{"id":157523,"date":"2020-12-05T14:42:26","date_gmt":"2020-12-05T22:42:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=157523"},"modified":"2020-12-05T16:40:03","modified_gmt":"2020-12-06T00:40:03","slug":"singing-star-jewel-sent-blunt-letter-to-las-vegas-investor-tony-hsieh-before-his-death-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/singing-star-jewel-sent-blunt-letter-to-las-vegas-investor-tony-hsieh-before-his-death-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Singing Star Jewel Sent ‘Blunt’ Letter to Las Vegas Investor Tony Hsieh Before His Death: Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

The recording star Jewel sent ex-Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh a \u201cblunt\u201d letter months ago, warning that he risked going from \u201ceccentric to madness,\u201d according to a published report. Hsieh, credited with transforming downtown Las Vegas, died last month after a Connecticut house fire. He was 46.<\/p>\n

\"Jewel\"
Recording star Jewel, seen here, sings “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” in a YouTube tribute to Las Vegas investor Tony Hsieh. He died last month after injuries in a Connecticut house fire. (Image: Las Vegas Review-Journal<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jewel sent the letter by FedEx because Hsieh had given up email and texts as \u201cpart of a digital cleanse,\u201d according to Forbes<\/em> magazine.<\/p>\n

The Forbes<\/em> story, published online Dec. 4, asserts that someone shared the contents of the letter with the magazine. The publication does not reveal who shared the letter that reporters Angel Au-Yeung and David Jeans used in the story.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am going to be blunt,\u201d the letter states, according to Forbes<\/em>. \u201cI need to tell you that I don\u2019t think you are well and in your right mind. I think you are taking too many drugs that cause you to disassociate.\u201d<\/p>\n

The letter says Hsieh risked going from \u201ceccentric to madness,\u201d according to the magazine.<\/p>\n

The Las Vegas Review-Journal<\/em> published portions of the letter on its website on Dec. 4. According to the newspaper, a representative for the singer said in response, \u201cJewel\u2019s not available at this time to elaborate on the story or comment, other than what she posted in the video message.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

On Wednesday, Jewel appeared in a YouTube tribute titled “Elegy for Tony Hsieh.” The tribute lasts more than 11 minutes, and includes Jewel singing, \u201cSomewhere Over the Rainbow.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In August, Jewel had visited longtime friend Hsieh in Park City, Utah, according to Forbes<\/em>. She performed acoustically for about 50 people in a private setting and \u201cabruptly\u201d left soon afterwards, the magazine states.<\/p>\n

Reviving Downtown Las Vegas<\/h2>\n

After more than 20 years at Zappos, Hsieh retired from the company in August. Amazon bought Zappos for $1.2 billion in 2009, retaining the Harvard University graduate to run the online shoe-and-clothing seller.<\/p>\n

Hsieh spent millions on revitalizing a run-down area of Las Vegas<\/a> near the casino district, known as Glitter Gulch. He also contributed to philanthropic efforts in the area.<\/p>\n

Hsieh recently bought property in Park City, Utah, and apparently had moved from Las Vegas to the ski resort town.<\/p>\n

Late last month, Circa Resort owner Derek Stevens and others organized a memorial tribute to Hsieh in downtown Las Vegas. The visual tribute was displayed on the lighted canopy at the Fremont Street Experience.<\/p>\n

\u2018Barricaded\u2019 or \u2018Trapped\u2019 in Shed<\/h2>\n

Hsieh died the day after Thanksgiving in a Bridgeport, Connecticut, hospital.<\/p>\n

Nine days earlier, fire crews removed him for a storage shed attached to a house in New London, Connecticut. The shed had smoke coming from it when emergency crews arrived about 3:30 am. Hsieh was unresponsive when crews forced their way into the shed and pulled him out, according to news accounts.<\/p>\n

Hsieh had been \u201cbarricaded\u201d or \u201ctrapped\u201d inside the shed, according to voices heard on emergency dispatch calls.<\/p>\n

Hsieh was taken to a hospital in New London, and then to the Connecticut Burn Center at Bridgeport Hospital. Bridgeport is about 65 miles west of New London.<\/p>\n

\n

Authorities ruled Hsieh’s death was an accident caused by complications from smoke inhalation. He would have been 47 on Dec. 12.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A court document filed in Las Vegas this week on the family\u2019s behalf seeks to protect his estate<\/a>, estimated at $840 million. He did not have a will, the court document states.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The recording star Jewel sent ex-Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh a \u201cblunt\u201d letter months ago, warning that he risked going from \u201ceccentric to madness,\u201d according to a published report. Hsieh, credited with transforming downtown Las Vegas, died last month after a Connecticut house fire. He was 46. Jewel sent the letter by FedEx because Hsieh had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":157524,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,16693],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSinging Star Jewel Sent 'Blunt' Letter to Las Vegas Investor Tony Hsieh Before His Death: Report - Casino.org Singing Star Jewel Sent \u201cBlunt\u201d Letter to Las Vegas Investor Tony Hsieh Before His Death: Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The recording star Jewel sent ex-Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh a \u201cblunt\u201d letter months ago, warning that he risked going from \u201ceccentric to madness,\u201d according to Jewel sent a letter to retired Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh months before his death, warning him about his lifestyle.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Singing Star Jewel Sent 'Blunt' Letter to Las Vegas Investor Tony Hsieh Before His Death: Report - 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