VEGAS - NOW and THEN

My Most Recent Twitter Posts

2010-08-18T05:48:00.001-07:00

My Twitter Re-Tweet Stream

2010-08-18T05:40:00.000-07:00

Ban Lifted for Vegas Advertising on NFL Events

2010-07-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

From 'In Business' and Channel 3

Full 5 Min 30 Second Video & Interview With UNLV's Dr. David G. Schwartz

BOB DYLAN IN VEGAS

2010-07-21T14:38:00.000-07:00

Bob Dylan and John Mellencamp

At Caesars Palace

August 18, 2010

See New Dylan Video Webpage Now

Photo & Video Guide to Springs Preserve

2010-07-12T17:35:00.000-07:00

A New Webpage About the 2007 New Museum & Exploration Facility

Guide to Las Vegas' Springs Preserve

Beatles' Day 2010 - Las Vegas

2010-07-10T03:49:00.000-07:00

First Annual Beatles' Day Launch

West Vegas.com is Proud to Announce the July 7th Start of Beatles' Day Las Vegas

A 25 Video Retrospective at the

Band That Saved America

BEATLES' DAY

Nevada's Burning Man Festival

2010-07-08T21:00:00.000-07:00

BURNING MAN FESTIVAL
August 30 - Sept 6, 2010

Info and Videos on Burning Man and Black Rock City

West Vegas' Burning Man Webpage

LAS VEGAS - TIME LAPSE VIDEOS

2010-07-08T20:54:00.000-07:00

Time Lapse Videos of The Vegas Strip

Las Vegas - Time Lapse Videos

Cosmopolitan Hotel Webpage - From West Vegas

2010-07-02T16:45:00.000-07:00

West Vegas.com presents the:

Complete Photo-Guide to the Cosmopolitan Hotel

Cosmopolitan Hotel

New Contents Page

2010-06-29T14:59:00.000-07:00

Blog Contents Page - Archive Posts List

In order to make it easier for visitors to easily find and access all this blog's old and future articles - I've made a new webpage that shows easy-to-find links to over 55 Vegas Now & Then postings

VEGAS NOW & THEN CONTENTS

History of Encore's Beach Location

2010-06-28T00:29:00.000-07:00

Encore Beach and The Desert Inn

A Look at the Evolution of a Desert Site

Showing the Progression from 1950-2010

Encore Beach History

Casino Job Decline in Nevada

2010-06-25T16:15:00.000-07:00

Casino Job Decline in Nevada

Click Graph for Larger Display

UNLV's - U.S. CASINO EMPLOYEE STATISTICS

More Info at The Die Is Cast:

New West Vegas HomePage

2010-06-20T12:25:00.000-07:00

West Vegas Website Re-Design

I'm currently in the process of re-designing over 50 pages of my WestVegas.com website.

Changes and updates will be taking place between
June 21 thru August 31, 2010.

WEST VEGAS.com

DEVO LAS VEGAS

2010-06-18T04:58:00.000-07:00

DEVO

At Rio's Crown Theater Saturday Night

DEVO LAS VEGAS

Amazon.com Widgets

Kirk Kerkorian's Birthday

2010-06-07T15:08:00.000-07:00

Born June 6, 1917

The Biography of Kirk Kerkorian
From:InOldLasVegas.com

Saluting the Las Vegas Buffet

2010-05-19T01:06:00.000-07:00

Ballys Sterling Brunch

Click any photo for a larger view.

While most American cities are known for having their own unique, regional foods - Las Vegas celebrates and provides food-favorites from all over the world.

Memphis may have its BBQ and Southern favorites and Seattle and Maine may have their great lobster and crab dishes, but Las Vegas buffets have it all, plus much more.

In Las Vegas, locals and tourists can find any of the specific foods of their choice - whether they desire Hawaiian food (at the California Hotel) or Cajun cooking (at the Orleans). Las Vegas has every food in the world and most of it can be found inside all the major hotel-casinos' buffets.

The concept of feasts and buffets has been around for centuries for those people (kings, pharaohs and knights) who could afford such lavish assemblages of different food offerings. But it took until the 20th century before these feasts could become available to the common man.

One thing is sure...kings and pharaohs never had such worldwide food varieties available to them as is available now in modern times. In Las Vegas any person, with $10 thru $40 dollars to spend, can eat better than any old king ever could.

This concept of buffet feasts has been around for the last century or so. There were many cafeteria-style places that offered large food selections to choose from, but the prices were set according to how much food (in weight or plates) a person ended up eating.

In 1941 Las Vegas and in 1946 Minneapolis the concept of "all-you-can-eat" for one set price entered the buffet picture. Though some encyclopedias and sources ascribe the "all-you-can-eat-buffet" to a hotel operator named Herb Mac Donald in Minneapolis - Thomas Hull had already started the Vegas Chuck Wagon Buffet five years earlier.

Whoever started the all-you-can-eat-buffet matters very little, though it may be a correct fact that the term "all-you-can-eat" may have been first advertised in a Minneapolis hotel. Vegas' Tom Hull might not have used the term "all-you-can-eat" in his early advertising, but it was an unspoken fact that any El Rancho guest could eat forever if they so chose.

Here's a good description of an American buffet that comes from William Pearson's 1965 book titled The Muses of Ruin:

"At midnight every self-respecting casino premières its buffet—the eighth wonder of the world, the one true art form this androgynous harlot of cities has delivered herself of.... We marvel at the Great Pyramids, but they were built over decades; the midnight buffet is built daily. Crushed-ice castles and grottoes chill the shrimp and lobster. Sculptured aspic is scrolled with Paisley arabesques. They are, laid out with reverent artistry: hors d'oeuvres, relish, salads, and sauces; crab, herring oyster, sturgeon, octopus, and salmon; turkey, ham, roast beef, casseroles, fondues, and curries; cheeses, fruits and pastries. How many times you go through the line is a private matter between you and your capacity, and then between your capacity and the chef's evil eye."

In today's blog I've included photos and videos that celebrate the Las Vegas Buffet.

This is an "all-you-can-eat" blog. View as little or as much as you desire.

The Wynn Las Vegas Buffet

The Buffet at Wynn Las Vegas is probably the best in all of Las Vegas.

There are several videos below that show the great food items and dining room layout of The Wynn Buffet. 1006 Yelp Reviews give this buffet a four star rating.

The Buffet at Aria

The Buffet at Aria is located in the center of the second floor.

The view looks out onto the pool area and Vdara.

110 Yelp reviews give this buffet a three star rating.

There is a 10 minute video tour of the Aria buffet down below.

The seating area at Aria's Buffet.

History of the Las Vegas Buffet

Las Vegas has been serving buffets to its guests since a few years after its 1905 formation. Early casinos like the Arizona Club, as well as various bars had platters of sliced beef and chicken available for the many train travelers who stopped into Vegas for a short lay-over and a quick lunch.

It took until 1941 before the buffet concept became a part of the Las Vegas Strip. At the first Strip casino, the El Rancho, guests were provided with a Chuck Wagon station that provided basic 'picnic food' like cold cuts and cold salads. Within a short time the buffets were serving guests high-quality hot meals - as explained in the video below.

Chefs at the 1950 Desert Inn 'Snack Bar' (as titled on the green sign in background).

The 1941 El Rancho served the first full-fledged buffet on the Las Vegas Strip and set a trend that most all other casinos of the Fifties and Sixties followed. This first buffet was called the Chuck Wagon. The video down below gives full details on how it started.

Guests enjoying the Flamingo's buffet.

The Dunes had their Top Of The Dunes buffet on the top floor of their 1965 hotel-tower. The buffet was on the 21st floor and looked out northward at the Flamingo, the Sands, Last Frontier, and Riviera. Clear views could be seen of downtown's Fremont Hotel skyrise. In 1966 Caesars Place opened just across Dunes Road (now West Flamingo) and was an exciting site to behold. At one time the Top Of the Dunes was the most deluxe spot on the Vegas Strip.

The Dunes was formerly located where the Bellagio's Lake Como has its fountians.

Carved-swan ice sculptures were common in early Vegas buffets.

A Video-History of the El Rancho Buffet

A 2005 Six Minute Documentary by Chris Justus

This film includes an interview with Dr. David G. Schwartz, head of UNLV's Center for Gaming Research, and was made with the help of the UNLV Special Collections' Department . It talks about the history of the first Strip buffet and shows color footage of several casinos of the 1950s.

Photo-Tour of the Gold Coast Buffet

Catfish, Corn, Spareribs and Trout

I live in West Vegas near Flamingo & Decatur. I mainly eat buffets that are close to home. Since I am half Armenian and half Cajun Louisiana French (and 17% German) I can find my favorite foods in my local area at the Palms, the Orleans and the Gold Coast Buffets.

My absolute favorite buffet is at the Palms Casino. The Maloofs, being of Lebanese descent, have a Lebanese Station in their buffet which serves food items that are very similar to Armenian food (being that the two countries were both located close together in Upper Persia).

When I feel in a more Cajun mood I can find the special foods I like at Orleans' French Market Buffet. Orleans has a great BBQ Station and (in my opinion) the best local salad bar - because of its large assortment of fruits and vegatables.

Back in 1997 I tried the Gold Coast Buffet when it was operated in a different area of the casino and was much smaller. At the time, I thought the food was flavor-less and all seemed to taste bland. I recently went back there about three months ago and was surprised by how good the food is now that the buffet has moved to its large location at the west-end of the building.

In a city like Las Vegas - which has some of the best buffets in the entire world, a buffet like the one at the Gold Coast rates near the bottom of the list when compared to Bellagio's or Wynn's. But if the Gold Coast buffet was available in most any other city or town in America it would stand out as one of the most popular restaurants in nearly any other location.

Gold Coast's Ports O' Call buffet is part of same casino chain that operates the Orleans, so their experience in high-quality food acquisition and preparation is as good as it get. It is easy to park close to the buffet and isn't a giant hassle to get into like it can be at many of the larger hotel buffets on the Strip.

Gold Coast self-parking is right up the ramp (near the Rio in this photo). Valet parking is available by turning left into the front driveway. Since the buffet is actually on the west end of the building, you can reach it with less walking if you park in the garages closer to Flamingo Road directly across from the Palms Casino.

With lunch prices set at just $8.95 it can be one of the best places to eat when you desire a wide-selection of foods to choose from, plus free drinks and dessert.

These parking garages (closest to Flamingo Road) are nearest to the buffet.

If you park in the south parking garage you can quickly and easily reach the buffet by using these doors that face Flamingo Road. You don't need to walk nearly as far to the buffet using this entrance, as you would if entering thru the (eastern) lobby entrance.

Gold Coast's buffet is called Ports O' Call.

