in Canada, you know, I told you before we came on, I'm from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, which is about five hours north of Detroit, Michigan. And like any kid who is born in the great white north, we want to, we want to raise the Stanley Cup. So my goal as a kid was to play hockey, and I did that as long as I could, actually. I made it as far as the Canadian Hockey League, which is a major junior A, big feeder to the National Hockey League. I was a goaltender back then, you know, goalies were small. Now they're 6'3, 200 pounds, and they're just basically walls that block the net. But after my hockey days didn't really work out, I was like, well, let's chase something a little bit even more crazier. And I moved to New York City as a 19-year-old and chased a Broadway career. And, you know, surrounded myself with the best in that acting world to learn from the best, like guys like Wynne Hanman at Radio City, studying in the backs of theaters, learning everything I possibly could about the craft of acting. I was ripping scripts apart. And I I loved becoming somebody else. Like I really did. I just bought into this this world and I lived that really humble artist life where I was, you know, essentially a hospitality worker. I was behind a bar or waiting tables trying to find the next gig. And you know, things just started to align and I got lucky. I, you know, I booked Lion King. I was playing Timon in the Lion King for a few years.

I've seen that was in Canada's resume. Yeah, Hakuna Matada. I've probably seen you in Canada at that time.

I was all all I was all based in the US at that point. You know, moved to the United States as a 19-year-old, never never went back. So I'm creeping up there in age, and uh, you know, I've actually lived longer in the United States than I did in Canada. So this is home. This is home. This is home. Okay. Yeah, and there was a show called Rock of Ages that uh brought me to Vegas 14 years ago. Privileged to play Lonnie, which was the big lead narrator role. And I spent three years at the Venetian headlining that show. And uh, but that's the ticket that brought me here. And at that time, my wife and I looked at each other. We were living in Los Angeles at the time, and we said, Hey, we'll go do six months.

You thought that's how they get you in Vegas. Everybody thinks that.

We're creeping up on 14 years. So it's been a wild ride in Vegas' home. We love it here. But it it goes back to the conversation that you started with. It's it's the people that kept me here. It wasn't it wasn't the employment.

That's the same as us, Chris and I, both Midwest guys, but I lived in the East Coast in the Boston area. But this is home for me at 19 years. I'm creeping up on my half, yeah, my half-life. Yeah, so I think it's it's amazing all the changes like with Vegas right now, especially the Golden Knights.

Cold Calling Into The Golden Knights

I mean, you started from the beginning with the Golden Knights, right? You got in right when franchise was here.

I was sitting in my dressing room with a wig on, getting ready to go sing some 80s tunes. Get out of and Bill Foley goes on the news and says, I want to bring pro hockey to Las Vegas. And I was like, this guy's full of shit. You know, literally, I was like, just like everybody else, like, this is never gonna happen. Yeah. But being a kid from Canada, played the game. My father's involved in hockey, owns a junior franchise, and the goofy guy that I am, literally the next day, I got on the phone and I cold called Fidelity Financial, and I said, My name is Mark. I'm an actor on the strip from Canada. I know the game. How can I help you? The woman on the phone, the receptionist, said, Please hold, transferred me to a guy by the name of Todd Pollack, who was the only employee at the time dedicated to the team that Bill had hired. He was a day one number one employee. His answer to me on the phone was, Are you the funny guy from Rock of Ages? When I gave him my name, I said, Yeah, he goes, Dude, I come to your show all the time. You're funny. Show up at this address next week. The address the following week was Bill's house, and I was a part of the Vegas wants hockey campaign with 50 other Vegas uh locals, and our job was to call you and say, I need a thousand bucks for a season ticket deposit for a team that doesn't exist. Don't worry, it's refundable. Yeah, and that's how I started. So I've worked for Bill in some capacity for almost 11 years, even though the team is now nine years old. I I was part of the Vegas campaign to bring the team here, and I'm something I'm proud of because as a kid from a a small town in Canada, yeah, I understand what a hockey franchise means to a city. It's in your blood, man.

Especially the the Great White North, you're talking about the whole country.

It's in our DNA. And you know, the way my father acquired the team as a as a businessman, uh, the local owners at the time, Phil and Tony Esposito, who are iconic hockey hockey guys from Sault Ste. Marie, they were gonna sell the team, and the team at that time was gonna be relocated to Michigan. And it would have been the first Canadian hockey league franchise to relocate to the United States. I think I let that happen. And my dad is like, hold up, yeah, hold up. We have a steel mill and a hockey team. It's too much history. How much? Yeah. And so he acquired the team, and I was like 12 years old at the time, and so immediately I was thrust into this world of you know, hockey ownership and the culture, and and literally my childhood growing up in an arena. My dad was across the street practicing his practicing his dental practice, he was a dentist by trade. Oh, okay, okay. Hockey owner by night. And we just figured it out as a family. And within the first three years of his him owning the team, they won some championships, they won a national championship. We've had guys like Wayne Gretzky, Jeff Talkett, Buka Boom, Joe Thornton. The hockey history in my hometown is incredible. So to be able to come full circle, be with the team since day one, host a Stanley Cup, win one in year six, get a ring with my name on it, like that's that's that's shit dreams are made of. And so again, that's a Vegas story if there ever was one, but that only happens because of Bill and the people he surrounded himself with. Like the guy's the guy's a visionary and change changed Las Vegas.

And what a great way to bring that like whole story full circle. You go in the you go be a try to be a hockey player, try to be involved in different capacities, and then come back around and do it in entertainment, which kind of led to that. It's kind of like a weird bridge, huh?

Yeah, how'd you get to Vegas? I thought a Broadway actor.

It's kind of you're combining both the hockey and the the entertainment piece of it. You know, kind of navigating that experience, right? Being up on stage, being in these environments, navig, being in sports, being in entertainment, a lot of it's a lot of eyes, a lot of visual, a lot of you know attention, and specifically environments that are in front of a lot of people. Like, how do you feel like you've been able, or what helped you navigate a lot of those experiences as you've kind of grown in your career?

