Mission NOT accomplished

I knew that I wanted to head out to the store today, so in anticipation of that, I went out yesterday and charged my Mustang's battery. (I've had problems lately with a dead battery after it sits for a few days. I've become an expert at hooking up the charger!) When I went out today, it had lost most of the charge and would not start. That was it. I hooked it up to the charger and came back in and called our nearby Ford dealer. They said they could get me in with no problem, so as soon as Slick charged, I headed out.

The plan was an oil change and a new battery, but it was also due for 15,000 mile service, so four hours and $500 later, I got out of there. Needless to say, I wasn't in any mood to go to the store, so I came home and I'll go out tomorrow. I live to fight another day. What a way to spend an afternoon. But never let it be said that I'm not doing my part to help the economy, not to mention an American auto company!

It looks like President Obama had a busy first day in office. The Dow rebounded nicely, although I read little into that considering the volatility of the market right now. Looks like one of his top priorities is to close the Guantanamo Bay prison. I brook no tolerance for terrorists, but the truth is that some of these people have been held for six years without any charges being filed against them. That is horrific and appalling and goes against all of our principles as a country. Close the mother down, President Obama, and good riddance!

On to a lighter subject...and yes, I'm still writing about Vegas!

When Ken and I visited there in 2005, we stopped in at the El Cortez, just a block away from the Fremont Street Experience. While the casinos that are a part of FSE have been updated and generally look pretty spiffy, the El Cortez just looked sad and tired. We found a $3 craps table, always cool, but in this case, there was a guy there laying down huge bets that all of us rollers would crap out. I.e., he was betting that we all would lose, and he was cleaning up. It was such a downer, and I think it's really bad karma. It's a lot more fun when everyone is cheering for each other, everyone is winning (rather than just one Denny Downer), and you whoop it up for a hot roller and shout out "Ee-yo eleven!" when betting one for the croupiers.

We didn't linger there long...it just left a bad taste in our mouths. The whole place seemed dark and dingy, the stuffing was popping out of split vinyl chairs, and there was an almost palpable air of desperation.

Fast forward about four years, and on our recent visit, we hear from our tour guide at the Boneyard, Justin, that the El Cortez is one of the finest examples of old Vegas, and the owners have embraced the history and heritage of the casino and of Las Vegas in general. He said it was worth a visit, because they have placed many photographs of old Vegas up on the walls, and they have torn out that "smelly carpet" and spruced up the place. I'm happy to say that he was absolutely right, and while the ambiance of the El Cortez is still a bit dark (due to the woodwork and dim lighting), it had a much different atmosphere this time around. The photos are great, and the El Cortez is one of only a few Vegas casinos to never have changed its exterior or signage. It has been in the same location since it was built in 1941.

Marion Hicks and J.C. Grayson built the hotel/resort, and although it was originally thought to be far enough removed from downtown that it couldn't make a go of it, the El Cortez quickly proved to be so profitable that it was bought in 1945 by Bugsy Siegel, Meyer Lansky, Gus Greenbaum, and Moe Sedway. You might recognize some of those names as some of the bigger players in the Vegas Mob underworld. In 1963, the property was bought by Jackie Gaughan, and his family runs it to this day. The El Cortez is known as one of the main places in Vegas for new dealers to perfect their technique and learn the ropes. Recent renovations seem to have been welcomed, as there were plenty of players when we were there, and apparently it is still a big draw for the locals. I took this picture a couple of weeks ago and changed it up to black and white. Doesn't it look like it could have been taken 60 years ago? The sign is original to the casino.

As someone who is obsessed with highly interested in historic preservation, I'd say that the El Cortez and other downtown casinos are a success story. Some of the signage has suffered (the Mint facade is a huge loss), but I'd say that the heightened interest in the history of Las Vegas has helped the downtown area and preservation efforts in general. Next time you're in Vegas, don't ignore downtown--I think you'll enjoy the old Vegas vibe.

Coming soon: more downtown casinos and more fabulous neon!

More Vegas signage

I've got another slideshow for you, with a few of the old motel signs I snapped on our bus ride downtown. Please pardon the presence of streetlights, etc., but it was a little tricky to try to get shots as we were moving! They have a mini version of the famous Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada sign on the way downtown, and it substitutes "downtown" for "fabulous." Super cool!

Some of the signs are in pretty good shape, which is more than I can say for some of the motels! Most of them looked like places you really wouldn't want to stay in, not if you wanted to walk out alive, uninfested, or both. There are a lot of sex shops and seedy-looking strip joints in this area, but also a lot of wedding chapels...which I found odd and interesting at the same time. A couple of my favorite motels we passed were the High Hat Motel (a great name, and the sign includes a boomerang) and the Tod Motor Motel. That was a pretty large sign, and I just liked the name. A motel named Tod. Of course, Tod (pronounced tote) is the German word for death, so I doubt if they get a lot of German visitors staying at the Tod Motor Motel!

I suppose there will come a day when Vegas tries to clean up the approach to the old downtown, but I hope it takes them a while. I thought it was kind of neat to see these signs and motels...although I don't think I'd want to walk around in the area. They're doing a lot of work on the area adjacent to the Fremont Street Experience, including expanding the sidewalks and adding some brand new neon signs, a couple of which I included in the slideshow. The martini glass is fabulous, with concentric circles lighting in sequence, then the olive! They've done a good job with these signs. But Las Vegas Boulevard, just north of the Strip, is probably what most people hate if they hate Vegas. It's seedy, dirty, and a little bit sleazy. I kinda like it, but then I have a fascination with the way buildings age, especially when contrasted with the glitter of the Strip. I still maintain that such buildings and signs will be the archaeological sites of the future.

I also included a couple more Boneyard signs in the slideshow, because I just knew I was missing a couple! I checked my camera, and there were about 10 that didn't download. One of the cutest signs was from a dry cleaners, and our guide Justin said it was his favorite growing up in Vegas. It's called Happy Shirt, and he would wave his arms and smile. There's a picture of a later incarnation of the Stardust sign (it went through several makeovers), which should give you an idea of how massive the Stardust sign always was. Justin said that the sign is in 9 pieces, and all of them are huge. He said they did a great job in dismantling the sign, as well, cutting along all the original welding lines. Yay!

By the way, although the movie "Casino" was mostly filmed at the Riviera, it's based on Franky "Lefty" Rosenthal and his management of the Stardust for a while, and his associate Tony "The Ant" Spilotro, played by Robert Deniro and Joe Pesci respectively. Ken and I watched "Casino" again not too long ago, and it's a great movie.

I still have lots of pictures of the Fremont Street casinos, and I'll save those for another day. Here's the slideshow, and again, you can click at any time to get the big picture.