Actor Mark Wahlberg was ripping packs of sports trading cards with fans Thursday evening at Red Rock Resort to promote a future Southern Nevada business venture. Wahlberg has teamed up with Michael Meldman, a Las Vegas Raiders minority owner and Discovery Land Company chairman, and Paradise Card Breaks owner Mark Laird to create Paradise Card Breaks Wahlberg Edition. The store is scheduled to open next year in Downtown Summerlin and will feature a media element with live pack openings and fan events involving sports stars and other VIP guests.
Wahlberg told the Review-Journal he has been collecting cards since childhood, recalling how his father would buy him packs when he went to work with him. He later shared the hobby with his own children as a way to connect and spend quality time together. Wahlberg said his home is located in the Summit Club in Summerlin, which Discovery Land Co. developed, and that he and Meldman bonded over similar family values and interests.
"Mike and I have been friends for a long time," Wahlberg said. "And we were talking about doing some stuff together. Everything that Mike built, he builds around spending time with his children too. So I said, Mike, why don't you do it with your sons and I'll do it with mine." Wahlberg added that partnering with Laird was a blessing because they loved what he was doing in the card breaking space and want to create more experience-driven events.
Wahlberg's longtime friend, former NFL great and Raiders minority owner Tom Brady, is also in the card business with his Card Vault by Tom Brady stores opening nationwide, including at Mandalay Bay. Originally a lifelong New England Patriots fan, Wahlberg said Brady buying into the Raiders was initially tough but he now understands the business decision. "Tom, he's such a great football mind that I think him in the back office, ownership is going to be (great)," Wahlberg said.
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Original reporting: Las Vegas Review-Journal →
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