Friday, April 30, 2010

Belated Earth Day Tribute to Michael Jackson




1.2010 Grammy Tribute to Michael Jackson with his Earth Song, 2. Michael and Paris walking thru Wynn Las Vegas, 3. Salute to Our Oceans Song, 4. 2009 Mississippi River Oil Spill Song, 5. Oiled Birds, 6. Jackson Five at the Sahara 1974 singing Dancing Machine

Earth Song Lyrics

What about sunrise
What about rain
What about all the things
That you said we were to gain...
What about killing fields
Is there a time
What about all the things
That you said was yours and mine...

Did you ever stop to notice
All the blood we've shed before
Did you ever stop to notice
This crying Earth its weeping shores?

What have we done to the world?
Look what we've done.
What about all the peace,
That you pledge your only son?
What about flowering fields?
Is there a time?
What about all the dreams,
That you said was yours and mine?

Did you ever stop to notice,
All the children dead from war?
Did you ever stop to notice,
This crying Earth - its weeping shores?


I used to dream
I used to glance beyond the stars
Now I don't know where we are
Although I know we've drifted far


what about yesterday
What about the seas
The heavens are falling down
I can't even breathe
What about everything
I given you
What about nature's worth
It's our planet's womb
What about animals
We've turned kingdoms to dust
What about elephants
Have we lost their trust
What about crying whales
We're ravaging the seas

What about forest trails
Burnt despite our pleas
What about the holy land
Torn apart by creed
What about the common man
Can't we set him free
What about children dying
Can't you hear them cry
Where did we go wrong
Someone tell me why
What about baby boy
What about the days
What about all their joy
What about the man
What about the crying man
What about Abraham
What about death again
What about us
Do we give a damn


Monday, April 26, 2010

Photo Archeology Using Google Earth

GOOGLE EARTH'S HISTORY FUNCTION

Last week I posted some satellite images using the new Google Earth 'History Feature'. I was wondering exactly where the former Boardwalk Casino was located on the current City Center property. I'm getting more familiar with using Google Earth and wanted to show these slightly better comparison photos than the ones posted last week.


Click image for large view of this 2002 satellite photo. It shows the old Boardwalk Casino and surrounding properties. You'll be able to see the stick-pin markers by looking at the photo in a larger view. The stick-pins show the current location of City Center's driveway, Crystals Mall, the Mandarin Hotel, the front Veer Tower and the area that is now the covered Hawaiian Market Place.


By comparing the 2002 photo against the 2008 photo, you'll be able to see that the former Boardwalk actually occupied the current location of the Mandarin, the current City Center driveway and a bit of the area of the new Crystals Mall.

The center road-island divider makes the best reference marker for seeing the changes .

In the days ahead I'll post some satellite 'progression photos' that chronicle the development of the full City Center project using sat-images from 1965, and from each year from 2002-2008. I've finally been able to locate the sites of the Harmon and Cosmopolitan Hotels, as well as the exact location of the Eiffel Tower, etc.

Don't ask me why I care to know the exact locations of these things or why I care what occupied the spaces before now. I suppose I have an obsessed fixation - because for 13 years I've been trying to figure out the exact locations of the Last Frontier's swimming pool and the Dunes' driveway.

Little-by-little, using aerial photos and Google Earth's History Feature I might be able to quench my curiosity using this process I call "photographic archeology".


To view this photo properly, click on it for a larger view. It was taken from the Dunes Hotel's south-addition and looks south down the Strip (during the late 1970s).

The old Bonanza Hotel is seen at left. Part of Ballys' south-addition is now located on that spot. The current Eiffel Tower and the Arch of Triumph are marked in the former Churchill Downs' shopping center.

The old (1975) Aladdin Tower is seen further down (on left) as is the Marina Hotel (currently the west-wing of the 1993 MGM Grand). The 1975 Tiffany Tower at the Tropicana is seen further down (on left).

The empty lot, across from Tropicana (upper right) is where the Excalibur is now located. I've marked the general area of the current City Center, Crystals' Mall, the Harmon Hotel and Cosmopolitan (on the right) just beyond the former Denny's and the Oasis gas station.

