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This week in Vegas history: June 19, 1990, Excalibur opened.

NEWS:  

• Barry Diller/People Inc. place offer to buy MGM Resorts
• Strip resort net income down 81%

Medley:

• Primm and Herbst families announce deal to save Primm.
• Largest In-N-Out burger opens at BLVD on the Strip
• Penn & Teller extend their residency at Rio to 2029
• Station Casinos will celebrate 50 years in Las Vegas this July
• Jardin at Wynn has closed after nearly 10 years
• NADC (Not a Damn Chance) Burger opens Downtown 
• $2 Million jackpot won at Aria
• Woman arrested after taking baby duck from Venetian fountain
• Sigma Derby moving to Golden Gate
• Culinary Union announces Sphere deal
• Venetian/Palazzo announces Milano exclusive suites
• Marlon Wayans and Tim Allen will perform  on the MGM Grand Theater stage 
• Swingers mini golf at Mandalay Bay announced “Swingers After Dark”
• Chinese woman with a fake passport has been arrested after marrying at least 14 men in Las Vegas

Review:

Keren covers Vegas Restaurant Week offerings

Vegas: Icons & Legends is available to purchase on amazon.com. 

Neon Lounge Merch!

Support us on Patreon

Where to find us:

Keren: @360VegasKeren  Tony: @360VegasTony  Josh: @360VegasJaydubs

Neon Lounge Socials:

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Xitter

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neonloungepodcast@gmail.com

(702) 900-7964

After more than two months closed, casinos across Las Vegas began reopening, including properties on the Strip, downtown, and around the valley. The D and Golden Gate reopened at 12:01 a.m., while other properties followed later that day. 

NEWS:  

Fertitta Entertainment is buying Caesars Entertainment in a deal valued at $17.6 billion, including about $11.9 billion in assumed debt. The deal would take Caesars private.

• Shareholders would receive $31 per share, which Reuters describes as nearly a 50% premium to Caesars’ stock price before the deal was first reported in February.
• Tilman Fertitta’s company already owns Golden Nugget casinos, the Houston Rockets, and a large restaurant/hospitality portfolio, including brands like Rainforest Café and Bubba Gump Shrimp.
• Caesars has been under pressure from softer Las Vegas visitation and growing competition in online betting, where rivals like FanDuel and DraftKings are stronger.
• Caesars’ current leadership is expected to stay, including CEO Tom Reeg and CFO Bret Yunker.
• The deal includes a “go-shop” period through July 11, meaning Caesars can still consider competing offers.
• If completed, the acquisition would give Fertitta a much larger casino footprint: Caesars controls more than 50 casinos across North America, including Caesars Palace, Harrah’s, and Eldorado, plus retail and online sports betting.
• The article notes the deal could face regulatory scrutiny because of the size and scope of the combined gaming/hospitality business.

Vital Vegas reports that a private grand opening party for the newly rebranded Vanderpump Hotel will be held on June 11.

The Heart Attack Grill closed abruptly on May 18.

• The property posted a passive aggressive rant on their door, stating that the closure was due to casinos pricing out average Americans.

EDC goes to two weekends next year

• The plan was billed as a way to reduce crowds by spreading them out over two weekends, lol
• The first of those weekends, “EDC Dusk,” will roll out from May 14-16. The second, “EDC Dawn,” is set for May 21-23, while the full “Dusk Till Dawn Experience” will party from May 13-24. 

Johnny Kats is reporting that a new magic-based show “Now You See Me Live” will be moving into the David Copperfield theater at MGM Grand.

Soul Belly BBQ, has opened a new location in the Miracle Mile shops.

New Mirage bar at MGM Grand pool. A user on reddit posted photos of signs at the MGM Grand pool area, directing patrons to a new “Mirage Bar,” complete with the former strip property’s iconic palm trees logo.  A look at the pool complex map on the MGM Grand website confirms the change.

• The site was formerly called the “Splash Bar” and is located between the “Splash Pool” and “Reserve Pool.”
• MGM Resorts has retained the rights to the Mirage name after selling the Mirage resort site to Hard Rock International.

Tailgate Social, Mandalay Bay’s answer to Stadium Swim at Circa downtown, officially opened on May 16.

• Snoop Dogg performed at the opening
• The 50,000-square-foot venue features more than 125 feet of LED screens, three heated pools, 25 luxury cabanas, and two premium bungalows 

The Clark County commission will be voting to extend the annual Las Vegas Grand Prix, potentially through 2037.

Nellie's Southern Kitchen Closing: The Jonas family restaurant near MGM Grand closed after May 25 service, reducing Southern comfort food options on the Strip. 

Drink Las Vegas, a culinary and cocktail festival, will run from Sept. 24 through 27 at four MGM Resorts properties: Aria, Bellagio, The Cosmopolitan, Park MGM.

• “Drink Las Vegas” will incorporate an opening party, panels and seminars, food and cocktail tastings, lunches, dinners and other experiences at more than 30 venues inside the properties. The event recently announced the chefs, restaurateurs, mixologists, sommeliers and other hospitality professionals who are participating. 

Virgin Hotels Las Vegas is reporting its strongest casino performance since reopening in 2021.

• The property has adjusted its focus to Las Vegas residents
• first-quarter 2026 data showed slot revenue up nearly 30 percent, coin-in up 10 percent, and table games revenue up 88 percent compared to the same period in 2025. 

Tony: Vital Vegas reports the Luxor is getting a new atrium light show. No word on when the show will debut.

The Vegas Golden Knights swept the Colorado Avalanche in round 3 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs

• This is the third time the team has become the Western Conference champions in their 9-year history
• Though the Eastern Conference champions are still undecided at the time of recording, it’s likely that the Golden Knights will face the Carolina Hurricanes in their bid for another Stanley Cup win. 

Oceans 11 returning to theaters

• Ocean's Eleven is returning to theaters nationwide on June 21 and June 24, 2026, for a special 25th-anniversary re-release as part of Fathom Entertainment's Big Screen Classics series. The film is being screened in crisp 4K and features an exclusive introduction by film historian Leonard Maltin.

Review:

“The Jiggle Room” at Cheapshot on Fremont East

Tickets are $20-$30 at thejiggleroom.com

Vegas: Icons & Legends is available to purchase on amazon.com. 

Neon Lounge Merch!

Where to find us:

Keren: @360VegasKeren  Tony: @360VegasTony  Josh: @360VegasJaydubs

Neon Lounge Socials:

Discord (360 Vegas Server)

Xitter

Facebook

YouTube

Reddit

neonloungepodcast@gmail.com

(702) 900-7964

What To Expect When You’re Expecting A New Podcast From Us

• Subscribe to the Neon Lounge Podcast Here

“Unofficial” Listener Meetup in June:

• Sunday 6/21 - Meetup at Whiskey Licker Up - 4 PM followed by a visit to Neon Museum for those interested 
• Monday 6/22 - Meetup at Bottle Blond or Brew Dog - 6 PM
• Tuesday 6/23 - Meetup at Chandelier Bar - 6 PM

• All of Primm Valley closing July 4
• New Eagles dates at the Sphere
• Hard Rock tops off the guitar tower
• The Evel Knievel Experience opens in the Arts District
• Colby Raha jumps the Caesars fountains
• New Vanderpump reality series focused on the Cromwell conversion
• MGM says they are open to letting an NBA team use T-Mobile Arena
• Matt Rife in Vegas December 4
• 8 weekends of fireworks in Vegas this summer
• Dive-in movies resume at Cosmo this summer
• Mandalay Bay announces the Vinyl Room
• Golden Nugget water slide and aquarium closure
• Professional Women’s Hockey League coming to Las Vegas

Reviews:

Keren checks out Alinea pop-up at Bellagio

Vegas: Icons and Legends available for purchase at Amazon

Where to find us:

Keren: @360VegasKeren ¨ Tony: @360VegasTony ¨ Josh: @360VegasJaydubs

Neon Lounge Socials:

Discord (360 Vegas Server)

Xitter

Facebook

YouTube

Reddit

neonloungepodcast@gmail.com

(702) 900-7964

Keren, Tony, and Josh make an appearance on the Cheftimony podcast.

Subscribe to the Neon Lounge podcast right here.

Since the creation of modern day Las Vegas, there have always been people lamenting the good ole days, whatever that means to that individual at the time. Determining what is considered “good” is about as subjective as subjective can be.  Most people today will point to the time before the strip was primarily owned by 2 companies, MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment.  While the benefits of consolidation are obvious, potentially the best thing about it is the story of how it all happened.  To do that, we are going to have to trace back to how these assets exchanged hands before finally ending up in the corporate portfolio that are currently a part of.  To keep the story clean and the timeline defined, we are only going to focus on the majority owners and only their moves in Las Vegas.  We’re calling this, the Great Consolidation of Las Vegas 

I don’t know what I think about Oscar Goodman. I want to say I respect what he does and if I needed help, I hope my advocate is half the lawyer he is. At the same time what he’s done and who he’s defended troubles me, makes me uncomfortable, ethically even if I’m not sure it should. When Oscar speaks about his clients he does so very deliberately as if he’s making sure he doesn’t say something that would get him in trouble. He claims there was no such thing as the mob even though history has proven it beyond a shadow of a doubt, but that might just be part of his well-polished schtick. Oscar will tell you he’s just really naive but it’s hard to accept because he’s clearly very intelligent. He considers his greatest accomplishment to be his family and he loves his wife very much. It’s clear he passionately enjoys what he does and what he does is defend rights. He’s also incredibly likable although he’s one hell of a ball buster. Oscar is the kind of guy you want to like you even though you’re not sure if you like him. 

Recommended Reading - Being Oscar

Siegfried & Roy, Masters of the Impossible, and in their time, as famously associated with Las Vegas as the Fountains of Bellagio are.  This act of illusion and tigers captivated audiences and really complimented the family friendly entertainment spectaculars coining phrases like “Only in Vegas”.  Let’s not forget, these are grownups going to see a magic show. But part of the interest was that disaster lurked around every corner, every night. At any moment, things could go horribly wrong. The fact that they didn’t sooner may be their greatest magic trick. 

It’s fitting that he came up in lounges and has returned to them in the twilight of his career. That may sound like a slight, but it’s not meant to be. It’s a compliment. His lounge show is the only of its kind on the strip and that is because a lounge show couldn’t exist today with anyone other than Wayne Newton. When we lose him, we will lose that form of entertainment or at the very least the best incarnation of it.  

It was said that people would rebuild their buildings to accommodate the biggest sign they could afford.  That’s how important signage was, or how important it is.  Las Vegas was the only town in the world whose skyline was made up of signs.  So big, they were the first thing you’d see from a mile away.  YESCO, Heath, Federal, Ad Art and SSI are just some of the names responsible for bringing those iconic signs to life and by doing so caused one element to be more important in the hearts of so many…NEON.   

Saturday, October 18, 6 pm - 9 pm

• Horseshoe, Las Vegas
  • Conference Room “Palace 3”
    • Resort Tower Ground Floor
  • Premium Cash Bar at the event
    • No Outside Food or beverages allowed
    • No food served at the event (Eat beforehand!)
  • Dress code is “Come As You Are”
    • No formal wear is expected
    • Please wear what you would normally wear in Vegas!

Sunday, October 19, noon - ?

• Cosmopolitan Las Vegas
  • Vesper Bar
  • Come and join us for a drink and some laughs
  • Again, dress code is “Come As You Are”
    • No formal wear is expected
    • Please wear what you would normally wear in Vegas!

Saturday, September 13th

First Congregational UCC Conneaut 211 Buffalo St, Conneaut OH 44030 2pm - 5pm Important: No alcohol allowed in the church. Dress code is whatever you’re comfortable in.

Saturday & Sunday - October 18th & 19th Las Vegas - Still working on the details. A special announcement will be made in the podcast feed.

Saturday the 18th - Will be a gathering in a private room / ballroom, most likely on the Strip Time will be either 5-8 or 6-9 Allow for people to travel in on Saturday morning Dress code is whatever you’re comfortable in. Sunday the 19th - Informal meet up at a bar somewhere on the Strip.   Time and location TBD - earlier in the day

Upload Photos for Mark Memories Listeners are gathering photos of Mark to make memorial videos for the Celebration of Life events. https://juliemoore.smugmug.com/upload/rSkFKx/MarkVegasUploads

In the more than 14 years of 360 Vegas, there were 537 episodes published, as well as 39 Vintage Vegas Segments, 186 YouTube videos, 43 POV Segments, 78 Reviews, 15 Vegas Vacation meetups, and a freaking book. That’s a hell of a legacy.

TwitPic of the week

#TwitpicForMark on Twitter

In honor of Mark, folks have been posting beautiful shots of Vegas using the hashtag TwitPic for Mark on Twitter this last week. Please don’t stop. These images are unique shots of the City, angles from within the casino and other views we simply take for granted while in a booze fueled state of mind. So many times we’re so excited to get from one place to the other, we fail to slow down and take in the imagery along the way. Thank you for the TwitpicForMark tags and share your favorite view of the City Mark so deeply loved.

News

• What has happened to Mark

• The Future of the 360 Vegas Podcast

• Charities for Donations in Mark’s Name:

Ronald McDonald House of Las Vegas (https://rmhlv.org/donate-online/ ) - We have supported Ronald McDonald House as a favorite charity for years.

The Ryan Licht Sang Bipolar Foundation (https://www.ryanlichtsangbipolarfoundation.org/memorial-tribute/ ) - The Ryan Licht Sang Bipolar Foundation focuses on the detection of bipolar disorder, and then provides resources and creative outlets for those who suffer from bipolar disorder.

Neon Museum of Las Vegas - Sign Conservation Fund (https://secure.neonmuseum.org/donate/q/sign-conservation-fund ) - The Neon Museum is the ultimate resource of Vegas history, which was Mark’s passion.

• Celebration of Life Services:

  • September 13, Conneaut, OH. Saturday afternoon. Exact times and location TBA

  • October 18 - 19, Las Vegas. Exact times and location TBA.

• 360 Vegas Live is still happening, August 23, 12 noon Pacific, 3 pm Eastern. www.youtube.com/360Vegaspodcast

1992 is when Circus Circus opened their bungee jump experience with a 201 foot tower. Jumpers paid $100 to drop 171 feet almost into a swimming pool. The attraction closed in 2005

TwitPic of the week

I don’t know how they did it but I love it. This week’s winner by @SCVegas is a photo of the W tower at Mandalay Bay while it was still known as Delano, the Luxor Pyramid, Excalibur Castle and NYNY, all in one photo. It’s a stunner showcasing just how diverse the options are south strip. It’s interesting that the people who originally experienced these themed properties when they were embracing the theme concept are the same people wishing Vegas properties would reembrace theming. Unfortunately Murrenzation will all but guarantee this will never happen as it costs money to be unique.

News

• Electric Mushroom

• Slotapalooza 2025

The Circus Circus sky shuttle was the first automated transit system in Las Vegas built 23 years before the monorail. It was decommissioned mainly due to high maintenance costs and because it did not go to the airport (LasVegasLocally)

TwitPic of the week

She is known by some as the dirty bird but thanks to photoshop she looks like a gem in the desert, shared by @flamingovegas. The property, shot from what can only be a drone to get such an angle, glows pink and looks elegant. Again, what photoshop can do boggles the mind. Say what you will about the Flamingo, the oldest operating casino in Las Vegas deserves respect of outlasting all her peers.  Stardust, Frontier, Desert Inn, Sands, Dunes, Tropicana and many, many more can’t say the same thing.

News

·       360 Vegas Live

·       Reward Points vs Tier Points

At one time, Golden Nugget made more money than all the casinos on Fremont St combined (Vital Vegas)

TwitPic of the week

It’s an elegant photo taken during 360 Vegas Vacation 15 shared by @360vegasjaydubs and answering the question, what’s in a pyramid. In this case, the artium level of the property is prominently featured showcasing Play Playground, Diablos and all the attractions on property.  It’s one of the pictures that I knew was a winner the moment I saw it and yet I find myself struggling to find the words to explain how beautiful I think it is. Maybe that says more than words.

