Since the creation of modern day Las Vegas, there have always been people lamenting the good ole days, whatever that means to that individual at the time. Determining what is considered “good” is about as subjective as subjective can be.  Most people today will point to the time before the strip was primarily owned by 2 companies, MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment.  While the benefits of consolidation are obvious, potentially the best thing about it is the story of how it all happened.  To do that, we are going to have to trace back to how these assets exchanged hands before finally ending up in the corporate portfolio that are currently a part of.  To keep the story clean and the timeline defined, we are only going to focus on the majority owners and only their moves in Las Vegas.  We’re calling this, the Great Consolidation of Las Vegas

I don’t know what I think about Oscar Goodman. I want to say I respect what he does and if I needed help, I hope my advocate is half the lawyer he is. At the same time what he’s done and who he’s defended troubles me, makes me uncomfortable, ethically even if I’m not sure it should. When Oscar speaks about his clients he does so very deliberately as if he’s making sure he doesn’t say something that would get him in trouble. He claims there was no such thing as the mob even though history has proven it beyond a shadow of a doubt, but that might just be part of his well-polished schtick. Oscar will tell you he’s just really naive but it’s hard to accept because he’s clearly very intelligent. He considers his greatest accomplishment to be his family and he loves his wife very much. It’s clear he passionately enjoys what he does and what he does is defend rights. He’s also incredibly likable although he’s one hell of a ball buster. Oscar is the kind of guy you want to like you even though you’re not sure if you like him.  Recommended Reading - Being Oscar

Siegfried & Roy, Masters of the Impossible, and in their time, as famously associated with Las Vegas as the Fountains of Bellagio are.  This act of illusion and tigers captivated audiences and really complimented the family friendly entertainment spectaculars coining phrases like “Only in Vegas”.  Let’s not forget, these are grownups going to see a magic show. But part of the interest was that disaster lurked around every corner, every night. At any moment, things could go horribly wrong. The fact that they didn’t sooner may be their greatest magic trick.

It’s fitting that he came up in lounges and has returned to them in the twilight of his career. That may sound like a slight, but it’s not meant to be. It’s a compliment. His lounge show is the only of its kind on the strip and that is because a lounge show couldn’t exist today with anyone other than Wayne Newton. When we lose him, we will lose that form of entertainment or at the very least the best incarnation of it.

As told by Tony and Rum.

Audio is provided for your convenience, but for the best experience, please watch the video at https://youtu.be/WasXRpdSZzAOur immense gratitude to Michael Movestro for video and audio production, and to Michael Trager of TravelZork for helping us put on the event.

It was said that people would rebuild their buildings to accommodate the biggest sign they could afford.  That’s how important signage was, or how important it is.  Las Vegas was the only town in the world whose skyline was made up of signs.  So big, they were the first thing you’d see from a mile away.  YESCO, Heath, Federal, Ad Art and SSI are just some of the names responsible for bringing those iconic signs to life and by doing so caused one element to be more important in the hearts of so many…NEON.

Please register at: https://www.cognitoforms.com/TravelZork/_360Vegas   Saturday, October 18, 6 pm - 9 pm Horseshoe, Las Vegas Conference Room “Palace 3” Resort Tower Ground Floor Premium Cash Bar at the event No Outside Food or beverages allowed No food served at the event (Eat beforehand!) Dress code is “Come As You Are” No formal wear is expected Please wear what you would normally wear in Vegas!   Sunday, October 19, noon - ? Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Vesper Bar Come and join us for a drink and some laughs Again, dress code is “Come As You Are” No formal wear is expected Please wear what you would normally wear in Vegas!

News: Updates on the Celebration of Life Saturday, September 13th First Congregational UCC Conneaut211 Buffalo St, Conneaut OH 440302pm - 5pmImportant: No alcohol allowed in the church.Dress code is whatever you’re comfortable in. Saturday & Sunday - October 18th & 19thLas Vegas - Still working on the details. A special announcement will be made in the podcast feed. Saturday the 18th - Will be a gathering in a private room / ballroom, most likely on the StripTime will be either 5-8 or 6-9Allow for people to travel in on Saturday morningDress code is whatever you’re comfortable in.Sunday the 19th - Informal meet up at a bar somewhere on the Strip.  Time and location TBD - earlier in the day Upload Photos for Mark MemoriesListeners are gathering photos of Mark to make memorial videos for the Celebration of Life events.https://juliemoore.smugmug.com/upload/rSkFKx/MarkVegasUploads

Josh drinks excessively and attempts to tell us the story of one of the pioneering names in Vegas history.