E-502: Right to be Wrong

 Random Vegas

If you’re dealt a winning hand in video poker and accidentally fail to hold some or all of the cards before hitting “deal/draw”, some casinos, upon request, can review the last hand played and pay you what you would have one. (@VitalVegas)

TwitPic of the week

It’s the best view I’ve ever seen of the mistake in the desert, shared by @VitalVegas.  The giant MGM lion entrance formerly on the corner of Las Vegas Blvd and Tropicana.  It still seems like a silly superstition that designers should have known about.  Apparently, Asians consider it bad luck to walk under the mouth of a lion or some variation on that theme.  So, they avoided entering the property via this entrance.  In response, MGM decided to tear it down just 3 years after opening.  It’s one of the largest architectural missteps in Vegas history.

News

• Hughes/Silver Slipper Myth

• Riviera Plans

• U2 UV

• Las Vegas Ad

E-501: Rhythm Nation

 Random Vegas

Another reason the Strip began to outpace Fremont St was theming.  By the 50s the western motif was outdated and abandon by new properties opening on the strip.  This is why a more sophisticated client was attracted to the area. While on Fremont, the western motif was alive, well and expanding.  (Spectacular – A History of Las Vegas Neon)

TwitPic of the week

History in the making, literally.  This week’s winner goes to @FSELV for a picture of the Fremont St Experience canopy under construction.  We lament on this show the loss of the black sky to frame Fremont Neon but respect what the Fremont St Experience did to draw people back downtown.  It is in that spirit that we celebrate this photo.

News

• 360 Vegas Live

• Boring Co Update

E-500

 Random Vegas

The Sphere has been averaging over $1 million in ticket sales per day.  It generated nearly half a billion dollars in revenue for the fiscal year ending June 30th. (LasVegasLocally)

TwitPic of the week

Talk about things changing but staying the same.  This perspective shows us the strip south of the curve in Las Vegas Blvd. Featured prominently is the Mirage marquee.  Then, because it’s 1994 and Caesars Palace is set back from the strip, and the Dunes site is being prepared for Bellagio construction, we get to see all the way down to Excalibur and the brand-new Luxor.  Across the street we see Harrah’s while it’s still a riverboat called Holiday Casino, then we see LINQ still themed as Imperial Palace.  Hilton still owns Flamingo, Bally’s still uses MGM Grand’s original marquee, and the original Aladdin still exists.  Speaking of MGM Grand, in the distance we can see the new MGM Grand and the recently deceased Tropicana.  Thanks as always to @Summacorp for sharing this pic.

News

• Paris Celebrates 25

• Vegas Heat

• 7 Classic Vegas Experiences Lost

• Michelin Guide Vegas

Top 5 Lists

Shows - Josh

·       Best Topless show: Fantasy

·       Best Comedy Show: Carrot Top

·       Best Magic Show: Piff the Magic Dragon

·       Best Cirque-esque production show: "O"

·       Best All-Around Show: Absinthe

Books - Mark

·       Grandissimo – David G Swartz

·       At the Sands – David G Swartz

·       Winner Take All – Christina Binkley

·       Like an Onion: The Vegas Skim – Wayne Clingman & Roger Gallizzi

·       The Gambler: Kirk Kerkorian – William C Rempel

Restaurants - Keren

·       Bazaar Meat @Sahara

·       Oscar’s Steakhouse @Plaza

·       EDO

·       Lotus of Siam

·       Peppermill

Cocktails - Tony

·       The Sinatra Smash - Off menu at Overlook Bar at Wynn Las Vegas

·       The Rum Old Fashioned at Carbone at Aria

·       The Desert Sunset - Off menu at Legacy Club at Circa Las Vegas

·       Serpico at Giada's at The Cromwell

·       The Verbena Cocktail at Chandelier Bar at The Cosmopolitan.

E-499: Making It Awkward

 Random Vegas 

Super successful restaurants make $20-25 million a year.  STK at Cosmopolitan makes almost $50 million a year and Hell’s Kitchen at Caesars Palace generates more than $60 million a year. (Vital Vegas) 

TwitPic of the week 

Dunes, Caesars Palace, Flamingo and Aladdin.  Those that still remain look radically different from how they looked in 1980.  This photo shared by @summacorp shows just how cluttered things used to be on the strip before the Mirage boom started buying up all available land to make super casinos.  Today, this same perspective would show off Mekka Walgreens, Planet Hollywood, Paris, Horseshoe and Flamingo as well as Caesars and Bellagio. 

