by 
LOS ANGELES — Larry Levine, the recording engineer who helped Phil Spector re-invent rock ‘n’ roll music with his “Wall of Sound” technique and won a Grammy for his work with Herb Alpert, died on his 80th birthday, his family said Tuesday read more from: LINDA DEUTSCH , AP Special Correspondent
Listen to: Ike & Tina Turner’s “River Deep, Mountain High” from 1966 – Phil Spector & Larry Levine’s Wall of Sound.
by About a week ago I stopped at a big box electronic store in Denver to check out an electronic device. After I did my electric thing and walked out to the parking lot I got that particular sinking feeling one gets when one sees an animal in distress. There was a goose (at first I thought it was a duck – I wasn’t that close) squatting on the blacktop parking lot surface – in the middle of the parking lot! I watched it for a few minutes; it wasn’t getting up. I know enough to know that a creature like that doesn’t lay down on a blacktop parking lot surface for an extended period unless there’s a darn good reason.
I was running late. I had to leave, so I left and drove to my destination, making a mental note to call someone, and hoping that the bird could and would soon fly away. When I arrived at my destination, I told my hosts that I needed to use their phone book, and call someone about the stranded fowl. I called the local animal shelter, however, since it was a Sunday evening I was getting only electric voices on the answering machine. I finally called the non-emergency police number and was transfered to animal control. I then told the dispatcher of the honker’s possible troubles and asked the woman for advice since I didn’t know exactly what to do. She said she’d pass the information on to the animal control people and they would take care of it.
Later in the evening we decided we would check on our feathered friend before heading home. We gathered a box and a couple of beach towels to “handle” the quacker if we had to pick it up and drive it to a shelter or animal hospital.
As we approached the parking lot, we saw it’s long-necked silhouette and we all sunk a bit as we realized that a healthy bird would have flown away by now. It must be injured! Whoa, it was now standing up. There was some relief; standing is an improvement over being completely down, so maybe the creature will survive after all. We were feeling better but still concerned; we wern’t really sure about what to do. This duck or goose whatever it was was walking around a Circuit City parking lot at 9:00 on a Sunday night.
Then the dark clouds parted and the moon shone through when someone in our party spoke with a CC employee who knew the whole scoop. Turns out that the “goose” was a gander and his “lady” was nesting with her eggs or hatchlings by some bushes on a “curbed planter island” (raised area with soil and greenery) “smack-dab” in the middle of the parking lot. Turns out they must have been hatchlings, read on…
He said that the male was walking around (fifty feet from the female) as a decoy to distract people from focusing in on Mom & the little ones. We found the female on the “planter island” which, incidently, was surrounded by a three quarters of a dozen bright orange parking cones. The employee said that the birds were Federally protected though we never found out who placed the parking cones, nor did we see the goslings – maybe they were under mom’s wing when we saw her on the planter.
Talk about a nice ending, we were all – to say the very least – elated…We went out into the night to celebrate.
I returned yesterday – Mothers Day – to shoot some video clips. Alas, the geese and the parking cones were gone; only a few tufts of down remain in the bushes. *An employee told me that the goslings & parents flew the coop. Major kudos to the people of Circuit City.
From photos, I’m guessing that these puppies were Canadian Geese…
*They must have been squatting for, at least, a couple of months. My understanding is that goslings can’t fly untill they’re about eight weeks old.
by “It’s been a long time since we heard a peep from Jethro, and I’d been wondering what he’s been up to. That’s Max Baer Jr, the actor who played Jethro Bodine on the Beverly Hillbillies. For 20 years now he’s been trying to build a Beverly Hillbillies casino somewhere in Northern Nevada. First he tried Lake Tahoe, but found out the zoning laws up there pretty much don’t allow you to build anything. Then he tried Park Lane Mall in Reno, but that deal fell apart for reasons that nobody wants to admit. Then he bought the old Wal*Mart building in Carson City, but that plan got derailed when JC Penney and the owners of the Southgate shopping mall flat out told him that he was not allowed to build a casino on the property. Several years and several court battles later, the old Wal*Mart still sits empty.” more from Scott Schrantz (AroundCarson.com)
If this post seems a bit disjointed, it’s because it is…The Beverly Hillbillies Mansion & Casino project is not easy to pin down; every source seems to have different sets of facts, for example:
Thu, Nov 19, 1998 (9:21 a.m.)
