In the 70's and 80's my father played much at the Desert Inn. He liked the atmosphere and "feel" more than any other casino. H was a big player back then, as the hotel always comped his room and airfare. Does anyone on this forum have stories or experiences from the Desert Inn? Currently are there any places in Las Vegas that compare to the old Desert Inn?
> Does anyone on this forum have
> stories or experiences from the Desert Inn?
I wish that I had! I saw it on my first trip to Vegas before I moved out here, but that was kind of a whirlwind trip and I don't remember anything except that we saw Dennis Miller perform there. After it closed and part of it was imploded to start making room next door, the remaining parts stayed open for use as offices. The front was completely made over in red with a Chinese theme for the movie "Rush Hour 2" and stood in for the exterior of the movie's Red Dragon casino. The Desert Inn sign was remade with the Red Dragon logo, etc. I have a photo of that somewhere, and it stayed like that for quite awhile since the building wasn't really being used. My main memory of the DI was when the rest of it was imploded in October of 2001. Vik and I went at midnight and jostled the line for a place to watch the early morning implosion. My video camera decided to stop working, but I got some photos. I remember being distinctly creeped out because the smoke and debris came through the buildings and down the street in a very similar fashion to what we had seen around the Twin Towers just the month before. It was an eerie feeling, and you could hear people all around say the same thing. It's almost like the mood went from festive to somber in less than 20 seconds; very strange.
Anyone have any real stories?
Bettie
> I wish that I had! I saw it on my first trip to Vegas
> before I moved out here, but that was kind of a
> whirlwind trip and I don't remember anything except
> that we saw Dennis Miller perform there. After it
> closed and part of it was imploded to start making
> room next door, the remaining parts stayed open for
> use as offices. The front was completely made over in
> red with a Chinese theme for the movie "Rush Hour
> 2" and stood in for the exterior of the movie's
> Red Dragon casino. The Desert Inn sign was remade with
> the Red Dragon logo, etc. I have a photo of that
> somewhere, and it stayed like that for quite awhile
> since the building wasn't really being used. My main
> memory of the DI was when the rest of it was imploded
> in October of 2001. Vik and I went at midnight and
> jostled the line for a place to watch the early
> morning implosion. My video camera decided to stop
> working, but I got some photos. I remember being
> distinctly creeped out because the smoke and debris
> came through the buildings and down the street in a
> very similar fashion to what we had seen around the
> Twin Towers just the month before. It was an eerie
> feeling, and you could hear people all around say the
> same thing. It's almost like the mood went from
> festive to somber in less than 20 seconds; very
> strange.
> Anyone have any real stories?
> Bettie
I wonder if there are any casinos today which are comparable to the old Desert Inn? It had so much class and style.
Here's a few tidbits I remember about DI-
1. It really was a beautiful place. However, I was always amazed at how empty it was. It was lavish, by standards of the day (pre-billion dollar hotel/casinos), but almost every time I went there, it was like a ghost town. I'd guess partially because not much passersby traffic, the only easy walk was from the (yuck) Frontier.
2. It was all 6 deck shoes.
3. There never was much heat...from the pit. Early on, I thought I could do whatever I wanted, and the pit didn't care. However, it turns out that the pit didn't watch action close because surveillance was doing that job.
4. Because of #3 (and also #1, since there were so few people for surveillance to look at), I got backed off for card counting there twice, and barely avoided a 3rd when I picked up my chips at the table and made a beeline for the door in 2 seconds when the guy who booted me in the past showed up in the pit and glared at me.
5. They had a 2nd level, open to the public, with a balcony overlooking some tables, so I pulled off what I called a 'Skywalker'...I 'wonged' (I personally call it wildcatting) several tables from up above, then rushed down and jumped in when the count hit a certain strength. There was one other casino I did that at...the Maxim.
I am really just looking for a smaller, quiet hotel/casino, maybe off strip, that has decent games. I did enjoy the Hard Rock last time in Vegas, but the BJ rules and conditions were not the best.
When Howard Hughes died, they closed the DI hotel, but not the casino. This is before they built the larger tower in the front and the pyramid rooms in the back. I walked into the casino midday and was the only customer in the joint. Most of the dealers were older than you usually see and had met Hughes when he first moved in. You might think that you would stick out as the only customer and draw attention. But no one seemed to care at all. I played for an hour with an extremely fast dealer who played all the obvious hands for me as he chatted about the DI and Hughes.
Yes, the good ole' days. I was there in the late 70's a couple of times. Maybe I'm longing for something that's long gone, forever. If there is still a place somewhere in Las Vegas, kind of quiet, away from the big mega properties, I would like to know.
> If there is still a place
> somewhere in Las Vegas, kind of quiet, away from the
> big mega properties, I would like to know.
You keep asking, but no one answers! I'm afraid the days for that kind of class establishment are gone here in the U.S., where gaudy reigns supreme. You'd have to try the clubs in London or France for something similar.
Bettie
> Yes, the good ole' days. I was there in the late 70's
> a couple of times. Maybe I'm longing for something
> that's long gone, forever.
I'm afraid so.
When the topic of "Old Vegas" comes up, the properties most often mentioned are the Sahara, the Riviera, and the Tropicana on the strip, and the Plaza and Binion's downtown.
However, none of these properties had the class of the DI even in their prime, and time (and a series of misguided owners) has not been kind to them.
Now, they have deteriorated into aging grind joints. It is possible to find a hint of "Old Vegas" in some of the dimly lit corners, but you really have to look for it.
Old Vegas is dead, replaced by corporate mega-resorts with lots of glam and glitz, but no soul.
> You keep asking, but no one answers! I'm afraid the
> days for that kind of class establishment are gone
> here in the U.S., where gaudy reigns supreme. You'd
> have to try the clubs in London or France for
> something similar.
> Bettie
Yea, we're beatin' a dead horse. I need to get over it and just appreciate more the "local" places I found here in the south, which are not bad at all. The games are great, just without the lights and glitter.
The place you seek is the Casino MonteLago, located at Lake Las Vegas. Like the DI, it is a small casino (30,ooo square feet?), very well done and in a beautiful setting that is serene. Lee
Lee, are the games playable? Rules favorable to the player?
Unfortunately, it's also broke and recently needed emergency help from the Gaming Control Board and Nevada Gaming Commission in order to stay open. It was literally days from being closed, having lost more than $50 million since it opened 4 years ago. FYI, MonteLago is also currently an Indian casino, which I mention just because most people don't realize that and I think it's interesting. More info on their financial and managements problems can be found at the link below.
Bettie
> The place you seek is the Casino MonteLago, located at
> Lake Las Vegas. Like the DI, it is a small casino
> (30,ooo square feet?), very well done and in a
> beautiful setting that is serene. Lee
Posting Permissions
-*-
Bookmarks