The City Council voted 5-3 against allowing a fifth cardroom license within city limits Tuesday. “The question is simply: Do we want 15 more tables of gaming somewhere in the city?” asked Councilman Rob Fong before the vote. “For me, the answer is no.” Sacramento city code currently allows a maximum of four licenses – all four of which are held by open cardrooms in the city. Bill Hamilton, owner of the Old Tavern Bar and Grill in Midtown, used to have a cardroom license in the late 1990’s but let it lapse. The Gambling Control Commission recently adopted a regulation to allow some expired and inactive cardroom licenses to be reactivated under certain conditions. Gambling licenses in t

Two Sacramento families with downtown businesses will take over the space in the Firestone Building that houses California Pizza Kitchen. The restaurant, which opened in May 2009, will close this month, making way for the Firestone Public House in about six months. The de Vere Whites, who own de Vere’s Irish Pub, and the Wong family, which owns Ma Jong’s, The Park Ultralounge, The Mix and Cafeteria 15L, are still working out the details of what the approximately 5,700-square-foot space at 1132 16th St. will hold, according to Henry de Vere White. “The best way to say it is that a sports bar will probably be one aspect of it, and through the buildout, it is going to develop,” he said. “Th

Big Brothers Big Sisters has partnered with eleven celebrated Sacramento restaurants for “Cocktails for a Cause” in July. These eateries are lending their best mixologists to create refreshing, innovative cocktails to generate funds for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Sacramento throughout the entire month of July. Beginning Friday, July 1st and continuing throughout the entire month, DeVere’s Irish Pub, District 30, Dive Bar, Ella Dining Room and Bar, Grange, L Wine Lounge, Lounge on 20, Mulvaney’s, Pizza Rock, Red Lotus and Zocalo will be serving a delicious cocktail, aptly named the "Big Brother/Big Sister" or something similar. Every one of these eleven Sacramento hot spots will c

Looking for a way to impress your friends or date with your intelligence? Take them out to a trivia night or pub quiz in Sacramento. The Sacramento Press has your guide to local bars and pubs that will test your knowledge on trivia in a friendly, yet competitive environment. The Depot 2001 K St., Ste. A Wednesdays, 9 p.m. Free De Vere’s Irish Pub 1521 L St. Mondays, 7 - 8 p.m. Free Christopher Scott, the director of Cardio Pulmonary Services at Methodist Hospital, has hosted trivia for eight years. Currently, Scott hosts trivia nights at The Depot and de Vere’s Irish Pub. “The presenting is the most fun – the experience with the people that are playing,” Scott said. “It’s getting tha

Crews started setting up Wednesday morning for the 12-hour party at Cesar Chavez Plaza for St. Patrick's Day.  The event is expected to draw thousands of people, according to the Downtown Sacramento Partnership. St. Patrick's Day Party in the Park will start at 10 a.m. and end at 10 p.m. Cesar Chavez Plaza is located at 910 I St.

It is a common belief that St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland and the inspiration for countess pints of green beer, banished all the snakes from the Emerald Isle. He used a wooden staff to herd the serpents into the sea, banishing them forever. In reality, snakes never lived in Ireland. The climate is just too frigid for the cold-blooded reptilians. Midtown Sacramento boasts a much warmer climate, but, don’t worry, you will probably find a lot more corned beef and cabbage than you will snakes. For this year’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities on March 17, many Midtown businesses will be celebrating with their own takes on honoring the saint. One such place that will be showing off their Ir

Looking for inexpensive ways to celebrate New Year's Eve? Whether you want to dance away a winter's night, explore frosty trails, release what's holding you back or toast your Celtic heritage, here are a handful of ways to say goodbye to 2010 and welcome 2011. Celtic Afternoon Toast Get an early start on New Year's Eve. Join the Shamrock Club of Sacramento and the rest of the city's Celtic clubs for a 4 p.m. toast to Ireland, Scotland and the rest of the British Isles at deVere's Irish Pub, 1521 L St. Bagpipers, dancers and singers will gather with other local folks of the Celtic persuasion starting about 2 p.m. A toast is held at the moment the clock strikes midnight in Dublin, London a