“Commissioners on Wednesday approved master plan and zoning changes and a special use permit for the $130 million project proposed by Max Baer Jr. , who played the dimwitted Jethro Bodine on the hit TV show that aired from 1962-1971″ read more from: The Las Vegas Sun…
August 16, 1999
DENVER, CO — “Beverly Hillbillies Gaming Entertainment, LLC, which announced in June an agreement to develop and finance themed hotel/casinos and other products designed around the characters, settings, events and theme of the 1960’s and 70’s television sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies, has started the process for developing a $100 Million casino and hotel in Black Hawk, Colorado’s busiest limited stakes gambling town” more from: A Staff Writer for The Timeshare Beat / The Denver Post, August 19, 1999…
August 16, 2003
“The Beverly Hillbillies Mansion & Casino, a $54 million casino complex, would replace the vacant Wal-Mart building on the south end of Carson City if Max Baer Jr. has his way” read more from: Susie Vasquez, NevadaAppeal.com – August 16, 2003…
May 4, 2007
“MINDEN – Max Baer Jr., entrepreneur, film producer and actor who once played Jethro in the 1960s sitcom “The Beverly Hillbillies,” is bringing his plans to build Jethro Bodine’s Beverly Hillbillies Mansion & Casino to north Douglas County – this time, without the flaming oil derrick that was part of a 2003 Carson City proposal” read more from: Susie Vasquez – NevadaAppeal.com…
June 4, 2007
“Max Baer, Jr. was best known for his role as the loveable dope, Jethro Bodine, on “The Beverly Hillbillies” television sitcom. Baer is now bringing the Beverly Hillbillies into the 21st century, with plans to open the Beverly Hillbillies Casino and Mansion in Douglas County, Nevada. Baer has announced the acquisition of the first plot of land for the Beverly Hillbillies Casino development, with plans for additional land purchases after proper zoning has been acquired” read more from: Jerry Garner (Associated Content) June 4, 2007…
December 22, 2007
“Casino proponents back 143-foot high derrick” read more from: Susie Vasquez – NevadaAppeal.com…
January 6, 2008
“County rejects Beverly Hillbillies casino derrick” read more from: Susie Vasquez January 6, 2008 – scroll down to mid-page…
From April, 2008
“Jethro’s Casino has won approval from the Douglas County Board of Commissioners for a zoning map amendment & gaming district overlay!”
The previous quote is from Jethro Bodine’s (Max Baer Jr.) MySpace page…
Jethro Bodine’s Beverly Hillbillies Mansion & Casino is to be located (this time) in Douglas County, Nevada (The name of the city, as far as I can determine is: Minden, Nevada)…
Carson Valley, Nevada – Chamber Of Commerce Official Website…
Well, if and when (I Believe!) Jethro Bodine’s Beverly Hillbillies Mansion & Casino becomes a reality, here’s a list of some of the really cool facets of Jethro’s dream that will be in that reality – plans [click on Jethro’s website] are already drawn up:
“40,000 square foot gaming area with 800 slots and 16 tables, a showroom, cinema complex and a five story 240 room hotel. An arcade and “Granny’s White Lightnin’ Bar” [more below] are just a few of the attractions in almost 300,000 square feet.”
“Granny’s Shot Gun Weddin’ Chapel [more below,] Jethro’s All-You-Ken-Et Buffet, the Cement Pond, Granny’s White Lightnin’ Bar complete with rain & lightning, Elly May’s Buns (Bakery), gourmet meals from Drysdales’ Fancy Eatin’ Fo Da Richins, Granny’s Vittles & Hog Jowls Coffee Shop and a Flameless Oil Derrick.” How cool is that! This project sounds perfectly sound, to me and Jethro… ehmmm… Wait, there’s more: “The bathrooms will have elegant bleached-wood outhouse doors with brass beer bottle door handles.” “Don’t worry . . . your bottom won’t get splinters!!!” “The old cabin from back in the hills will become Granny’s Shotgun Weddin’ Chapel and will be placed in an area where the players and other people can watch and enjoy real weddings take place. The weddings will be presided over by “granny” who will be a real Justice of the Peace and will perform weddings for people that want to get married, people that are already married and people who want to get hitched just for the fun of it in a mock “shotgun weddin’”. The event will be taped from eight video cameras from which a wedding movie will be edited together. Take the video back home to your friends and family for a “one-of-a-kind” experience giving them incomparable laughter & entertainment.” “The Beverly Hillbillies Limousine comes complete with its own “still”, backfires, snorts & whistles. The limousine is available to take you and your guests to and from the airport as well as other casino or sites of interest in the area. “Hot Dawg! You never can tell, that might be Jethro drivin’ that limo!!!” This information is from and can be accessed at www.jethroscasino.com…
No doubt Charlene Darling (Maggie Peterson) from down the road a-piece on The Andy Griffith show will be singing in the Hog Holler Lounge…
The Boomtown Hotel and Casino had (sort of) a similar theme “Country-Kitsch” when it opened in Las Vegas around 1994. Boomtown was “instantly” a success and a very comfortable casino, in which to spend a lot of time. It was such a nice escape from the way-over-the-top-Las-Vegas/New-York-style casinos, such as Las Vegas is building now. Middle America was very much at home at Boomtown. When the John Wayne look-a-like Casino greeter shook your hand, you knew you were in the right place…
For American’s who made the decision to be FOREVER IN BLUE JEANS, places like Boomtown provided a place to go and feel comfortable, and at home…
The hotel/casino was reincarnated after it lost it’s shine, and is thriving as The Silverton Hotel and Casino…
This was pop-culture at it’s very best.
