NOVEMBER 2025 LAS VEGAS STORY

The adult hedonist, dreamer, and adventurist capital of the world, Las Vegas. Yes. The name does not do it justice. Las Vegas simply means “The Meadows.” This is anything but a pastoral village. This is where dreams are realized, or dashed on the toss of a pair of dice, not to be confused with a paradise. We were there due to a freebee supplied by one of our timeshares. Having performed there on a pretty regular basis since 1963, seeing the changes through the years used to amuse me. However, since Naomi and I hadn’t been there for over a decade, the changes astonished me. This is a view from our suite in the Polo Towers, which is on the Strip, but set back a bit. Thus, the noise factor was lessened. Here are a couple of views from our windows. Notice the Frank Geary creation in front.

I have no idea of what sort of mind-altering devices the architects were using, but whatever it was, it sure worked incredibly well to create such a phantasm of kaleidoscopic buildings in the middle of what was once a desert…Shades of Singapore. Think big and unchained. Antoni Gaudi, and Frank Lloyd Wright, eat your hearts out!

How would you like to cover the electric bill for these cabins for cuddling?

Yes. This is a replica of the Statue of Liberty. However, I don’t think this is a place for the “Tired, the poor, or the huddled masses.”

Early on, the “hip” action was on the “Strip.” The “lamers” were Downtown, basically on Fremont Street. What a shock I was in for. Downtown is incredible, as is, of course the “Strip,” which has had a phenomenal facelift during the course of time. In this burg, the only thing that remains the same is drastic change. Needless to say, our collective confusion led us into some fun “getting lost” situations, wherein we found new places to ogle. Gone were so many of the restaurants with which we were familiar, such as “The Tower of Pizza,” where most of the entertainers would hang out after the last show, around 3:00 in the morning. However, a new crop has been hatched, such as Greenberg’s Deli, in the New York New York Hotel/Casino, where we got an incredible hot pastrami sandwich, as well as an equally fabulous hot corned beef sandwich on real corn rye bread. It was like shades of Canter’s in L.A., but better. Even the pickles were perfect. This is on the Strip. This was us, “Post Sandwiches.” Yes. We had mopped the mustard off our faces.

Unbeknownst to us, the Formula One Gran Prix was in town. Ergo, the streets were re-routed, making for an incredible challenge for pedestrians as well as family car drivers. So it was that we either walked to our chosen destinations, or rode the trolley, of which neither of us had ever seen, or heard. This took us to Downtown to visit the Mob Museum.

Interestingly enough, one of the first bits of information that we gleaned upon our arrival at this cavern of criminals was a photo of John C. Fremont, who, in 1844 led a surveying and mapping expedition into the Las Vegas area. With the aid of his wife, Jessie, he published field reports and maps, which led greatly to western emigration. “White hats versus Black hats.” Finally, in 1902, William A. Clark, a Montana U.S. senator, copper baron, and railroad developer purchased the land, now known as Las Vegas, for $55,000.00. As soon as the purchasing ink dried, he made Las Vegas the halfway division point for the San Pedro, L.A. & Salt Lake Railroad, which began operations in 1905. Contrary to popular belief, the Mob did not create Las Vegas. Southern Paiutes originally made this their home.

The wall displays of the various, and nefarious folks who are featured here is quite like a high school annual. “Look mom. That was when I was young, before I got fat, and my hair got thin.” The captions under many of the photos are quite indicative of the mores and ethos of the lives and times of Prohibition throughout our country. Here are some examples of good-guys/bad-guys. In 1923, bootlegger Owney Madden took over boxing champion Jack Johnson’s Club Deluxe in Harlem and remade it into the Cotton Club, which served as home to Duke Ellington’s Orchestra for years. Madden later moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas, where he owned a gambling hall and played host to “vacationing” (on the lam) and fugitive mobsters.

Of course, no Mobster Museum would be complete without a display of one of the top mobsters of all time, John Dillinger. Here is a photo of the wooden pistol that he carved to make his famous jail escape, along with his death mask.

Certainly, one of, if not the most famous, or infamous, multiple murder, the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, orchestrated by Al Capone while he was safely in Florida, is represented here in several displays. These victims were not a group of choir boys looking for a gig in Vienna.

