Those of us who remember what Las Vegas was like back in the day when names like Dunes, Hacienda, Stardust, Sands, Desert Inn graced the marquees on the strip can still get a hint of the past with stately survivors like the Riviera, Sahara, and Tropicana, still standing and still kind of surviving after all these years.
Remember when Las Vegas consistently paid 3 to 2 on blackjack? Many of us who like to gamble absolutely refuse to sit down at a blackjack table that pays out a blackjack at the rate of 6 to 5. We refuse to concede this much advantage back to the house. Are you listening, Las Vegas? Are you LISTENING? How about doing the right thing by returning the 3 to 2 payout to America’s favorite card game? The name of the game is blackjack and getting a blackjack should be a thrill again. Remember when Binion’s downtown let someone bet as much as he wanted on a blackjack hand? Remember when slot machines used real coins and a nickel slot machine only accepted one nickel per pull of the mechanical arm? And when a buffet, known back then as a “chuck wagon,” cost only $3.49 or so at a top class joint like the Dunes?
In those days, especially at places like the Hacienda, which stood at the approximate location of the Four Seasons and Mandalay Bay today, one could park the car within 20 feet of the room in which one actually stayed.
Today, my father and mother, who are 86 and 84 years old respectively, cannot go to Vegas anymore because the walk from the car to the casinos and restaurants, even from valet or handicapped parking, or from the room to the pool or the casinos, is just too long a journey for them to make.
Las Vegas is a mix now of the old and the new but if one still wants to go “retro” and indulge oneself in the ambience and “wholesomeness” of days gone by, there are ways to do it.
The crew of GamblingResort.com, the casino information and hotel booking company, sometimes goes to various gambling destinations to shoot photos for the travel site or to rate various venues for the benefit of potential visitors. GamblingResort.com uses a “Four Ace” scale. Top places receive “4 Aces.” Less glamorous places may receive only “1 Ace” or even the, “Joker.” Visit, GamblingResort.com and see for yourself.
No online travel site in the world has such a high number and wider variety of quality gambling resort and casino photos as does GamblingResort.com. Go to GamblingResort.com and see how the various casinos and hotels are rated and to see all the cool photos.
The purpose of this recent trip to Las Vegas was to try to find remnants of the “old” Vegas, or to seek out newer places that reminded one of the older Vegas. The Eastside Cannery on the Boulder Highway in Henderson is one such place. It is a high quality resort, brand-spanking new and modern with easy access to a wide-open parking lot. It has a beautiful, airy casino and classic stylings abound. Reminds one of a time when Vegas was simpler, cheaper and less frenetic. Same applies to its older sister property in North Las Vegas, the Cannery. Both places seem almost “retro” in their personalities and both seem to want to cater to the local crowd and any out-of-towners who might be lost by the sheer magnitude and scope of the over-arching strip resorts.
Another casino you might want to visit that should not be left out of this discussion is Jerry’s Nugget, also in North Las Vegas. Founded in 1964, you might think it was actually 1964 all over again as you stroll up to one of the entrances off North Las Vegas Boulevard. Remember 1964? That was the year that the Beatles first appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show.
Not too far away from the Eastside Cannery is the old downtown section of Henderson on or near Water Street. Here reside a few interesting casino throwbacks called the Eldorado, Emerald Island, and the Rainbow Club.
f you want to step back in time, at least for a few hours, check out these places for timeless architecture, low key gambling, reasonably priced bar drinks and meal specials in their cozy and comfortable restaurants.
Next time you visit Vegas to enjoy the latest amenities and the newest resorts, step back in time for a bit by cruising the outskirts of town for an approximation of how Vegas used to be.
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