News

• E-500

• Swingers

• F1 

E-498: Orientation

Random Vegas 

Frederick W. Smith, the founder and CEO of FedEx saved his company by gambling in Las Vegas.  When FedEx had a hard time paying their $24,000 fuel bill, Smith took the company’s last $5,000 to gamble and managed to win $27,000 on blackjack and kept the business afloat. 

TwitPic of the week 

The year is 1985 and featured in this picture is the Dunes in all her glory including the satellite casino named the Oasis.  Beyond being a snapshot in time of a property I adore, shared by @Summacorp what captivates my imagination is virtually all this landscape has been almost completely reimagined over the next 20 years.  We all know Bellagio is in the place Dunes used to be but other than the Jocky Club, everything is different.  The entire southwest of the real estate.  It’s missing Bellagio, Cosmopolitan, all of CityCenter, Park MGM, NYNY, Excalibur, Luxor and Mandalay Bay.  Ironically almost everything around it is the same, although updated like Barbary is now Cromwell and Flamingo is no longer a Hilton.  

News

• Rod Stewart Residency

• Red Rock Stabbing

• ZorkFest 2024

• Jason Aldean’s Kitchen & Bar

E-497: Atrium

 Random Vegas 

Open containers are legal if you are using a limo or party bus.  Not legal in a rideshare or taxi. (Las Vegas Trivia Tidbits Book) 

TwitPic of the week 

It’s something we take for granted for in Vegas, not knowing what time of day or night it is.  But viewing an atomic explosion has got to be an experience like no other.  Here we see downtown Las Vegas in the midst of just such an occasion, shared by @Summacorp.  Even in this picture the magnitude of these explosions is palatable.  The light in the distances somehow makes the casinos in the foreground look like they belong to a model playset in comparison to the expanse of light.  Amazing that you can describe something so destructive as beautiful. 

News

• Caesars Sells WSOP

• Venetian Happy Hours

E-496: Preparation

 Random Vegas 

Hilton, at one time, had the tallest sign in Vegas at 362 feet tall, taller than the Landmark Hotel itself and only a few feet shy of the Hilton itself.  On July 18, 1994, it was blown down by 70-80 mph high winds.  Fortunately, no one was injured.  The sign was rebuilt in 1997 but not nearly as tall at only 279 feet tall. This is the sign Westgate has to this day. @summacorp 

TwitPic of the week 

Do you realize how much Vegas history is in this one shot shared by @Summacorp?  We’ll start with Circus Circus since it’s the easiest to orient yourself with.  Here you can see her 5 fountains and carousel marquee as well.  Next door you have Travel-lodge to the left, still there today, and Westward Ho on the right, not with us anymore. Across the street you have the Thunderbird, Algiers and Riviera. Today its Fontainebleau and a parking lot for the LVCVA. Beyond that we can see the International, the Convention Center and the Landmark.  Today the International is the Westgate and the convention center is now so much bigger that it repurposed the Landmark parking lot into an extension of the convention center.   

News

• Downtown Grand For Sale

• 360 Vegas Vacation 15 

• Bellagio Expansion 

E-495: Coming In Hot

 Random Vegas 

There were 137 employees that worked all 34 years and 8 months at the Mirage.  All current employees get $2k per year worked and first dibs on Hard Rock jobs in 2027 (@Vegas_Visual) 

TwitPic of the week 

It’s the best picture I’ve ever seen that really shows off the scope and grandeur of a live performance at the Sphere, shared by @meltzvegas.  The 18k images dwarf the performers while enhancing the music. It’s an experience unlike no other and of course its located in Las Vegas. Even if its only to watch the movie I can’t recommend the Sphere experience enough, unless you get motion sickness.  Then stay away from that shit. 

News

• Neon Museum Expansion

• Hard Rock Las Vegas

E-494: Driverless DUI

 Random Vegas 

YESCO replaced more than six miles of neon lighting with RGB LED strips on Mandalay Bay and Delano (Vital Vegas). 