Using Google Earth's History Feature


For me to make any sense out of certain Google satellite photos I first go to Google Earth and type in "Las Vegas Nevada". Google automatically zooms into a view of Las Vegas. I then look for the airport (because its one of the easiest things to recognize) then I zoom into the Strip using the 'plus sign +' on the controls on the top right of every Google Earth view.

You can easily move the photo around in any direction. Then I click on the 'clock icon' which opens up the 'History Feature' (seen at upper left in this photo). I zoom in and find landmarks I recognize (for example, the Paris Hotel's Eiffel Tower). Then I click the 'Thumbtack Icon' and place markers on various locations.

After the 'stick-pin markers' are placed I then move the 'History Slider' backwards (to the left). Most of the years from 2002-2008 are represented, as are the years 1977, 1965 and 1950. The 1950 images are actually more clear than the 1977 images (mainly due to the 1977 views being taken from farther away by a lower resolution satellite camera than the 1950 aerial images).

In this case I first placed markers showing about 17 reference points. The main thing for me was to first locate the Harmon Hotel. From there I could move backwards in time to see what location the Harmon was built upon. During the 'Time Shifting' I keep the camera position in the same location to avoid getting myself confused.


This is the view from 1977. The Tropicana/Aladdin and Dunes golf courses can be seen. The Flamingo Hotel is at mid-bottom and the Dunes is diagonally above it.


The 1965 view of the same portion of The Strip.


1950 aerial-imagery of The Las Vegas Strip. Flamingo is at the bottom. Notice the harsh looking desert-wash that formerly ran directly thru the current area of the New York New York Hotel.

The use of Google's History Feature can be beneficial to geologists, developers and others in lots of ways possibly not yet thought of.

Harmon Hotel Site - Before and After


This is the former view of the Harmon Hotel site as seen in 2004.


2008 view of the Harmon Hotel.

The Future of Googling Earth

Next week I'll show some good satellite views of the entire City Center property.

In the years ahead - Google Earth will likely be providing us with extreme high-definition satellite images, as well as full-motion videos. Whether or not that's a good thing, we'll eventually see.

Imagine ten years from now, being able to look back into a full-motion past to be able to see cars driving and people walking in the years 2015 or 2019. We'll be able to think of a thousand uses for these advancements in computer and satellite technologies.

Quite possibly, during a morning hangover, we'll be able to use Google Earth to answer the age-old question: "Dude, where'd I park my car". Plus, we'll be able to watch our spouse drive to work or spot our kids at the school playground. For good or bad, such things are coming soon.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Funniest Las Vegas Movie of the 1980s



Lookin' to Get Out is a buddy-film about two guys from New York who lose $10,000 to some hoods and then decide to go to Vegas to win enough money to pay back their debt.

They con their way into a high-roller suite at the MGM Grand (now Ballys) then find a gambling partner to try winning at blackjack for them.

At he end of the movie someone walks away with $432,000 in cash that gets carried out of the casino in a plain, paper shopping bag, without even a security escort, to be divied up in the MGM's driveway.

I actually like this movie a lot, simply because I enjoy watching Jon Voight and Burt Young giggle, which they do thru almost the entire thing. Lots of reviewers give this movie a very low rating - saying it has a weak story line and that the plot is implausible. Well, they can say what they want but I, for one, like seeing implausible and funny gambling stories.

During the 1970s, actor Jon Voight had starred in a string of successful movies like Midnight Cowboy, Deliverance, Conrack, and Coming Home (for which he received the 1978 Best Actor Academy Award).

In the early eighties Voight had a lot of clout with the movie studios and was able to find sufficient backing for this project of his. He was also able to get two of Hollywood's best film-makers on board; movie director Hal Ashby (the director of Coming Home) and cinematographer Haskell Wexler .

I won't recommend this film to anybody, simply because everyone has different tastes in comedy. But, if you're interested in film-making or the history of Las Vegas then this movie does have certain things worth seeing...like Hal Ashby's editing skills and his ability to direct actors without even giving them any advice on how to act (a trait of non-interference that Ashby was known for).

