Ok, so this is a question about a movie and a casino.

Now we all know that El Rancho Vegas (not to be confused with El Rancho, which was not related, which was located across the street, and which opened much later) was the first major hotel/casino on what would become the Las Vegas Strip, and opened in 1941, right? We also all know that it burned down in 1960, right? The story goes that a Chicago mobster by the name of John Marshall (actually Marshall Caifano) was booted from the ERV casino a couple of weeks before it burned down, because he was in the Nevada "Black Book," and any hotel hosting him or allowing him to play would lose their license. While the ERV fire has never been declared arson, officially, the story goes that Caifano (they can't do that to ME!) had the place torched in revenge.

Jump forward 30 years. Has anyone seen a movie called "The Marrying Man"? Released in 1991, it starred Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin, who appeared for the first time together, and which sparked the romance which led to their actual marriage two years later. The movie certainly wasn't Oscar material, but it was (I thought) a fun, lighthearted romantic comedy. It was partly set in Las Vegas, and mostly at ERV. A set was built (obviously, since ERV had been gone for 30 years) representing ERV, its lounge, showroom, casino and hotel.

My favorite quote from the movie: "You know what the odds are on that? Impossible to one."

ERV was gone by the time I first visited Las Vegas 30 years ago. My question is this: has anyone who was in ERV, seen the movie? Was the portrayal of ERV in the movie accurate, or were so many liberties taken that it was merely a suggestion of what ERV was really like?

Michael