Few places evoke bygone Americana as much as Las Vegas. Although the city is much changed today, Vegas has retained a decent amount of its vintage charm in some areas – and where it hasn’t, there are always stories of the past blowing through the long streets like dusty Nevada wind. So what are some of the coolest and most interesting stories of Las Vegas yore?
This article will look at some of Las Vegas’ lesser known links to world of science and military tech, the time a casino magnate worked out how to turn an expensive demolition into a profitable show, a classic Las Vegas race covered in a famous 1970s novel and the time America’s golden singer was embroiled in a mob scandal. These are four awesome stories of Lost Vegas.
Atomic Vegas – The Stardust and Atomic Liquors
Vegas of the late 1950s to the 1960s was a town in transition. One of the oldest still standing establishments from this time is Atomic Liquors. So called because patrons would gather on the roof to watch the mushroom clouds from nuclear tests out in the Nevada desert.
This incredible spectacle occurred for only two years before they were banned, between January 1961 and December 1963. However, it ushered in a whole new age of Las Vegas – the Atomic Age.
Half a dozen futuristic sci-fi themed bars and casinos opened up over these years, as Vegas became a symbol of a new era of futurism. Not least of which was the Stardust, with the largest neon sign in the world at that time. In fact, it was this era that inspired the vintage retro futurism of Fallout: New Vegas – the videogame that remains one of the most popular depictions of Vegas in modern media.
Even the hippest movers and shakers of 60s Atomic Vegas probably didn’t anticipate that within 60 years gambling would spread across the US to the point you don’t even need to leave the house to play casino games. With a borgata no deposit bonus code you can be hitting the slots without going anywhere, or putting a penny down either. Easy.
In 1993 Steve Wynn Turned Destruction into a Profitable Spectacle
Few people can claim to have influenced the history of Las Vegas as much as Steve Wynn. The now-disgraced founder of Wynn Resorts basically reshaped Vegas into his image of a luxury resort destination in the late 1980s – setting the groundwork for the huge, mega casino resorts of today.
One of his lesser known innovations – although well remembered by those who were there no doubt – was turning the destruction before a regeneration project into a money maker.
When Wynn bought up the old Dunes Hotel in 1991, it was a fading relic of 1950s kitsch that he felt didn’t fit the modern Vegas he was creating. But he didn’t just demolish it – he turned the demolition into a primetime event. Television camera crews. Fireworks. Ticketed audiences. Promotion all over America.
Hotel rooms sold out across Las Vegas on the day, and tens of thousands packed out the streets to witness the destruction of a former Sin City icon. The spectacle would be recreated in 2025, with the demolition of the Tropicana Las Vegas hotel tower which also saw room prices spike and thousands flock to the city to see them fall.
The Mint 400 Was Classic 1970s Las Vegas Madness
Before Steve Wynn’s late 80s revolution that turned Vegas into a luxury, bring-the-whole-family destination, The Mint 400 was one of the greatest, grimiest attractions Las Vegas had.
Every year, hundreds of off-road racers would line up their dusty dune buggies, bikes and off-roaders on Fremont Street, watched on by confused gamblers and showgirls, before launching off into the Nevada desert for an epic three day race.
Legendarily so dusty many journalists struggled to cover it once it left Vegas proper, the Mint 400 was also famously (not) reported in Hunter S. Thompson’s seminal literary depiction of Sin City, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Fresh-Faced Singer Wayne Newton vs The Mob (and the Media)
In the early 1980s, no man was more synonymous with the schmoozing lounge glamour of Vegas than Wayne Newton. The dinner-jacketed, fresh-faced lounge singer was already a staple of the Strip and had made millions crooning to audiences from The Desert Inn, The Frontier and the original Sands Hotel and Casino.
In fact, so much so, Newton began being called Mr. Las Vegas, among other nicknames. However, in 1980 that almost all fell apart as Newton accidentally fell into the murky underworld of Las Vegas.
Newton was interested in purchasing the Aladdin casino, and turned to some Vegas associates for loans to get the project started. The media soon latched onto the story, and found some alleged mafia connections to one particular friend of Newton’s – Guido Penosi.
Newton denied Penosi had lent him any money, and said he wasn’t aware of the mob links. Nevertheless, NBC ran a piece on Newton’s alleged crime connections in 1980.
The performer sued them and won, resulting in a $19 million settlement from the media company for defaming his reputation. Newton told reporters that the Mob even sent him death threats, believing the media reports as evidence of him cooperating with authorities – but that was all cleared up after the lawsuit.
Newton went on to perform over 30,000 shows in Las Vegas over the years, and was the first official headliner in residence of a Las Vegas Strip casino.
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