Oral history interview with Junior Fonotisatele conducted by Cecilia Winchell and Stefani Evans on November 10, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Junior discusses his Samoan background and the importance of strong family values. He talks about his early years in Utah and California before moving to Las Vegas where he attended and graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Junior shares his employment history as a bodyguard for Floyd Mayweather, an entrepreneur of a clothing brand, and an investor into a range of ventures including security, solar energy, and mental health. He concludes with a discussion of Samoan cultural celebrations, his religion, and the significance of his tattoos.
Dino's Lounge sits at 1516 South Las Vegas Boulevard. The dive bar has been in operation since 1962. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Data Sheet. Site address: 1516 S Las Vegas Blvd Sign owner: Kristin Bartolo Sign details: This location was originally constructed in 1957. Opened as Ringside Liquors by Eddie Trascher. Trascher sold the property to Rinaldo Dean "Dino" Bartolomucci in 1962. Bartolomucci Renamed it "Dino's". Bartolomucci sold cars in california, moved to Las Vegas in the 1950's. "Dino's" is now owned by his granddaughter Kristin Bartolo. Sign condition: 4 out of 5, it still lights up brightly at night and has bright paint colors. Sign form: Pylon as well as signage on the building. Sign-specific description: Sign on building green cover filtered neon, with a script style design for the name. Road pylon contains skeletal neon with red and white design also stating their name "Dino's" in the same font as the sign on the building. This pylon has a white base that extends out of the main red rectangle portion of the sign. Also below their logo is a back lit plastic sign. Sign - type of display: Neon (skeletal on roadside sign and encased on building) and Plastic Backlit sign Sign - media: Steel and plastic. Sign - non-neon treatments: Plastic back lit portion Sign environment: This is located downtown just a few blocks south of Fremont, next to Tod Motor Motel. Sign - date of installation: 1963 Sign - thematic influences: This sign shows 50's/60's trend with the base of the sign extending out of the main worded portion of the sign. That trend is very common among many other signs across the valley from the same era. Survey - research locations: Dino's website http://dinoslv.com/new/, Recorder's office, Assessor's office, Dino's site visit and discussion with owner Kristin. Survey - research notes: This location is .35 acres and was constructed 1957. The Dino's website contains an archive of images of their bar and owners from the last 50 years, and some of the images show older photos of their sign. Surveyor: Wyatt Currie-Diamond Survey - date completed: 2017-08-11 Sign keywords: Neon; Plastic; Backlit; Steel; Pole sign
The Evel Pie sign sits at 508 Fremont Street in Downtown Las Vegas. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Data Sheet. Site address: 508 Fremont St Sign owner: High Horse Group Sign details: Original construction year of the building was 1949. Previous to this property being Evel pie it house the short lived F. Pigalle fondue restaurant, and the Radio City Pizza. This 1979 Evel Knievel themed pizza restaurant and bar opened in late 2016. Their motto is Live Hard, Ride Fast, Eat Pizza. In the restaurant there is an Evel Knievel Pinball machine and a Stunt Cycle Game. Sign condition: 5 - new sign, just over a year old Sign form: Sign above the entrance Sign-specific description: Above the entrance there are red channeled cursive letters Evel Pie filled with neon tubes that illuminate red at night. To the left and right of the letters there are little white wings that are plastic but are illuminated with neon tubes I behind it. Sign - type of display: Neon Sign - media: Steel and Plastic Sign - non-neon treatments: Plastic for "wings" of sign Sign environment: Located in the East Fremont District Sign manufacturer: Diamond Head Signs Sign - date of installation: Late 2016 Sign - artistic significance: The logo is the same font as Evel Knievels old advertisements. This font this was a close representation of his signature but more of a bubble font cursive letters rather than the flat signature that would have been done with a pen/pencil. Also the wings on the sign represent the theme since he was known for jumping such long distances that they said he would fly. Survey - research locations: Assessor's website Survey - research notes: Eater Vegas https://vegas.eater.com/2016/12/16/13979544/evel-knievel- evel-pie- pizza-las- vegas, Las Vegas weekly https://lasvegasweekly.com/dining/dining-news/2016/sep/28/evel- pie-fremont- east-downtown-las- vegas/ Survey - other remarks: The High Horse ownership group that owns this property is comprised of Barden Powers, Jeff Fine, Seth Schorr and Kelly Knievel. Surveyor: Emily Fellmer Survey - date completed: 2017-08-22 Sign keywords: Plastic; Steel; Neon; Fascia; Building-front design