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‘My life changed forever’: Las Vegas restaurant owner sells out after viral TikTok video

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LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Las Vegas pizzeria, Frankenson’s, went from having almost no customers to being sold out overnight.

It happened after popular TikToker and food reviewer Keith Lee posted a video about the place and the delicious dishes they’re serving up inside.

Owner Frank Steele opened his restaurant four months ago and says business wasn’t doing well.

“It has been a struggle. I was lucky if I did $400 a day,” Steele said.

Steele believes what happened on Monday night was a miracle.

“I had this guy come in and didn’t know who he was, and I started talking to him because I like talking to all my customers. I asked him where he was from and what he did for work and that’s when he said he was a food critic,” Steele said.

Steele said he didn’t think much of it at first, but a few hours later, business got really busy.

“Our phone never stopped ringing. I’ve sold more lemon pepper wings in the last two days than I have in the past four months. I made more garlic knots yesterday and the day before than I’ve ever made,” Steele said.

Lee's review on TikTok captured the attention of people all over the world.

“I have people coming in from Iowa, people from California, Lake Havasu. I had people come down from Utah, all because of this video,” Steele said.

As of Friday evening, the video has been viewed more than 22 million times and received more than 4 million likes.

Frank says all of it is still setting in.

“It’s just been overwhelming. It's been a blessing. This restaurant has been a dream of mine for 30 years,” Steele said.

Aside from thanking Lee and all of his customers, Steele also wants to apologize to those he hasn’t been able to serve.

“The response has been so overwhelming. I’m working to get stocked up on supplies and food. I am bringing everyone in to help. All I can say is thank you. This has been life-changing,” Steele said.

CARSON CITY—Newly sworn-in Gov. Joe Lombardo ended his first week in office by signing executive orders that end COVID-19 directives and direct the Department of Administration to make recommendations concerned with state employment.

The first of those executive orders, signed Friday, rescinds all COVID-19 related directives, beginning with former Gov. Steve Sisolak’s emergency declaration on March 12, 2020.

Many of the directives, including the stay at home order, masking and social distancing, haven’t been active in over a year. Sisolak ended the state of emergency on May 20, 2022, a move that “left unclear and uncertain the status of subsequent declarations,” according to Lombardo’s order.

The second executive order directs the Department of Administration to make recommendations related to hiring and retaining state employees in an effort to address “a workplace vacancy rate of approximately 24% of legislatively approved positions,” according to the order.

The report, which is set to include ways to “simplify and otherwise improve” processes for hiring and retaining employees, is required to be submitted to the governor’s office by April 1.

The order also directs the department to develop a plan for state employees to “return to pre-pandemic, normal and customary office conditions” by July 1.

“Starting at the next fiscal year, we expect everyone to be working back at normal hours in a physical office,” Lombardo’s Chief of Staff Ben Kieckhefer said.

In a short briefing with reporters Friday, Kieckhefer said the governor is committed to giving state employees a raise but said more details would be available during Lombardo’s Jan. 23 State of the State address.

He declined to say whether that raise would match Sisolak’s proposed budget, which suggested a 10 percent raise in the first year of the biennium and 5 percent in the following year.

Kieckhefer also said the administration was preparing a budget that would make “unprecedented investments” in K-12 education, the details of which will also be revealed during the governor’s State of the State address.

“Like all things, we’ve taken the previous administration’s recommendations under advisement, but we’ll be making our own decisions about what we think is best for the state,” he said.

One of the administration’s top priorities involves school choice, a policy that allows parents to choose where their children go to school regardless of their residence through a variety of avenues,

which can include vouchers and tax credits. Opponents of the policy argue it can harm the public school system and lead to inequality.

Lombardo made it a feature of his campaign and now of his newly established administration. During his inaugural address Tuesday, he vowed to expand school choice.

Kieckhefer echoed the administration’s commitment to that policy Friday.

“We believe in holistic school choice. That includes choice within the private system, choice within the traditional public system, choice within charters,” he said. “If we listen to our constituents, I think we’re going to be able to find some middle ground to advance that cause.”

When asked whether Lombardo was planning to repeal Sisolak’s executive order that protects out-of-state patients seeking an abortion and the caretakers providing them care, Kieckhefer said it was not in the administration’s immediate plans.

Lombardo previously said he would repeal the order but later backtracked that statement during the campaign.

FOX Business Flash top headlines for January 27

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A federal lawsuit has been filed in Nevada alleging that most hotel casinos on the Las Vegas Strip have used a third-party vendor to illegally fix prices.

The suit is seeking class-action damages for hotel patrons who booked rooms in Las Vegas since 2019.

The complaint alleges that casino giants MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment, along with Treasure Island and Wynn Resorts, shared information with a company that used pricing algorithms to "maximize market-wide prices."

It accuses the resorts and Rainmaker Group Unlimited, a revenue management company owned by Cendyn Group, of "algorithmic-driven price-fixing … at the expense of consumers and in violation of antitrust laws."

The suit is looking for unspecified monetary damages for "tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands" of people based on alleged antitrust violations of the federal Sherman Act.

FOX Business has reached out to the companies involved for comment.

An MGM Resorts spokesperson provided a statement saying, "The claims against MGM Resorts are factually inaccurate, and we intend to defend ourselves vigorously against these meritless claims."

MGM Resorts operates properties including Bellagio, New York-New York, MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay.

