“In Las Vegas, spending your hard-earned cash at the Spearmint Rhino never gets old. That is, unless you’re DJ Crooked, who partnered up with fellow New Yorker, DJ Neva, to open the Knyew (pronounced “new”) earlier this year. “People were telling me to invest in a house,” says Crooked, “But I’m from New York. Who needs a house?” Crooked pitched the boutique idea to Neva while they were both resident DJs at Sin City’s famed Jet Nightclub, and it struck a chord. “There was nowhere to go out here. It was a void. I would have to fly home to the East Coast for gear,” says Neva. Wasting no time, they set after the guy who could bring the project together. With the people in place, Crooked and Neva parlayed their top-tier position in Lost Wages’ over-saturated nightlife industry. Considered marquee DJs around town and beyond, they are in a unique position, being both highly visible to the constant onslaught of visitors and friendly with the other DJs, whether resident or featured. “We do well because our clientele run in those circles,” Crooked points out. “So we have a network and resources where marketing is concerned. It opens doors to select the brands we want to work with.” But the Knyew Boutique is not alone is widening the choices in Las Vegas. Stores like Undefeated have recently rolled into town, hoping to plant a little culture in the desert. Though it’s not a contest, Neva is quick to express: “Any boutique you walk into out here, if they are doing it right, you will get a sense of their culture. It’s all about looking fresh, always about style, having swagger. It benefits Vegas overall. We wanted to bring a piece of us to it, bring that New York culture. I mean, Knyew stands for Keeping New York Every Where.” Located in Chinatown, the shop is just a jump from the Strip, making easy access for anybody patient enough to weather a casino cab line. But that’s a small price to pay to experience something as unique to Las Vegas as the trapeze act at Circus Circus. Filling the niche that it does, Knyew is bound to become LV’s destination for those who don’t rock button downs and hair gel to clubs, or drink “yards” of margarita from long plastic tubes. Written by Graham Funke”