Yeah, that's a great question. For me, it's when they handed me a microphone for the first time inside T-Mobile Arena, it was really no different than somebody handing a microphone to a fan, a diehard fan.

But that's a good that could be a great thing.

So I think that's what sort of separated me from other people in in my role and in other franchises and other networks, things of that nature, is that I got my start in sports as a Broadway kid turned sports host, but who came to the table with such a passion and understanding for the game and just wanted the guys on the ice to win. I just there was nothing I wanted more than the team to win. And you know, our fan base is nuts. Yeah, they really are. We follow, we sometimes get a bad rap on social, like the the world hates Vegas. Yeah, I welcome that.

I have to add, is I've never been to a hockey game except when I've been in Vegas. And I think I've been like three games, lived in the East Coast in Boston, you know, the Boros and never went to a game. It is chaos inside.

Like I'm a Red Wings fan, they're like a diehard team forever. This is crazy to give in Detroit. What did they figure out? What did they figure out that nobody figured out?

Why Vegas Changed Sports Presentation

What we have at our disposal, right? Like if the camera pans the crowd and Blue Man Group isn't sitting there, that's a miss for us, right? What we do in Las Vegas, we could never do in Boston, we could never do in Detroit. We would get shot. Yep. And the guy ten roads back would scream at us, sit down, shut up. I'm trying to watch the game. Uh we have a show, we have a show within a show. That is true in Vegas, right? It's it's literally a show. Yep. And I will say this, and this a tip of the cap to the men and women who led the charge out of the gate nine seasons ago. What started in Las Vegas with the Golden Knights nine seasons ago set the standard for game, what we call game presentation for all of sports in all leagues. What are you seeing now in baseball when somebody hits a home run? Lights flashing, DeJ drops a song. That started because of game presentation in Las Vegas. What Johnny Greco, Aaron Sacara, these are some of the leaders from nine seasons ago, created in Vegas, basically transcended all of sport. Everybody in their roles in other leagues, NBA, MLB, started to pay attention to what was happening in Las Vegas and started to take those ideas and make them their own and bring them into their own world. So when you go to a sporting event now, it doesn't matter what you're seeing. It's not just about what takes place on the court, on the field, on the ice. It's that whole energy, man. It's it's everything. It's walking into that arena, that stadium, and understanding the culture that that team wants to put forth from a from a game pres standpoint. And that's something that you know we're proud of here in Vegas, right? People look to what we're doing. Some people hate it, and that's okay. You know, they don't need to see a knight sword fighting somebody before a hockey game. They just want it, they just want to see a hockey game. Of course, yeah. And that's fair. But that's not Las Vegas.

It's entertainment. It makes a lot of sense because I think there was a lot of times where you know uh sports attendance was declining, like right across the nation, across all sports. You're starting to see people. I can watch it on TV. Like I could see the game. If I actually want to pay attention to the sport, it's better on TV. But I'm gonna go to the environment, I want the experience.

There's nothing like a hockey game inside the whole arena. I would agree. I've been a part of this game since I could walk. And it's it's pretty iconic. And even if you're not even a hockey fan, it's freaking funny. I'm not even a much fan, and I loved it. I absolutely loved it. It's loud, yeah, it's obnoxious. Oh yeah, there's a hockey game happening. That's real. Yeah. You're looking around. What is happening? It's everywhere too, like multiple spots, like all different kinds of stuff is happening. You turn around, there's like I said, you turn around, blue man groups sitting there making out with somebody. Skeering around, there's carrot top doing card tricks.

What is happening? There's a whole chaos, but they figured it out. They figured it out. They did. So your role is hold what's what's your full role with the Golden Knights now?

I'm what you call an in-arena host. Okay. I'm a hype guy. Um, so I get the party started essentially with two of my other colleagues, uh Bojo and Katie Marie are. Yeah, shout out to Mojo. Yeah, he's good to do. Yeah. They share the they share the stage with me. But then we also have the opportunity to to host various programs for the organization throughout the season. Okay. We do a lot of player interviews on the bench, post-game, you know, three stars, all of that stuff. So, you know, it it's literally a fan with a microphone. We're giving, we're giving away prizes nonstop to fans. Like you said, when there's a when there's a break in the action, we take over. Smart. And there's never a dull moment in that building. Yeah.

Performing With Purpose Every Night

You know, seasons are long, right? And I think, you know, I know you've been in performance in a lot of capacities, but how do you bring that passion every single time? Because you can't go to work and have a bad day when you're in that front-facing environment where you are the hype person.

That's the job, you know, that's that's the gig, right? When I was doing Rock of Ages or The Lion King, people always ask, they're like, How do you do the same show six nights a week? Because when we were doing Rock of Ages, I I worked Tuesday through Sunday and we did eight shows a week. Monday was our only night off. And somebody asked me, How do you do the same show every night? So all of the shows the Cirque performances, Bruno Mars, they do the same show. But in Broadway and in sports, we do the same thing every night. Golden Knights, we we change it up every game. But the answer that I I give to that question is a buddy of mine who no longer with us, rest in peace. His name was Ben Lippitz. I played Timone in the Lion King, and his cohort was Poomba, right? The mere cat and the warthog. Well, my warthog in the Lion King did the show for almost 20 years. I did it for three. And I asked him, I said to him one day, I said, I just got to the show and I was new. He had probably been there about 15 years at the time. I said, How the hell are you still singing Hakuna Matan for 15 years? And he said to me, He said, Mark, and I'll never forget this, and it's the greatest answer of all time. He said, Somebody is seeing the Lion King tonight for the first time, and somebody is seeing the Lion King tonight for the last time.

Oh, wow.

