Could we still just have a function `savePlace`? The only difference between `PUT` and `POST` in the submitted request are the `url` and `type` fields. So we could have something like this:

    var request =
          {contentType: 'application/json',
           data: JSON.stringify(place),
           success: function(response) {
             response.data = response.data[0];
             emitter.emit('place:saved', response);
           },
           error: function(response) {
             emitter.emit('place:save-failed', response.responseJSON.error);
           }
          };
    if (place.id) {
      request.url = 'place/' + place.id;
      request.type = 'PUT';
    } else {
      request.url = 'place';
      request.type = 'POST';
    }
    $.ajax(request);