or information on our "Beyond the Mint: The Mid-Century Modern Architecture of Walter Zick" event and bus tour, click here

The people behind the CineVegas Film Festival have announced that they are putting the festival on hold for 2010 due to the faltering economy.

The Film Festival, which debuted eleven years ago and which we were a part of in 2005 with our film, "The Story of Classic Las Vegas:  An Overview", is hoping to keep the brand alive with web screenings and organized smaller screenings throughout the year.

From the R-J:

This year's cuts were "for both economic and artistic reasons," Nelving noted. "It went really well on all levels, but with the continuing rough economy, we thought it best to put the festival on hold."

In recent years, CineVegas has established itself as "a premier showcase for uninhibited filmmakers" and audiences who "appreciate film and life on the edge," artistic director Trevor Groth stated in a news release. Groth's status, and connections, as a Sundance Film Festival programmer helped establish CineVegas' credibility with filmgoers and filmmakers alike.

"It's sad, because it's such a great event," said Palms owner George Maloof, whose hotel-casino hosted CineVegas for eight of its 11 years. "It's something Vegas never had. I'm amazed at how the event grew over the years."

Despite the hiatus, festival organizers "hope to keep the CineVegas brand alive and relaunch the festival once the economy recovers," Groth said.

The faltering economy prompted actor-filmmaker Dennis Hopper, who chairs CineVegas' creative advisory board, to suggest canceling the 2009 festival. But CineVegas president Robin Greenspun and her husband, Daniel, who own the festival, decided this year's show should go on.

As for next year, "CineVegas has become such a well-respected film festival," Robin Greenspun stated in a news release, that "rather than allow(ing) the economy to affect its level of quality, we have opted to put the event on hold."

Even without a 2010 festival, CineVegas hopes "to have a continuing year-round presence" through its Web site (www.cinevegas.com), special screenings and other events.

For information on our "Beyond the Mint: The Mid-Century Modern Architecture of Walter Zick" event and bus tour, click here

Sad news to report.  Casino entrepreneur Bob Stupak passed away on Friday evening.  The report from the R-J says:

Bob Stupak, the Las Vegas gaming entrepreneur who defied his critics at every turn, died at Desert Springs Hospital today after a long battle with leukemia. He was 67.

Stupak has been hospitalized since Saturday, said Sandy Blumen, who has two children with Stupak. He died at 1:15 p.m. Friday.

Stupak, who staged numerous unsuccessful runs for local political office and is known for his colorful and sometimes controversial behavior, has kept a low profile in recent years as his health deteriorated.

Stupak first came to Las Vegas in the early 1970s and opened a restaurant, followed by "Bob Stupak's World Famous Historic Gambling Museum & Casino." In 1979, he opened Vegas World.

But Stupak is perhaps best known for building the Stratosphere and the 1,149-foot-tall Stratosphere Tower on Las Vegas Boulevard near Main Street.

"Bob was an impresario, a ringmaster in the mold of the promoters who made Las Vegas the great town that it is,” said Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman. “His ingenuity got him into trouble sometimes, but that happens to folks who try to grab the brass ring.

"I'll miss his impishness."

Stupak excelled in promoting himself and his enterprises and appeared to adhere to the axiom that even bad publicity is good publicity. His exploits made headlines over and over again.

Stupak was born April 6, 1942. He grew up in a Polish working-class neighborhood in Pittsburgh.

He made his first bet — a penny on the numbers — when he was eight. In the Army, he ran craps games in the barracks at Fort Knox, Ky., and Fort Sill, Okla. He figured out he could also make money with something as simple as a raffle.

“I realized that people were prepared to gamble a little if they had a chance to win a lot,” he said in a 1989 interview. “I understood the principles of gambling and the greed factor, which everyone basically has.”

The best way to describe him, said College of Southern Nevada history professor Michael Green, "is as a 20th century version of P.T. Barnum. He was a visionary, and what he envisioned, he achieved.”

“He was a young man with a pocketful of money and he fell in love” with the city, said Ralph Denton, a longtime Southern Nevada lawyer who met Stupak in the early 1970s.

Stupak nearly died in 1995 after crashing his Harley-Davidson motorcycle while going more than 60 mph. His son, Nevada, who was a passenger, also was injured. The elder Stupak broke every bone in his face. Doctors didn’t expect him to live. But Stupak was a fighter and recovered.

