i got my teeth fixed, i took my wife's makeup to cover my earring hole up so i can go into the bellagio'snd the ritz carltons of the worldme. i had to rebrand myself. jeff, you have to change the product and that product was me. because so many of our african american young men are portrayed on the news every day as violent, as drug dealers, as stickup guys. >> that's the image. >> yeah, that's the image of the folks of those who work in h.r. and in the companies that pay the great jobs. when you portray the image of inner city america they fear us. >> he surprised the world by becoming the first african-american executive chef by running the bellagio in las vegas. >> i believe i was born to be an entrepreneur. i know to be a strong entrepreneur, i needed to go into the industry. and be information jacker first. i had to learn and work on becoming the best chef and my last place of employment i wrote a book called "cooks." i got the phone call from oprah. you know what happens when you go on "oprah." she held the book up. she said in stores now. and it was like so overwhelming for me. >>

. >> the bellagio -- one of the most dazzling casinos on the strip. a lot of people gather right here because this is one of the best views in vegas. you can see pretty much the whole strip. everything from caesar's palace all the way down to treasure island, the venetian back there, of course, the eiffel tower. highrollers come here to enjoy one of the most expensive perks in the city. i like this table. >> absolutely gorgeous. >> what makes this table worth $250,000 a night? this red button. ok, here we go. >> wow. now i believe it. it costs them $10,000 every time they fire these things off. i just want to keep hitting the button. >> it is going to be an expensive night! the bellagio and its sibling property, the mirage, transformed the vegas strip in the 1990's. they were both designed by one man -- steve wynn. >> what it takes to dazzle everybody today is 100 times more ambitious, complex, and challenging than before. >> wynn is the nemesis of every whale in the strip because he is always inventing new temptations to keep them in the casino. from

. >> this first video from the strip in las vegas right in front of the bellagio and, yes, showgirls brawling on the street, headdress, feathers and all. >> it's a showgirl showdown, you all. >> like one girl's turf strutting around out there. >> that's exactly what was happening, steven. these, in fact, aren't girls that are in the show they are girls dressed like showgirls and they typically ask for money to snap a photograph with them. and one girl got in another girl's spot and the reason we know this is what this girl says to the girl she's fighting. listen to this. >> [ bleep ] you stole my spot. >> you stole my spot. >> they're not showgirls but they are definitely putting on a pretty good show, because this is entertaining. >> the quality not so great so people haven't been able to identify the ladies and nothing has happened as a result of this. >> this is the only corner where you can stand and people will take pictures with you in all of las vegas? >>> now, this next brawl not involving showgirls but young girls and boys. this is in st. louis, missouri, and it's actually i

bellagio has the pre-alps coming down to the left, hitting the lake; and we had the mighty allegheny mountains. and so by extension, i reimagined myself at home, and it was wonderful. and the girls were back in boston and so i wrote them a letter every day. so each chapter was called a date -- the first was july 10th, the second was july 11th -- and i wrote them 20 to 30 pages a day for two weeks. i lost 10 pounds doing it. i went down to milan and came back, and then i finished the first draft of the book over the next four weeks. it was quite exciting for me. c-span: by the way, how does somebody get to go to italy under the rockefeller aegis to do this kind of thing? >> guest: oh, you just contact the rockefeller foundation. they'll send you an application. it's quite competitive. but lots of scholars and creative writers and creative artists and potters and sculptors, dancers, musicians apply. i think there are 14 or 15 scholars and artists in residence at any given time and you stay for five or six weeks. you're very well treated and it's a glorious experience. c-span: i'm going

it's called the bellagio. the owner, allen shepherd, invited us inside. >> this is incredible. >> allen shepherd's house has everything. >> an extreme ice fishing house. >> this is what we want to you see. >> how many holes do you have? >> there's ten holes. and a full bar. >> every flavor imaginable. >> and a big screen tv so we can watch football out here. and we have a full bathroom in here. you know? so i've got a cupboard in there and all the novelties we give to everybody. >> you actually have an oven? >> yes, an oven oven with a stove tap on it. i got that in spain, it's just for deck owe. we can bring a four-wheeler in here, that door folds down and you can bring a four-wheeler in here. that's what i say about my wife, oh what a dream. ♪ oh what a dream >> kind of makes you wonder how much fishing is taking place in these led illuminated holes, bubbling to prevent freeze-over but here's the proof. >> here is three species, this muskie is out of minnetonka. >> this is ice fishing, you pulled it up throu

how does a state prison with a one-hour drive through the hills from the extravagantly outside bellagio hotel in las vegas where i was staying for two nights. "the new york times" magazine had given me a travel budget at the last minute i got a low-priced package deal online leaving behind the commerce of thithe strip i soon found myself surrounded in every direction that made the horizon itself seem like a garage. i arrived at the prison wearing jeans with my head buzzed close to the scalp and was promptly advised i was being turned away because my attire was virtually identical to the inmate uniform. a female guard smiled at my dilemma. your haircut doesn't help. but she was also quick to give directions to a wal-mart back down the highway close to the edge of las vegas. if you hightail it you can buy yourself a new suit of clothes and be back in just over an hour she promised. sure enough when he was escorted into the visiting area he looked exactly as i had earlier right down to his scalp. russell is shorter than average with a compact slightly stocky build. as he joined me at a met

was a one-hour drive to barren clay colored hills from extracting all -- extravagantly outsized bellagio hotel where i was staying for two nights. "the new york times magazine" had given me a modest travel budget but at the last minute i got my low-priced package deal on line. leaving behind the flash e-commerce at the strip i soon found myself surrounded in every direction by clear cobalt skies which made the horizon itself seem like a mirage. i arrived at the prison wearing jeans and a denim shirt. my head was close to the scalp and was promptly advise that i was being turned away because my attire was virtually identical to the inmates uniform. an affable female guard smiled at my dilemma. her haircut doesn't help but she was also quick to give directions to a super walmart down the highway close to the edge of las vegas. if you hightail it you can buy yourself a new suit of clothing and be back here in just over an hour she promised. sure enough when russell henderson was escorted into the area later that morning he looked exactly as i had earlier right down to the shaved scalp. russ