When The Flamingo opened in 1946 it was not, as is often reported, the first hotel on the dusty piece of desert that would eventually become 'The Strip'. The first one was actually The El Rancho, which burned down in the 60's. But although it wasn't first, it certainly was the most heralded - a million-dollar oasis for the rich and powerful built by legendary (reputed) mobster Benjamin (Bugsy) Siegel.

Poor Bugsy wouldn't recognize the place now. The last little bit of the original remaining structure was torn down in 1993 to make way for new construction. These days, The Flamingo is a huge, upscale tropical themed palace - not a mobster or moll in sight. Oh well.

The glittering pink and orange neon façade is one of the most famous in Vegas and the casino area is a faux-tropical wonderland. The gaming area wanders and meanders throughout the property so there are lots of different sections in which to spend your money but the overall feeling is pretty good. This is also one of the few places where you can still find low limits on blackjack tables, although they are becoming more rare here as well. To be honest, this isn't a place that I spend a lot of time gambling in but not for any good reason other than there are places that I like better. They do have a full spectrum of gaming options including slots of all denominations, all the usual table games, a race and sports book, and a poker room.

But it is once you get upstairs that the real magic of The Flamingo begins, with their “GO” rooms. Done with a big nod to the Bugsy Siegel era, the rooms feature decidedly retro décor with big white padded vinyl headboards, white built in desks and chairs that look like they time traveled from the 1940s, and full walls of white drapes (electronic no less) offset by vibrant pinks and deep browns in the wallpaper, carpeting, and accents. Flat panel televisions, CD/DVD players, and high-speed Internet keep it modern so the overall effect is very hip. The bathrooms have also been completely redone with frosted glass walls, a television built into the mirror, and all new fixtures, lighting, and amenities. Staying in one of them will cost you extra (about $50 more per night if the website is any indication) but it’s totally worth it.

Eventually all of the rooms will be converted to this look and feel but that will be a slow process, meaning you have to specifically request one of these rooms if you want it. The older rooms are much more pedestrian although larger than average with comfy furniture and all the standard amenities.

Another truly remarkable part of the hotel is the pool that rivals The Mirage for the nicest in town. Dense tropical foliage frames the area and there are even live tropical animals including penguins and, you guessed it, flamingos. Get it?

There are several restaurants (including a branch of Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville) plus a couple of shows and a health club. If you're really into committing to Vegas you can buy into a time-share.

Prices are reasonable for what you’re getting. Although the standard rooms start as low as $70 a night for summer, mid-week periods $100-150 is more common. Weekends hover around the $200 a night mark and as mentioned the “GO” rooms will cost more.

Although the overall package still places The Flamingo in the second tier of hotel choices for me, those new rooms make a huge difference and move it up several notches in esteem.

The Flamingo Las Vegas
3555 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
Las Vegas, NV 89109
800-732-2111
Visit the Flamingo Website

Highs: The legend of Bugsy Siegel; great location.
Lows: All of the historical parts are gone; the hotel is a bit bland by comparison.
Location: 10 - Steps from all the Center Strip action.
Price: 8 - Cheaper than most in this neighborhood.
Value: 8 - You feel like you get a lot for your dough.
Rooms: 8 - The new "GO" rooms are fantastic. Get one of those.
Casino: 7 - We've had some pretty good luck winning here.
Amenities: 8 - Rooms come very well equipped.
Facilities: 8 - Just about everything you need is on site.
Service: 8 - The staff is very responsive and friendly here.
Fun: 6 - We have more fun in other hotels.
Bonus: 7 - Gotta give points for Bugsy and those new rooms

Vegas4Visitors Grade: 78

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This is all to explain that restaurants like Stack at The Mirage and its cousin Fix at Bellagio are not the kinds of places I usually like eating at. Normally I would find them too crowded, too loud, too expensive, and simply “too” everything.

But like Fix, Stack manages to shake off the mantle of trendy restaurantdom with unique twists on comfort food to become something both interesting and alluring.

The design of the place is similar to Fix, with what appears to be an undulating cocoon of wood set off by dramatic high-ceilings and lighting. There is an often raucous bar at the front open to the casino and that, in combination with the nightclub worthy sound-system, conspire to make quiet dinner conversation virtually impossible. But this is not the place you come to for an intimate meal over a simple bottle of wine. This is the place you come to for a high-energy experience, socializing, and fun. If those trendy ultra-lounges served food, they’d be a lot like this.