A Cendyn Group spokesman said they have no comment at this time.

Caesars Entertainment operates Las Vegas Strip properties, including Caesars Palace, Harrah’s, the Horseshoe, Paris Las Vegas and the Flamingo.

Wynn Resorts also did not have a comment at this time.

The lawsuit points to concerns about algorithmic pricing identified in a 2017 speech by Maureen Ohlhausen, a former acting chairperson of the Federal Trade Commission.

Ohlhausen said companies provide their pricing data to "a common, outside agent" that uses the information to program its algorithm "to maximize industry-wide pricing."

The court filing said two former Rainmaker employees told attorneys the company's products are used by 90% or "just about every" property on the resort-lined Las Vegas Strip. The lawsuit didn't identify the former employees.

The average daily room rates for Strip resorts hit record highs in 2022, topping $200 a night in October, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Two-time WNBA MVP Candace Parker has agreed to a contract with the Las Vegas Aces following a two-year stint with the Chicago Sky, she announced Saturday via Instagram.

"After evaluating the landscape together with my family, we've decided the Las Vegas Aces are the right organization for us at this point in our lives," Parker wrote. "I'm forever appreciative of everyone in Chicago—our fans, teammates, coaches and ownership.

"But more than the past two seasons, I'm thankful to the city that raised me, the childhood friends I still have to this day, the teachers I still am learning from, and the moments in time that will forever be in my heart."

Parker added: "While Chicago will always be my home, my family's home is on the West Coast. To play for a championship close to home is the perfect situation for us. I'm looking forward to continuing the journey this summer in Las Vegas."

Khristina Williams

Full statement from Candace Parker on her decision to sign with the Aces. ⬇️ <a href="https://t.co/ers2dP0l3h">https://t.co/ers2dP0l3h</a> <a href="https://t.co/rG1UePbqt9">pic.twitter.com/rG1UePbqt9</a>

Parker had meetings with the Sky, Aces and Los Angeles Sparks, her former team, in free agency, according to Annie Costabile of the Chicago Sun Times.

The Aces are an intriguing destination for any elite free agent after they finished the 2022 season with a 26-10 record and went on to win their first WNBA title last season, defeating the Connecticut Sun in four games.

The Aces, perhaps the best team in the WNBA, offer Parker the opportunity to win another title before she calls it quits in the not-too-distant future. With a roster that includes Kelsey Plum, A'ja Wilson and Chelsea Gray, whom she won a title with in L.A. in 2016, Las Vegas will be among the title favorites again in 2023 with the addition of Parker.

Parker spent the first 13 years of her career with the Los Angeles Sparks, which selected her first overall in the 2008 WNBA draft. She earned four All-Star selections, two MVP awards and a WNBA title during her tenure with the franchise.

The 36-year-old had some of the best years of her career in Los Angeles, averaging 16.9 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.6 blocks across 13 seasons while shooting 48.2 percent from the floor and 33.7 percent from deep.

In her two seasons with the Sky, Parker was named an All-Star twice. She also led Chicago to the WNBA title in 2021.

During the 2022 season, she averaged 13.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks in 32 games while shooting 45.8 percent from the floor and 31.1 percent from deep.

While she's past her prime, Parker is still an elite player and can help Las Vegas repeat as WNBA champions in 2023. It appears Wilson and Gray believe so, as they had a great response to the news of the signing:

If the Aces win another title in 2023, they'll become the first team to win back-to-back championships for the first time since the Sparks in 2001 and 2002.

CHICAGO — Sky Forward and WNBA superstar Candace Parker announced her free agency decision today, according to a post on her Instagram account.

The former no. 1 overall pick, 2-time MVP and two-time WNBA champion spent the last two seasons of her career with the Sky — earning two all-star nods, a WNBA championship and a WNBA Finals appearance — after spending 13 years with the Los Angeles Sparks.

According to Parker, the decision to join the Aces was based on what was best for her family. Her statement on Instagram reads as follows:

“When I made the decision to go to Chicago in 2021, I made the decision to go home and be with my family in the place where it all began. I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to win a championship in my hometown and parade down the same streets I watched the Bulls parade down as a young girl first falling in love with the game of basketball.

“As I’ve gone through free agency this time around, of course I’m thinking of where I can compete for my third championship, but the words home and family are what I kept coming back to. No different than when I signed with Chicago.

“Throughout her 13 years, Lailaa has always sacrificed for me; always put me first; and always supported me in what I wanted or needed to do, even when it was tough on her.

“I need to be there for my daughter, for my son, for my wife. I can’t be without them for parts of the season when Lailaa is in school and I won’t miss her volleyball games or school dances simply because of distance. Lailaa starts high school in August and I need to be there for her, just as she’s been there for me.

“After evaluating the landscape together with my family, we’ve decided the Las Vegas Aces are the right organization for us at this point in our lives.

“I’m forever appreciative of everyone in Chicago – our fans, teammates, coaches, and ownership. But more than the past two seasons, I’m thankful to the city that raised me, the childhood friends I still have to this day, the teachers I still am learning from, and the moments in time that will forever be in my heart.

“While Chicago will always be my home, my family’s home is on the west coast.

“To play for a championship close to home is the perfect situation for us. I’m looking forward to continuing the journey this summer in Las Vegas ♠️”

Parker averaged 13.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game on 45.8/31.7/80.6 shooting splits while playing professionally in Chicago.