For Las Vegas historians, the movie shows some good glimpses of the original MGM Grand and a good drive down the Strip from the Dunes to the Boardwalk.


Burt Young plays Voight's long-time buddy Jerry. Ann-Margret plays Patti, Jon's ex-girlfriend and mother of his (unknown to him) child. Richard Bradford plays Bernie Gold, owner of the MGM.

This is a great ensemble cast. Astrologically speaking it's a good mix of compatible signs with two Earth signs (Taurus' Burt and Ann) Earth sign (Capricorn Jon Voight) Earth sign director (Virgo Hal Ashby) and the two Water sign leading actors: Smitty (played by Pisces Bert Remsen) and Bernie (Scorpio Richard Bradford).


"What they're doing is insane... immoral...and working!"


Jon Voight's real-life daughter (Angelina Jolie) makes her movie debut at age six towards the end of this movie when Ann-Margret introduces her to Jon.


The actual film-clip of Angelina's scene is in the video-player down below.


Jon, Angelina and her brother Pax.


Angelina Jolie (born June 4, 1975) and her mother Marcia Lynne Bertrand (May 9, 1950 – January 27, 2007). Angelina gives her (former actress) mother full-credit for her interest in acting (not her father). Angelina went on to achieve her film breakthrough in the late nineties movies,: Hackers, Gia and Girl Interrupted (for which she won the 1999 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress). Marcia and Jon were married from 1971-1976.

The Films of Jon Voight and Young Angelina Jolie



1. Looking to Get Out - Coffee Shop scene, 2. Looking to Get Out - Blackjack scene, 3. Looking to Get Out - Leaving MGM scene, 4. Young Angelina and Jon at the Academy Awards, 5. Midnight Cowboy - Movie Preview, 6. Midnight Cowboy - Opening scene, 7. Midnight Cowboy - Coffee Shop with Ratso, 8. Midnight Cowboy - Strictly for Fags scene, 9. Midnight Cowboy - Ending, 10. Angelina and Dad, 11. Angelina Jolie - Story of My Life, 12. Angelina - 2007 Alexander


Film Director - Hal Ashby
1929-1988



Hal Ashby, Haskell and Jeff Wexler on the set of Bound for Glory 1975. Photo by Erik Wunstell.Photography by Erik Wunstell Copyright © 1975-2010

One of my photos from the 1975 Bound for Glory movie set. Hal Ashby is seen in the middle of the photo in the director's chair. Haskell Wexler is behind the main Panavision camera at left. Haskell's son, the sound engineer Jeff Wexler is seen seated (at left with headphones).


Hal Ashby and Haskell Wexler

Hal Ashby started in Hollywood as an assistant film editor in the mid-1950s and worked on several major movies:

The Big Country
Diary of Anne Frank
The Young Doctors
Captain Sinbad
The Best Man
The Greatest Story Ever Told
The Cincinnati Kid
The Russians Are Coming
In the Heat of the Night
The Thomas Crown Affair

In 1970 Ashby switched from film-editing to work as the full-fledged director of:

The Landlord
Harold and Maude
The Last Detail
Shampoo
Bound for Glory
Coming Home
Being There
Spend the Night Together
8 Million Ways to Die

Hal Ashby and Haskell Wexler worked together on the 1964 movie The Best Man, then Heat of the Night and Thomas Crown. They would work together again in 1975 on Bound for Glory (for which Haskell received his second Oscar for best Cinematography) and worked together again on Lookin' to Get Out.

