The old Western Casino on Fremont

[accountinquestion]

And, to differentiate my situation from Trump's: I was never drafted; I had a 2-S college deferment (as did he...til he graduated), and my parents never paid a sawbones to falsify my medical records to FRAUDULENTLY earn a deferment.

I'm too young to have been at risk then, and too old to be eligible now (unless I move to Ukraine). But I would certainly attempt to dodge any draft, given the opportunity.

I don't even participate in conga lines.

Let the real men take care of protecting your way of life. Just like Trump is going to do for you.

[accountinquestion]

How the Fuck did you all go from the Western to the TDS thread??
I miss the Western Casino.
Good Times.
Great Full Pay and Better Games.
This might be controversial but Good Food!
They had the best Cinder Block rooms in town.

Quick Story.
I was playing drunken 21 with a friend over there.
Some Jig didn't have enough to double his 11.
So, I doubled it for him.
Not only did he not give me the winning double, but he kept my 2-dollar bet too lol!!
Lesson Learned.

I regret never visiting. The place was legendary. Oh well ..

[mickeycrimm]

Not making excuses for Trump but draft dodging was refined art during the Vietnam War. I was 12 years old in 65 when Johnson escalated the War. I watched the War on TV everyday. Year by year is rolling by and I'm getting closer to draft age. You went on the draft list at 18 and became eligible in the year of your 20th birthday.

A lot of lies going on about when the War would end. The body counts everyday on the national news went like 300 vietnamese dead, 17 Americans dead. The enemy deaths were highly inflated.

With the draft boards there was bullshit going on in every county in America. Besides medical deferments there were college deferments. You can put Dick Cheney on the list of 5 college deferments. Where I'm from it was who you knew that got you into the local colleges. Then there was the national guard. We had a national guard unit in my home town. It was who you knew that got you into the guard. It was a six year gig. If you were black you were shit out of luck for getting into the local guard. That went on across the South. It led to a high number of black deaths in Vietnam.

One of my own uncles got into the local guard in 1967 because of a high ranking county official. To his credit he wound up doing 30 years and retired as a colonel in the Air National Guard.

Then if worst came to worst they tinkered with the county draft lists. It was alphabetical order. When the county was ordered to send draftee's it was supposed to be every 3rd person on the list. But names got changed around. A lot of county officials across the country got caught tinkering with the lists.

So it was a poor man's war. They finally came up with the Draft Lottery in 1969 which was found to be mathematically faulty. So switched to a more random process in 1970. My number was 240.

[The Boz]

How the Fuck did you all go from the Western to the TDS thread??
I miss the Western Casino.
Good Times.
Great Full Pay and Better Games.
This might be controversial but Good Food!
They had the best Cinder Block rooms in town.

Quick Story.
I was playing drunken 21 with a friend over there.
Some Jig didn't have enough to double his 11.
So, I doubled it for him.
Not only did he not give me the winning double, but he kept my 2-dollar bet too lol!!
Lesson Learned.

Great post Monet. Honestly, thank you.

Only ate there once, fried chicken was very good.

Customer base was definitely down on their luck for the most part.

Not sure if you watched the video but it definitely delivers the feel of the place.

[Don Perignom]

Customer base was definitely down on their luck for the most part.

Would you say the Western functioned as a pest strip for the downtown area? It kept the hardcore defectives out of the the Cortez.

Similarly, maybe the Gold Spike diverted low-end locals away from Fremont St.

[The Boz]

Customer base was definitely down on their luck for the most part.

Would you say the Western functioned as a pest strip for the downtown area? It kept the hardcore defectives out of the the Cortez.

Similarly, maybe the Gold Spike diverted low-end locals away from Fremont St.

It did to an extent, and in those days East Fremont was almost a world away from the rest of the casinos on Fremont. But El Cortez got their share too.

One of my main memories of the Western is how almost protective the regulars were there, and looked at new people they didn’t know as intruders when they came in.

There was a regular on TripAdvisor around 18-20 years ago who led trips down East Fremont with other members there and reported how weren’t happy with 20 unknowns coming in.

It’s another post, but at the Atomic when I discovered it was a lockdown type place. They had to buzz you in and I’m assuming “undesirables” weren’t left in.