News

Market Recalibration

July 2nd is a popular date to open a casino, just before the 4th of July weekend crowd comes in. In Vegas history, 5 properties have opened on July 2nd.  They are the Stardust which opened in 1958, International, best known as the Hilton but currently known as Westgate, opened in 1969, Plaza opened in 1971, Holiday Casino, known today as Harrah’s, opened in 1972 and Sundance, known today as the D, opened in 1980. (Vegas_Visual)

TwitPic of the week

She may have been a dud in reality but the Landmark was still a looker, shared by@las_when. Incorrectly said to be inspired by the Jetson’s cartoon home, the Landmark project was designed several years before the start of that show. Some say it was inspired by the space needle in Seattle but in truth, the two were designed around the same time so any similarities are most likely coincidental. The Landmark is another one of those properties that lives on idyllically in people’s minds, a Vegas legend.

News

• Best Lobby Bars

• View and Drinks

• Bottled Blonde

The Sarno Block was actually a large brick formed of two half-ovals which could be stacked to make a modern latticework screen. It made the resort’s night façade glow evenly, smoothing over the chaos of dark and lit rooms behind it. (The strip)

TwitPic of the week

Sometimes the stars align, or in this case, the sun, the moon and the High Roller. A beautiful picture shared by @lasvegaslocally found a picture that summarizes what it’s like to go to a 360 Vegas Vacation. It really is like a family reunion with people you want to spend time with. As the sun rises, so do the good times only had at a 360 Vegas Vacation. When will you join us?

Sat – Pre Game

·       5 pm - Nevada Brew works/Soul Belly BBQ

Sunday, June 22

·       4 pm - Meet & Greet @Downtown Grand

·       6 pm - Group Gaming @Downtown Grand

Monday, June 23

·       1 pm - Play Playground @Luxor

·       6 pm - 360 Family Meet and Greet @Centra Bar @Luxor

o   VegasNearMe

o   Stripwalking

o   Pennys4Vegas

o   You Can Bet on That

o   Bettor Life

·       Skyfall Lounge at Mandalay Bay

Tuesday, June 24

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

·       1 pm - 360 Vegas Cocktails @Luxor

·       7 pm - Swingers Club @Mandalay Bay RSVP

·       Skyfall Lounge @Manadalay Bay

June 3rd, 1976, “Tokes”, tip money given to dealers by players, is considered taxable income that must be reported on tax returns, says a US court of appeals 

TwitPic of the week 

Here is another part of Vegas I never knew, the neon signs of west Fremont St pre-Vegas Vicky and Las Vegas Club renovation. The angle captures the Las Vegas Club, Jackpot arcade, the Mint, the horseshoe and the Fremont all stacked on top on one another, visually speaking. As usually, the vivid colors of the signage light up the night sky unlike any other source of lighting. Thanks to @FSELV for sharing it. 

News

• Content Creator Wars

• First Impression

60,000 pounds of shrimp are consumed in Vegas every day.  That’s higher than the rest of the United States combined. 

TwitPic of the week 

The caption read “Nothing is the same” and I tried to challenge that but @Vegas_Visual is right. In this week’s winner, taking in 1991, a view from the front of the Mirage looking south and everything in this picture is different now. No more Mirage, Nob Hill to the left is now Casino Royal, next up is Harrah’s back when it had a boat motif. Beyond that is Imperial Palace known today at the LINQ and in the distance, you can still see the Diamond of the Dunes hotel tower. Even the top of the Caesars marquee is different.  But most missed is the Mirage frontage and its dolphin statues. While I am looking forward to the guitar I will miss the volcano

News

• Plaza All-inclusive Deal

• The Bettor Life w/360

The last scheduled train to Las Vegas was May 12th, 1997 (Vegas_Visual)

TwitPic of the week

Whoever took this picture, shared by @historyNevada knew exactly what they were doing. A photograph of the iconic Sands tower under construction with the Sands marquee captured in the foreground. The two icons side by side, the only thing better would have been if it was in color. Black and white normally makes everything look very classic but with Vegas and all that neon, color photos are the only real way to experience the destination.

News

• 360 Vegas Vacation 15

• Fremont Street Concert Series Additions           

• Ebike ban on the strip

• Taxi Revolution

In 1985, Wet n’ Wild opened a 27 acre water park on the strip just south of Sahara. It closed in 2004

TwitPic of the week

It’s the same sign that won last week with just a different perspective, shared by@Summacorp. The infamous Stardust marquee in all her glory, 188 feet tall, the tallest in the world for a time. It somehow sums up Vegas with the image. The only sign more recognizable to Vegas is the Welcome sign

News

• Caesars Renovations

• Circa 2

• MGM Developments

The MGM Grand was built in 1993 on top of the existing 714 room Marina hotel which was built in 1975 (@vegas_only) 

TwitPic of the week

It’s a tattoo worthy sign of Las Vegas’ past up close and interrupting your line of site. @summacorp shared The Stardust shower of stars marquee, up close. Only in Vegas did Texaco photo bomb this guy. But still, that sign with her Electra Jag font. I’m not sure what is more magical, seeing the sign up close or from far away. Either way this looker is definitely on the list of tattoos I’m considering having. 

News

• Elaine Wynn Passes

Patreon Exclusive Content

It’s a Vegas icon, even to this day.  The Sands presided over the golden age of Las Vegas, both in entertainment and in the zeitgeist.  When you think of cool you think of the Rat Pack at the Sands.  It’s a Vegas legend that actually only lasted a month but the legend lived on far beyond the run of shows.  And yet with all her history she wasn’t able to keep up with the competition and had to be imploded to make way for the future.  But no matter how successful her new incarnation is she will never equal the mythic status achieved by the Sands.

If your interested in learning more about the Sands, check out the book At The Sands 

People in India believe if you don’t place a wager during the Diwali Holiday, you will be reincarnated as a Donkey.

TwitPic of the week

Unique views is always the way to our hearts when it comes to Twitpic of the Week.  This time its apparently how Vegas shuts down roads for events like New Years and the Rock and Roll Marathon.  But more than that, we get the magic of reflection. Since this photo was taken at night from the overpass crossing Flamingo Rd, we catch a glimpse of the properties lit up behind the photographer.  Specifically we see the reflections of Caesars Palace and Bellagio. It makes it look like, if you were looking east of the strip at Las Vegas Blvd and Flamingo, Caesars Palace is behind Cromwell and Bellagio is next door to Horseshoe. Unintended consequences once again makes art. We celebrate that with this selection, shared by @LasVegasLocally

News

• Wynn 20th Anniversary

The official temperatures in Vegas on Wednesday, March 26th was 90 degrees. It’s the 5th earliest 90-degree day in recorded history. (LasVegasLocally) 

TwitPic of the week 

@Summacorp shared a different strip for a different time in this week’s winner. North strip, today a collection of condos and properties too far removed from the rest of the strip was once densely populated.  Properties like the Frontier, Stardust, Silver City, Riviera, Silverbird and Sahara all called it home. Today, the only thing missing is Riviera and Frontier. The rest have been replaced. Stardust is now Resorts World, the Silverbird is now Fontainebleau and without Wet and Wild water park you realize, Sahara has always lived on an island. For those of you that don’t know, we don’t typically report on anything coming out of Sahara because they once sued Vital Vegas for reporting a rumor that the propety was for sale. Vital Vegas won the suit but the whole thing turned us off of doing anything related to Sahara which is disappointing considering her history as a property. 

News

• Grand Prix Plaza Delay 

• Fertitta resigning 

In a deck of playing cards, the King of Hearts is the only king without a mustache (VitalVegas) 

TwitPic of the week 

This was a winner the moment I saw it, shared by @_GrandPaD. The installation of the Stardust’s super pylon, the shower of stars marquee standing a world record breaking 188 feet tall. An icon on the Vegas strip. Sadly and yet hopefully, her remains lay at the Neon Museum. While it is unlike that they will ever reassemble it one can dream that one day she will sparkle again. 

News

• 2024 Visitors Profile Study

• Nickel and Dimed Vegas 

The 2024 F1 race drew 306,000 people, 175,000 unique visitors to Vegas. They spent an average of $2,400 per person excluding ticket costs. The event generated $45 million in Tax revenues. (@LasVegasLocally)

TwitPic of the week

It’s the future of Vegas casino/resorts, boutique. Mega Resorts are too expensive to build and the market is currently over saturated with them.  Here, Las_When shows us Barbary Coast in the mid 90s after it underwent a short-lived paint job converting it to white.  Kind of reminds me when TI was painted white for a while. We celebrate this picture this week as once again news of a rebranding has been reported. While some may consider it a step back one of the benefits of a boutique hotel is how relatively quickly and inexpensively you can refurb the space. We expect this will not be the last time this hotel/casino will be rebranded.

News

• Cromwell Rebranding

• 360 Patreon

• Rose.Rabbit.Lie. Returns

• Cousin Vito's Casino

• Talk About Las Vegas with Ira

Wynn’s Le Jardin project planned for Atlantic City just before Mirage Resorts merged with MGM was referred to as a supped-up Mirage with an estimated $1.35 billion price tag 

TwitPic of the week 

I miss the days when Vegas marquee signage had to be constructed out of giant pieces of steel and crafted into works of art. There was time when marquees were as unique as the properties they represented. Back when lightbulbs told stories and readerboards told all. The International, the city’s first megaresort with over 1500 rooms opened as the largest resort in the world. And with it came an equally large marquee sign shared by @Sclark2636 at its most iconic, with Elvis’ name blasted across it and with the International tower in the background. 

News

• Book Update

• 360 Vegas Vacation 15 RSVP

• Zero Bond Social Club

• Cherry Rewards

March 19th, 1931, the state of Nevada re-legalized gambling in an attempt to recover from the great depression 

TwitPic of the week 

It’s 1988 and I’m currently in grade school while this marvelous display of Vegas existed. On the left we see the Desert Inn, all shinny after her exterior renovation. Just beyond that is the Sands and in the distance we see Caesars Palace. Which brings us across the street to see the Frontier and in front of that is the Silver Slipper. This is the view south of the Stardust. It’s the eve of the Mirage opening which would change everything and caused the eventual demise of all these properties. Accept Caesars but she would be radically transformed in a decades time. Another great pic from @Summacorp 

News

• TravelZork.com

• Amplified Coming

There are an average of 315 weddings per day in Vegas (@vegas_only)

TwitPic of the week

It’s a glorious sign that is given depth and size when you see people standing next to it, shared by @Vegas_Visual.  The Mint sign, one of the all-time great neon signs in Las Vegas. It runs a close second of the Dune turret marquee as those most missed from the landscape. The Mint was absorbed into Binion’s Horseshoe in 1989. A part of the sign still exists to this day, viewable from the staircase up to Whiskey Liquor up. Unfortunately, the Neon Museum wasn’t established until 1996 so it wasn’t saved for posterity.

News

• 360 Vegas Book Out

• Backstreet Boys Sphere Residency

• Flamingo New Go Pool Plans

• Alexxa @Paris

In 2024, it’s reported that at least 16 people experienced a malfunction while playing a slot machine nullifying a jackpot. As a result, it’s projected that $1.3 million was lost. 

TwitPic of the week 

Something about grass in the desert just seems lush, high end. Probably because it doesn’t exist in nature so rich people will it to survive in the desert climate. Here we see it at classic Caesars Palace sporting said vegetation thanks to @Vegas_Visual. I’m surprised more chairs aren’t occupying the space. You would think that would be prime real estate. I can’t stop staring at those Sarno blocks. While I think the property looks better today, I can’t help but romanticize what she used to look like. 

News

• 360 Book Update

• Wrestlemania Vegas

• Sphere of Oz

• Museum of Ice Cream

• El Cortez Renovation

• Before he designed Bellagio, Wynn had fully developed, different plans for the land formerly home to the Dunes.    

  • Plans were to build a boutique hotel with intimate spaces, 2 hotel towers, one with 230 suites and two 7-story towers housing 461 rooms each  

  • He even planned to leave room for two future towers to be built  

  • Wynn believe if he pulled this off, it would be the death of the mega resort  

  • Wynn’s creative side was unsatisfied and after some guidance, scrapped them and started over with plans to reinvent the game again 

TwitPic of the week 

There was time when north strip was the center of the action in Las Vegas. Desert Inn, Frontier, Silver Slipper, Stardust, Silver City, Riviera, El Rancho, Slots A Fun, Circus Circus and the Sahara lorded over the area for decades. Today it's trying to resurrect its glory days with new additions Resorts World and Fontainebleau, but the location is currently a liability. This week we get a snapshot of the area as it existed in 1985 thanks to @_GrandPaD and comparing the density with today’s landscape is almost an unfair comparison. Today large chunks of land exist in between properties making it unappealing to pedestrian traffic. Specifically, the area is challenged by the still vacant lots that are the Frontier and Riviera. The former a casualty of the real estate explosion the strip underwent in the early 2000s and the later another victim of the ever-growing reach of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Crystal ball time, will north strip ever be where the center of the action is again? It isn’t likely even once people build on these parcels but that doesn’t mean it can’t become another hub of activity for the city that continues to evolve at all costs.

News

360 Vegas Vacation 15 Details

Despite using the motto “Est. 1952”, Atomic Liquors didn’t open until April 17th, 1954 (@summacorp)

TwitPic of the week

It’s one of the last super pylons in operation in Vegas and one of the best uses of neon ever.  The Rio marquee is a gem that should be celebrated by all. Thankfully new ownership restored it and incorporated LED into the sign instead of replacing it with a large square TV screen as has become the norm in the Vegas skyline.  This week’s winner by @Summacorp is not of the recently refurbed sign but of the classic sign with a readerboard. Regardless its a spectacular sign of animated neon that should be appreciated while we have it.

News

• Book Update

• War Machine Returns

• 7 Shows to see in 2025

• MGM Renovations

While down compared to the record-shattering levels tied to last year's inaugural F1 race, monthly ADR this year saw the 2nd highest record for the month of November. (@MeltzVegas) 

TwitPic of the week 

It’s an iconic look at Caesars Palace, with the Sarno blocks lit up in teal shared by @LasVegasLocally.  It’s at least 1989 because the Mirage is open. This aesthetic would be replaced with the more authentic Greco roman architecture the property has today, inspired by the design used on the Palace tower, which opened in 1998.  But this one has a charm to it. I mean how many properties go through an enhanced retheming. Caesars is an iconic brand around the world and both of her iterations are deserving of the designation. 

News

• CyberTruck Attack

• Death by Slot

• Gaming Revenue

• King’s Bar Temporary Closing

Although argon gas was used as often as neon, the lighting method assumed the name “neon” to refer to the light produced by either gas. (Spectacular – A History of Las Vegas Neon) 

TwitPic of the week 

It’s the heart of the strip that simultaneously has the best view in all of Vegas available to guests of the north facing strip at Cosmopolitan, shared by @Vegas_Visual. This is a picture that often gets submitted for Twitpic of the week but often gets passed over because I see this view all the time. And while it is fabulous, it can’t win every week. But this week’s photo, taken in what looks like panorama captures the whole view as the eye gets to see it with Cosmopolitan, Bellagio and Caesars Augustus and Octavious towers in the shot. I love everything about this picture and the real-life trek that this is this area of the strip. 

News

• New Years Fireworks

• New in 2025

Downtown Las Vegas has 6 of the world’s largest.  (Vegasexperience.com)

• World’s largest slot machine in Slotzillla (also the busiest and most successful urban zipline in the world)

• World’s largest keno board at 100 feet long outside of the D,

• World’s largest pint glass at Hennessey’s Tavern at 85 feet tall

• World’s largest working fire hydrant at 15 foot tall on Fremont East, across from the Western

• World’s largest fire-breathing praying mantis at Container Park

• World’s largest mechanical neon sign is Vegas Vic at 40 feet tall, although his mechanical parts haven’t worked since 1991

TwitPic of the week

The year is 1964 and the Dunes is rocking in all her glory in the arial photo shared by@summacorp. Aside from the Diamond of the Dunes hotel tower and the turret marquee the thing that really gets my attention here are all the cars parked right up front. Something that used to be common on the strip when the properties primarily catered to automobile visitors. There are still remnants of this time in Vegas today just repurposed. I’m thinking specifically about Horseshoe and Caesars Palace. It’s a time in Vegas we are fond of because it inspired all the classic super pylon marquees we know and love.

