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Mien* Established 1888 losa&<&W$' SanFt^fetie vortm_l?·j^!Z .IP ' ?╟≤HE' Boom Town W^ Bennett Cerf TWEN the mighty Hoover Dam, harnessing the waters of the Colorado River, was completed in 1936, agricultural and industrial interests in the Southwest were protected for 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 5,000 in 1925, Las Vegas has mushroomed into a feverish, brassy city of 40,000 today, featuring high gambUg^low taxation, easy marriage andsgplfflesshjl simple divorce. It has seven, -nup|nifleent resort hotels, with two mope bfffldingl?╟÷ aim virtually anything goes tbeW^- particularly a visitor's money. LIST'S TAKE me lush, recently opened ^uidsJiotel as Jypical of this new vacation f "paradise." Tm Sands, fronting the new and constantlyexpanding "Strip," cost four million dollar! and it took the proprietors almost two Jull months of round-the-clock gambling w panting guests to recoup their investmegft. One gent who had lost $3,000, coraidgpid a $16 charge for his room exorbi- j tant^The benevolent desk clerk reduced it 1 i)mmJd%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, however, backed her heavily, and her splurge cost the management $215,000. OUTSIDE of the constantly crowded gaming rooms of the Sands, and other hostelries in its class, are lavish accommodations, elegant shops and deserted swimming pools. For those who do not like fancy roulette or the galloping .dominoes, there are slot machines in every nook and cranny, m I asked one busy lady,' 'Which way is it to the office of the 'Las Vegas S$a'?%Without breaking her rhythm (she couldn't lose her money fast enough at one machine, so was couched over two), she answered: .lf||* ?√ß "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 Horne, Joe E. Lewis and Melehior are likely to be appearingjwithin the confines of 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, "Shoot any part of me." . At the airport he added, "If I ' LAS VE6AS. Swimming pools are empty alive today, I'd he a very sick man. But I'll he hack to play Las Vegas again next year. I want to visit my money." THE XAST 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 that 'somewhere is the dice table at the Desert Inn." Back we-wjmt. We saw .all, knew all ?╟÷ and lost all'. _ ?╟÷ BENNETT CERF ten s PRESS CLIPPING BUREAU Established 1888 SAN FRANCISCO Los Angeles Portland Seattle JUU Established 1888 SAN FRANCISCO Los Angeles . Mnnr stserp f COWLES (left) and Cerf. Lake Mead couldn't compete with the dice Las Vegas, Nev. Morning Sun (Cir. 8.531) *** 7 , m_ sistant to^lqu^^-^aitdj. ,Qa Room^pid Rayjfaatrahave bell mulling a "sjje-thing" busj#ss proposition. f -should opej|fwith- in a few mofths, andjpiff be an innovation ton^^^^^s. .. .Desert Inn begins ^modeling of lobby today. Work should be completed inside of three weeks, and am told it woWt^^hveh^ehm anyone. . . .Peo^>tf$gTOpig in from Los. Angeles tb^e^ipe the heat. Merciiry has been in high SO's there for past few days, along wjth high humidity. T Notice how *$ry it is here?T Tuesday the temperature climbed-to 85 with a humidity reading of only eight per cent. How lucky can we get? ?╟÷Las Vegas ===== TALK 1 TOWN By DICK ODESSKY TOWN TALK?╟÷Gabe, ??fHi, Lo, Jack and the Pame have a most appropriate description of Las Vegas before planing 6u| yesterday, when he said: #T|ie three weeks here have been like 21 New Year's eve parties." Another entertainer who gave a.good description of our town was Marlene Dietrich, who stated, "This is like Paris, when it was really Paris. How could anyone ever 54?·B\w--*,1i|& wonderfiffl^^ptooe?^ Anybody else care to describe this "little" town? ALONG 91?╟÷New partitions going up at Thej Flamingo. Every; time the builders finish another phase of work they^ put up a nev?· block where they will be working, but don't seem to-take down the old ones. Place igTfjegirining to look like an underground cavern, with passageways, leading w.,*^ ery direction. m'%'^^| * * Heard around town are many excited discussions of Salii production number "CoL Waltz." George. Moraj^jent to a lot of trouble doiqgpTsgarch for this one, and majg#3ure th^ the costumes were jipFrect befor&;he; we^Pahead w|?║F rehearsals. Sa- Harem :t>inceM sure do in this one. Mm ' Joy Healjr find Bill Damian, afty dances in Sands tdp for $HW MH_ ?√ßsinging commer- then see a nuni- who have ex- who did s] shfflsf*JBOW and TV w< cials. T< ber of pressed inl Lots of " working hoofers, ill! pers^ Hack f i their c Srd sleep the other night, so attired in his robe and slippers he came back dowjk-to the casino and parked at a crap table. He went almost unnoticed by the big crowd in the room. Another case of "Come as You Are." i'^ygs * * * COVERING THE SPOTS?╟÷Desert Inn's new show Aqua Fair opened Tuesday night, and it looks as though this show will again asspfre the Inn of capacity houses every night of its four- week engagement, even though Red Skelton won't take part again. ?╓¬ ?? ?? Johnny Weissmuller is billed as the star, giving demonstrations of his swimming abilities along*] with taking part in a comic bit with Frank Foster. Weissmuller who has put on considerable weight in recent years, showed the audience that he could still "swim like a fish." *' * * ted by perfect weather, the sho%L went through its opening nigh%with nary a mishap, as all me performers went through tleir routines almost perfectly' .1. . Nifska. is a gal you'll havJf to see to appreciate. She doesja "Butterfly Dance" with herjirms encased In long billowinaap%ings." W's * * * Vicldf Draves, 1948 j Olympic gam^T champion niade her first ?√ß apg^irance in any she%, by per- - f^^in^3fome+difficu]^^ives off S^eh|g^ board. ^OihMpSivers in tfcSi* spectacle are .jHpfe> Draves, Joe Walsh, Chisrm Diehl, Bill Lewin and Whiiey Nostdal. Gent at a Strip hotel couldfi'tl Only about half of the show i ihe water, witfe , _______ on a huge outdoor stage, h has a most realistic Ha- Jan backdrop. The Aqua Bal- attes, who are the chorus for the new production, do a Hawaiian number dressed in phosphorescent costumes, then strip to their bathing, suits'and gloves, that also glow in the dark, and iswim a water ballet. * * * . Going to a lot of expense, the Inn has installed a water system all the way around the pool, which gives one of the ballet numbers the effect of being done inside a huge fountain. Colored lights under the water add to the illusion. * ?╟≤ * * ALL AROUND THE?╟÷"Follow the Girls," with Willie Shore, JRos^J^arie and The Continentl^f?╟≤ bowS" at 7b?· ^^krt1ali^^^d%^^t!H and if it fairs as well as theirj last musical (Annie Get Yourj Gun), Flamingo will have ca-j pacity audiences every night. j She's done it again ?╟÷ Joyce Niven is now wearing mink earrings. Am just waiting for the day when gal comes around dressed in a mink bathing suit.! Almost her entire wardrobe is made of mink. How 'bout the underclothes? * * * Dorothea Reader, Hotel Last Frontier's "Queen of Cuisine,"! now gracing that spa. She's a 28-year-old mother of three youngsters, and still mighty at??] tractive. Last year the hotel | sponsored a "Miss Carhop" con*| test. JUU -^l TPPlT portlandm^^ Lo5A^f'CaW-