RonnieAdventures: RonnieAdventure #0416 - Las Vegas, The Ghost Town Part V, Nevada

In 1959 a Flamingo Hotel/Casino employee purchased the land adjacent to the north side of the Hotel and built the Flamingo Capri. Through an operating agreement, the Capri was managed by the Flamingo Hotel/Casino until the property was sold and rebranded as the Asian themed "Imperial Palace." The Imperial Palace was famous for two unique things - The Imperial School of Gambling, for people that wanted to learn how to play the various gaming venues, and the "Imperial Antique and Classic Auto Collection."

The fifth floor of the parking garage was converted into the world's largest classic car showroom, featuring hundreds of vehicles that included not only classic and antique cars, but also muscle cars and cars from around the world. Each year the annual "Imperial Palace Antique Auto Race" started and ended at the Imperial Palace. After various ownership changes, the auto collection was sold in 2017.

In 2014 Imperial Palace was rebranded as "The Linq;" and the "High Roller," a 550-foot-tall observation wheel, was added at the back of the property. The "High Roller" is the tallest observation wheel in the world. There about 2,500 hotel rooms at The Linq.

Harrah's Hotel/Casino is located adjacent to the north side of The Linq. The property was originally called the "Holiday Hotel/Casino," but in 1992 the property was renamed "Harrah's," in honor of the owner William F. Harrah. The property contains 2,540 hotel rooms and has always had a carnival/Mardi Gras theme.

Both The Linq and Harrah's are managed by Caesars Entertainment Corporation.

The luxury Venetian Resort complex is located at the southeast corner of "The Strip" and Spring Mountain Road, on the site of the historic Sands Hotel/Casino. The resort includes the Venetian and Palazzo Hotels/Casinos, Grand Canal Shops, Sands Expo Convention Center, four theaters for live performances, and the MSG Sphere entertainment facility that is under construction in partnership with Madison Square Garden Company. Sophia Loren helped dedicate the resort when it opened in 1999.

The Venetian Resort is the second largest resort complex in the world, containing 4,040 hotel rooms and 3,068 hotel suites. Architecture of the resort was patterned after various buildings and columns in Venice, Italy, including Palazzo Ducale, Piazza San Marco, Piazzetta di San Marco, Lion of Venice Column, and Column of Saint Theodore.

There are 35 restaurants in the resort, featuring celebrity Chefs like Emeril Lagasse, Wolfgang Puck, Buddy Valastro, Thomas Keller, Lorena Garcia, and David Chang. The Venetian restaurants are some of the favorite places for people that live in Las Vegas to go for special occasions.

A friend of ours worked at the Bouchon for a number of years, so one year she insisted that we celebrate our anniversary at their restaurant. Little did we know that we were going to be treated like VIPs. Before we ordered our meals they brought us several complimentary appetizers and then after a great dinner they brought us several complimentary deserts. Living in Las Vegas and knowing someone that works in one of the resorts definitely has some advantages.

One of the best known landmarks in Las Vegas is Caesars Palace. It was build in 1966 using a Roman Empire theme with columns, statues, fountains, and a 20-foot tall statue of Augustus Caesar at the property entrance. When entering the property, it looks like a Hollywood movie set of an ancient Roman city and emulates what we think life would have been like during the Roman Empire.

The opulent facility was constructed with financing from the Teamsters Central States Pension Fund and designed to attract High Rollers from around the world. When people entered the resort management wanted everyone to feel like a "Caesar;" so that is why the property was named "Caesars Palace" without the apostrophe, making "Caesars" a plural instead of possessive noun. Caesars Palace was reported to have been "a mob-controlled casino from the day it opened its doors."

The grand opening cost over $1 million and included two tons of filet mignon, 300 pounds of Maryland crab meat, 50,000 glasses of champagne, and the largest order of Ukrainian caviar ever placed by a private organization. Cocktail waitresses greeted guests by saying "Welcome to Caesars Palace. I am your slave." Andy Williams was one of the opening entertainers.

In 1967 Evel Knievel wanted to perform a special stunt in Las Vegas, so he asked management if he could jump over the Caesars Palace Fountains on his motorcycle. Management agreed to let him attempt the jump, but the jump did not go as planned. When Evel landed, he flew over the handlebars of his motorcycle and landed in the parking lot. He fractured numerous bones, suffered from a concussion, and was unconscious in a coma for 29 days before waking up. In 1989 Robbie Knievel, Evel's son, successfully completed the jump, and within the last few years an X-Game rider successfully made the same jump and did a back-flip on his motorcycle while over the fountains.

In 1992 the property was expanded to add the Forum Shops at Caesars, also known as "The Forum." The Forum is the highest grossing mall in the United States, with higher sales per square foot than Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California

Panoramic Picture by Kolohe

Picture by Kolohe

Most major entertainers performed in Las Vegas during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, but one of the most popular was Liberace (pronounced "Liber-Ah-chee").

Liberace was born Wladziu Valentino Liberace in West Allis, Wisconsin. At the height of his career Liberace was the highest-paid entertainer in the world, with concert residencies in Las Vegas from the 1950s to the 1980s.

Liberace began playing the piano at age four and by age seven he was playing difficult pieces from memory. While in high school he played in a formal classical music competition and was praised for his "flair and showmanship." As a 20 year old he played with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and started touring the Midwest playing for dances and wedding using the stage name "Walter Busterkeys."

During the War Years he moved away from straight classical music and reinvented his performances with what he called "classical music with the boring parts left out." After the War, he abandoned classical music altogether and changed from a classical pianist to an entertainer and showman. During his performances he would interact with the audience by taking requests, talking directly to the patrons, and making jokes. His career led him to Las Vegas, and people soon forgot his stage name and he started billing himself as "Liberace - the most amazing piano virtuoso of the present day." The press started calling him "Mr. Showmanship," but the locals always just called him "Lee."

Once establishing himself in Las Vegas, Liberace started wearing a white tie and tails and added a candelabrum to each show. The candelabrum soon became his trademark, along with some elaborately decorated pianos - an over-sized gold-leafed Bluthneer Grand and other extravagant, custom-decorated pianos with rhinestones and mirrors. Over a period of time he added extravagant, exotic costumes with ostrich feathers, mink, capes, and huge rings. His entrances at the beginning of his performances were elaborate, which included being chauffeured onstage in a Rolls-Royce and being dropped by a wire onto the stage like Peter Pan.

In general, the music critics hated Liberace, accusing him of having "a lack of reverence and fealty to the great composers." One music critic said he made hard music simple and simple music hard, and accused him of not being able to play any piece of music correctly. He was known to add "Twelfth Street Rag" in the middle of a Chopin composition. Unlike most classical concert pianists that leave the stage at the end of their performance, Liberace invited the audience to come onstage and touch his clothes, piano, jewelry, shake hands, give him hugs, and sign autographs. He finished each performance with "I'll Be Seeing You."

Liberace was the subject of many jokes by comedians and critics of the time because of his unconventional costumes and performances. One time he wrote a letter to a critic and said: "Thank you for your very amusing review. After reading it, in fact, my brother George and I laughed all the way to the bank." He then popularized the phrase "I laughed all the way to the bank" by using it frequently. When he was a guest on the Johnny Carson Show he was asked about using the phrase and he told Johnny: "I don't laugh all the way to the bank any more - I bought the bank."

After his death in 1987, his personal items were placed in a three-building museum for several years, and then in 2010 the bulk of his items were sold. A few of his most famous items are still on display at the Liberace Garage in Las Vegas.