Random Vegas

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.

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360 Mail Bag is our opportunity to address your feedback in a causal conversation between friends.

Random Vegas

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.

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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.

Random Vegas

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.

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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.

Random Vegas

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.

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The Tropicana was a unique property in the evolution of Las Vegas.  While ownership was consolidated all over the city, it managed to remain independent, relatively speaking.  When older properties on the strip were imploded so new projects could replace them, Tropicana remained and instead was reimagined.  Step inside and it was clear this was not another Super Casino. The property was able to capture the charm of old Vegas while evolving to keep up with modern tastes.  The perpetual David to the corporate Goliaths that dominate the strip landscape, Tropicana stood as a beacon of hope that there will always be options in the market working hard to take care of guests in ways only independent competition can, even if it requires the protection of anti-trust regulations to do so.

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

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Random Vegas

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.

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Random Vegas 

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. 

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Nothing special is probably a very good way to describe the Royal Nevada. Not that it wasn’t nice or well located, it just wasn’t memorable. Think Monte Carlo Vegas and its luxury on a budget theme. Mix that with the opening of 4 new Vegas properties in 1955 and the answer to the question is yes, Vegas was over built.