Pretty good piece in LV Advisor's Q of the Day for Wed. http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/qofday.cfm Talks about the "Hayseed Heaven" and such but gives a rundown on the other joints on South Strip. Do you know when they knocked The Hacienda down and what's there now? Digging around in my Constantly Churning Casino Crap for an old strip pic when I ran across this card, must have been right after opening as the newest ride is the '55 Chev. Ford, Chev, Merc, Stude and a Pontiac...no Cads or T-Birds at this place!

Brings to mind my first visit to LV, summer of '65. Took off and I had the wheel being posecesser of a new learners permit when Dad leans over and looks with alarm at the guages of our Rambler Ambassador 990. The guys at the garage along I-5 told me about head gaskets as they worked along replacing ours. Las Vegas in '65? Just remember Big Time Heat and lots of open space and desert. Dad believed chips were for betting and he never would have brought ANY back! Got to see AZ., Disney Land, the Watts riots and then back home.

Finally made it back to LV in 1996-'97 when Glen Smith and I were delivering tanker loads of polymer to the City Of Las Vegas water treatment plant out off Charleston(?). I'd look over to the Strip and see the cranes putting up NYNY and figured that there sure looked to be something interesting goin' on over there. We'd hit Jean on the way over to Long Beach and get the slots to buy us lunch. Glen had been a mercury miner in the Monte Cristos and was always telling me stories about Tonopah and Mina and Beatty when we were driving 95 and I never paid much attention because I wasn't collecting then...doh!

Anyhoo, South Strip still on my mind, I got a computer sim to learn 21 and camped out at the Trop on vacation for several years. Brought home one of those knockout Luxor Nefertiti $5 chips the first visit, fascinating piece what? So began my slide into good people, good times and a great hobby!

Dang, how'd this get so looooong? Oh yeah, read the LVA piece!