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I '?╟≤>* m S8?½& H. M. Landwehr *h Oven, By H. Marlin Landwehr Managing Editor : WHAT'S THE TRUTH about Las Vegas? Is it the f Sodom and Gomorrah of modern times, a neon gulch in the desert operating on a 24-hour schedule of gambl- J ing, gin and girls. Or is it that ?╟úfabulous city?╟Ñ offer- I ing the biggest vacation bargain in the country; where a working man can treat his family to unac- s customed luxury without unbalancing the j budget? After spending a week on the ?╟ústrip,?╟Ñ we say it?╟╓s a little bit of both. And we?╟╓re not l hedging. If you go out there looking for the ( three ?╟úB?╟╓s?╟Ñ ?╟÷ betting, booze and broads i you?╟╓ll find them. But if you want an economi- f cal room in a fancy motel where you can loll : around a crystal clear pool during the day S and enjoy top entertainment in the evening you?╟╓ll find that, too. If you try to do both you are bound to leave town broke, disillu- sioned and dead tired. Las Vegas will have ?╟≤ become ?╟úLost Wages.?╟Ñ Human nature being i what it is, the odds are that you will give in to onfe or more I of the temptations ?╟÷ the city?╟╓s prosperity proves it. But if you I have the will power to limit your betting to what you can [afford to lose, a visit there can be an exciting revelation amidst [luxurious surroundings at reasonable cost. * * * HOTELS?╟÷We stayed at the Hacienda, not one of the fam- [ ous, plush, ?╟úname?╟Ñ establishments but new, large and excel- I lent. The room tariff was $11 for double occupancy ($2 extra I from July 1 to Oct. 1), equivalent, we?╟╓d judge, to a $16 or I,' $17 room encountered on travels East. For $1.75 you could get a smorgasbord brunch offering your fill of all of the P usual breakfast-lunch foods, from orange juice to pecan pie. IIS 11 striking in all of the hotels is the small lobby. You may I have trouble finding the room clerk, but you won?╟╓t have 1 trouble finding the casino ?╟÷ that?╟╓s the first thing you come i to upon entering: the door and it takes the place of the usual I lobby. Shoved off in a corner also are the usual cigar, maga- | line and book stands ?╟÷ reading apparently is not expected to be one of your favorite recreations. And don't look for a in the lobby-casino ?╟÷ there aren't: any, for obvious rea- I sons, no doubt. . . . Roaming through the classy hotels is f like a trip down Collins blvd. in Miami Beach. It's hard to I pick among them, but for refinement and elegance we'll take > I? the Tropicana. * * * ENTERTAINMENT ?╟÷ "Stupendous," "colossal," "fabulous," f,fspectacular"?╟÷ take your pick, they?╟╓re all true when it comes ! to the shows. Where else in the world will you findX better [ than a dozen hotels, each with a dining (room, some seating f over a thousand persons, and a huge stage offering the world?╟╓s j headline entertainers? In five days you can see more top acts | ih Vegas than visit Chicago in a year, to wit: Maurice Chevalier, Red Skelton, George Burns, Folies Bergere, Le Lido de Paris, Casino de Paris, Dennis Morgan and a Parisian puppet show that also has a unit playing at tfie New York World?╟╓s fair. ?╟╓ This is not a complete list of all the. acts on the strip ?╟÷ it?╟╓s | impossible to take them all in ?╟÷but it gives you an idea of I what?╟╓s available. Most hotels put on two shows a night, a dinner show about 8 and a midnight show where only liquor S is served. A serious night-clubber can take in two of these shows a night, and in-between catch some of the shows in the hotel lounges, where a parade of only slightly less publicized entertainers perform on a dusk to dawn schedule. The only. Itrouble is that after about the third night you forget what yoU?╟  [have already seen, 1 . . The prices are reasonable for the ?╟≤quality of entertainment, but don?╟╓t get the idea it is like going down to the corner hash house. The top price is $8.50 for filet: tnignon, including an -appetizer .^ dessert and drinks come extra. Fowl or fish may, be prifetd as low as $7.25. You can get by for $10 a person without appeS^ing too pinch- penny, though if you want to live it up $15 a p^son is amp^ One check for three came to $42 and it includedtllf^ori<$* fwith tip. As we said, considering that you are seeing a show [that could cost $5j or more by itself, the price is a bargain; [the food is the finest. A $2.50 or $5 beverage minimum is usual a .tor the second show, depending upon the entertainment offerkd.1 i?╟╓or the Lido show at the Stardust it?╟╓s $5, for the puppets $2.50. V. t . For refined, elegant dining and exquisite food the Dunes' m-fiiy tQPPe<3* A suing ensemble pro- vides music and when it?╟╓s not playing a "waterfall gushes in one corner of the ornate room; yes, it?╟╓s 1 - ^OWAIOTS ?╟÷ Red Skelton was the top draw in the fftJ*J*?½ San* ?╟úlines started forming ?╜t 1ft ???╟╓clock and^ve^tovi^* He Was orl tor aft tan#' w couldI*,ee fife perspira^oK ffig&KgH*hiS d/essi??ff room we asked him 2 If there w ^ no*hinS?╟╓ he cou,d ff?? on much longer 1 n were time. He s a humble, gracious, sincere guy who loves his work and really believes he?╟╓s serving a noble pur iwse when he brings a laugh or smile into someone?╟╓s heart chiM^.re?╜,iT,P^eS!ef by the parade ot fathers with young ' children who kept knocking on the dressing room door for the star?╟╓s autograph... An opposite type dmedSnTwi ?╟Ñ ?╟ú^"r-tossine George Burns at the .f< -jv f WM H h m EDWARD F. McELROY of Radio Station WJJD ,and past national commander of the Catholic War Veterans, U.^A^ receives a painting from the clown prince of all time. Red Skelton. Red Skelton was appearing at the .Sends hotel in. Las Vegas.' The above painting, plus 42 others painted by Skelton, were on exhibition at the Sands. McElroy praised Skelton as ?╟úone of the finest persons rve ew been assoch ated with. We are fortunate to have such a dedicated Amerl^ can and entertainer like Red Skelton,?╟Ñ he adde^. , .. ^ ^ CHICAGO, ILL. GARFIELD I AN W. 20,453 JUL 1 5 1984 84 $ M m