Favorite Hand/result

[DaBurglar]

 

I'd have to agree with you, mob.  I hit that beauty back I believe in late '94 at O'Shea's.  That casino was new at the time and then had an Ethyl M shop if I can recall.  Yep, think I sat down, gobbled up a delicious piece of candy, was enjoying a Tom Collins and BAM!!! Outta NO WHERE came up 4 deuces and a joker.  Didn't even notice the joker was available for best hand, ahhh, ignorance IS/WAS bliss.  Galeygoo, you just touched on something that is very close to my heart and memory......Vegas in the mid 1990s!      You mention sitting in O'sheas in late 1994, which means, if that places you in there around November,  the place had not been open more than a few months.....its quite possible you and I crossed paths back then and obviously had no idea!    I LOVED Vegas during the period 1994 thru 1998......in my opinion, this was its absolute heyday, when it had the perfect balance of everything:   the perfect number of total hotel/casinos;   the perfect mix of old versus new, the perfect mix of mega-resorts versus tiny spots versus the medium sized 'one-size-fits-all' hotel/casinos........it was just the right size, with just the right number of people living in the city and visiting from all over the world!Anyone else know what I'm talking about, or remember Vegas from this time period (mid 1990s,  say 1992 thru 1999?)     Do you agree with my statement or know what I mean when I say Vegas was "Jussssssst right"  at around this time, before they killed it with massive overbuilding and saturation and overcrowding.....?I was lucky enough to witness and experience the Vegas "BOOM" from 1992 thru 2005, so I truly have a unique perspective......I lived in Southern California (L.A. primarily) from 1992 thru 2003, and then San Francisco until 2006 before I moved back in 2007 to my childhood home of Massachusetts and Connecticut;    While living in LA and San Fran, I was marketing director for the largest Packaging, Paper and Consumer Goods distributor on the West Coast,  and we had business in Vegas during these boom times so it was not uncommon for me to be in Vegas at least once a month during this time period;    On my own accord for recreation and fun, once or twice a month I would drive or fly to Vegas with friends and experienced first hand all that the city had to offer, as it was changing and building during this period, but also as it was hanging on to the past ("the old Vegas")......what I mean is this:    I witnessed first hand in 1994 the transformation of Fremont street from an actual historic street with traffic into what it is today, a huge light show with the entire street;   I saw the Stratosphere finally finished in 1996 after spending 5-6 years as a giant eyesore on the Vegas skyline as Bob Stupak (remember him?) actually saw the future and what Vegas was becoming and attempted to lead the way and become filthy rich, but poor old Bob Stupak had pissed too many people off over the years so he was stownewalled, gaslighted and hindered as much as possible and ultimately had to sell out, but the Stratosphere became what it is today!I witnessed the last days of the Dunes (1993) and the Sands (1996 sniff sniff ) ....those old places reeked of cigarette smoke from the 1960s and probably still had some fallout from the nuke blasts of the late 50s and early 60s, but goddammit, those places had REAL charm and class and rocked the old Vegas vibe!     Still, in the mid 90s, other old places like the Stardust and the Rivierra and Sahara, as well as the downtown joints all stepped up efforts to stay in business and keep up with the new places, recognizing the booming times that were upon them, so that if someone (like me) wanted "old vegas", I could go to the Rivierra or Stardust, or Binions Horseshoe, etc. ......... but if I wanted "NEW", by 1998 I had a crapload to choose from!In 1994, the Luxor opened to much fanfare and numerous "ooohs"  and "ahhs"!    Then, in 1996, in between the Stratoshere opening and the Sands Closing (and being imploded in as part of the Movie "Con Air"), The Monte Carlo came online, followed shortly thereafter by New York New York !    1996 was perhaps my favorite year as a result of all this, there was just so much NEW stuff to see and experience and try, and you must realize, at this point, much of this was still "fresh" and new, we had not yet been spoiled or jaded to the extent where no matter what we see today in casinos, its nothing new under the sun,     But back ni 1996, with NY-NY and its whole theme captivating me, Monte Carlo's magic, the Stratosphere's heights, and Fremont Street evolving everyday, Vegas was at its BEST....plus, as I said before, EVERY OTHER place in Vegas  was either undergoing renovations/improvements , and was bus ADDING on to its existing operations, in an effort to keep up!     YET amidst all this wondrous activity and building and new creation(s), in the center of the vegas strip, next to Caesars, was the construction of the entity which would, SOMEHOW,  manage to change the whole Las Vegas paradigm yet again, and take Vegas on a whole new fantastic ride:   It started building in 1996 in preparation for a planned opening date of Summer 1998....but alas, a project of this magnitude and importance, combined with WHO is behind it in the first place, means delays are inevitable, and as such the opening date was FINALLY made on OCTOBER 15. 1998......But in case you have not guessed which property this is yet, this final tidbit will tell you.      ABout 3 months prior to opening, all through the summer of 1998, The entire WORLD (not just America)  was subjected to one of the most well known and successful (and effective)  marketing campaigns in history!     "Con Te Partiro"  anyone?BELLAGIO!!!!!After Bellagio, however, everything turned to shiiite, as the overcrowding and overbuilding and oversaturation I referenced earlier came to pass and Vegas was ruined;   Bellagio gave way to PARIS, Planet Hollywood (aka  ALADDIN, Version 1 and 2), Venetian. Mandalay Bay, Palms and a whole slew of others!!!!!! BUT, nonetheless, I am going back!     Back to Vegas!    And sooner rather than later!    I will pine away for the way things used to be in Vegas while I am there;  I will spend my time looking for the latest round of properties that have been obliterated (or sold off, or renamed, re-invented) since I was last there....but I will Be there!    March, 2014, for the WHOLE month and then some!!!       gotta make up for lost time spent in AC chasing mathematical aberrations and no-win strategic fallacies!I hope you all enjoy this VEGAS rant/trip down memorylane  (or in Billy joe's case, Mammary  lane in honor of all the VEGAS strip clubs that grew out of the massive economic growth SPURT of the 1990s!)

