In the 1970s, Las Vegas was thriving with 24 hours gambling, showgirls, casinos, restaurants, and hotels illuminated with neon lights. There were high and low budget burlesque shows like Burlesque and Branded. Live music was the norm in every casino, with fantastic groups entertaining for free. Food was excellent, from gourmet dining to the 99 cent breakfasts and $5 steak special downtown. The Las Vegas city hall was finally completed and opened for the public in 1973. Here below are some fantastic vintage photos that give a glimpse of 1970s Las Vegas.
Be sure to check out, what Las Vegas looked like in the 1950s, 1960s, 1980s, and 1990s.
I love Las Vegas, but I also love learning about the city’s history and looking at videos and photos of how it used to look.
Wonderful.
Back then, there were fewer casinos, and most of them were owned by local corporations. Now, most of them are owned by mega corporations. They were much more generous in their efforts to attract customers to their casinos. Casinos lost money on specials at every coffee shop, but they got customers in. It seems like the Coffee Shops are pretty much on their own to make a profit and maybe if they like your play, the pit boss (or she) may comp you a meal in the coffee shop. Ditto for buffets. Kids used to cruise up and down Fremont in Downtown Las Vegas to waste time and gasoline back then. The merchants and casinos hated that, and it took them 20 years or so to get it banned, barricaded, and eventually “paved over” with the “Fremont St Experience”. There has always been neon in Las Vegas, but there is “New Neon” and “Old Neon”, and the new cannot compete with the old.
In the restaurants and at the gaming tables, you would see top-name entertainers. It’s no longer the case. Back then, you could see shows and eat at restaurants very affordably; that’s no longer the case. Las Vegas is still a great place to visit. Model-quality employees still exist, but they do different jobs now. Young people work the bottle service at the shows. The difference is that now only high-end experiences have the attractive young people.
Mob-era Vegas would definitely be on my list if I had a time machine.
That’s funny you should say that. There was a wealthy Jewish “businessman” in Vegas with some…questionable acquaintances. His wife (separated) was basically his mistress; my aunt was his wife. He furnished her apartment, took my entire family out for a fancy dinner when they visited.