Haskell Wexler started in Hollywood as an assistant cameraman for The Ozzie and Harriet TV Show. He went on to do some notable documentary work and was the Director of Photography for:

Stakeout on Dope Street
The Savage Eye
The Hoodlum Priest
America, America
Virginia Woolf
In the Heat of the Night
Thomas Crown Affair
Medium Cool
American Graffiti
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Bound for Glory
Days of Heaven
Mulholland Falls

Haskell won the 1966 Academy Award for his black and white camera work on Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

The Films of Hal Ashby



1. Hal Asby Film & Book Review, 2. Films of Hal Ashby, 3. Shampoo - Hair Salon scene, 4. Shampoo - Beatty and young Carrie Fischer, 5. Last Detail - Nicholson Bar scene, 6. Coming Home - Voight & Fonda Husband scene, 7. Bound for Glory, 8. Cicinnati Kid Trailer, 9. Cincinnati Kid - Poker Game, 10. Thomas Crown Affair, 11. Heat of the Night- Trailer, 12. Diary of Anne Frank, 13. The Russians Are Coming, 14. Captain Sinbad - Trailer, 15. Rolling Stones movie, 16. 8 Million Ways to Die opening, 17. 8 Million - Jeff Bridges Bar scene




Click any slide for more Hal Ashby film info from Amazon.com




Angelina Jolie Poster Store








Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Is Steve Wynn Leaving Las Vegas?

Please allow a few seconds for this video to load to see NBC's Channel 3 local news report of Steve Wynn's CNBC interview and local reaction from Jan Jones and UNLV's Dr. David Schwartz.



Sometimes a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, for reasons usually unknown to everyone else. Goodbye Mr Wynn.

Monday, April 19, 2010

How to Try Getting Your Money Back from a Casino



7 minutes and 50 seconds of the casino scene from the 1985 Albert Brooks comedy 'Lost in America'. The story of two Yuppies who decide to quit their jobs to tour America in a Winnebago. Along the way they pass thru Las Vegas and lose their nest egg.

This movie was voted 84th in the American Film Institute's Top American Comedy Films of all time, #80 in Bravo's list of 100 funniest movies and received a 96 rating from 24 Rotten Tomatoes' Website reviewers.

These two video clips (below) are fairly funny and add to this blog's study of Las Vegas in Pop-Culture.







Lost in America DVD - Amazon.com

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Conan Extravaganza - Palms Las Vegas

Conan is Coming! Sold out Saturday Night at the Palms.


“It was either a massive 30-city tour or start helping out around the house... a night of music, comedy, hugging, and the occasional awkward silence". Coco.


The 30 City
Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour

Conan Returns to TV on TBS in October.




46 of the Best Conan O' Brien Videos Ever: 1. Triumph the Insult Dog, 2. Conan meets Jay Leno 1993, 3. Emmy Monolouge, 4. Bartendar School, 5. Howard Stern Warns About Jay Leno, 6. At the Car Lot, 7. In Ireland, 8. At FAO Schwartz, 9. Talks to Mike Tyson, 10. Visit to Intel, 11. Insult Dog on Global Warming, 12. Will Ferrel, 13. Chris Farley, 14, Best Characters and Masturbating Bear, 15. Jim Carey, 16. Learns to Dance, 17. At Yankee Stadium with Billy Crystal, 18. Robin Williams, 19. Dana Carvey, 20. Hunter S. Thompson and 17 other great Conan Moments.

Some Up Coming Tour Dates


April 17: River Cree Resort & Casino in Enoch, Alberta
April 18: Seattle Center, Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, in Seattle
April 19: Seattle Center, Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, in Seattle
April 22: Nob Hill Masonic Center in San Francisco, California
April 23: Nob Hill Masonic Center in San Francisco, California
April 24: Gibson Amphitheater in Universal City, California
April 25: Gibson Amphitheater in Universal City, California
April 29: San Diego Civic Theater in San Diego, California
April 30: Dodge Theater in Phoenix, Arizona
May 1 & 2: Pearl Concert Theater at The Palms in Las Vegas
May 4: Grand Sierra Resort & Casino in Reno, Nevada
May 5: San Jose State University Events Center in San Jose
May 6: Sacramento Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento, California
May 9: Mackey Auditorium in Boulder, Colorado
May 10: Ellie Caulkins Opera House in Denver, Colorado
June 6: Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut




Click on any slide for product info from Amazon.


