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The M O RN IN G T E L E G R A P H NEW YORK, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1956 HOLLYWOOD > by Herb S t e in .IDirOa y LA S VEGAS, Nev. Feb. 2 7 - HOLD T H A T U NDERTAKER: For a patient some goblins of gloom have ticketed as being a heartbeat from oblivion, this amazing c o m ­munity has a vi­tality and zest for livin’ that ain't ready to call it curtains by a longshot . . . There have been some re­verses, s u r e , bpt the town feels it’s a long ,way from the end o f th>> line . . , The First National Bank of Nevada, in a W all Street Journal and Las Vegas Sun ad, has Las Vegas Vic saying: “ The report I that I ’m dead is greatly exag­gerated. In fact,” continues Vic, “ I ain’t even a mite sick. In the past fiv e years my buildin’ permits quadrupled. The num­ber o f my banks and property valuations both tripled. ’Course some other things sort o f petered out. F ’rinstance, my population an* retail sales, bank deposits, school enrollment, an’ electric consumption—T H E Y only dou­bled. Like the feller drove all day a hundred miles an hour and then slowed down to 60. Seemed he was goin’ backwards. Waal, that’s me. I sit in the shade and folks say I ’m daid. Shucks, we’re startin’ two multi-million dollar shoppin’ centers, chuckin’ ten million bucks inta new housin’ projects, plunkin’ 3% million dollars into a convention hall, plus a million more or less inta other things. C’mon down— we got the gol dangdest, rootin’ tot-tin' sure fire excitement you ever seen.” T T H A T ’S B A N K T A L K , and its reflected throughout the Strip where the old-line operators of the major hotels and casinos are still barreling dough into im­provements . . . The ill-fated ex­perience of the Dunes, Royal N e­vada and Moulin Rouge has dampened none of the spirit of the others . . . As a matter o f fact, the old-time operators long ago suggested s p a ci n g the launching o f these three ven­tures further apart— instead of hitting the town almost simul­taneously. But the cry o f “ mo­nopoly” came and the old-timers said no more . . . Today, the state is doing what the wiser boys suggested long ago: con­trolling the openings o f new ven­tures . . . The casino boys still think toe more places the bet­ter, but only if they come in economically sound and in line with the growth o f the commun­ity. “ There’s no reason,” one of the boys told us, “ why this town Las Vegas Far From Dead—It's Still Growing can’t take on one new hotel a year— but i f you toss several at a crack, the town just can’t take it.” T OF COURSE, one o f the great monsters here has been the sky­rocketing cost o f top entertain­ers. W e’re told the tab here a year fo r entertainment outlay by the clubs is $18,000,000. Per­formers think they can ask any figure and get it. The competi­tion is so severe that the asking figure is invariably the shell-out price. Yet, they tell us, this same $18,000,000 o f entertainment would cost Miami only $9,000,- 000, New York $4,000,000 and Los Angeles or Chicago ,about $2,000,000 . . . The strip opera-ors are still seeking a workable formula whereby they can keep the price o f entertainment in line with the ability to pay . . . There's also talk o f knocking off on any entertainment between the Thanksgiving-Christmas lull. This alone would save a fortune. Y LAS VEGAS CAN thrive only on increased traffic. To this end, every effort is being made to make this a big convention town. A bond issue w ill be voted on next month to build the conven­tion hall mentioned above at a cost o f $3,500,000. It’s figured to pass 10 to 1 . . . The Gus Greenbaum-Ben Goffstein group o f the Riviera has already of­fered its 12 acres behind the hotel to the community free as a starting site fo r the building. The Greenbaum outfit that took over the tottering Riviera is an excellent example o f the faith these people have in the future o f Vegas. Greenbaum, Goffstein and associates long ago sold their interest in the successful Flamingo, could have retired for life. But they went into the itiviera, socked better than $2,- 000,000 o f their own coin into it and within six months o f op­eration have the hotel on a real going basis. Smart cookies like these don’t put two million clams on the nose o f a dead horse. V THE CAM PBELL Realty Com­pany here recently put out a book o f statistical information on the Vegas area. It says:. “ Ac­cording to the best information available shortly after the turn o f the year, tourist spending in the Las Vegas area for 1955 was estimated at approximately $160,- 000,000. This figure represents an increase o f more than $10,- 000,000 above the 1954 tourist revenue estimate.” For a patient supposed to be flat on its back, Vegas seems to be taking very plush nourish­ment. M A N Y R ESP O N SIB LE P U B LIC A T IO N S T H R O U G H ­O U T THE C O U N T R Y ARE N O W T A K IN G A C L O S E L O O K A T THE FA C T U A L STATE O F THE LA S V E G A S A REA E C O N O M Y . THIS IS A T Y P IC A L EX A M P LE. *002-0