News

• 360 Vegas Book Update

• El Cortez’s $20 million refresh

• FTC Bans “Junk Fees”

Las Vegas is the number 1 wedding destination in the US and the 2nd in the world behind Istanbul. 

TwitPic of the week 

It’s a time whose lamentation has been well documented on this show. The evolution of Fremont St into the Fremont St Experience, shown here, in development by @Summacorp. Say what you will about the results, progress is sexy. Here we see the roads tore up as they are redeveloped into pedestrian walkways. Like getting a room with a view of the AC units, I appreciate these behind the scenes glimpses of progress in motion. Evolution is what made this city the place it is today and development captures that journey. 

News

• 360 Book Update

• F1 in Vegas

• Murrenization Returns

• Stratosphere Projection Mapping

It cost the Harris/Walz campaign $900,000 to advertise on the sphere for a week (@_GrandPaD)

TwitPic of the week

Black and white photography is simply beautiful and inspires thought. This week’s winner by @Vegas_Visual shows off the Dunes in all her glory including the turret marquee, the Diamond of the Dunes hotel tower and the Dome of the Sea restaurant in stunning black and white. While a simple google search would reveal what the place looked like in color it’s more fun to imagine it. Truth is color takes some of the romance out of it, not like the elegance of black and white.

News

• 360 Vegas Book Update

• Senor Frogs Closing

• Dirtiest Casinos

• Excalibur Wrongful Death

There is a scene in the 1979 movie Melvin & Howard that shows someone driving down the strip, past Flamingo and headed south. If you look close, when they get to the MGM marquee, Universal Pictures, the production company behind the film, covered up their rival MGM’s name from their unremarkable marquee. (@summacorp)

TwitPic of the week

She isn’t the newest or the prettiest but is Circus Circus really that bad? The answer is yes, she’s always been that way even when she first opened back in 1968. But when you’re a well-run property that prints cash why would you listen to the noise. This week@ATXVegasFanshared a picture of the property that for some reason I’m drawn to because it's still a Vegas property and it has a history. That’s apparently all you need for me to show you some love, even if your ownership doesn’t do it.

News

• 360VV15 update

The original monorail was only a joint venture between MGM Grand and Bally’s.  It opened in June of 1995.  In the early 2000 it expanded to become the Las Vegas Monorail (vintagelasvegas.com)

TwitPic of the week

It isn’t anything historic except that it was the first incarnation of the Caesars Palace sign, shared by @summacorp.  You can tell because it only uses 3 of the 4 pillars on the sign. Future versions added more sign boards and eventually grew to encompass 6 pillars of signage. It was never the tallest or the grandest, it’s just a great POV of a magnificent sign that captured my imagination.

News

• 360VV15 Update

• Virgin Strike

• Tallest hotel proposed

This week in 1974 the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast specials began airing on NBC.  All (except the 1st) were taped in the Ziegfred Room at the original MGM Grand.  It went on hiatus from 80-83 after the hotel fire. The last was taped in late 1984 (@_GrandpaD)

TwitPic of the week

It’s beyond sad to see the Dunes turret marquee in pieces, as shared by @Vegas_visual. A marquee among marquees. A game changer. Its destruction was a giant wake-up call to all who loved the city, it will continue to grow and evolve at any and all expense. Nothing will stop this city from evolving into whatever it needs to be to continue to be one of the most popular tourist destination in the world. So we have to be grateful for what we have and enjoy it while we have it, or risk getting your heart broken.

News

• 360 Book Update

• When We Were Young 2025

• A’s Stadium

• Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace

• Caesars Sales

For a time, Las Vegas had the three tallest neon signs in the world as the Dunes sign rose to 180 feet, the Frontier’s sign rose to 184 and Stardust’s most iconic sign rose to 188 feet to be the tallest sign in the world for the decade to follow (Spectacular – A History of Las Vegas Neon)

TwitPic of the week

Oh come on Harrah’s, how is that riverboat casino not like a 1,000 x better than the homogenized casino you have now.  In this week’s picture by @las_when, we not only get to enjoy the riverboat again but its neighbor Imperial Palace.  Then just for fun take a look to the right at all that undeveloped real estate in between Excalibur and Caesars. You can tell this picture is from the mid 90s because they are working on the land that will become the Fountains of Bellagio. The savvy viewer will spot Aladdin across the street from all that land.  This POV is from Treasure Island, the same view that helped us fall in love with the city for the first time in 2006.

News

• 360 Book Update

We wrote a book and now we need your help to get it published. Contribute to our kickstarter and receive various rewards for doing so. A link can be found on the blog and via social media. If you can’t find it, just let us know and we’ll get it for you. Thanks for your support. 

The largest free standing LED sign in the world is Aria’s marquee at 260 feet high and 65 feet wide 

TwitPic of the week 

Only in Vegas can a building grow. For example, look no further than Caesars Palace. This is a property that opened as a 700-room resort and today has almost 4,000. More than that, its multiple expansions took over an entire city block.  Say what you will about the interior layout this property is sexy as hell, especially shared via @maverickheli's unique POV. I’m not sure which I prefer, the original with the Sarno blocks and teal backlighting or the more authentic Greco roman esthetic. Either way, she’s a looker. 

News

• 360 Kickstarter

• Bed Bug Scars

• Sick New World 2025

• LIV Las Vegas Closing

• Bally’s Tropicana Plans

The temperature in Las Vegas reached 100 degrees six times in Oct 2024.  Between 1937 and 2023, It hit 100 degrees in October a TOTAL of 6 times. (LasVegasLocally) 

TwitPic of the week 

A unique perspective of a unique lady in Vegas history. The Tropicana was called “the Tiffany of the strip”.  The nickname is said to come from the property’s shape as a necklace. That POV was captured with week by @_GrandpaD. We are honored that we got to be there for her demise. She will forever have a special place in my heart as a result.  The saddest part of this story is that Tropicana was profitable before it closed, just like another icon many feel was gone before its time, Stardust.

News

• G2E 2024

• Slot Vultures

• Halloween In Vegas

Most people know the story about Sands boss Carl Cohen knocking two of Frank Sinatra’s teeth out after one of his legendary temper tantrums.  But did you know that a similar situation happened at Caesars Palace?  Sinatra wanted credit to play $16k a hand at baccarat but the casino limit was $2k and he was already being allowed to play at $8k a hand.  When he was told no, Frank of course got angry and made a scene that included some threats.  In response, the hotel’s executive vice president pulled a gun on Sinatra.  He was later booked for assault with a deadly weapon but charges were later dismissed.  That man’s name was Sandford Waterman.  Sinatra didn’t finish the rest of his engagement at the property but eventually returned and apologized.

TwitPic of the week

Thank you 1968 for existing and for the photographer that captured this view, shared by@Summacorp, of the Stardust marquee in all her massive glory. This sign is one of the most iconic in Vegas history and thankfully was saved by the Neon Museum. Here’s to hoping they reignite her in 2027 when the museum will relocate to the Arts district.

News

• Venetian Tier Match

• Vegas 101

• Coldplay in Vegas

Clark County paid $4k for the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign in 1959.  In 2008 they paid $400k to build the first 12 parking spaces. (@Vegas_Visual)

TwitPic of the week

It may not be as glorious as the original, but Fremont St is still stunning as shown by @FSELV.  Even the Fremont St Experience canopy stretching 4 city blocks is beautiful in its own way.  Arial views of Vegas give us a change to appreciate the collection of awesome we get to experience as humans.  I’m so grateful for the ordinance that requires neon to be preserved downtown.

News

• Review Journalism

• Caramella

• Celebrity Gambling

Over $40,000 per year is collected and donated to charity from coins tossed into the Venetian canals and fountains (VitalVegas)

TwitPic of the week

This week’s winner by @Bluestorm2000 perfectly sums up the appeal of Vegas, sometimes things just line up and despite the odds and the house edge, sometimes you just win.  That’s why we gamble, for those moments.  Here we have a picture of Bellagio with the sun acting as a solar crown to the peak of the building.  What else can you say about this building that hasn’t already been said.  Nothing I can think of this week.

News

• Top Rated Hotel Casinos

If I told you the best magic show in Vegas right now is starring a short, unkempt, surly Englishman in a poorly-fitting sequined dragon costume, you would probably question my opinion.  But Piff the Magic Dragon is hands-down the most entertaining magic show I’ve seen in Vegas, and that includes all the celeb-magicians. Caesars Entertainment snatched up a contract with Piff in 2015 after he appeared on America’s Got Talent. He was no stranger to Vegas, having worked in the Cosmopolitan’s Rose.Rabbit.Lie and Spiegelworlds’s Vegas Nocturne in 2014. He also toured as a supporting act for Mumford & Sons during their 2012 tour and is on their album cover for “Babel.” I first saw Piff in 2020, shortly after he was moved from the tiny Bugsy’s Cabaret (the same place you can currently see Wayne Newton and X-Burlesque) to the 700 seat Flamingo Showroom due to social distancing requirements. Mrs. Jaydubs describes Piff as “that surly uncle who comes to the party, and you don’t want your kids around him because you don’t know what he’s going to say. But he tells the best stories.” This is pretty accurate. I brought the whole family to see him during spring break and tried not to mentally cringe as he dropped S-bombs during the show, but 1) they’re already hearing it at school and 2) they were so captivated by Piff’s bombastic magnetism that much of it flew past them without registering. Plus: Mr. Piffles. Piff’s chihuahua in a little dragon costume is definitely a gimmick, but Mr. Piffles is so adorable that the gimmick is forgiven. When we last saw Piff, Mr. Piffles was so tired that he fell asleep onstage during his bit. I fear the tiny pup is not long for this world. Piff’s greatest strength is his mis-direction. His biggest trick starts at the beginning of the show, but he doesn’t bring it home until the end. He slowly revisits the trick, building on it and adding layers of complexity. You start to wonder where he’s going with all this seemingly random stuff until it all comes together at the end in a very impressive way.

Part of Piff’s schtick is his surly, rude demeanor. And it’s mostly schtick, as he is a super nice guy. He heads out into the Flamingo gaming floor after the show to take pictures with any and all audience members. If you want to get a taste of his act, check out his full special “Reptile Dysfunction” which is free on YouTube. But don’t watch it all until you’ve seen him live so you don’t spoil any of his tricks. Then come back and watch the whole thing after you’ve seen him live and watch the whole thing, because it’s fucking hilarious. Piff is my answer for the best magic show in Las Vegas right now. He may not have the best tricks - I don’t really know enough about magic to say what the best tricks are - but he is by far the most entertained I’ve ever been at a magic show in Vegas, and he’s the only magician I’ve gone back to see more than once.

Audience fuckery factor: So there’s definitely some audience participation in this show. Frankly, I haven’t seen a magic show that didn’t have volunteers or some type of audience involvement. There’s several instances in which Piff asks for volunteers for the audience, but none that I can recall in which people were chosen at random. The showroom itself is gorgeous and reminds me of old Vegas. Seating is comfortable and available at a variety of price points. Seat styles range from “chairs in a row” to table and booth seating. There is drink service during the show, but Mrs. Jaydubs got terribly sick from one of their specialty cocktails, so maybe best to stick with bottles and cans. Shows are currently nightly at 7, dark on Fridays. Tickets start at around $50.

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

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

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.

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 

Kà was the fourth Cirque du Soleil show developed for the Las Vegas market, and it has the distinction of being the first Cirque show to tell a cohesive narrative. If you’ve never seen a Cirque du Soleil show: most Cirque shows have a theme but not a narrative. Mad Apple is themed after New York City.  “O” is themed after water. I’ve read that Mystere is themed after “the origins of human life and our connection with the universe,” so you know, someone smoked a lot of weed. The story is fairly simple, but I do think people need to know the basics of it before they see the show. Compared to the current iteration of Awakening (which now practically serves up the entire story to the audience on a silver platter) Kà’s narrative works best if you know the story notes going in. A twin brother and sister are part of a tribe that gets attacked by bad guys. The twins are separated and most find their way back together and also save their people.  Each twin kind of goes through their own rite of passage on their journey before they are reunited and save their people.

Let’s talk about the tech behind Kà. Kà is an absolute technological marvel. It doesn’t have a proper stage floor, it just has an open pit that is full of various nets and airbags for the performers. Instead, there are two moving stages that are so massive and heavy that Cirque had to go outside of the theater industry and turned to Timberland Equipment, a company that normally builds mining equipment, to build their moving support structures. In one scene, one of the moving platforms is covered with 350 cubic feet of “granular cork” imported from Portugal to simulate sand on a beach. At one point in the show, the larger sandcliff deck has these pegs that stick out of it. As they are supposed to look like arrows shot onto the surface, they pop out of the deck very fast. But the performers have to climb using these pegs, so there are dual safety features incorporated into the pegs. First, they won’t shoot out if anything is blocking them, and second, they won’t go back in if there’s any kind of weight on them.  I could go on and on. Kà has won awards for its technical achievements in theater. I even read somewhere that it was the most expensive theatrical production ever made, but I couldn’t corroborate that anywhere.

Of course, all the technology in the world doesn’t necessarily give you an entertaining experience (Take notes, Avatar: The Way of Water). I’m happy to report that Kà is indeed an extremely entertaining experience, and one of the Cirque shows that I have enjoyed the most. I’m always looking for a narrative, so the fact that this show has one helps that enjoyment immensely. That being said, I recommend buying a program or at least reading through the show’s wikipedia page so that you can get a basic understanding of the story beats and recognize what’s happening. Like any well-told story, the show does a good job of varying the pace. There are intense action sequences and there are peaceful pas de deux. You have, of course, your typical array of Cirque acrobatics, some of which even takes place in the wings on either side of the stage. I recommend you arrive for your seats about 20 minutes early, as there is some pre-show action to enjoy. I really enjoyed the final battle, in which the sandcliff deck is positioned vertically. The performers, suspended from the ceiling, move up and down the face of the sandcliff deck, and it gives the illusion that you are watching the battle from above, like a top-down video game.

Like many Cirgue shows, you don’t want to sit too close. We sat in the center. There’s a walkway that runs through the theater separating the front sections from the rear sections, and we sat in the second row back from the walkway, and our views were perfect. Each seat is very comfortable and has its own pair of speakers for excellent sound.  No outside food is allowed, but drinks can be purchased or brought in if transferred to disposable cups which are available. Audience fuckery is pretty minimal. No one is pulled up onstage, but a performer did hiss at us from the half-wall in front of our section before the show. We got a laugh out of it. There are two shows five nights a week (Saturday through Wednesday). Tickets start as low as $74.

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

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

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 

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

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

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

    - The Bettor Life

    - Vegas Confessions

    - VegasNearMe

    - Vital Vegas

    - 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

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 @VitalVegaswith a hat tip to Las Vegas Memories Facebook group.

News

• Vegas is Expensive

• Poolside Gaming

• COVID Gaming Changes

• Casino Smoking

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

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

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

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 @summacorp.  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

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

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

This week, we are drafting our favorite Vegas Movies.  The game is simple.  Pick your favorite Vegas movies. The trick is we are all drafting from the same pool of movies and a movie is only available to be selected by one person.  This is NOT a list of the best movies set in Vegas nor is it a game to select the most valuable movies.  There is no score, there aren’t winners or losers.  This is just a chance for us to talk about some of our favorite Vegas movies for whatever reason we come up with.