[BillyJoe]

[QUOTE=Galeygoo] 



Anyone else know what I'm talking about, or remember Vegas from this time period (mid 1990s,  say 1992 thru 1999?)     Do you agree with my statement or know what I mean when I say Vegas was "Jussssssst right"  at around this time, before they killed it with massive overbuilding and saturation and overcrowding.....?
 
Vegas is one, big "movie set" that is torn down and rebuilt frequently to fit the current trends. 

I hope you all enjoy this VEGAS rant/trip down memorylane  (or in Billy joe's case, Mammary  lane in honor of all the VEGAS strip clubs that grew out of the massive economic growth SPURT of the 1990s!)

 
Hey - I'm a leg man..

[Galeygoo]

Yes, DaB, I'm going to guess if you frequented that same "perfect" (in our opinions) Vegas strip area during the '90's as many times as I had, YES, we probably DID cross paths.  What a delightful area that was. 

 
I would usually stay at the Flamingo, when it was a Hilton.  Such a wonderful hotel with some gorgeous views.  I always loved the South Strip view from a room as high as possible.  Sweet!  Before that, we would stay at the then Holiday Inn before it became Harrah's.  I also remember the Dunes to be a very special place as well.  You brought back some fond memories for me, too.  Don't get me wrong, though, Bellagio is so exquisite, I honestly believe that was a change for the better. 
 
I could go on and on about my love affair with Vegas but who can't?  OOPS, almost forgot, love, love, love Paris...Ahhhh, can't wait to get back. 

[jackwells]

I so much enjoyed your trip down memory lane, and all the history of Vegas. SO interesting! Thank you DaBurglar for your post!

[jaycevs]

Love the old-school coin machines in downtown Vegas, especially these Deuces at Main Street Station.   

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[jaycevs]

Or a dealt royal when down to 5 credits, again at Main Street drinking the 777 micro-brew at the bar.

[Tedlark]

  Nice hits, keep up the good work.

[DaBurglar]

Awesome pictures of hits on those downtown machines, and yes, Main Street Station is one of the best kept secrets (still) of Vegas/Downtown....those brewskies rock (but alas, I quit drinking after "the pool incident of July 27, 2002" at the Vegas Plaza....don't ask....
 
I am glad some of you enjoyed a few moments looking back on Vegas's history, and while I did not appreciate it at the time as much as I do now, I truly was blessed to see and experience things from 1002 thru 2006....being in California actually helped appreciate the entire Vegas "boom" because, if I had lived there day in and day out, it would have been lost upon me, and if I had lived all the way across the country like I do now, I would have been too far away and too infrequently seen the whole shebang as it happened.   When you lived in Southern California up through 2001, Vegas was almost as much a part of everyone's recreational life as Disneyland and Knotts Berry farm and Hollywood/Universal Studios.   When the tribal casinos really started cooking after 2001 (down in San Diego and out in the Desert east of L.A. near San Bernadino) it really cut into the Car Traffic along Interstate 15 to Vegas.....
 
