"In Vegas, I got into a long argument with the man at the roulette wheel over what I considered to be an odd number." ~Steven Wright
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MY, HOW THE LAS VEGAS STRIP Las Vegas in the 1960s - a desert boom town, a destination not just for roulette and card games, it was an era of class where everyone dressed to impress on the casino floor, by the pool, or in the glittering showrooms. This video shows the lovely ladies of the day by the pool and offers a ride down the fabled Las Vegas Strip, home of the world's greatest casinos.
You couldn't help but feel like a winner in the Vegas of the 1960s. Those flashy neon signs and the spectacular architecture was one of the lures. And everything in the city that Blackjack built was affordable, buffets were practically free. This video is a bit blurry but the Strip can be seen in all its 1960s glory.
It wasn't just gambling that attracted the crowds, with the greatest entertainers in the showrooms tourists flocked to see Sinatra, Dean Martin, Elvis and the others superstars that frequented Vegas. Of course, if those audiences dropped some coin into the slot machines or a few bills at the card tables that was great too. In fact, that was the whole idea behind having first rate entertainment... it brought in people in that wouldn't otherwise be in a gambling town. In 1964 the city saw a boost in attendance when the hit movie 'Viva Las Vegas' sent a single by Elvis Presley to the top of the pop charts. The song was on everybody's lips in the sixties and is still the unofficial theme song of Sin City.
Of course, the sixties was also the heyday of the Rat Pack - Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and a few others on the side who came and went like Peter Lawford and Judy Garland.
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YOUR GO-GO HOST: Billy Ingram DID YOU KNOW: Las Vegas was first coined by Raphael Rivera, a scout for a New Mexican trading party.
"A man only appreciates happiness when he gets married, but by then it is too late." - Frank Sinatra
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