Las Vegas Through My Eyes - Part III

Encouraged by my recent good fortune, I succumbed to the Dunes’ enticing marquee and walked into the closest annex of the Dunes casino, an extension of the main casino called the “Dunes Oasis”. In later years, I heard locals refer to it as the Dunes “O’anus”, but it was the first time I’d ever seen the inside of a large casino so it was exciting to me.

The entrance to the casino was flanked by neon palm trees. The vibrant carpet inside was dizzying. In years to come, my younger brother and I often wondered whose job it was to look at a swatch of wildly colored carpet, and place an order with confidence, “We’ll take three acres of the pink and orange stuff.”

Each side of the main Dunes Oasis interior walkway was lined with gaming tables. I stood looking at the top of one of them, trying to understand the layout. There were no other players at the table. The dealer could tell that I was apprehensive so she said that she would be happy to teach me to play. Nervously, I followed her instructions and plunked down a few dollars to exchange for chips. The table minimum was high - $3.00, but I bravely sat down at the table anyway, putting myself in the dealer’s hands. I don’t remember now whether I won or lost, but either way it was fascinating and I had finally had the chance to sit at a real blackjack table and play!


I left the Oasis with renewed confidence and made my way toward the big daddy of them all – Caesars Palace. Years after my first visit, I read a book that explained that “Caesars Palace” has no apostrophe in its name because the casino was not the Palace belonging to a specific “Caesar”. It was a palace that belonged to all who entered its doors, and we were all “Caesars” – emperors to be adored and worshipped with excess. Though gigantic compared to its neighbors, Caesars only had one gaming area with tables. There was also a high limit slot area, some less expensive slots scattered around, and of course their famous newly built sports book with its theater sized screens. The whole place was much smaller than what is considered today to be the acceptable size of a casino aimed at local players.

The main gaming area was a round room, called the "Olympic Casino" which still exists today I believe. The ceiling had rows of crystals hanging in lines that met in the center of the room’s opulent domed ceiling. The dealers all wore medallions with the likeness of an emperor on them. Some of the customers wore these medallions as well, but only a few. It was immediately understood that to wear one these medallions meant that you were a VIP – an invited guest of the casino.

There were dozens of gorgeous cocktail waitresses working the crowd, all wearing what appeared to be roman togas that were cut short to show off their shapely legs. The head of each cocktail waitress was crowned with a perfect cone of hair whose end supported a long strands that hung down to the waitresses’ shoulders. It was years before I realized that these were actually wigs.

Betting minimums at Caesars Palace were higher than at the Dunes. The lowest I could find was an astronomical $5.00 per hand or spin of the wheel. I was far too nervous to play blackjack here, but I was intrigued by the roulette wheel. I understood nothing about the game, but I was sure that if I restricted my bet to red or black that I could feign confidence.

I placed a few dollars on the table and was handed a couple of $5.00 chips. I put one of the chips on black and surveyed the other players. The other players were dressed so elegantly. One older man and his wife looked like they had come from a black tie function. She wore an aqua full-length evening dress and had taken great pains to match her eye shadow. Carefully created grey curls hung down in front of her bejeweled ears. The other players bet wildly spreading their brightly colored chips all over the center of the table. Somehow, the croupier managed to straighten up everyone’s chips before the roulette ball fell into a slot on the wheel. While the players waited breathlessly, most puffed away on complementary cigarettes they had just plucked from a large highly polished wooden box that was kept full by the casino.

The ball fell and bounced around the wheel before coming to rest in a black slot. Some players whooped while others remained quiet and stone faced. The mounting tension was too much for me to handle so I scooped up my two $5.00 chips and made my way to the cashier’s cage.

To be continued...