This is a casual, friendly, clean buffet with lots of flavorful food.

Special prices apply to Gold Coast card holding players.

Breakfast is $6.95 (7-10:30am).

Lunch is $8.95 (11am-3pm).

Dinner is $12.95 (4-9pm).

Prime Rib Buffet is on Monday & Wednesday for $11.95

Friday is Seafood Night. $16.95 for players.

Sunday Brunch is $12.95 (8am-3pm).

The Gold Coast Buffet has an Italian food station, a Mexican, Chinese, Mongolian, Barbecue, Seafood, Salad and Dessert station.

The Barbecue Station.

The Mongolian Station.

The Mexican Station.

The Mexican Station serves enchiladas, carne asada, plus make-your-own-taco items.

The Chinese Station.

The Chinese Station serves egg-rolls, ribs, rice & chow mien.

Chinese food toppings.

The Seafood Station alternates their selections - but almost always has catfish and crawfish available (sometimes spelled as crayfish and something I've never even thought of eating), with alternating fish choices from trout to halibut to bass, etc.

Salmon, trout, catfish, hush-puppies, crawfish and drawn butter in the Seafood Station. On Friday night the Gold Coast holds a seafood buffet from 4-9pm, for 16.95.

Fried popcorn shrimp, teriyaki chicken, and jambalaya.

Stuffed green bell-peppers, BBQ chicken & corn-on-the-cob.

Meat Station serves Ham, London Broil, & Monday Prime Rib, etc.

The Italian Station has pasta and different types of good pizzas.

The side of the pastry section of the Gold Coast Buffet.

The Dessert Station serves ice cream, cakes, pies and other sweet items.

Behind the Scenes Video-Tour of Bellagio's Food System

A nine-minute segment from the TV show 'America's Heartland' takes a guided tour of the food management operation for the Bellagio Buffet. Executive chef Wolfgang von Weiser gives a very interesting tour that shows such things as how his staff checks oranges for sugar content, the milk and cheese room, fish and beef selections, plus a whole room devoted completely to oysters and lobsters.

Videos of Las Vegas' Best Buffets

Below is a video-player I filled with 32 specially selected short videos that show most of the best buffets in Las Vegas. I search thru hundreds of videos to try to find the ones that are most informative and helpful to viewers.

In this compilation of Vegas Buffet Videos, I placed the professionally shot promotional videos in the beginning. Then I placed the amateur videos with the highest quality or best information after those. I purposely try to pace and edit these video-playlists I compile, so viewers won't be bombarded with any junk - yet can see and find exactly all they might want to see by fast-forwarding or using the 'video-selection button' (on left side of player).

There is some extremely good film-making being done by amateur vid-e-ographers who post on YouTube. They provide viewpoints and commentary that is virtually priceless. There about three videos where the ambient buffet noise of plates and silverware can get slightly loud. I placed those at the very end of the batch, yet they are still worth seeing if you're interested in that particular buffet.

1. MGM promo clip, 2. Extra TV's Number One buffet in Vegas, 3. Wynn Brunch Buffet, 4. Wynn buffet promo (no audio), 5. Bellagio buffet, 6. Vegas' best buffet, 7. Golden Nugget buffet and restaurant promo, 8. Mirage's Cravings, 9. Crepe making at Planet Hollywood's Spice Market Buffet, 10. Rio's Buffet, 11. Village Seafood Buffet at Rio, 12. Rio Buffet Start to Finish, 13. Seafood Buffet at Rio, 14. Wynn's Buffet, 15. Wynn's Buffet, 16. Wynn's Dinner Buffet, 17. Wynn's Buffet, 18. Red Rock Buffet, 19. Mirage's Cravings, 20. Cravings Buffet, 21. Buffet at Wynn, 22. Heaven on Earth Buffet - Bellagio's Brunch, 23. Bellagio Buffet's Dessert Station, 24. Bellagio Buffet, 25. Pizza at Bellagio Buffet, 26. Opening Day at Aria Buffet (good quality video but no audio), 27. Breakfast Buffet at Four Seasons, 28. Hotel Paris' Le Village Buffet, 29. Gold Coast Buffet, 30. Orleans' Breakfast Buffet, 31. Orleans' French Market Buffet, 32. Aria Buffet (very short but shows a line bottleneck that is informative).

Links to Good Websites That Review Buffets

Most of these websites show buffet hours & prices.

Las Vegas Advisor

I Eat Vegas

Best of Vegas

10 Best

Rate Las Vegas

Driving the Vegas Strip - Before & After Night & Day

2010-05-17T13:36:00.001-07:00

Strip Drives - Now and Then

1. 2009 High Definition drive down the Strip heading southward by night, 2. 1993 drive down the Strip heading southward by night, 3. 1991 drive up the Strip heading northward by day, 4. 2009 drive up the Strip heading northward by day, 5. The Strip in 90 seconds, 6. High-Definition helicopter flight over the Strip by night.

More drives down the Strip and Downtown from the 1950s-1990s are at:

InOldLasVegas.com

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Back in Vegas in 2010 ?

2010-05-16T04:48:00.001-07:00

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been working on their follow-up album to Stadium Arcadium for the last seven months. Their new album is due to be released in October or November. The odds favor the fact that the group will be performing in Las Vegas before the end of December 2010.

75 RHCP Videos Are Down Below!

Why are the Red Hot Chili Peppers the subject of today's blog? Well. The true reason is that they are my favorite band and I just felt like blogging about something other than 100% Vegas stuff for one day.

If it seems strange that the RHCPs are a 58 year old man's favorite group - I really can't blame you for wondering why. I have other favorite musicians more reflective of my generation such as the The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Doors, Van Morrison and U2. They are all great, in their own way.

It's just that, in this Year of the Dog called 2010, the Psychedelic-Surf-Punk-Hippiefied-Funking 'Miraculous Masters of Mayhem' fit my mood better than anyone else around. I openly admit I cringe at lots of modern day Pop music and absolutely hate most all forms of Hip-Hop music. Hip-Hop irritates the hell out of me with its banality, mindless lyrics, and lack of Rock Roots, and quite frankly I am too old and young to listen to such de-evolved urbanality.

So, what other choice do I have than to turn to the 1990s-2007 edgy sound of one of the coolest bands I've ever seen or heard? None that I know of. That's why I decided to pay tribute to the Red Hot Chili Peppers today. The most amazing and typically American group of rockers I've ever had the pleasure of following.

John Frusiciante has been with RHCP since Hillel Slovak died back in 1988. Though John left the group around 1992 (to be replaced by Dave Navarro) he returned in 1998 which allowed the band to enter, perhaps, its most productive period.

John recently announced he has left the group again, but made sure he found a suitable replacement for the group with his good friend Josh Klinghoffer. John and Josh have been playing together for years and Josh has been joining RHCP onstage since around 2006.

Josh Klinghoffer was born in 1979. That makes him much younger than the rest of the group (Chad born 1961, Anthony 1962, and Mike-Flea 1962). When John (born 1970) first joined the group he was referred to as "greenie". With Josh being 17 years younger than the rest of RHCP it will be interesting to see what type of younger blood he will bring to the group.

Rare Collector Items Direct from the Archives of Bill Graham Presents

Wolfgang's Vault

For Serious RHCP and R 'n' R Fans! Handbills, Posters, Backstage Passes, Photos, T-Shirts, plus hundreds of audio-streams of free, old, classic rock-concerts.

Visit Wolfgang's Vault

RHCP performing as 'bulb heads' at the 1994 Woodstock Festival.

April 6, 1996 - Cow Palace S.F. for $75. From Wolfgang's Vault.

Poster from the Cow Palace - New Year's Eve 1991 Red Hot Chili Peppers Show, with Pearl Jam & Nirvana. A Rare Bill Graham Presentation poster for $48.

Besides having early RHCP posters, Wolfgang's Vault also sells rare photos of the band, plus rare backstage passes to some of their most memorable shows.

September 15, 1989 - Fillmore S.F. poster for $166.

April 7, 1989 Fillmore S.F poster $94.

Wolfgang's Vault is the entire collection of concert promoter Bill Graham's archives of concert art, backstage passes and audio recordings - now made available to rock 'n' roll collectors. WV also has a huge collection of rare full-length-concert audios which they post for free listening at anytime just by clicking onto their website. Here is the link to listen to RHCP's eleven song 1989 concert from the Theater of Living Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

See the 'AllPosters Gallery' - Down Below - For Print or Poster Info

Laminated backstage pass to the New Year's Eve concert. $55.

Birth of funky, psychedelic, heavy-metal, surf-punk, rap-rock.

RHCP is arguably among the top three bands in rock 'n' roll history, if not THE best ever - based on their combination of creativity, longevity, their band's story, their musical importance and their multitude of fans - the Red Hot Chili Peppers rank high in the annals of Rock History.

As far as supergroups go, their nearly 27 year existence beats the Beatles and is only matched by the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith and U2.

The early teen-aged grouping of Mike Balzary and Anthony Kiedis is remarkably similar to the early friendships of Lennon & Mc Cartney, Jagger & Richards, Tyler & Perry, Bono & Edge.

It can make a person wonder what part destiny plays in the creation of such artistic phenomenons. RHCPs' story is as incredible and as classically rock 'n' roll as any bands that have come before them.

Death, drugs, breakups, breakdowns and lost members fill their history. Yet they continue on into a future we can only imagine they might take us.

A Brief History of the Red Hot Chili Peppers

In 1980, close friends Anthony Kiedis and trumpet playing Michael Balzary (Flea) graduated from Fairfax High & formed the Red Hot Chili Peppers with their schoolmate, guitarist Hillel Slovak. Slovak introduced Balzary to the bass guitar and 1960s & 70s rock'n' roll.

Around 1983, with drummer Jack Irons, they started a music group which would become internationally famous. The RHCP has gone thru many phases in their 27 year history. The success of their first phase, with Hillel Slovak, was phenomenal, but as often happens in the stress-filled world of intense stage performing, drugs crept into the picture and had a big impact on the band member's lives.

Like hundreds of other performers before them (from Elvis, Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis....Joplin, Morrison and Hendrix...up to Axle Rose and Kurt Cobain) the simultaneous fast and slow pace of being 'a star' and having to do stage performances and the need to 'get up to speed' or to 'come back down to earth' often times requires a bit of self-medication....since the human body can't always rise to the occasion of performing before thousands and then, somehow getting one's self to bed and back on the road again without some type of supplemental 'something' to ease the strain. Whether through uppers, downers, bennies or Jack Daniels - the need for self-medication has long been a part of rock 'n' roll. As Memphis Minnie would say..."some do and some don't".