It’s been six months since St. Patrick’s Day, and the Irish are getting antsy. To satisfy the craving for a bit of Old-World cheer, de Vere’s Irish Pub will be kicking off its inaugural family-friendly Guinness and Oyster Festival Saturday. Through the event, Sacramento will be joining a worldwide celebration that began in Galway, Ireland, in the mid-1950s when a local businessman was looking for a way to extend the summer tourist season. “It started small, but it’s now turned into a five-day party,” said de Vere’s co-owner Henry de Vere White, adding that attending the Galway celebration is high up on his bucket list. “There’s nothing quite as Irish as Guinness and oysters,” he said.

Pedestrian traffic may have appeared somewhat peculiar in Midtown on Saturday. Merry crowds of golfers, and a pirate or two, took to the streets in droves for the first annual Albie Puttin’ Pub and Putt Crawl presented by Go-Girl Energy Drink. Tickets were $25 for walk-ups and $20 for those who preregistered. All proceeds from the event went straight to Albie Aware Inc., a foundation dedicated to supporting women struggling with breast cancer. Executive Director Cindy Love, was a close friend to Albie Carson. The foundation was formed after Carson died of breast cancer in 2002. “We started the foundation because she was not given the proper testing after she was diagnosed, and we would

Time to paint your body, don your wigs and honk that old plastic noisemaker. The World Cup is just around the corner. The month-long tournament begins Friday, and there are a variety of options for those willing to set their alarms to see the 4:30, 7 and 11:30 a.m. games. Below is a detailed list of different bars and restaurants hosting World Cup viewing events, as well as food and drink specials. Local soccer fans can double their soccer fix for a few hours Saturday with the inaugural Sacramento Cup. For the first time ever, Major League Soccer teams will come to Raley Field and compete in an exhibition game: Chivas USA and the San Jose Earthquakes. Scheduling the game became feasible

Sacramento usually sees large crowds on Second Saturday. But Wednesday, it looked more like Dublin as thousands of green-clad Sacramentans attended block parties, drank green beer and celebrated everything even remotely Irish. The following is a photo essay, depicting some of the Wednesday evening festivities. The first seven photos are from the de Vere's St. Patrick's Day Block Party. Outside the de Vere's St. Patrick's Day Block Party on L Street, this dog dressed for the occasion in a green sweater. The party drew thousands of people to the 1500s block of L Street. Kings mascot Slamson showed up to the block party on stilts and showed off his shamrock-covered blazer. He was a crowd p

Sacramento Press witnessed the block party at de Vere's firsthand. We had a booth set up in the middle of the festivities. Here are some pictures of the festivities.             Beer Brats Sonny Mayugba interviews the Kennelly Dance Company. Sonny sits down with Henry de Vere White. Sonny interviews Rob Kerth for the Sacramento Press livestream.   The Sacramento Kings dancers at the Sacramento Press booth.   Sonny interviews Simon de Vere White.   News 10's Jennifer Smith and camera man check out The Sacramento Press.

De Vere's Irish Pub held its inaugural St. Baldrick's event Monday, raising more than $81,000 for cancer research, $10,000 of which came from De Vere's. The pub's roped-off sidewalk was packed with spectators trying to get a glimpse of local participants shaving their locks to conquer kids' cancer. De Vere's had 221 shavees lined up for their turn to get snipped. Publicly displayed on the patio, shavees winced when they felt the cold steel clippers reach deep down to the scalp. The participants' reactions caused perpetual laughter, since there was a four-barber-rotation, and each head took only a minute to shave. The crowd stirred when Shawn Eldredge, a City Council candidate for Distri