Saturday, April 17, 2010

LUCKY TOWN - Bruce Springsteen

Springsteen's 'Lucky Town' was originally recorded in September 1991




1. 'Lucky Town' 2007, 2. 'Lucky You' Movie Trailer 2007, 3. 'Lucky Town' 1993, 4. 'Lucky You' Movie Scene with Bryan Adams' 'Let It Ride', 5. Springsteen's 'Lucky Town' Studio Version, 6. 'Lucky Town' Acoustic Version 2005.

House got too crowded clothes got too tight
And I don't know just where I'm going tonight
Out where the sky's been cleared by a good hard rain
There's somebody callin' my secret name

I'm going down to Lucky Town
Down to Lucky Town
I wanna lose these blues I've found
Down in Lucky Town

Had a coat of fine leather and snakeskin boots
But that coat always had a thread hangin' loose
Well I pulled it one night and to my surprise
It led me right past your house and on over the rise

I had some victory that was just failure in deceit
Now the joke's comin' up through the soles of my feet
I been a long time walking on fortune's cane
Tonight I'm steppin' lightly and feelin' no pain

Well here's to your good looks baby now here's to my health
Here's to the loaded places that we take ourselves
When it comes to luck we make our own
Tonight I got dirt on my hands but I'm building me a new home

Down in Lucky Town
I'm gonna lose these blues I've found
Copyright © Bruce Springsteen (ASCAP)
Columbia Records


Wall Murals, Prints & Posters

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Mid Strip - Now and Then - City Center, Aladdin and Paris

Before and After on the Mid-Strip
Click on any photo for a larger view.


THEN

1999 view looking south-west towards the current location of City Center, taken from the 4th floor of the Barbary Coast parking garage (now Bill's Gambling Hall). The Paris Hotel's Eiffel Tower is seen rising (on left). The Bellagio had opened on October 15th, 1998 and Paris would open on September 1st, 1999.

The original Aladdin Hotel had been imploded on April 27, 1998 and construction on the New Aladdin had just begun, with a Year-2000 opening date scheduled.

The east-to-west pedestrian bridges had been completed at this point, but the north-to-south bridges had yet to be started. Pedestrians are seen crossing at street level.


NOW
April 2010 photo taken from the same location - shows the Boardwalk Hotel & Casino had been imploded and removed, the Eiffel Tower and the new Aladdin were completed. Ballys added their corner roadsign, the Bellagio added its south hotel addition, a north-south bridge had been built (see the third photo below) and City Center opened in the space of 11 years since the photo above was taken at the parking garage of Bill's Gambling Hall (which bought-out the Babary Coast).


THEN
1999 view of the Boardwalk Hotel- Casino and New York, New York


NOW
2010 view from the same location as photo above,, shows Ballys' roadsign has been removed, the Paris Hotel and Eiffel Tower have been completed and opened plus the Mandarin, Harmon and Cosmopolitan Hotels are built.


NOW
This 2010 photo is from a few feet to the right of the one above. It shows the Aria Hotel completed along with two, of the four, pedestrian bridges at Flamingo Road and The Strip.

City Center Aerial & Satellite Views
1950 - 2008


July 1950
This aerial view shows the Los Angeles Highway and the Flamingo Hotel (which opened in 1946). The photos below show a 48 year progression of the Las Vegas Strip and traces the City Center property thru its various stages.

Notice the 'thumbtack icon' that is labeled 'City Center'. Progression photos, such as these, can be obtained by using Google Earth's new 'History' feature - which allows you to see the changes that have taken place in certain geographic locations over the years.


1965

Red-dot shows the Sands (opened in 1952), dark-purple-dot shows the future location for the (1989) Mirage, dark-blue-dot shows the location of (the later 1966) Caesars Palace Hotel, the light-purple-dot across the road shows the (1946) Flamingo.

The light-blue-dot show the (1955) Dunes Hotel (where the Bellagio is now). The light-green-dot show the site of the (1973) MGM Grand (now Ballys). The dark-green-dot shows the (1999) location of the Paris Hotel. The yellow dot shows the (1962) location of the Tally-Ho (later to become the 1964 King's Crown and then the 1966 Aladdin Casino and then the 2010 Planet Hollywood).

