"How do you think you're going to get along without me when I'm gone."
The impending doom of the once-mighty Algiers to make way for the Krystle Sands luxury, high-rise condos and hotel leaves us with another void, a true vintage Vegas void, just as this niche is being rediscovered by mainstreamers.
Sure, a few hipster types rediscovered the place and have begun frequenting the Algiers for late-night drinks and shenanigans, but their love is not enough to save the place from itself. To be completely fair to the Krystle Sands folks, most Las Vegans would rather bump and grind at Tabú than sip and swill at Algiers. And if visitors wanted to stay there and splash around in the pool, they would have. We vote with our dollars and those dollars did not end up at Algiers. The money also didn't end up at the Sands, Dunes or Landmark.
The world is chasing that elusive Vegas-hipster cool element that is only available in old Vegas, but we're running out of places to find it.
Downtown's functionally challenged Neonopolis is home to the Lost Vegas Gambling Museum & Store, love child of owner-curator, Richard Burgel. The neon-clad store holds an eclectic mix of Vegas' past, with an emphasis on the art of gambling back when the bottoms of feather-clad, rhinestone-wearing showgirls mattered more than the bottom lines in annual reports. Lost Vegas' real strength is its large selection of collector cocktail glasses, swizzle sticks, matchbooks and postcards from many now-defunct casinos. It also carries a wonderful selection of home gambling supplies. The poker chip sets are particularly impressive. The museum, though rather raw, also is worth a spin.
Neonopolis, 385-1883
In the '50s, dice clocks in basement bars across the Midwest enticed visitors to come to Las Vegas. Today, some of those clocks are worth quite a bit of cash, according to local vintage expert Eric Ehresman. Many of the old dice clocks were made from actual table dice that were rolled at each property before retired and mounted. Today's dice clocks, though still fun, are made from generic dice.
Anne Kellogg is a native Las Vegan with a thing for purchasing stuff. E-mail her at
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