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  By the 50s the western motif was outdated and abandon by new properties opening on the strip.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