The light-orange-dot shows the Tropicana Golf Course across the street from the Tropicana Hotel. The golf course later became the site of the current MGM Grand (which opened in 1993). Across the street - the orange-dot showsthe location of the (1957) Tropicana Hotel.

City Center's site was vacant at this point, but the Dunes Hotel's Golf Course can be seen alongside the construction of the I-15 Freeway. The (2009) Vdara Hotel sits on the former site of the Dunes' Golf Course.



Small stores can be seen across the street from the 'thumbtack icon' that shows City Center's future location. The original (1973) MGM Grand had been built at this point. The (circa 1972) Jockey Club is seen across the street (below the Dunes).

The Maxim Hotel opened (in 1977) across the road (behind the Flamingo) from the original MGM Grand. The following year the small motel ( below the Flamingo) called the Desert Villa was replaced with the construction of the (1978) Barbary Coast.

The Marina Hotel opened, on the corner of The Strip and Tropicana Road, in 1975 across from the Tropicana Hotel. The Marina is now the west-wing of the (1993) MGM Grand.

The Holiday Queen Motel opened in 1969 at the current site of City Center. In 1993 it became the Boardwalk Holiday Inn Hotel. The Boardwalk was imploded in May of 2006 to make way for City Center.


*Note: Notice Google's easy-to-use 'History Line' feature in top-left.
August 2004
This 2004 satellite photo shows the former location of the Boardwalk Casino-Hotel. The Boardwalk can be seen where the purple-dot has been placed. A good reference point for locating the Boardwalk, in photos, is the 'tent-like' , white structure (see red-dot) of the Hawaiian Marketplace.


2008
This 2008 photo shows the (purple-dot) former location of the Boardwalk Hotel across the street from the (red-dot) Hawaiian Marketplace. The Boardwalk was basically located where the entrance driveway to City Center is now located (and possibly occupied a slight bit of the Mandarin location). The Boardwalk extended northward into the area that is now Crystals' Mall.


2008 - Looking Westward
This additional photo is used to show more of the former Boardwalk's location. This satellite photo was taken in January and the result is that the winter-sunlight casts high-contrasting shadows which make it hard to distinguish certain things.

This view is the same location as seen above, but the camera was turned for a better glimpse. I lightened the shadow cast by the Mandarin Hotel to get a better glimpse of the driveway.

The purple dot shows where the Boardwalk was located (as referenced by the red-dot location of the Hawaiian Marketplace).

CITY CENTER - NOW & THEN


THEN
The Boardwalk Hotel-Casino formerly occupied the spot where City Center's driveway is now located. The Boardwalk (possibly) extended from near the Mandarin Hotel - across the driveway and into Crystals current location. I'm not 100% certain. I could be off by 50 yards or so.


NOW
This April 2010 view shows the Mandarin Oriental Hotel (left), the City Center driveway and a portion of Crystals' Mall. The Boardwalk formerly occupied this area until 2006.


NOW
Another 2010 photo (about 200 yards north of the camera location seen above). The Boardwalk possibly extended into the space to the right of the Louis Vutton store. You can view the satellite photos to reach your own conclusion.


NOW
April night-view of City Center's driveway, the Mandarin, Veer Towers, Aria and Crystals. The former Boardwalk occupied the area just beyond the George Wallace billboard.


THEN
This 1975 aerial photo shows the Las Vegas lower Mid-Strip. The Tropicana Hotel is seen at bottom right, before they added their hotel tower, the following year. The Jockey Club can be seen at top-left and Aladdin-Planet Hollywood at mid-top (as marked).

COSMOPOLITAN & HARMON


THEN
This circa 1974 photo (judging by the gas price of 47 cents a gallon) is looking north-easterly from a location that might currently be seen if looking out from one of the Veer Towers.

The Dunes and (1973) MGM can be seen, along with the former site of Little Caesars and Churchill Downs Sports & Race Book in the mini-shopping mall (currently the site of the Paris Hotel). The edge of the Aladdin can be seen at the mid-right of this photo.

