E-308: Under the Influence-er

Random Vegas

When receiving tips from players, the reason so many casino dealers often loudly thank the player is to encourage other players around them to do the same.  Tips account for 75-85% dealer income (@vitalVegas)

Twitpic of the week

O’ Stardust, how we miss the.  Even though your final incarnation barred no resemblance to your past, shared this week by @WisconsinSports6, it still somehow managed to capture the spirt that was breathed into life in 1955.  Stardust shares the honor of being one of a few properties to successfully evolve themselves into something that bares little to no resemblance to their original incarnation on the strip, to keep up with the Super Casino revolution.  Flamingo is the other notable name; an argument can be made for the Frontier.  Properties like Riviera, Caesars and Sahara expanded into grown up versions of themselves, but Stardust and the Flamingo piece-mailed their evolution until all that was old was replaced with the new.  It can be stated, with no exaggeration, that the closing of the Stardust was  the single largest mistaken made in Vegas strip history; or at the very least the biggest mistake in Boyd Gaming history.  

News

360VV9 RSVP General Availability

Apache Hotel Reopens

Comedy Works Opens at Plaza

Adelson Misses Earnings Call

Murren Integrity Move

E-307: The Heathers Room

Random Vegas

The 56 room Desert Rose Motel existed on the Las Vegas strip from 1953-1995.  Why do we care about a motel without a casino attached to it, because in 1995, it was razed to the ground to make way for the Monte Carlo, known today as Park MGM (Neon Museum) 

Twitpic of the week

Awe, I wanna stand on top of Luxor.  Sincerely, here is a blank check.  Write whatever number is required to allow me to have this experience.  Depending on the amount you write, you may or may not want to even bother attempting to cash that though.  Aside from the experience, here we get to see a time when properties would use a large real estate on vast parking lots.  Still fascinates me.  Thankfully they’ve learned to better utilize their space and abandon the mall parking lot concept.  Some better than others.  Once again shared by @summacorp, photo by Galen Rowell, captures a moment in time more valuable than 95% of every picture any of us have ever taken.

News

NFL Draft Dream/Nightmare Scenario

Massachusetts sues Encore over 6:5 Blackjack

m00nshot.com Integrity Check

Mandalay Bay's Happy Place

E-306: Cream of Nut Spread

Random Vegas

The Golden Nugget opened on Fremont St in 1946.  The signage best known for its appearance in the James Bond film Diamonds are Forever as well as the signage on display when Steve Wynn initially took over the property in 1973, featured a glittering nugget of gold with the date 1905 above it.  That date is the year the city of Las Vegas was born.  Specifically, May 15^th, 190, coincidentally, the same date as my birthday.  (Neon Museum) 

Twitpic of the week

Look at those cars.  Look at those colors.  @TonyIllia’s picture this week seems to capture downtown Las Vegas like a fuckin oil painting, exaggerating the reality of the time.  But it isn’t an exaggeration.  This is a fuckin picture, simply capturing the awe-inspiring site that was downtown Las Vegas in the late 1950s.  I find it apropos that this photo was shared at this time while we continue work on our next large scale 360 Vintage Vegas project, the evolution of Fremont St. Not only that, it features the Nevada Club, the one first casinos on Fremont to absorb its next-door neighbor so it could expand its footprint, merging 113 and 117 Fremont St.

News

Area 15 Emporium Announced

Dark, Ominous Tones for Eldorado

Resort Fee Litigation Begins

E-305: The Face

Random Vegas

Average Las Vegas casino electricity bill is about $100,000/month. Big casinos are much more. For example, MGM Grand averages $350,000/month. (VitalVegas)

Twitpic of the week

I never liked the Frontier.  I didn’t like the theme, thought the place was gross and was indifferent to the signage.  I understood why other people liked it because I kind of liked O’Shea’s and it was a shithole.  But honestly, I was happy to see it go.  Then perspective set in while I continue to try and learn everything I can about the city that changed my life.  And even though the Frontier was nothing more than an attempt to copy the El Rancho but make it better in every way, the fact is…they accomplished it.  Think about it, Walt Disney didn’t invent amusement parks, he just found a way to do it better than everyone else.  Also, this show was created in the same vain.  In 2011, when I was just a fan of Las Vegas like all of you listening and looking for podcasts to listen to about it, I couldn’t help but think of all the things I wish the shows I enjoyed would do.  Not being the kind of person to tell someone else how they should produce their creative outlet, that desire for more evolved into the 360 Vegas Podcast.  All that said, it still doesn’t change my feelings about the Frontier, but now I respect it and it’s place in the city’s history.  Thank you @classiclasvegas for helping to guide that revelation

News

360VV9 Details

Strip Gaming Woes Continue

Booking.com Backdown

Sprinkles Closes @LINQ