360 Vegas
Episodes
Saturday Mar 19, 2022
360 Vintage Vegas PCP: Tony Cornero and the Stardust
Saturday Mar 19, 2022
Saturday Mar 19, 2022
*Premium Content Preview
Patreon.com/360Vegas
While many architecture academics have criticized Las Vegas for its lack of substance, there may be no better example of this elitism than the scorn directed towards the Stardust. For better or worse, history points to the Stardust as the defining moment when Las Vegas no longer required a jacket and tie to gain entrance to. Instead of celebrating the brilliance in the Stardust’s minimalism, it was trashed for focusing more on the exterior signage and façade, wrapped around a building that was little more than a massive, non-descript warehouse. Whether inadvertent or by intention, it seems each time Vegas has successfully evolved to appeal to more diverse tastes, that success is met with opposition; Slut Shaming those who dare to find things appealing like neon signage, themed resorts or anything deemed inferior to "intellectual" tastes. But the glory that is Las Vegas is knowing that judging people for what appeals to them has never made converts, it alienates; even if supplying that demand is more financially motivated than cultural. When the majority doesn't see things the way you'd like them to, that doesn't mean they're wrong, it means you don't get it. The Stardust got it, in a big way.
Saturday Jul 24, 2021
PCP - 360 POV: Lucky You
Saturday Jul 24, 2021
Saturday Jul 24, 2021
PCP = Premium Content Preview
The movie Lucky You, reminds us of a time in Vegas, when people thought the only limits the market had, were the limits of the imagination. While it isn’t a period piece in the traditional sense, at least not yet, or intentionally, one of the truly fun things about Las Vegas, is how often it changes. Unlike major cities all around the world, whose landscape typically just expands over the years, Vegas can look radically different from one decade to the next. That’s, what we get to explore, with Lucky You, to see, just how different, the city looks, from the way it did in 2005, when the movie was being filmed, compared to today, less than 20 years later.
Saturday Jun 19, 2021
360 Vintage Vegas PCP: Tropicana LV
Saturday Jun 19, 2021
Saturday Jun 19, 2021
Tropicana is the kind of property in Vegas that everyone knows about but most don't spend much time at, which is a real shame. Its contribution to the experiences available in the market is a unique blend of classic intimacy and affordable luxury. Many properties in Vegas seek to transport you from everyday life to a personal version of paradise but the use of bright spaces gives it a feeling of warmth and carelessness. Without excessive ornamentation or theming, Tropicana has succeeded in what can best be described as that happy place on a beach people can retreat to when the stressed of life reaches levels requiring such a place. A truly transformative experience, all with the convenience of virtually any other imaginable adventure available just outside, brought to you as only the Las Vegas strip can.
Saturday Feb 20, 2021
PCP - Bob Stupak, Vegas World and the Stratosphere
Saturday Feb 20, 2021
Saturday Feb 20, 2021
Today, Bob Stupak is considered just another colorful character in the history Las Vegas and properly credited as the visionary behind Stratosphere. His tacky taste, public antics and wacky persona are all just part of his legend. The truth is, Bob embodies everything negative you've ever been warned about gambling and the industry. He didn't want to just take your money, he wanted to make you look foolish while he did it. His nickname might as well have been "fine print Stupak” because just about everything he did had a catch to it or a technicality he hoped you would miss so he could exploit. He preyed on those that didn't know better. But what's wrong with that? Most people know there is a mathematically proven way to play some games and yet willfully choose to ignore them in favor of strategies that increase the odds already stacked against them. Some people believe the earth is flat. The fact is we all have access to the same information, especially in the Internet age. The only disadvantage one person has over another is self-imposed. An intellectual isn't discourage from using their acquired knowledge so why is gambling any different? Morality, you say? Well, as Canada Bill Jones said, it's immoral to let a sucker keep his money. I’m pretty sure Bob just thought it was fun.
Saturday Dec 05, 2020
PCP - 360 Vintage Vegas: Billy Wilkerson and the Flamingo (Remastered)
Saturday Dec 05, 2020
Saturday Dec 05, 2020
*Premium Content Preview
Patreon.com/360Vegas
History hasn’t been fair to Billy Wilkerson. For years, a myth has lived in romantic Hollywood lour that Bugsy Siegel is the father of modern Vegas. When in truth, the idea for the Flamingo was stolen and ruined by the notorious gangster who caused the project to cost 6 times more than its original projections. When it finally opened, it was a disaster of such catastrophic proportions that his partners in the mafia had him killed. Now it is time to set the record straight about the real man behind the Flamingo.
Saturday Nov 21, 2020
PCP - 360 Vintage Vegas: Boyd Gaming
Saturday Nov 21, 2020
Saturday Nov 21, 2020
*Premium Content Preview
Patreon.com/360Vegas
Sam Boyd was a gambler at heart. Once he discovered his passion for games of chance, he studied them feverously, learning that in every game, the advantage was always in the houses favor. So Sam decided the best way to gamble was to be the house. And that’s how his career in gaming began. Sam’s son Bill was encouraged from a young age to get an education. So he did and became a lawyer but eventually the father and son would join forces and become a team that grew into one of the most respected gaming companies in the world. Factor in their inherent desire to do the right thing and give back to the community, and you instantly start to suspect there’s more to the story than what you’re being told. But dig as deep as you like, there’s no more. The story of Sam, Bill and Boyd Gaming may be one of the greatest American success stories in history and overwhelming proof that sometimes, nice guys finish first.
Saturday Jul 18, 2020
PCP - 360 Vintage Vegas: Kirk Kerkorian and MGM Resorts
Saturday Jul 18, 2020
Saturday Jul 18, 2020
*Premium Content Preview
Patreon.com/360Vegas
Intensely private, Kerkorian’s legacy may not be as well known as Steve Wynn’s but is unarguably one of the most important in Vegas history. Some will criticize MGM as the shinning example of the faceless corporate machine that has taken over the city but without the corporate evolution of the market, the expansion of gaming around the United States, and the world for that matter, would have never been possible. Corporations removed the negative stigmatism the gambling industry had for eons and made it a viable, bordering on respectable business model, now regarded as just another form of entertainment.
Saturday Feb 01, 2020
PCP - 360 Vintage Vegas: Steve Wynn
Saturday Feb 01, 2020
Saturday Feb 01, 2020
*Premium Content Preview
Patreon.com/360Vegas
Steve Wynn is probably the biggest name in modern gaming. He’s definitely one of the biggest in gaming history. Like Walt Disney before him, Steve Wynn saw the way things were and dreamed of how they could be better, then brought them to life. He’s a visionary with a gift for promotion, a legacy of world renowned landmarks and a charm that can make him instantly likable. This is the story of an icon.