Casino Cage

  Benny Binion was a mobster from Dallas, Texas. He was a moonshiner, ran an Italian Lotto, and ran a network of private dice games. By 1936 he gained control of most of the gambling operations in Dallas and had protection from a local politician.  He moved to Las Vegas after WWII when the Chicago Outfit took over Dallas. He first became a partner of Las Vegas Club, but left after a year. He then opened the Westerner Gambling House and Saloon, which he sold due to conflicts with the other partners.  In 1951 he purchase the Eldorado Club and Apache Hotel and rebranded them as Binion's Horseshoe Casino. This would be the start of his successful Las Vegas career. His casino became popular for having high bet limits. He was an innovator and marketing genius. He began offering comps to all players not just high rollers. He was know for his generosity towards players.  The Horseshoe Casino would offer a popular late night $2 steak special. He created a tourist attraction o...

 Las Vegas is famous for it's Buffets and Fine Dinning, but there are many other interesting restaurants to choose from. I'm a huge fan of gimmick restaurants. Here are some I plan to visit. The Heart Attack Grill features large, mega burgers with lots of unhealthy toppings. Guest wear a hospital gown and are served by waitresses in nurses uniforms. If you weight over 350lbs you qualify for a free meal.  Blackout is a restaurant where you dine in the dark. The Blackout experience begins in a pitch black dinning room where you are guide through a seven course pre-fix meal. The Strip is also home to 3 Tiki Restaurants. Aside from good food and drinks the décor at these restaurants is very Instagramable.  Frankie's Tiki Restaurant The Golden Tiki Island Time Floats Minus 5 is a lounge where everything is made of ice. This experience is purely for drinks, no food available. There are 3 separate locations in Las Vegas to choose from. The Tipsy Robot is another bar. The gimm...

  Las Vegas is known for it's Neon lights. Two of it's most famous lights are Vegas Vic and Vegas Vickie.  Vegas Vick dates back to 1951, where he was a fixture of The Pioneer Club. He is 40 feet tall and features a waving arm, a moving cigarette and says Howdy Partner every 15 minutes. The red circle on his shirt is from a Durham tobacco tab attached to a bag in his pocket. This represents a time when cowboy's rolled their own cigarettes. Vic's voice was silenced in 1966, then resorted in 1980 but sadly stopped working in 2006. His arm stopped waving in 1991. He is located in the same location at 25 Freemont Street, attached to a souvenir shop. In 1980 a female kicking cowgirl neon sign was put up across the street at The Girls of Glitter Gulch Strip Club. Vegas Vickie and Vic were married in 1994 during construction of the Freemont Street Experience. She has since been moved and is a fixture inside Vegas Vickie's Cocktail Lounge . 

 Las Vegas translates to The Meadows in Spanish. It was named by Mexican scout and map maker Rafael Rivera, because of the grass that grew and dessert springs. It was used as a stopping point on the Old Spanish Trail, which was an trade route connecting Northern New Mexico settlements to California. In 1844 John Freemont arrived and wrote about Las Vegas, drawing many pioneers to the land.  In 1855 Mormon missionaries built a fort to serve as a rest stop half way between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. It was an 150 foot adobe fort situated near a creek. Ownership went from the Mormons to a miner in 1865, to ranchers in 1881, and the Railroad in 1902. It still stands today and is also a museum with several early artifacts.

 The Golden Gate Casino is the first Casino to open in Las Vegas. It opened in 1906, originally under the name Hotel Nevada. It was purchased at a land auction on Fremont Street for only $1,750 and when it first opened it was $1 per night. It has been a part of Las Vegas history ever since.  In 1907 the first telephone in Las Vegas was installed in the hotel. In 1927 they install their first electric sign which is the predecessor of the modern neon sign.  In 1931 when gambling becomes legal again, they rebrand and open under the name "Sal Sagev." Which is Las Vegas spelled backwards. In 1955 a group of Italian American from San Francisco purchase the hotel and rename it "Golden Gate Casino." In 1959 one of the managers introduced the 50 cent shrimp cocktail, which became an instant hit. The dish consists of cooked shrimp, served in a cocktail glass and topped with spicy sauce made from ketchup, Tabasco sauce, Worchestershire, and lemon. There is a full page dedicat...

 By Clubs I mean sports clubs. Las Vegas is the perfect city to watch a game in person. The weather is great and with little rain there is no chance of a delay.  The  Golden Knights are an NHL hockey team. The Raiders are an NFL football team. The Aviators are an Milb minor league baseball team. The Las Vegas Aces are a WNBA basketball team.  The Las Vegas Lights  and Las Vegas Legends are both FC soccer teams. The Las Vegas Ramblers are a professional volleyball team. The Las Vegas Night Hawks are an indoor arena football team.

  I played "Roman Tribune" slots on Borogata online casino. Three of the main motifs are the Roman Soldier, his helmet, sword and dagger. These are also typically depicted as gladiator gear as well. A Roman soldier's helmet is called a galea. The solider here is wearing an Imperial helmet, it was first used by Celtics in Gaul. They provide neck, ear and cheek guards. The helmet with the mohawk is called a Praetorian helmet. The mohawk was usually made of horse hair and used to identify the rank of the soldier.  The necklace and gold coin were harder to research. I did not get any direct results when searching for them with "ancient Rome" attached to my search. I ended up doing an image search for the necklace. Here I learned that it was turquoise. The turquoise and gold necklace is associated with ancient Egyptian jewelry. Rome's official rule over Egypt began in 30BC and lasted more then 600 years. The necklace would have been available to Roman's throu...

 I stumbled upon the Elephant Playing Card website while looking at playing cards on Kickstarter. I was surprised to find a test available to find my perfect deck. After taking a short quiz my results were in and I was categorized as a "Player." I use my cards for playing with family and friends. I need a durable deck, with interesting designs but not to busy.  I was given 3 perfect decks to choose from. The best part of taking the test, is that your perfect decks are discounted with free shipping if you choose to buy all three.

  Although modern Las Vegas is know for it's casinos, live entertainment, shopping and fine dinning, there is a lot of history to be appreciated while in Las Vegas. Here is a selection of museums I plan to visit later this year. - National Atomic Testing Museum - The Neon Museum - The Mob Museum    - The Pinball Hall of Fame - The Burlesque Hall of Fame - The Hollywood Cars Museum

 I had originally planned to write about the history of Las Vegas, but I found these videos that provide a much better picture then I ever could. These videos were put together by Las Vegas news station KCLV TV. I hope this will help you appreciate the history of Las Vegas when you visit. The news station even provides an interactive map of historical sites that are still in existence.  Las Vegas: The Early Years Las Vegas: The Twenties Las Vegas: The Thirties