Being a stage performer isn't easy. It requires an amplification of social skills that most people don't usually possess and a super-human ability to accept amplified adoration and abuse. The amplification that is built into rock 'n' roll often causes something to blow-up....be it a 16 inch speaker or the performer's own nervous system.

RHCPs' guitarist Hillel Slovak died from a heroin overdose in 1988. Their drummer, Jack Irons then quit the band. The drummer for the Dead Kennedys took his place and brought in guitarist John Frusciante. Not long after, Chad Smith became the full-time drummer. This became phase two of the RHCP.

RHCPs' 1991 album, 'Blood Sugar Sex Magik', was a huge sucess selling over 12,000,000 copies. By 1992, guitarist John Frusciante developed major problems with the band's fame and his personal self-medication and heroin use. He was out of the band soon after. Thus began RHCPs phase three.

They hired Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro and released their 1995 album 'One Hot Minute' which sold about 6,000,000 copies. Soon after Dave Navarro was fired. RHCP phase four was about to begin.

John Frusciante had been out of the band for almost 6 years and had big problems with his heroin addiction through most of that time. In 1998 he was able to break his habit. Flea went to see him to ask him to rejoin the band. In 1999 they completed their 'Californication' album which was a tremendous success, selling over 15,000,000 albums. RHCP was back on top. In 2002 they released 'By the Way'.

Phase five of RHCP came in 2006 with RHCPs' Stadium Arcadium double album. On February 12, 2007 - at the 49th Grammy Awards the Red Hot Chili Peppers walked off with the Grammy for 'Best Rock Album' for Stadium Arcadium, the award for 'Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal' for Dani California and the Grammy for 'Best Rock Song' for Dani California.

The year 2010 marks their 27th anniversary in the world of rock 'n' roll.

In 2009 John left the band and Josh Klinghoffer was added. The band has been in the recording studio since last November. Sometime in October 2010, the band begins Phase Six of their long career. They will likely play Las Vegas before the year's end.

September 18, 1998 for $65.

September 18, 1998 for $37 (available in Blue, Gold, Green or Orange).

Wolfgang's RHCP Posters, Photos and Passes

TOP 25 RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS VIDEO PERFORMANCES

1. Velvet Glove - Live from Poland 2007 of a 1999 song (with Josh Klinghoffer, John's replacement on guitar - seen after the :20 mark).

2. Intro Jam and By the Way - Live 2003 from Slane Castle (the 1785 castle in Ireland).

3. Give it Away Now - 1991 Music Video (overlook the fan's annotation at 2:11 & 2:31) Directed by Stephane Sednaoui - the lyric "there's a river born to be a giver" refers to River Phoenix.

4. Around the World - 1999 Music Video. "Ding dang dong dong ding dang dong dong ding dang".

5. Scar Tissue - Music Video. "Sarcastic Mr Know-it-all" lyric refers to Dave Navarro. (With a drive back home thru the Vegas desert).

6. Suck My Kiss - Music Video.Notable lyric "kiss me hurt me please pervert me".

7. True Men Don't Kill Coyotes - 1984 Music Video (RHCP's first single. Audio starts at :20).

8. Can't Stop - Music Video (inspired by Erwin Wurm's One Minute Sculptures).

9. Freaky Styley Fire - Live circa 1988 version of Jimi Hendrix' 1967 song Fire.

10. Californication - Live from Slane Castle of their 1999 song (the lyrics "Cobain can you hear the spheres singing songs off station to station" refers to Kurt Cobain and David Bowie's Station to Station album - the lyric "Alderaan's not far away, it's Californication" refers to the Star War's planet that was destroyed by The Empire implying that our fake, plasticized, pornified, fame and youth worshipping, de-evolutionized society might suffer a similar fate - "celebrity skin...is that war your waging" refers to Courtney Love and her Hole album called Celebrity Skin.

11. By the Way - 2002 Music Video (A crazy Taxi driver kidnaps Anthony. After Flea and John rescue Anthony the cabbie then picks up an un-aware Chad as his next ride).

12. Zephyr 1 - Live from Slane Castle ,

13. Zephyr 2 -Live from Chile 2002 (the Chile version has better sound, but both versions were included to show John's different ways of playing the song) - be sure to watch the making of this video in the video-player below to hear about their attempts to instill the proper Psychedlic atmosphere to the music-video version.

14. Out in L.A. Live 1985 version of RHCP's first song they ever wrote (in 1984) and performed as a group with Anthony as the front-man-singer.

15. Castles Made of Sand - Live in Amsterdam in 1989 version of a Hendrix song - a year after Hillel's death-by-overdose (with John replacing him) and Chad on drums (replacing Irons after he left the band).

16. Higher Ground - Live 1989 performance on Arsenio Hall's late-night TV show of the Stevie Wonder Song (Flea plays the keyboard riff on his bass) this is the band's second hit-record.

17. Under the Bridge - Live 2006 version of their 1991 song (at the T In The Park festival in Scotland) - one of the band's first ballads - was based on a private poem written by Anthony after Hillel's death which was referenced in the lyric "sometimes I feel like I don't have a partner" while he felt distanced from Flea and John's friendship and was shooting heroin "under the bridge" with pachuco street-dopers,

18. Snow Hey Oh - Live at Fuji version of their 2006 song about the dual use of cocaine and heroin "So white as snow... privately divided" and the lyric "The more I see, the less I know, the more I'd like to let it go" refers to thoughts about life and the desire to kick heroin.

19. Charlie - Special private (not live with a crowd) performance of the 2006 love song about another person, though some fans think it still refers to hard drugs.

20. Show Me Your Soul - 1990 Music Video (no explanation really needed).

21. Otherside - Live circa 2007 version of the 1999 song - this song gets pretty deep in talking about heroin addiction and possibly suicide as a good solution thru the following lyrics "pour my life into a paper cup, the ashtray's full and I'm spilling my guts...push the trigger and pull the thread, turn me on take me for a hard ride, burn me out and leave me on the otherside...I yell and tell it that it's not my friend, I tear it down and then it's born again...how long will I slide, take it to the otherside...I don't believe it's bad, slitting my throat, it's all I ever had". The similarity between this song and Jim Morrison's lyrics to the 'Hyacinth House' song off of his last album are presented in the Notes Section at the bottom of this page.

22. Dani California - Live 2007 Poland version of their 2006 song. This song was RHCP's first single released in four years and was off of their Stadium Arcadium album. This song won the 2007 Grammy for Best Rock Song - the new RHCP's guitarist performs with Joh and the group on-stage during this concert.

23. Fortune Faded - 2003 Music Video.

24. Snow Hey Oh - Fuse Televison performance of their 2006 song.

25. Cereal Song - the 2001 Heroin song by Bicycle Thief with John Frusciante (Josh Klinghoffer also played with this group). The song reflects the life-loss caused by heroin addiction and is used in this Fan Tribute to Hillel (The Heroin - Cereal Song lyrics can be seen further below).

26. Aeroplane - 1995. ""I like pleasure spiked with pain...Sitting in my kitchen, I'm turning into dust again". Watch the Making of Aeroplane Video' in the player below for interesting facts.

December 28, 1999 - Cow Palace S.F. for $75. (with the group Bicycle Thief).

RCHP Music from Amazon. Click any slide below for more info.

Amazon.com Widgets

RHCP Posters from West Vegas.com and All Posters

<a class="APCAnchor" href="http://affiliates.allposters.com/link/redirect.asp?AID=2025049049&PSTID=4&LTID=16〈=1">Buy Posters at AllPosters.com </a>

Behind the Scenes - Making of RHCP Videos

Plus Rare Song and Interviews

1. Making of Aeroplane video 2. Making of Zephyr video, 3-4. Making of By the Way 5. Making of Otherside, 6. Making of Can't Stop, 7. Making of Californication, 8. Making of Sir Psycho Sexy, 9-10. Making Around the World, 11-13. Making Dani California, 14. Making Breaking the Girl,

15. Anthony Kiedis talking about ocean pollution 1990, 16. Flea and Hillel Slovak performing at 1986 Hendrix Tribute, 17. Anthony with David Spade doing American Idol skit,

18-22. Anatomy of a Band Break-Up (the temporary demise of John's interest and ability). Videos 18-21 show John performing at his finest. His personal problems (with heroin and band relations) show up in videos 22-23. Compare his stage presence in videos 18-21. Then compare them to his downcast performances on Saturday Night Live in 22 and 23. In video 22 he's as depressed as can be and his guitar playing is beyond lifeless. His playing at 2:07 is dreadful. Notice Anthony's frustration. (Compare this playing to his previous playing on Stone Cold Bush).

Watch Anthony at 3:25, He intentionally falls to the floor and purposely kicks John in his rear thigh at 3:35, which causes the microphone to smack John in the mouth. Next watch video 23. The band had an argument backstage and John was ready to walk out.

They take the stage again and John decides to it's time for 'payback' and plays his guitar so slow that Anthony has a hard time singing at this snail-like tempo. Notice Chad's face at 1:18. At the end, when John is supposed to sing the chorus, he instead just screams out "Ohhww" at 3:39 and again even louder at 3:49. At 4:43 Anthony gives John a look that words can't adequately describe. Within a few days John would leave the band and not return for six years.

24. Weird Al's Yabba Dabba Do Now parody of Give it Away Now.

25. John's solo video of the Past Recedes (Insightful lyrics: "And then the past recedes, and I won't be involved, I'd rather stay below, than have you staring up at me. It is nowhere I want to go. Oh, this business of how long we try to stay alive, Why to be here you first got to die. So I gave it a try").

26. John's Going Inside video. (With more revealing and insightful lyrics about his need to just contemplate life: "You don't throw your life away, going inside. You get to know who's watching you, and who besides you resides. In your body, where you're slow, where you go doesn't matter. Cuz there will come a time, when time goes out the window. And you'll learn to drive out of focus. You don't throw your time away sitting still").

27-32. 36 minute VH1 Behind the Music with RCHP, 33. Fight Like a Brave 1987 video with lyrics by Anthony after he'd been kicked out of the band, went to rehab, and was brought back into the band, 34. Singing Dylan's Sub-Homesick Blues, 35. Anthony and Flea 1986 interview, 36. 1988 clip from documentary 37. Circa 1990 interview with John about Hendrix music, 38. Appearance on Finnish TV, 39. 2006 interview, 40. Anthony about drug abuse, 41. Pre-1988 interview with Hillel and Anthony and Flea about their musical influences, 42-43. MTV's At Home with the Chili Peppers, 44. 1987 Skate Park Rock (the full 27 minute concert), 45. One of RHCP's infamous socks performances, 46. RHCP version of Hendrix' Foxy Lady, 47. Mid-80s performance of Millionaires Against Hunger, 48. 2007 appearance on the Grammy Awards Show, 49-50. Anthony interviews Flea and John.

