There’s a lot to see down Las Vegas Boulevard and you might have to strain to find the new Thunderbird Retro Boutique Hotel, Lounge and Wedding Chapel.
Originally constructed in 1948, it featured a pool and showroom that was a popular hangout for some big Las Vegas names - and it had nefarious ownership connections to boot.
Whether the new Thunderbird Hotel, Lounge and Wedding Chapel is able to compete in an increasingly crowded market remains to be seen, but State of Nevada contributor John L. Smith says the history of the Thunderbird is a lengthy one.
There was a time that Thunderbird name was celebrated. It was more than just a little notorious. Smith said. It was created by a California developer with strong Nevada connections.
“It was dreamed up by a developer from California named Marion Hicks, who had an investor who was well known to locals and actually statewide in those days he was the lieutenant governor Cliff Jones.”
It opened not long after Bugsy Siegel had been shot and killed in Beverly Hills.
“Las Vegas was really at a crossroads at that early stage,” Smith said, “The Thunderbird was in the process of being constructed but its opening really gave Las Vegas a kind of second wind.”
Smith said the hotel was known for its showroom and large swimming pool but really for its iconic Thunderbird sign.
“As we look at it today, in photos from the news bureau, frankly it's kind of corny. It's no Bellagio fountains. We'll just put it that way. But in the back in the day it was colorful and amazing. It was just a grand facade.”
But the façade was really just that, according to Smith, the Flamingo down the street was seen as the swanky, ‘carpet joint’ as they called it and the Thunderbird had a different market but turned a profit.
Of course, casinos back then were controlled by the mob and the Thunderbird was no different.
“Back then Marion Hicks, owner of record, along with Jones and other investors and behind the scenes, of course, Jake and Meyer Lansky were there. Meyer Lansky was one of the gambling minds of the American underworld, friends with Moe Dalitz and that crowd.”
Smith said the Thunderbird went through a few more iterations and sales but in the 60s it resurged with a better showroom and better acts to fill those seats. But in the late 60s, the action on the Strip had moved south.
The original Thunderbird sat where the Turnberry Towers luxury condos are now. It became the Silver Bird in the 70s and then in the 80s the New El Rancho with an Old West façade. That resort was imploded in the 90s after sitting idle for years.
“It was it was not where the boutique hotel is, which is more on Las Vegas Boulevard South near the Stratosphere,” Smith said.
Election 2018
Early voting began on Saturday in Nevada.
“It's clearly a very energized voting population,” Smith observed, “A lot of new voters. Registration has gone through the roof and the turnouts essentially doubled what it was back in 2014 the last midterm cycle.”
He believes there is turnout from both sides of the aisle.
“You're seeing Republicans and Democrats pretty fired up,” he said, “One to maintain the Trumpian wave and the other to really make some changes in the direction of Washington.”
He said it is heartening to see participation in the political process.
Big names in politics pulled out all the stops. President Donald Trump was in Elko over the weekend. Former Vice President Joe Biden was in Las Vegas over the weekend and former President Barack Obama was in Las Vegas on Monday.
“I think it might be the only thing that does work anymore,” Smith said, “I don't think the late smear works anymore. I think people tune out the negative. And if you've turned on television for five minutes, you know it's like watching a ping pong match with positives and negatives of candidates being just battered and slashed to pieces by positive and negative ads.”
Smith says when it comes to firing up the base the parties have to bring out their star players. He pointed to efforts by Biden to fire up the Culinary Union not because there are a lot of Democrats in the labor movement but because the union knows how to get out the vote.
“If you fire up those labor organizations they can do really good things for your party - if they believe you've got their back after you get elected,” he said, “From the standpoint of President Obama's appearance, this is clearly a step up to bring the rockstar in. He is the ultimate voice of that party at least in my mind.”
Smith said the former president’s visit is a way to fire up people of color and get people who were not excited in 2016 to get to the polls.
While Obama stopped in Las Vegas, President Donald Trump rallied in Elko
“Elko is hitting in a friendly ballpark to put it politely,” Smith said, “He doesn't need one more vote. The Republicans are going to turn out in Elko County in northern Nevada generally for Republicans.”
Smith said it wasn’t just Nevadans at the weekend rally but also people from other states that came to hear the president speak.
“There is a report of you know anywhere from 6000 to 8000 people turned out which is a pretty big crowd in a county like Elko County,” he said, ”We're talking about a whistle stop, and in fairness, I think that there is a lot of that.”
Smith pointed out that Obama would appear at high schools close to the airport to make it easier to control the flow of traffic.
In Smith's eyes, it wasn't really about the length of the stay but about why the president stopped here.
“President Trump has to be able to see what's at stake in Nevada,” Smith said, “There are a lot of races that are close. And if he can't keep the home fires burning in Nevada for the GOP then the GOP is in a lot of trouble.”
John L. Smith, KNPR Contributor