The Fountains of Bellagio are not the first dancing fountains to exist in Las Vegas.  The original debuted in 1955 at the Royal Nevada.  They were simply called the Dancing Water’s and consisted of 4,000 jet streams and lights revolving and swaying in sync with waltz music.  They could accomplish heights has high as 50 foot.  The attraction was universally liked however the Royal Nevada thought they could offer this show instead of headliners.  The property struggled and closed 3 years after it opened. (The Strip: Las Vegas and the Architecture of the American Dream)

TwitPic of the week

What’s so great about this picture by @Summacorp is the collection of properties long gone.  Here we see the Landmark tower to the left and the Thunderbird pretty prominently.  What you don’t realize you're looking at is a bungalow at the original El Rancho in the foreground.  You even get a glimpse of the Riviera to the far right.  None of these properties exist today.  In fact, from this perspective, today the only thing you would see would be Fontainebleau.  The rest is a convention center expansion, a parking lot and a concert festival grounds.  I’m grateful for both the original Thunderbird Neon Bird marquee as well as the revised frontage of the property.  This picture isn’t going to dazzle you but it’s a welcome addition to our collection.

News

• Casino Smoking Ban

• Flight Refunds

In 1968, Las Vegas could lay claim to the 3 tallest electric signs in the world.  The Dunes at 180, the Frontier at 184 and the Stardust at 188 feet tall 

TwitPic of the week

How can you not be proud of that collection of properties?  Specifically, it feels like MGM treats @LuxorLV and Excalibur like unwanted commodities.  Which is funny because they bought Mandalay Resorts, one of the most profitable gaming companies in history, with a portfolio that primarily catered to the middle class.  Since then they’ve sold off Circus Circus and threatened redevelopment to both Luxor and Excalibur.  Instead they should feel psyched that in that string of properties, you make up virtually every demographic you want to attract to Las Vegas.  Not to mention, you are in prime real estate to attract ALL those who attend events at Allegiant and the current wave of sports in Vegas.  Here’s some million dollar advice for free MGM.  Leave Luxor and Excalibur alone.  Sure, update and take care of them inside but leave the architecture alone.  You found this company attractive for a reason.  Stop trying to fix it.

News

• Plaza All-Inclusive Offer

• Brightline Breaks Ground

Okay.  Let’s start by addressing the Elephant in the room.  Las Vegas was racist.  Really, really racist.  Not Alabama bad but Las Vegas was known as the “Mississippi of the west” and I’m certain it wasn’t a compliment.

Nick Mazzolo.  You may not know the name but you certainly know his work.  Nick was cast as a table games dealer in 3 blockbuster titles.  Rain Man in 1988, Casino in 1995 and Vegas Vacation in 1997.

TwitPic of the week

In a picture that looks like it was taking on the pool deck of the Plaza years before it existed, this picture, shared by @FSELV definitely captures the best the Las Vegas Club ever looked, years before her transformation into a faux baseball stadium on the roof.  All of Fremont strip was sexy as hell during the 60s, before Golden Nugget absorbed the entire city block they occupy today.  Back when the Lucky Club and California Club shared the space.  But you can’t see any of that here so lets just wrap this up by saying here we also have the Golden Gate with its signage looking as dapper as ever, still sporting the Hotel Sal Sagev signage.

News

• LOVE Ends

• Hard Rock Model

• Spearmint vs Peppermint

• Bait and Switch

• Ellis Island Expansion

• Nevada Opposes Funding Stadium

• Oasis Cinema Club

I’ve said this before: if I had a time machine, I know exactly what I’d do with it.  No, I wouldn’t steal a sports almanac or try to get my parents to kiss at the big dance. I’ve already graduated high school, so I wouldn’t use it to pass my history final, either. No, I would head back in time at 88.8 miles per hour to the Copa Room at the Sands in 1960, to see the greatest show one could see for $5.95. Dinner included. Like many of you, I have a decidedly romantic view of “old Vegas.” A time where women were ladies and comps were truly comps. When men wore hats (thanks for nothing, JFK).  And when you could see a legend performing in the lounge. Often for free. I also have a decidedly romantic view of the mid-century crooners. Dean Martin, with a voice dark and syrupy like bourbon, and a total cheeseball when live on stage. Sammy Davis Jr., the most talented of them all, who could sing, dance, and act all his contemporaries under the table. And of course, the man himself: the Chairman of the Board, the one who made loneliness seem cool: Mr. Francis Albert Sinatra. When I want to relax for the evening, it’s an old fashioned in my glass and the Rat Pack on my stereo. Despite peaking in Las Vegas 60 years prior, the Rat Pack is also inextricably intertwined with our Vegas trips today.  The men of The Summit provide the soundtrack to our early evenings. While we shower and dress for an evening on the town, pre-dinner cocktails in our hotel room glasses, Sammy, Frank, and Dino provide the soundtrack. No two days in Vegas are the same; but the Rat Pack is part of the ritual that binds them together for my wife and I. Indeed, the bellman has no sooner closed the door and my wife is asking me to turn on the Bluetooth speaker and put on music. Not just any music; our Vegas music.  The only music that will do. When planning a recent trip, I mentioned to my wife that there was a Rat Pack impressionist show a little off strip. “And why haven’t we seen it yet?” Was her response.   “The Rat Pack is Back” is not a new show to Vegas.   With a history of more than 20 years, the show was previously at several venues in Vegas, including the Rio and the Plaza before finding its current home at the Tuscany, just east of the Strip on Flamingo in 2015.  In fact, if you’ve seen the movie Get Him to the Greek, you’ve seen a little of the Rat Pack is Back show at the Plaza.  Russell Brand’s character musician stops by to see his dad, who is a drummer in the show. I’m not sure what I was expecting when I purchased our tickets to The Rat Pack is Back… Maybe 80 minutes or so of mediocre, karaoke-style covers of my favorite songs? What we experienced ended up being so much more, and it’s a show that we will definitely be returning to see again. The Rat Pack is Back is performed in a small theater at the Tuscany in Las Vegas, in an intimate venue appropriately named “The Copa Room.” It features 3 impressionist performers, of which 2 are great and 1 is just okay.  (Our Dean Martin didn’t really look or sound like Dean Martin. I’m looking into whether he was out for the night, or just plain out.) An especially enjoyable aspect of the show was the live, seven-piece band backing the trio.  I often caught myself watching the piano playing conductor as she guided the band through their various cues. True to their subjects, the band and impersonators often had moments of playful banter between them. The Copa Room at the Tuscany is unfortunately a shadow of its namesake at the Sands, but this didn’t take away from our experience.  A relatively small-for-Vegas room, seating consists of movable “wedding venue” seats, with small cocktail tables between the front VIP tables. Lucky for us, the small size of the room contributes to a more intimate setting.  Seating is assigned by “area” and is first come, first serve. I paid for VIP seating, and we arrived early enough to be granted front row seats on stage right.  One gets the feeling you could slip the host a twenty for an upgrade, if you want to capture more of that old-school feeling. True to old Vegas form, there’s a bar in the theater and drink service during the show.  I was a little disappointed that there is not dinner served during the show, like the Sands shows of old.  The Tuscany offers an optional dinner package with The Rat Pack is Back tickets, but the meal is served in another location on the property, not in the Copa Room itself.  We opted for Bugsy and Meyers down the street at the Flamingo instead. As I mentioned before, the quality of the impersonators was excellent. While Kyle Diamond doesn’t quite have Sammy Davis Jr’s squint, and Chris Jason is a little too much of an Italian goombah to be a dead ringer for Sinatra, the experience is close enough for me. The performers each have their own moments to shine, both solo and together on stage.  Songs are rarely performed all the way through, which serves to keep the show from stalling out. There’s canned banter amongst the performers, and if you’ve ever heard recordings of the Rat Pack, most of their dialogue is accurate. This leads to an early and probably necessary disclosure that this is a show that takes place in the middle of the previous century, and therefore has the humor to match. The jokes aren’t what I would call crude, but they certainly aren’t politically correct.  Some may consider this a criticism, others a feature. Purists will note that not all of the song choices are accurate. Sammy Davis Jr. sings Mr. Bojangles, a song that wasn’t written until 1965, and he didn’t sing until 1972, and Sinatra sings the Theme from New York, New York, a song that was written in 1977 and recorded by Sinatra in ‘79. There’s also a bit of early ‘60s eye candy, with a leotarded playboy bunny brought on stage to flirt and verbally parry with the men. I’ve been clear in other reviews that I appreciate the female form - especially in my Vegas shows - but her inclusion here felt almost gratuitous, as though the show’s creators felt that the Rat Pack is Back couldn’t stand on its own without some T and A.  I don’t think the bunny took away from the show, but I also don’t think she really added much to it either. As always, we make it a point to cover the Audience Fuckery Factor in these reviews for the sake of our listeners who want to see shows, but don’t want to be the center of attention.  While we enjoyed our front seats, “Frank Sinatra” made a joke that I was banging on his door for 45 minutes the night before, until he finally let my wife out. We laughed, but you may not like light-hearted sexual assault jokes made about your spouse. There was another woman,  “Delores,” who was in the front, closer to center, and the performers made several jokes about her throughout the show. None were mean-spirited, and she seemed to enjoy the attention.  If you don’t, I would recommend requesting a seat three or more rows back.  This reminds me of another aspect of the show I really enjoyed: all three impersonators made it a point to head into the audience at the end to take pictures with the crowd, including Delores.  These days, it seems like every Vegas performer wants you to pay for a special VIP package to take photos or speak with you, but the fact that these guys came out to take some photos and chat with us without hesitation was a fun bonus. All in all, I would definitely recommend the Rat Pack is Back, especially if you have a hunger for the Vegas of Old. I know that we will certainly make an effort to see it again. Showtimes are nightly at 7:30pm, but dark on Sundays. Tickets start at $90, but I recommend spending another $10 per person for the VIP seating, or you will be sitting along the perimeter of the room.

Tropicana’s nickname was the “Tiffany of the Strip” because it was said to be the shape of a necklace when viewed from an arial perspective.

TwitPic of the week

This is another property I have an irrational affinity for.  Like the Fontainebleau today, the Landmark was a project that stalled for almost a decade before it was completed.  Unfortunately, she wasn’t finished by someone who had a passion for her and therefore she struggled.  Once it did open it was no longer the tallest building in the city so the cache of that concept was lost.  But still, something about her casino in the sky that just sounds appealing.  Probably why it still exists for high rollers in properties like Encore.  Regardless, I never got to see the Landmark and therefore she will remain idealized to me, like she is in this picture shared by @summacorp, which is probably better than the actual memories I would have made.

News

• LVCVA 2023 Visitor Profile Study

• New Airport

• Synagogue & Hotel

• Neon Museum Tropicana Lighting

If your interested in learning more about the Tropicana, check out...

• Pinterest

• lvstriphistory.com

• Vegas Seven - Tropicana New Era

• Vegas Seven - Tiffany of the Strip

• Vegas Seven - Stained Glass Ceiling Masterpiece

• TheMobMuseum Blog

• Battle Born Pins

• Vintage Vegas Shirts

Sammy Davis Jr was supposed to be in 3 major movies about Vegas. We all know he was in the original Ocean’s 11 but did you know he was supposed to be cast as Elvis’ sidekick in the movie Viva Las Vegas? But producers thought that much star power would distract from the story so he didn’t get the part. The third was Diamonds are Forever, a movie he actually played himself in but it got cut. It can now be seen as a part of the movie’s deleted scenes.

TwitPic of the week

What’s special about this picture, shared by@travis758, is what its missing…Treasure Island. Right down in front, still a huge parking lot on the strip. The next glaring omission is the strip as we know it south of Caesars today. Here we still see the Dunes and their massive golf course taking up real estate all the way down to where NYNY is today. It’s 1990 so we see Excalibur sitting down there with Hacienda, Tropicana and Marina all alone because it doesn’t yet have the company of the MGM Grand as we know it today. The Marina won’t transform into the MGM Grand for another 3 years away from being built. Speaking of Caesars, it looks quite diminutive next to the Mirage and the Flamingo expansion across the street. It would be another 8 years before they added the Palace Tower to better keep up with the mega resorts, a project that would inspire the retheming of the property to an architectural style more Greco roman. Lastly, you can see the Sands and Holiday Casino across the street from Mirage, showing just what smaller properties were competing against.

News

• Eagles Sphere Residency

• Western For Sale

• Tropicana Update

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Vegas has been attempting to go smoke free since the early 90s.  The first casino to ban cigarette smoking was at Silver City Casino in 1991. 

Vegas Pic of the week 

It was the original mega sign.  Not quite a super pylon but big enough that it was a statement piece.  The champaign tower at Flamingo, shared by @_GrandPaD, stood as a beacon for the property for years while she was a low-rise building.  The cylindrical structure lit up at night with glowing bubbles that cresecendoed into the revolving name of the property at the top.  Sadly it was removed by Kirk Kerkorian who decided to push the property closer to the road to pull in more foot traffic.  It was replaced in 1968 with the iconic super pylon known as the Flamingo plumb signage. 

News

• Where It's At Movie

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• Best Places to Stay In Vegas

• Summerlin Studios

• Kennel Club Suite

The office of Sam “Ace” Rothstein and the Tangiers sports book in Martin Scorsese’s Casino was filmed on the site of an unopened casino at the Jockey Club (Vintagelasvegas.com)

Vegas Pic of the week

This is a photo I didn’t even know existed and it blew my mind when I found it, like I’m sure it’s going to blow yours.  It’s a picture of the Dunes, mid-evolution from a motel to a high rise.  I found it at vintagelasvegas.com.  Here we still see all the original façade with the Diamond of the Dunes behind it under construction.  It wouldn’t be much longer before the sultan was relocated to the golf course, just off the freeway.  That is until he caught fire due to an electrical short or something, I can’t remember.  I’m just psyched that this picture exits and I can share it with all of you.  Also, it’s not lost on me that this picture isn’t breathtaking it’s just a moment in time I’m grateful we have.

News

• Downtown Beer Festival
• A’s partnering with Neon Museum
• Hollywood 2.0
• Flat Rate Cabs
• Bally’s Corp Privatization

Many of YESCO’s contracts for the signs it manufactured were lease agreements that included service contracts for the life of the lease.  When the lessee eventually removed the sign, the contract stipulated that it be returned to YESCO which either recycled the signs parts or retired the sign to a designated boneyard lot at the outskirts of Las Vegas (Spectacular – A History of Las Vegas Neon)

Vegas Pic of the week

This week’s winner from VintageLasVegas.com is another snapshot in time of Vegas under development.  Specifically, the Mint and Lucky Casino.  The date is April 18th, 1963 and the Mint tower has broken ground behind the casino at the bottom of the picture.  Right across the street, in between the Golden Nugget and Nevada Club, Lucky Casino is installing their record-breaking marquee frontage that will reach 160 feet tall once complete.  It would only have the crown of tallest sign in the city for a year before the Dune’s 180-foot Super Pylon was built on the strip.

News

• Tropicana Stadium
• FSE Free Concert Series
• 360 Vegas Discord
• ABC store Sign

In the late 1940s, the state of Nevada’s slogan was “If you can’t do it at home, come to Nevada”. (Spectacular – A History of Las Vegas Neon)

Twitpic of the week

Icons, paired together in a beautiful union.  The Sands cylindrical hotel tower, the classic, original, Sands egg crate marquee with the name Frank Sinatra on it as the headliner in the Copa Room.  For a time, it didn’t get any more iconic than these brands together.  @Summacorp shared a lovely photo of this moment in time, specifically Nov of 1966, just after Caesars Palace opened

News

• Smoke and Mirrors
• New Vegas

In 2003, Las Vegas tried to buy a commercial slot during the Super Bowl to promote tourism to the city.  The NFL stepped in, citing a contract that allowed it to reject any ad related to sports betting, even though the spot didn’t include any overt references to gambling (Forbes)

Twitpic of the week

It’s amazing to think that today, this is all Circa.  The Las Vegas Club, Golden Goose, Glitter Gulch and Sassy Sally, shared by @_GrandPaD, gone.  Granted Sassy Sally was Mermaid’s at the time of her demise but that’s beside the point.  The point is look how much things change in Vegas, all the time.  On a side note, this is the best picture I’ve seen showing that Vegas Vickie and Sassy Sally are not the same thing.  The typical POV shot of Sally’s and this area makes it almost look like Vickie is sitting on top of the Sassy Sally sign, hence the misconception that Vickie used to be Sally.

