#old vegas

[retrotels]

Old Tropicana postcard

(Photo taken in the 70’s I believe)

[bitter69uk]

Fifty-five years ago today in show biz history (29 August 1969): fabulous bouffant-maned, white-lipsticked pop goddess Nancy Sinatra made her Las Vegas performing debut! The Nancy Sinatra Show - her 3-week residency at The International Hotel - included special guest stars The Osmond Brothers, The Blossoms and Mac Davis. I seem to recall reading in one of Sinatra’s album liner notes that her opening number was “Light My Fire” by The Doors, which she sang while gowned by Donnfeld and dramatically descending a spectacular staircase. Ah, for a time machine!

[vertyd]

this hurts my eyes

[bogdoom]

🤠

[nomisdaughter]

I did not like her as much as I wanted to throughout the years watching this. Nonetheless, her ensembles and teeth are amazing.

Gina Gershon in Showgirls (1995)

[retrotels]

Just a little edit!

Credits in video, all of these ppl are on YT

[bitter69uk]

Cocktail capers with Louse (aka Weezie, on the left) and Anne-Kathrin (on the right) at Champagne’s Café in April 2024. I’ve always been curious about this dive bar after reading about it in my 2003 Time Out travel guide and – after all these years – finally managed to visit it. And Champagne’s was worth the wait! It dates to the 1960s and has been virtually untouched since (thank God!). It boasts dim lights, a black ceiling, brown tufted Naugahyde booths, red flock wallpaper straight out of a brothel, a portrait of Marilyn Monroe and insanely inexpensive (and good) cocktails, knocked up by Arlene, one of the world’s best bartenders. And she doesn’t just sling drinks: Arlene is Champagne’s ambassador and welcoming committee, happy to talk you through the place’s history, including its ties to the Rat Pack and the mafia! (She gave us a quick tour of the framed portraits of mobsters on the wall). The music was underwhelming (generic 1980s classic “drivetime” rock like Richard Marx and Bryan Adams), but the accommodating Arlene let my friend Kevin take over the soundtrack with his own playlist. It took me a while to realize what Kevin is up to while fiddling with his phone. Once early Ike and Tina Turner and 60s girl groups started blasting, I finally asked, “Are you controlling the music?” Our cab driver (and Knut and Anne-Kathrin’s) warned that Champagne’s is in a dangerous neighbourhood – so you probably won’t want to linger or explore the surrounding environs! Read more about my misadventures in Vegas for the annual Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender festival here.

[tannnnblogs]

Do you see it, Richie? Do you see the SIZE of my Cazador?

[falloutuniverse]

OLD VEGAS 🧡🧡

admittedly my understanding of las vegas may be a bit distorted by only seeing it in movies and also when people complain about it online, but it seems that it's some kind of city-sized torture device where the spectre of advertising is ritualistically summoned into an orb in the middle of a very hot desert and then it attacks everyone living there all of the time while they gamble to keep their mind off it

[nuclearconsole]

doctor mobius!

[robert-edwin-house]

[bitter69uk]

God willing, I arrive in Vegas tonight for the annual Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend festival at The Orleans Hotel and Casino for the first time since 2019. (I’ve been regularly attending on and off since 2007). Let’s hope my American friends – who haven’t seen me in five years – aren’t too startled by my ravaged appearance (the “covid years” were not kind!). To be honest, I’ve barely glanced at the VLV schedule or investigated the bands playing so far. A few things feel “off” this year. I suspect the organisers have downsized and streamlined things post-covid, which I don’t begrudge. I’m undeniably disappointed that Ambassador of Americana Charles Phoenix’s retro slideshow is not on the agenda (for me, he’s always been synonymous with VLV). There’s no mention of Elvira / Cassandra Peterson appearing at the car show (catching a glimpse of her is always a religious experience!). But still, I am feverishly looking forward to perusing stuff at the vendors and attending the pool parties and the car show. Beyond that: venturing offsite for Mai Tais at Frankie’s Tiki Room and The Golden Tiki. A Bloody Mary at Peppermill Restaurant and Fireside Lounge. Beers at Atomic Liquors and the ne plus ultra of punk dive bars, The Double Down Saloon (with a shot of their signature “ass juice”). Visiting the Burlesque Hall of Fame Museum to genuflect before a sacred relic (their permanent collection contains an item of furniture salvaged from Jayne Mansfield’s Pink Palace!). Revisiting Big Elvis at Harrah’s. One big question mark: the new Punk Rock Museum. The steep cover charge is off-putting. Has anyone been there? Is it worth it? But mainly, looking forward to hanging out with friends not seen in ages (like Kevin and Louise) and newbies (Anne-Kathrin and Knut). If everything goes according to plan, anticipate a deluge of photos!

Las Vegas Strip, 1955. Unknown couple posing in front of Thunderbird Hotel. Kodachrome red border slide, VLV collection.

[webdiggerxxx]

꧁★꧂

[smugcomputer]

fallout robots (& related) print ^^ preorder the print in A5 or A4

[vertyd]

My cat likes to watch me play

[davidkendall]

They're closing up The Trop today (Tuesday, 4/2/24) and tearing it down to make way for a baseball stadium that it's not clear the city actually wants. But, progress, right?

We were in Vegas in 2019 - one of those places I always wanted to actually see, just to see what the hype was about. It was very bright and neon-y, and we drove by The Tropicana but didn't go in. Now I'm sorry we didn't take a few minutes to do so, but it's so hard to get around that strip these days; we had to pick and choose the places we went because parking is always at a premium. We did go into Circus Circus, which is another taste of "old Vegas," and it was kinda neat. But "old Vegas" is mostly a thing of the past now, and The Trop is now relegated to the history books and old movies and TV shows.

Tropicana, 1960

The neon "Tropicana" sign was added over the fountain in 1960.