Not the best shot of Sams Town..  But it is from OUR GALLERY.. hey how about adding some more Sams Town photos? 

I sure get a kick when I see that XXXX number of folks viewed one of my shots.  And you should too.   Unless you are a Large Format PRO.. and guard your prints with a dog AND a gun.??  

The plea's for photos has nothing to do with me.. and everything to do with you.  Getting into the "Spirit" of a Vegas friends network.  That is what OpenVegas is.. BTW.  The OpenVegas social network for adults that enjoy themselves online.

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It has been a while since I was there.  But not THAT long. 

When People ask... "I've been to Vegas 10 times.. now what?"

I nearly always suggest heading off and seeing Sams Town.. 

They still KNOW HOW TO DEAL CRAPS at that place.  On the other hand.. they also love dealing it to the Dollar player.  That means lots of players and some very complicated pay off transactions.  If the dealers are not up to snuff.. well you get the idea.  (This isn't a dig BTW.. just my personal opinion on how I like to play craps)

I guess I was the ONLY GUY today playing RED chips. ($5).  ..sigh.. and yes I did play some Green ones..  went up and down a bunch and finally SAM got the better of me.  (Some how didn't feel so bad considering I own a few shares of BYD stock)  Wow and it went UP today..! 

For me it isn't "Winning".. yea really.  Winning is like icing on the cake for me.  I like the "Play"..  the action.  Having a great time.  Which for the most part I did.  Laughing and cheering on the rolls.  Fast friends..etc.

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There was this very annoying LINE of afternoon "Contest-Slot" Something happening.  I guess you stand in line for 2 hours you get to win money and/or a tee shirt?   The line cut right against the table.  Wasn't classy.. 

You might think "Gene you used Sams Town and Classy in the same sentence?"   Yes I did.  Classy in the sense that Sams always takes their Craps play (or used to) very seriously.  Great great dealers.. lots of tables.  Fun but professional attitudes.  The only house that loved craps as much as I do was the old DI (Desert Inn)  At the end I actually saw BLUE dice.  Hmmm  Oh and I have Video I'll post of it.. You know.  Right before Wynn took the wrecking ball to it! 

Personally I love an icy cold craps table.  If I can be the only guy.. or one of say 3 players.. I'm in heaven!   3 or 4 good players with honest and helpful dealers makes the game what it is.. FUN for me!

By the time I left they had opened 2 (yes two) whole craps tables???   I'm sure they were getting ready to open more. (sarcastic tone)

The "Afternoon" walker-scooter- retired folks etc.. ??  It was nearly their bed time (3pm) so they had started to leave for home.  The casino was slowing down before the Night play (Rush or whatever they call it)  Duh.. SWING SHIFT!!!  Yea that's right.  Wow it has been a long time since I worked in a hotel huh?

I really didn't want to leave after 4hrs of play.  The place had just started to FEEL good to me.  Granted I lost more than my limit..  And believe it or not I went up to the cage and asked what it would take to get "Casino Credit"..  She started rattling off "Letters to my bank" and all kinds of very scary stuff.  I asked her if there was a document I could read at home.  Of course she said NO.  ??/

Every Resort Hotel (- corporation) handles what they do differently.   Sure not having to go to the ATM would be nice.. but I could see me losing my HOME one day if I wasn't careful.  I decided to KEEP things right the way they are for now.  No Casino CREDIT for GENE!! 

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While standing in one of my favorite spots at Sams Town.. the Atrium.  There was this terrible sound. (Not children yelling) It was maintenance "Testing" a fan or something.  Horrible noise.  But anything is better than kids IMHO.(Now that's a dig against parents taking their very young children to Las Vegas.. so SUE me!)

Then it struck me.  Las Vegas is going through ANOTHER major change.  The thought actually came to me me when I was looking at their 30 year wall of "Stuff".  I was there 30 years ago.. and I LOVE Sams Town.  Just love the place.  Back when Frank and I ran Vegas Playground Dial Up Online Service.. we nearly always had our meets there. 

Oh and of course I did NOT have my trusty camera with me to SHOW you those historical framed photos and "Stuff" in the Sams Town lobby..   Maybe one of you can step up and take a few shots for us?

That went out of business in 1995 as I remember it. 

