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JOHN-O's Las Vegas (& Honolulu pg 8) Thread |
mrsmiley
Grand Member (8 years) 
Joined: Apr 03, 2002
Posts: 3154
From: Las Vegas, NV
|  Posted: 2011-01-20 7:59 pm Permalink
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On 2011-01-17 20:43, JOHN-O wrote:
Back to Sin City...
First the bad news.
Atomic Liquor, one of Las Vegas's last remaining links to its Rat Pack Mondo Atomic past, has been closed since the beginning of the year !!
Stella Sobchick who ran the bar with her husband Joseph, passed away on Jan 15th at the age of 91. Joe passed away 3 months earlier also at 91 years. They had run the business for 55 years. I was glad to have met them one of the times they were both in the bar.
My understanding from talking to one of the bartenders at the El Cortez, is the Sobchick's son has no interest in running the place. Hopefully, he can lease out the bar to someone who understands its historic significance and will continue its legacy. In the meantime this is really really depressing news. I liked to think of the Atomic as the mid-century mirror image to Frankie's Tiki Room (much like the Aku Aku existed in primitive juxtaposition to the Stardust's original futuristic "cosmic ray" signage).
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I AM VERY sad to hear this! The bar has such great possibilities. I'm going to have to take some pictures of the outside. I wonder who did the western themed mural inside?!?!
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Tangaroa-Ru
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 04, 2006
Posts: 379
From: Surf's Up, Los Angeles!
| Posted: 2011-01-20 9:01 pm Permalink
Let's hope SOMEONE preserves this piece of Vegas (bar) history! Anyone dream of running a cool old Vegas joint? Now's your chance! (If the lease is for sale, that is.)
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aquarj
Grand Member (8 years)
Joined: Apr 02, 2002
Posts: 1040
From: SF bay area, CA
| Posted: 2011-01-21 12:11 pm Permalink
Sorry to hear about the Atomic Liquors owners. I guess in a positive sense it sounds like they beat the life expectancy odds for that part of town pretty handily. FWIW, here's a night photo from 2004.
-Randy
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JOHN-O
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: May 16, 2008
Posts: 2489
From: Dogtown, USA
| Posted: 2011-01-21 12:42 pm Permalink
Maybe P Moss might be interested in either buying or leasing the place. He would be perfect.
That would be a great Las Vegas triple: The Double Down Saloon, Frankie's Tiki Room, AND Atomic Liquors.
And on another note, please keep the Hard Hat Lounge on the Q.T. I was talking to Laura Herbert who is the curator of the Burlesque Hall of Fame at Emergency Arts. I mentioned I was going to drop by the Hard Hat, when one of the managers at "The Beat" coffee house overheard and said "I don't ever want to hear that bar mentioned out loud !!". Apparently an onslaught of ironic hipsters has invaded the down and dirty Huntridge Tavern (!!) and she wants to keep the Hard Hat a local secret.
Shhhh... let's keep it in the TC family.  (Mr. Smiley, maybe you should take down your Yelp review)
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inkylouise
Grand Member (first year)
Joined: May 18, 2002
Posts: 523
From: las vegas
| Posted: 2011-01-21 2:13 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2011-01-21 12:42, JOHN-O wrote:
Maybe P Moss might be interested in either buying or leasing the place. He would be perfect.
That would be a great Las Vegas triple: The Double Down Saloon, Frankie's Tiki Room, AND Atomic Liquors.
And on another note, please keep the Hard Hat Lounge on the Q.T. I was talking to Laura Herbert who is the curator of the Burlesque Hall of Fame at Emergency Arts. I mentioned I was going to drop by the Hard Hat, when one of the managers at "The Beat" coffee house overheard and said "I don't ever want to hear that bar mentioned out loud !!". Apparently an onslaught of ironic hipsters has invaded the down and dirty Huntridge Tavern (!!) and she wants to keep the Hard Hat a local secret.
Shhhh... let's keep it in the TC family. (Mr. Smiley, maybe you should take down your Yelp review)
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There is a fine line between keeping something a local secret, and keeping it sooooo secret, that nobody goes and the place goes out of business.
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mrsmiley
Grand Member (8 years)
Joined: Apr 03, 2002
Posts: 3154
From: Las Vegas, NV
| Posted: 2011-01-23 11:24 pm Permalink
I agree. If "hipsters" frequented the Atomic, it may not have been as charming (or gritty), but at the same time it would have made a good amount of money. I would assume, if the Atomic was a great money maker, the son would hire a manager to run it.
I hope he still does...
_________________
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If you like it, it is ZAZZ! If you don't it is RAZZ!
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mrsmiley
Grand Member (8 years)
Joined: Apr 03, 2002
Posts: 3154
From: Las Vegas, NV
| Posted: 2011-01-28 6:38 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2011-01-21 12:42, JOHN-O wrote:
And on another note, please keep the Hard Hat Lounge on the Q.T. Apparently an onslaught of ironic hipsters has invaded the down and dirty Huntridge Tavern (!!) and she wants to keep the Hard Hat a local secret.