That's motivation I need. That was a great thing. So when you ask me how do you get motivated for a hockey game, first of all, when I walk into an arena and you smell that ice, I'm like it brings me home. So that's part of it. But somebody in that crowd of 18,000 people may not be with us tomorrow. And somebody is seeing their hockey game, like you said. You lived in Boston, you didn't even watch a game with the Bruins, and you came to Vegas and saw your first game. That's enough motivation for me because we do get a lot of out-of-town visitors who come to Las Vegas specific, and they may hate hockey, but they're coming to the game because they've heard about it for the last decade. Going to a hockey game is pretty cool in Vegas. So they come. It'd be pretty shitty of me to have an offer for that person seeing it for the first time, and more importantly, somebody who's seen it for the last time.

That was a great answer. That was an excellent.

And I'm not taking credit for the answer. That's my boy Ben who's looking down on me, saying thanks for the shout-out. But that's it, right? Like that's our job as entertainers. Whether you're on stage, you're shooting a movie, you're singing songs, you're you're hosting events, you guys are entertainers, you're hosting a podcast. If you don't like it, what are you doing here?

You're right.

Go home. You're right. Right? So I first of all I love what I do. I'm privileged and humbled to be able to call the WWE and the Vegas Golden Knights home. But more importantly, it's it's my job. You know, people spend their hard-earned money to walk into a theater and watch a movie, or walk into a theater and watch somebody on stage, or walk into an arena and see a sport. Yeah, it's my job. Yeah, that's what I'm paid to do. I'm paid to make sure you have

The Cup Run And Community Healing

fun.

And I love it. You know, one of the things that was so awesome is when they won the first Stanley Cup and it brought like this camaraderie together with you guys.

We needed it too at the beginning. I remember it was the best frickin' thing in the world.

Yeah. I mean, what was it from your perspective of seeing it on every building here? Like we see with the New York Knicks or dealing with right. You know what I mean? Like that was on a won it all.

It was pretty remarkable. And you know, like you guys know sports. We're gonna we're gonna have some seasons that are not gonna be great. Of course, yeah, of course. We have yet to see that in Vegas, right? We're nine years old. We've been to the Stanley Cup finals three times. We've won it once. We've made the playoffs eight of nine years. I grew up in, like I said, where you're from, essentially. You know, the Toronto Maple Leafs haven't won a Stanley Cup since I've been on the planet, let alone get out of the second round practically since I've been on the planet, right? The Red Wings are going through it right now.

I probably was growing up, I had the back-to-back year, so I was feeling good. I was a big Iserman fan, right?

Like, how can you not be? And and so we're spoiled. 100% agree. Super spoiled. But to bring it back to the jump, to the day one jump, right? Like when when Bill was awarded the franchise and they hired a front office, and the logo was revealed and the name was revealed. The the gentleman that I mentioned earlier, Johnny Greco, is is probably a one of one when it comes to the world of game presentation and creativity. There was a party planned for season one, game one, and we had all sorts of amazing things planned. A week before that game was the the biggest mass shooting in the history of the United States. Right, yeah. And so within a week we had to pivot from throwing a party to help heal a community. So not only were we the first professional sports team to come to Las Vegas, we were the first mass gathering of people inside a stadium post the 10-1 shooting. And so what the Vegas Golden Knights means to our community will be more than any other sports team that comes and goes from our city ever. So and I don't mean this in any disrespect to the Raiders or the Aces or the Oakland Athletics or the Aviators, they're never gonna hold a candle to what the Golden Knights mean to the city of Las Vegas simply because of our connection to helping heal a community. And not only that, but in year one, the players played with a chip on their shoulder because they were all expansion draft players and they knew that they were playing for something bigger than them, they were playing to help heal a community. We made it all the way to the Stanley Cup final in our first season and we're three wins away from raising the cup. So it's a special, special, special franchise. And most of the United States doesn't understand what that team, this team, means to our city. And so when it's Vegas, when we see those t-shirts that are hot right now, let's say Vegas versus everyone, I welcome that. That's awesome. Because nobody outside of Las Vegas will understand. That's a great book.

I didn't realize the connection together because I definitely feel it in my heart for whatever reason, but now that makes sense why it's a lot of sense.

It is legit. You must have read my question because that was what I was gonna ask you about.

From Top Rank To WWE SmackDown

Let's talk a little bit about the WWE. So you were you were at top rank, right?

Yes with boxing, and then now you jump to what's crazy, man, is I was a Broadway kid in the basement of the Venetian doing Rock of Ages who called a potential hockey owner. He gets awarded a franchise. I get a job. Season one, right after we launch this franchise, the shooting happens. It's October 2017. Three weeks into the job, it's not even Halloween. I get a call from CAA Sports out of Los Angeles, Century City, a gentleman by the name of Nick Kahn, who is the head of CAA Sports, and he said, Hey man, top rank boxing is based in Las Vegas. Todd DeBeuf, the president, Bob Arram's son, they saw you at a hockey game. Do you have any interest in working in boxing? I flew to Century City, met with CAA Sports, and I just looked Nick in the face and I said, Should I work in boxing? And he said, Yeah, you should probably work in boxing. Boxing's the other message. So my my acting career got put on hold. And within a matter of a couple of months, I'm working for an NHL franchise and I'm working for top rank boxing on ESPN. What a great turn of events. I spent six and a half years with top rank. I spent two seasons with the Raiders when they first moved to town as an in-arena hype guy. I worked directly for the National Hockey League for five seasons doing the All-Star Weekend, winner classic stadium series, their big events. And that's because, again, like I said, people took notice about what we were doing in Vegas. And I played this small little role, and you know, people liked what I did on the mic, so I started getting other gigs. I really got to hone my skills with top rank because I got to host the press conference, I got to host the weigh-ins, and then I eventually moved into the ring and they gave me the ring announcer role with top rank. So when Nick ended up leaving CAA to become the president of the WWE and an incredible ring announcer, Samantha the Bomb, Irvin, decided to leave the WWE. There was an opening. And so I hear out of the blue, I look down on my phone one day and it's a text message from Triple H. And at the time, it was September two years ago, right before the election. And I thought it was a political text. Everybody's gonna spam. Please vote for this guy, or hey, it's George Clooney, buy my tequila and vote for this guy. So I look down and I'm like, hey, it's Triple H Paul Avec, and I'm like, yeah, no, whatever. Apple guy, as I'm sure you guys are. My iPhone, I put it down, but I flip open my laptop, the messages are synced, and I'm typing away and I look at the message, it pops up on my screen, and it's pretty decent paragraph. No, no, it was the same text, but I I got to read it because it was in front of my face, and it said, Hey man, we're fans of your work. Do you have time for a call? Essentially, and I'm like, Do I got time for a call? It's triple H. Yeah, absolutely. Triple H texts, you answer that text. So I immediately responded. I said, Hello, Mr. H or Paul, you know, whatever. And I said, Happy to set up a call. And there was a there was a need for a ring announcer in the WWE world, and I've been that I've been with the company now for almost two years, and I'm I'm blessed to to ring announce for the show Friday Night Smackdown. We shoot 50 weeks a year live from somewhere on the planet. So I've been all over the United States, been all over Europe and Saudi, and it's been a it's been a crazy ride. And I've been a part of some big things. Yeah. There is nothing bigger than a WWE.

