Questions. We get lots and lots of questions.
We were driving out to Red Rock and crossed a major thoroughfare called Ft. Apache. Was there ever a fort in Las Vegas that had something to do with a Southwestern native tribe?
The only fortification known to have existed in the Vegas Valley was the so-called "Mormon Fort," which still stands at the southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Washington Avenue, just north of downtown. The part of the valley transected by Ft. Apache was also pretty far from any other vestiges of Western civilization (until relatively recently) and much too far from water to have been a viable outpost. Like so many other fanciful street names in the area, "Ft. Apache" appears to have sprung from some developer’s fertile imagination, possibly after having watched one John Ford cavalry movie too many. As a local historian put it, there were "none that I know of. Not even a decent snow fort!"
Why do the casinos allow players to use strategy cards at video poker machines and the blackjack tables? Doesn't that cut into their profits?
Using strategy cards is tolerated by most casinos. At blackjack, nearly every game that casinos deal has an advantage over basic strategy play, so even with a strategy card and perfect play, the casino will grind its little percentage out of you, hand after hand, hour after hour, shift after shift, year in and year out. So they're not overly concerned about players making decisions "by the book" -- so long as using the card doesn't unreasonably hold up the pace of play. With video poker, it's essentially the same. Few if any machines in most casinos deliver an edge to the player, so even with perfect play, the casino still grinds it out.
Whatever happened to the stained-glass dome over the table games at the Tropicana casino?
The iconic 4,000-square-foot stained glass dome at the Tropicana was carefully removed and placed into storage after the casino closed on April 2, 2024. Installed in 1979 by Judson Studios, the multimillion-dollar Tiffany-style ceiling was taken down by experts to preserve it before the the low-rise building was demolished to make room for the stadium and a new Bally's casino. Bally's has indicated that it might incorporate the historic art piece into the new stadium, the new hotel-casino, or a local museum.
