Club Tropicana drinks weren't free
After almost seventy years, the Tropicana, one of Las Vegas' iconic casino hotels has closed its doors. And one of the more interesting features on the BBC's magazine side of late is Tony Perrottet's exploration of Sin City's seedy past. It's only a little more than 1400 words, to cover almost eighty years of history of gangsters, gambling, and divorce. If it were much longer though, I probably wouldn't've got through it all. (shrug)
Anything covering the mob during the early-mid twentieth century can't be a complete waste of time. Even if, as was the case here, their racketeering was more in the realm of casinos than hooch and drive-by shoot-ups. A little more on the shenanigans, including the allegations drawing in Sinatra and the rat pack, wouldn't have gone amiss though.
For those who lost the crap game that's love, divorce ranches flourished during the '40s and '50s allowing estranged couples to take advantage of Nevada's more liberal approach to untying the knot. According to our correspondent, they inspired several Hollywood romantic comedies, like The Misfits (1961)
, which came as news to me, because The Misfits is not a romantic comedy, despite the presence of Marilyn Monroe. Like Bros, it's a rom, not a romcom, although unlike Bros the comlessness was intentional. We have to forgive him for knowing not of what he writes though; he's a travel features writer, not a culture vulture.
One thing does, however, appear to be true of our Tone: he seems less bothered than some about red underlining in his writing. Or perhaps he's disabled whatever spell check is installed on his computer:
Billing itself as "The Tiffany of the Strip,, it was a classic of mmd-ccntury modern (rchitecture, complete with a 60ft--ulip-shaped fountain and swimming pool with music piped underwater.
Tony Perrottet, Where to see Las Vegas' once-upon-a-time past, BBC Travel
Translated into English, it reads:
Billing itself as "The Tiffany of the Strip", it was a classic of mid-century modern architecture, complete with a 60ft tulip-shaped fountain and swimming pool with music piped underwater.
Tony Perrottet, unscrambled, BBC Travel
There are a couple of other examples, but that was the least shits given in one sentence.
Billing itself as "The Tiffany of the Strip", it was a classic of mid-century modern (architecture, complete with a 60ft-tulip-shaped fountain and swimming pool with music piped underwater.
Tony Perrottet, Where to see Las Vegas' once-upon-a-time past, BBC Travel
Well, somebody at Beeb Towers must've been awake, kinda. The article has been edited—smoothly and seamlessly, natch—with only the wayward opening parenthesis remaining from the above excerpt.
Fortunately, for those of us so disposed, the others remain. In that same paragraph: Magicians Siegfried and Roy performed their first show with white tigers tt the hotel in 1967
. While, later The marble-floored lobby has brilliantly -oloured, hand-blown glass flowers Fy artist Dale Chihuly blazing overhead on the ceiling
, which I take to mean The marble-floored lobby has brilliantly-coloured, hand-blown glass flowers by artist Dale Chihuly blazing overhead on the ceiling
. Oh, and yes, The Misfits is still a romcom. So it's reassuring to know that the uplift in editorial competence only goes so far.
Unfortunately, since the BBC's site makeover, the Wayback Machine no longer appears to cache it. So we no longer have a memory of the corporation's covered tracks chicanery.
The Daily Mail reported the closure of the Trop with a characteristically pithy headline:
The end of Sin City's shadiest hotel: It made millions for the mob and attracted a string of celebrity guests, including Elizabeth Taylor and Frank Sinatra... but now the changing times have finally caught up with the Hotel Tropicana
Phew! After that, you hardly need bother reading Tom Leonard's article, in which he drolly observes on the introduction of Les Folies Bergere:
The high-kicking girls of the Tropicana featured in the 1964 Elvis film Viva Las Vegas and the revue would remain there, titillating tourists and off-duty gamblers, until 2009.
Tom Leonard, The end of Sin City's shadiest hotel: It made millions for the mob and attracted a string of celebrity guests, including Elizabeth Taylor and Frank Sinatra... but now the changing times have finally caught up with the Hotel Tropicana, MailOnline
Topless dancers. Titillating. Geddit? (boobies)
Bloody well played, Mr Leonard! (applause)