Tales of Old Las Vegas

Tales of Old Las Vegas PDF Author: Sam O'Connor
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1438984197
Category : Las Vegas (Nev.)
Languages : en
Pages : 270

Get Book Here

Book Description
Las Vegas in 1960 was a gas, according to Frank Sinatra. Even the visitor knew something deliciously sinister was not only constantly lurking in Las Vegas' dark underbelly, but some nefarious deed could be taking place at that very moment. Tales of Old Las Vegas describes some of the mystery and excitement the town held for visitor and native alike. Some of the characters are famous people you may have heard of. Others are the little known but colorful people of the streets of Las Vegas who enjoyed the good life in their own way. The Las Vegas atmosphere in the 50s and 60s was particularly heady and magical. It was the era of the Rat Pack and Ocean's Eleven. Dean Martin was dealing "21" at the Sands for fun and driving the pit bosses crazy. Frank Sinatra was getting into fist fights with hotel managers and driving his dentist crazy. Those were the days when $5 for the show room captain could get you a seat close to the stage for almost any show, except Frank and Dean's show. A $500 bill couldn't buy a seat at those performances. Those who lived in the city were smug in the knowledge that it was an insider's playground, a familiar turf that was fun to know and move around in. Tales of Old Las Vegas brings us into the lives of the adventurers who lived in that magical era. It shows how they were affected by a free rolling city and the violent people who made and enforced the rules. .

Tales of Old Las Vegas

Tales of Old Las Vegas PDF Author: Sam O'Connor
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1438984197
Category : Las Vegas (Nev.)
Languages : en
Pages : 270

Get Book Here

Book Description
Las Vegas in 1960 was a gas, according to Frank Sinatra. Even the visitor knew something deliciously sinister was not only constantly lurking in Las Vegas' dark underbelly, but some nefarious deed could be taking place at that very moment. Tales of Old Las Vegas describes some of the mystery and excitement the town held for visitor and native alike. Some of the characters are famous people you may have heard of. Others are the little known but colorful people of the streets of Las Vegas who enjoyed the good life in their own way. The Las Vegas atmosphere in the 50s and 60s was particularly heady and magical. It was the era of the Rat Pack and Ocean's Eleven. Dean Martin was dealing "21" at the Sands for fun and driving the pit bosses crazy. Frank Sinatra was getting into fist fights with hotel managers and driving his dentist crazy. Those were the days when $5 for the show room captain could get you a seat close to the stage for almost any show, except Frank and Dean's show. A $500 bill couldn't buy a seat at those performances. Those who lived in the city were smug in the knowledge that it was an insider's playground, a familiar turf that was fun to know and move around in. Tales of Old Las Vegas brings us into the lives of the adventurers who lived in that magical era. It shows how they were affected by a free rolling city and the violent people who made and enforced the rules. .

Chronicles of Old Las Vegas

Chronicles of Old Las Vegas PDF Author: James Roman
Publisher: Museyon
ISBN: 1938450027
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 240

Get Book Here

Book Description
Discover one of !--?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /--America's most fascinating cities through 30 dramatic true stories spanning Las Vegas's 150-year history. James Roman takes readers on a tour through the glamorous and sometimes sordid history of Las Vegas and explains how a railroad town transformed itself into "the Entertainment Capital of the World." Essays explore the major historic events from the founding of Sin City and the building of the Hoover Dam to the rise of the Rat Pack at the Sands and the establishment of the Mafia-controlled casinos. Also included are intriguing tales of Vegas celebrities from Frank Sinatra and Liberace to Siegfried and Roy, as well as numerous historical photos and full-color maps.

