Back in 1993, my husband, George, and I were in Las Vegas. We happened to see an ad in the paper inviting the public to the Dunes liquidation sale.� We were just beginning to get interested in collecting casino stuff, and thought it would be fun to go to the sale. (I had visions of getting cheap chips and dice and cards and ashtrays and wastebaskets and glasses and toiletries and do not disurb signs. Not so much!)



We drove to the Dunes.� There were cars parked all over the place, every side street within 1/4 mile was lined with cars.� It was HOT out and after some driving around my husband finally found a parking place in the Dunes parking lot, somewhere in the back 40.� There was a chain-link fence around part of the property, hundreds of people were lined up along the fence and more people joining the line every minute.� They were only letting 50 people in at a time.� After some� people came out, they'd let the next group of 50 go in.� 



After standing out in the heat for a couple of hours,� we finally got in the door.� It was kind of disappointing because there were a lot of T.V.'s and lamps and chairs (like they'd use in a banquet room or something like that).� We wandered around into the well-used kitchens (disgusting!) and into the casino.� There wasn't much small stuff around, but we could have bought slot machines or a black jack table, or a roulette wheel!� There was a tray of keno balls, without a price on 'em.� George carried them to one of the liquidators to ask how much, and was informed that they weren't for sale, unless he could produce a gaming license.� She kind of jerked the tray out of George's hands, causing most of the balls to spill onto the floor.� George helped her pick some of them up, then as we walked away we noticed that one had rolled off into a corner…#69.



We wandered some more, and saw slot tournament signs hanging from the ceiling.� I managed to stand on a chair and yank one of them down. They had some playing cards, I bought a couple of decks for $10 each, they also had uncut sheets of cards but I couldn't figure out how to get one home without wrinkling or folding it, so I didn't get one.� We wandered around some more.� We landed in a dining room and I was hoping for some logo’d silverware.... nope, no glasses or dishes either (bummer!).� I picked up a keno card holder (but no name on it), and a couple of small relish dishes (plain glass, no logo).



The only small things we'd really noticed with the Dunes name were the signs in and around the casino.� "Redeem Dunes tokens before leaving the casino" "Federal law prohibits minors from lingering in the Dunes Casino" .....that type of thing.� Some were double-stick taped to the walls, others were screwed in.� We looked around to find something that would pry them off the walls.� George noticed a security guard stand, he looked in it and found a screwdriver, he also found a key.� The tag on the key says "Casino Porter H SK”. The key itself says "do not duplicate".� (Dang thing DOESN'T say Dunes... bummer!).� 

Anyway, we got some of the signs down, and we got a couple of pictures/transparencies from the lounge in the Oasis Casino.� They were mounted behind plexiglass, and back-lit...like slides.� (Why oh WHY didn't we ever take a camera with us??� I'd give a whole buncha money for pictures of our adventure in the Dunes!!!)



They were allowing people to go up to some of� the hotel rooms, all the furniture was for sale.� There were only certain floors that were accessible to the public....the elevators wouldn't stop at the other floors.� Seems like it was floors 8-14 or thereabouts that we could go to.� Anyway, we took the elevator up.� The elevators were really pokey, and only 1-2 were running.� I think we went to the top available floor.� The furniture in some of the rooms was AMAZING!� (And there were some real bargains!)� Mirrored headboards that went to the ceiling, big ol' wet-bars, jungle print overstuffed chairs, everything you've ever seen in a "sleezy" movie, and� a bunch of stuff you'd find in a classy high-roller suite (nooooo camera….still mad about that!).� We checked out the peephole things in the doors, cuz they were cool!� I'd never seen one that swiveled (called a fisheye, I think).� There was an employee wandering around, and George asked "how much".� The employee said he wasn't sure, but he didn't think they were for sale....someone had bought the doors and would be out in a couple of days to get them.� You can guess the rest....George still had the screwdriver in his pocket, so we got one.� Just because that guy didn't THINK they were for sale, didn't mean we couldn't ask again, downstairs at the cash register, before we left!



The elevators were so pokey that, after exploring one floor, we took the stairs down to explore the next floor.� There was one door we went through.... don't remember details, but we were on some kind of cat-walk....not outdoors, but somehow just behind the facade of the building.� I think it was some kind of access to the neon, or something like that.� � I remember that just smoked glass was between us and outdoors.� (I don't think we were supposed to go through that door...but George likes to explore, and I follow, usually protesting all the way!)

Anyway, floor by floor we went down, still carrying the few things we'd picked up.� I'd paid for the cards, and nothing else had price stickers on it.� We'd asked about some of the signs, and the person we asked was amazed that anyone would want stuff like that.� She'd said that it wouldn't be more than a couple of dollars for everything that we'd picked up.



After we'd explored the lowest open floor (?8th?), I was going to head for the elevators, pay for our stuff, and leave.� George wanted to go down another floor, to see what was there.� After my usual protests, I followed him.� Again, floor by floor, we went down, checking out the rooms as we went.� I'm sure I was still uttering half-hearted protests.... thinking of how we were going to have to climb back up so we could take the elevator down (well, that's what I thought at the time...)� We were nearing the ground floor, and decided that we'd just walk out and hope for the best.� Wrong!� � We couldn't get out! (I think they'd locked the stairway doors on the lower couple of floors to keep people from exploring...silly them!)� 



We didn't want to walk back up 8 floors, so we continued down further.� We found ourselves in the basement and LOST!!!� We stumbled across an employee locker room, and it was trashed!� The lockers were all open, and stuff was ALL over the floor.� We picked up a couple of dealers aprons, a couple of Frontier glasses, an employee handbook, some pens and matches and a business card holder with the Dunes name.� Luckily we also found some “Dunes Shooz” plastic bags to carry the stuff in!

We tried to find our way out, but we were hopelessly lost and continued to wander around in circles.�

We ran into another lost soul, who'd done the same thing we had!� He'd been wandering for a long time too!� I think he was happy just to find another human being!!� The three of us wandered around together, and finally found a door that was unlocked.� We found ourselves next to a door that led outside, with security guards stationed at the door.� We walked out, expecting them to stop us and tell us to go back in...or something...but they didn't� Our "friend" headed for the front of the building, he was going to stand in line again and go back in!!� George and I headed for the car.

Then we couldn't get into our car!� The key broke off in the trunk lock....so I
 stayed with the car, with our ill-gotten gains…expecting to be busted at any moment! George hitched a ride to a phone to call the car rental place.� � They came out and brought new keys to us. That was the end of our adventure at the Dunes.