Las Vegas book idea
CLM in ND
detailed, illustrated history of all the downtown hotel/casinos in Las
Vegas, from the Hotel Nevada to the Western. Each hotel would have
it's own chapter. I like history (it was my major in college) and I
can't find much info online regarding the history of many of the
downtown hotels. I'd fill it with pictures of construction, previous
names various properties have had, owner histories, etc... I'd have
30 pages just on Jackie Gaughan alone. The UNLV website has some
info, but not the kind of detail & pics I'm looking for.
Maybe someday.
Cameron
Octopus Ride
"CLM in ND" <cama...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1172797513.3...@30g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
I'd be the first one to buy it.
This place below may be the last of the old school Nevada hotel casinos.
Located way out in Ely, this old brick highrise (once the tallest building
in the state) is a step back in time. It could be the Apache, or the Sal
Sagev, or any of the other old Vegas hotels you wish you could still visit.
I'm talking OLD SCHOOL here. Celebrity themed rooms are named after such
hot celebs as Ray Milland, Hoot Gibson, Wallace Beery, and Tennessee Ernie
Ford, all of whom once played or stayed at this landmark. Its one of the
few small town Nevada hotel casinos to still feature live gaming, room
service, and even a limo. Plus the place is jam packed with old junk of
every description.
Here's the site; click on every link you have time for:
And from the site, here's what Nevada Magazine had to say about the place:
http://www.hotelnevada.com/nevadamag.html
I stopped there a few years back but my visit was far too brief. Now that
downtown Vegas and Reno no longer have anything like this left, I just have
to get back there one more time.
Its how Vegas and Reno truly used to be in the 40's and 50's. And yes, the
site has coupons!
OR
lfa...@gmail.com
I think that sound great too! I don't have any idea how old Las Vegas
is, but I can imagine it has some wonderful stories to tell.
Auggie
"CLM in ND" <cama...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1172797513.3...@30g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> detailed, illustrated history of all the downtown hotel/casinos in Las
> Vegas, from the Hotel Nevada to the Western. Each hotel would have
> it's own chapter. I like history (it was my major in college) and I
> can't find much info online regarding the history of many of the
> downtown hotels.
You can't find much because there isn't anything there to be found.
People see those old run down hotels and casinos and they think "historic"
and "classic". Their mind associates that they are old and therefore must
have some history to them and stories to tell.
But really they are just old hotels/casinos with no glamorous history or Las
Vegas stories of legend.
Burt Cohen
Of course, you are quite wrong. The stories out of Binion's alone could
fill half a dozen books.
This is a decent book if you haven't read it before, Cameron. It has
chapters on a number of downtown legends including Wynn, Binion,
Gaughan, and (ahem) Burt Cohen.
http://www.amazon.com/Players-Men-Who-Made-Vegas/dp/087417306X
-Burt
--
"You just cannnot do wea r short dresses with no underware and later say
your reputation was shamed."
-Big Mikey
ma...@bigempire.com
> People see those old run down hotels and casinos and they think "historic"
> and "classic". Their mind associates that they are old and therefore must
> have some history to them and stories to tell.
>
> But really they are just old hotels/casinos with no glamorous history or Las
> Vegas stories of legend.
I can only assume you're joking.
Either that or someone who has never heard of Benny Binion, the mafia,
The Mint, The Rat Pack, and on and on. Just because you're ignorant
to the history doesn't mean there isn't any.
Matt
Burt Cohen
get the opportunity to make the 4 hour trek up there.
CLM in ND
Isn't there a parade somewhere for you to rain on?
Cameron
CLM in ND
Burt Cohen wrote:
>
> This is a decent book if you haven't read it before, Cameron. It has
> chapters on a number of downtown legends including Wynn, Binion,
> Gaughan, and (ahem) Burt Cohen.
>
> http://www.amazon.com/Players-Men-Who-Made-Vegas/dp/087417306X
>
> -Burt
>
of Baskin Robbin's Banana Ripple ice cream specially made for Mr.
Hughes before the DI was torn down?
Cameron
Auggie
<ma...@bigempire.com> wrote in message
news:1172810639.2...@v33g2000cwv.googlegroups.com...
Nope. I wasn't joking and I was waiting for a post just like yours to prove
my point.
