Early 1980s Las Vegas hotels & radio spots

[Dan Druff]

Hotels featured:

1) Circus Circus - Still exists today. It's a dump, but it still exists and does fairly well. It was actually considerably better in the early '80s.

2) Desert Inn - Closed in 2000. Replaced by the Wynn. The golf course is now property of the Wynn.

3) Holiday Inn - Renamed to Harrah's in 1992, which remains in operation today. Now owned by Caesar's.

4) Landmark Hotel - Closed in 1990, demolished in 1996 after an attempt to preserve it. Now a parking lot near the Las Vegas Hilton (which itself has been renamed to "LVH").

5) Flamingo Hilton - Renamed to just "Flamingo", and still operates today. Owned by Caesar's.

6) Frontier - After years of people picketing in front of it due to labor issues, it closed in 2007 and was destroyed in 2008. Currently is an empty lot, and is across the street from the Encore.

7) Maxim - Now the Westin Casuarina. The Maxim shut down its casino in 1999 due to a dispute between the casino operators and its owner, and finally shut down everything in 2001. Westin reopened it in 2003, but it has struggled. Located on Flamingo and Koval, where Tupac got shot in 1996.

8) The Mint - Sold in 1988 and became part of Binion's Horseshoe, which itself was sold twice since then. Hunter S. Thompson and Oscar Acosta stayed there in 1971, which was described in their book "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas".

9) Union Plaza - Still operates as "Plaza". Was the hotel owned by Bif Tannen (under a different name) in "Back to the Future 2". In 2001, a really hot girl flirted with me as I ate dinner at their Center Stage restaurant, but I later determined she was a prostitute.

[LLL]

I love shit like this. Thanks.

1st time I stayed in Vegas back in '06 I stayed at Circus Circus. The breakfast buffet was pretty sweet.

[lewfather]

Cool video, I think you posted something like this on the old site. It was a guy driving the strip but yea thanks for posting. It's crazy to see how much things have changed and how quickly things get bought out/redesigned or just completely knocked down. Even today things are evolving like the closing of O'Sheas for whatever the hell the Linq will be. City center and City center 2.0 further down the strip.

I always find it curious how eyesores like IP and Casino Royale seem to make it, I mean I know they prey on people looking to save a few bucks. At some point though you have to understand it's a vacation, you should expect to pay for some overpriced things, what's the point in paying for a shitty over priced steak vs paying for an okay over priced steak? #yolo ???

edit: apparently the ip will be known as the quad now? Just had an LV evolution occur in a post. Does that mean they will spruce the shitty rooms up with new carpet and TVs and charge $100/nt instead of $30? Oh well, still the same old shitty IP to me.

[SixToedPete]

Hotels featured:

1) Circus Circus - Still exists today. It's a dump, but it still exists and does fairly well. It was actually considerably better in the early '80s.

2) Desert Inn - Closed in 2000. Replaced by the Wynn. The golf course is now property of the Wynn.

3) Holiday Inn - Renamed to Harrah's in 1992, which remains in operation today. Now owned by Caesar's.

4) Landmark Hotel - Closed in 1990, demolished in 1996 after an attempt to preserve it. Now a parking lot near the Las Vegas Hilton (which itself has been renamed to "LVH").

5) Flamingo Hilton - Renamed to just "Flamingo", and still operates today. Owned by Caesar's.

6) Frontier - After years of people picketing in front of it due to labor issues, it closed in 2007 and was destroyed in 2008. Currently is an empty lot, and is across the street from the Encore.

7) Maxim - Now the Westin Casuarina. The Maxim shut down its casino in 1999 due to a dispute between the casino operators and its owner, and finally shut down everything in 2001. Westin reopened it in 2003, but it has struggled. Located on Flamingo and Koval, where Tupac got shot in 1996.

8) The Mint - Sold in 1988 and became part of Binion's Horseshoe, which itself was sold twice since then. Hunter S. Thompson and Oscar Acosta stayed there in 1971, which was described in their book "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas".

9) Union Plaza - Still operates as "Plaza". Was the hotel owned by Bif Tannen (under a different name) in "Back to the Future 2". In 2001, a really hot girl flirted with me as I ate dinner at their Center Stage restaurant, but I later determined she was a prostitute.

That post warmed my heart. This is coming from a guy who is a descendant of a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a sad sack relative who arrived here via the Mayflower.

I first visited Las Vegas in 1962. We stayed at the Sands Hotel and Casino where earlier they had drained and washed the swimming pool after it was discovered a black man took a dip.

These were the times I grew up in. In the late 50's we traveled throughout the South where it was common to see 'White Only" bathrooms and drinking fountains.