TwitPic of the week 

I was never a fan of the property, but damn did they have a nice marquee.  The Frontier marquee, born in 1966 and shared by @_GrandPaD with an assist from @summacorp, was designed by Ad Art. It was at one time the tallest super pylon in the world at 184 feet, 4 feet taller than the previous record holder the Dunes.  Originally the “F” at the top of the sign rotated but that functionality was troublesome and eventually abandoned.  Unlike the Dunes I was fortunate enough to have seen her in real life and to be fair, pictures don’t do it justice.  Not like being in its presence.  I’m grateful for that time and for this picture for inspiring not only this monologue but the memories. 

• 360 Vegas Book

• Mirage-TI Tram closes

• E-500 YouTube Livestream

• Cosmopolitan Changes to MGM

• Neon City Festival

E-493: 360VV14

 Random Vegas

Vegas has the 3 largest video screens in the world. Sphere @Venetian at 580,000 square feet (515 long by 367 width), Resorts World at 161,636 square feet (475 long by 340 width), Viva Vision Screen at the Fremont St Experience at 130,000 square feet (1,500 long by 90 width).

TwitPic of the trip

Technically this was before360VV14started but according to the rules I’ve made up in my head, it counts. This was a unique point of view of a common visual of the tallest building in Vegas. Fontainebleau, the property that continues to disappoint is showcased here looming over one as they attempt to enjoy the pool. Fortunately it doesn’t cause a shadow but it does hulk over the strip as a cautionary tale. It isn’t as easy as field of dreams. You need to do more than just build it to get people to come. Regardless, its an attractive building as showcased in this week’s picture.

360VV14 Trip Report

Sunday, June 23

- 6 pm - Meet & Greet @Furnace @Downtown Grand

- 8 pm - Group Gaming @Downtown Grand

 

Monday, June 24

- 1 pm - Flight Club @Palazzo RSVP$ required ($90 per person for 3 hours, includes the cost to play and all you can drink well booze & domestic beer)

-  6 pm - 360 Family Meet and Greet, @Alto @Caesars Palace

    - Pennys4Vegas 

    - Stripwalking

    - Vegas Confessions

    - VegasNearMe

    - You Can Bet On That

 

 

Tuesday, June 25

- 8 am - 360 Vegas Exercise Experience w/@RaisingLasVegas RSVP

- Noon - Cocktails @Flamingo suite RSVP$ required ($70 per person)

- 3 pm - Group Gaming @Flamingo

E-492: Differently Abled

 Random Vegas

Ever wonder why they call them tokes instead of tips?  The reason is many years ago dealers tried to convince the IRS that the cash they received from players was not a tip and therefore did not have to be reported as taxable income. The logic behind this dodge was that a tip was defined by the IRS as a payment in return for special treatment. Since it is illegal for a dealer to provide any sort of favor to a player, the dealers argued that the money they were given was a “token of appreciation” for dealing an honest game, and therefore not a reward for special services. The IRS didn’t buy it, but the term “toke” stuck.” (Super Casino)

 

TwitPic of the week

It’s the best picture of the sultan at the Dunes that I’ve ever seen, perfectly lit up a night.  It was a Porte cochere like no other.  Well, it was actually kind of an uneventful Porte cochere but it has a giant sultan on the roof.  And he had a gem that lights up at night in his turban.  This, looking at this, just makes me smile.  The picture was shared by @VitalVegas with a hat tip to Las Vegas Memories Facebook group.

News

• Vegas is Expensive

• Poolside Gaming

• COVID Gaming Changes

• Casino Smoking

E-491: Just Let Him In

 Random Vegas 

Justin Timberlake was paid $6 million dollars to perform at Fontainebleau opening night.  That night, he stayed at Wynn. (VitalVegas) 

TwitPic of the week 

You’ve heard me talk about it before, the Stardust.  Here we got a picture from @_GrandPaD showing off the entire property, including the old Royal Nevada that they rebranded the Stardust Auditorium.  It also shows the properties first hotel tower that existed between the two properties, connecting them together.  Next you can’t help but look at all those motel units behind the Stardust Frontage.  And lastly, you’re reminded this is in the middle of a desert by the Barron wasteland that stretched beyond the resorts reach. All silhouetted with the beautiful mountains. 