News

• Super Bowl Success
• Tropicana Stadium
• F1 2024 Improvements

We recently released the 360 Vegas show review for X-Country, and Mrs Jaydubs complained that we spent half the review talking about Fantasy.  I can’t help it, though. Fantasy is the litmus test by which all other Vegas topless revues will be judged for a long time. Note: I have in the past referred to Fantasy as the Gold Standard of Vegas topless revues, and thought I was very clever for coming up with that. Then I saw the same words on a Fantasy poster on the way into Luxor and realized I was just subconsciously plagiarizing something I’ve seen before.  To quote my father, “When someone steals your idea, it’s plagiarism. When you steal someone else’s idea, it’s inspiration.”  I’ll run with that.

    If you aren’t aware, Fantasy is a nightly topless revue show at the Luxor.  The production dates back to 1999, and is the oldest running topless show in Vegas.  It was originally titled “Midnight Fantasy,” and it had a 12 am showtime to match.  In 2001, Luxor dropped the midnight showtime in exchange for an earlier time slot, but didn’t drop the “Midnight” from the title until 2006.  Over its nearly 25 year history, Fantasy has gone through several revisions. I myself have seen it 3 or 4 times, and it is always a solid choice.

    The structure is simple: beautiful women take off their clothes for the audience.  There are a variety of acts, and the show switched them out regularly. The content of the show can vary by season  - or even nightly - due to the various performers taking time off.  Your favorite dancer isn’t going to perform in the show 7 days a week, she needs a break! There are numbers that feature single performers, as well as duo and ensemble pieces.  To mix things up, the show also features a couple of acrobatic numbers with an aerialist on the silk web.  Driving the show forward is a female MC who sings a few songs while performers dance. 

    The performers themselves are absolutely lovely, and I would describe them as ______________.  I should say that Fantasy has a specific aesthetic for its performers, which some may not appreciate.  Probably the best way to describe this would be the classic Playboy look, the cast favors lean blondes, and even the darker-skinned girls are light-skinned, if that makes sense. None of the performers are conventionally unattractive, but if you prefer your eye-candy thick and curvy, you won’t find it here. I had no complaints.

    An important note: every topless show I’ve seen in Vegas makes an effort to be welcoming of the ladies and the women in the audience, but probably none do it better than Fantasy.  Any women reluctant to attend with their SO or girlfriends should put that fear aside. You will not be the only woman there and no one will make you feel strange for being there. This is probably one of Fantasy’s biggest selling points for Mrs. Jaydubs and myself.

    Fantasy runs nightly at the Atrium theater at the Luxor.  The show shares the venue with Carrot Top, and I can’t help but think that this must lead to some fascinating backstage moments.  The venue is a traditional theater with a very sloped house. What this means is there are no bad seats, and you have a bigger risk of accidentally kicking the person in front of you in the head than not being able to see around them.  The seats themselves are very comfortable, and the theater can accommodate about 350 people.

    In terms of the Audience Fuckery Factor, you should avoid the first 5 rows if you don’t want to be singled out for questions or attention, and the first 2 rows if you don’t want to be called on stage.

    Fantasy runs every night at 10:30 pm. There is also sometimes an early show at 8:00 pm. Tickets start at $52 on Vegas.com.

Built in 1982, the 2-story building that was the Oasis Casino @Dunes was supposed to be comprised of two components, a casino on the 1st floor and a restaurant on the 2nd floor.  The restaurant never opened and the space remained unused until its destruction in 1993 (vintagelasvegas.com)

Twitpic of the week

Here is another @summacorp picture that mesmerizes me with all the history going on.  For example, we know that this is 1968 because they are working on the fountains in front of the new Circus Circus casino. You’ll notice that fountain 5 is being deconstructed.  That’s because they are moving the carousel marquee from the left of the fountains to that location on the right; all so they can make room to build Slots-A-Fun. Next door to that is Westward Ho still 3 years away from adding a casino in 1971.  And next to that is the mammoth Stardust 1,000 motel units all lined up neatly like an OCD dream come true.  If you look to the top left you’ll see both the Stardust casino and the 12-story expansion tower from 1964.  And across the street from it all we have the Riviera with her classic marquee. It’s truly remarkable to think about how much land they needed back in the 50s through to the 70s and even 80s in some cases.  Its no wonder why they all sold for the right price.

News

• Sphere Demonstration
• 360VV14
• Strip Frontage Advertising
• Caesars, Strat and Luxor

After a 4 month remodeling and a rebranding, in 1963, Lucky Casino, formerly known as Lucky strike, reopened with the largest sign in the city of Las Vegas at 160 feet tall.  It held that titled until it was surpassed in 1964 by the Dunes turret marquee towering 180 feet tall.  Lucky Casino is now the middle part of Golden Nugget Fremont St frontage.

Twitpic of the week

So much development goodness in this picture it’s not hard to see why @summacorp shared it.  Set in what looks like 1993 based on the various projects in various states of progress.  Front and center, we see the massive MGM Grand theme park and Grand Garden Arena under construction.  Beyond that we can see Luxor is also still under construction.  Noticeably missing from the landscape is NYNY and Mandalay Bay.  Here we still see Hacienda occupying the space Mandalay Bay would one day call home.

News

• Tropicana Closing
• Fontainebleau Problems
• Flamingo Restoration
• Fontainebleau Signage 

The Caesars Palace marquee has caught on fire twice.  In both cases, Tom Jones was the featured artist on the billboard at the time (vintagelasvegas.com)

Twitpic of the week

Ever wonder what it looked like when your Grandparents were on vacation in Vegas.  Well, thanks to @_GrandPaD, we can relive that moment poolside at the Stardust in the 1950s.  How do I know it’s the Stardust, you say?  Easy, look at the top of the building.  You can see the unmistakable outline of the original Stardust marquee, at least the back of it.  Something about the idea of my grandparents chasing each other around like I chase my wife gives me an ear-to-ear grin, as it should.

News

• A’s Fumble
• Sibella Justice
• Redneck Escape Room 
• Rio's Marquee Update 
• Glass Bar @Planet Hollywood 
• Hard Rock Window Tint 

In Vegas history, 3 signs have been knocked down due to high winds.  The first was the Silver Slipper in May of 1978.  The second, in May of 1991, was Bob Stupak’s Vegas World sign.  The third was the Hilton sign, the tallest free-standing sign in the world at 365 feet, had the top portion of the sign collapse in July of 94.  The incident caused designers to be questioned how a sign designed to withstand winds of over 100 mph fail at 70 mph.  The sign was repaired, then totally replaced in 1997 with the sign they have today at Westgate, the current tallest free standing advertising sign in the world at 279 feet high. (News3lv.com)

Twitpic of the week

When installed in 1967 the Frontier, formerly the Last Frontier and, for a time, the New Frontier, was the tallest sign in the world at 184 feet tall.  It had 16-foot-tall letters and a giant 30 foot tall “F” logo resting at the top.  The sign contained more than a mile of fluorescent tubing, a mile and half of neon and more than 23,000 light bulbs.  In Dec of 2008, after the property had closed and was being prepared for new construction, Wynn paid to have the signage be taken down for the opening of Encore across the street.  This week, @summacorpshared that moment in time.  The Neon Museum sought to save portions of the sign but exactly what they were able to retain from the pylon marquee is unknown.

News

• 360VV14 Update
• Sphere CEO Accused of Sexual Misconduct
• False F1 Loses Reported
• 1,000-piece puzzle

• Grandissimo 
• The Players: The Men Who Made Las Vegas 
• Sharks in the Desert 
• lvstriphistory.com 
• Pinterest 
• Battle Born Pins 
• Vintage Vegas Shirts 

A typical arcade game makes about as much per day as a typical slot machine (Vital Vegas)

Twitpic of the week

Here @summacorp shares a time before the Golden Nugget consumed all of its western casino competition to acquire the Fremont footprint they have today.  It was also the initial incarnation of their greatest exterior façade with the bullnose corner of Fremont and 2nd St, known today as Casino Center Blvd.  Knowing what it would become it looks kind of cute.  Especially next to what was, for a time, the tallest sign on Fremont St at Lucky Casino standing at 153 feet high.  Beyond that you can see the adorable Californian club ending the block the Nugget absorbed.  If you really want to, you can also see Vegas Vic at the Pioneer Club and the Golden Gate marquees in the distance.  All that to avoid looking at the high waisted gentleman in the foreground.

News

• 360VV14
• Rio’s Canteen
• Superbowl Details
• Potential New Black Book Member
• Wynn West Update
• Nevada Craft Beverage Passport
• Palazzo’s New Marquee
• Venetian Rewards
• MGM 1.62 acre purchase 
• Rio's New Exterior 

One day of running a 90-second ad intermittently on the Sphere is $750k (Vital Vegas)

Twitpic of the week

Magical…well, to someone like me this is magical.  To the layman this is an old picture of Caesars Palace,  shared by @Summacorp, before the retheming in the late 90s/early 2000s.  This is so mesmerizing because you don’t often see pictures of Caesars during this time, in this case 1982 and without the lights turned on.  This was a time before I knew Vegas so to me, it’s like a magic trick.  I can still visit this property even though it doesn’t look like this anymore, with the Sarno blocks.  Sarno blocks are affectionately named after Jay Sarno who introduced them to the market with Caesars Palace.  Those are concrete blocks replicating latticework that allows the frontage to look uniform as well as back lit.  This style of block is still in use today at Circus Circus, mostly on Industrial Road.

News

• 360 Vegas Vacation 14 
• More Vintage AI
• Firearm Jackassary
• Copperfield Appearance
• Coming in 2024
• Las Vegas Sign bobblehead
• Play Playground
• Mandalay Bay/Delano Exterior Paging 
• Bird Bar space

About one in 3 U.S. Adults said they thought the tipping culture “has gotten out of control,” according to a survey conducted in May 2023 (Review Journal)

Twitpic of the week

The photo by @Las_when doesn’t date the picture but this is how the Stardust looked when I got the one and only chance to visit the property in 2006, just months before it closed its doors on Nov 1st.  The lamentation of properties lost has a long tradition in Las Vegas.  However this move has gone down in history as the worst move made by Boyd gaming’s well documented history of brilliance, hindsight being 20/20.

News

• 360 Vegas AI
• F1 Impact
• 3D LED sign
• Ramsay’s Kitchen

Allegiant Stadium generated $2.29 billion in economic impact to the city of Las Vegas including $128 million in tax revenue (@mickakers)

Twitpic of the week

Following last week’s holiday theme, @_GrandpaD out did himself with a collection of various Vegas locations themed for the holidays.  Everything from Stardust’s Aku Aku tiki statue with a giant Santa hat on to more views of Fremont St with decorations strewn across the street.  Our favorite this week was the view of Stardust’s original marquee anchored with Christmas decorations, full sized which only further gives perspective to just how large the sign was in its day.  As is common in Vegas signage, if you aren’t paying attention, you might miss the decorations, although not in this photo.

News

• SuperBowl Accommodations
• Blackbook Addition
• BLVD Details
• Paris/Horseshoe Versailles tower
• Venetian Sala 118

At times the Aladdin has been called “The Vegas Jinx”.  History has documented a long line of potential suitors who, when they took their shot, missed.  In a town where the house always wins, it’s not only an anomaly when one doesn’t, it’s also a cautionary tale.  It isn’t as simple as build it and they will come.  Theme, location, timing and in some cases luck is needed to be a successful Las Vegas resort.

• lvstriphistory.com 
• Gambling on a Dream: The Classic Las Vegas Strip 1956-1973 
• Dreaming the Skyline 
• The Strip 
• After-Hours Architecture 
• Pinterest 
• Battle Born Pins 
• Vintage Vegas Shirts 

Fontainebleau isn’t the first property to encounter financing problems causing the project to sit unfinished.  That title goes to the Landmark who broke ground in 1961 but had to halt construction in 62 due to financing issues.  So it sat, 80% done.  During that time it was the tallest building in the state of Nevada.  It sat dormant until 1969 when Howard Hughes bought it and finished building the property.  The Landmark would eventually open July 1st, 1969 (Vintage Research)

Twitpic of the week

Festive isn’t exactly how you would describe Christmas in Las Vegas.  Not that the city doesn’t try but the displays are usually in juxtaposition with existing signage and all easily overlooked if you aren’t paying attention.  A perfect example of this is this week’s winner from @_GrandPaD showcasing Fremont St during the holidays, circa 1959.  It isn’t easy to see upon initial inspection because Vegas signs are designed to draw your attention to them.  However, if you look past the marquees you’ll seen garland strung across the street with some bells and whistles.  Signage tangent, this picture shows Golden Nugget in a transitional period with the original signage still on display but with the addition of the steel framed roof sign, added in 1956.  In just a few years, 1961, Kermit Wayne will add a giant bullnose shield on the corners with flanked animated signage on each side.  This will come to be the properties most memorable incarnation of signage, aside from its current.

News

• Fontainebleau History
• Fontainebleau Details
• Fontainebleau Players Club
• Resorts World Faux Awards
• Vegas Concert Venues
• F1 Improvements
• Luxor Dorito 
• Flamingo Plumb Signage 

Out of all our Vegas show experiences, we loved Absinthe the most. It was - and remains - a perfect Vegas mix of sequins and trash, of sexy and vulgar, of talent and spectacle.  So when I booked our second trip for early 2019, we opted to check out Spiegelworld's newest show, Opium. At that time, I can honestly say that I didn’t love it. Opium paled in comparison to its big sister Absinthe.  Later that same year, I saw Atomic Saloon shortly after it opened. I felt that Atomic Saloon was a strong, close 2nd to Absinthe, while Opium was a distant third.  We recently all went to see Opium together, and I was curious to see how the show evolved in the 4 ½ years since. First, a history lesson: OPM (the show was retitled in 2021, probably to get around advertising restrictions) is the second “permanent” show created by Spiegelworld for Las Vegas after the wildly successful Absinthe. It opened in March, 2018 at the Cosmopolitan where it has remained until its closure at the end of this year.

OPM follows the variety show format that Spiegelworld developed with Absinthe.  The various acts you see don’t necessarily have a common thread, they are just loosely linked together, sometimes simply by a few words for a host or emcee. This is less-so in Atomic Saloon, which does make an effort to tie the various acts into the story; but as with all Spiegelworld productions those who attend looking for a compelling narrative will be disappointed. Spiegelworld’s strength is curation: the assembly of the fantastic, the weird, and the incredibly talented into a show that will simultaneously amaze, arouse, and confuse you.  The way Spiegelworld designs their shows, they are also nearly impervious to personnel issues. Performers can take a night off, get sick, or simply move on to another gig, and the show won’t suffer because some other great act can simply be plugged into the show and no one will ever know the difference. What this also means is that the show we saw is not necessarily the show you will see.  I’ve seen Absinthe twice and OPM twice, and all four experiences were different.  Whether you catch OPM before it closes or one of the other fantastic Spiegelworld shows, I’m pretty sure that you will still have a great time regardless.

Before I dive too much into OPM, I’ll say this: over the last several years, the show has improved. The quality of the various acts has stepped up a notch, and the too-absurd-to-care-about story-line has been abandoned. Ever see a Cirque show or a magic show?  If you’re like me, sometimes when you’re watching the show your mind is reeling from all the amazing things you’re seeing, but after a while it becomes noise. Spiegelworld shows work well with my short attention span by continually switching up what I’m seeing, so mentally the entertainment never ends. In OPM, we saw a girl climb into a giant latex balloon, and two men turn giant throwing rings into spectacle. There was a pair of tumblers who terrified us as they launched each other towards the relatively low ceiling. Not everything works, though.   A girl in a straitjacket lip syncs psychotically to “No One” by Alicia Keys while writhing in an audience member’s lap, but the bit never seems to have a payoff.  A highlight for me was the “bubble-blowing guy,” who had the audience in the palm of his hands while making intricate creations with bubbles. It seems like a parlor trick, but I suggest finding YouTube videos of this act if you never catch OPM live.  All of this cements OPM as the most eclectic collection of talent in the Spiegelworld catalog.