Well, I don’t know if this is the last word, I can’t get “Susie Vasquez” to respond to e-mail. If I get any updates, I’ll post them here…
Y’all take care now…
This is another article I found on May 8,2008, from AC
“Jethro Bodine could never decide what career he wanted to pursue. The character wanted to be a movie “die-rector”, a fry cook, a brain surgeon, and a “double naught” spy. Max Baer, Jr isn’t quite as odd as his character, or maybe he is. Baer is trying, for the third time, to open a casino based on the television show that made Baer a star. The Beverly Hillbillies Hotel and Casino is slated for construction in Douglas County, just south of Carson City” read more from Jesse Shannon – AC…
Jethro’s Beverly Hillbillies Mansion and Casino – Official Website…
Max Baer Jr.’s – Jethro’s Beverly Hillbillies Mansion & Casino’s MySpace pages…
LasVegasBuffetClub’s Home page…
by The World’s Fare Buffet at The Riviera Black Hawk is a Las Vegas Style buffet…
This typical buffet includes the standard goodies + Crab Legs & Shrimp, and more…
New Cooked-to-order Pasta Bar.
“Featuring the freshest ingredients with many cook-to-order specialties, try our new pasta bar every night! Choose one of our house-made pastas, add a savory sauce and top it off with shrimp, crab, peppers, white wine and much more.”
Wednesday nights are Steak nights at the Riv!
“Join us for a succulent grilled sirloin steak along with a loaded potato bar.”
Breakfast $7.99 (off the menu) Mon – Fri, 8 am – 10 am
Lunch $10.99 Mon – Fri, 11 am – 3 pm
Dinner $16.99 Sun – Thurs, 4 pm – 10 pm, $17.99 Fri and Sat, 4 pm – 11 pm
Brunch $14.99 Sat and Sun, 9 am – 3 pm
Information is from the Riviera, May, 2008…
Take me to The Riviera Black Hawk’s Official Website.
Take me to The LasVegasBuffetClub’s page for Colorado Casinos.
Take me to The LasVegasBuffetClub’s main pages.
by Hopefully, when the new investors of The Golden Gate Hotel make the inevitable “improvements,” they will leave the diner as is. And what it is, is an authentic, on-the-street, “Big City” downtown diner.
I’m not the only one who sees something special in The BAY CITY DINER:
“The Golden Gate Hotel’s BAY CITY DINER has been used for a number of Motion Pictures by Hollywood: It appeared, along with many other classic Fremont Street casinos, in the film Honey, I Blew Up the Kid.”
“In the movie PAY IT FORWARD, Helen Hunt worked at The Golden Gate’s Bay City Diner.” The following is from yelp.com: “Have any of you seen the movie “Pay It Forward“? I did, but after I moved back to Boston in 2002. It was filmed in Las Vegas, and I remember flipping out when there was a scene with Helen Hunt as a change lady. At the Golden Gate. Well, Kevin Spacey’s character brings her flowers and they have the awkward “I like you but can’t really tell you” conversation, and then? They speak of the diner.” [all-sic] Read more…
The diner’s Art-Deco interior with it’s dark wood & mirrors has a well aged patina that can’t be duplicated with nails & plasterboard and all the master-craftsmen in Las Vegas. Good gosh, leave something of the old Las Vegas…Especially when the something was “so good to begin with.’ Especially when that something is still very good.