That was my next question for you. Is it WWE? Is it boxing or is it nights? It's all the above.

They're all very much their own unicorn.

With the energy for WWE is second to none.

Second to none.

How do you align schedules? Like it's kind of a curiosity. That seems like stars aligning luck.

No. The first base is WWE, right? We know it's every Friday. So I'm on a plane usually every Thursday, and I'm in my garage Saturday before 10 a.m. I usually don't sleep after the show. I'll stay up. We get back. If it's East Coast, I'm back to my hotel by midnight. And I'm on a 6 a.m. flight or 5 a.m. flight back to Vegas. And so I'm in my garage before 10 a.m. So that way I can have my weekend back with her, whether I need to be in T Bomble Arena or another event, bless you. And it's it's awesome. I'm just like I said, I'm blessed. Blessed, blessed, blessed. Yeah.

Sounds exciting. It's like you're constantly riding a high energy environment. I feel like it'd be hard to kind of wind down after that if I'm always riding huge highs. How do I don't sleep after SmackDown?

Right? Like, how can you how can you? I'm I'm literally six to eight feet away from some of the most incredible athletes on the planet. And I we forget that, right? Like it's entertainment, it's sports entertainment. They're they're definitely entertainers. They're no joke. They are incredible athletes. And the biggest privilege for me being in the WWE is the business, understanding now the business of the WWE, but also getting to peek behind the curtain and understand who Cody Rhodes really is, who Chelsea Green really is, who Jade Cargill really is, Charlotte Flair. These are incredible athletes that are superstars in on screen to millions of fans. But at the end of the day, I get to sometimes sit down at a table just like this, walk the buffet line with them through catering and shoot the shit and understand who they are, where they're from, what are they like, what do they don't want. They're they're people just like us, but they're all wonderful human beings. I don't think there's a single person that I've encountered in the two years that I've been with the organization now, or year and a half. That's an asshole. Pardon my French. They're good people, and I think they understand where they are, how hard they worked to get there, but they're all humble, incredibly giving, super kind human beings. And that and you you don't see that often as a whole within an institution, right? Like I'm I've I've worked on Broadway with Broadway shows and things, and there's some assholes over there. Yeah, for sure. Like there's some there's some idiots in sports. Yeah. Maybe I'm still new and green to the WWE. But so far it's been a great experience, yeah. It's been a wonderful experience.

Yeah.

Auditions Thick Skin And Staying Hungry

So what's next for you as far as in this space, man? It's gotta be freaking so fun to kind of keep you energized on all the other projects that you do.

I've been blessed, right? And again, I I've never been one to kind of keep blinders on. I think as a 19-year-old who moved to New York to chase a dream, you sort of a you grow thick skin quickly because you're just told no constantly. Yeah, thanks for coming. I'm gonna give the gig to my cousin or my nephew, right? So you you develop thick skin and and you have to have this drive and willingness to never give up. If you want to do something, you work hard and you get it. And if you don't get it, work harder to go and get it. And if you still don't get it, work even harder if you want it, right? But I've always had this ability to just roll with it and let the work take me wherever. I got really good at subletting my apartment in New York City. I'll go do theater in Westport, Connecticut, at the West Co Westport Country Playhouse. I don't care. If it's if you want me to be on stage, I'll I'll do something for 10 people in a black box theater in a storefront in a mall. I don't care. If it's my art, it's it's an opportunity to act, right? And I think I forget who it was who said it. Even auditions. I love auditioning. People sometimes think, oh, I don't want to waste your time. You don't have to audition. You can have that part or you can do that. I'm like, no, no, no. I want to earn it. But also, too, I look at auditions as an opportunity to do my craft. Yeah. Like a lot of young actors, I think, miss that mark in today's day and age where they they're a little entitled and they think, Oh, I deserve that part. You should just offer it to me. I'm like, no, you gotta earn that shit. You gotta work for it, yeah. And that's it. And also, too, somebody's giving you if you get an audition, don't think of it as an audition. Think of it as five to ten minutes to show us your craft. How good are you? And you gotta be on. You gotta be on. Yep. Yeah.

So go into that audition room and knock it out of the park. I've noticed you're not scared with dude, like you pick up the phone to be able to get that job with the nights. You think that's just that tenacity of go, go, go?

Yeah, and I think the rules have changed even more. Like when I when I was first starting out, you know, I didn't have a cell phone. You know, I had a pager. Yeah. I'm dating myself, right? And I you bought it. I had to buy a pretty page, yeah. I had to print my pictures, staple my picture and resume, go downstairs, give it to a bike messenger. The bike messenger picked it up at my apartment in New York, rode, drove that thing to a casting director's office. Casting director called my agent, my agent called my pager. I had to call my pager. So I carried around tokens and quarters because in New York, I was in line for a payphone to call my agent to find out where I needed to go for the audition. Anywhere. So times have changed, and there are no rules, right? Like we're on our phones constantly, and there's kids nowadays, and I call them kids, they're not, they're young adults. They're so creative. And if you know, I get asked all the time, how do I chase this? How do I chase that? You don't, you just do it, put it out there. Somebody's gonna see you. One video goes viral, millions of people see it, and all of a sudden that guy's in the next Brad Pitt.