Still, he was never quite the same and continued to struggle with his health over the years, Blumen said.

Review-Journal writer Alan Choate contributed to this report.

Memorial contributions

At Bob Stupak’s request, he will be cremated and there will be no funeral, a family spokeswoman said. The Stupak family has requested that in lieu of flowers, contributions be sent to the Stupak Community Center in his memory.

The Stupak Trust

300 South Fourth St., Suite 701

Las Vegas, NV 89101

Bob Stupak, a Las Vegas legend who developed the Stratosphere and called himself the Polish Maverick, died today at Desert Springs Hospital after a long battle with leukemia.

He was 67.

The Stratosphere released a statement Friday afternoon saying Stupak will be remembered for his contributions to Las Vegas.

“Bob Stupak was a true visionary and he will be sorely missed. He was instrumental in developing the Stratosphere Casino Hotel and Tower – an icon in Las Vegas, as Mr. Stupak was himself. He will be remembered for his many community initiatives and his many innovative projects within the gaming industry," the statement said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”

After an unconventional boyhood in Pittsburgh he came to Las Vegas, where he survived a motorcycle crash and sparred with gaming regulators. He eventually built the tallest hotel-casino in Las Vegas.

In his early days, Stupak delved into pop music and motorcycle drag racing before he began selling coupon books. His father, Chester Stupak, was a major player in Pittsburgh gambling rackets from before World War II until his death in 1991.

After Bob Stupak dropped out of school following the eighth grade, he bought a Harley-Davidson and began an odyssey that would lead to Las Vegas.

Stupak's interest in gambling drew him to Las Vegas in 1964. He then took a detour to Australia for seven years, where he continued selling coupon books and got married twice. Stupak stayed in Las Vegas for good in 1971.

In 1973, Stupak opened the Million Dollar Historic Gambling Museum & Casino, which burned down under mysterious circumstances. Rising from those ashes, Stupak built Vegas World in 1974, an outer space-themed casino with a display of cash Stupak had won in some of his most notorious gambling bouts, including poker games and big Super Bowl bets.

Media from around the world came to the April 29, 1996, opening of the 1,149-foot-tall Stratosphere. A bronze statue of Stupak was displayed at the resort north of Sahara Avenue on Las Vegas Boulevard.

Stupak had envisioned an 1,800-foot tower, but the Federal Aviation Administration intervened and prevented him from going that high. Less than three months after the Stratosphere opened, Stupak, a 14 percent owner, resigned as chairman and the bronze statue disappeared. Stupak said later he had never authorized it.

On March 31, 1995, Stupak was nearly killed when the Harley-Davidson motorcycle he was driving collided with a vehicle on Rancho Road, leaving him in a coma for five weeks.

Stupak had attempted to enter the political arena by running for mayor of Las Vegas. He also helped his daughter, Nicole, with a failed bid for a City Council seat in 1991.

"It seems like he was always playing it right to the edge -- good, bad or indifferent," said former United Press International Bureau Chief Myram Borders, who covered Stupak during the years of his greatest contributions to Las Vegas history. "He had a good sense of humor. He was a funny man. Bob seemed to enjoy life very much."

In 1989, Stupak won the World Series of Poker $5,000 buy-in no-limit deuce-to-7 world championship at Binion's Horseshoe, earning a purse of $139,500. He had placed third in that same event in 1984 and would go on to place fourth in that game at the 1991 and 1993 World Series of Poker.

Famed Las Vegas oddsmaker Lem Banker called his longtime friend "a visionary."

"Bob was a decathlon gambler -- sports bets, propositions, poker -- everything at once," Banker said. "He had a lot of heart and a lot of brains."

Sen. Harry Reid said in a statement that he was saddened to learn of Stupak's death, adding that they had been friends for 35 years.

"Las Vegas has seen many visionary people come and go throughout the years, but few personified the town like Bob did. He was a genuine Las Vegas character," Reid said. "My thoughts and prayers go out to Bob's family and friends during this difficult time."

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

For information on our "Beyond the Mint: The Mid-Century Modern Architecture of Walter Zick" event and bus tour, click here

 One of our daily readers contacted me with his remembrance of Led Zeppelin playing Las Vegas, at the Ice Palace, in 1969:

In 1969, it was announced on KLUC that Led Zeppelin would be playing the Ice Palace. The Ice Palace was not THE major venue in town that would be the Convention Center. I was confused.

