Vegas … Rat Pack style

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/10/2009 (6060 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Before Las Vegas had names like Wynn, Trump, Paris, or New York it was the Dunes, Sands, and Stardust that drew gamblers to this desert city.

Many of the early names have been eaten up by the mega-resorts that took over as corporations realized they could make as much money as some of the gangsters who ran the casinos in the early years.

One that survived the corporate onslaught was the Riviera Hotel. When it opened in 1955 it was billed as the first high-rise at nine storeys, with a then-significant 300 rooms. Today’s casino hotels have 3,000 rooms or more.

Winnipeg tour operator Lou Miles operated charters to Las Vegas for many of those growth years, often using the Riviera as his home base. Today, the Riviera Hotel proudly displays its history to visitors, and uses it as a marketing tool to attract new clients.

Flamboyant entertainer Liberace was the feature act for the grand opening, with crooners Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra as later headliners, enhancing the image of the property as THE place to stay.

John Garber, who started as a bellboy at the Riviera in 1970 met many of the performers who stayed and played there. "Virtually all the famous entertainers of the day, from (Frank) Sinatra to D.L. Hughley, have played the Versailles Room."

Today, the Riviera, after renovating about 1,800 of its rooms at a cost of $30 million, still attracts thousands to its shows and casino as it positions itself, with its history, as a value alternative to the major brands on the strip.

I went to Las Vegas to attend a trade show. Trade shows and conventions are major economic drivers for the city and state, largely because of easy and reasonably priced access from almost anywhere in North America.

At the end of a long day, it was the vision of a big corn-fed sirloin that led me to drive around looking for a beef restaurant that wouldn’t be too fancy or expensive. Driving along Sahara Avenue, the massive, garish and typically Las Vegas sign of the Golden Steer Steakhouse caught my eye.

Flashing signs like this one are common in Las Vegas. With reasonably priced power flowing from the Hoover Dam, constructed in the 1930s, Vegas signage has been, and still is, a factor in creating that extra sense of glitter and gold that keeps visitors awake for most of the night.

What penetrated my consciousness was the simple invitation for steak, making my mouth water. But what greeted me at the Golden Steer was not the budget beef I was looking for, but rather another piece of history that linked the Riviera and the great entertainers of a bygone era.

The Golden Steer opened in 1958 during a time of segregation and racism. Entertainers such as Sammy Davis Jr. were not allowed to stay in the hotels where they performed with top billing. So the place many of them chose to stay was the Moulin Rouge Motel, a few kilometres away, but situated so the newly opened steak house could easily be seen as they travelled to work.

The Moulin Rouge, owned in part by heavyweight-boxing champion Joe Louis, who acted as host for the property after it acquired a casino licence, became the Las Vegas home to famous African American celebrities of the day. Dinah Washington, Harry Belafonte and the Platters, plus future celebrities like Tom Bradley, who later became mayor of Los Angeles from 1973 to 1993, all made the motel home during their Las Vegas visits. This continued after segregation ended.

The story has it that Sammy, after leaving the motel on his way to a gig, and curious about the new restaurant, poked his head in the Golden Steer, He suggested to his Rat Pack friends, Sinatra, Martin, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, that they have dinner there.

While Davis was only allowed to dine at the restaurant because he was a celebrity (and at the insistence of his buddies), the Golden Steer would become a frequent hangout for the Pack, as well as hangers-on and star-seekers.

The Steer has expanded several times since, and may still be one of the best steak houses in Vegas.

The tables of the Rat Pack have been preserved, and their places marked. Visitors will call weeks in advance to book the Martin or the Sinatra table.

Most of the great entertainers who headlined at the Riviera frequented the Golden Steer, although Liberace, who was a mainstay at the Riviera, had his own restaurant at the time. Hotel staff are fond of explaining how the Riviera swimming pool, still the original, was designed in the shape of a grand piano, in honour of its opening and frequent act.

But time and shifts in consumer demand wait for no one. Even the famous headliner acts are being replaced by more permanent shows, and places such as the Riviera and the Golden Steer needed to re-invent themselves to survive.

It seems a long way to travel from Winnipeg to go to a skating rink, but the current draw at the Riviera is a show called ICE. With 42 performers from Russia, something no one could have imagined in the ’50s and ’60s, a kind of Cirque du Soleil is executed on skates. With flips, tricks on stilts and high-wire antics, the show sends the pulse racing.

No one should pass through Las Vegas without touring the modern marvels created by the Wynns and the Trumps, but it’s also worth visiting places that created the foundation of what would become the gaming capital of the world and one of the fastest-growing cities in America.

IF YOU GO

How to Get There:

With the number of non-stop flights offered by WestJet from Winnipeg, it’s convenient.

What to Do:

Take a break from the gambling and rent a car to capture another important piece of Nevada history, the Hoover Dam. Built during the depression and dedicated in 1935, the Hoover Dam would supply both water and inexpensive electricity to Las Vegas, enabling it to become the super-lit sign capital of the world. You can get there and back, and even take in a tour, in just over half a day.

Perhaps because few entertainers back in the day (Bob Hope notwithstanding) cared to partake of the sport, golf was not viewed as a profitable opportunity for investment in early Las Vegas. Today, there are many courses to satisfy golfers from hacker to pro.

Where to Eat:

In addition to the Golden Steer for steak at 308 W. Sahara Avenue, I also found a tremendous, award-winning Thai restaurant off the strip called the Lotus of Siam at 953 E. Sahara Avenue. Most of the major casinos have an all-you-can-eat-buffet, along with ethnic and North American culinary options. Some of the most expensive restaurants are located inside the largest casinos.