I'm like, Well, you just showed us on your phone.

You have the Pope wearing your wearing your jersey. You're gonna be the next Brad Pitt.

We'll see. We'll see, man.

No, I'm I'm happy where I'm at, but yeah, I've always got I've always got a couple of things up my sleeve that I want to keep. And it's not about what's next, it's just about constantly improving and and bettering yourself in your field, right? In your craft and and challenging yourself. The minute I feel like I'm comfortable, I bounce. Right? Okay, you know, like I chose to leave Rock of Ages before the show closed. Like that thing had a long run, but I was like, I've okay, I've had enough of this, and let's go find out what's next. Yep. You know, my buddy Ben, who I talked about, he was very comfortable being that warthog poomba. Yeah, you know, buddy. You know, so people are comfortable sometimes or not. I I know that when I when the butterflies go away or the nerves before I walk out on stage or walk into a stadium, when those are gone, it's time to go. It's time to go. Yep.

Yeah. I love your mindset just on how you look at things, man. It's awesome. We grind, we grind and we go. Yep. And leave it better than the way we found it. That's what's

Monday’s Dark And Building The Space

up. Let's talk a little about the space, man. We talked a little bit about offline. So space, amazing facility. Can we talk a little bit about what you mentioned before? We used to own it before you got it.

The space exists because of a nonprofit that my wife and I started called Monday's Dark. So the name Monday's Dark comes from the fact that Broadway is traditionally dark on Monday. So we work Tuesday through Sunday. Okay. And Monday, as a Broadway entertainer, Broadway actor, is your only day off. So you get four days off a month. And it's always a Monday, traditionally.

Okay.

So when we got to Vegas, we started getting invited to all of these charity events where they wanted the funny guy in costume from Rock of Ages to walk the red carpet at Opportunity Village, shine a light, make a wish foundation. And I would have to go to my dressing room at five o'clock, put the costume on, they put me in a car, whisk me away to some event. I'd walk the carpet and I wouldn't even go into the event. I didn't know anything about it. And I started to get pissy. I started talking. I was like, listen, there's got to be a better way for me to give back to this organization. So my wife and I looked at each other and they said, Well, we only got four nights off a week. Why don't we take one or two of those and we'll create a party called Monday's Dark? And so Monday's Dark is a 90-minute variety show that is now 13 years old. It started very quickly after we got here. And in 90 minutes, we write a check for $10,000 to a deserving cause. And we've done that every other Monday for 13 years. And we've raised close to $3 million. We never repeat a nonprofit. And every dime that we see from the silent auction and ticket sales goes to that cause. And so Monday's Dark in the philanthropic space in Las Vegas has become somewhat household because we have a long list of charities who want our help, who wouldn't want $10,000, right? So it's just a goofy way for us as entertainers, as performers to give back. Three years into the Monday's Dark campaign, I said, wouldn't it be cool if instead of operating out of the hard rock or the Venetian theater, wherever we were doing these fundraisers, we had our own house. The space comes online. And again, dating myself, but this is when Craigslist was popular. And I'm scrolling on Craigslist and I see this warehouse on Polaris and Harmon for lease. And I said, you know what? I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm going to lease this building. So I leased this 10,000 square foot warehouse, a block off the strip. I put about a half a million dollars into it and I converted it into what is now known as the space. The space will be 10 years old this January.

Congratulations, man.

And it's a 10,000 square foot event space, a block off the strip, state of the art, lights and sound. It's the home to Monday's Dark. We're open three to five nights a week with concerts, bed mitzvahs, fashion shows, fundraisers, celebrations of life, wedding receptions, you name it. It's a badass music venue first, but party space second. We have a small little podcast studio in it. We got a black box theater in it, and our main room can seat 200 for a concert or stand 450 for a concert. And so it's this cool little spot. But at its core, the space is known as a place that helps the community raise significant dollars through the Monday's Dark program.

I think it's fantastic. I think one thing we learned is that it's really hard to find one locations that are in that kind of threshold that's you know 50 to 500 threshold, like in Vegas, which is surprising. You would think it'd be a lot easier.

We make a joke all the time, like at Monday's Dark. I always joke because I start the show every other Monday. I say, who how many people are here for the first time? And we'll get a good 50-60 people who put their hand up because they're there because of the nonprofit that we're supporting, right? So the nonprofits excited, they're like, Oh, we got a Monday Stark. Come to Monday's Dark. Sure. Our followers should fill the room, but we always get 30 to 50, 60 newcomers. And I always welcome them to the most exclusive bougie pocket of Las Vegas, which isn't the furthest thing from the truth, right? Like Polaris and Harmon. When we first opened the building, I had to go in front of Clark County commissioners and say, Hey, I want to open a community center over here in this warehouse, which was, to your point, that's why you brought it up. It was originally the headquarters to Purini Construction, which built the city center. So Aria, Cosmo, Vidara, all that. After Purini Construction moved out, Fitty Cent turned it into a boxing gym. Oh, yeah. And it was a boxing gym owned by Fiddy. Yeah. And uh he lost the lease. That building didn't. And I think the only reason why he opened a boxing gym is because him and Floyd hate each other. Yeah, I would agree. Yeah. So he opened a boxing gym. Start probably. So if he hears this, Fiddy, I need your support, bro, because I'm in your old building. Yeah. I now own the real estate, which is great. So I don't have to ask anybody for you know permission to do whatever I want to it. So I bought it and now it's this really cool spot. And you know, we're we're deep into programming

Mental Health Mission For Service Workers

now. As much as it's front facing and uh concerts and buy a ticket and come see a show, what people don't realize is in the building, it's very programmatic and mental health and wellness driven. So for example, we got a we got an organization that we partner with called Life by Music, run by a kid named Ryan Patrick from the band Otherwise. We have a partnership with Gibson Guitar. We take Gibson guitars, put them in the hands of veterans, and veterans learn how to play music to do TSD. That happens during the day. We don't talk about it because it's nobody's business really. We're there to help vets, right? We got kids' classes in there, we've had AA meetings in there, Alzheimer support group meetings in there. We've got a lot of mental health and wellness programs on the horizon. Can't talk about it too much right now, but we we really want to focus on the space transitioning from its popularity of being an event concert party place to a place where our community can go and get help. Love it. So we have some providers, community counseling centers of Southern Nevada, the Entertainment Community Fund, uh, Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance. These are all now official partners of ours that are going to provide services so that if you work in entertainment, hospitality, or a first responder, a block off the strip is this goofy spot where you can go and get help. That's fantastic. So that's that's the next chapter for us. I love that you're doing that, ma'am. We have to. Yeah, it's powerful. Gotta take care of each other.