Shhhh... let's keep it in the TC family.
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The Huntridge is starting to have some theme nights-often with DJ's playing vintage music so that could be the reason the "Hipsters" have been showing up. Las Vegas has a much smaller Hipster community than say NYC, San Francisco or Los Angeles. So any invasion of hipsters would probable equate to no more than 15 people a night. Those hipster's haven't ruined Frankies, either. Our hipsters are not that bad!
_________________
I'm the most thirstiesterest of all!
TRADER VIC'S, Vintage, Vegas & more on EBAY 1957SPUTNIK
http://shop.ebay.com/1957sputnik/m.html
If you like it, it is ZAZZ! If you don't it is RAZZ!
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JOHN-O
Grand Member (first year)
Joined: May 16, 2008
Posts: 2489
From: Dogtown, USA
| Posted: 2011-01-28 7:42 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2011-01-28 18:38, mrsmiley wrote:
...Our hipsters are not that bad!
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"Sometimes hipness is what it ain't!"
Tower of Power
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQE5vwlRYHA
[ This Message was edited by: JOHN-O 2011-01-28 19:47 ]
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JOHN-O
Grand Member (first year)
Joined: May 16, 2008
Posts: 2489
From: Dogtown, USA
| Posted: 2011-02-24 12:37 am Permalink
Check out the latest addition to Frankie's Tiki Room...
It's a Benzart Tiki.
It's one of the haunted Tikis from the Tropicana !!
[ This Message was edited by: JOHN-O 2011-02-24 00:45 ]
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JOHN-O
Grand Member (first year)
Joined: May 16, 2008
Posts: 2489
From: Dogtown, USA
| Posted: 2011-02-24 3:49 pm Permalink
Actually I think it's the very "mask" mentioned in these videos...
http://www.spookhunters.com/spookhunt/vegas/Tropicana/Videos/Tropicana1.htm
http://www.spookhunters.com/spookhunt/vegas/Tropicana/Videos/tikigirl.htm
Although tempting, don't touch it !! You might wind up with purple haze (or a rash).
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danlovestikis
Grand Member (8 years)
Joined: Jun 17, 2002
Posts: 3665 | Posted: 2011-05-05 3:27 pm Permalink
Hi Ben, we were just at Forbidden Island. We were staring at a beautiful tiki and upon closer examination be found Benzart carved at the base. We got to to say,
"we know one when we see one" always perfection. Thank you Ben for all the beautiful art you bring to this world. Wendy
I watched the Las Vegas video and somehow ended up here. I'm so glad to see Ben's Frankies tiki.
_________________
[ This Message was edited by: danlovestikis 2011-05-05 15:29 ]
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christiki295
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3619
From: LA-2547 mls east Hawaii &5500 Easter Is
| Posted: 2011-06-13 11:12 pm Permalink
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On 2011-01-21 12:11, aquarj wrote:
Sorry to hear about the Atomic Liquors owners. I guess in a positive sense it sounds like they beat the life expectancy odds for that part of town pretty handily. FWIW, here's a night photo from 2004.
-Randy
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Did some miracle happen to reopen Atomic Liquors?
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JOHN-O
Grand Member (first year)
Joined: May 16, 2008
Posts: 2489
From: Dogtown, USA
| Posted: 2011-06-19 5:10 pm Permalink
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Did some miracle happen to reopen Atomic Liquors?
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Nope... Unfortunately. 
On a new Las Vegas note, the Aria Hotel & Casino (of which I'm not a big fan) has a pretty groovy space-age A-frame Porte-cochère...
And the Cosmopolitan Hotel & Casino (which is growing on me), its theme is arguably high-end mixology. I've had good cocktails in all of their bars, the most notable one being their signature Vesper Bar (and yes, that's a James Bond reference)...
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christiki295
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3619
From: LA-2547 mls east Hawaii &5500 Easter Is
| Posted: 2011-06-21 07:23 am Permalink
Good travelogue.
Even better catch of the James Bond reference.
It was subtle, like I think I've heard that phrase before, but I can't quite place it. Casino Royale is too new to be a classic, yet.
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Chuck Tatum is Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 12, 2011
Posts: 1674
From: Southern Cailifornia
| Posted: 2011-06-21 09:36 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2011-06-21 07:23, christiki295 wrote:
Good travelogue.
Even better catch of the James Bond reference.
It was subtle, like I think I've heard that phrase before, but I can't quite place it. Casino Royale is too new to be a classic, yet.
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Unless you have seen the 1966 version/parody of "Casino Royale" with David Niven, Peter Sellers etc.
you know the one with that catchy theme song called "Casino Royale" 
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