I know Mickey has far many stories about these places. I was just some middle class tourist visiting that they figured was there as a joke on them. Nothing was further from the truth, I truly enjoyed seeing the history of the city and these type places.

[Rob.Singer]

Not making excuses for Trump but draft dodging was refined art during the Vietnam War. I was 12 years old in 65 when Johnson escalated the War. I watched the War on TV everyday. Year by year is rolling by and I'm getting closer to draft age. You went on the draft list at 18 and became eligible in the year of your 20th birthday.

A lot of lies going on about when the War would end. The body counts everyday on the national news went like 300 vietnamese dead, 17 Americans dead. The enemy deaths were highly inflated.

With the draft boards there was bullshit going on in every county in America. Besides medical deferments there were college deferments. You can put Dick Cheney on the list of 5 college deferments. Where I'm from it was who you knew that got you into the local colleges. Then there was the national guard. We had a national guard unit in my home town. It was who you knew that got you into the guard. It was a six year gig. If you were black you were shit out of luck for getting into the local guard. That went on across the South. It led to a high number of black deaths in Vietnam.

One of my own uncles got into the local guard in 1967 because of a high ranking county official. To his credit he wound up doing 30 years and retired as a colonel in the Air National Guard.

Then if worst came to worst they tinkered with the county draft lists. It was alphabetical order. When the county was ordered to send draftee's it was supposed to be every 3rd person on the list. But names got changed around. A lot of county officials across the country got caught tinkering with the lists.

So it was a poor man's war. They finally came up with the Draft Lottery in 1969 which was found to be mathematically faulty. So switched to a more random process in 1970. My number was 240.

Lots of memories, about a chaotic period in our country's history that makes today seem like everything is hearts and flowers.

In one of the Government buildings in Hanoi there's a plaque that basically mocks the US involvement in the Vietnam War. It identifies about 50,000 US servicemen lost to a reported over 2.5 million Viet Kong lost (no one really knows what that number is). Then it says "And we beat the US". I suppose that's true, but.....

[MisterV]

Lots of memories, about a chaotic period in our country's history that makes today seem like everything is hearts and flowers.

Gee Rob, where's the "hearts and flowers" blossoming forth in this video of the Jan. 6th INSURRECTION?



Too bad the fat felonious fool is at the helm and not getting his punk ass raped in prison.

That you and others give this tool a bye is amazing.

[Don Perignom]

One of my main memories of the Western is how almost protective the regulars were there, and looked at new people they didn’t know as intruders when they came in.

I thought that was just my imagination .

I'm not sure I visited more than once. It would have been during the death throe period.

The casino reminded me of the Lucky Club (in North Las Vegas). Here's a 2009 entry for the Western from vpfree2:

"Added $0.50 FP JW Coin Droppers: no coin cups handy - find one before playing"

Why did the patrons steal the coin cups?

They had to buzz you in and I’m assuming “undesirables” weren’t left in.

I think that's a thing at some of the Dotty's/Molly's/Joanie's/Betty's/Mary's/Amy's outlets.

[accountinquestion]

That you and others give this tool a bye is amazing.

You really really have not been paying attention.

[Rob.Singer]

Lots of memories, about a chaotic period in our country's history that makes today seem like everything is hearts and flowers.

Gee Rob, where's the "hearts and flowers" blossoming forth in this video of the Jan. 6th INSURRECTION?



Too bad the fat felonious fool is at the helm and not getting his punk ass raped in prison.

That you and others give this tool a bye is amazing.

Your and others' spreading lies like that are one of the main reasons Trump won again. So good work!

There was no "insurrection". No one was charged with it, no one had guns, and there was no "coup". People who suffer like to make this false claim since this alternate reality helps them cope within their little safe spaces--where they can cry for days on end. It was a protest that turned into a riot by a small minority of the participants. You know--like all the BLM/ANTIFA riots after that drug-addict thug loser George Floyd was thankfully eliminated from society, resulting in many deaths, burned out buildings, and comparatively very few arrests?

Then there's the Adam Schiff-inspired J6 committee, who chose to keep the video of Trump telling the protesters to do so PEACEFULLY & PATRIOTICALLY, with Pelosi and that dumbass mayor refusing Trump's request to bring in the National Guard "just in case".