Yeah, I thought I'd say they're expanding the space too, right? Is that still a thing?

We're calling the project the space two. Oh, okay. I've seen that. Yeah. And it's constantly evolving. It's a listen, whether we can pull that off or not is still TBD. But what I tell you wholeheartedly, I can say for certain is that when I went public two years ago with this mission of bringing more mental health services to the community, that is is is a definite that that will happen, uh, whether it's in a hundred million dollar new complex or something smaller scale. At the end of the day, the mission that I have with the space is to ensure that our community knows if you go to the strip night in, night out, and your job is to serve, the space is there to serve you. We, you know, our tagline is we get 40 million visitors a year. We do an incredible job at serving them. When those visitors go home, who serves those who serve? And that's what I want the space to be known for. As much as I want you to buy a ticket and come and see a concert or come to Monday's dark, warning folks. I want you to know that if you have or are having a hard time and you need to talk to somebody, this is where you go.

Man, I'm I'm great. Um ID on that. Yeah, that's no idea.

Yeah, nobody talks about that, right?

Like it's it was, you know, I'm listening we can you can bring up any disease, any kind of issue that is is is hitting people, whether you know, cancer. You couldn't say cancer back in the day, you know, you can't say that word. HIV, you can never say HIV. Now it's household, right? Like it's it's it's commonplace to say, hey, I got a buddy is HIV positive, he's he's on these meds, he's taking care of himself, he's getting his mental health, right? Is is sort of that's it's our world now. For men, right? Especially for men. And it's right now it's it's mental health awareness month for men, right? So it's okay to not be okay. The the the pressures that we see in today's day and age are different than my brothers, than my father's, than my grandfathers. What our kids see on their on the phones is something that I can see everything. They can see everything, and we have to be cautious of that. We got there's so many elements to what we call life nowadays that sometimes I like to just simplify things, right? Like I kind of miss what I was talking about before. I needed a quarter to call somebody. Yeah, buddy. Right? When was the time we took our phones and put them in a locker? When I go see a concert on the strip and it's Chris Rock, right? Like Chris, I went to see Chris Rock a couple years ago, and they made you put it in a pencil case and they gave it to you. I want that. Yeah, yeah. I want that in more places because like I said earlier, people spend their hard-earned money to walk into a dark room and forget about their BS for a few hours. That's my job. That's when I come out on stage.

I don't know if they've done it in Vegas yet, but in New York, I remember Gary Vandichuk was talking about it as they've got these restaurants that you have to put your phone like in a locker. I'm all about that. That's probably one of the best things.

They do what Bruno Marzot does here.

Some of the restaurants and venues now, like I think Delilah at the Wind doesn't allow you to take pictures, Poodle Broom at Fountain Blue. Yeah. I welcome it. You know, I like to talk, as you heard. I'm on your show. I'm talking about it. Yeah, it's everything. Nothing worse than being on your phone when somebody's trying to talk to you. No, or somebody's like, I'll get up and leave. Yeah, get distracted. I'm busy. Yeah. My time is everything. If you want me, I'm gonna give you 110% of me. Yeah, otherwise, lose my number.

Yeah. It's the presence, man. Being in that presence, yeah. We talk about it with our kids all the time. But let's talk about Vegas just a little bit, just kind of finishing up.

Vegas Value The Real City Off Strip

What do you see? You travel around the world, right? Like Saudi, all these different places that you've seen. You just with the Pope, you know, just recently in Italy. What do you think is different about Vegas and what do you see the transition of Vegas going right now with everything that we've got and the horizon?

I think it's very important that Vegas improve the narrative nationally uh about Vegas, right? Everybody like Vegas is dead, Vegas is dying. It was not it's the furthest. You go down the strip is all popping. Those those that are in charge of marketing our city, they need to step it up, right? Because we're not that. Every time I go to the strip, it's busy as hell. I got guys in hospitality, yeah. I got guys in nightlife. Dinner would be a lot cheaper if it was dying. Yeah. So I think I think to that point, we need to take a little look in the mirror, and I don't think there's ever a reason for a $25 bottle of water. So listen, you speak of my language. We were just talking, we were just talking about you. Whoever's making those decisions needs to re-evaluate, right? I travel every weekend and I go to nice hotels. Yeah. I get free water everywhere I go. Why does Vegas have to be different? When you go to the drought different places, we're trying to market you in a drought. You get free water when you go in a lot of these resorts. Yeah. Come on. Yeah. When I walk into any mare, I'm gonna name drop any Marriott, any Hyatt, any whatever chain. I get free everything. Yeah. There's breakfast. It might be mediocre, but it's a great cup, yeah. Right? So listen, I we don't have to go back to the days of 99 cent shrimp cocktails and free shows and all of that shit.

Yeah.