Benny Binion: I'm on the fence on this one. Yes, he has a VERY colorful
past and you could write a whole book about the guy's life... but in a book
specifically about Downtown Las Vegas?
The Rat Pack: The two Las Vegas hotel/casinos that The Rat Pack are most
commonly associated with, The Sands and Caesar's Palace, are both on The
Strip.
The Mafia: The mafia did own hotels/casinos in Las Vegas. All those famous
ones: Flamingo, Dunes, Thunderbird, Desert Inn, Stardust, Riviera,
Tropicana... thats "The Strip" again.
The Mint: Never heard of it so I did have to look it up on Wikipedia...
you'll need to fill me on the history there as the wikipedia entry was
pretty sparse:
- - -
"The Mint Las Vegas was a hotel and casino in downtown Las Vegas,
Nevada. Opened in 1957, a 26-story hotel tower was added in 1965. In 1989,
The Mint was sold and became part of Binion's Horseshoe. Milton Prell, who
also owned the Sahara Hotel and Casino and the Aladdin Hotel and Casino on
the Las Vegas Strip, at one point owned The Mint."
"The Mint was the sponsor of the Mint 400, the largest off road race
from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s."
- - -
This all goes to my point. When people think about the olden and golden
days of Las Vegas they associate it with Downtown... not because there is
any history there, but because "Downtown" is a bunch of hotels built in the
'50s and '60s that were never torn down or upgraded. People see "old" and
they think "history".
I'm always open to changing my mind. If somebody has some good tidbits of
history to share I wouldn't mind reading them.
And I am not talking a 500 page essay here... just a good 1 or 2 sentences
on some of the history of downtown like for the Golden Nugget something can
be said about Bobby Baldwin going from poker pro to eventually running the
place and moving on up to The Mirage and Bellagio and now Project City
Center.
ma...@bigempire.com
> The Mafia: The mafia did own hotels/casinos in Las Vegas. All those famous
> ones: Flamingo, Dunes, Thunderbird, Desert Inn, Stardust, Riviera,
> Tropicana... thats "The Strip" again.
Ooookay, if you say so. Right, they had no finger in downtown... if
you say so. Who was Benny bankrolled by again? Who used to own the
Golden Gate?
> The Mint: Never heard of it so I did have to look it up on Wikipedia...
> you'll need to fill me on the history there as the wikipedia entry was
> pretty sparse:
Yeah, you sure sound like a historian. Never heard of the Mint? Good
lord. But, it's nice that you can have an opinion, despite lacking
any background.
Matt
Matt
CLM in ND
You've never heard of the Mint? What are you, 14? Like Matt & Burt
pointed out, there are a ton of colorful stories about downtown.
- One of the reasons why you can't go out on many hotel room balconies
in LV anymore is because a few too many people took dives from their
room balconies at the Mint. The tower used to be known as "Loser's
Leap."
- At the Pioneer Club many years ago, someone hit a keno ticket for
$1500. As a result, the employees no longer got free soda.
- The Plaza, originally called the Union Plaza (because it was built
on the site of the old Union Pacific train depot), still has a train
depot inside. Back what the train ran from L.A. to Vegas folks could
step off the train & into the casino.
- Jackie Gaughan, owner of the El Cortez, invented the Las Vegas
funbook. He also lives in a penthouse on the 15th floor of the El
Cortez. You can see him every morning in the casino.
- A shabby looking guy once parlayed $15 into over $29,000 shooting
craps @ the El Cortez a few years back. I believe it was a 25 cent or
dollar min. table.
- Matt Weatherford won the SSSOP (Solar System Series of Poker)
downtown at the Horseshoe, I forget the year (2003?). He may have won
it more than once; I'm sure he'll set the record straight. He also
won the 2am Poker Tourney @ Binion's on June 10, 2006. Nice work,
Matt!
- I was almost kicked out of the Fitzgeralds for my "sky hook" dice
throws in August, 2005.
- Ben "Bugsy" Siegel once owned part of the El Cortez. The Argent
Corporation, who had Frank Rosenthal unofficially run their casinos,
owned the Fremont back in the 70's.
I'm sure there are many other folks out there that can add their own
colorful downtown stories & tidbits of info.
