I have wonderful memories of growing up in Las Vegas.

Would love to hear about your memories of Las Vegas before it was the metropolis of the 21st Century.

Please post so we can talk about them!

i was born in sunrise hospital 1967 grew up near the boulevard mall remember going to the parkway and the boulevard park theatres saw starwars there in 1977 also remember the old vegas village store

Back in 1993 myself, wife, cousins and couple of friends seven people in all went to Las Vegas and stayed at the DI. We arrived on a Wednesday night on several different flights, so my cousin and I rented a limo for the evening to travel around and pick everyone up.

Once everyone arrived we headed out on the town. We went downtown, Fiesta and Texas before ending up at the DI to check in. The limo driver was great and we contracted him for Sunday (the day we were leaving) to take around for a final spin. We all got our rooms with exception of our friend Mike who ended up with a suite, because all the regular rooms were sold out. In those days my cousin Ken and I would stay up all night and well into the next day always suffering from a severe case of “Vegas fever”, this trip was no different. We drank and gambled the night away like sailors on leave. About 6AM we ended up being the only at the only craps table open. If you remember the DI did not have a very large casino, and I think there were only three in the whole place. Well we were losing so bad we thought they were cheating us because we were so drunk we couldn’t even see the dice at the end of the table. Ken suggested I play at the other end so we could verify each other’s rolls. The result was the same, we lost. The pit boss decided our play earned us a meal comp. We told him we seven in our group, and he said no problem. As daylight came and the rest of party awoke we bragged about our “big comp” to the gourmet room. That night we dressed our best and headed upstairs for our “free gourmet meal for seven”. We were seated promptly and they took our drink orders (like we needed any more) and my cousin handed over our comp slip. A few minutes later the Maitre D came by and informed us our comp was to the coffee shop not the gourmet room. We stayed anyway and they did take some off of our bill. The Maitre D explained that it would not have been a problem in the “old days” but ITT Sheraton had recently taken over and the rules had changed.

We had a great time at the DI. Four of us golfed and I thought I played very well. After the round as the club boys were cleaning our clubs, I commented how well I played and he stated that the course was in resort condition with the pin placements in spots that the ball naturally funneled to the hole. His tip instantly went from $5 to $2.

Bouncing around the DI was fun and we seemed to take over the place. Everyone was great and obviously in those times customer service was #1. We were at the casino bar Friday afternoon and decided to take a shot at the craps table again. We told the bartender we would be back soon, and he put cocktail napkins on our drinks to save our spots at the bar. The little while turned into four hours and when we got back to the bar it was very crowded there were our two spots at the bar with our drinks still under the napkins. Geez where have you guys been, people have been after your seats and I’ve been fighting them off to save them for you. A generous tip followed, but that is an example of how the service was. I cannot talk about the service without mentioning one of the cocktail waitresses by the name of Rosie. She was great and said that she worked there a long time. She was probably the oldest cocktail waitress in Vegas, but she was still an elegant lady. She said she put her three daughters through Stanford working at the DI.
As the trip was winding down the craps dealers called us a breath of fresh air in the place and one them said when he gets home tonight his wife will ask what ____ (strange, goofy, funny, stupid) you fill in the blank things the guys from Buffalo did tonight. The pit boss even allowed us to take a picture (in those days photography in a casino was a no-no) in the craps pit with the dealers. Soon the limo driver showed up to pick us up, we were now on fumes with our bank rolls and my cousin told him we had to cancel, by giving him the two finger choke sign on his neck. Harold (the guys name I think) instantly understood and headed out the door. One of the pit bosses saw what was happening and arranged for DI limo to take us all back to airport. What a class place.

We never stayed there again, but always visited on each subsequent trip. The remodeled sports book was the best with the most comfortable chairs to sit back and watch the games. Rosie was there until the end and once after a big tip from my cousin commented “Oh Kenny you tip me more than Sinatra ever did”

I wish I could have visited Vegas in the 60’s what a place it must have been!

My family moved to Las Vegas in 1961.We vacationed there every year since 1955 before moving there from Chicago When we vacationed, we stayed with my aunt and uncle on Ballard Drive just behind the 2200 block of Charleston Blvd. My aunt and uncle owned a laundromat located at 2204 East Charleston. My parents had gone out to the Strip one evening. My mother was not much of a drinker. So after a night out on the town, I was asked to stand on a kitchen chair to verify what she thought she saw slowly moving above the buildings in the distance. YESCO sign company was moving the Dunes Sultan that day and all that could be seen was his turbaned head above the rooftops. When I verfied that I, too, had seen a "floating head", my mother was greatly relieved!! From that day forward, that Sultan was dubbed my mother's boyfriend. I often think about that and laugh. What has happened to that Sultan? I know he was moved to the golf course after the Dunes expanded, but now I haven't seen him in years. I returned to Las Vegas for my high school reunion in 2000. I had not been to Vegas since 1974. What a shock!! Thanks for letting me share.

Was born in Vegas at Sunrise hospital the year it opened, 1959. Went to Crestwood Elem, Fremont Jr High and Chaparral High the year that it opened. So many firsts! Growing up I hung out at the Charleston Mall and Huntridge Theater, pool at Fremont Jr High. Back then there were block homes (remember those?) you knew most of the people in your neighborhood. I'm glad I have the memories I do of growing up there, Vegas will never be the same.