But we have to do a better job of understanding value. And Vegas has something for everyone. And I think that's what sets us apart. We are the Disneyland for adults. So people choose to get on a plane or drive in for a weekend, and just like I said a minute ago, forget about their BS and spend some hard-earned money with us. We better ensure that for every dollar I take out of my wallet, the value is there. And I think we've gotten away a little bit from the value. Now, that's just the strip. To people watching who don't live in Las Vegas, I do not live at the Venetian. You do not live on the strip. For those of you on the East Coast, we do not live in Times Square. Right? When I was in New York doing shows, people thought I lived in Times Square. I don't live in Times Square. Exactly. Right? 20 minutes in any direction, it is the greatest place to live on earth. And how we started the conversation, I am still here, not because of work, but because of the people. We're now creeping up on three million. There's two and a half million people who live in this valley. Yeah. And we have churches, we have schools, we have restaurants, we have malls, we have stuff outside of that five-mile radius that everybody thinks is Las Vegas. Yeah, yeah. Some of the best restaurants, our restaurant scene rivals New York and Los Angeles. And I mean that, Chicago, because why? All these local chefs who worked on the strip under Thomas Keller, under Wolfgang, under whoever, can open a restaurant in Las Vegas for a fraction of what it would cost to open in New York and LA. So our culinary scene is second to none off the strip. And what's great to see is a lot of these people blogging now going, hey man, we're going to the strip for the weekend. We're coming in from LA, but where do they eat? They eat in Summerlin. They go out to Henderson to some of these badass restaurants that these local chefs have opened, and they're fire. We have James Beard nominated chefs in Las Vegas every year. Every year. We've been to restaurants every year. Listen, I can name drop Sparrow and Wolf with Brian. Tombo is very good. Gina Marinelli at Harlow and Lestrega. Going to La Strega again this weekend.

Tombutom tonight. Black Sheep. She's awesome.

Southwest Black Sheep. What's her name? I think she's a Filipino sheep. She's unbelievable. I was just at a place called Rang, R-A-N-G. If you haven't been there, it's a Filipino Italian fusion restaurant. I was like, what is it? That sounds great. Where's that at? Okay. Uh Charleston.

Okay.

See, you're not going to be able to do that. Our next question was going to be restaurant, but you just couldn't see that.

That's why Chris and I, my wife, we started this is because we wanted to spotlight people that are making an impact.

People are not going to be able to do that.

Listen, there's amazing people in every city. Yep. But what I what the nation needs to understand. I love the I love what you're saying. You got viewers all over the place. You need to understand that it Vegas is not the strip. Do we rely on the strip for our economic boom and and and tax-free state? 100%. But listen, these mega resorts, the restaurants, the shows, the sports teams, everything here is fantastic. But what makes those things fantastic? The people who make them go. I agree. We have the best people on the planet who are dedicated to serving you. Yeah. That's their job. We have hundreds of thousands of people who live here. Mark, when are you going to get into politics?

Yeah. When are you going to run for mayor of Vegas? I get more done privately. I get it.

You know, that's why I have the space. That's why I have a small nonprofit that my wife and I are proud of, and we're expanding our stuff. You always try to get us in politics. That's why I'm not going into it.

I'm me neither.

It's too polarizing now. Our country's too divided. And the minute you start talking about politics and somebody understands what side of the fence you're on or what side of the aisle you're on, you're no longer even allowed to be in their circle.

And that's a problem. I agree. That's a problem. We've been we've been the United Nations from from the job. So that's what we come to our house.

We joke, we call it the United Colors of Benetton. Who knows that? There's a black person, a white person, an Asian person, a redhead, somebody that you didn't know whether they were a man or a woman. We don't care. We don't care. That's awesome. We're in the service industry in Las Vegas. Everybody in the private sector, lawyers, doctors, accountants, they are reliant on our service industry. And That's what makes Vegas special. So you know, that's full circle to your question. How do we how do we make what how do I see Vegas go? We need to get back to focusing on what we do best. And that's taking care of people.

Yeah, I agree. I 100% agree. Just finishing up on here,

Success Versus A Meaningful Life

man. What's the difference between building a successful career and building a meaningful life for you specifically?

The difference between a successful career and a meaningful life. Damn, that's a good question. I think it's first understanding how to love yourself. You know, I think that one sometimes goes by the wayside because we're so focused on the house.

You gotta do the mirror, who you're looking at in the mirror.

Yeah, I think you gotta you gotta understand who you are, where you roll, how you fit in, and and embrace that. Be proud of who you are at whatever level you're at, right? And then I think it it it's uh one of the big ones that I that I struggle with every day is is is working on my listening, becoming a better listener. Um you know what's what's Lynn Manuel Miranda's lyric in Hamilton? Smile smile more, talk less.

Yes, smile more, talk less.

Yeah, I I I try to carry that with me as much as I can. I try to because like I said, you guys have just had me on your show and I feel like I've talked my face off. No, no, no, but you drop a lot of gems, man. Yeah. Hopefully, you know.

This is us practicing listening. Yeah.

I want to listen more, and my big my biggest thing is, and it's not we've heard it a billion times. If you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room. And I I try to surround myself with people who are better or the best at what they do. Yep. And it may not be what I do, but I know I can take something from from them, learn from it, put it in my backpack, and keep it keep it moving.

That's what we've noticed when building this is is best networking I've ever had in my life. I'm getting gems every week. So yeah, just different rooms, man. So but you said something that's very important. Love yourself, man. That's all I'm having my kids in the room and you saying that is powerful because I'm always talking to them about it all the time.

So you gotta you gotta you gotta know your worth. And I think I think I think that's also humbling too, right? Understanding, you know, what you bring to the table, what you don't bring to the table. That's real. And and if if if you feel being honest with yourself, yeah, and if you're struggling and you're not at the level where you want to be, go get better. Yeah, that's real. Go get better. Yeah, nobody's gonna give it to you anymore. Because for every for every gig that I have, there's 200 people behind me waiting for me to say I'm done with that gig.

Yeah.

You were smiling and dialing, getting on the phone and doing old school. So that's that's what's up. Yeah, and and I also think too, listen more and and be kind, you know, like especially in the philanthropic space, because I I spend a lot of my days working on you know the nonprofit stuff and and helping charities. You don't have to have deep pockets to make an impact in your community. Whether that's and I know this sounds cheesy, but whether it's volunteering for an hour somewhere or listen, I spent a lot of money at Starbucks. They don't need my money. Yeah, pick up somebody's coffee. Yeah, but like these are these are they sound stupid and corny, but man, these little movements giving, giving is a lot better than receiving.