Yes Yes YES!!!  the Vegas housing market is a Cluster Fuk.  (No other way to write it BTW)..  We all HOPE that "IT" what ever the heak that IT was.. comes back.  Maybe this time with some common sense?

I read a report somewhere not to long ago that the Cannery (not to far from Sams Town BTW) is having a hard economic time.. but still "Making it".  That is good news.

HERE WE GO AGAIN.  In fact.. I took the car to the earliest memories of Vegas of mine today.  Out by McCarren is where me, my mom and 2 much older sisters lived briefly.. 

THE APARTMENTS WERE STILL THERE.  Sure my car passed some hoodlums.  Oh I mean our fine children on their way to school.

Las Vegas is.. that could be argued has always been in a Flux of change.. is going back through it all over again.  Change is always painful.  This time with the housing crisis.. OH MAN..  It is tough

I sincerely Love Las Vegas.  Being my life long home and all..   Of course at the worst possible moment we have skyscraper resorts/??? whatever the heak they are.. that might or might not get finished.   If you are an OLD local like me.. the LANDMARK should come to mind.  It took them what seemed like forever to get it up and finished. Remember James Bond riding the outside elevator?  I do.  BTW... that is ME playing Craps in the white shirt.  Ok maybe not.. but in my mind it always is.

I was there with my mother (RIP) On opening night.  She in her best fur..All the men were in their Tuxes.  Women were right out of the AMC (Cable TV Series based on 1960's Madison Ave PR companies) MADMEN.  Smoking and drinking up a storm.. It dazzled the heak out of me.  Remember it opened in 1969.. and I either saw or was about to see 2001 a Space Odyssey Movie.  Stanley Kubrick's look into the future.

The whole place was magical.

When it ended.  You saw people walking around in flip flops and some guys didn't bother to wear shirts.  A fall from grace.

The pools around the Landmark.. OMG.  You would not believe it.   Slowly over the 70's.. they were shut down. closed and even vandalized. 

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I'm nearly 50.  (In December)  Here Las Vegas goes again running full speed into that CHANGE word again!  It is interesting to say the least. 

Driving down Maryland Parkway in front of UNLV.. the front of UNLV now has a kind of Retro Resort Casino "Thing-a-ma-jig} to it.  Yawn..  Might have been better if they would pay attention to the BOOKS and Quality of Education vs. Flash Light Sculptures and some such nonsense. 

Getting back to Sams Town..  It was one of the first places I showed my would be wife more than 30 years ago.  I still think the Atrium is cool.. just not with all that racket I heard today.

ST has radically changed over the 30 years it has been here.. and I'm sure it is going to change even more. 

OpenVegas (used to be the simple forums as Las Vegas Talk) are changing again.  This time I think with much better results. 

Today (technically yesterday as I am writing this at 3am now) was an Interesting day for me.  I put my wife on the plane for her work back in Ohio... Leaving me here at home.  It will be a lonely 12 days I can assure you until she returns.  (that sent me down memory lane.. driving around etc)

Sams Town just like the housing crisis.. and everything else going on today in Las Vegas is right smack in the middle of change.  I'd like to think these changes are for the better.  Eventually Vegas will get Newer and better (classy) resort properties.  Frank and our site OV will continue to evolve and improve just like the city around us. 

I think it is important that all our members REMEMBER that if you have NOT been to your favorite Vegas hotel in 3 or more years.  You should do some research.  Go into our forums and ask around.  Check out our rate site:

http://www.ratelasvegas.com

One of the very large changes coming is a full interrogation of RATE into OpenVegas.  That will give our members the ability to rate and comment on their stays.  This in turn will "Ripple out" good quality information helping the next Vegas visitor.  And of course.. the Social Networking.   This will be a constant flood of Vegas photos, videos, blogs, trip reports, etc..  INFORMATION that everybody will get something out of.

I am very optimistic about the whole thing.  For our housing "Crisis".. the economy.. the future of all the other local kids growing up here today.  What kind of Las Vegas will they live and work in when 2020 rolls around?

Considering how long Frank and I have been involved in Online Persuits.  (Since 1983)  I'm sure we will be announcing a new WIZ BANG version of OV9.0 by then.  A web site that will not only book your intercontinental high speed rail ticket.. but might also clean your house while your gone.  Now wouldn't that be wonderful.

GENE

Tags: I Have To Get Out More Often Sams Town

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