I've just come in from lunch here...
That's the clubhouse of the storied Las Vegas Country Club, a legendary retreat for the city's rich, powerful and notable right behind the Las Vegas Hilton. Remember the post I did on the Meadows School a while back? Well, the parents of those kids are members here. From Steve & Edie to Lefty Rosenthal to porn stars, this place has been a gossip factory for decades.
I'd never been, but I had a getting-to-know-you meal with Bill Boyd, Boyd gaming's co-founder and executive chairman. There wasn't a whole lot of news to come from the visit other than that they're still considering their options for what to do with the stalled Echelon resort on the Strip and when to do it and he's pleased for his downtown properties that Hawaiian Air is adding another Honolulu-Vegas flight starting soon, which I hadn't heard and don't see any reportage about online. So that could be some good economic news for a city that desperately needs some.
But that wasn't the point of the visit so there isn't much else to say about it. He's an exceedingly pleasant and down-to-earth man and I believe I'll be doing a formal interview for "The Strip" sometime soon.
Still, it gave me the opportunity to lap up the thrillingly Palm Springs-style architecture of the place. That shot above is the front from afar, but here it is from closer up and from the back patio...
Here's the front foyer:
...the main dining room...
...the bar and grill...
...and the part I found most physically stunning, the area outside the restrooms and leading, I think, to some card tables.
I don't recall where this escalator below leads to, but just look at the stonework, which is original circa 1967:
As I left, I noticed a couple of vanity license plates I couldn't resist snapping. The first, unmistakably, must belong to Thalia Dondero, a longtime Clark County commissioner and major-league political power broker profiled here.
Yep, that's my Jewfro in the shot.
And finally, I can't be sure but I think it's pretty safe to assume this Aston Martin convertible...
...belongs to the fellow with whom I lunched. Let's hope for his company's sake that that's not the only thing in Vegas that ever says "Echelon."
8 comments:
First, I am pathetically envious that you get to do all this, AND it's just part of your job. Second, I'm incredibly thankful that you take time to take pictures and share the story with us. This is why I love the internet. And your mom got flashed by Alicia Jacobs? Lucky family.
Jeff in OKC
Figures someone named Fafie would go here...
Old school at its best. The last thing this place needs is the fakery of modern day casinos. That stone cost a fortune back then and a fortune now because its the real stuff, not the faux crap they use now in all these places.
I have been to the Las Vegas Country Club, many times in fact. That place SUCKS. The food sucks. The atmosphere sucks. The fact that it was cool back in the day but now is a sad reminder that history has left it behind sucks. But what sucks most of all is all the people who think it's great, and can't see the one simple overriding fact: THAT PLACE SUCKS.
Nice photos, though.
Apparantly it doesn't suck enough to not take advantage of a free invite from you friend who is a member though.
Unlike so many other things in Las Vegas that are that old: It ain't bankrupt, and it hasn't been torn down. Wish my business sucked that bad.
Jeff in OKC
Unlike so many other things in Las Vegas that are that old: It ain't bankrupt, and it hasn't been torn down. Wish my business sucked that bad.
Jeff in OKC
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