ent001323-100

Des Moines fTowa") Register SUNDAY, JUNE 21, 1953 I ?√ß"s^^sSSCffSsaj Boom Sown W\ Bennett Cerf fWSH the mighpT Hoover Dam, hw "'* nessing the water&|f|f& the Colorado River, #&??' completed in 1936, agricultural and industrial interests in the South- west were protected wr the first time from a recurring and devastating cycle of floods and droughts. Boom times ensued for Southern California, Arizona and Nevada, but nowhere were the results so immediate as in the town, 26 miles from the dam, called Las Vegas. From a sleepy community of 5,000in* 1925, Las Vegas has mushroomed into a feverish, brassy *<_pf*ti 40,000 today, featur- mgejwgh gambling, kp taxation, easy mar- Messly Jsimple divorce. It has fificent/esort hotels, with two Wmore budding?╟÷apd virtually anything goes there ^particularly a visitor's money. TAME the lush, recently opened fas Hotel/as typical of this new vacation nadSe?jrThe Sands, fronting the new fid constantly expanding "Strip," cost four pillion dollars and it took the proprietors almostjcwo full months of round-the-clock' fgamhpig by panting guests to recoup their iinv^ment. One gent who had lost $3,000, ?║ considered a $16 charge for his room exorbi- The benevolent desk clerk reduced it > $14 and the man went away happy. Another guest ?╟÷ a lady whose lantern jaw won her the nickname of "Mme. Pop- eye" ?╟÷ held the dice for 45 minutes. She made 27 consecutive "passes" (sevens and elevens), but being a cautious soul, won only $132. Excited gamblers around her, how- . ever, backed her heavily, and her splurge cost the management $215,000. OUTSIDE of the constantly crowded gaming rooms of the Sands, and other hostelries in its class, are lavish accommodations, elegant shops and deserted swimming pools. For those who do not like fancy roulette or the galloping dominoes, there are slot machines in every nook and cranny. I asked one busy lady, "Which way is it to the office of the 'Las Vegas Sun'?" Without breaking her rhythm (she couldn't lose her .money fast enough at one machine, so was jjcrouched over two), she answered: |T. "Thirty slot machines straight ahead, ^"then fourteen dice tables to the left." LAS VEGAS night clubs don't care how much they pay*their stars, figuring, no doubt, that the stars will probably lose their loot, and then some, right back at the gaming tables. At one time, luminaries like Bankhead, Lena Home, Joe E. Lewis and Melehior are likely to be appearing within the confinesof a single mile along the "Strip." To see them, you need only order a round of sodas for your entire party. The boys will get you on the way out. Joe E. Lewis ended his engagement by climbing atop a dice table and imploring, "Shootany part of me." . At the airport he added, "If I was LAS VEGAS. Swimming pools are empty alive today, I'd be a very sick man. But I'll be hack to play Las Vegas again next year. I want to visit my money." THE LAST STRAW. When Gardner Cowles, the noted publisher and editor, and I were taken for a tour of Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, our guide pointed to the breathtaking vista and boasted, "Biggest man-made lake in the world. Mightiest dam. Loftiest range of pure rock mountains. How does it all strike you ?" Cowles, deeply appreciative, murmured, "Wonderful! But somewhere a voice is calling?╟÷ and I think Atim^ ^somewhere is the dice table at the Des^ipn-" Back we went. We saw all, knew all ?╟÷ and lost all. - BEHNETT CERF COWLES (left) and Cerf. Lake Mead couldn't compete with the dice If 'FREEDOM' VACATION WINS ONE INTHESU^ Clifford Dennis didn't wia a | wired The Mirror. RTHE ORIGINAL _ omeikF PRESS CLIPPINGS "?√ß 220 W. 19th St., NEW YORK 11, N.Y. Tel. CHelsea 3-8860 Cir. (51,380) This Clipping From BILLBOARD CINCINNATI, OHIO prize in The Mirror's Vacation Jackpot contest, but his letter was so unusual it was printed because it touched an off-beat chord/ But he and his wife, Dorene, are going to have a week end on the house at The Sands in Las Vegas. iPpi;*' p^ "My vacation is probably notf the kind of a vacation that youj We will do everything in our power to give him a vacation that will wipe a little of the hardship he has experienced from his mind.*' Today Dennis and his wifei are packing for that week end at Las Vegas to see the shows and to relax in the sun. Highlight Reviews Bankhe&d Rolfs a Ifcjfiral in Blue^Chip Vegas hfjhSiy Bow ?╟÷MIRRORFOTO WEEK END ON THE HOUSlj Clifford, Dorene Dennis. want people to Write in about, wrote Dennis, who lives at 291 Allesandro St. Jf|i|?║?i "But I feel I ani justified ii writing about this vacation o which I am so pr??ud. Helped B^edom "Sly vacation iijl&7nbt a fish Ing trip or not a^ifip for joy It was a vacation rdjy^ng whicl Lhope I helped ,J|pig freedon! to this freedom:|pHng country we live in. ?√ß .'-Mmhfif'ir - "The place ofvthe vacation was Korea*,, pur address was 1st Bait., 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, "The only hints I can give people who wilt^NOT take a vacation similftj^fe |pine is, Jpuy 'U^^S*??*^g^fp5|ids and serv?║ vmir counfcr&S^.that our children tp^-onVeT fueedojHr.and-peacej /?╟≤ Jack Eritratlei o?· The"SaridA famedklB^I^^^ tafe nis here at The Sands, By BILL SMITH If there were any doubts that the smoky-voiced Tallulah Bank- head ct??w3 'make it in a night club, they.disappeared when she finished her 22-minute act. In fact, the doubts vanished after she did only twd minutes. Bright on via an offstage mike did albowerpl'tiraniatic reading of Dorothy Parker's "Telephone Gall,M^|ttj^^all the pathos and poignancy -q^t Gf it that she's so- dei$?Sf!rij|f5. ?