Las Vegas Babylon

Las Vegas Babylon PDF Author: Jeff Burbank
Publisher: M. Evans
ISBN: 1461663083
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 352

Get Book Here

Book Description
What happens in Vegas doesn't necessarily stay in Vegas and the proof is in this lively and entertaining compilation of stories chronicling decades of decadence, celebrity shenanigans, and political corruption, as well as the glitz and glamour of the casinos that pass for everyday life in Las Vegas. Underneath the city's present success lies many infamous tales of excess and debauchery. Using new information from recently released FBI documents, Jeff Burbank brings to life the Vegas mob in its heyday, recounting never-before-heard tales of the mobsters who made Vegas what it is today. But mobsters aren't the only ones with skeletons in Las Vegas' closet. Over the years, Hollywood stars have had their share of the limelight. Burbank has uncovered the many fateful, and often amusing, incidents that have befallen the glamorous and here he recalls the details of the darkest moments in the lives of the famous and foolish: Marilyn Monroe's quickie divorce; boxer Sonny Liston's secret heroin deal just before his death; The Doors singer Jim Morrison's arrest for fighting on the Strip; and the hookers who trick-rolled comedian Tommy Smothers in his hotel room. With fast-paced and entertaining prose, Burbank captures the true stories from Las Vegas' seedy underbelly that have led to America's 100-year fascination with the aptly named Sin City.

When the Mob Ran Vegas

When the Mob Ran Vegas PDF Author: Steve Fischer
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781606710760
Category : Casinos
Languages : en
Pages : 225

Get Book Here

Book Description


Fly on the Wall

Fly on the Wall PDF Author: Dick Odessky
Publisher: Huntington Press Inc
ISBN: 1935396218
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 253

Get Book Here

Book Description
Imagine what it must have been like to be in Las Vegas during its most glamorous and eventful years: the 1950s, the 1960s, and the 1970s.Back then, "the boys" ran the town, dinner shows were a dollar, and vacant lots on what is now the Strip sold for $5 an acre. Tallulah played baccarat, Shecky shot dice, and Frank dealt blackjack.Fly on the Wall chronicles those times, as well as the men and women who shaped them.As a reporter for two of the city's most respected newspapers and a publicist for two of the city's most infamous casinos, Dick Odessky was in the thick of itthe proverbial fly on the wall. His recollections of Las Vegas' good old bad old days put you in the thick of it, too.

Super Casino

Super Casino PDF Author: Pete Earley
Publisher: Bantam
ISBN: 0307429733
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 512

Get Book Here

Book Description
In this lively and probing book, award-winning author Pete Earley traces the extraordinary evolution of Las Vegas -- from the gaudy Mecca of the Rat Pack era to one of the country's top family vacation spots. He revisits the city's checkered history of moguls, mobsters, and entertainers, reveals the real stories of well-known power brokers like Steve Wynn and legends like Howard Hughes and Bugsy Siegel, and offers a fascinating portrait of the life, death, and fantastic rebirth of the Las Vegas Strip. Earley also documents the gripping tale of the entrepreneurs behind the rise and fall and rise again of one of the largest gaming corporations in the nation, Circus Circus -- to which he was given unique access. In his trademark you-are-there style, he takes us behind the scenes to meet the blackjack dealers and hookers, the heavy hitters and bit players, the security officers, cabbies, and showgirls who are caught up in the mercurial pace that pulses at the heart of this astounding city.

The Strip

The Strip PDF Author: Stefan Al
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 026203574X
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 267

Get Book Here

Book Description
The transformations of the Strip—from the fake Wild West to neon signs twenty stories high to “starchitecture”—and how they mirror America itself. The Las Vegas Strip has impersonated the Wild West, with saloon doors and wagon wheels; it has decked itself out in midcentury modern sleekness. It has illuminated itself with twenty-story-high neon signs, then junked them. After that came Disney-like theme parks featuring castles and pirates, followed by replicas of Venetian canals, New York skyscrapers, and the Eiffel Tower. (It might be noted that forty-two million people visited Las Vegas in 2015—ten million more than visited the real Paris.) More recently, the Strip decided to get classy, with casinos designed by famous architects and zillion-dollar collections of art. Las Vegas became the “implosion capital of the world” as developers, driven by competition, got rid of the old to make way for the new—offering a non-metaphorical definition of “creative destruction.” In The Strip, Stefan Al examines the many transformations of the Las Vegas Strip, arguing that they mirror transformations in America itself. The Strip is not, as popularly supposed, a display of architectural freaks but representative of architectural trends and a record of social, cultural, and economic change. Al tells two parallel stories. He describes the feverish competition of Las Vegas developers to build the snazziest, most tourist-grabbing casinos and resorts—with a cast of characters including the mobster Bugsy Siegel, the eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes, and the would-be political kingmaker Sheldon Adelson. And he views the Strip in a larger social context, showing that it has not only reflected trends but also magnified them and sometimes even initiated them. Generously illustrated with stunning color images throughout, The Strip traces the many metamorphoses of a city that offers a vivid projection of the American dream.