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Notes:

The Astrological Make-up of RHCP

The astrological make-up of the band is composed of Water and Air signs - which is a very good blend and quite similar to the make-up of The Beatles.

The two full Water signs are Anthony (a November 1st Scorpio) and John Frusciante ( a March 5th Pisces). The two water sign Beatles were Ringo (a July 7th Cancer) and George (a February 25th Pisces). In many ways the two Pisces Frusciante and George Harrison have similar make-ups which cause them to seek peace of mind (often-times thru seclusion and excursions into their own need to find a type of spiritual serenity).

Paul Mc Cartney was born on June 18th which makes him an Air and Water sign cusper (very similar to Chad's October 25th Air and Water cuspation). George also had this same type of Air-Water cuspation, which makes all these similarities quite rare in the world of Rock 'n' Roll.

The one Air sign in the RHCPs is Flea (a Libra born on October 15). The Beatle, John Lennon (born October 9th) was also an Air sign Libra.

This unique astrological blend, along with the highly sexualized energy of Anthony's Scorpio nature is perhaps the key element that allows the members to appeal to such a wide audience thru their composition of full-on rock music and also their emotion-filled ballads.

Misc Notes About Jim Morrison
Lyrics to the Otherside are remarkably similar to Jim Morrison's heroin lyrics and sense of loss over his so-called sexual-stage presence (as referenced in the lyrics to Hyacinth House). I've held a theory for nearly 38 years about this song off the last album Morrison ever recorded. I've heard a lot of conjecture as to the possible meaning of the lyrics Jim wrote to Ray's song, but amazingly no one seems to understand the meaning.

Here's my theory. The Hyacinth House is a term Jim used for doing heroin and his place to shoot drugs. Jim was well versed in Greek mythology, hence his Dionysus type philosophy of pursuing a lifestyle of rituals based on ecstacy and madness. Hence his binge drinking wild ways and his eventual use of heroin.

The lyrics go "What are they doing in the Hyacinth House? To please the lions in this day".

In Greek mythology the Sun-God Apollo was loved by a young Spartan prince named Hyacinth. Zephyrus and Apollo were both rivals in love with the same boy. While playing a frisbie like game of discus with Apollo, the jealous wind-god Zephyr intentionally blew a gust of wind at the discus causing it to strike the boys head killing him. Instead of allowing the boy Hyacinth to die Apollo gave him a re-birth by turning his blood into the forever living Hyacinth flower. The Hyacinth myth, to Morrison, represented the place he went to for both death and re-birth.

The lyric refers to the reason for going to the Hyacinth House - which is "to please the lions (of addiction) this day". He then sings "I need a brand new friend who doesn't trouble me" probably referring both to the syncopats around him and to heroin itself. Then sings "I need someone who doesn't need me" again likely referring to the syncopats and also to heroin...which to a drug addict's mind, the drug needs HIM and not they other way around. A later lyric says "I see the bathroom is clear", which refers to the other heroin addicts finally coming out of Jim's private place to shoot-up. He then sings " I think that somebody's near. I'm sure that someone is following me". This also has two likely references. One could be that 'death is near and following him' The other is that it is the FBI who is still following as they had before and after his obscenity trial for exposing himself on stage. Jim was rightfully paraniod after being convicted and sentenced to six months in jail...though he was still out on appeal.

Never-the-less, Jim feared his subsequent lock-up and moved to Paris to figure a way out of doing jail time. This final lyric of the song is "Why did they take the Jack of Hearts away? It was the only card in the deck that I had left to play". Jim is referring to the Jack of Hearts as his romantic and erotic stage presence...which his conviction for public lewdity forced him to have to abandon. Morrison was saying that his sexualized stage presence was the only thing "card" he "had left to play". Jim is intentionally speaking in a past-tense realization. This is very similar to Anthony saying "slitting my throat (and voice) is all I ever had".

Luckily Anthony worked through his decades long heroin addiction without the need to kill himself. Unfortunately, Jim Morrison decided his only option was to "take it on the otherside" of life and intentionally overdosed in his Paris bathroom - rather than letting the FBI send him to prison for simply being an erotic rock 'n' roll idol. Because I see major similarities between Keidis and Morrison (in their drug use and sexual-stage presence) I feel the long analysis of 'Otherside' was warranted.

Cereal Song Lyrics - Bicycle Thief

Heroin
And cocaine

I loved them both
But they took my life
They took my friends
They won’t give ‘em back
Well I want ‘em back
Give ‘em back now

And what has it gotten me
Just some teeth I can’t chew
My favorite cereal with

Being cool and looking good
Keith Richards
And Lenny Bruce
And all of them
Well I give up

Sometimes I’ll get sad
Or I’ll get mad
About where I should be
And where I am
I wanna go back

But where has it gotten me
I’m 35 years old now
I wash dishes in a restaurant

Well my friend Robert
He can’t stop
And his teeth are falling out
And he’s living at his mom’s
And it’s no fun no

I guess I’m lucky I'm alive
Yeah, I’m lucky I’m alive
‘Cause I should be dead
I have been dead
But I’m not now no

And what has it got me…
Where has it gotten me
I’m 35 years old now
Work in a fucking restaurant

Well heroin
And cocaine
I loved them both

Happy 105th Birthday Las Vegas !

2010-05-14T10:54:00.000-07:00

May 15th marks the 105th Birthday of the City of Las Vegas.

The Helldorado Parade and Festival is being held downtown.

Carnival starts at 5PM Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Parade runs from 8-10 AM Saturday.

Downtown Fremont Street circa 1962.

Vegas showgirls celebrating a birthday.

A cavalcade of legs at the Flamingo Hotel.

The Old West meets the New West.

Downtown Vegas circa 1971.

The Helldorado Parade was held from 1934-1998 to celebrate the anniversary of the formation of Las Vegas into a city. Helldorado will be held again this weekend. See info at page bottom.

The Helldorado Parade passing by Binion's Horsehoe.

Casinos (like El Rancho) exhibited their parade floats at Helldorado.

Helldorado is a fun event for local kids to watch or take part in.

The top of the Las Vegas Club's neon sign. Once the tallest.

Elvis with Vegas showgirls (1956).

Celebrities attending a show at the Sands.

Stardust Lido ad.

Showgirls celebrating the sunny Christmas holidays of Las Vegas.

The 1958 arrival of French dancers for Stardust's Lido Paris Show.

Champagne and Hot Dogs for the Lido girls. Perfect photo-opp props.

Tropicana showgirls saying hello to the year 1960.

1978 Stardust Showgirls.

Las Vegas May 15, 1905 - May 15 2010

Las Vegas circa 1905. The train from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City caused the creation of the train depot downtown. Parcels of land were auctioned off on May 15th and a city was born across the way from the train station. In 1935 Hoover Dam was completed - gambling, plus quick and easy marriage or divorce was legalized. Las Vegas has been booming ever since, for the last 75 years.

The Union Plaza Hotel, built on former site of the 1905 train Depot.

The Plaza opened on July 2, 1971 - and was billed as the "World's Largest Casino" with 80,000 square feet of casino space.

City Center opened last December as the largest privately funded development in the history of the United States. It occupies 76 acres of land and is composed of 7 skyscrapers.

Happy Birthday Vegas - From Paul, Frank, Dino

1. Mc Cartney in Moscow, 2. Happy Birthday to Sinatra party, 3. Sinatra sings Fly Me to the Moon on 1968 TV, 4. A happy birthday video with Dean Martin, 5. The Rat Pack performs with Johnny Carson

Helldorado Weekend 2010

Local TV commercial for the 2010 Helldorado Rodeo.

InOldLasVegas.com

Funny Vegas Pool Extroverts

2010-05-13T15:16:00.000-07:00

1. Funny drunk guy, 2. Girl falls then goes in pool with her shoes on, 3. Drunk wedding girl, 4. Crazy drunk girl, 5. Drunk girl dancing, 6. Man dances in blue dress, 7. Girl dances and man approaches, 8. Cowboy in Borat thong escorted from pool, 9. Girl's big bootie dance, 10. Rehab people.

Monster-ous Renovation at the Tropicana

2010-05-12T14:04:00.000-07:00

The newly opened 1957 Tropicana Hotel & Casino.

Notice the palms trees. The get pulled out by a giant in the video down below.

Tropicana Renovation by the Amazing Colossal Man

The Trop gets attacked at the 1:05 mark.

This 1957 movie was a big hit among kids and teens in 1957. The 40 foot tall Colossal Man goes on a rampage and attacks the casinos of Las Vegas. He starts at the Royal Nevada, then the Silver Slipper and works his way to the Tropicana and back up to the Sands. He ends up on Hoover Dam where the police finally stop him cold. Poor guy. He was just doing what any of us might do under the same circumstances.

The Complete Photo-History of the Tropicana

A New Webpage - Coming Next Month to:

InOldLasVegas.com

Binions' Neon Dice Blunder ?

2010-05-12T11:17:00.000-07:00

Driving a cab gives a guy a lot of opportunity to notice unusual things along the streets of Las Vegas. Being a photographer, I'm a fairly observant person. One night I was looking at the neon signage on the back (northward) side of Binion's from my cab seat. You see the back neon when you exit the freeway and turn onto Casino Center Blvd.

There's a lot of neon and a bunch of tumbling dice that appear in animated, blinking sequences. Plus different strips of neon flash on and off and move horizontally to fill the sign with a red and blue background.

This photo shows the colored, neon strips fully lit and a few pairs of dice cubes blinking. The dice then start moving and you then see from four dice to twelve dice going thru their animated sequences.

This photo is an example to show the consistent pattern of numbering that is stamped on all dice cubes. The opposite ends of every dice cube (front and back faces) always follow the same pattern. The numbers aren't set randomly like many people think they are. The six faces of a dice cube are stamped in an ordered fashion. The face of one cube is stamped with a 6 and its opposite end is stamped with a 1. The opposite end of a 5 is always a 2. The opposite end of a 4 is always a 3. The opposite ends must (and always do) add up to seven.

What stuck me as being odd one night, while I looked up at Binions' neon sign, was that one of Binions' neon dice cubes (shown above) has the number four on one end and a number three on its side, instead of at its opposite end.

This is NOT the way dice are actually stamped. A 3 is ALWAYS on the opposite end of a 4. The neon designer obviously didn't check his design for accuracy. Or else he intentionally was presenting the winning number of seven (on a single dice cube) for subliminal advertising reasons. Still. It's an inaccuracy.

Now, this incorrect cube of neon dice is no big deal and no one has probably ever noticed this anyway in all the many years this neon animation has been flashing and moving atop Binions' north entry.

