Author Archives: Editor

On This Date: January 29, 2004 Castaways-Showboat Hotel Closes in Las Vegas

January 29, 2017
Showboat Hotel and Casino

Showboat in 2000 changed its name to the Castaways which then closed on January 29, 2004

The Castaways Hotel and Casino (2000-2004), formerly the Showboat (1954–2000), was a hotel and casino located at the north end of the Boulder Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. The hotel consisted of a 19 story tower containing 445 rooms, a 80,000-square-foot casino and an adjacent RV park. After 50 years the hotel was closed on January 29, 2004 and the hotel town was later imploded on January 11, 2006.

Photo By: roadsidepictures

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On This Date: January 26, 1993, the Dunes Hotel Closed its Doors

January 26, 2017
The Dunes Hotel and Casino

The Dunes Hotel Closed on January 26, 1993

The Dunes Hotel closed it doors on January 26, 1993. It sat where the now famous Bellagio resides on the corner of Las Vegas Blvd. and Flamingo Road. The Dunes was the tenth resort built on the Las Vegas Strip and opened on May 23, 1955. The resort included a 18-hole Championship golf course which ran from Tropicana Ave .to Flamingo Road, it was called the Dunes Miracle Mile.

Photo By: © 1983 Larry D. Moore (CC-BY-SA)

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Daily Neon: Bonanza Gift Shop

May 10, 2016

Bonanza Gifts refers to itself as the world largest gift shop.

Well before the gift shop opened here, it was one of the first shopping centers in Las Vegas, and there were a couple of small casinos located here from the early 1960’s until 1981, when the Bonanza Gift Shop took over.  The three casinos were Honest John’s and The Big Wheel and Jolly Trolly.

Photo by LasVegas360.com

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Daily Neon: El Cortez Neon Sign

June 25, 2013
el-cortez-gambling

The El Cortez's "New" sign, was added 1946.

The long skinny neon sign on the south side of the El Cortez, as they call it the “New” sign was added in 1946, facing East Fremont Street.

Photo By: lasvegas360.com

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Wet ‘n’ Wild Construction Photos: Will it Open On Time?

May 10, 2013
Wet 'n' Wild

Wet 'n' Wild, will it open by May 27th?

The heat is on, and it not the weather. The looming deadline of May 27 is approaching blazing fast. Can the Las Vegas’ brand new water park be ready in time? to help answer that question, here are the latest photos of Las Vegas’ upcoming water park Wet ‘n’ Wild.

With the new water park getting ready to open in about 10 days, there is a lot of thing that still have to happen. From the photos you can see that the major slides are set up and some of them are up and running. Still to be complete is the plastering on the lazy river or as they call it the Colorado Cooler and probably the Red Rock Bay. The cabanas have been set up. But most of the large construction pieces seem to be in place.  There is going to be a lot of little things that will need to be finish, internal fencing between attractions, gates, ropes, awnings, signage, shops, restaurants plus all the final landscaping has to be installed. The majority of the landscaping already completed and has a nice balance of desert friendly rocks and plants, but a loot needs to be added on the interior.

Wet 'n' Wild Water Park

Las Vegas' new water park, Wet 'n' Wild Water Park. (under construction)

The place is larger the the original Wet ‘n Wild (Las Vegas Strip 1990-2004 at 27 acres) compared to this one at 41 acres. The parking lot and the attraction area are both bigger.

The place is coming together very fast but, can it be done by this Memorial Day?  I believe it will miss its deadline of Memorial Day, but by probably open about 2 weeks later -say June 10th. Can’t wait for it to open.

Click to view high resolution photos.

Website: www.wetnwildlasvegas.com
Photos by: Las Vegas360.com
Date Taken: May 10, 2013

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Due Forni Pizza and Wine – Review

March 25, 2012

Due Forni, located at 3555 Town Center, near Town Center and the 215 is promoted as a pizza and wine restaurant. My first thought was does this city really need another gourmet style pizza restaurant? However, I was pleasantly surprised by all that Due Forni had to offer and I can’t wait to return.

As we entered the restaurant we were immediately greeted by a gracious and charming host who asked if we had dined there before then he asked if we preferred to sit on the family side of the restaurant or the bar side that is reserved for adults only. Since we were without our kids we decided to sit on the adult side. The restaurant has a cool, modern atmosphere; dark wood and chocolate brown walls are accented with colorful bright orange pop art on the walls and a tangerine lacquered bar. Retro, spaghetti westerns are playing on the flat screen tvs about the bar. Our waitress although only employed there for 3 weeks, was extremely pleasant knowledgable and and accommodating.  She knew the menu and the wine list and made suggestions according to our tastes.  This is unlike some other pizza restaurants in town where you get the feeling the waitstaff has never eaten what they’re serving.

Due Forni - Margherita Pizza Roman Style

Due Forni - Margherita Pizza Roman Style

Due Forni pizza has two different styles, Roman, which has a thinner, crispy crust and Neapolitan which has a thicker chewier crust.  We shared the Panzanella salad, an argula salad with pistachios, thin red onions, croutons and grape tomatoes. The salad was easily plentiful enough to share. I ordered a simple Margherita pizza best served Roman style and my husband ordered the Due Forni served Neapolitan style.  The Due Forni had house made sausage, peppers, bacon and bufala mozzarella.  It had a deep, smoky taste from the bacon which took some getting used to at first but soon became very delicious. They have unique appetizers such as braised octopus but, they seem to specialize in Bufala mozzarella.  They have a Mozzarella Bar on their menu with several selections of the cheese that can be paired with sides such as roasted red peppers, olives or artichoke hearts.  They claim to have 24 wines under $15 dollars per glass. They have Enomatic wine dispensers which keep the wine fresh while allowing them to pour unique and limited production wines by the glass.

Due Forni - Due Forni pizza served Neapolitan style

Due Forni - Due Forni pizza served Neapolitan style

I highly recommend this wonderful restaurant.  From the first rate service to the delicious food and wine it is a great place for dinner or a wonderful place to enjoy wine and appetizers.

Due Forni on Urbanspoon

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