Anyone ever make that drive on a regular basis?   I alternated between driving and flying from L.A. to Vegas:   Flying was a breeze, on Southwest AIrlines out of LAX, flights every 30 minutes from 6am thru 1am, total flying time was 55 minutes, you barely had time to finish a drink before touchdown at MCCarron.....but making that 4-1/2 hour drive from L.A. to Vegas was also a special experience, especially if you did it with friends as a "road trip".   Depending on the time of year, it was always a fun experience, passing thru Barstow and watching that sleepy little town grow right along with Vegas, starting as a little stopover in 1992  and mushrooming into a huge "mini-city" (oxymoron like "jumbo shrimp" lol) by 1999 to accomodate all the traffic to and fro.....Blasting thru Death Valley's outskirts past the infamous "BUN BOY MOTEL & DINER" in Baker California, with the world's TALLEST THERMOMETER!   In the summer, that thermometer would reach 120 degrees in the day and STILL read 99 degrees at 2 a.m.!   But in the winter, if you had to stop to pee or otherwise stretch, you'd freeze your cojones!   But man was that fun....
 
You'd emerge out of California's Mojave Valley, and on the other side of the ridge along I-15 you'd see the Nevada Border with the three Resort-Casinos of Primm Valley sparkling in the distance.   These properties also grew and evolved into a destination of their own from 1992, and by 2001 people from BOTH California and Arizona, as well as from within Nevada and Vegas itself would drive to Primm to get away from the City....I used to spend some overnights in one of the three Primm Valley Resorts (Whiskey Pete's, Buffalo Bills and the Primadonna/Primm Valley Resort.   These turned into nice clean beautiful destinations, with EVERYTHING you needed to have a great vacation right there without going the rest of the way into Vegas (Vegas is 45 miles from the Border/Primm)     The Video Poker in Primm was OK, but was never the reason I stopped and stayed....I'd often spend Sunday's during football season in Primm, I could use the sports books there, watch my games all day and night, crash in a room on Sonday Night and leave at 6 am and make it to Downtown LA by 9:30 am since you saved about an hour off the drive time between LA and Vegas.    After, 2001, even specifically DROVE to Primm for a couple days getaway, wanting to avoid the hassles of Vegas after it became "OO BIG TO ENJOY".....one interesting factoid:   The Steakhouse in Primm, "The Silver Spur Steakhouse" inside Whiskey Pete's, was the first choice of many Vegas Residents (especially the blackjack dealers at Mirage and Treasure Island during the late 1990s) for the best steak dinner inside or outside Vegas, which is saying a lot.....and I must agree, the many times I stopped and ate there it still ranks in my top 5 steakhouses of all time!
 
 
 
I will keep writing more about past Vegas memories and thoughts as I am hit with waves of Nostalgia....in the meantime, as I tyoe this missive, I am actually in Atlantic City on a Saturday AFternoon, fighting waves of NAUSEA after more VP outrages....but I will save that for another post, because I did not come here to AC this past week to play VP but play in another poker tourney which I did ok in, and any VP i have played was just farting around killing time and earning minimal comps to maintain my free rooms so I can keep playing more poker and yadda yadda yadda.....

[Tedlark]

  DaBurglar I don't want to give you a flat tire on your drive down memory lane but how about writing about your Las Vegas memories in the forum topic started by galeygoo just for that type of thing? This was maybe won't go off topic too much. Thank you for understanding.

[DaBurglar]

Yes, DaB, I'm going to guess if you frequented that same "perfect" (in our opinions) Vegas strip area during the '90's as many times as I had, YES, we probably DID cross paths.  What a delightful area that was. 

 
I would usually stay at the Flamingo, when it was a Hilton.  Such a wonderful hotel with some gorgeous views.  I always loved the South Strip view from a room as high as possible.  Sweet!  Before that, we would stay at the then Holiday Inn before it became Harrah's.  I also remember the Dunes to be a very special place as well.  You brought back some fond memories for me, too.  Don't get me wrong, though, Bellagio is so exquisite, I honestly believe that was a change for the better. 
 
 
Oh, I am not saying Bellagio itself is or was a bad thing or anything negative like that....I mean the place was (and still is) a work of art and truly belongs there, I just use the opening of Bellagio as the TIPPING POINT when Vegas went from "jussssst right"  to Sensory Overload and Saturation of Megaresorts....and ironically, most executives and economists agree that it was around the end of 1999 that Profit margins began to erode (this is BEFORE 9-11 and WAY before the Great Recession of 2008) as Vegas became "too big", such that much of the problems and issues the place has today, in 2013, with lingering unemployment, still-low and stagnated Housing with too many houses still on the market, and difficulty of most Vegas Resorts hitting profit targets quarter after quarter, are all due to there being just too many damned MEGA-resorts.....
 
You have to admit, when places like Southpoint, and ARIA and Cosmopolitan and M and others were opening just before, during and AFTER the great recession was exploding between 2007 and 2008 you knew something was REALLY wrong and bad things were in store......