I%26#39;ve been to Vegas many times but I%26#39;m only 29 and kind of missed out on the pre-Mirage old school Vegas. Can anyone share how it was before all the super casinos existed? Any casino come close to capturing that old Vegas feel?
Old Vegas....
Stardust, Riviera,Barbary Coast, downtown
Old Vegas....
My first trip was in the early 80%26#39;s. It was a very different Vegas then. Still pretty mobbed up and to be honest, I think it was better then.
Casinos were full of table games with very few slots. Sure they were there but not like today.
Probably the closest you%26#39;ll get to that feel is downtown, but even there, its just not the same. Add the Tropicana to that list. If you go, walk around the casino and hallways and you%26#39;ll find tons of pictures from the good old days.
I should also add this.
Back then, when you went out to gamble or whatever at night, you would dress for it. Men would wear coats and ties and women would wear dresses or skirts. Thats right, no fanny packs, shorts, sandals with socks etc. I love meeting my uncle and his wife in Vegas. They are old school (70%26#39;s) and always dress up in the evening.
Also, the movie Casino is on TV this weekend (Bravo or A%26amp;E) if you haven%26#39;t seen it befor, that is pretty much what is was like. Its based on a true story about the Stardust. Man I%26#39;m gonna miss that place.
Dr,
The outfit you are wearing in your picture wouldn%26#39;t be acceptable in the old days?
True 04, but it does work when your at a county fair and it%26#39;s 95 with 65% humidity and the ole lady askes you for the picture!
Going back even further than Scorcese%26#39;s ';Casino'; is the original ';Ocean%26#39;s 11'; starring the Ratpack boys. That showed Vegas back in the early 60s, when most of the hotels were under 10 stories tall! What passed for a ';deluxe'; room back then would probably be referred to on this site as ';Motel 6 quality.'; I love learning about %26amp; collecting things from ';the old days'; but some things have indeed changed for the better! It%26#39;s too bad that Adelson had to bring down the Sands for his Venetian; it would be cool to still have that place around.
Strip
Yes , I would have loved to have seen the Sands remaining . The whole atmosphere was different .
Even though dress codes have changed , we still dress up for dinner %26amp; shows . Can%26#39;t break that habit . ( Really don%26#39;t want to LOL )
Thanks for your input!
1st, do see Casino. Wonderful! A little taste: Don Rickles plays a casino manager %26amp; is fabulous,
I went Vegas for the 1st time in 1972. Stayed at Ceasers Palace. (Won the trip). The two things I remember most throught the years is:
1. If you were playing %26amp; ran out of cigarettes they GAVE you a pack. Then as the years went by it went to a mini pack with 4 cigarettes to 1 cigarette to now the cocktail waitress will ask you for $7 to get you a pack at the machine.
2. As someone had mentioned you dressed for the shows. No prebought tickets. Shows included dinner (and great food). If you had a $20 you sat up front, possibly a booth. Last show I remembered like this was Liberace just before he passed. $35 for show %26amp; dinner, $20 tip %26amp; our arms were resting on the hardwood of the stage. Even shook his hand. A wonderful memory.
I don%26#39;t back quite as far as some of the other posters but I do remember a time when things were very different. I miss the Sands, Dunes, Desert Inn and even the Hacienda and all the other casinos. The hotels were hotels- no pyramids,roller coasters , pirate ships and things like that. Things seemed more glamorous then. It didn%26#39;t appear to be as crowded and if you played at a casino often enough they actually remembered you from one trip to the next . I had people greeting me with ';welcome back'; and using my name even after I was gone a while. That just doesn%26#39;t happen anymore-everything is so impersonal now. Going to shows was a big deal- and I don%26#39;t mean just the clothes. The emphasis was on gambling- not clubs, restaurants, etc. Comps were much easier to get- they practically begged you to come back. I remember when the DI introduced a few TITO vp machines(about 14 years ago) - nobody liked them so they quickly removed. In some ways I really miss those days but I am sure 10 years from now people will fondly recall how things were in 2006!
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