There is a certain something that an older building can impart to a human being. Familiarity of ones surroundings can sooth, calm and refresh us from the harshness of the cold world. Even the behemoth Las Vegas should – at least minimally – preserve emotional havens for it’s citizens.
Locals and casino workers etc. need a few anchors to keep them from drifting, so to speak. And most importantly, I need to check in at the Bay City Diner from time to time.
Las Vegas still has the Peppermill uptown. One wonders when that will fall to another pretentious, plastic palace?
“In the mood for a mouth-watering 16 oz. Porterhouse steak at our Bay City Diner? We promise you great food served with a smile and at prices long forgotten by the mega-resorts.” VisitLasVegas.com has photo & other information for The Bay City Diner..
Visit The LasVegasBuffetClub’s pages for The Golden Gate Hotel/Bay City Diner…
The USMENUGUIDE says: “Voted Best of Las Vegas year after year.” usmenuguide.com has: Peppemill photos, menus and other information.
Visit the LasVegasBuffetClub’s Peppermill page …
by The GOLDEN GATE HOTEL in downtown Las Vegas sells 50% interest to an investment partnership: “A 50 percent interest in Las Vegas’ oldest hotel-casino was sold [Mid-March, 2008] to an investment partnership controlled by two brothers whose family made their fortune manufacturing nuts and bolts in the Midwest.” read more…
“The partnership [“Desert Rock“] owns 19 percent of Riviera Holdings, the parent company of the Riviera, and has made several land investments in the Las Vegas Valley. Through some family trusts, Derek Stevens and his 37-year-old brother recently completed the purchase of the Las Vegas 51s, the top minor-league baseball affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers.” read more…
“We won’t touch the shrimp cocktail,” Stevens said of the Golden Gate’s famous menu item. “It’s the best shrimp cocktail in Las Vegas.”
“Desert Rock plans to invest more money in the property to remodel the hotel’s 106 rooms and refurbish the property’s public areas by building new restrooms, adding a sound system inside the casino and enhancing the signs on Fremont Street.”
“Jack Binion, scion of the Benny Binion gambling empire downtown, said he thinks the area will benefit from the upscale boom on the Strip.”
“As the midlevel places get imploded on the Strip, I think it is going to drive more people downtown,” said Binion, 71, whose family no longer operates Binion’s. “Everybody is into nostalgia. There is a lot of nostalgia down there.”
“Review-Journal reporter Benjamin Spillman contributed to this article. Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or (702) 477-3871.”
The preponderance of this information is from The Review Journal.
“Established in 1906, the Golden Gate is proud to be Las Vegas’ most historic hotel/casino and the smallest hotel on Fremont Street, with only 106 rooms. Our guests can enjoy the intimate atmosphere of an historic hotel and then step outside our front doors into the grandeur and excitement of the Fremont Street Experience, with dazzling free light shows and special events. Our shrimp cocktail started a Las Vegas tradition over 40 years ago, and still is named “Best of Las Vegas” year after year. We offer great accommodations, plenty of gambling action and excellent food in a warm and friendly environment.” [Access the Golden Gate’s Website.]
The LasVegasBuffetClub says: “I hope they don’t touch the diner. The Bay City Diner at The Golden Gate is a classic diner. It’s ambience and patina can’t be replaced.”
Go to The LasVegasBuffetClub’s page for the Golden Gate Hotel.
LasVegasBuffetClub.Com – Home page…
Take me to The LasVegasBuffetClub’s COUPON page…
by One of my favorite new (to this writer) TV shows is called: Corner Gas.
It is a charming small-town-comedy (ultra-hip) TV show from Canada that premiered: January 22, 2004.
“Airs Next: CTV at Thursday 8:00 PM (30 min.)” [sic,] excerpt is from TV.Com.
“Corner Gas is about the lives of the people who live in Dog River and hang around the only gas station and restaurant in town. The cast of characters includes Brent LeRoy, the owner of Corner Gas and chronic comicbook reader; his assistant at the station, Wanda Dollard, who is just a little too well educated to be stuck where she is, but doesn’t seem to mind it; Hank Yarbo, Brent’s friend from…” read more…
“This is the first scene from Corner Gas, Episode 1, Season 1.’ ‘I just recently started watching.’ ‘It was a great start to the show,” so says, “sedawk” who “owns” the video.