OPM’s absence is Vegas’s loss, but fortunately you can catch the show before the end of the year. The show is dark on Mondays and Tuesdays, but is available twice a night at 7pm and 9pm every other night.  Tickets currently start at $72.  If you don’t get a chance to see OPM, rest easy knowing that the Spiegelworld magic is still available in other places on the strip in the form of Absinthe and the Atomic Saloon Show.

Similar to the myth of Bugsy Seigel and the Flamingo, a popular myth has been told many times over about Howard Hughes and the purchase of the Desert Inn.  The legend says Hughes overstayed his welcome because ownership wanted the penthouse rooms for high rollers coming in for new years.  Instead of leaving, Howard bought the place.  The real story about the Desert Inn purchase is that Howard kept holding up the deal with seemingly petty details.  The two parties would agree in principle to a deal only to have Hughes find something else he wanted to address.  The situation became so heated that the deal almost fell through and his right-hand man Bob Maheu threatened to quit if Hughes changed one more thing.  That was enough to get Hughes to finally close on the deal, paying $13 million for the Desert Inn. (Book - Howard Hughes: The Hidden Years)

Twitpic of the week

No one has done as much with so little than Cosmopolitan.  That resort sits on 4.4 acres, has a premium location next to Bellagio’s fountains and offers something no other property offers, balconies in the majority of their rooms.  The closest is Cromwell which resides on 1.4 acres.  Thanks to @MaverickHeli and Claytonhaam for sharing another stunning view via helicopter of an icon.  Here’s hoping that MGM won’t fuck up everything at the property.

News

LV Sands buys Mavericks

Surprising no one, the sportsbooks at multiple properties reported record breaking action on F1 betting

Twitpic of the week

I know it looks like this at every F1 track but damn it looked cool in Vegas.  Whatever you think of F1 and/or its impact on the city you can’t argue they know how to illuminate a track.  That was captured magnificently on ESPN via helicopter, then shared via screenshot by @MeltzVegas.  Many records have been reported as a result of the often-trolled event but it was the spectacle promised; and as usual, the Sphere impressed.  Here’s to hoping our Wishlist of things to improve actually get addressed.

News

• F1 2023 Results
• Manhole Cover Accident
• Vegas Starfish Fraud
• Pedestrian Traffic

The Westward Ho was advertised as “The World’s Largest Motel”.  It had 777 rooms and closed in 2005.  When demolished they had to take down 27 total buildings. (@las_when)

Twitpic of the week

What else can you say but wow?  Here’s hoping Vegas properties will take notice that you can do so much more with LED signage than just running commercials.  If the Sphere hadn’t already endeared itself in the hearts of the locals it did with this display showcased during F1 practice, shared by @kerrybilicki.  Featuring elements of the Flamingo, classic Sahara, googie stars from Stardust’s glory days and a lot more all represented on this global display of Vegasy goodness.  Salud to much more of this.

News

• FUF1
• Downtown Ban
• Encore marquee signage

• lvstriphistory.com 
• Del Webb: A Man A Company 
• Gambling on a Dream: The Classic Las Vegas Strip 1930-1955 
• Viva Las Vegas: After-Hours Architecture 
• The First 100: Portraits of the Men and Women Who Shaped Las Vegas 
• Pinterest 
• Battle Born Pins 
• Vintage Vegas Shirts 

The office of Sam “Ace” Rothstein and the Tangiers sports book in Martin Scorsese’s Casino was filmed on the site of an unopened casino at the Jockey Club (@summacorp)

Twitpic of the week

One of the reasons Vegas is like no other place on the planet is the wide array of architecture it has on display.  It has a mixture of traditional, themed and many in a category of their own.  Unfortunately, the creativity that brought us the likes of Caesars Palace, Paris and Excalibur, shared here by @las_when,  seems to have been forgotten or at least abandon.  The situation leaves those that appreciate them to desperately fear that the themes that make the city so unique are now the targets for redevelopment by those who thought an office park on the strip was something visitors wanted.  The only constant in life is change so rather than lament the inevitable we should try to just enjoy what we have while we have it.

News

• F1 Vegas Eve
• Venetian Grandstands
• Mirage Mountain
• Trespassing Jackpots
• Wizard of Oz Escape Room
• Naked Crimes
• Hooker Gone Wild
• Sphere Struggles
• The Continental Returns
• Palms billboard sign
• Cosmopolitan to Vdara
• Canteen Food Hall
• The Family Plan

The music video for U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”, filmed in downtown Las Vegas in 1987, was done in one take, shot in less than 3 hours with a skeleton crew and an unsuspecting cast of extras. All the stuff in the video really happened.  The music video is credited with introducing, or in some cases re-introducing, Fremont St to the masses and creating a demand for the area that it hadn’t had in a long time. This would go on to spark the need to renovate the area with an attraction that would draw people to it.  Today, we know it as the Fremont St Experience.  (RJ.com)

Twitpic of the week

The rebranding of a property must be an inexpensive process.  Consider how quickly Caesars Entertainment rebranded Imperial Palace into the Quad, shared by @MeltzVegas, only to rebrand the property less than two years later into the Linq.  Naming aside, we’ve been a fan of the properties transformation from what was considered by most to be one of the worst properties on the strip when it was Imperial Palace into what we have today.  I can’t emphasize enough that Keren wouldn’t step foot in Imperial Palace and since the transformation, we’ve not only spent a considerable amount of time at the property but we’ve spent the night at more than once.  The Linq is proof concept that you can make a discount version of Cosmopolitan.

News

• Valid Form of ID
• Sphere Impact
• Golden Tee Championships
• Arte Museum
• Street Performance Art
• Fertitta Strip Resort
• Particle Ink
• Vegas Advantage Craps Games

Roughly 26 international destinations are reachable from Las Vegas (@lasvegasweekly)

Twitpic of the week

In Las Vegas, perspective is everything.  While some may look at gambling losses as a negative, those that love the city understand its part of the dance that leads to a win.  This week, @luckytraveling shared a POV that reminds one that even when passed out on a casino floor one can still find beautiful imagery.  Captured is a view of the Cromwell hallway from the floor up to the chandeliers and while it doesn’t feature anyone on the floor, its easy to make that leap in a monologue.

News

• Street Vendor Ban
• G2E 2023
• Voltaire Residencies
• High End B&E
• Palms sign Refurbishment
• Las Vegas Monorail Deals
• F1 pop-up experiences and exclusive culinary events

Advertising at the Sphere costs approx. $450k for a one-day campaign, $650k for a week.  For comparison, traditional billboards cost $20k a month, Mekka Walgreen’s is $65k a month and a 30 second spot during the 2024 SuperBowl will run you $7.5 million. Pricing for the Sphere does include production development of the ad.  (VitalVegas & News3lv.com)

Twitpic of the week

Barbary Coast, in all her chasing lights glory, shown here by @las_when as she was originally introduced to the market, with a white exterior.  Even better, this picture was taken before the pedestrian walkway was installed.  This was Fremont quality exterior lighting, not found on the strip in too many places these days.  While we prefer the property it is today, Cromwell, we will always prefer this signage.

News

• Tupac Arrest
• Room Fraud
• Rio Renovations 
• Rio Players Club 
• Rouge Roulette
• Area15 Expansion
• Sphere Parking
• Westgate Halloween Suite 
• Killer's "Your Side of Town" Music Video

Because they used the shell of the Marina Hotel, the entire MGM Grand project was considered a remodel rather than new construction.  Therefore, property taxes were set at the value when the Marina was built. (@AStotland)

Twitpic of the week

While it may be hard to wrap your head around, motels used to dominate the Vegas strip and beyond.  They must have seen the writing on the wall when hotel towers became the future of hospitality but that didn’t stop properties like the La Concha from continuing to try and compete in the market. In 2001, the property was approved to build a 520 foot tall hotel tower, a 645 square foot condo tower and a shopping mall.  In 2004 the La Concha was closed and demolished to make room for the new project.  The iconic concrete shell lobby was carefully dismantled and donated to the Neon Museum who reassembled it and use it as the attractions lobby.  The signage, shown here by @Las_when, is on display in the neon boneyard to this day.  The project was ultimately canceled for reasons unknown and the property has been sold multiple times.  It is currently owned by the Siegel Group and trust me, you don’t want these people opening a hotel/casino.  Think Circus Circus, Imperial Palace and Excalibur at their worst but strip out the themes.

News

• 360VV14
• More Vegas F1 Casualties
• Venetian Loves Locals
• Strike
• Vegas WebCams
• Casino Hopping
• Palms Sign Restoration 
• Westin Signage 
• U2 Atomic City 
• Netflix - Obliterated 

 Do you have that one piece of media that you would like to check out, but never seem to get around to it? Like, you’re scrolling through Netflix, and there’s that one movie that you’re interested in checking out, but not this time. Or the next time, or the time after that. It’s always there, and you’re interested, but not interested enough to dive in at the moment. That, my friends, is how Blue Man Group was for me until recently. I’ve known who the Blue Man Group was for over 20 years now. I remember there was an Intel Pentium TV commercial that they starred in, and a little Googling tells me that was in the year 2000.  Sometime after that, I borrowed their album - yes, they have albums - from a friend, because I really liked the unique sound they had. And when I took my very first grownup trip to Vegas in 2002, I stayed at the Luxor, where BMG has had their Las Vegas home off and on since the year 2000.

I’ve never been one to mince words in my reviews, so I’ll say up front that I liked Blue Man Group. But I’m having a hard time describing Blue Man Group.  I left the theater thinking, “I don’t know what the fuck I just saw, but I’m pretty sure I liked it.” Kind of like a donkey show in Tijuana, but a little more family friendly. So the Blue Man Group itself goes all the way back to 1987. Created as a sort of performance art by three friends in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, the group started with street performances which gradually grew to full on stage productions.  People in New York like weird artsy shit.  Gradually it became a phenomenon, with worldwide tours, 3 albums, and more blue latex than any person should have access to. The Blue Man Group brand was sold to Cirque du Soliel in 2017, another Vegas mainstay. So what the hell is it? The show is kind of a techo-surreal experience.  Three Blue Men guide the audience through various experiences, like making music, art, and marshmallow tossing.  Without spoken words, the show manages to explore themes of science and technology, information overload, and cultural norms.  The characters have a sort of naive curiosity in their behavior. It can come across as mime-like in its execution, but there’s more to it than that. The characters seem like visitors from another world, and their experiments and explorations address our assumptions about the world around us.

Imagine colored paint leaking out of a member’s chest hole onto an under-lit drum that flashes brightly when struck, showing colored drops of paint splattering through the air. If you are thinking that this seems weird as fuck, you’re right, but there’s a sort of mystical coolness about this when BMG does it on stage.  Watch as they play wild instruments custom made from PVC pipe and create songs that are absolute bangers.They play songs that the group has created themselves, along with well-known classics like Beethoven’s Fur Elise, pop songs like Bad Romance, and even tease a little Freebird. Audience Fuckery Factor: Minimal, but they do go out in the audience looking for volunteers. They look for people raising hands, so don’t raise your hand if you don’t want to go onstage. And just like a trip to Sea World, avoid the first several rows if you don’t want to get splashed.  I think they hand out plastic rain ponchos, because I saw several people with them. The show plays with light (you may be blinded by the lights during the show) and sound (I highly recommend ear plugs).

The theater is nice. It has a capacity of 830 people. There is a low slope on the house floor, so you may have people blocking your view.  I recommend row AA if you don’t want anyone directly in front of you, but you also don’t want to be splashed or singled out.

Shows are 2 - 3 times /day everyday of the week.  Tickets start at $49.  This is a great value show.  I also think it works well as a family show, or show to take the in-laws to when they decide they want to join in Vegas because you’re always going there.

While already in use at multiple other businesses in the valley, the Las Vegas Club installed the 1st neon sign on a hotel gambling establishment in 1931 (Vintage Research)

Twitpic of the week

While there are many reasons to not like Caesars Palace, the architecture isn’t one of them.  The move from the Sarno block exterior to an aesthetic that more appropriately reflects the time and place its representing was masterfully applied.  Even though we know these are all recreations it still projects a sense of authentic grandeur.  I mean, whose eyes aren’t drawn to statues of topless females and concrete penises.  Thanks to @las_when for sharing a great representation of what we are talking about.

News

• Happy Hour Deals
• Kitchen Nightmares
• Fontainebleau Details
• MGM Cyber Attacks
• Zero Bond
• Red Rock Point Theft
• Planet Hollywood Fire Alarms 
• Rio Refurbishment 

• lvstriphistory.com 
• Gambling on a Dream Volume 2 
• The Strip: Las Vegas and the Architecture of the American Dream 
• Pinterest 
• Vintage Vegas Shirts 
• Battle Born Pins 

By 1980, the states five dominate gaming entities were publicly traded companies.  They were Harrah’s, MGM, Del Webb, Caesars World and Hilton (Neon Metropolis)

Twitpic of the week

The concept was unique and interesting to begin with.  City Center, a city within a city.  So big it has its own fire department onsite.  Unfortunately, what we got was essentially a very expensive office park on the strip. While not pictured, Aria is a sexy bitch, but it was designed to usurp Bellagio as the premier property in the portfolio and to date, it has done no such thing.  While Veer towers have always captured our imagination the remaining resorts on property, include Vdara and Waldorf Astoria, don’t have casinos in them so there is no reason to even visit either of these properties, in our opinion.  It is amusing that the most popular resort in the City Center portfolio is arguably Cosmopolitan, a property they had to acquire and fold into the complex.  Thanks to @TheCrybabyvegas for sharing the view from his room during VV12.

News

• Cyber Attacks
• free credit monitor and identity theft protection services
• Zorkfest 2023
• Pawn Stars DUI
• Big Rig Jig
• Caesars fountains
• Darren Aronofsky film

There are over 130 unique employee uniform styles at the Aria.  Each uniform is equipped with a radio frequency ID chip (sincitytalk.com)

Twitpic of the week

Welcome to the new strip landscape, one populated by a mesmerizing giant cylindrical object proving that even LED can be done in an interesting way and not just as a giant rectangular TV.  It will come as no surprise that @maverickhelishared this new view.  Here we see the entire strip showcased with the Strat in the foreground all the way down to Mandalay Bay.  The Sphere, of course, stands out because of its uniqueness, not just to the market but in the world as the largest spherical object.  As with everything, someone will probably build one larger, probably in the middle east, unless it’s a huge flop but I don’t think Venetian owners will allow that to happen.  What the hell else are you gonna use that thing for if not its intended purpose.  Is the Sphere too big to fail or will it fail because its too big.  Time will tell.  We are hoping it doesn’t fail either way and instead became as iconic as the Fountians of Bellagio or the Mirage volcano.

News

• Comps for Debts
• Twitpic of the Week
• The Paddock Building
• Like An Onion: The Vegas Skim
• Stray Pirate Tiki Bar
• Video Poker Tournament
• Money Laundering for Dummies
• Severed Negotiations
• Tesla’s Cybertruck

The myth is that casino carpet is busy to keep guests looking at the slots.  The fact is its to conceal stains as well as wear. (@VitalVegas)

Twitpic of the week

A breathtaking photo of @Caesars Palace from @maverickHeli.  An arial view of the property showing just how diverse and sprawling the property is.  This photo has it all, well, almost all.  It has the 6 different hotel towers, the Roman, Centurion, Fantasy (known today as the Nobu tower), Palace, Augustus, and Octavius towers.  It has the porte cochere and the famous fountains capped off by the Absinthe circus tent.  While I’ve been assured this tent is a permanent structure, I can’t help but wonder why Caesars didn’t build them something more on brand.  Perhaps the juxtaposition better suits the show’s theme.  Whatever the reason it’s a marvelous photo and one I’m happy to add to the Twitpic of the week collection.