╟≤sHerfbiggest sustained yock puller waj?·',;the3|routine written for her by TV sciriptors Wedlock and $nider, who^do some of the writ- intrn a?╜ h^ fcwwT ~?╟÷"-"&??- ">^c r^, wnu uv some or tne wnt- = JZ?· f EI , st appearance m Jng for the?╜Ked Buttons TV Pr a mght club," she got-them right Latter was,V gem that' caught ^^??^rW^:i^^ki^\?ll -efenng^^icafM^at time in sper this night club when I've thru It had her wandering gambling casino giving spent half my life in saloons. But leach game a whirl. Her indignant this is the first time anybody paid questions of dealers and her pre- me for it."/ ^"^ ^+ *n~ RTHE ORIGINAL ^ omeikF PftESS^t-IPPINGS ?√ß* 220 W. 19* St., NEW YORK 11, N.Y. liTeL CHelsea 3-8860 |l||P"fD 7,306) it." . There was. This Clipping From RADIO DAILY-TV DAILY NEW YORK, N. Y. tense at familiarity with the cus- ___ ..?╟??╟?v>?╜^ |d~ lib;' 'quality tomary gambling terms were about her work,, even thb well re- superb. When she finally threw hearsed, that registered, heavily, a three and indignantly demanded In between the studied. l?╜g?·|ntch- to know why the dealer was taking she commented on h^l^hiatwbiz ing her chips and her outraged, activities. "I've done about every- "I did a what out!" convulsed the thing onstage and off?╟÷I've been jammed room. in the legitimate theater?, what-. Gal also tried singing. Some of ever the hell that is$pCifi$nis is it sounded worse than Pulley's, the first time I've beenl# shill but she^idded it for the laughs it for a gambling house." ' was planned to get. There's little But if ihe self-ribbirig lines doubt that the redoubtable Tallu were hilarious and aimed at the has an act. Gus Schirmer Jr., who class as well as the square trade, set it for her, did a masterful her nrancin? in on elephantine job, and Dean Fuller's self-con- are as pretty soious piano backing helped also. *??hjbw~ "?? strictly for th6 If she's willing to take th< hipsters. To balance that off she ' her prancing in ?╟?. fashion?╟÷"My legs as Dietrich's"?╟÷was ?· act California Commentary Sands Hotef, Las Vegas, Nev. (Wednesday, May 20) By ETHEL ROSEN ?╟≤ ?╟≤ ?╟≤ Dinah Shore has turned down the top offer of her career, an appearance at the Sands, Las Vegas, at a reported sum of $25,000 a we^k. Dinah, who goesLqff. fee air 4jh'her weekly TV show the end of this month, plans to take a well earned vaca- HollyWOOd. tion tor two months. . . . Mocambo's Ork leader Eddie Oliver has had his option picked up for an additional 13 weeks as emcee of "The Little Show" ^yery Thursday on KLAC-TV. Oscar Maple, Dodge-Plymouth, dealer,, sponsors. . . . Rozelle Gayle held over at Pete and Billy Snyder's Melody Room through June 30th. . . . Mrs. Gus Edwards, widow of famed songwriter-producer, returned from .New York over week-end. . . . Speaking of offers, Ann (Private Secretary) Sothern was offered top role in George Oppenheim's "Here Today" summer stock on the East Coast, but due. to heavy schedule on her TV show. Miss Sothern turned it down. . . . Marie Wilson named "Sweater Girl Queen of 1953" by American Independent Photographers Society, received an award on the studio set where she is currently starring in "Marry Me Again." . . . Following the marriage of his brother. Dr. Jim McNulty to actress Ann Blyth, June 27th, Dennis Day heads for New York for talks with his sponsor on his NBC TV show. . . . CBS Television "Coronation Ceremonies" brought out one of the most gala crowds of the season, including the Harry Ackermans, the Pat O'Briens, the Jack Bennys, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Norman Siegel and his wife, Louella Parsons, Maggie Ettinger, Joan Bennett and Walter Wanger, Danny Kaye, Irene Dunne, Sir Robert Hadow, and all the CBS top brass. . . . Eddie Cantor heads across the country on a talent scouting tour and to promote Warners "The Eddie Cantor Story." He and Ida will hit about 35 cities and will be gone several weeks. ... Bob Hope's final "Colgate Comedy Hour" of the season will come from El Capitan Theater, June 14th. He will have as guests Rosemary Clooney. Randy Merriman and Bess Myerson. Capacity, 450. Price policy, no minimum, no cover. Shows ai 8:30 and 12:30. Operator, Jack Entratter. Booking, non- exclusive. Publicity; Al Freeman. Estimated ialen^pst, $25,000. 1 ?╟≤ Continued from pagg 2 around the circuit there's hardly a; class room she can't^ work. The rest of the show was fast ?╜ud puncftjf. The fourj>art voice blending^ of Hi, Lo, Jack and a ?╟÷?╜ vUi emu eye material. Their lyrical jabs at sing- .si^epmmercials was -particularly rciever.*.. The Clark Brothers did their customary great hoofology, tho this time around they've added comedy take-offs to their routines. Their Ezio Pinza, Louis Armstrong and Billy Eckstine carbons got solid receptions. The productions, conceived and produced by Jack Entratter, were fast, sparking, had the kids in lovely costumes and did a good job witbi$ae Joan Edwards-Lynn Duddy scores.. In the production vocal slots, Virginia Hall, a cute pint-sized blonde, worked with amazing assurance, while Dick Beavers, who records for Capitol, I was better than adequate in | the male singing slot. Ray Sinatra's ork cut the show in tip-top.style.