Led who?

I went to Wonder World and found Led Zeppelin I. I recognized Jimmy Page from the Yardbirds, but who were Robert Plant, John Bonham and John Paul Jones? What was the big deal?

I called the Ice Palace. Maybe there was more to the story. I asked if it was true that Led Zeppelin was going to play the Ice Palace.

The guy said "Yeah." I responded, I swear: "Who else is playing with them?"

He treated me like the idiot I was and hung up on me. I bought tickets anyway. Jimmy Page was great.

There is a joke about rock singers: that they sing as though they are caught in their zipper.

It's true. The worst of them is Lou Gramm from Foreigner, but only slightly behind him was Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin. Plant sang as though his hair were on fire.

To front Led Zeppelin, however,that style was a necessity. He had to contend not only with Page and Jones but with drummer John "Bonzo" Bonham, who wore a dog collar for a good reason. He was an animal and had a bass drum foot that has never been equalled.

Plant sang for his life.

A moment happened during that first Led Zeppelin concert which, had I not been there, I would nothave believed.

Page was playing, as was his wont, extremely loud. Bonham could play soft, he just never did.

The band was playing "Dazed and Confused" which was, at that point, from their one and only album.

Plant's microphone failed. Nothing else, just Plant's microphone.

Plant did not miss a beat, neither did the mighty Led Zeppelin. Page sang, without the aid of amplification, over the cacophony of his band mates.

The Ice Palace was an acoustic nightmare. It was never intended to be used for a concert venue. I worked dozens of shows there as a stage hand and I could not be heard from the stage to the back of the rink, screaming with my hands cupped to my mouth.

But on that night in 1969, there was Robert Plant, without a microphone, belting out "Dazed and Confused" over the absolute onslaught of the world's loudest band.

I was standing near the back of the rink and I could hear every word, every syllable.

In my experience, no human I have seen has ever matched Plant's vocal power.

Thanks to Michael for sharing the story with us.

Do you have a story?  Were you there that night in 1969?  Send us an email and tell us your story!

If you have pictures, send us an email!

Help us help LedZeppelin.com find out more about this legendary concert.

Bob Stupak, long-time Las Vegas resident, hotel impesario and the creator of Vegas World is gravely acording to our buddy, John L. Smith, at the R-J:

Bob Stupak, creator of the gaudy Vegas World casino and the incredible Stratosphere Tower, is said to be gravely ill and suffering from medical maladies related to lung and blood disease.

His body weight has diminished to under 100 pounds, one longtime friend said this morning after a recent visit with Stupak.

Stupak’s health has been in noticeable decline in recent years, but neither doctors nor a weakened physical condition could convince him to quit smoking.

Like the kamikaze-style gambler that he is, Stupak has managed to make amazing medical comebacks before. I visited him just a few months ago at Valley Hospital when it appeared he was moving quickly toward life's exit.

Within a day, he was back to harassing nurses -- and looking for a place to escape for a smoke.

Were you there?

Do you have ticket stubs or better yet, pictures of the concert or the marquee?

Yes, in the summer of 1969. Zep played Las Vegas.  I know hard to believe.  But back in those days, real bands did come to Las Vegas. 

The Beatles had performed at the old Convention Center Rotunda in 1964 and the teenagers of Las Vegas caught a bad case of Beatlemania.  The concerts sold out and girls held siege at the Sahara Hotel, where the four most famous musicians in the world, at that time, were staying.

In the ensuing years, other bands came to the Convention Center, including Iron Butterfly.

According to the official Zep website, ledzeppelin.com, the concert took place on August 11th or 12th in the old Ice Palace, home to the Ice Capades, in Commercial Center.

"They were good, except when Jimmy Page pulled out that violin bow and drove me nuts with it for the next 25 minutes," recalls Las Vegas resident Tom Burt. "It was before they were really big—they only had their first album out—but if you knew what was goin' on, you knew who they were."

So, were you in the audience in August of 1969, did you see Zep?  Do you have tickets?  Or better yet pictures.

If so, let us know.  The folks at the website are anxious to talk to people who were there and discover if there is any photographic evidence of the concert.

Leave your comments here and help us out!