Thursday, September 18, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Cover story: Soaked

Las Vegas' wettest residents are waking up

By Heidi Walters

Oh, what an eccentric herd of water hogs we harbor in our dry valley. For a little exercise, we asked the Las Vegas Valley Water District to give us a list of the top 100 single-family residential water users in 2002 in their service area (thus excluding Henderson, North Las Vegas, Boulder City and users of private wells). Actually, it wasn't a little exercise for the district--it had to write a special program to crunch the data, which took two weeks.

Once crunched, however, the list came out sparkling with name recognition. Amid a sprinkling of who's-thats and assorted doctors, lawyers and developers, the list is a Who's Who of Las Vegas pomp, power and corrosion (plus a wayward prince). And while their lives vary dramatically, one thing these people all have in common is they, or their gardeners, love to pour on the water--drenchloads of it, as if they have their own personal snow-packed Rocky Mountains in their back yard to melt and drain on command.

The top user, the Sultan of Brunei's disowned and exiled younger brother, Prince Jefri, used 17.1 million gallons in 2002. The next big user, a home on North Hollywood, used 14.1 million gallons. And on down to No. 100, Michael Toney, who used almost 2 million gallons. For perspective, the median home in Las Vegas used about 180,000 gallons last year, and the lowest 20 percent of users used about 79,000 gallons.

"They have lots of grass," said water district public information specialist J.C. Davis about the top users. "That is what drives water use. The number of toilets doesn't matter. And even when you look at a pool--yeah, it's going to lose a lot of water to evaporation. But even so, it's the turf" using most of the water.

Note: In another tale, we'd suggest that unchecked development is the true abuser of our scarce water. In fact, while trying to track down a water hog named Steven Miller (No. 95), we stumbled into the non-water-hogging gadfly Steve Miller, a former Las Vegas city councilman and former member of the board of directors of the county flood control district. He's not on the top 100 list, but he's pissed about the pressure to scrimp water that's placed on the little guy--like him and other residents in his vintage, tree-lined neighborhood. He said, by e-mail, that his home "will lose its value if I dutifully follow the watering instructions."

"I am very concerned about being penalized for the benefit of new construction," he said. "Politically influential developers are not under a building moratorium similar to the one imposed by Pat Mulroy [head of the water district] in the late 1980s when we had the first recognized drought, and that bothers me. Now Pat is singing a different tune saying that growth should not be impaired. ... She has the ability to make developers share the burden, but she is acting as their stooge."

Meanwhile...

The top 100 list warranted a closer look. Why, maybe, says Davis, some of these people aren't actually wasting water. "Maybe they have lots of acreage," he says.

And maybe it depends on how you define "wasting water." The district would say it means letting water run willy-nilly (or at all, really) down the street, neglecting to fix a leak, or perhaps watering more than necessary and outside of your appointed watering schedule. But these days, during the worst drought on record and with the sudden realization among longtime residents and newcomers alike that--whoa!--we live in a desert, it might be water abuse to retain those sweeping vistas of hyper-green lawn.

So what's these people's story? Why they gotta drink so much? We asked some of them, and a few times came away surprised by their answers. For the rest, we merely dug up some old bones, shook our heads and wondered. Also, 100 homes is an awful lot of people to call. So we apologize to those on the list who weren't called--but if you really wanted to tell us your story, you would have done what Cheryl Mickle did as soon as the water district informed her and her husband, Richard, that the Mercury was going to run a list with their name on it. She called us. And we're also sorry that some of you who were called didn't call back--what's your story, why you gotta drink so much? We want to know!

And for the people who found it annoying, in fact bordering on extreme tackiness, for us to expose their water usage to the world, well, the water district's a public utility.

And now, without further ado, a selection of Las Vegas' wettest:

Royalty and/or fuel barons

No. 1 water hog, Prince Jefri Bolkiah, was once the apple of his big brother's eye (big bro being the Sultan of Brunei, a small oil- and natural gas-rich country of about 300,000 on the island of Borneo). But now the exiled prince is the scourge of the land for embezzling much of the sultanate's fortune and throwing it away on things like gold toilet paper holders and mini-kingdoms with golf courses like the Las Vegas house at 99 Spanish Gate (near Durango and Hacienda). That 15.9-acre home (worth about $50 million) used 17.1 million gallons last year. But Prince Jefri's been having money trouble for several years now, and his businesses, Amedeo Vegas IV and Earnst Inc., gathered a $16 billion debt (along with pesky familial lawsuits) and went bankrupt last year. Incidentally, Jefri also owns the Tomiyasu Ranch House, No. 4 on the list.