Yet, I felt like taking this photo and pointing out the inaccuracy, if only for the sake of posterity, truth in advertising and humor. It's fun for me to see that even casinos can be wrong at times - since they themselves set such strict standards towards numerical accuracy on their casino floors.

I don't think its wrong for me to likewise point out their own glaring, 14 year mistake that's set right out in public for all to see. Is it? It is kinda funny when you think about it.

This photo shows the neon animated sequence of patterns where the other dice start appearing. You can see that the other dice cubes' neon is now glowing and that the pips of one of those cubes is showing the number four - glowing thru the specific dice cube I'm talking about here. The cube just left of the Letter B in Binions' sign.

This one specific cube continues to show its numbers as being three and four, side-by-side, which isn't possible with real dice cubes.

When the other dice stop their tumbling sequence, you can easily and plainly see (in photo above) that the incorrect layout of a 3 & 4 are plainly countable and viewable as being set side-by side, instead of at opposite ends as they should be and are in normal life.

This fact might seem trivial and not worth mentioning. Still it defies the logical and proper depiction of a dice cube and is just plain wrong. If I'm mistaken I'll gladly eat my chocolate hat.

A Fun Dice Trick

Okay. This is not actually a trick. Nor is it magic, though it can appear to others like it is. It's just a way of using quick addition to make your friends think your are psychic or something. The trick can be done using a glass of water, though that's not usually worth the effort since you can do the trick on any plain counter-top.

But, just for fun's sake, imagine having a friend shake a pair of dice and then have him drop the two cubes into a glass of water. Then tell him you can guess the total number of the dice cubes that appears on the under-side (bottom) of the drinking glass.

What you have to do is simply look at the tops of the dice in the water. Your friend won't even notice you seeing the dice tops nor will he even think that could help you in any way to know the numbers under the glass' bottom.

You just need to quickly add the total number of the top of the dice cubes in your head. If you see that the number is a three and a six you know the total value adds up to nine.

Whatever the numbers on the top of the dice read out as - simply (and accurately) subtract that total from the number 14.

If you were to see the total number is nine (like it is above) you would subtract nine from fourteen. The number (in this case) would be five.

Tell your friend the numbers under the glass are five....then have him lift up the glass and take a look underneath.

Your friend will see that you are correct and wonder how you knew that. First he'll be amazed. Then he'll figure that you know some sort of trick involving seeing the numbers on the top of the dice. It's okay to let him know that, because he'll still wonder how you are arriving at the correct total.

Just remember the number to use is 14. Most people are not aware of the fact that dice faces have a logical pattern to them. Most people imagine that the dice faces are stamped randomly. But if you take the time to actually read the opposite ends of any single cube of dice - you can see that the opposite side of a 6 is a 1, opposite 5 is a 2, opposite 4 is a 3 (then vice versa with 3, 2, 1).

Remember. Never tell anyone about this number 14. Keep it a lifelong secret as all true magicians learn to do. Just practice adding and subtracting any two dice until you can do it within a split-second. If you get too cocky you can easily fumble the math.

Anyway. This can be a fun trick to show a seven year old kid or a bored bartender. Just remember the magic number 14 and be sure to practice your addition and subtraction.

History of a Shopping Center Casino 1963-1981

2010-05-11T06:27:00.000-07:00

The Bonanza Gift Store is located on the north-west corner of the Strip and Sahara Avenue. It has thousands of great Vegas souvenirs, interesting items for any den, living room, bedroom or kitchen...plus clothes, postcards, gaming supplies, dice and used decks of cards from some major casinos like the Mirage, Golden Nugget and Riviera.

I've always been interested in the history of this location, being that it once was the largest shopping center on the Strip and I like to try imagining what it was like in its 1950s heyday.

I've had a hard time trying to find more info about this location. It pre-dates the 1960 Commercial Center and may have opened up in 1954 under the name Vegas Plaza - though I'm still not certain of that.

One thing, for sure, is that it's lasted a long time and will quite likely become the site of some notable future Las Vegas landmark or hotel-casino.

This Bonanza Shopping Center was once actually the location for four early casinos from 1963-1981, so I decided to make that this Now & Then Blogsite's topic for today.

This circa 1960 aerial photo shows the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara Avenue, looking north. The Sahara Hotel is seen on the right. The vacant lot across from the Sahara (with trees) was the northern-most edge of the 1941-1960 El Rancho Hotel property (though the actual El Rancho complex was about 150 yards south of the Sahara).

Diagonally across from the Sahara was the shopping center mentioned above - where the Bonanza Gift Store is currently located. You can click on this photo to enlarge it. There is a yellow star that shows the exact spot where the Bonanza store is now located (mid-left in the photo). During the 1950s it may have been a grocery store. Later it became the site for a few popular, Las Vegas shopping center casinos.

This is a closer view of the shopping center lot. In 1974, Bob Stupak would open his Million Dollar Casino just a few blocks north of this shopping center, and later, his 1979 Vegas World and 1995 Stratosphere casinos.

In 1963 a casino was placed into the shopping center with the name Honest John's. The Honest John Casino would remain open until sometime between 1978-1981. In 1971 the Big Wheel casino opened just next to Honest John's. The circular sign now advertises the Bonanza Gift Store. Sometime after 1974, the Big Wheel Casino became the Centerfold Casino.

The Big Wheel became the Centerfold Casino from 1975-1977. Their sign advertised "Girls! Girls! Naked But Nice". I'm not quite sure how naked girls were allowed to work in a casino (given the Nevada Gaming Commission's rules prohibiting such a thing). According to some sources, the Centerfold was strictly a 'topless dancing strip-club' - so, I'm not too sure why its sign also says "21-Casino-Poker".

The closest thing to "naked" women working in a casino (that I've ever heard of) were the 1966 graveyard-shift, topless dealers that worked for a short time at the Silver Nugget Casino. These dealers wore sheer, see-thru tops and wore pasties on their bare breasts. They were soon prohibited from working in this type of apparel - so I don't think the Centerfold Casino could have allowed "Naked But Nice" women to work in their casino. Quite surely, the naked, Centerfold Women were completely separated from any casino gaming activity.

In 1977 the Centerfold Casino became known as the Jolly Trolley Restaurant, Saloon and Dining Depot. The circular sign now announced "Casino - Burlesque is Back - Naked But Nice". Valet parking was provided as well.

The Jolly Trolley remained at this location from 1977-1981. At this point the entire former shopping center seems to have become one big casino and entertainment center. The original 1963 Honest John's Casino was still operating (just to the left of the of the Jolly Trolley and its circular sign - though not shown in this photo).

There was a 24 hour adult bookstore & movie arcade located in the center of this stretch of buildings. During this time the Jolly Trolley expanded all the way to the other (east-end) of the shopping center - where it now advertised "Macho Male Strippers - Ladies Only - Hotties Male Revue".

Meanwhile, the marquee underneath the circular Jolly Trolley sign announced "Centerfold Revue - Disco Dollies - Naked But Nice - Continuous Entertainment - Noon thru 6am".

Other marquee advertisements announced "$1 Single Deck Black-Jack" - "Las Vegas' Biggest Hamburger" plus a very low-priced "Breakfast Special - Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Toast and Coffee - 69 Cents". I don't suppose the 69 cent price had any pun intended, even if it was located just next to the Adult Store. (By the way: the adult bookstore now operates as Bonanza Naughty Town and advertises "Naughty Stuff & Party Favors").

The Jolly Trolley Casino closed in 1981. If walls could talk it seems these walls would have plenty to say after operating for over 55 years - first as a mainstream, Fifties shopping center and then as a 1963-1981 casino-strip-club and adult bookstore-movie arcade.

The Bonanza Gift & Souvenir Shops advertise themselves as "The World's Largest Gift Shop". How true that is, I just don't know...but the place IS quite large and offers great products.

One thing that's comforting is Bonanza's motto (seen in red letters above) that proudly announces "If It's In Stock, We Have It".

Viva Las Vegas - A Complete History

2010-05-05T05:26:00.001-07:00

The 46 Year Impact of a Vegas Song

Viva Las Vegas - The Song and Movie Art

The gathered crowd watching the filming of Viva Las Vegas in 1963.

Viva Definition: [Italian, Spanish] an exclamation of acclaim or approval.

WARNING: This is an exceptionally long, rambling and overly-opinionated blog. At first I mainly just planned to show a video of ZZ Top singing Viva Las Vegas. One thing led to another and I somehow ended up writing the entire definitive history of the use of the term Viva Las Vegas in all its various incarnations. So, if you would prefer to just take a look at some interesting videos - you can see them down below and can skip right over the jumbled story I tried to put together. Jeez. I'm apologizing ahead of time for my own long blog.

Elvis in Vegas 1956

Elvis, bass player Bill Black, guitarist Scotty Moore and drummer D.J. Fontana sitting by the pool at the New Frontier Hotel, in 1956, while there for their first ever Vegas performance.

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To better understand the social signifigance of Viva Las Vegas, the beginning section of this blog traces the evolution of First and Second Wave teen-movies up their 1964 ,young adult, Viva Las Vegas culmination.

If you're mainly just interested in highlights from the movie you can skip down to the video players to see assorted highlights and videos. If you care to know more about the genres of movies geared towards 1950s and 1960s American teenagers, you can read the info that follows.

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Viva Las Vegas was one of the last movies in a teen-audience genre that extended from the early 1950s until 1964 . The social fashion of Juvenile Delinquency was a major movie theme through most of the Fifties. The Fifties provided a extravaganza of 'troubled-teen' films that both reflected and perpetuated that decade's main social disorder and the fashionability of the Rock 'n' Roll, hot rod driving, greased pompador wearing, tough-talking, teen-culture.

Troubled-teen movies were the rage of the 1950s - from Marlon Brando in the 1953 Wild Ones' biker-gang movie, to the 1955 Blackboard Jungle, to James Dean's 1955 Rebel Without a Cause.

After Elvis' arrival as the Musical King of the Juvenile Delinquents and his gaining ultimate Cool Punk icon status, his second movie, 1957's Jailhouse Rock was about another troubled-teen who gets sent to prison for a bar-room brawl murder. Films about juvenile delinquency were the mode of the times and were even represented on Broadway in the 1957 production of West Side Story (a modern-day Romeo and Juliet story that took place in a JD street-gang culture).

As the teens of the 1950s matured, the troubled-teen movies began to slowly fade away to be replaced by a new era of teen culture (1959-1964) that was much more fun-loving and wholesome. When Elvis came back from the Army he was set to play young-adult roles, much more representative of the gay times and the short lived JFK Camelot years.

Elvis would star in 10 fun-loving movies from 1960-1963. In 1964, Elvis's starring role in Viva Las Vegas represented the last days of the super-wholesome era of teen-audience movies. In the movie he marries Ann-Margret and sets off for a life of marital bliss as a young adult.