I am not too sure where the Harmon and Cosmopolitan Hotels line up exactly. They currently are across the street from the southern end of Planet Hollywood's property. This is roughly the spot where they are located (and these are the closest photos available, of the location,to show). The hotels might actually be about exactly where the camera position was for this photo.


THEN
This photo shows the former Texaco and Oasis gas station just south of the (1980) Dunes tower addition (seen behind these remains of the gas station's car-port and behind Denny's Coffee Shop). The Cosmopolitan and Harmon Hotels are currently located just south of this former gas station spot.

By the way. That former Denny's was an excellent spot to see celebrities after 2am. And yes. That $1.15 price for gas would place the date of this photo at around 1980 according to the Dept. of Energy's website.


NOW
Current view of Crystals, the Harmon Hotel and Cosmopolitan.


THEN
This 1966 photo shows the new I-15 freeway, the Dunes' Golf Course, Caesars Palace (yellow-dot), Flamingo (purple-dot), Dunes (dark-green-dot), vacant lot for the future 1967 Bonanza Casino and 1973 original MGM (light-green dot), the future Paris Hotel property (orange-dot), the Aladdin (pink-dot) and the northern edge of the current City Center's Cosmopolitan and Harmon (red-dot).

VDARA


THEN
This pre-1980 view is from the Dunes Golf Course (looking north-easterly towards Caesars, the Jockey Club Towers and the Dunes).


NOW
The (2009) Vdara Hotel is located almost exactly on the spot of the Dunes' Golf Course (seen above). The camera angle is looking north towards the Bellagio (former Dunes).

ALADDIN


THEN
View of the 1966 Aladdin after it bought the non-gaming (1962) Tally Ho property.


THEN
View looking east at the Aladdin Casino with its former Tally Ho room wings. Harmon Avenue is seen at right, with the Carriage House at top-right. The Aladdin remained a low-rise property until it built its 27-floor tower in 1975.


THEN
The (1975) tower at the Aladdin.


THEN
The Aladdin was imploded on April 27, 1998 to make room for the New Aladdin.


THEN
1999 view of the New Aladdin and Eiffel Tower under construction.


NOW
April 2010 view of the Planet Hollywood Hotel occupying the former New Aladdin Hotel.

PARIS HOTEL

THEN
A mid-eighties view of the current Paris Hotel property when it was a small shopping center. Little Caesars and the Chruchill Downs' Race and Sports book were formerly located in this mini-mall. This is where Bob Stupak placed and won his Million Dollar, Super-Bowl bet.


THEN
1966 view of The Strip (south of Flamingo Road). Caesars is nearing completion. The Three Coins Motel was located on the lot where the MGM/Ballys label is placed. The Galaxy Motel is seen at lower-right (just about where the north property line of the Paris Hotel is at now). Kerkorian's 1967 Bonanza Casino would open at the Galaxy motel, a year later.

The Dunes' Dome-of-the-Sea Restaurant and Denny's make good reference points for locating the Paris property in old photos.


THEN
1978 photo shows the original MGM Grand (red-dot). The yellow-dot shows the Barbary Coast under construction. The front of the Bonanza Casino can be seen added onto the former Galaxy Motel. Kerkorian sold the Bonanza Casino (blue-dot) around the time he opened the MGM.

Ballys current South Tower Addition (built in 1986) now occupies the area near the blue-dot. The green-dot shows the Churchill Downs Shopping Center. Paris Hotel now sits on the area of the green-dot.


NOW - 2008
The Paris Hotel's plaza fountain as seen two years ago, on the location of the former mini-mall.


NOW - April 2010
The Paris balloon and Arch of Triumph as seen from the top floor of the Bellagio's parking garage (located north of the Cosmop).


NOW - April 2010
View showing Ballys and Paris hotels

More 'Now and Then', Mid-Strip Photos Coming Next Week of:

the

* Original MGM Grand and Current Ballys

* Desert Villa Motel, Barbary Coast & Bill's Gambling Hall

* Caesars Palace Construction and Expansion