Jerry Herbst (No. 5), Terrible Herbst gas station and casino chains. He didn't return our many calls.

Jack Cason, Rebel Oil president (unless it's another Jack Cason).

Casino owners and honchos

Jerry Herbst; Phil Ruffin, the New Frontier; Clyde Turner, former CEO of Mandalay Resort Group; Jack Sommer, the Aladdin; Paul Lowden, former owner of the Santa Fe and Sahara; George Maloof, the Palms; Marianne Hicks Kifer, the Algiers; Phyllis Binion (wife of Jack, former owner of Binion's Horseshoe); plus honchos such as Ellis Landau, executive of Boyd Gaming; Robert Boughner, chief executive of the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City; and Blake Sartini, former Station Casinos executive.

Although he was busy preparing for the big Playboy Weekend, George Maloof, No. 83 on the list, made it a point to call us back. He seemed genuinely disturbed to hear he used 2.1 million gallons at his Innisbrook home last year. "I find it hard to believe I'm on that list," Maloof said. "I'm a single guy. I'm not home that much. I don't even have a family." He has five bedrooms, six bathrooms and a pool on almost half an acre. "But nothing crazy. I take a shower twice a day, morning and night. I don't cook. I'm a single guy...no big fountain...no lake. I have a lot of lawn--that's probably what it is."

That's probably right. Maloof, who hires someone to care for his yard, said he was going to look into it.

Socialites and philanthropists

Marjorie Barrick, major UNLV benefactress; Toni Chaltiel, arts benefactress; Joyce Mack, arts benefactress; Jeanne and Dr. Monte Greenawalt, jetsetters, soiree hosts, Philharmonic benefactors.

Entertainers

Singer Robert Goulet; hypnotist Marshall Sylver.

Sylver (No. 27) failed to return our calls. But Robert Goulet's wife, Vera, responded with an earful. They're No. 87 on the list. "The first thing is, we have 2 1/2 acres and we have 120 trees," said Vera. The trees are mature, planted in the early '70s. "The second thing is, I have over the years re-landscaped to cut back on the lawn." And now the Goulets are working with the water district on getting rid of all the lawn. "Mr. Goulet is very conscious of the environment, and that's why he was shocked to be on the list," Vera said. As for her, she's glad to convert the lawnscape to a lush yet water-conservative affair. "I'm from Europe, and there the perception of landscaping is not lawn--it's trees and shrubs and gardens. We live in a desert here, and we have to re-educate ourselves on how we think. It has to start with every homeowner. People need to not waste water--and I think people waste a lot of water. We've become a nation of wasting everything."

Once they complete their conversion--and finish patching the leaks that also ran up their water bill last year--Vera said Robert might sing a PSA for the water district about conserving water.

Hmm, perhaps it'll go like this: "In short, there's simply not/ A more congenial spot/ For happily-not-watering than here/ In Camelot."

Rap producer

Marion "Suge" Knight (No. 46), founder of Death Row Records (now called Tha Row). We didn't call Knight, who on July 31 was ordered to prison for 10 months for violating his parole (he hit a valet) from a previous assault conviction. We figured he wouldn't feel like rapping about his watering habits. So, all we know from newspaper articles and the county assessor's page is that his 1.5-acre home has a red swimming pool (like blood, ya know), a spa, four bedrooms and six bathrooms. Must be some lawn around all that. We also hear that Knight owes the IRS roughly $6 million in personal income taxes, and that he actually has sold his Vegas mansion to his third wife, artist Michel'le Toussant. Wonder if she's gonna xeriscape the place?

Former trash mavens

Brothers Tom (No. 24) and Alfred (No. 54) Isola, former owners of Silver State Disposal Service (now Republic Services).

Jailbirds (past and present)

Suge Knight; the Isola brothers; the Isola brothers' lawyer, Joseph Anstett; Denise (and Thomas) Waddell (No. 69).

