Before the Bellagio there was the Dunes
Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 9:46 am
First hotel I ever stayed in. I stole this off the internet but its informing.
The Dunes achieved its legendary status thanks in part to decades of mob rule. Both the Mafia and money from the Teamsters’ pension fund helped to build the hotel, and it was owned for many years by Morris Shenker, who was allegedly associated with the St. Louis Mafia.
In addition to its mob links, the Dunes was also made famous by recruiting star performers such as Frank Sinatra to sing at the hotel, in an effort to lure the paying punters in. Still struggling, though, even with the might of Frank and co, it opened Las Vegas’s first topless show called Minsky’s Follies in 1957, which drew in an audience of 16,000, which, at the time, was a record for a single week’s attendance. The Dunes was saved, and lived for another 36 years.
The Dunes achieved its legendary status thanks in part to decades of mob rule. Both the Mafia and money from the Teamsters’ pension fund helped to build the hotel, and it was owned for many years by Morris Shenker, who was allegedly associated with the St. Louis Mafia.
In addition to its mob links, the Dunes was also made famous by recruiting star performers such as Frank Sinatra to sing at the hotel, in an effort to lure the paying punters in. Still struggling, though, even with the might of Frank and co, it opened Las Vegas’s first topless show called Minsky’s Follies in 1957, which drew in an audience of 16,000, which, at the time, was a record for a single week’s attendance. The Dunes was saved, and lived for another 36 years.
