Saturday, September 28, 2019

E-314: Party Bits



Random Vegas 
In 2004, a man sold all his possessions and put his entire net worth of $135,300 on red at the Plaza. The ball landed on red 7 and he walked out with $270,600 (@factsweird cc: VitalVegas) 

Twitpic of the week 


The question, “What does it look like when a Vegas lover cums” has been long speculated about and difficult to articulate.  As only @summacorp can do, a visual representation now exists.  Not coincidental in the slightest, this is also what Vegas lovers see as they shift loose the mortal coil.  It’s also what we think about when daydreaming, eating lunch, let’s just create a bucket called ‘always’ and drop this image in it.  Interestingly enough, only 2 of the signs showcased here are still in operation, and only 1 of them is a casino.  While the casino closed in 1995, the Pioneer Club retained its name as well as Vegas icon Vegas Vic when they reopened as a gift shop.  Circus Circus is the only sign here still in use as you see it.  Flamingo scaled back the sign you see here into the corner marquee we see today.  Originally it extended out to the strip with a lit canopy reminiscent of Plaza’s porte cochere.  The Horseshoe is now Binion’s, the Mint is now part of Binion’s and Lady Luck is Downtown Grand.  Fremont, Caesars, and Golden Nugget all have new versions of their signage while everything else featured here no longer exist, except in the Neon Boneyard, but not in all cases, RIP Dunes, Mint and Silverbird signage 

News

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

E-313: #360VV9 Fall 2019



Random Vegas 
SLS was claimed stand for “Service, Luxury, Style” by owners SBE.  However the truth is it doesn’t stand for anything.  Legend has it that the hotel got its name when SBE founder Sam Nazarian pulled up behind a Mercedes SL500 and made the “SL5” into “SLS” (@VitalVegas) 

Twitpic of the week 



It’s easy to forget that Imperial Palace wasn’t always the loveable shithole we all remember it as.  Its concept was to offer an affordable resort themed as heavily as its neighbor across the street, Caesars Palace.  Not only was the concept well received, it was so popular the place couldn’t expand fast enough to keep up with demand, showcased in the photo shared by @PixVegas777 with its first hotel tower, brought on line in 1977.  5 hotel towers later and regardless of any lax in maintenance, similar to Circus Circus, the place became a cash cow.  Despite bemoaning that the place was in need of a renovation, it didn’t seem to detour anyone from staying and playing there, so why bother.  And so it did until the property was reimagined as the Quad.  That lasted less than 2 years before deciding to abandon that name in favor of leveraging the outdoor promenade branding, known as the LINQ.  No one will argue that the property has changed for the better, but that doesn’t mean we’ll stop fondly recalling whatever idealized version of the Imperial Palace we choose to remember. 


Trip Report