[DavieJ89]

Ok this will be fun (sarcasm not intended, sorry DynImage) I always hear about how people say Las Vegas is a major metro area in the middle of the desert that sprang out of nothing and has no history. Every place has history and SOMEBODY has been around long enough to see some of it

Buzz this is your cue!

You can post stories of Vegas during the mafia days or even before that. Pictures, links to videos, anything that has to do with Las Vegas, only rule is it has to be something that occurs before 1990. You can also post your own stories of what Vegas was like if you were living here at the time, or stories somebody has told you

OK GO!

[MadManofBethesda]

I'm not sure whether this is allowed (and mods please feel free to delete if this link violates TOS), but a poker site I frequent has an interesting thread that's been going on for about two months now where people post stories about their experiences or rememberances regarding all of the defunct hotels and casinos that have been blown up or simply gone out of business over the years. I think that thread would be of interest here and is certainly on point with this thread discussing L.V. history. Here is the link:

Defunct Vegas Hotels and Casinos - Las Vegas Lifestyle Forum - Las Vegas Entertainment and Living Information

[jfkIII]

I don't know if you enjoy reading books, but a book entitled "Super Casino" details the shift away from the mob-controlled joints to the corporate-controlled (just a different type of mob) super casinos of today. The whole first half of that book goes into the history of Las Vegas, prior to 1980...and the second half then brings the reader up through the 1990's to modern day Las Vegas.

I found it to be an enjoyable read and a nice historical perspective. Check it out on amazon if you're interested.

[jfkIII]

Also, I don't know if it's still there, but buried in the bowels of The Tropicana, there was this neat little museum of Las Vegas history filled with artifacts (a melted and fused chip stack from the MGM fire, etc). If it's still there, you might want to check it out the next time you're out there. Check local publications for free coupons that abound...otherwise, the cost was pretty reasonable (< $10).

http://www.whynotvegas.com/blog/2005/10/las-vegas-historic-museum-at-tropicana.html (broken link)

[Buzz123]

Jeez, I don't know where to start Davie. But I'll tell you that if you want stories from before 1990, don't forget that 3/4 of the population wasn't here before 1990, so I assume that includes 3/4 of the posters on this site.

It was a different city in the 60's and 70's, and a lot more exciting and fun IMHO, but then I may have just been new to all this, and closer to the goings on because of my job in television.

Here are a couple of Las Vegas history sites: History (Official City of Las Vegas Web Site)

The First 100 Persons Who Shaped Southern Nevada

[JNINTN]

Originally Posted by Buzz123

Jeez, I don't know where to start Davie. But I'll tell you that if you want stories from before 1990, don't forget that 3/4 of the population wasn't here before 1990, so I assume that includes 3/4 of the posters on this site.

It was a different city in the 60's and 70's, and a lot more exciting and fun IMHO, but then I may have just been new to all this, and closer to the goings on because of my job in television.

Here are a couple of Las Vegas history sites: History (Official City of Las Vegas Web Site)

The First 100 Persons Who Shaped Southern Nevada

Hey Buzz123 - these are great historical websites! Thanks!

[Buzz123]

Here's one the guys can relate to. I hated to admit it, but when I came here I was a small town boy that had a lot to learn about the kind of exciting life we had in Vegas then. Not only was I connected to "showbiz" through my job, but most everyone in Las Vegas back then rubbed elbows with entertainers of all levels.

My buddy's then wife was best friends with a showgirl at the Trop that, the year before, I had spent much time back in my small home town, ΘΘgling her Playboy centerfold. One night she called and ask her friend to meet her for coffee. I was invited to go along. Hard to pass up a chance like that, so even though it was about 2:00AM, and past my bedtime, I went. We sat around Denny's coffee shop next to the Dunes, which is about where the Bellagio fountains are now, and chatted for a while. Then this fantastically beautiful, six foot tall, showgirl asked if we could take her out to a ranch in the desert where she kept her horse. How could I refuse?

She was an avid horse woman, and owned her own horse which she boarded on a place that I recall was near Patrick Lane and Pecos, which at the time was way out in the middle of nowhere. Back then they had a dinner show at 8:00PM, and a midnight show. So she'd get off about 2:00AM, and in summer go for rides at sunup. Back then it was all desert so you could ride for miles.

Since I had just driven up in Las Vegas, and the sound of my car doors slamming were still reverberating in my ears, and since I was young and easily impressed ...this was, in the immortal words of Joe Biden, a big f-ing deal to be in the middle of the desert, in the middle of the night, with my favorite Playboy Playmate of all time.

Of course, that's as far as that went, but I did make the Follies Bergere one of my favorite haunts on Saturday nights after that, and I would barely notice the other girls on stage ...well, I might have glanced at them a little.

[JNINTN]

Originally Posted by Buzz123

Here's one the guys can relate to. I hated to admit it, but when I came here I was a small town boy that had a lot to learn about the kind of exciting life we had in Vegas then. Not only was I connected to "showbiz" through my job, but most everyone in Las Vegas back then rubbed elbows with entertainers of all levels.

My buddy's then wife was best friends with a showgirl at the Trop that, the year before, I had spent much time back in my small home town, ΘΘgling her Playboy centerfold. One night she called and ask her friend to meet her for coffee. I was invited to go along. Hard to pass up a chance like that, so even though it was about 2:00AM, and past my bedtime, I went. We sat around Denny's coffee shop next to the Dunes, which is about where the Bellagio fountains are now, and chatted for a while. Then this fantastically beautiful, six foot tall, showgirl asked if we could take her out to a ranch in the desert where she kept her horse. How could I refuse?

She was an avid horse woman, and owned her own horse which she boarded on a place that I recall was near Patrick Lane and Pecos, which at the time was way out in the middle of nowhere. Back then they had a dinner show at 8:00PM, and a midnight show. So she'd get off about 2:00AM, and in summer go for rides at sunup. Back then it was all desert so you could ride for miles.

Since I had just driven up in Las Vegas, and the sound of my car doors slamming were still reverberating in my ears, and since I was young and easily impressed ...this was, in the immortal words of Joe Biden, a big f-ing deal to be in the middle of the desert, in the middle of the night, with my favorite Playboy Playmate of all time.

Of course, that's as far as that went, but I did make the Follies Bergere one of my favorite haunts on Saturday nights after that, and I would barely notice the other girls on stage ...well, I might have glanced at them a little.

Great story! Vegas is still impressive - even to us "not so young"! Has a certain vibe to it!

[kimba01]

Las Vegas on Film - Blog


I thought this was an interesting site...has a pretty detailed history and pics too...

[Spraynard Kruger]

I was in elementary school in 1988 when a facility that produced fuel for the space suttle exploded in Henderson. Being just old enough to understand the realities of the cold war, it was quite scary to see a mushroom cloud, followed by an even larger mushroom cloud, rise from the ground no more than five miles away from my school. The blast broke windows and buckled the garage doors of nearby homes, mine included. There was a point where we students collectively thought we were being bombed. It was quite an experience.

It was really amazing to learn that only two fatalities resulted from the Pepcon blast. If the other facility that produced Amonium Perchlorate, Kerr-McGee, had experienced this mishap, the consequences and damage would have been much, much worse. Thankfully, Pepcon and Kerr-McGee no longer operate in Southern Nevada.

PEPCON disaster - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Damn Interesting &bull; The PEPCON Disaster

reviewjournal.com -- News: Pepcon Explosion Anniversary