Insiders: Tough Times Put Sin City in a Bind
Vegas insiders give their take on the past, present and future of the hotspot.
— -- Party pools where deejays spin hip-hop and ladies drop their tops. Construction cranes looming over half-built, high-rise luxury hotel/condo towers. What's the latest incarnation of Las Vegas, and how is this adult Fantasyland coping with the USA's economic losing streak? Over veal parmigiana and ziti at Piero's Italian Cuisine — a Sinatra favorite and a site for the movie Casino, where some patrons still call each other "pally" — five Vegas insiders share their insights with USA TODAY.
Q: What would the Rat Pack think of Vegas today?
Tom Breitling: They might not like it. T-shirts and flip-flops and Sinatra gets spilled on by someone carrying a drink in a big plastic cup.Tim Poster: They'd hate it. Nowadays, there's nothing but rules. "Pittsburgh Jack" Franzi: Sinatra would go deal blackjack to a customer and say, "Do you like this card?" If not, he'd give them a better one. Poster: When I did that (to The Sopranos cast at the Golden Nugget), I got fined by the gaming commission. … Today, you're not going to see Michael Bublé (clowning around) at a blackjack table. (Headliners tend to head home or lie low after shows, the group says.)
Q: What other ways has Vegas changed?
Rita Rudner: All you used to be able to buy were a clock with dice hands and a mug with your name on it. Now the shopping is fantastic, and the restaurants, and the hotels! I used to hear they made the rooms ugly so you wouldn't want to stay in them and you'd go gamble.Franzi: No department made more in those days than the casino. In 1972, revenues were about 90% gambling. Now it's more like 40%.Shelley Berkley: I started working in the casinos when we were in the leisure-suit era … a whole different class of player. A lot of bus tours. Then we went through the family-resort time (in the late '80s), and thank God we're back to an adult Vegas. Vegas is an adult town.
Q: It certainly has been a boomtown, with thousands of hotel rooms still being built. Is there concern the economy will end the winning streak?
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