The span of Elvis films - from teenage Jailhouse Rocker to a Twenty-Something married man seemed to perfectly complete the trouble-teen genre. Most of Presley's original 1950s teen fans had likewise followed that same 'settling-down' pattern in their own lives.

Along came the Beatles in 1964, releasing their Hard Day's Night movie just three months after Viva Las Vegas. In this Post-JFK year the 1960s teen-scene fashion would soon shift from the "Wet Look"Greasers to the "Dry Look" surfer-like Mop Tops, the same way England's Mods replaced the Rockers.

This 'Wet to Dry shift' represented much more than a change of fashion. In actuality it demonstrated an entire dividing line between two generations of Youth Culture.

The era of JDs, Punks and Troubled-Teens became a relic of another decade and reached extinction. Elvis, likewise, became musically extinct for nearly the remainder of the decade - yet was still locked into his Post-1964 movie contracts. Thus began the era of what many people call the Schlock Films of Elvis - though that might be arguable as this blog later presents, mid-way down.

The remainder of this blog-page talks about the teen movies, then the Viva Las Vegas movie, followed by various revisions of the Viva Las Vegas song and ideal, as displayed in the revival-culture of the decades from 1980 to 2010.

The basic plot of the Viva Las Vegas movie was about a race car driver named Lucky Jackson who comes to LV to race in its first Grand Prix style race. He loses the money he had to buy an engine in the Flamingo Hotel's swimming pool after trying to seranade Ann-Margret. The movie follows his pursuit of her and shows lots of Vegas landmarks thru the course of the movie.

Viva Las Vegas was titled 'Love in Las Vegas' for Latin audiences in Mexico and South America. The slightly more garish artwork was deemed to be more suitable for foreign markets.

Viva Las Vegas - Historical Cultural Context of the Movie

Punks, Rebels, JD's, Reform School Girls, Bikers, Hoods, Switchblades and Hot Rods

The years following World War Two brought a focus upon a culture of society that was barely before recognized - the teenager. From 1937-1946 teenagers were mainly represented in American film through the super-wholesome Andy Hardy series of movies (starring Mickey Rooney) in which the main focus on teen-life was acting as a young adult should, finding a date for the prom, mowing lawns for side-money or choosing a proper course of study for one's future career.

In the late 1940s Teen-Culture began to change dramatically. A big rise in juvenile delinquency began to take place and this new phenomenon began to be reflected in American movies. This focus on juvenile delinquency began in the late 40s and continued to the end of the late 1950s, when the generation began to reach adulthood. Elvis Presley movies played a large part in the changes and today's blog will try to show how Fifties Generation reached its end in 1964's Viva Las Vegas

One of the first teen-age, youth culture movies to address the rise in teenage rebellion was this 1947 movie called The Devil on Wheels. 1949 brought two more of these delinquency movies, one titled Bad Boys and the other titled City Across the River - which starred Tony Curtis who played a member of the Amboy Dukes gang. Curtis was one of the first teens to wear the greased back, long haired pompador style that would be adopted by Elvis and members of the Fifties Generation.

Four major movies of the 1950s that focused on delinquency were The Wild Ones (1953), The Blackboard Jungle (1955), Rebel Without a Cause (1956) and Elvis' Jailhouse Rock (1957).

Though these are the well known ones produced by major motion picture companies, several hundred such JD movies were produced thru the 1950s with titles ranging from: Teenage Crime Wave, Hot Rod Girl, High School Hellcats, So Bad So Young, Hot Rod Rumble, Untamed Youth, The Violent Years, No Time To Be Young - to High School Caesar and The T-Bird Gang.

Even Howard Hughes got into the act when he produced his 1952 teenage movie The Pace That Thrills. A list of fifty other titles can be found at the bottom of this blog-article.

Most youth movies of the 1950s were about JDs or monsters. One film that managed to combine both genres was I Was a Teenage Werewolf. Another was The Blob (1958).

The big thrust of JD movies would die-out around the end of 1959...though it took until 1961 before the movie production of the 1957 stage play West Side Story hit the movie theaters.

A new era of wholesome teen films started the early 1960s, though a few other biker style were still produced in the 1960s - but the genre had largely played itself out.

The Elvis Impact on 1950s America

During the 1950s Elvis starred in four successful teen movies:

1956 - Love Me Tender

1957 - Loving You

1957 - Jailhouse Rock

1958 - King Creole

A New Era of Wholesomeness

In 1957, author Frederick Kohner wrote a simple little book called Gidget - about his daughter's fascination with the teenaged surf-culture rising up in Malibu, California. In 1959 a summer movie, based on the book, was released.

The Gidget Series of Movies

The 1959 release of Gidget presented a whole new genre of teen-movies that stepped away from the back alley Teen Punk fashion and instead, focused on the fun loving sagas of surf-culture and beach life. This transition from switchblades to surfboards more accurately represented the youth mentality developing at the end of the decade.

1959 Gidget, 1961 Gidget Goes Hawaiian, 1963 Gidget Goes to Rome

Elvis - Back from the Army - His Movies from 1960 thru 1964

1960 GI Blues - 1961 Flaming Star - 1961 Wild in the Country

1961 - Blue Hawaii

1962 Follow That Dream - 1962 Kid Galahad - 1962 Girls! Girls! Girls

1963 It Happened at the World's Fair - 1963 Fun in Acapulco - 1964 Kissin' Cousins

THE FEMALE ELVIS

Ann-Margret's star was rising fast during the early 1960s, especially after her starring role with Pat Boone and Pamela Tiffin in the 1962 remake of 'State Fair', which was soon followed by her starring role in the highly popular 1963 movie 'Bye Bye Birdie'.

The young stars of State Fair were Ann-Margret, Pamela Tiffin, and two of the most popular singing idols of the time: Pat Boone and Bobby Darin.

Bye Bye Birdie (1963) told a story based on Elvis going into the Army in 1958.

Viva Las Vegas and Early 60s Teen Cinema

Ann-Margret and Elvis on the Viva Las Vegas movie set at the Flamingo Hotel.

The grouping of Elvis and Ann-Margret, for Viva Las Vegas, brought together two of the most popular young, singing, sex-symbol, movie stars of the time - in head-to-head competition against Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello and their oceanside, teenage movie romps.

The early Beach Party movies of Frankie and Annette were released as follows:

Beach Party - August 1963

Muscle Beach Party - March 1964

Bikini Beach Party - July 1964

Viva Las Vegas was released in May 1964 and economically far surpassed the two beach party movies released just two months before Viva and two months after.

Viva Las Vegas earned over $5 million dollars and is listed as being the #11 top grossing movie of 1964, out-grossing such 1964 classic movies as Beckett, Zorba the Greek, Dr. Strangelove, and Night of the Iguana. Viva Las Vegas is ranked in the Top Eleven with such high-grossing 1964 movies as Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady, Goldfinger and The Pink Panther.

Viva Las Vegas - 2010 Remixing of Original Song & Scenes

1. 2009 Remix of VLV set to 1970 footage of Elvis in concert at the International Hotel in Las Vegas, 2. Fan Tribute to Elvis and Ann-Margret with the original version of the song, 3. 2010 remix w/ movie scenes

Viva Las Vegas - The 1964 Movie

Ann-Margret was labeled the "Bye-Bye Gal" on the Viva movie poster because of her earlier role in the 1963 movie titled Bye-Bye Birdie. That movie was based on the 1960 Broadway play about teen-fans' reaction to their rock 'n' roll idol being drafted into the Army.

30 Minutes of Viva Las Vegas' Beginning Scenes

1. The two and a half minute opening aerial shots show the neon lights of Downtown Las Vegas and then show the road-signs for the Stardust and other Strip casinos. The 2:20 mark shows the Flamingo's Champagne Tower and then a ground-level shot of Elvis driving into Flamingo's front driveway.

4:36 shows the old convention center dome and the Landmark Hotel. Ann-Margret arrives in hot-pants and the double-entendres begin ("we'll be very happy to check your motor" and "I'll be happy to drive you wherever you want to go", etc.). The Riviera can be seen in the distance at 9:20.

2. Around the :40 point of this second video the Sands Hotel can be seen close-up. 2:15 shows the Thunderbird. 2:36 shows the Stardust. 3:03 shows the Flamingo sign. 3:33 shows the Tropicana (along with the real Folies Bergere show, as listed in the movie's opening credits).

4:03 shows the Sahara. 4:30 shows a likely fictitional Swinger's Club (probably built on a studio lot) where Elvis breaks out into song (for the first of 10 songs thru-out the movie). As they say in movieland "gaiety, high-jinks and hilarity ensues".

8:15 shows the beginning segment of Ann-Margret at the actual Flamingo pool. This is probably the best movie footage of an actual casino pool in movie history and gives a true-to-life feel of the old Flamingo. Another song begins at the video's end and continues into video #3.

3. Ann-Margret changes from a red to yellow swimsuit and the inevitable romantic cat-and-mouse-game begins with A-M singing "the lady loathes him" and "I'd rather kiss a rattlesnake" while moundily walking around the pool area.

At 3:33 she pushes Elvis off the Flamingo's diving board into the pool, where his bankroll ends up going down the drain. 4:15 shows the actual pool-lobby interior of the Flamingo. 4:59 shows the Flamingo pool once again and Ann in the inevitable red bathing suit and mandated rear-view-walk-away-shot - as Elvis enters the picture (now suddenly) working as a costumed waiter for the hotel.

There are some very good views of Vegas swimming pool life until 7:00. The location shifts and Ann is then seen in black leotards at the UNLV gym doing various early-Sixties gyrations. She finishes her dance with some subliminally provocative "haw, haw, haws" and taunts Elvis with the standard Elvis-movie-line: "Are you gonna chicken-out? The kids are expecting you to do something". He reluctantly agrees with the counter-phrase order "but then we cut-out".

Elvis leads "the kids" into a finger-snapping, hand-clapping, hip-shaking romp with his "C'Mon Everybody" song and camera shots of Ann-Margret, now shaking her bootie to the words "my baby loves me".

4. The last segment of Viva shows the car race, which shows the obligatory car crashes and great night and day views of Downtown's Fremont Street. Scenes of Lake Mead and the desert roads, as well as some Mount Charleston roads, can be seen. Elvis wins the race and the girl. The final minute of the movie shows Elvis and Ann exiting the Last Frontier's Little Church of the West.

(Note:) In the crowd of well-wishers the Flamingo's publicist Abe Schiller can be seen on the right. Abe was once known by the title 'Mr. Las Vegas' long before Wayne Newton or George Wallace used the label. Abe was also known as 'The Jewish Cowboy' due to the simple fact that he wore very extravagant, jeweled cowboy clothes, designed by Nudie, most everywhere he went.

