We're taking a break from our series revisiting past historic-attractions to answer a new and different, if related, historical question; we'll pick up our account of historic attractions shortly.
The story of casinos' use of celebrity "greeters" tends to be sad one featuring past sports and movie stars whose careers were on the outs and who were desperate for the money and/or to cling to the vestige of their waning fame. It was a practice that began in the '50s and remained popular through the '70s, since from the casinos' point of view it was an economical way of giving their clientele a memorable thrill.
Probably the most famous example is former heavyweight boxing champ Joe Louis, who'd fallen on hard time and in 1970 was hired by Caesars Palace. As a greeter, his job involved signing autographs, working as a "shill" (betting with house money when the action seemed a little slow on the gaming tables), and playing golf with special guests. The job apparently was a good fit for the then-troubled athlete, who'd struggled with drug addiction and mental issues, and the resort provided him with housing and a salary of $50,000 a year, but it was a sad end to an illustrious career. Still, Joe Louis lived and worked at the Palace until a massive heart attack felled him on April 12, 1981. He's still commemorated by a statue in the casino, near Mesa Grill (or he was the last time we checked).
It was former casino executive Al Rosen who's credited with signing sports stars to various Caesars' properties in the late '70s and early '80s. Other big names he recruited included two from the world of baseball in Willy Mays and Mickey Mantle. In 1983 the latter signed a $100,000-a-year contract with Bally's in Atlantic City to generally schmooze and play golf with VIPs, for which he promptly was told by the commissioner of baseball to sever any active links to the Yankees.
"It's nothing I'm ashamed of," responded Mantle at the time, referring to his new job. "It's not like I'm standing outside the hotel and trying to get people to come in and lose their money. It's primarily the same job I've had since I got out of baseball. But it will take a lot less time and I'll make a lot more money."
Other stars we're aware of who took similar gigs include Johnny Weissmuller, of Tarzan fame, who who was hired as a greeter by MGM Grand in 1973, where he worked until the following year, when he broke his hip. Actor Johnny Mack Brown, a star from the era of silent westerns, was another casino greeter, as was '30s screen star Preston Foster (Doctor X, The Last Days of Pompeii), who was hired by New Frontier owner Warren "Doc" Bailey on account of his having played a friendly role in his 116 credited movies and was still recognized everywhere he went. Jayne Mansfield had a stint at the Tropicana, too, where she performed a burlesque show but was also expected to fraternize with the guests and provide some celebrity casino "eye candy."
This practice wasn't just limited to the United States: When Cuba's Hotel Capri casino property opened in 1957, actor George Raft, who was nearing the end of his career and had a reputation for playing mobsters and gangster roles, was hired to be a meeter and greeter at the casino. And evidently it still goes on in some capacity today: When it was first announced that comedian Brad Garrett would be opening a new comedy club at the Tropicana, the press release described how Garrett would work the first week as headliner, then make "additional club appearances, some scheduled and some unexpected, and sometimes serve as door greeter."