Yeah, and so my pair forward made such a big impact for them. So small key, excellent. Ran forever. It was excellent. It's still a thing. Yeah, it was excellent.

Just just just be nice to people, listen, process. Yeah, you know, that's that's I think the problem in the nation.

Everybody likes to talk, nobody likes to listen.

I agree.

Vegas Food Picks And Service Standards

Restaurants, I know we talked a little bit about restaurants. Give us your favorite restaurant in Vegas, whether it's off the strip or on the strip.

Yeah, I'm gonna have to just so my I I'm right by City National Arena. I live in Summerlin, and I think like many Las Vegas, we don't like to travel too far. I agree out of our comfort zone. So it goes back to two that I mentioned earlier. I love Harlow, the steakhouse. So, you know, I I'm a steakhouse guy. I like steakhouses. Okay. Harlow's great. And the fact that I don't have to come to a casino to have a steak and a good meal. I like Harlow. I'm gonna go with legends, the the seafood.

Yeah, shout out to yeah, we know we know him. Yeah, he's a great dude. And he was a chef on at the strip. Yeah, he was a great guy. There you go. What is his name? I can't shout out, shout out his name. I can't think of his name. I met his whole family. They're great though. I've never met the chef. I just go because I've signed the food's very good. Somebody said, you know, Deserdan and Durango.

Yeah, my trainer, my the guy who kicks my ass three days a week, said to me, He goes, Stop eating this stuff, eat this stuff. And he goes, These are some restaurants that I recommend because it's easy to eat clean and you're just getting protein and and that the food there is just awesome. And I'm just glad you said it. Nobody sat out. Yeah, nobody said legends. People said Harlow. Legends is a good spot. What else? I'm a breakfast guy. I like Fine, which just opened not too long ago in uh downtown Summerlin. Oh, okay. It's right on the corner beside Is Next to True Food? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. I've been there for it. It's great. Yeah, Philippines. Yeah, you're right. Yeah, but again, it's it's it's a badass brunch spot, and they just started doing dinner. So fine is my go-to for foreign for company. Fine for company. Fine and co. Yeah, fine and company. Yeah, it's a good thing. And that's the Fine brothers, right? So Jeff, I think it's Jeff and Jonathan Fine. They own a bunch of stuff in Vegas. But again, it's it's all about who's in that kitchen making it feel special.

Yeah.

You know, we went to an Italian restaurant the other night that was god awful. And I'm not gonna say the name. You don't go tell you said it. But I was just like, you know, listen, yeah, you know, you gotta do something that's gonna make me want to come back here. I don't even care, it's a hole in the wall. Yeah, like a service. Yes, the the food's gotta be good. I'll even look past a shitty waiter just because I did that job so I know how hard it can be.

Yeah.

If the food's bomb. Yeah, you know, if the service sucks a second time, I might not go back a third time, but I'll give you a second chance if the food wins. And it's there, you guys just gotta do something. And what I love are these stories of the men and women who could have stayed comfortable under Wolfgang Caesars Palace and they do their own thing. You know why? Because it's theirs and they care. Yep. And that's a sparrow and wolf, you know, Brian Howard. You go in there, you're gonna have an incredible experience every time you're in there. We have heard nothing but great things.

You ever been there? I have not. Oh, it's been on a list of things.

Yeah, it's been on a I think they were up for a James Bear Award also. Yeah, yeah. Great guy, yeah.

Uh James Trees. Anything that James Trees ate his kitchen, uh his his own. He's got one barbell salito. Both food is really good. Yeah.

We got the same palette. Everything you're saying is is good.

Yeah. You know why though? I think it's because not only is the food remarkable, the service is impeccable. And they understand who you are and why you're there.

The other piece, you know, I think that people gotta realize when they know you're from Vegas, they show mad love.

Sure.

Every single time.

They're like, oh, you're from Vegas? Oh, you're from the world.

One other thing that I came up with the other day that I realized, because my I've had crazy experiences, right? I spent my entire childhood in a locker room getting ready to go out on the ice and play hockey. And then I moved to New York and I spent years in a dressing room putting on a costume, getting ready to go on a stage. I spent years front of house, back of house in a restaurant getting ready to unlock the door to go on the floor and provide a service. Now the same thing full circle with the WWE with rehearsals. They're completely different demographics, but the mission is still the same. A group of human beings coming together to go out on the ice in battle, to put your makeup and costume on and go out on the stage and do a presentation, to learn the specials, get the line cooks ready to go, and the cooks and the servers, everybody's in the sink, and we go out and provide service to our restaurant patrons. It's all about preparation and it's all about serving. And that's that's what I just come down to. It's like we we sometimes forget our jobs. If you get down to the granular level, it's about service. What are you guys doing right now? You're providing a service called the Vegas Circle. Yeah. And people listen and they get something from you. A dentist, a doctor, a lawyer, an accountant, an actor, an athlete. What do they they're all providing at the granular level a service? I agree. And we pay to be served, but we pay for that, in my opinion, an escape. And that's going full circle to Vegas. What do people come here for? An escape. And how do they escape? By being served. Yeah. I agree. And they pay higher more for the better level of that service. As long as it's $25 bottle of water is going on.

You get it. You get it. That's why you're successful in a lot of the different things because you get it.

And again, just leave it better than the way you found it. Right? You don't have to get greedy.

Yeah.

Those are just gonna be enough for everybody. Yep.

That's what's

Social Handles And Closing

up. Man, it's an absolute pleasure to sit down with you, man. What's your what's your social handles next to me? Just my name, Mark Chinook. Okay. Check him out, man. He's gonna be running for running for mayor, mayor, mayor, mayor down the road. No, we appreciate you hanging out with us, man. Check us out at the bakercircle.com and appreciate your time, brother. Thank you very much. Fantastic. Really great stuff, Mark. Yeah, that was good stuff, man.