News

• Adele Disruption
• Fan Girl Opportunity
• Ticket in-Bonus Out in Testing
• 360 Vegas Vacation Naming
• SkyVue Removal
• Zoo Station: A U2/UV Experience
• Durango Wax Rabbit

Silver Sevens deals live roulette again. That makes 67 casinos in the Las Vegas market that offer the game. There are 71 with table games. Of the four that don't deal roulette, three are small locals that only have blackjack. The other is Main Street Station. (@John_Mehaffey)

Twitpic of the week

Whenever we start talking about “locations” for 360 Vegas Vacations, think of this picture from @JustWonOne when we refer to center strip.  From the Horseshoe to Aria.  Just disregard that MGM marquee as it doesn’t serve our narrative and as we all know, it’s all about the narrative.  Or maybe you don’t know that but just go with it.  For the record, we consider South Strip to be Mandalay to Park MGM and north is Cromwell to Palazzo.  We expanded it beyond Mirage thanks to Flight Club Social Darts Experience, as I’m calling it.  All seriousness, this is a great photo of center strip.

• News
• 360 Vegas #1
• Best Vegas History podcast
• Top Las Vegas podcasts
• 360 Vegas Vacation 2024
• More F1 Details
• road closures
• 360 Vegas Vacation and the Pinball Hall of Fame
• Bats in Gotham
• Delano Forgery Lab
• Stripwalking.com
• Wynn Resorts Future
• Bellagio’s exterior lighting off

Casino staff often use police code as shorthand when dealing with guests.  For example, a “408” means a drunk guest (@vitalvegas)

Twitpic of the week

It’s a hell of a view of west Fremont St, although not the view it used to be.  But that’s okay.  Business is business and the only constant is change.  Especially in this town.  So we’ll enjoy what we have and be grateful for it.  Or so help me I will turn this car around right now.  Anyway, thank you @cinamongirl for sharing your view from Oscar’s.  At least this view has been classed up by the giant LED showing the various former views down Fremont St.  Or was that a final shot at Plaza, showing them what they used to have, now reduced to a tv on the back of a concert stage.

News

• Durango Las Vegas
• Crocodile Dumbass 
• The Sphere
• Hard Rock Guitar Hotel
• Fontainebleau Restaurant Details
• Paris Cherry Bombing
• More Paid Parking
• Flight Club Survey
• Legacy Club @Circa Special Events
• New Exterior Illumination at Mandalay Bay 
• Vegas Eyecandy in Usher’s new music video
• Vegas history art
• Interlock Social Craps 

The MSG Sphere uses 150 Tera watt-hours of electricity every year. Also known as a 150 trillion watts. (@KTNV)

Twitpic of the week

She’s the newest and one of the sexiest neon signs in the history of Fremont St.  Carousel Bar Ginger @Plazalasvegas’s outdoor Porte cashre bar is a lovely addition to the history of neon sex downtown.  Vicki is the original neon beauty and thanks to the Steven’s group and Circa, we still have her in almost all her glory.  That kicking leg has turned out to be a money pit pain in the ass, I don’t blame them for cutting the preverbal cord.  Lady Luck and Sassy Sally all gave us imaginary additions to the conversation.  Now another physical representation is here and deserves her place in the zeitgeist of neon women in Las Vegas.  Congratulations to friend of the show @cinamongirl as she was the first person to suggest the name Ginger, inspired, in part, by the character Ginger from the movie Casino, a character who had a scene in the famous old Plaza Porte cashre.

Drummer for the Killers Ronnie Vannucci worked at the Little Chapel as a photographer while the band recorded their first album Hot Fuss (@tmobilearena)

Twitpic of the week

Some call her the dirty castle but I call her part of the unique landscape that is the strip.  Excalibur is an example of an “only in vegas” experience you can have if theming remains.  I’m not saying you have to have people dressed up in character but you need to keep the castle…and the wall decorations to help sell the theme. Leave it to @maverickhelifor capturing a picture of her all lit up and looking pretty.  Say what you will about her, she’s got a hell of an ass on her.

News

·  Waldorf Astoria changes

I think there’s been more talk about this show since it opened than any other Vegas show in memory.   Good or bad, people are talking about Awakening. We saw the show in late February 2023, when we were in town for the Half Marathon and 360 Vegas Winter Vacation. Before we get to the review, let’s talk about how Wynn got here.  When the resort opened in 2005, it opened with the production show La Reve. Like Awakening, La Reve had its share of problems.  Developed by Franco Dragone from Cirque, who Steve Wynn poached from Cirque.  Dragone was instrumental in developing Mystere and “O” for Wynn at Treasure Island and Bellagio. The sort-of Steve Wynn biography “Winner Takes All” talks about the mixed reactions to La Reve in the beginning, including bewildering acts like pregnant women falling from the ceiling during the show.  We almost saw Le Reve in July of 2020, but shows weren’t cleared to reopen, and our front row seats were refunded to us. Permanent closure of La Reve was announced Aug 14, 2020.

Wynn announced Awakening  in October, 2022.  The show was developed by Bernie Yuman, Baz Halpin, and puppeteer Michael Curry.  Theater aficionados might recognize Michael Curry’s puppet work from The Lion King Broadway production. Awakening opened November 7, 2022 but closed briefly for a few weeks for rehearsals/changes in January. The show closed again April 17, ‘22, and at the time of this writing is scheduled to reopen Friday, June 23. So you want my opinion?  I think this is a really good show. It has a unique story and great visuals, which include fantastic costumes, innovative puppets, and a state of the art stage. The story is like nothing I’ve seen on a Vegas stage. It has its own mythology, and the groundwork for the story set up in the prologue. (I believe the prologue was added after the January hiatus, and the addition of this prologue has cleared up a lot of confusion around the story that surrounded the show’s brief first run.)  Essentially, the story goes: Light and Dark are lovers, and together create Magic. Light leaves, Dark freaks out, and Dark imprisons Magic. Custody battles suck. Heroine “IO” sneaks into Black and White ball that Dark is holding in a sort of heist. IO finds Magic, and ends up on a quest to unite Dark and Light, and free Magic.  Together with her companions, she travels through multiple “realms,” like Water, Earth, Air, and Fire. The Awakening theater is gorgeous. It is a theater in the round, so there are really no bad seats.  At the time I saw the show, Wynn charged the most for seats in the back, presumably because you can see it all better?  (A look at ticket prices for the June reopening indicates that this is not the case in the future.) There are individual surround sound speakers at each seat, so every seat has great audio.  Seats are also quite comfortable.

The stage itself is a technological marvel.  It is constantly changing levels in sections to create different environments. The stage floor is translucent, and underlit, for additional effects.  Michael Curry’s puppets - the word “puppet” seems way too insignificant for his creations - are incredible. Personal favorites include a giant whale that seems to swim above you, and a rock creature that comes alive on the stage.  Of particular note is the creepy blank-face dark creature that serves as Dark’s chief henchman.  The show makes full use of the theater space, so the story feels like it plays out everywhere, not only are you looking side to side, but up and down as well. Audience Fuckery Factor: Zero.  No one's messing with you, so sit back and just enjoy the show. Not sure if drinks were allowed in the theater. No drink service during show, but there was a bar in the theater lobby. When the show resumes on June 23, showtimes are set for 7 and 9:30 pm. Shows are Tuesdays through Saturdays, dark Sundays and Mondays. Tickets start at $99 on Vegas.com.

Caesars Palace legendary casino dome has a crystal chandelier that weighs approx 3,200 pounds and is comprised of 12,000 individual crystals (@VegasTravelNews)

Twitpic of the week

I may not like the city center complex on the strip but that isn’t saying they are sexy as hell buildings.  Especially Aria.  It’s a Vegas conundrum.  I never have any luck playing at the property and yet I still enjoy visiting it.  Did they crack the code on this one?  Is that the ultimate goal is to make it clear to people you are going to lose but you’re going to enjoy your stay.  @maverickheli really provides a fun perspective of the property that anchors an office park.  Thanks Murren.

News

• 360VV12 Clarifications
• Caesars Meth Party
• More Fontainebleau Details
• Ole Red Pedestrian Bridge 
• Barbie Stadium Swim
• new rooms at Rio

The pool complex at Fontainebleau is six acres and will have seven pool experiences as well as gaming. The casino floor is 150k square feet with a sportsbook a little larger than 13k square feet. (@Meltzvegas)

Twitpic of the week

Look Familiar?  For most of you, it does not.  At least not in this incarnation.  This week @_GrandPaD shared a photo of the Sundance under construction circa 1979-80.  This was the last property Moe Dalitz opened in Las Vegas and before Circa was built, it was the newest property on Fremont St, opening in 1980.  Still stumped?  For a while it was known as Fitzgerald’s.  Today it’s known as the D Las Vegas

News

• 360VV12 
• NBA In-Season Tournament
• Gaming Revenue Down
• The Sphere Dets
• Vegas Arena and Entertainment District
• Hostage Situation

The 2023 WSOP main event at Horseshoe Vegas is officially the largest of all time with 8,846 total entries (CardPlayer.com)

Twitpic of the week

So often people share pictures with us that we have to encourage them to share the photo via Twitter so it can be a candidate for Twitpic of the week.  This week’s winner by @TheCrybabyVegas is an example of that situation.  Here we get to see the view from his room at NYNY during his most recent trip and it’s a beauty dominated primarily by the property's roller coaster with a nice shot of MGM and Tropicana in the background.  Much like arial photographs, pictures of things like the behind the scenes needed to make the magic real of Las Vegas happen will always catch my attention.  The trick is to collect both something we’ve all seen with something most people don’t in the same photo.  You now have your mission.  Go out and impress us.

News

• Death Defying Cirque
• VegasNearMe

While preparing the Landmark for implosion, two men were accused and convicted in April 1998 of violating the Clean Air Act by improperly removing asbestos from the hotel before its 1995 demolition. The jury found a third defendant innocent. In March of 2001, he 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco reversed the convictions. (Vintage Research)

Twitpic of the week

In a city where you are mathematically certain to lose, perspective is critical.  It’s beating the odds that still attracts people to the tables over and over again.  That sort of perspective is prevalent in this week’s winner.  Despite nightly baths, Fremont St is largely considered dirty.  Maybe its because of all the buskers, maybe its because it’s a pedestrian mall.  Whatever the reason, this week @LuckyTraveling shows us that perspective can also showcase just how beautiful Fremont is, showcasing some of the oldest properties on the famed road with the Viva Vision screen shading all.  We typically lament the loss of a canopy less skyline downtown but this picture shows just how well they complement each other

News

• Sky Dipshittery
• Rio Renovations
• Oceans 14

The million dollar display at Binion’s has returned.  The display case holds $42,000 in $1 dollar bills, $688,000 in $20 dollar bills and $270,000 in $100 dollar bills. (Vital Vegas)

Twitpic of the week

Yup, this is a picture of Caesars Palace in the 1970s, after their first expansion tower, the Centurion tower, was built.  The place looks almost unrecognizable except for the famous fountains.  While they have been Re themed to look more like Roman architecture, both of these hotel towers are still in use to this day.  This picture, shared by @las_when, makes one wonder if people bitched about parking back in the day.  You’ll have to see this picture to understand what I’m talking about.  You should see a link in the show notes of your podcast player.

News

• Pinky Ring
• Plaza Carousel bar
• Lupo Bye Bye

There is enough concrete in the CityCenter complex to build a 4 foot sidewalk from Las Vegas to New York and back (sincitytalk.com)

Twitpic of the week

Say what you will about Stratosphere but its undeniably a landmark in the Vegas skyline, captured in stunning fashion by @MaverickHeli.  Even just as a silhouette its instantly recognizable.  Anytime I lose my bearings I just look to the Stratosphere to reorient myself.  Some say the property broke Bob Stupak but Bob would tell you it was his dream to build it and that goal was accomplished, even if it did cost him his stake in the company.  While its debated if Stratosphere is located on or off strip what isn’t challenged is its status as an icon.

News

• Las Vegas studios
• Special Session

All the rooms at the Golden Nugget are now non-smoking.  It’s believed the practice was put into place after the last room fire they had on the 11th floor of the Gold Tower in 2021.  That fire damaged about 200 rooms, mostly water damage from the sprinklers. (Vital Vegas and Vintage Research)

Twitpic of the week

Seems no one remembers that Stardust was a run down, low-roller joint at the time of its closure.  Similar to my love for Dunes, when we lose something we only had limited or no exposure to we romanticize it.  Like this week’s winner from @Summacorp.  It is not disputed that the Stardust marquee is one of the most iconic in Vegas history. Fortunately that sign was donated to the Neon Museum.  The bad news is the sign is so large odds are it will never be refurbished and relit at the Neon Boneyard but one can hope.

News

• Downtown Shooting
• Slide to win
• A’s Update
• Todd English exodus part 2

The original MGM Grand, now Bally’s, had the first movie theaters ever built into a hotel (@vitalvegas)

Twitpic of the week

One of the challenges new residents of Vegas that love the city like we do have to learn how to drive, is paying attention while you’re driving and not gawkin.  This week’s pic by @_GrandPaD illustrates that better than any I’ve seen before.  It’s just fuckin miles of eye candy and I have to try and ignore all of it.  While I am a giant fan of the FSE and Turing all that space into a pedestrian mall, at night, it must have been impossible to drive down Fremont St.

The lead singer of Devo did the cool/creepy art in the men’s room at Park on Fremont restaurant. (@VitalVegas)

Twitpic of the week

In what can be agreed is the sexiest Golden Nugget exterior signage ever looked as in the late 60s.  A time when Gold didn’t look like yellow.  The glow of the signage somehow embodies the phrase “feel all warm and fuzzy inside.” But Golden Nugget’s story is longer than that and even the signage couldn’t keep up with the demand caused its evolution into the property it is today.  Thanks to @las_when for sharing it

News

• El Cortez expansion
• New Sphere, Same Problems
• The Match @Wynn

40% of MGM Resorts guests decline daily housekeeping (VitalVegas)

Twitpic of the week

Simply Elegant and somehow sexy, like the leg lamp in a Christmas Story.  Milton Prell’s Aladdin’s original marquee was a looker, shared this week by @summacorp.  It’s not a marquee often featured in the great marquees of Las Vegas but it should be.  I can’t describe it without doing a huge disservice.  It’s like a neon ice cream cone but with an ad for Nudes On Ice on it.

News

• Tropicana Stadium
• Play Playground Las Vegas
• BLVD complex

Caesars hotels in Vegas had 95% occupancy in Q1.  21% of those rooms were occupied by groups/conventions (@MeltzVegas)

Twitpic of the week

No doubt this week’s winner by @summacorp is a screenshot of a scene in a film but then again, film is just thousands of pictures capturing seconds of action.  Call it what you want, I call it beautiful.  I love the Fremont St experience canopy but I will always find pictures without it breathtaking.  Something about a pitch black sky illuminated by miles of neon tubing that does it for me. If you feel the same way your gonna love this week’s winner

News

• Horseshoe Fire
• Parisian Expansion
• Aheren > Lucky Dragon?

Vegas is a trending topic on twitter almost 365 days a year. (@vegasClub)

Twitpic of the week

It’s a sign o’ the times.  The only thing that never changes is change.  However seldom does a brand from the past resurrected in Las Vegas.  This week’s winner by @jamesInLasVegas captures the conversion from Bally’s to Horseshoe, well, at least the signage.  So far the conversion has been little more than an updating of signage but that doesn’t matter.  What matters is the Horseshoe has returned to the market.  Make sure you enjoy it while you can because again, the only constraint in life is change this to will pass.

News

• Bent Inn
• FSE 2023 concert lineup
• Illuminating Vic
• Sphere Tour w/U2 

One of the great things about a Vegas trip is all the opportunity for surprises. Not bad surprises, like the bell desk lost your luggage or you just checked in and there’s a used prophylactic in your sheets.Good surprises, like a jackpot, or a delicious new drink, or finding out that random restaurant you decided to try has the best food ever. On my most recent trip to Vegas, I got to experience one of those good surprises when we decided to check out SIX: The Musical during its limited residency at the Venetian. (An aside: I think that I’m a little more tapped into the theater scene than the average straight American male. This is due to a rather diverse resume that includes a non-zero amount of time working backstage in professional theater.  So I still hear stuff from friends in the entertainment industry.  But this show was not on my radar at all.)