The Cast:
Tara Spencer-Nairn – Karen Pelly, Fred Ewanuick – Hank Yarbo, Nancy Robertson – Wanda Dollard, Lorne Cardinal – Davis Quinton, Gabrielle Miller – Lacey Burrows, Janet Wright – Emma LeRoy, Brent Butt – Brent LeRoy, Eric Peterson – Oscar LeRoy. > > > I think Gabrielle Miller – Lacey Burrows is very interesting. This link’s to Gabrielle Miller’s Official Website.
Gabrielle Miller’s Lacey Burrows runs the restaurant: The Ruby. She is the sophisticated, big-city girl whose urban-slick charms don’t always work in Dog River. They work here…
Read All About It on TV.Com, click this.
(The TV.com pages have comprehensive information about this show, including bios.)
LasVegasBuffetClub.Com – Home page…
Take me to The LasVegasBuffetClub’s COUPON page…
by On the North-Eastern edge of the desert, past Boulder Highway, about 20 minutes (17 miles) from the Las Vegas Strip, there is a cool oasis which is a man-made phenomenon called Lake Las Vegas. On the shores of 320-acre Lake Las Vegas there is a Mediterranean-style village with hotels, condos, gaming, restaurants, shops, sidewalk cafe’s and a small marina: “Most weekends, the marina offers a one-hour lake cruise aboard the La Contessa Yacht” read more…
Also available: Gondola Cruises, Gourmet Dinner Cruisee, Electric rental boats, water toys, Kayaking and more. (click above)
There is a resort just beyond the marina called MonteLago Village Resort.
Photo is from the MonteLago Village Resort’s Website…
“MonteLago Village Resort is a one of a kind luxury Las Vegas resort and real estate opportunity, located just 17 miles from the Las Vegas Strip. Set among the desert mountains of Nevada on the shores of sparkling Lake Las Vegas, the Mediterranean-themed village offers exquisite shopping and dining, golfing, European-style gaming, and access to the championship golf and lakeside recreation of Lake Las Vegas Resort.” [Excerpt is from the MonteLago Village Resorts Website.]
The MonteLago Village Resort is a mix of a modern American hotel (condo) and an old Tuscan structure. Among several restaurants, there is a good cafe that has indoor seating as well as tables on a patio overlooking the town square: “Cafe Tenuta, Located in Casino MonteLago – Features 24-hour café dining with a diverse, breakfast, lunch and dinner menu including steaks, seafood, salads, sandwiches, and pasta.” [Excerpt is from the MonteLago Village Website.] Condos are available to rent (like hotel rooms.) Hotel rooms are available in nearby hotels, such as: Ritz Carlton Hotels or Loews Hotels.
Casino MonteLago is tucked into the hotel’s “wine cellar,” to loosely paraphrase the website: “Casino MonteLãgo offers you an intimate casino setting where value and service is paramount. Just a few miles East of Lake Mead Drive, at beautiful Lake Las Vegas Resort, Casino MonteLãgo charms you with European style and hospitality and is reminiscent of a cozy 17th Century Tuscan winery” read more…
A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS …Casino MonteLago boasts of over 200 Penny slots, as well as Video Poker and other current, popular video gaming machines; table games and a Sports lounge are active.
“The entire Lake Las Vegas scene is pretty cool allowing that it is just a little bit square.” They do, from time to time, have sidewalk Art shows and music concerts by the marina; the website declares that “The Ice Rink is now open.” It can be quite pleasant to stroll through the village streets, after dinner, or unlax on the grassy-knoll – on a blanket – watching a Jazz concert; they also produce an “Opera Under the Stars.”
The area is Kid/Family friendly…
Click on the web links for maps, driving directions, photos and other information.
The LasVegasBuffetClub’s main website has a page on the MonteLago Village Resort – click this link to access that page.
LasVegasBuffetClub.Com – Home page…
Take me to The LasVegasBuffetClub’s COUPON page…
by “Fading O’ The Green” The closing of Denver’s Duffy’s Restaurant.
Watch a YouTube video of the (2006) closing night -St. Patrick’s celebration.
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Duffy’s Restaurant in Denver, Colorado closes after being in business for over 50 years.
Take me to The LasVegasBuffetClub’s Home page…
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Take me to The LasVegasBuffetClub’s COUPON page…