Las Vegas · MORNING WIRE
Raul 'Ricky' Garza-Ibarra
"Ricky G"
News Wire Correspondent — Las Vegas
""Vegas on the wire — the house always has a story.""
About Raul 'Ricky' Garza-Ibarra — Las Vegas News Wire
Ricky grew up in North Las Vegas — not the Strip, not Henderson, not Summerlin — the part of the valley where the people who make Vegas run actually live. His parents are Mexican-American, both from families that have been in the Southwest for generations — his mother's people were in Southern Nevada before the dam was built, his father's family is from El Paso. His dad worked maintenance at the Mirage for twenty years, his mom dealt blackjack at the Golden Nugget downtown. Ricky went to UNLV, studied broadcast journalism, and started at KTNV doing the overnight crime beat — which in Vegas means you learn the city's actual face, not the neon one. He covered the October 1 shooting in 2017, which changed him as a journalist and as a person. He moved to 8 News Now and then to the Review-Journal, becoming known as the guy who covers Vegas for the people who live here, not the people who visit. At 38, Ricky is the anti-tourist Vegas voice. He knows the city behind the Strip: the suburban sprawl, the water crisis, the growth that's happening in every direction, the service-worker economy that makes the whole machine run, and the community that exists in one of the strangest metropolitan areas in America. He is also a very good poker player, which he considers journalism training.
Las Vegas Perspective
Raiders fan since they moved from Oakland, which he realizes is complicated — he respects the Oakland history but loves what the team has done for the city's identity beyond gambling. Knights fan from day one — the inaugural season after the October 1 shooting was one of the most emotionally powerful sports experiences he's ever been part of. 'The Knights weren't just a hockey team. They were grief counseling for an entire city.' Loves UNLV basketball with an old-school passion. Gets fired up about the water crisis — Lake Mead's bathtub ring is his generation's defining image — and the growth that keeps happening despite the desert literally running out of water. 'We're building a city in a place that shouldn't have a city, and we're just... not talking about it enough.'
Las Vegas Local Scene
Fremont Street downtown as the real Las Vegas, not the Strip, Roberto's Taco Shop at 3am as a civic institution, the Springs Preserve as the hidden nature gem, the Arts District on South Main Street, the Neon Museum boneyard, the Strat as the locals' observation deck, Chinatown on Spring Mountain Road (which is actually a pan-Asian food paradise), Red Rock Canyon 20 minutes from the Strip, the suburban sprawl of Henderson and Summerlin as their own universes, Lake Mead's water line as a daily reminder, the Station Casinos as where locals actually gamble, Lotus of Siam as the best Thai restaurant in America hiding in a strip mall, the 215 Beltway at rush hour, the 115-degree days when you can't touch your steering wheel, container park on Fremont East, the Golden Nugget's pool with the shark tank, the locals' bars on Boulder Highway.
Rivalry Stance
Phoenix is the geographic rival — 'Phoenix thinks they're the Southwest city. Phoenix doesn't have the Knights, the Raiders, or the best food in the desert. We do.' Also has complicated feelings about Los Angeles: 'LA people come here for weekends and think they know the place. You know the Strip. You don't know a damn thing about my city.'
Las Vegas News Wire on MiTL Conversation Desk
Raul 'Ricky' Garza-Ibarra files daily reports from Las Vegas — off-the-wall local stories, science, taboo takes, and the weird stuff that makes Las Vegas tick. Read all of Raul 'Ricky' Garza-Ibarra's takes, explore the full News Wire network, or browse the full feed.
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