Free Videos by Ustream.TV Live Streaming by Ustream.TV Thank you to everyone who came out yesterday to help make St. Baldrick's Day a success! Especially to those who shaved their locks off for the cause. 100% of the money raised will go to fund research to help end childhood cancer. Wednesday the pub will be open at 8am, and we're offering free admission until 10am. L St. will be blocked off all day long between 15th and 16th streets. There will be live music, Irish dancers, corned beef, brats, 26 beer taps, an incredible whiskey selection, and the list goes on. We'll also be interviewing local business and community leaders all day. If you can't make it to the block party,

The Kennelly Irish Dance Company is performing during the St. Patrick's Day Block Party at de Vere's. The Kennelly Irish Dance Company is a talented and dynamic troupe that offers outstanding performances in both traditional and modern styles of step dancing and figure arrangements. Thedancers put on a powerful show. The Kennelly Dance Company is directed by Patricia Kennelly, world-renowned Irish dance teacher, choreographer and musician. The group holds titles from competitions across the United States, Canada and Ireland — with dancers placing first and second in the 2002 North American National competition, and first in the 2002 Great Britain championships — and has made guest appear

deVere's Irish Pub has become a local favorite, a place to unwind after work and grab a pint! Well did you know that owners, Mark, Simon and Henry are son's of UC Davis Cancer Center Director, Ralph deVere White?  The quest to find a cure is not a new cause for the boys who grew up watching their dad fight this disease on the front lines as a cancer surgeon.  So what does a popular pub and childhood cancer have in common? deVere's will host a St. Baldrick's head-shaving celebration on Monday, March 15 from 5-8pm! The challenge is to BE Brave and GO Bald! Pledges are raised and in exchange those brave souls will shorn! All to raise life-saving research dollars for Childhood Cancer. Keaton

Eat from 20 of Sacramento's downtown restaurants with the purchase of one ticket supporting a 10-year-old boy fighting secondary cancer. The For Ben Food Crawl is from 2 to 5 p.m. on Feb. 28.  Each restaurant will have  drink specials, a taste of their food, and tons of great people exploring the grid of Sacramento while supporting Ben and his family. Beating levels while playing Nintendo DS, building cities with Legos, and making people smile are just a few of Ben's talents. But, that is not all he does. Ben has survived a brain tumor two years ago and now is battling secondary cancer in his spine. Intense treatments, intelligent doctors, unlimited prayers, and his close family and frie

  My family and I are so excited for Sacramento's annual St. Patrick's Day block party, and we hope that every year we can create a better experience for everyone.   After a year of reflection and many debates, we have decided to add a charitable aspect to our block party. We felt that we had a wonderful opportunity to bring Sacramentans together for St. Patrick's Day, and that we could do so while giving back to the community that has been so supportive of us. This year we have two charity events that take place during our block party on March 17. The 20/30 Club will be raising money for the UC Davis Medical Center Children's Cancer Center, and local firefighters will be cooking the e

It is with excitement that I am here to announce that the biggest St. Patrick's Day celebration in Sacramento is going to happen again. That's right folks, last year we did the undoable. We closed L Street between 16th & 15th for a St. Patrick's day block party like no other. Nearly 7000 people showed up, but it remained a festive and safe community event. We had no incidents, thanks to great security and great people who came to have a good time. This year, we're projecting attendance at 8,000 and I want to get everyone involved. We are working with The Sacramento Press to get the community involved and I'm going to keep everyone posted on the event as it develops right here. So join the

The time of year is here again for locals to venture out and experience some of our neighborhoods' finest eateries. Being in the restaurant business for most of my life, I have had the privilege of eating in some of the greatest food cities: New York, Miami, Las Vegas and San Francisco. The upcoming Dine Downtown week in Sacramento is an event that can satisfy even the most finicky foodie and rival any of those cities. The list of 35 participating restaurants is quite impressive for Sacramento’s fifth annual Dine Downtown week, January 8 through 17. The dining scene in Sacramento is up and coming, so there are certain places those of us on a strict budget will never be able to try, right