News

• Electric Playhouse

• Fontainebleau expands

• “The Friends’ Experience“

• Tuscany Deal

E-490: No Fucks to Give

 Random Vegas

The five biggest jackpots ever won in Las Vegas history (@VegasIssues)

1.     $39.7 million – Excalibur, Mar 2003

2.     $35 million – Desert Inn, Jan 2000

3.     $27.6 million – Palace Station, Nov 1998

4.     $22.6 million – Bally’s, May 2002

5.     $21.3 million – Caesars Palace, June 1999

TwitPic of the week

I don’t know if its common knowledge but Bellagio has a hell of an ass on her.  You don’t think of her as a tri-tower because that frontage is all anyone remembers but she is in fact a tri-tower, showcased spectacularly by @Maverickheli.  I don’t think this aspect of her is as appreciated as it should be.  I know I didn’t until we moved and I made the drive from the west to the strip via Flamingo Road.  She unveils herself as you come over the freeway.  It’s very distracting and elegant and a beautiful addition to our Twitpic of the week collection.

News

• 360VV14

• RJ Tip Guide

• Frontier Site

E-489: Loopholes

 Random Vegas

The largest American flag every flown was displayed over the Hoover Dam on May 1st, 1996.  Each star on the flag was 17 feet high. (@LasVegaslocally)

TwitPic of the week

My growing affection for this property rivals only Keren’s dislike for it.  The world famous, Caesars Palace, here showcased in 1974 by @summacorp.  Here we can see the properties 3rd hotel tower under construction, the Roman tower expansion.  Something that used to annoy me about Caesars was the piece mail cobbling together of different eras.  Now its what I find charming about it.  How many places can you visit on the strip that are the same structure they were in 66.  It’s remarkable and why I’ve selected to celebrate her evolution with this week’s winner.

News

• J-Lo Vegas Drama

• Resorts World Money Laundering

• Icahn Returns

• Golden Nugget No Resort Fee

• Rio Drone Show

E-488: Mr. Fritada

Random Vegas

It’s been stated that the Mirage changed everything.  Specifically, in the 10 years that followed its opening the city of Las Vegas doubled visitor volume from $17 million to $35 million, room inventory from 61k to 124k, air passengers increased from $16 million to $36 million and gaming revenue from $3 billion of $7.6 billion.  (@OllyLovate)

TwitPic of the week

Simply put, it’s a picture of the Mirage under construction shared by d.  Never has a single property so impacted the Las Vegas market.  It’s somewhat comforting that the building will basically remain the same although with virtually all of the public spaces refreshed.  Odds are we won’t recognize the Mirage once Hard Rock is finished with it, which is a good thing.  Possibly the most disappointing thing is that we are losing another iconic name on the strip.  No longer will we love a place with palaces called Dunes, Sands, Stardust or the Mirage.

News

• LVCVA and Aces

• Mini Disni

• Flamingo Signage Relit

• Virgin Labor Issues

• Gaming Integrity

E-487: Cox Aren't For Everyone

 Random Vegas

When the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign was installed in 1959, the population of Las Vegas was about 70,000 people.  Today, 65 years later, that number is 2.3 million (@lasvegaslocally and research)

TwitPic of the week

It is the way of the world.  The only constant is change and the city of Las Vegas embodies that more than any city in the history of civilization.  The Tropicana is currently being demolished and the Mirage will be rethemed to Hard Rock.  At least we can be grateful that the stain glass ceiling at Tropicana is going to be saved, showcased by @lasvegaslocally.  Here’s a choice for you.  The Mirage Volcano or the Tropicana stain glass ceiling, if you could only save one, which would it be?

News

• Mirage Closing

E-486: From A Distance

 Random Vegas

The original trains used on the Las Vegas Monorail were from Walt Disney World.  When they debuted, they simply connected Bally’s to MGM Grand. (@LasVegasLocally)

TwitPic of the week

The Queen of the Strip, as she was known, basking in the morning glow of a sunrise shared by @_GrandpaD.  The Stardust Super Pylon marquee was remarkable for so many reasons.  The font, the shower of stars and how the pylons were designed to disappear at night.  They were planted blue to do the same thing during the day but that only worked when there was a blue sky behind it…which is like 200+ days of the year.  If you look close this picture also captures the Silver Slipper, Fronter and in the distance, the Mirage.

News

• A’s Financing

• WrestleMania 41

• RoofTop Bars

• 2020 Do-Over

• El Cortez Renovations

• Virgin Shake Up

• High Roller Excuse