HGB Ep. 528 - Haunted Vegas Casinos

Moment in Oddity - Medieval Sword (Suggested by: Michael Rogers)

Waterways around the world are routinely dredged to reduce the sediment that can impede water flow. Dredging is the process of removing mud, sand, weeds and trash from a river, harbor or any body of water. In mid January, 2024, there was a surprising discovery while dredging a river in Poland. The incredible find was a sword, estimated to be over 1,000 years old. The Provincial Office for the Protection of Monuments was immediately contacted and the sword was transported to the city of Toruń. The preservation of the archeological artifact was rushed and research on the object will proceed from there. Although several news outlets reported that the sword is of Viking origin, archaeologist Robert Grochowski is skeptical of the theory. Grochowski stated that, “Without detailed research, this (idea) is completely unjustified. It is difficult to say anything more than the fact that it is an early medieval sword.” Just because the sword is engraved with Scandinavian patterns doesn't automatically mean that the artifact is of Viking origin. Only once the research has been completed will we have a clearer answer. Once the study is finished it is expected that the sword will be returned to Włocławek to be displayed at the city’s history museum. Dredging the depths of dark, debris littered waterways, only to discover a medieval treasure, certainly is odd. 

This Month in History - The Birth of Glenn Miller

In the month of March, on the first, in 1904, American big band leader, Glenn Miller was born in Clarinda, Iowa. His music is synonymous with the World War II era. His prowess as a musician led him to drop out of the University of Colorado to begin his musical career. In 1925, Miller was hired as a trombonist to play with Ben Pollack's orchestra. Later, he began freelancing his musical arrangements and trombone skills with bands like Benny Goodman, the Dorsey brothers and many others. Eventually, Glenn studied musical theory under Joseph Schillinger which led to Miller's advancement of the instrumentation of his pieces later on. After the disbandment of his first orchestra, Glenn immediately started a new group. The sound was unique and this was the start of what would bring him lasting fame. He was quoted saying, "A band ought to have a sound all of its own; it ought to have a personality”. He created that effect by having a clarinet play the melody, doubled by a tenor saxophone playing an octave lower and other saxes in harmonic support. The band's success took off from there, performing in casinos, ballrooms and even playing on national radio broadcasts. At the end of 1939, Miller's band was given their own radio show that was broadcast three times a week. From hits like "In the Mood", "Moonlight Serenade", to the big bands recording of "Chattanooga Choo Choo" for the 1941 movie Sun Valley Serenade, Glenn Miller's Orchestra had many iconic pieces the people are still enjoying today.

Haunted Vegas Casinos (Suggested by: Colin Weaver)

The glowing lights of Las Vegas have always beckoned those seeking expression for their seedy sides. This place is the capital of entertainment and a good time. Las Vegas plays host to more than just the living though. A city like Vegas is the perfect setting for ghostly activity. There are a number of casinos here in Sin City that are reputedly haunted. Join us as we explore the history and hauntings of some Las Vegas casinos.

Las Vegas means "The Meadows" in Spanish. The Las Vegas Valley was oasis-like and contained springs that were only known to Native Americans until a scout named Rafael Rivera came upon the area while searching for water. Around fourteen years after Rivera's discovery, John C. Fremont led an expedition out to the west and his group camped at Las Vegas Springs in 1844. This was one of four expeditions he led. Fremont was an interesting character in history. In 1847, he was appointed military governor of California. He was court martialed for mutiny and insubordination and later during the Civil War, he was relieved of his position by President Lincoln for insubordination. Despite these things, he was really popular with the American public and he went on to become a multimillionaire and a semator for California. He later moved to New York and became an active abolitionist who ran on the Republican ticket in 1856. The second most famous street in Vegas is named for Fremont. The first, of course, is the Las Vegas Strip. Both of these streets are home to Vegas' world famous casinos. 

The Flamingo

Back in 2015, we did an episode on the history and haunts of the Flamingo and Bally's casinos. Gangsters were very involved with the casinos and the Mob ran Las Vegas back in the 1940s. The Flamingo is the oldest operating casino on the strip and was built by none other than Bugsy Seigel. The casino cost him $6 million to build and opened in 1946 under the name The Pink Flamingo Hotel and Casino. Originally, the property was owned by Charles "Pops" Squires. He was one of Vegas' first settlers. Margaret Folsom bought the property from him in 1944 and then sold it to Billy Wilkerson. He was planning on building a resort that would be the finest in town, but the war caused supplies and building materials to soar and Wilkerson soon ran into financial issues. Bugsy and his gang had come to Vegas for the gambling and when they heard Wilkerson was having problems with finances, they posed as businessmen and bought a two-thirds share of the project. The Flamingo was built in the Art Deco and Streamline Moderne Styles with George Vernon Russell as the architect. Some of Wilkerson's design ideas would become staples at casinos. The idea for no clocks and no windows in the casinos was his as well as the fact that even non gamblers have to walk through the casino to register and get around the hotel. When the finances dwindled and Bugsy and his partners were brought on, another architect was hired named Richard Stadelman. Del Webb became the contractor. The hotel opened with 105 rooms, tennis courts, a nine-hole golf course and a trap shooting range. There was a habitat built for flamingos that was a garden courtyard. The Flamingo did not receive its name from Bugsy, but rather Wilkerson gave the casino its name when he first started designing the building.

