Lady Luck

After the photo lab I worked at went out of business, I began doing background work in the movies.  Every so often, I'll get booked to play a casino patron.  The costumers always want the predominantly youngish crowd dressed in stylish and expensive clothes.  I'm not much for Vegas and gambling, but the few times I've been on the strip, I've noticed that the typical casino goer tends towards middle age and above and they dress more polyester than silk.  Hey, it's only a movie.

The Lady Luck opened in 1964 and closed in 2006.  The property was eventually bought, renovated and reopened, in 2013, as The Downtown Grand.  I'm guessing this photo was a lot closer to 1964 than not.

Diamond Jim's

Well, she does have a moll feel to her. The gangster's lady, hitting the tables while big Louie plots a hit or two.  More than likely though,  she was  a nice middle class woman, gone to Vegas to gamble, lounge by the pool, and see Steve and Eydie.  (Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, a popular vocal duo popular with the Vegas crowd, for those too young to know.)

The first legal gaming licence in Nevada was issued in 1931 to Mayme V. Stocker and J. H. Morgan for The Northern Club on Fremont St., Las Vegas.  A year latter, Morgan opened The Nevada Club, one block east, at 113 E. Fremont.  From 1962 to 1969, it was known as Diamond Jim's Nevada Club.  Diamond Jim was Morgan's nickname.  The club closed in 1969, and in the early seventies the property was demolished to make way for a Golden Nugget expansion.

The Golden Gate Casino

I take a look at a half dozen or so other blogs on a fairly regular basis. A week or so ago, in the comments section of one of those blogs, the question was asked, "What do people see in Vegas?" Since I was blocked from weighing in with my own comment, I thought I'd answer that question here.

We go to Vegas to sin in safety. There aren't many communities in the United States were you can't find a card game, and if you get mixed up with the wrong people, get in trouble. Unable to pay off a bet in some back room and you might get your knee caps broken. In Las Vegas, you buy chips up front, either in cash or on a credit card, and that's it. If you can't pay Visa, you might get sued and your spouse may kick you out of the house, but you won't see the inside of a hospital room. Want to get drunk? In Las Vegas, the helpful casino staff will help you back to your room and clean up the mess. And as long as you don't get violent or try and drive, the LVPD are more likely to call you a cab than take you to the drunk tank. Want to get laid? Well, there are plenty of other people looking for a hook-up wandering the casino floor, and if that doesn't work, prostitution is against the law in Clark County, but out call services are common and as long as she (or he) doesn't stay past check-out, it will be over looked. Still worried about breaking the law? Well there's always the shuttle to Nye County and a legal bordello. And if you should run into a friend, family member, boss or employee, they're probably doing the same thing you are. We go to Las Vegas because it's the Disneyland of mischief.

This postcard was mailed from Canoga Park, California on April 5, 1967. It was addressed to Mr. Loppy Clark, Rich Hill, MO, 64799. And the message, "Hi, I'm Broke. Will be home in a few days. Marion."

Show Girls!

There is a date, SEP 66, on the borders of these two small prints. I would guess that the cosutme was meant to imply that this entertainer was topless. Probably from Las Vegas.

Twins by Murray Korman

Murray Korman was a theatrical and portrait photographer active in New York City. I haven't been able to find exact dates for when he started his studio or his retirement, but I have found references to him having shot silent movie stars. Too, at one time he did the mug shots for Joliet Prison. I haven't a last name for these two ladies who look enough alike, that they could be twins, or at the least sisters. When I scanned this photo, I cropped the borders off, and lost part of the inscription. It reads, "To Eddie, Will never forget the grand time in Las Vegas-thanks to you! Best wishes always Jeanette" If they were playing in a Las Vegas showroom, they were probably there in the 1950s.