Cameron
ma...@bigempire.com
Cameron, perhaps you weren't listening: nothing interesting ever
haqppened downtown and the Mint isn't even worth considering because
Auggie never heard of it, and the mafia was never downtown. He knows;
he watched a Travel Channel special once.
- I won the SSSOP at the LV Club, back when they had a poker room. I
have only won once. I came in second twice. Nobody who has ever won
it more than once really deserved to.
- Sassy Sally's and Golden Goose were once fined heavily for their
promotional tactics
- Bob Stupak got his feet wet with some dumpy downtown casinos
- The El Cortez was once famous for its floor shows
- how Steve Wynn got involved and acquired the Golden Nugget is a
story in itself
- The Ted/Becky/Jack battle over ownership of the Horseshoe and its
downfall under Becky
- The Fitzgeralds is the only black-owned casino in town, and I don't
mean black Irish
- Tens of thousands are killed every year walking from Main Street to
the Fremont
- Bob Snow,a PT Barnum out of Orlando, suckered the city into
bankrolling his renovation of the Park into the Main Street and then
went belly up after six months in business
- The famous Jimmy Guy, one man blues band, used to pack a tiny dance
floor in the Hotel Nevada, and I would dance until my feet blistered
- The world's longest craps roll took place at the Cal
- Daniel Fleischmann was given a lifetime ban at Fitzgeralds after the
2004 Big Empire Ice Cream Social for entering the casino with an
accordion, climbing on stage, and performing for fifteen minutes
- Brett Bull and Matt Weatherford tried to literally go crazy at Sassy
Sallry's during "Double Jackpot Time" because the promotional jingle
told them too, but failed to get thrown out despite standing on slot
machines and throwing lit cigarettes across the casino
Those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. But of
course only Auggie can decide whether they are good enough for your
book. I'm betting not.
Matt
Donkeydode
when someone hit a 25k keno ticket. That must have blown
<ma...@bigempire.com> wrote in message
news:1172817943.8...@j27g2000cwj.googlegroups.com...
BOB
> I like history (it was my major in college)
I have a history degree, too, Cameron. Of course, when I was in
school, there was no Las Vegas history.
Today's LVA QOD has an interesting history of the Stardust and it's
mob connections.
http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/qofday.cfm.
Burt Cohen
Wow. Looks like you can read the whole book up on Google:
http://tinylink.com/?rQNd13CnEr
The story about Fat Irish Green at the ElCo is one of my favorites about
Vegas.
-Burt
P.S. I check Ebay every day, but still haven't seen any of that ice
cream come up for auction.
Burt Cohen
> Auggie wrote:
>
> - Matt Weatherford won the SSSOP (Solar System Series of Poker)
> downtown at the Horseshoe, I forget the year (2003?). He may have won
> it more than once; I'm sure he'll set the record straight. He also
> won the 2am Poker Tourney @ Binion's on June 10, 2006. Nice work,
> Matt!
>
>
Fittingly, I was the guy who won the SSSOP both years at the Horseshoe.
It started at LV Club (2001), then the Horseshoe for two years (02/03),
then the Plaza (04), over to the Gold Coast (05), and back to the Plaza
(06) last year. I don't think Matt has mentioned where it will be this
year, but everytime I hear that donkey speak I just hear "Hee Haw! Hee Haw!"
-Burt
Ronald Emerson
the Civil War. It's about time folks know the truth about how the South
beat the hell out of the Yankees at places like Gettysburg and how
Lincon surendered to Robert E Lee on top of Stone Mountan in GA.
Ronald Emerson
Octopus Ride
"Burt Cohen" <burtc...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:I_NFh.7929$tD2....@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> Octopus Ride wrote:
>> I'd be the first one to buy it.
>>
>> This place below may be the last of the old school Nevada hotel casinos.
>> Located way out in Ely, this old brick highrise (once the tallest
>> building in the state) is a step back in time. It could be the Apache,
>> or the Sal Sagev, or any of the other old Vegas hotels you wish you could
>> still visit.
>>
>> I'm talking OLD SCHOOL here. Celebrity themed rooms are named after such
>> hot celebs as Ray Milland, Hoot Gibson, Wallace Beery, and Tennessee
>> Ernie Ford, all of whom once played or stayed at this landmark. Its
>> one of the few small town Nevada hotel casinos to still feature live
>> gaming, room service, and even a limo. Plus the place is jam packed with
>> old junk of every description.