Part of the reason for this is that SIX: The Musical is a relatively new show.  Conceived in 2017 for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, SIX quickly made its way stateside, where it had an unfortunately-timed Broadway debut in March of 2020.  Once it was able to actually open, it was a smash hit. In the 21/22 Broadway season, it received multiple awards, including the Tony Award for Best Original Score.The “SIX: Live on Opening Night” album also debuted at #1 on the Billboard cast album charts.  While the show plays on Broadway, there are also two touring productions traveling the US right now. But didn’t know any of this when we sat down to see the show. The premise is a sort of time-bending pop concert, where the six wives of Henry VIII are having a competition to see who was the most wronged by him, and who, therefore, should lead the “band.” The band is an all-woman four-piece rock/pop band who back up the six all-female cast members. Each queen gets a chance to say and sing her piece, arguing why each “she” was hurt the most by her marriage to Henry VIII. To keep things interesting, the show creators gave each queen a “Queenspiration,” or a real pop star or two that their historical character and song style is modeled after.  For instance, Catherine of Aragon is styled after Beyonce and Shakira, while Jane Seymour is styled after Adele and Sia.  All of the music is modern styled, like Hamilton. You won’t find any lyres or harpsichords here. Unlike Hamilton, the costumes are also modern, but still manage to evoke Renaissance era England.

The result is a unique and entertaining show that moves along on at a decent clip. The Broadway production is only 80 minutes long, so the Venetian production didn’t have to remove anything to accommodate Vegas audiences (or more accurately, casino bosses who would prefer show patrons be out of the theater and gambling.) I found SIX: The Musical to be immensely entertaining. The performers are all extremely talented, and have gorgeous voices that compliment their “Queenspirations” and ensure that each of the songs have their own distinct sound. There were enough great tunes that we found ourselves streaming the soundtrack in the car next day. It’s also a funny show; especially Anne Boleyn repeatedly asking all the other wives how they could have possibly had it as bad as her when they have their necks intact. During the remainder of its Vegas run, SIX: The Musical will be at the Palazzo Theater.  It’s a large, well kept theater. There is no drink service during the show, but there is a bar in the theater lobby.  Note that the exit for most patrons forces you through a single staircase, so it’s a little slow getting back out.

The Audience Fuckery Factor for SIX: The Musical is virtually zero. There’s some calls out to the audience for cheers or to get on your feet like you’re at an actual concert. No one in the audience is getting picked on or called onstage. Performances are Tuesday through Sunday, up until May 7, 2023.  Tickets start at $78.

39 Las Vegas poker rooms closed since 2012.  10 of those closed for the pandemic and never reopened. None have closed in since Sept of 2021.  Currently there are 19 poker rooms in Las Vegas.  (@john_mehaffey)

Don’t ask me where they are because that information wasn’t in the tweet.

Twitpic of the week

Possibly the best picture of how the strip has evolved to today taken by @maverickheli.  True, it shows a still in progress Resorts World but that doesn’t take away from the picture.  It’s still an excellent capturing of Mandalay to Strat.  To top it all off, something that most visitors overlook all the time are the mountains.  Locals are surrounded by picturesque mountains because the strip and downtown are in a valley. Next time you get a chance, allow our eyes to venture beyond the builds and appreciate just how beautiful southern Nevada is.

News

• Mirage/Hard Rock Local Offers
• Las Vegas Athletics
• Golden Nugget Sports Betting App
• Mekka Walgreens Little Brother 

Sin City Sindy, formerly identified as the world’s biggest stripper at 31 feet tall, used to stand outside of the stripper bar located at the back of the Miracle Mile shops, by the V Theater and Blonde’s sports bar.  While Sindy is still there today, the name of the bar has been changed to the more politically correct “showgirl bar”.  While her stripper pole still remains her breasts, formerly said “Stripper Bar” now only says Bar. (VitalVegas)

Twitpic of the week

Proof that photoshop isn’t always a bad thing, or that you can create a pretty cool version of the strip with a light bright.  This week’s winner, shared by @Begas_Vaby, shows photoshop’s ability to enhance the view into something more like we see in our dreams.  Awash with various colored lights the strip is unrivaled in their use of exterior illumination, even if those have been dimmed to save money.

News

• 360VV12 GA
• Harlem Nights Hotel & Casino
• Strat Still doesn’t Get It
• Strip Tiki Bar Returns
• Absinthe Expansion
• White Sands Motel
• Tilman Fertitta's Plan 
• Tony Hsieh emaciated
• Hard Rock x Mystery Island
• FountainBleau Marquee 
• Hawaiian market Rubble

This next review is one that I’ve been hanging on to for some time.  Listeners with excellent memories might recall that back in spring of 2022, when I submitted my first review to be read on the show, we figured out that my wife and I were at a show the previous week that Mark was also at. I’m kind of in awe at how much has changed since then. I started as a regular contributor, then I attended my first Vegas Vacation, then we all started hanging out together on the many trips I’ve taken to Vegas since, and then Keren got tired of reading my reviews on the show, and so now here we are recording together. So today, let’s talk about the first time Mark and I hung out in the same room, even though we didn’t know it at the time. Let’s talk about X-Country. Okay, so let’s get this out of the way. I like women. If women choose to be naked in front of me, I like that, too. As I type these words out onto the screen, it occurs to me that I probably cannot review this show without coming across like a dirty old man. But in the words of Popeye the Sailor, “I yam what I yam.”  So if you share or even merely tolerate my indulgences, then keep listening.

I’ve said before that for me, going to see shows in Vegas is more for my wife than me. However, since I’m the one who plans the trips, I’m often the one who chooses the shows. As a result we occasionally see a topless revue because I want to, damn it. My wife does not object to this.  There’s some tradition here. Vegas is where we let our freak flags fly.  Going back a few years to our first trip to Vegas as a couple, the first show we saw was “Fantasy” at the Luxor. (Note: It technically was “Brilliant!” at the Neon Museum earlier the same evening, but that kind of depends on how you define “show.”) So yeah, as a red-blooded straight male who loves Las Vegas, I’m kind of a connoisseur of these shows, or at least I’d love to be.  Since then, we’ve seen Fantasy three times, X Burlesque, BurlesQ (you have to pronounce the letter “Q” in their name because who the fuck knows?), Rouge, and now X Country. Some words here about the change, the nature of Vegas, and regret: Like Mark, I consider myself a Vegas history buff. I never got to see any of the classic “showgirl” type shows; Mrs. Jaydubs and I kind of discovered Vegas as a couple just a little too late and Jubilee, the last true showgirl style show, had already closed.  Now Crazy Girls is gone (they say it will return with a new home, but that’s a song we’ve all heard before) along with X Rocks and Sexxy at Westgate. This has created a sense of urgency in me that has me treating topless shows like Pokemon: “Gotta See Em All!” So if you’re still listening, and have never seen a topless show in Vegas and would like to, let me share more about the overall experience. First, just do it. I think most are reluctant to see a topless show because they’re worried about how they will be perceived. The audience is full of all kinds of people. Men, women, couples. Young people. Older people.  There’s more women and more couples in the audience than one might think at first, and the women cheer louder. It’s a hell of a lot of fun. Fantasy at the Luxor is probably my favorite. It has the nicest venue, the largest number of performers, and the most advanced choreography (which isn’t really that advanced, but hey, boobs!) I think it’s the longest running topless revue currently playing. We’ve seen it three times, and you can expect a review for Fantasy soon. If it seems like I’m providing a lot of context and haven’t yet really reviewed X Country, you’re absolutely right. Because how much can you say about a show whose entire premise is young women dancing in nothing but boots and g-strings? And that is basically what you get with X-Country. It’s a fun, sexy show that got the Mrs and I warmed up for the evening. It served its purpose. We laughed, we cried, we got turned on, and we all learned a little something about ourselves along the way. Just in case you’re starting to think I’m incapable of actually providing a critical review of this show:  There was a time that I thought there could be no such thing as a bad topless show, because hey boobs!  Check out episode 409, “Jennifer Grey Nose Job” formy review of BurlesQ (Why the FUCK do you pronounce the “Q” in their stupid ass name?!) to find out why that’s not necessarily true. The good: I have to admit, I’m not a fan of country music. I know the lyrics to “Friends in Low Places” and I know that the Chattahoochie is a river in the south and not a nickname for my ex, but that’s about as far as my interest and knowledge of the country music scene goes. So I was a little worried that this show would be country-trashy, in a straw-chewing, cousin-fucking kind of way, rather than just Vegas-trashy in a paying-to-see-tits kind of way.  There are A LOT of different numbers in this show, and they quickly switch between the sub-genres of country songs to keep the energy going.  (What’s that line from The Blues Brothers? “We got both kinds, we got country and western.”)  I thought I might get bored after 80 minutes of country music, but the show managed to keep it fresh, and the boobs probably didn’t hurt either.  Still not a country music fan, though. The good news is that you don’t have to be one to enjoy the show.

There are five different performers, with a good mix between solo numbers, duos, and ensemble bits.  There was a variety of body-types between the performers, but zero variety in skin color, which I guess is consistent with the theme.  My wife is a dancer, (no, not that kind of dancer) and she informed me that at least three of the girls demonstrated that they have had some formal dance training. There’s an aerialist number that uses a silk web; it was pretty impressive how much she could do in such a small venue. Comedian John Bizarre provides some laughs between numbers. We were seated right by the stage on stage right, and there was an occasional moment of terror when he looked our way as he was scanning for audience members to interact with.  Fortunately, he ended up picking on the four young guys opposite us who were legit farmers from Iowa. By the way, while our seats were close, I don’t recommend sitting to the side of the stage. There was a number in which I had a better view of the crew member holding up a set piece rather than the two girls writhing on the set piece.  Seats were decently comfortable, and ours had a small table between them for drinks. X-Country performs nightly at Harrah’s at 10:00, and is dark Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  Tickets start at $60, and you should click through the vegas.com link on the website or the show notes to get your tickets.

In a casino cage, damaged currency (slot machines refuse to accept) is referred to as “mute money.” “Mute” is shorthand for “mutilated.” (Vital Vegas)

Twitpic of the week

The more I look at this picture the more I appreciate the evolution of the Riviera.  Not just the hotel towers but the signage as well.  While she wasn’t in the best of conditions at the end she was still a classy broad…or gawdy.  The two tend to often blur in Vegas.  This arial picture of the property in March of 96, shared by @summacorp, showcases a few things about the Riviera.  It shows the rooftop pool that never came to fruition as well as just how much of the marquee signage tower was an employ shell in the inside.  This property will always have a special place in my heart because of how much the Martin Scorsese movie Casino was filmed at the property.  For more on that, you’ll have to check out our 360 Vegas POV series on the film, available exclusively to Patreon subscribers for $7 per month, less than a fancy cup of coffee circa 2023.

News

• TITO Loophol
•  Fan Girl 2.0

• Nightmare Las Vegas
• Wahlburgers 2: Wahlburgery
• Six: The Musical

Treasure Island was originally planned to be an addition to the Mirage before eventually deciding it develop it into a separate property (sincitytalk.com)

Twitpic of the week

“Holy shit, that used to exist” is the first thing I exclaimed the first time I saw this picture of the Riviera’s porte cochere, circa 1969.  With stunning curves and swooping elegance, it stood as a shining example of the art deco playbook at its pinnacle and proves that buildings can be sexy as well as functional.  This is what the place looked like when Dino was part owner as well as headliner.  I’d like to imagine that @_GrandpaD is a vindictive old man who enjoys showing things the rest of us can only be teased by.  Thanks…dick.

News

• 360 Vegas Vacation 12
• Bottled Blonde

Some background on the show: While I had never heard of the show before it was announced that it was coming to Vegas, it has been around for a few years. It premiered off-Broadway in New York back in 2019, and one of the stars of the Vegas version is a co-writer, and he was also part of the original cast.   Let’s just get this out of the way: the comparisons to Potted Potter playing at the Horseshoe are inevitable.  Both shows are in relatively small venues, with small casts, and cover similarly expansive series with obsessed fan cultures. In A Musical About Star Wars, the cast is small, with only three performers; Potted Potter has two. Unfortunately, one of these shows works better than the other. I think the biggest issue I had with A Musical About Star Wars is how accessible the humor is.  In Potted Potter, you didn’t have to be a big fan of the material to get most of the jokes.  Most of the humor in Potted Potter is in the execution, in the journey to try to tell all these stories in 80 minutes.  In A Musical About Star Wars, the humor is in the source material.  Most of the jokes are about the content of the films, and the result is that only big fans will find a lot of the jokes funny.

For example, there’s this recurring bit where the two guys in the show speak to each other mimicking some of the alien languages spoken in the movies. They’re repeating actual dialogue from the movies, and it’s supposed to be funny, but comes across as so cringy. Watching it, I just end up feeling embarrassed for my fellow Star Wars nerds.  Even the subtitle of the show is cringey. The full title of the show is “A Musical About Star Wars, or Why Star Wars Is The Greatest Thing To Ever Happen In The History Of The Galaxy And Is Much, Much, Better Than Star Trek.”  If you’re going to make a show that you need to be a huge fan to enjoy, why would you make the characters who are fans in your show so stunningly awkward?  They even get nervous about talking to the female character. It’s just riddled with simple, unfunny nerd cliches. The other issue I had with the show might have more to do with me than the show.  So I am somewhat hard of hearing.  I watch TV with the subtitles on.  It’s not severe; I spend about half of my work day talking on the phone, and my hearing loss doesn’t really affect my ability to do my job.  You’ve heard enough of my reviews to know I don’t really have any issues with this when it comes to Vegas entertainment.  But I could not for the life of me hear about three quarters of the dialogue and singing in this show. I think this is probably due to a variety of factors, including my hearing trouble.  I think their sound system sucked.  You probably don’t get the best audio quality in the theater at the mall. Wait, actually, it’s the backup theater at the mall.  Through most of the show, you got 2-3 people singing at the same time.  They’re singing the same things, but they are going kind of fast and they aren’t perfectly in sync. Couple this with the bad sound system and my bad hearing, and I couldn’t really hear what they were saying.  I don’t think this was just me; I didn’t hear a lot of people laughing at lines that I was missing. The premise of the show is also similar to Potted Potter.  There’s kind of a show within a show, with the two male cast members trying to get their Star Wars play shown at Comic-con Las Vegas. They need a real, actual, girl for the female roles, and that's where the other cast member comes in.  Except she doesn’t really want to be there, and thinks Star Wars is stupid and sexist. It’s not all terrible, there’s a few parts that work really well.  When they cover the Star Wars prequels, they decide to tell the stories of episodes 1-3 “Hamilton style.”  They parody the rap style from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical, which in itself is funny, but the spoken method also means more of the jokes can be heard. The show is in the V Theater, at the back of the Miracle Mile Shops, next to Flights.  I haven’t seen any other shows here but I think this isn’t even the main “V” Theater, I think it’s their secondary theater. We had to wait in line on a flight of stairs to enter, while they tried to do that thing where every party has stop in front of a green screen to get their pictures taken. Super annoying. Oh, and when we exited and they were trying to sell everyone their finished pictures, they weren’t even related to the show. The green-screened background was the Vegas skyline. If you do decide to see the show, I recommend center seats.  The venue is very wide, but only goes a few rows back. The stage is raised, so it’s better to be in the center back than on the front row but the far edge. The Audience Fuckery Factor for this show is minimal. They can’t even talk to girls. They aren’t going to venture out into the audience and talk to you. If you and everyone else in your party have excellent hearing and are Star Wars fans, maybe give it a shot.  The show plays daily at 4:30 at the “V” theater at the Miracle Mile Shops. Tickets start at $29.  We always appreciate it when you purchase your tickets from vegas.com via the link on the blog or here in the show notes.

For the 23rd consecutive month, Vegas is reporting earnings over $1 billion (Review Journal)

Twitpic of the week