Tales from the Pit

Tales from the Pit PDF Author: David G. Schwartz
Publisher: Gambling Studies
ISBN: 9781939546098
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
Dealing in a casino presents challenges and rewards not seen in many workplaces. With hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake every minute, table games pits are high-stress workplaces. Managing a workforce of dealers and attending to the needs of players brings stresses of its own. In 2015, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas's Center for Gaming Research received a grant from the UNLV University Libraries Advisory Board that enabled it to undertake an oral history project intended to capture the stories of table games managers, including both those currently working in the field and those who have retired. Drawn from these interviews, Tales from the Pit provides an overview of how the interviewees felt about a variety of topics, ranging from their experiences breaking in as new dealers to their transitions to management and the changes the industry has seen over their careers. The current and former managers speak candidly about the owners, bosses, dealers, and players who made each day challenging. This book illuminates the past several decades of casino history through the words of those who lived and made it.

The Secret History of Las Vegas

The Secret History of Las Vegas PDF Author: Chris Abani
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0698140184
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 337

Get Book Here

Book Description
A gritty, riveting, and wholly original murder mystery from PEN/Hemingway Award-winning author and 2015 Edgar Awards winner Chris Abani Before he can retire, Las Vegas detective Salazar is determined to solve a recent spate of murders. When he encounters a pair of conjoined twins with a container of blood near their car, he’s sure he has apprehended the killers, and enlists the help of Dr. Sunil Singh, a South African transplant who specializes in the study of psychopaths. As Sunil tries to crack the twins, the implications of his research grow darker. Haunted by his betrayal of loved ones back home during apartheid, he seeks solace in the love of Asia, a prostitute with hopes of escaping that life. But Sunil’s own troubled past is fast on his heels in the form of a would-be assassin. Suspenseful through the last page, The Secret History of Las Vegas is Chris Abani’s most accomplished work to date, with his trademark visionary prose and a striking compassion for the inner lives of outsiders.

Murder in Vegas

Murder in Vegas PDF Author: Michael Connelly
Publisher: Forge Books
ISBN: 1429911085
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 402

Get Book Here

Book Description
In Murder in Vegas, the International Association of Crime Writers and New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly have gathered twenty-two crime and mystery stories about the ultimate playground and what can happen behind the glitz and glamour. Las Vegas. Lost Wages. Sin City. An artificial oasis of pleasure, spectacle, and entertainment, the gambling capital of America has reinvented itself so many times that its doubtful that anyone knows for sure what's real and what isn't in the miles of neon and scorching heat. Las Vegas is considered the ultimate players destination--no matter what your game. Almost anything is available--for a price, mind you, and sometimes losers walk away from the tables with even less than just an empty wallet or purse--sometimes they don't walk away at all. From a gambler who must-win at the roulette table to stay alive to a courier who's only mistake was accepting a package with Las Vegas as the final destination, come to the true city that never sleeps, where fortunes are made and lost every day, and where snake-eyes aren't found just on a pair of dice. Murder in Vegas features stories by: James Swain, S.J. Rozan, Wendy Hornsby, Michael Collins, T.P Keating, J. Madison Davis, Sue Pike, Joan Richter, Libby Hellmann, Tom Savage, Edward Wellen, K.J.A. Wishnia, Linda Kerslake, John Wessel, Lise McClendon, Ronnie Klaskin, Ruth Cavin, A.B. Robbins , Gay Toltl Kinman, Micki Marz, Rick Mofina, Jeremiah Healy At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.