>>
>> Here's the site; click on every link you have time for:
>>
>> http://www.hotelnevada.com/
>>
>> And from the site, here's what Nevada Magazine had to say about the
>> place:
>>
>> http://www.hotelnevada.com/nevadamag.html
>>
>> I stopped there a few years back but my visit was far too brief. Now
>> that downtown Vegas and Reno no longer have anything like this left, I
>> just have to get back there one more time.
>>
>> Its how Vegas and Reno truly used to be in the 40's and 50's. And yes,
>> the site has coupons!
> Great place, OR. Thanks for sharing. Unfortunately I'm not sure I'll get
> the opportunity to make the 4 hour trek up there.
I probably won't either; Ely isn't on the way to anywhere. I wasn't
expecting anyone here to actually go and stay at the place, just thought I'd
share what I found on the net.
Like Cameron, I love all the old history and this place is living history.
Bud and Pinky, two former owners, used to pay all their staff in cash each
day because they wanted the employees to dump some of it back into the place
before they went home. I love stuff like that.
As for this Auggie character, oh boy. Downtown Vegas is one of the most
history loaded locales on the face of the earth.
The Plaza sits approximately where the original land auction took place in
1905. There was nothing but a few rail cars and shacks at the time, plus
the Stewart Ranch and what was left of the old Mormon Fort (which can still
be visited to this day). That site became the train station, which was the
impetus for all the early development. Many years later the Union Plaza
occupied that site.
One little slice of Binion's history: during a Culinary strike when the
'Shoe was being heavily picketed, Jack Binion would regularly cruise his
floor with a large plastic garbage can full of quarters. He would reach in
and grab huge handfuls and drop them in the trays of each slot player as a
thank you for braving the screaming mobs outside.
I was one of those recipients on several occasions. And I hit my first
royal on coins given to me gratis by one of the smartest casino operators in
history.
OR
CLM in ND
- In Feb of 2004 I turned a $20 buy-in at a $3 dice table at the
Golden Gate into a cool $625.00! Man, that was awesome!
- The El Cortez used to have a "no bottles" policy; gamblers who
ordered a beer got it in a can!
- Story goes that the Sundance, now the Fitzgeralds, was one of the
last mobbed up casinos in town.
- I saw a guy bet a stack of chips 2 feet high at a quarter roulette
table at the El Cortez. His number didn't hit. I couldn't believe
the stack didn't fall over; it was like something out of a cartoon.
- It's been said the Gold Spike is one of those types of casinos where
if you hit a $2000 jackpot, they just might give you the deed to the
property instead of paying you the money! If you're given the choice,
take the money.
- The three biggest craps rolls I've ever had occured downtown, at the
El Cortez, Four Queens, & Golden Gate. In each instance, I played a
$3 table, bought in for less than $65 ($63, $40, & $20), and cashed
out with over $600. I'm due for another one next trip.
- Binion's Horseshoe was THE high roller place in Las Vegas for
years. Benny Binion would take any bet, no matter how large. His
motto was "If you can bring it, you can bet it."
More stories to follow. Keep them coming!
Cameron
Ace
> >news:1172797513.3...@30g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
>
> >>I've had an idea for a book for several years. It would be a
> >>detailed, illustrated history of all the downtown hotel/casinos in Las
> >>Vegas, from the Hotel Nevada to the Western. Each hotel would have
> >>it's own chapter. I like history (it was my major in college) and I
> >>can't find much info online regarding the history of many of the
> >>downtown hotels.
>
> > You can't find much because there isn't anything there to be found.
>
> > People see those old run down hotels and casinos and they think "historic"
> > and "classic". Their mind associates that they are old and therefore must
> > have some history to them and stories to tell.
>
> > But really they are just old hotels/casinos with no glamorous history or Las
> > Vegas stories of legend.
>
> Of course, you are quite wrong. The stories out of Binion's alone could
> fill half a dozen books.
>
> This is a decent book if you haven't read it before, Cameron. It has
> chapters on a number of downtown legends including Wynn, Binion,
> Gaughan, and (ahem) Burt Cohen.