Strip club entrepreneur

Jack Galardi, No. 37. We didn't call Jack. With the Galardi strip club empire under investigation by the FBI, allegations of bribery and fraud flinging between here and San Diego against son Mike and assorted local government officials, and said son a potential jailbird, Jack might be too preoccupied to discuss the status of his Rain Bird. But we do know that it's the old 1979 estate that's sucking the water, and not one of his other properties. Some of those old estates have lots of grass--the staple of landscaping back in the day. Or maybe it's the mini-golf course. Or maybe they're washing down the sleek Bentley (and Jaguar and Ferraris and Porsches and Mercedes and motorcycles) too often. Perhaps the water slide sprang a leak? (Or is that at the new mansion?)

Mysteries

Li Tung Lok. He's No. 6 on the list, he apparently has sold the place since last year, and the only clue so far is he might be the chairman of the board of QPL International Holdings Limited out of Bermuda; Camp Bob LLC, No. 3, over there in the swanky Alta area. And then there's Denver Square Trust, No. 2 user at 14.1 gallons in 2002. The customer name is Love L.D. TRS--"Love letters?" says a woman on the phone in the secretary of state's office, making a vague stab at the mystery. What we guessed is this major water guzzler is none other than the former Donald Reynolds mansion out on North Hollywood Boulevard. The late Reynolds founded the Donrey Media Group, which used to own the Review-Journal (parent paper to the Mercury. Whew, just missed a major hypocrisy moment).

Assorted others

Victor and Mayra Politis, No. 84, owners of the famously groovy clothing store, The Attic. Victor was supposed to call us back; his daughter, Sophye, was pretty sure he'd want to. Alas, time goes by. But Sophye said her parents' property--with an "old '50s-'60s ranch-style house" on 0.6 acre, has had some leaks, which efforts by professionals can't seem to fix. "The kitchen area? Always soggy," said Sophye.

Bruce Bayne, brother of Las Vegas Hitmen third baseman Keith Bayne; George Marnell, race-car driver; Phyllis Binion, wife of Jack (late owner of Binion's Horseshoe Casino); Judith Mower, daughter of late state Controller Darrel Daines. Gregory Kamer, lawyer.

We called Kamer (No. 16), and it turns out that like the Goulets, he's already set in motion a re-landscaping plan to cut back on his water use. "The problem is," he said in a phone message, "it's a large lot that's almost two acres, and it was landscaped when there weren't problems with water. In fact, there used to be wells in the community that were just given up about 15 years ago. So, water was never an issue. And now, of course, that it has become a serious issue, we are in the process of re-landscaping to a less serious use of water. It would help if the water company contributed more money toward the conversions--the $1 per square foot is totally inadequate." Kamer added, as a parting shot: "We do find it highly offensive that the newspaper, inasmuch as we are private citizens, would publish our usage."

Richard and Cheryl Mickle (No. 91), non-famous, may be the exceptions to the turf rule: They have no grass. "Basically, we have trees and concrete," said Cheryl. "We don't waste water at all. The way it sounds, like we're water hogs. ... But we water when we're supposed to. And we're not going to let the trees die." That's 300 palm trees, to be exact, which have formed "a jungle" on their 1.1-acre lot near Eastern and Russell.

Mickle said the government owes them some slack on their water bill. "We used to live on Spencer," she said. "We bought a fixer-upper--we have seven kids--and we spent three to four years remodeling. We borrowed so much money!" Then, in 1987, the airport authority told them their property was being acquisitioned to make way for a hangar. The airport offered to buy their place, but it was less than what they owed. So, they moved their house--which got ruined in the process--five miles down the road to a lot twice the size of their old place. They brought their 30 small palms with them. "And we bought some more," Cheryl said. Then things just got out of control.

"It started creeping up on me," Cheryl said. "The water bill kept going higher, the trees kept dropping seeds and making babies, and the babies grew. And they take so much water--no one realized. And it's not our fault. It's because of the acquisition."

So there you have it: some of our valley's most colorful, or bemused, water hogs. It's hard to know whether to scorn or pity some of them. With others, it's tempting to feel hope: the Goulets' long-term efforts to conserve; Maloof's concerned shock at his usage; Kamer's move to cut back.

We'll leave with this parting thought from J.C. Davis at the water district:

"If they have grass in a place where it only gets walked on by someone pushing a mower, then we'd like people to consider replacing that turf with plants that can be watered by drip. People have the idea that desert landscaping means 10 tons of rock and a cow skull. But it can be more lush and interesting than lawn. You've got height, you've got dimension, you've got shading. And you can cut your water use by 75 percent."

Just watch out for those feral palm trees.