Anyway, I have always had a serious interest in Las Vegas history. My Stepdad actually spent time in Las Vegas during the 1930's. He was in the service then and later often expressed his amazement that a small dry gulch, God-forsaken hell hole like Las Vegas, Nevada morphed into the entertainment and gambling capital of the world.

He was a Harvard educated doctor who told me these stories in the 1980s. My real father was a frequent visitor to Las Vegas through the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. He was a Holy Cross educated printer (actually he owned a large printing concern) who loved to play poker and bet on sports.

He brought me and our family to Las Vegas in 1962. One of my sisters converted our family vacation movies to video (and now digital) so I actually have video of me diving into the Sands Hotel swimming pool. They had a high diving board back then.

Sometime in the mid 80s I read A. Alvarez's poker classic "The Biggest Game In Town".

I jetted out to Las Vegas for the WSOP but never had the balls to enter the Main Event. I railed all the greats.

I suffered Puggy Pearson's death farts but I was too intimidated to play against my heroes. I rubbernecked for a glimpse of Stu Ungar, Johnny Moss and Doyle Brunson. I worshipped those guys.

Although I played the cash games back then, I never thought I was good enough to play with the big boys in the WSOP ME. It's one of the reasons I respect young poker players today. They are confident and fearless.

Druff's video is priceless.

The Desert Inn was one of my favorite spots during the 80s and 90s. I played a lot of craps at the DI and often tanned myself poolside. That golf course was world class. During one visit I befriended Al Bernstein the boxing announcer who, believe it or not, was headlining the Desert Inn Lounge as a singer.

I've visited or stayed at all the old Las Vegas hotels but the Circus Circus baffled me. I played blackjack there while trapeze artists literally flew above my head. It was surreal.

It's gone now but I visited Bugsy Siegle's private digs at the Flamingo. Even after its growth spurt the Flamingo kept part of Bugsy's original hotel as a tourist attraction.

Druff's video doesn't mention the Lady Luck but I often stayed there for they treated me like a high roller because I was a green chip bettor! I kid you not.

The Lady Luck gave me private box seats for major boxing matches at the Thomas and Mack Center and always picked me up at the airport in a funky stretched out Buick limousine. To them, at that time, my $25 minimum betting action made me a "whale". I loved it.

I recall one night entering my junior suite at the Lady Luck, looking out the window and watching the Stratosphere Tower burning to a crisp. This was when that tower was being built. The concrete base survived but the wood scaffolding went up in flames.

The Mint used to have a small rooftop pool. It was a dump but so was Binions the entity that bought it. The hotel rooms at Binions were beyond bad. Benny ran a great casino but his hotel was a flea bag. I never met Benny Binion but I did sit near him at the old Binion's coffee shop. I had staked out that joint for three days just to see him.

The rooftop pool at the Union Plaza was actually a special place. It was as if no one knew there was a pool up there. Never crowded, spectacular views but always sunny.

I've enjoyed Las Vegas for decades and I still love that special city. If you see me at next year's wsop, please say hello.

[Walter Sobchak]

Awesome. I could watch/listen to stuff like that all day.

Hotels featured:

1) Circus Circus - Still exists today. It's a dump, but it still exists and does fairly well. It was actually considerably better in the early '80s.

2) Desert Inn - Closed in 2000. Replaced by the Wynn. The golf course is now property of the Wynn.

3) Holiday Inn - Renamed to Harrah's in 1992, which remains in operation today. Now owned by Caesar's.

Doesn't look like Harrah's...

4) Landmark Hotel - Closed in 1990, demolished in 1996 after an attempt to preserve it. Now a parking lot near the Las Vegas Hilton (which itself has been renamed to "LVH").

5) Flamingo Hilton - Renamed to just "Flamingo", and still operates today. Owned by Caesar's.

6) Frontier - After years of people picketing in front of it due to labor issues, it closed in 2007 and was destroyed in 2008. Currently is an empty lot, and is across the street from the Encore.

George Carlin did gigs here early in his career. They fired him for using the word shit in his act. In Vegas!




7) Maxim - Now the Westin Casuarina. The Maxim shut down its casino in 1999 due to a dispute between the casino operators and its owner, and finally shut down everything in 2001. Westin reopened it in 2003, but it has struggled. Located on Flamingo and Koval, where Tupac got shot in 1996.

8) The Mint - Sold in 1988 and became part of Binion's Horseshoe, which itself was sold twice since then. Hunter S. Thompson and Oscar Acosta stayed there in 1971, which was described in their book "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas".

9) Union Plaza - Still operates as "Plaza". Was the hotel owned by Bif Tannen (under a different name) in "Back to the Future 2". In 2001, a really hot girl flirted with me as I ate dinner at their Center Stage restaurant, but I later determined she was a prostitute.

Never knew which hotel was used as Biff's Pleasure Paradise. That's awesome. "I later determined she was a prostitute" must be a common refrain in Vegas.