The simple one-page menu is something like an American diner gone mad. Under the appetizer section you’ll find pigs in a blanket alongside roasted tomato soup, the latter served with a mini-grilled cheese sandwich. A selection of shared plates include things like crab cakes, buffalo wings, and a platter of miniature Kobe beef chili cheese dogs. There are a couple of sushi offerings (yellowtail and tuna tacos among them) plus the signature shellfish “stack” with Maine lobster, tiger prawns, crab, and oysters that comes in “wow,” “oh my God,” and “will that actually fit on the table?” sizes.

Main selections feature beef selections like a Kobe burger with Vermont cheddar cheese all the way up to a 44-ounce porterhouse for two plus pork chops, sea bass, lobster, organic chicken, lamb, surf and turf, and a lone pasta. The selection is not vast but there is something on here for just about every mood or taste bud.

Feeling somewhat decadent we started with both the pigs in a blanket AND the mini Kobe chili cheese dogs just because we could. The former came in a sizeable bowl each with its own toothpick and a big container of ketchup while the latter came with a side of spiced fries. Both were amusing but if you put them in a cage match the Kobe dogs would come out the clear winner, piled high with zesty chili, shaved cheese, and crispy onions in tender buns.

For dinner we went with a couple of steaks – the bone out filet and sirloin – plus the penne pasta with prosciutto and truffles. The portions were typically huge and the steaks, while not quite as original as the ones they do at Fix, were quite good and came with a choice of steak sauces to jazz up the proceedings. The pasta was excellent, with layer after layer of delicate prosciutto blending expertly with a light cream sauce.

The fun continues at dessert with irresistible items like mini cheesecakes with caramel dipping sauce, banana brownie bon-bons, cherry crème brulee, and the one we couldn’t resist: miniature jelly donut holes with a warm vanilla dipping sauce. Those were powdered with a cinnamon dusting and perfectly deep fried – so much more interesting than a typical piece of cake or one of those oh-so-delicate constructions of exotic flavors you often find at trendy eateries.

The prices, as you would expect, are high. The pigs in a blanket were $12 and the three mini cheese dogs, which in total added up to the size of about one regular hot dog, were $15. Steaks run in the $38-$48 range the other main dishes start at $22 for the pasta and go up to $46 for the petite filet and half-lobster.

But for me it comes down to the essential realization that a really good meal on The Strip that doesn’t involve a buffet line means paying these kinds of prices these days. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m advocating doing so – I tell people to get away from Las Vegas Boulevard all the time for (often) better food at (usually) more reasonable prices. But if you’re going to be spending this kind of dough on a meal, don’t you want one that isn’t a typically staid affair with lots of menu choices that seem designed more to impress epicurean snobs than to actually feed people?

Stack is the kind of restaurant where you can be fed and fed well without the pretention.

Stack
The Mirage
3400 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
702-792-7800
Open

Question: Since there’s a story behind everything, I figure there must be an interesting story behind how slot machines started using fruit (cherries, melons, etc.) as symbols. Do you know what it is?

Answer: As a matter of fact I do, Marie, and you can thank the folks at the Clark County Heritage Museum for the information.

The slot machine was invented in the 1890s but in the early 1900s the Bell Fruit Gum Company created a special slot machine that dispensed chewing gum when you lined up the correct symbols on the reels. Those symbols represented the various fruit flavors the gum came in, including watermelon and cherry. The machines, used often at carnivals and fairs, were hugely popular and as future slots were developed the symbols stuck.

The Bell Fruit Gum Company’s influence on the slots goes beyond fruit symbols. Next to those cherries and melons was the company’s logo, shaped like a stick of gum… or perhaps a bar. That’s right, the bar symbols got their start on the same machines.

Keep in mind, slot machines were mostly just a novelty in serious casinos until the 1960s or even 1970s. Early Strip casinos had a few but they were mostly there to entertain the wives of men doing the “serious” gambling at the tables.

Of course today the slot machines take up the bulk of the casino floor and bring in the lion’s share of the revenue. But even now, decades later many are still doing so with those fruit and bar symbols originally created to promote chewing gum. Kind of puts things in perspective, doesn’t it?

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