If I buy one, can I get you to autograph it for me?
A*
Ace
> On Mar 1, 10:43 pm, "Auggie" <Imperial.Pal...@Rome.It> wrote:
>
> > The Mafia: The mafia did own hotels/casinos in Las Vegas. All those famous
> > ones: Flamingo, Dunes, Thunderbird, Desert Inn, Stardust, Riviera,
> > Tropicana... thats "The Strip" again.
>
> Ooookay, if you say so. Right, they had no finger in downtown... if
> you say so. Who was Benny bankrolled by again? Who used to own the
> Golden Gate?
I like that Golden Gate owners group photo taken in 1973, that's near
the kitchen door of the snack bar. I hate to stereotype but...
A*
ma...@bigempire.com
> I like that Golden Gate owners group photo taken in 1973, that's near
> the kitchen door of the snack bar. I hate to stereotype but...
Just a group of Italian-American businessmen from the San Francisco
area, that's all. Meatty, scarred, surly businessmen.
Matt
Ace
> - Tens of thousands are killed every year walking from Main Street to
> the Fremont
Nominated: Monitor condom needed post of the week.
A*
Mitch
> Benny Binion: I'm on the fence on this one. Yes, he has a VERY colorful
> past and you could write a whole book about the guy's life... but in a book
> specifically about Downtown Las Vegas?
Is the time "The Cat" strapped two bombs to the bottom of his plane to
drop on Benny Binion's Las Vegas home historic enough for you?
Walt
Emerson <nort...@webtv.net> wrote:
Maybe you shouldn't eat those wild mushrooms that Foxie brings home.
BR Eagle
Burbank?
<ma...@bigempire.com> wrote in message
news:1172817943.8...@j27g2000cwj.googlegroups.com...
Walt
<fakea...@anyisp.com> wrote:
> I probably won't either; Ely isn't on the way to anywhere. I wasn't
> expecting anyone here to actually go and stay at the place, just thought I'd
> share what I found on the net.
That actually wouldn't be a bad 2 or 3-night side trip for someone who
has already been to Death Valley, Zion, Grand Canyon and the like.
Drive along the Extraterrestrial Highway on the way up there, stay a
couple nights at the Hotel Nevada, visit Lehman Caves during the day.
http://www.nps.gov/archive/grba/lehmancaves.htm
Years ago I camped out one night in the national-park campground near
Lehman Caves. I drove in from Utah; I think I may have been at Bryce
the night before. The campground is in a forested area about 6800 feet
above sea level. It was the off-season (autumn) and they had turned
off the water in the restrooms; only the pit toilets were available. I
was the only tent-camper there. Except for folks in a couple of RV's,
the place was deserted. After I set up my tent, I drove down the hill
several miles to a restaurant in Baker for dinner.
The next morning I peeked out of my tent and saw that several inches of
snow had fallen during the night. I packed up my gear and drove back
down to Baker for breakfast before returning to Lehman Caves for a
guided tour. I then drove on to Ely, where I stayed the night in some
chain motel on the outskirts. I do recall having a meal at the Hotel
Nevada, although I didn't really look around the place and don't
remember much about it. From there I drove west and spent a couple
nights in a private campground outside the Yosemite valley.
--- Walt
Chuck
says...
> What about NLV airport being the second busiest in the US...right behind
> Burbank?
>
.....and also the most DANGEROUS.
Chuck
..... now at home in:
Las Vegas, NV
Southern CA
Nashville, TN
coming soon to a location near you.
Birm
CLM in ND
>
> This is a decent book if you haven't read it before, Cameron. It has
> chapters on a number of downtown legends including Wynn, Binion,
> Gaughan, and (ahem) Burt Cohen.
>
>
> -Burt
I've heard you mention the book before. You said something about it's
one of the only books with info on Jackie Gaughan. I placed an order
for it on Friday; should get it by the end of the week. Can't wait to
read it.
Cameron
Burt Cohen
Enjoy. You can read a bunch of it for free up on Google. But not the
whole entire book, apparently.
CLM in ND
> Cam,
>
> Enjoy. You can read a bunch of it for free up on Google. But not the
> whole entire book, apparently.
>
> -Burt
>
Yeah, but it's just not the same.
Cameron