Nudie Cohn was the famous designer who worked for Tex Williams, Hank Williams, made Elvis' 1957, $10,000 gold lame suit and who also worked for ZZ Top. Elvis would later have his jumpsuits designed and made by Nudie in his Early Seventies Period at the International in Las Vegas.

Elvis with Nudie Cohn in 1957 with the $10,000 gold lame suit.

Viva Las Vegas is a good movie to buy or rent simply to see scenes of Old Las Vegas.

The Beatles Take Over America

In August of 1964 the Beatles' movie Hard Day's Night was released and is ranked as being the 7th highest-grossing movie of 1964, earning over $6 million dollars.

In a way, Viva Las Vegas marked the end-of-an-era, just as Hard Day's Night marked the beginning of a new one. Shortly after The Beatles entered the scene, the popularity of hot-rod movies, surfing movies, and even Elvis movies began to quickly fade away.

Beatlemania quickly spread across Europe and the USA all thru 1964.

Schlock of Elvis

The Great Cultural Divide of 1965.

The Wet Look versus the Dry Look. Real Music versus Movie Music.

Elvis would continue making such movie oddities as Frankie and Johnny, Harum Scarum and Clambake up till 1969, despite the fact that those movies flew in the face of the cultural shift taking place during the mid and last half of the 1960s.

The New York Times had this to say about Elvis movies in December 1968: "Three times a year Elvis Presley... makes multi-million dollar feature-length films with holiday titles. For each film, Elvis receives a million dollars in wages and 50 per cent of the profits. Every film yields an LP sound-track record which may sell as many as two-million copies."

While many critics and arm-chair quarterbacks say Elvis could have gone on to have a great career in dramatic films, if only he would have given up making his schlock, post-1964 films, that assumption is open to debate.

I personally doubt if Elvis would have done too great a job in such late sixties dramas as Cool Hand Luke, Bonnie and Clyde, Midnight Cowboy, Butch Cassidy or even Planet of the Apes. Elvis just doesn't seem like he would have fit too well in any type of dramatic cast ensemble (although, had he lived longer, it'd be interesting to see him in Glen Gary Glen Ross).

The appeal for Elvis' audiences was in seeing him as a fun loving womanizer, moving from job-to-job and going from one tourist destination to another. And he earned a lot of money playing that unique role. So maybe Colonel Parker and Elvis knew what they were doing after all.

As for me, I went to every Elvis movie until I was 12 and the Beatles arrived. By Autumn 1964 Elvis seemed like a character from a by-gone era. Hardly anyone I knew went to see any more Elvis movies (especially after feeling basically ripped-off for the 50 cent admission price to the 1965 Harum Scarum movie).

I've now (at age 58) seen most every so-called schlock, post-Viva Las Vegas Elvis movie that I skipped seeing when they originally were released. They've gotten me thru many a boring Sunday afternoon. And finally, with a distance of 45 years, I've come to see the relevance and (tongue-in-cheek) hidden sexual humor of Elvis singing 'Do the Clam' ("Let's work up an appetite, grab your baby by the hand, turn and tease, hug and squeeze, dig right in and do the Clam").

I finally saw the 1968 Elvis movie 'Live a Little, Love a Little' 32 years after it was released and was greatly impressed by how funny it actually is. I'd never before heard the term "satisfactioning me". As for Viva Las Vegas? It's boosted the popularity of Las Vegas immensely over the last decade. Hence, my unusually long blog about its history.

1980 Viva Las Vegas - Dead Kennedys

Dead Kennedys were a punk-rock band that was formed in 1978. In 1980, they were the first music group to re-record the 1964 Viva Las Vegas song for their debut album titled Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegatables.

The band was known for their tasteless and satirical attacks against mainstream, early-80s society. The group's name was quite controversial and often caused the group to have to use their alternate name, The Pink Twinkies, on several occasions.

The Dead Kennedys insisted that their name wasn't meant to insult the nearly sacred memory of the Kennedys, but was used "to bring attention to the end of the American Dream".

The photo for the album cover (above) was taken during San Francisco's 1979 "White Night Riot" and shows burning police cars that were set on fire by angry protesters against the overly lenient sentencing of the city supervisor (Dan White) for the murder of Mayor Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk.

Spin Magazine ranked this album #46 in their list of "The 50 Most Essential Punk Records".

The Dead Kennedys disbanded in 1986 and reformed for a few years around 2001 until 2007. Their version of Viva Las Vegas was used in the 1998 Hunter Thompson movie, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Viva Las Vegas - By ZZ Top

ZZ Top was the first, well-known (non-punk) rock group to record Viva Las Vegas.

ZZ Top members: Dusty Hill (bass) on left, Frank Beard (drummer) in middle, Billy Gibbons (guitar) on right. The band is originally from Houston, Texas and was formed in 1969. About ten years later the two front-men started growing their beards out and their beards now have an iconic life of their own. Ironically, drummer Frank Beard doesn't wear the trademark long beard.

ZZ Top recorded their version of Viva Las Vegas around 1990. The song is included on their 1992 Greatest Hits CD and also in their retrospective CD boxed-set titled Chrome, Smoke and Barbecue.

All three band members were born in 1949. Dusty was born on May 19, Billy was born on December 16, and Frank on June 11. The band is basically a good combination of Fire and Air (with Billy the Fire-Sign Sagittarius, Dusty the Gemini Air-Earth cusper and Frank the full Air-Sign Gemini).

It's been decades since I could distinguish between Billy and Dusty unless they were carrying their instruments or I can spot Billy's beer-can-opener necklace.

ZZ Top will be performing at the Indianapolis 500 on May 28, 2010.

This wall mural shows the Eliminator (ZZ Top's 1933 chopped Ford Coupe) near the Welcome to Las Vegas sign. The Eliminator was featured on their 1983 album of the same name and was used in each of their first four MTV music videos. Their ZZ logo is seen on the car's side doors.

Viva Las Vegas - Sung by ZZ and Assorted Performers

The video-player has 37 videos installed. The first 16 videos are of various performers singing Viva Las Vegas (from ZZ Top, Dead Kennedys, U2, Springsteen, Chris Isaak, etc). Then come some parts of the Flintstones' Viva Rock Vegas. After that are scenes and songs from Bye Bye Birdie. The final are Elvis singing all ten songs from the Viva Las Vegas movie.

You can click the grey-box (left on player) to quickly advance to different videos.

1. ZZ Top 2. Dead Kennedys 3. Bruce Springsteen 3b. Johnny Ramone 4. The Analogs 5. Dolly Parton and the Grascals 6. Wayne Newton 7. Engelbert Humperdink 8. The Rock 9. U2 at Sam Boyd 10. 11. U2 360 12. Elvis 13. Movie's opening credits 14. At the Bellagio Fountains 15. More Fountains 16. Chris Isaak 17. Viva Viagra Commercial 18. Viagra 19. Fear and Loney Tunes in Las Vegas 20. Viva Rock Vegas Flintstones' trailer 21. Viva Rock Vegas ending scenes 22. Flintstones singing 23. Ann-Margrock 24. Paul Mc Cartney showing and playing Bill Black's up-right bass 25. Bye Bye Birdie Telephone Hour song 26. Birdie's Honestly Sincere segment 27. Ann-Margret Lovely to Be a Woman from Birdie * Elvis' other Viva Las Vegas songs: 28. If You Think I Don't Need You 29. Do the Vega 1 30. Do the Vega 2 31. What'd I Say 1 32. What'd I Say 2 33. Night Life 34. Today Tomorrow and Forever 35. TTF Version 2 36. I Need Somebody to Lean On 37. You're the Boss

Viva Las Vegas - The Rockabilly Festival

Viva Las Vegas Website

The Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend has been held in Las Vegas since 1997. It is operated by a group of great people who live in Southern California and Long Beach. Every year thousands of people attend this annual, four-day, April event. 2011 will be the 14th year this incredible festival will take place again in West Vegas.

The Thursday thru Sunday event features over a hundred rockabilly bands that play in the Orleans Ballroom or inside various Orleans' bars, like Brendans. A daytime car-show is held on Saturday. Fashion shows and Burlesque Competitions are held on the weekend and the headline band plays on Saturday night. The Tiki Pool Party is held on Sunday.

The Viva Las Vegas event organizers provide hotel room bookings at the Orleans, the Gold Coast and the Palms. You can book your rooms by clicking here. Bands and vendors can e-mail the organizers at tom@vivalasvegas.net.

Remember. The next event will be held from April 21-24, 2011.

Viva Las Vegas - The Wedding Chapel

The Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel offers a number of themed weddings such as the Hollywood Starlet wedding, Wassup Pussycat wedding, the Bluez Brotherz wedding and Rocky's Horror wedding.

People can hold their wedding in the Main Chapel, the Little Chapel, the Garden Chapel, or in an actual 1950s styled Doo Wop Diner Chapel.

The chapel is located on the Upper Strip between the Stratosphere and Downtown (1205 Las Vegas Blvd. Las Vegas, NV 89104). Phone: (800) 574-4450 or (702) 384-0771.

Another Elvis-inspired wedding chapel (in the same general area) is the Graceland Chapel which is supposedly the actual place where Elvis and Priscilla got married in May 1967, before holding their wedding party at the Aladdin Hotel. Graceland Wedding Chapel 619 Las Vegas Blvd. South Las Vegas, NV 89101 (800) 824-5732

Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel Website

Viva Rock Vegas - The Flintstones' Movie

Viva Rock Vegas is the story of the Stone Age foursome's trip to Vegas.

Viva Rock Vegas (2000) was the follow-up movie to the 1994 Flintstones movie. Mark Addy plays Fred and Stephen Baldwin plays Barney Rubble. Kristen Johnston (from TV's 30 Rock) plays Wilma and Jane Krakowski (from TVs 3rd Rock from the Sun) plays Betty.

The original Flintstones' TV series aired from 1960-1966. It was the first of a string of Prime Time TV cartoon shows. The Flintstones was aimed at an adult TV audience and was sponsored by Winston cigarettes.

The inside-joke to the Flintstones was that it was a cartoon version of the early 1950s Honeymooner's TV series' characters Ralph, Alice, Norton and Trixie. In 1961, another animated adult-cartoon TV series, called Top Cat, followed this same imitative pattern by portraying a gang of alley-cats patterned after the Phil Silvers' TV Show's group of Army characters.

The Flintstones was broadcast on Friday nights as the lead-in show to the ultra-popular 77 Sunset Strip. The first two seasons of the Flintstones were broadcast in Black and White. In 1962 it started being broadcast in color and became a phenomenal nationwide sensation due to that fact.