Bugsy may have been good at running criminal enterprises, but he had real issues running a legitimate hotel and casino. During building, which was still ongoing even after the casino officially opened, cost overruns reached $4 million. The Grand Opening of The Flamingo was a complete flop and the casino lost $300,000 in its first two weeks because without completed rooms for people to stay in, they took their winnings elsewhere. Business was so bad that Bugsy closed The Flamingo. He finished construction and reopened in March 1947 with a much better reception. Despite The Flamingo running a profit, investors were not happy. They wanted bigger returns and since most of these investors were other mobsters like Lucky Luciano, Bugsy was in hot water. A meeting was called in Havana and Bugsy completely lost his temper and stormed out. Not a good idea with the Mob. As one would expect, a hit was ordered on Bugsy and he was killed while sitting on a couch in the home of his girlfriend on June 20, 1947. At the same time, several mobsters walked into The Flamingo and took over operations peacefully. The killing of Bugsy would make national news and suddenly, everybody wanted to come to exciting Las Vegas. The Flamingo changed ownership and names many times along the way, including becoming the Flamingo Hilton under the Hilton Corporation for some time. Harrah's Entertainment was next and Caesars Entertainment is the current owner. The hotel has expanded over the years and hosted countless performers. 

Bugsy Seigel invested a lot of time and money into the Flamingo, so it is not surprising that he would want to stick around in the afterlife and he has. He is seen most often as a full bodied apparition in the Presidential Suite that he designed with bullet proof windows and five exits. He is also seen near the pool. There is a memorial for him in the garden and occasionally his spirit has lurked there as well. A cleaning lady quit after seeing Bugsy's ghost on the fifth floor.

Horseshoe Las Vegas

The Horseshoe Las Vegas used to be known as Bally's Casino. This originally started as The Three Coins Motel that opened in 1963. That business was short lived and the Bonanza Hotel and Casino was built on the property in 1967. In 1973, the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino was opened in place of the Bonanza. It had 2,084 rooms, making it the biggest hotel in the world at the time and it cost $106 million to build. Kirk Kerkorian was the owner and he loved the movies and he owned MGM, so that is where the name came from. The decor reflected Hollywood and it had two large theaters. It became the standard for Las Vegas.  The Grand Opening was attended by Cary Grant and Gregory Peck. Dean Martin opened the showroom. When going to the MGM, everyone dressed to the nines. A fountain with a giant statue of Zeus was installed. People stepped down into the casino, which was relatively quiet, and they could take elevators down into the shopping area that had the most high end shops of anywhere. A 300-seat movie theater was down there as well with blue leather plush loveseats and couches. There were tables at each seat with red call buttons.

Everything was wonderful until November 21, 1980. A fire started in one of the restaurants early in the morning and made its way up into the hotel. Tragically, 85 people were killed, mostly from smoke inhalation. The number could have been higher as there were 5,000 people in the hotel at the time. One thousand people were rescued from the roof alone. There were no fire sprinklers in the casino. And if it hadn't been for the opening in the stairwells and elevator shafts and faulty smoke dampers in the ventilation system, the smoke might not have reached up into the hotel's tower, which is where most of the deaths occurred. New fire standards were created after what was the worst disaster in Nevada history and the third worst hotel fire in modern U.S. history. The MGM Grand was rebuilt in eight months. In 1985, the hotel was sold to the Bally Entertainment Corporation for $594 million and renamed to Bally's. The Hilton Hotels Corporation bought Bally's in 1995. Hilton eventually formed their casino holdings under Caesar's Entertainment, Inc and it bought Bally's in 2005. The casino became Horseshoe Las Vegas named after Binion's Horseshoe in 2022.

The upper floors at Horseshoe Las Vegas report the most activity, which started almost immediately after the big fire. Full bodied apparitions have been seen many times. The disembodied sound of weeping and screaming is heard. The acrid smell of smoke is reported many times and the occasional fire alarm goes off for no reason in particular. A service elevator in the North Tower was the scene of several employees' deaths. Modern day employees claim that they all avoid the elevator at all costs because of the strange occurrences that happen with that elevator.

Casino goers have reported seeing a strange misty smoke in a corner that seems to be enveloping a woman. This apparition has actually been witnessed playing the slot machines before disappearing. A bluish green spirit that appears to be disoriented has been seen. A comment at TripAdvisor states, "The hotel was good and the location is right in the middle of the strip. I had a nice room on the 23rd floor. The only odd thing was that at 0630 one morning I observed a women standing in my room for about 3 minutes until she slowly faded away." One of Horseshoe's most active apparitions is that of a young boy. He is heard in the corridor of the seventeenth floor calling out for his mother. On the same floor, an elderly couple are witnessed walking down the hall and they just disappear. The man has his arm wrapped protectively around the woman.

