PCP - 360 Vintage Vegas: Boyd Gaming

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Sam Boyd was a gambler at heart.  Once he discovered his passion for games of chance, he studied them feverously, learning that in every game, the advantage was always in the houses favor.  So Sam decided the best way to gamble was to be the house.  And that’s how his career in gaming began.  Sam’s son Bill was encouraged from a young age to get an education.  So he did and became a lawyer but eventually the father and son would join forces and become a team that grew into one of the most respected gaming companies in the world.  Factor in their inherent desire to do the right thing and give back to the community, and you instantly start to suspect there’s more to the story than what you’re being told.  But dig as deep as you like, there’s no more.  The story of Sam, Bill and Boyd Gaming may be one of the greatest American success stories in history and overwhelming proof that sometimes, nice guys finish first.

E-302: 360 Vegas Vacation 8 Spring 2019

Random Vegas 

Since it opened in 1941, despite multiple expansions and renovations, the property has never changed it exterior façade.  On Feb 22, 2013, the El Cortez, the original hotel/casino built on Fremont St, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Twitpic of the week 

Metaphor, oh how I love the.  Unless the architect for the property’s marquee signage was Nostradamus, there is no way they could have known how the landscape of the Vegas valley would evolve over the years.  Regardless, when the El Cortez opened in 1941, its marquee design would essentially direct your attention to the future of the city on Highway 91, a POV we had the opportunity to enjoy for the first during 360VV8.  Then again, maybe they did see what lay just beyond the horizon.  After all, 1941 was also the year that the El Rancho, Las Vegas Blvd’s first proper hotel/casino, would open.  An event that signaled the rise of what would later be known as the Strip.  A nickname coined by another Vegas pioneer and former LA Police officer Guy McAfee, inspired by the famous California Sunset Strip.  If that name rings a bell for another reason, it may be because McAfee built the Golden Nugget and co-founded the city of Paradise Nevada so casino owners on the strip could avoid paying taxes to the city of Las Vegas by establishing themselves outside of the Las Vegas city limits. 

360VegasMark pics

360VV8 Photos

Official Photographer @japluto09

E-148: G2E 2014

Created with flickr slideshow.

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Random Vegas

Penny slots return approx. 88%; nickel 90-91%, quarter 93%, and dollar 95%

Vegas Mate Review of the Trip

Keren’ Oct 10th Review of Pizza Rock @Downtown Grand – 4/5 chips

Mark’s Oct 3^rd review of Andiamo Italian Steakhouse @the D – 5/5chips

Twitpic of the Trip

What is it about a collection of machines and games that entrance so many of us?  Is it the noise?  The chinging “C” notes of the slot machines, the beeps of a video poker machine and even the sound of cards being dealt.  Why do we enjoy playing games that we are mathematically designed to lose at?  We intensely position ourselves for minutes around the table in anticipation of the seconds after the die are cast to reveal the results of our analysis of the situation.  It hardly seems like something fun to do or even worth the effort.  However, like all of you, the sights and sounds do mesmerize me and honestly, I don’t really care why.  I just know it feels good when I’m in its midsts.  I laugh when I lose because I’m supposed.  I shout when we win because we overcame one of the true absolutes in the cosmos, math…and its fun.  For all the reasons a casino floor thrills us, that’s why the panorama we took at Main St Station is the Twitpicof the trip.