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Here’s something that was a bit of a surprise to Naomi and me. Yes. The Massacre Wall, complete with marked bullet holes. Not exactly a touching tribute to brutality, but the message is pretty clear regarding those who chose this profession.

There are other displays of weapons used in this, as well as other nefarious capers.

Amazingly, one of my favorite artists, Leroy Neiman, took it upon himself to immortalize the pair who really put Las Vegas on the map. This was done quite a while after their Bar Mitzvahs.

Strangely, or should I say thank goodness, there was very little mention of Al Capone, the ultimate sociopath, other than one picture of him with a cigar in his mouth, along with a short bio that covered his middle years of crime. There is mention of the Four Deuces nightclub that served as a speakeasy, brothel, and meeting place for the heads of crime in Chicago. Capone put in a furniture store next door to the Four Deuces as a front. His business card read: “A. Capone, Antique Dealer.” The merchandise was nothing more than used junk. In 1923, Johnny Torrio, Capone’s boss at the time, and Capone, moved their main offices to the Hawthorne Inn in Cicero, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Capone still kept his fingers in the operation of the Four Deuces. When their political frontman, Chicago Mayor William Dever, lost political control in 1925, Capone moved his headquarters to the Hotel Metropole, around the corner from the Four Deuces. By 1931, the Four Deuces had been the site of 12 “unsolved” gangland murders. Capone’s guys used the building’s basement to torture and kill their victims, and then dispose of the bodies through a rear trap door. It almost reminded me of “Arsenic and Old Lace,” but that’s another story.

After the hours that we spent here in this massive paean to miscreants, mobsters and sociopaths, it was time to answer the “hungry bell.” We had been told that there was a Tony Roma’s restaurant on Fremont Street, in the Downtown area. It was a short walk to this temple of tasty stuff. The beef ribs that we had were prepared to absolute perfection, along with the sides. The service was also top drawer. I know, “Downtown is for lamers.” Wrong. Times have changed, and so have the locations for fun, food, and exotica of many guises. Anyone still clinging to that old mantra, just hasn’t been around Vegas in a while. Get hip. Make it to Downtown.

Following this food glut, and museum gaping, it was time to call it a day. So we dutifully made our way back to our little bit of peace and quiet for a good rest, and plans for the coming day.

Having gone over a number of leaflets touting various attractions here in this ultimate park for adults with the “Little Kid” still alive and well in side of them, we decided on the ARTE MUSEUM OF LAS VEGAS, which housed a wonderful collection of the works of Monet, Van Gogh, Degas, and other heavyweights of the past, displayed uniquely beautiful. There are also some of the moderns featured prominently, along with some “Gotcha-type” visual goodies that make one wonder, “What did I just see?”
Here is Naomi surrounded by waves…I think.

Here’s a bit of a different take on a piece by Van Gogh.

This is us surrounded by lights and flowers. I think that there were flowers. Make your own call!!

Have you ever wondered what a room full of balloons looks like? Wonder no more. Here’s one.

After soaking up so much artistic culture, what could possibly come next? YES! The number one dim sum restaurant in Vegas, DIN TAI FUNG. This is me at the entrance. The next shot is Naomi where the “magic” is created. Needless to say, we did spend some time there savoring the calories and carbs. Their reputation is well earned.

After our foray into the wonderful world of dim sum, and other Chinese delights, what would be next on our menu of things to do and see? Of course. The David Copperfield Show. He’s still the heavyweight champion of mass deception. His illusions are beyond compare. Simply put: “He’s the best.” We watched his show, totally enthralled by his presentation, timing, and everything else that goes into making a show into a piece of theatrical perfection. No stone was left unturned in his presentation. Yes. He’s gotten older, and a bit less dashing. But his material and presentation are still incomparable. Five stars for this show.

After being amazed and bewildered by Copperfield, and the Arte Museum, it was time to retreat to our suite, sleep, pack and call this caper to a close. Yes. Our hedonism, lust for new adventures, and Las Vegas dreams had been satiated for the moment. There is still so much more to see and do that we’ve not yet tapped into. To paraphrase General Douglas MacArthur, “We shall return.”