Perhaps this should be a trip report. It sure felt like one. I went to couple of gatherings much like I do every month at the Springs Preserve. But these were so entertaining and fun, I was exhausted by the time I got home.
Yesterday was a fun day. I went to the El Cortez where the lady that runs the classes I attend at the Springs Preserve talked about the mob in Las Vegas. It was pretty much stuff I already knew. She did a great job of giving it a time line and was much better than I at sorting the bingo card to know who was who and what family and what hotel(s).
The highlight of that presentation was when the General Manager of the El Cortez dropped in to say Hi and talked for about 30 minutes. He started with Marion Hicks and JC Grayson that built the El Cortez. They sold it to Meyer Lansky's group which included Bugsy, Moe Sedway, and Gus Greenbaum. They had it redesigned and one of the reasons it has not changed much in the years since is because they had it designed by Wayne McAllister who had architectural fame from Bobs Big Boy, the Sands, the Dunes, and the DI, along with countless other historical pieces. The El Cortez still has the original 40 rooms.
He talked about how Jackie Gaughan, Frank Scott, and Sam Boyd were partners on the Union Plaza in 1971, and Frank Scott had a problem with Sam Boyd and kicked him off of the team. Shortly after, Jackie built the Nevada Club and gave it to Sam because he felt Sam was an up and coming star in Las Vegas. Sam saved his money and later built the California, and gave the Nevada Club back to Jackie. There were lots of stories of how the downtown owners took care of each other. Even when Jackie wanted to buy the El Cortez, he couldn't get financing, so Benny Binion gave him the money. That's just the way it was.
Another story about Jackie is that he never bought or built any property where he didn't own the land. Back in the days of the first land auction when sections of Fremont St sold for under $100, many owners saw big $$$ on that property and never sold it. Hence, many of the big places nowadays sit on land owned by families that do nothing but rake in the dough.
The stories went on and on. The funniest was when Michael Gaughan was the shift manager on the night shift, he had one of the top rooms converted to his liking with a round bed, mirrored ceiling, and all the fanciest accessories. When Jackie found out, he was not pleased. Now back up to the Seigel days for a moment. Back when Meyer Lansky owned the El Cortez, a guy called Irish Green was making a scheduled money run for Bugsy. He picked up the money on schedule, and then learned that Bugsy had been killed. He didn't know what to do with the money, so he looked up Meyer and returned the money to him. Meyer was impressed with his honesty and told him that he could stay at the El Cortez for free as long as he lived. Fast forward to when Jackie bought the El Cortez, he found there was a guy named Green that had been staying there for years and never paid for his room. So Jackie calls Mr Houssells and Houssells said, "oh, didn't I tell you? He comes with the place. Call Benny Binion. Maybe he can help you." So Jackie calls Benny and says he's got this Irish guy freeloading, and can you take him. Benny said, "no way, I feed him 3 meals a day, he sleeps at your place. You're gonna have to get used to it". Now fast forward to Michaels new party room. When Jackie found out, he went and got Irish Green and walked him into the new room and told Irish that this was his new room. Irish was heard to say later, "all these years, I thought Mr Gaughan didn't like me. Then one day he just gave me the nicest room in the hotel." That's the story of how Michael was kicked out of the nest and went on to make his own millions.
Yesterday, shortly after the Mob discussion, I went to the Clark County Government Office Building for a panel discussion on the early years of the strip. I don't know if you've ever seen that dark brown complex downtown on the other side of the tracks that is mostly a round building and had a little pyramid out front. Well, that's the place. I think it's at Bonneville and Grand Central. Anyway, it is the Clark County Centennial, and they are having events all year to celebrate. This particular meeting was part of a series of forums broadcast on Clark County TV, which you can stream on the internet through the Clark County site. Watch for re-runs of this show.
So this show was about the early years of the strip. The format was much like Untold Stories, with a panel of 4, a moderator, and Q&A from the audience at the end. The panel was a hoot. There was Peter Anthony who was a trumpet player and comedian all up and down the strip in the early days. Betty Bunch, a very colorful lady who was a dancer at a lot of the shows on the strip in the 50s and 60s. Lisa Medford, who was a dancer on the strip and the first topless dancer on The Strip. And there was George Stamos, who is a historian and was a writer for the newspapers. This was so much fun, that I really don't remember what parts were said before the show and during the breaks and what was on the air. The audience was just mostly as entertaining as the panel. The audience had producers, musicians, and dancers from the early days. Lonnie Hammagren was there. We had fun long before the show started, the show lasted 90 minutes, and we had fun afterwards.
I didn't know anything about Clark County TV ch 4 before last night. I don't much more today, except that you can get it on the internet, and there is rumor that the event I attended will be replayed. The Clark County website has a TV schedule but it just posts one week at a time, and this week is almost over. It might replay next week. Their website also has a schedule of events for the centennial celebration. There will be a panel discussion most/if not every month for rest of the year. Next month will be the strip in the post Howard Hughes days.
After that event, I went back downtown. The 60s celebration was in full swing. Also, Fridays is the day when they have a Farmers Market on Fremont St East. Once you realize there's not a lot of vegetation in Las Vegas, and it mostly comes from California, it's easier to accept why there are only 4 or 5 vendors of fruits and veggies. The rest of the booths are arts and crafts and music. It's more of an event than a real Farmers Market from your home town.
I capped the evening off at the El Cortez. I've been wanting to try the new Flame restaurant. It's not really much different than the old Roberta's. They raised the prices and put in 3 big screen TVs that show beautiful landscapes, majestic landmarks, and pleasing scenery. The prime rib is still just barely acceptable. I do like the place for some strange reason. So I will return to try a real steak some day.
Finally, last night was First Friday, just outside of downtown. It's a street festival with arts and crafts and parties. I was just too tired for it.
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