And this is what I like most about watching all you misguided anti-Trumpers: your pain and misery over his constant winning is never-ending, and the discomfort and sleepless nights over it all will eventually end with people like you "seeing the light".

Yes....the majority is saving a spot for you.

[MisterV]

Still, Rob: where were the "hearts and flowerers" you said were there on Jan. 6th?

[accountinquestion]

It is documented that guns were present. Trump may have said otherwise but it is known he is very very often wrong. That was the case here. Rob just loves his faker news and doesn't want to exist in reality. That goes for looking at Trump or looking at his own life.

[mickeycrimm]

Customer base was definitely down on their luck for the most part.

Would you say the Western functioned as a pest strip for the downtown area? It kept the hardcore defectives out of the the Cortez. Similarly, maybe the Gold Spike diverted low-end locals away from Fremont St.

Not really. I found the Western in 1992.

The $1 bingo sessions at the Western gave away 20 Jackie Gaughan fun books a day. They had 2 of those $1 breakfasts at the El Cortez, 2 steak dinners at Roberta’s in the El Cortez, and 2 hamburger/fries/drink at the Plaza. They were separated too. For example, you could go have a steak dinner at Roberta’s today then go get another one tomorrow. The buck breakfast was 2 eggs, meat, toast, water and coffee with 1 refill.

The meal coupons had the tip on them too. It was 15 cent tip for the breakfast, 90 cent tip for the hamburger and $1.50 tip for the steak. So everything was totally free.

Those fun books were given away at El Cortez and the Plaza too. I regularly saw Jackie randomly passing out fun books. Jackie treated the low rollers like kings and queens. You generally had to que up in line at the El Cortez diner because the free meals kept the place packed.

[MisterV]

Was the nearby place for sleeping which I think was called the Ogden House associated with El Cortez?

[mickeycrimm]

Was the nearby place for sleeping which I think was called the Ogden House associated with El Cortez?

Yes, Jackie Gaughan owned it and almost everything else down that way. Ogden House was a cheap motel at the time, $20 a night plus 9% hotel tax. The Western rooms went for $16 per night. Jackie also owned the Ambassador East half a block east of the Western on the other side of the street, one section was $16 a night, the other was $20. There was a 9% hotel tax on all the rooms he owned. Price was for single or double. Two guys would usually split a room with two beds. You had to have out of state ID to rent Jackie's rooms. And they wouldn't take a state issued ID (not driver's license) if it was more than 5 years old. There were long 86 lists at all his hotels.

[kewlJ]

I stayed at the Ogden house behind El Cortez for 5 weeks, a couple years before I moved to Vegas, so it would have been summer of either 2007 or 2008. I didn't even realize it was owned by the guy that owned El Cortez.

It was quite "an interesting" experience for a guy in his 20's in the early stages of growing his bankroll. And it was July/August and the air condition was shit. Oddly enough that experience, those 5 weeks is what probably sealed the deal for me that I would eventually live in Vegas. Not the 5 weeks in a boarding house type setting, but that is where I started to learn about Vegas, and figure out how I would be able to play and what I could get away with.

I would not be comfortable living in that kind of environment today.

[MDawg]

FraudJ is easy to find. Stall 2 El Cortez 6-8pm on Wednesday nights probably.

[jdaewoo]

Why isn't this retard making up more fake baccarat sessions?

[mickeycrimm]

I stayed at the Ogden house behind El Cortez for 5 weeks, a couple years before I moved to Vegas, so it would have been summer of either 2007 or 2008. I didn't even realize it was owned by the guy that owned El Cortez.

It was quite "an interesting" experience for a guy in his 20's in the early stages of growing his bankroll. And it was July/August and the air condition was shit. Oddly enough that experience, those 5 weeks is what probably sealed the deal for me that I would eventually live in Vegas. Not the 5 weeks in a boarding house type setting, but that is where I started to learn about Vegas, and figure out how I would be able to play and what I could get away with.

I would not be comfortable living in that kind of environment today.

The Odgen House was a hotel, not a boarding house, when I stayed there in the 90's. It was for gamblers with out-of-state ID's. There were just daily rates, no weekly's. Five days max. Jackie's weekly's were in one section of the Ambassador East.