At that time there were few color TV shows, except for Perry Como, Bonanza, JFK's Inaugural Parade, the Rosebowl Parade, Disneyland, All-Star Baseball and NBC's Saturday Night at the Movies, etc. It would take until 1965 before live color TV was broadcast on shows like The Hollywood Palace, Lawrence Welk and Ed Sullivan. The simple cartoon imagery of The Flintstones was quite suitable for 1962 color TV.

A sort of spin-off TV series, The Jetsons, also aired in 1962 and was a 2062 futuristic-utopian reversal of the Stone-Aged Flintstones (just as Green Acres would be a reversal of the Beverly Hillbillies).

In September 1963, as the Flintstones entered its 4th season it aired an episode which featured Ann-Margret singing (as the character Ann-Margrock). In the 2000 Viva Rock Vegas movie, Ann-Margret sings the Viva Las Vegas theme song (with re-written lyrics).

Video clips of this movie can be seen in the video player above.

Movie Synopsis: Young Fred and Barney meet Betty and Wilma at the Bronto Burger King. Fred pursues Wilma and they head to Rock Vegas. Fred starts gambling too much and Wilma gets angry. They eventually resolve things and get married in the Rock Vegas Chapel of Love.

The full, free movie can be seen on Hulu.com

Viva Las Vegas - Rolling Stones' Shows and CD

On April 16, 1999 the Rolling Stones performed at the Joint at the Hard Rock. The following night (Saturday April 17th) they performed at the MGM Grand. Later that year they released this rare live CD titled Viva Las Vegas which combined music from both of their appearances.

Prior to this CD, George Thorogood and the Destroyers released a similar "recorded live in Las Vegas" album (also titled Viva Las Vegas) in 1993.

Viva Las Vegas - The Television Concert

The Viva Las Vegas Concert was filmed for television and was a celebrity tribute to the music of Elvis. It was broadcast in 2007 and included the following performers and Presley songs.

Songs Performed: Peace in the Valley, Heartbreak Hotel, Jailhouse Rock, Love Me Tender, Don't Be Cruel, In the Ghetto, Suspicious Minds, Mystery Train, Love Me, Looking for Elvis, Can't Help Falling In Love

Performers: Faith Hill, Paul McCartney, Chris Isaak, Toby Keith, Joe Perry, Nora Jones, Celine Dion, Bruce Springsteen, Nils Lofgren, Three Six Mafia, Daughtry qand others.

Interviews: 50 Cent, Beyonce, Joe Esposito, Dwyane "The Rock" Johnson, Tom Jones, George Klein, David Lynch, Willie Nelson, Priscilla Presley, Jerry Schilling, Patti Scialfa, Nancy Sinatra and Rob Tomas .

Viva Elvis - The Cirque Du Soleil Show

The Viva Elvis-Cirque Du Soleil Show is performed at the new Aria Hotel

Las Vegas Related - Wall Murals, Prints and Posters

Click any slide for more Viva Las Vegas product info from Amazon.

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Notes:

Juvenile Delinquent Movies Up Till 1961

Wild Boys of the Road 1933

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Teenage Jungle 1944

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Bad Boys 1949

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Hot Rod 1950

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Pace That Thrills 1952 (Howard Hughes)

Tough Guy 1952

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Girls in the Night 1953

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Girl Gang 1954

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Running Wild 1955

Rebel Without a Cause 1955

Blackboard Jungle 1955

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Hot Rod Girl 1956

So Bad, So Young 1956

Girls in Prison 1956

Crime in the Streets 1956

Teenage Crime Wave 1955

Teenage Rebel 1956

The Violent Years 1956

The Flaming Teenage 1956

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No Time to Be Young 1957

Dragstrip Girl 1957

So Evil, So Young 1957

Young Don't Cry 1957

Four Boys and a Gun 1957

Teenage Bad Girl 1957

A Dangerous Age 1957

Dangerous Youth 1957

Careless Years 1957

Untamed Youth 1957

Teenage Bad Girl 1957

Hot Rod Rumble 1957

Motorcycle Gang 1957

Reform School Girl 1957

Young and Dangerous 1957

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Juvenile Jungle 1958

Party Crashers 1958

Dragstrip Riot 1958

Stakeout on Dope Street 1958

Young and WIld 1958

Cool and Crazy 1958

Young and WIld 1958

Teenage Thunder 1958

Live Fast, Die Young 1958

High School Hellcats 1958

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Riot in Juvenile Prison 1959

High School Confidential 1959

T-Bird Gang 1959

Rebel Set 1959

Cry Tough 1959

Date Bait 1959

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High School Caesar 1960

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West Side Story 1961 (adaptation of the 1957 stage-play)

Boxing History in Las Vegas

2010-05-03T18:01:00.001-07:00

During the early 1960s Las Vegas became a major capital for championship boxing matches. The Convention Center held most of the early title matches, like the Patterson and Liston bouts.

In the late 1960s Caesars Palace began promoting outdoor boxing on the southside of their property. Thru the 1970s most all major Vegas boxing events took place on the south-west side of Caesars, and later closer to the I-15 freeway either outdoors (as seen above) or later, within a permanent indoor arena located in this same general area.

Following the opening of the new MGM Grand, in 1993, most championship Las Vegas boxing events have been held in MGM's Arena.

Most Caesars' boxing events were held in the back part of Caesars' property (see red star) though some other 1980 events were held outdoors in the location indicated by the yellow star.

Fight Town: Las Vegas - the Boxing Capital of the World

BOXING HISTORY IN NEVADA

Before the late 1890s, boxing matches consisted of basic bare-knuckled brawling. In 1892 a prizefight was held between the first U.S. heavyweight champion Jim Corbett and John L. Sullivan. Titled 'The Battle of New Orleans' - the fight was held using Queensbury rules which stated boxers must wear gloves during a championship match.

Photo shows the outdoor Carson City event. Motion picture cameras were set up in a ringside camera shed and later shown in theaters through-out the country.

On St. Patrick's Day 1897 a championship match, labeled 'The Fight of the Century', was held in Carson City, Nevada between Bob Fitzsimmons and Jim Corbett. The fight was filmed by the Edison Picture Company and was one of the first major sporting events played nationally in early movie theaters and nickelodeons.

The total expenditures to hold and relay this fight were over $2,700,000. $1,300,000 of that money went to wire services and telegraph companies for the live reporting of the event. Fitzsimmons won the championship and the combined purse of $38,000. Bets made on the fight were likewise huge. One San Francisco bookmaker alone distributed over $150,000 in gold the day after the fight.

Joe Gans is considered to be one of the greatest boxers of all time. He boxed as a lightweight champion and fought from 1891 to 1909. Gans boxing career was filled with 9 losses, 120 wins of which 89 were knockouts. He died at the age of 36 from TB.

One of his biggest boxing matches took place in the once-thriving Nevada mining town of Goldfield, located halfway between Carson City and Southern Nevada (northwest of Las Vegas).

These two photos show Goldfield at the turn-of-the-century (left) and after 1906 (right) when the town's main street was filled with opulent buildings and the Goldfield Hotel.

Nine years after Nevada's Fitzsimmons versus Corbett fight, a championship match between Joe Gans and Oscar Nelson was held in Nevada, this time located in the once famous mining town of Goldfield (population 30,000 in 1906). The fight took place on Labor Day, September 1906.

The purse for the match, between Oscar Nelson and Joe Gans, was $33,500 . Over 100,000 boxing fans attended. The fight was held outdoors, in sweltering heat and lasted nearly three hours and 42 rounds.

Nelson was disqualified for a "vicious foul" and Gans remained the Lightweight Champion of the World. Film clips of both the 1897 and 1906 boxing matches can be seen in the video player below - along with a few clips of Goldfield, Nevada.

Spectators on the roofs of Goldfield.

The Gans-Nelson fight is commemorated by this marker in current day Goldfield.

THE HISTORY OF GOLDFIELD

Early Nevada Boxing Films

1. Fitzsimmons versus Corbett in 1897 Carson City, 2-4 Goldfield Nevada, 5. Gans versus Nelson in 1906 Goldfield.

Floyd Patterson and Las Vegas

Floyd Patterson was the 1952 middleweight gold-medal winner at the Olympic Games. His manager was Cus D'Amato, who later managed Mike Tyson. In 1956 Patterson knocked-out Archie Moore in the fifth round and became the youngest world heavyweight champion, at the age of 22 - being the first Olympic gold medalist to ever win a professional heavyweight fight.

Patterson went on to defend his title several times - but when he fought Sweden's Ingemar Johansson, in June 1959, he lost the match. Johansson became the first European to defeat an American, for the title, since 1933. A re-match was held in June of 1960. Patterson knocked out Johansson in the fifth round and became the first man to regain the undisputed world heavyweight title.

A third Patterson-Johansson fight was held in March 1961 and Floyd won by a knockout in the sixth round.

In September 1962 Patterson fought Sonny Liston, in Chicago, and received the third fastest knockout in boxing history. A major re-match was held in Las Vegas on July 22, 1963. Liston knocked out Floyd again in the first round.

Patterson went on to fight the rising young Cassius Clay (another Olympic Champion, from 1960) but lost that November 1965 fight. He and Ali had another re-match in September of 1972 at Caesars Palace where he suffered another defeat. He retired that year, at age 37 with a record of 55 wins (40 by knockouts) and 8 losses. He was the first boxer to ever regain the championship title.

El Cortez casino owner Jackie Gaughan hosting Floyd Patterson in Las Vegas.

Patterson, Liston and Ali Boxing Videos

1. Patterson Versus Ali in Vegas Part One (Sinatra and Dino in the audience), 2. Patterson-Ali Part Two, 3. Patterson-Ali 1972 at Caesars Palace Part One, 4. Patterson-Ali 1972 Part Two, 5. Patterson Versus Liston

Boxing Posters

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Boxing Items from Amazon

Click any slide for more product info from Amazon.com

The Best Boxing Videos Ever

1. Mayweather-Mosley Promo, 2. Ali-Bugner 1972 at Caesars, 3. Forman-Lyle at Caesars, 4. Leonard-Hearns at Caesars, 5. Holmes-Norton at Caesars, 6. Hagler-Leonard at Caesars, 7. Ali-Spinks at Caesars, 8. Hearns-Duran at Caesars, 9. Holyfield-Bowe at Caesars, 10. Holmes-Frazier at Caesars, 11. Ali-Holmes, 12. Tyson-Spinks, 13. Hollyfield-Tyson, 14-16. Oscar-Mayweather, 17. Mayweather-Mosley 28 minute HBO Special, 18-23. Assorted Mayweather HBO Specials (40 minutes and 51 minutes), 24-33. Assorted Ali-Liston and The History of Boxing.