Another commentor at TripAdvisor had stayed on the 23rd floor and found the experience harrowing:

     "I had no clue about what I was getting into. I upgraded to a renovated room on the 23rd floor. Initially I was happy about the room until I encountered weird things that took place in early am...3. I had the worst 4 sleeps ever! My wife had her first night terror ever. She was facing the wall yelling and screaming at the top of her lungs, so loud I jumped out of bed clinching my chest. She was yelling stuff like OMG and leave me alone and was running towards the door. The screams coming from her were so loud that I thought security was going to be called. I was so frightened that I had a hard time breathing for like 45 minutes. This was the first time in her life she had a night terror. Other weird things were chills running through my body constantly. It started from my head and would go thru my body out of my feet and cycle thru repeatedly. I travel a lot and I thought this was weird so I decided to go talk to customer service and I asked them of there was history to the room. She assured me that she had no recollection of anything on that room recently and offered us to stay on a much lower floor. I declined because I wanted to still have a bar fridge and I don't believe in ghosts or supernatural stuff, and convinced myself it was probably a bad dream that she has no memory of. My wife and I returned to the 23rd floor and as I exited the elevator, I made a comment to her that was what would you do if there was a fire here...I never made comments like that before. Again I continued to have chills, the bar fridge made banging noises, and it felt weird. The last night as I couldn't sleep I looked over at the curtains and saw clear air waving movements in the corner. I didn't want to look anymore so I slammed my eyes shut and prayed. Then as I started to fall asleep I had a bad dream and woke up instantly. It was about a man running frantically, that I thought he was chasing me, but was running for water, like a calm ocean, but was running fast in panic on the shoreline. I thought all this was crazy, and had explanations like the a/c was what gave me shivers and the night terror was from a late meal...etc. When I arrived home I was curious so I started to google things and found out that the 23rd floor is most haunted and a fire broke out in 1980 where 85 people perished. I had no knowledge of this before and will now check for history's before I book another hotel"

The Venetian

The Venetian Hotel sits where the Sands Hotel and Casino once stood. That casino was demolished in 1996 after it was decided by a new owner that an update was needed desperately. The Sands opened in 1952 under founder Mack Kufferman with 200 rooms spread out over four two-story wings. Crime bosses financed the venture as did Frank Sinatra who made his performing debut at The Sands in 1953. Icons of the enteratinment industry of the 1950s and 1960s performed in the hotel's world-renowned Copa Room. These were singers and performers like Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Nat King Cole and Sammy Davis Jr. Those last two pushed back against segregation in Las Vegas. They were allowed to perform, but couldn't eat in the dining room. Frank Sinatra put a stop to that when he invited Cole to join him for dinner. Harry Belafonte was later allowed at the casino and became the first black man to play cards on the Las Vegas Strip. The original Ocean's 11 was filmed at The Sands in 1960. By 1966, The Sands had a 500-room tower added and the following year, Howard Hughes acquired the casino. Sheldon Adelson bought the property with some partners, whom he bought out, and then he closed the casino in 1996. 

Construction began on The Venetian in 1997. The casino cost $1.6 billion to build and opened in May of 1999. The name represents its theming, which is based on Venice, Italy during the 1400s and 1500s. To hundred fifty artists and scupltors worked on decor and the exterior has replicas of the Doge's Palace, the Rialto Bridge, St. Mark's Campanile and Venice's Grand Canal is represented on the exterior and interior including gondolas. There is an indoor recreation of St. Mark's Square with shoppes and eateries. Adelson died in 2021 and The Venetian was sold to Vici Properties for $4 billion with Apollo Global Management leasing the casino for $2.25 billion. 

During construction, there were several deaths. A worker fell in January 1998 with another worker being crushed several months later by an 8,000 pound facade that fell from a crane 32 stories. In 1999, an electrician fell 30 feet through an open hole and died. Those construction workers are said to haunt the hotel and some claim that former mobsters that liked to frequent The Sands seem to have carried over to the new casino in the afterlife. Tupac Shakur was shot inside a BMW as it drove near The Venetian in 1996. He would die four days later in a hospital, but people claim to see him outside of The Venetian with his distinctive bandana tied around his head. He is seen crossing the street towards the casino and is sometimes spotted as a shadow beneath a nearby flickering street light.

Ellie wrote on TripAdvisor: "I stayed in 4135 suite right at the end of the corridor with a concrete view at the Venetian. Not sure if the same room, but things were happening that we couldn't explain. I Don't believe in ghosts, but have to admit was a bit spooky. My friend woke up at about 3am on our first night there saying someone was in our room, it woke her up by calling her name repeatedly, standing by the window. I looked and saw nothing, told her she was imagining things and to go back to bed. She fell asleep I watched the window the curtains started to move (probably draught from air con) but only happened that one time. Next day we woke up, I opened the drawer in our bed side table to see the holy bible on my side. I made a joke, said it didn't effect me cos god was on my side. (she is a atheist, but she moved the bible to her side, ha ha!) The next night, we slept right through. In the morning when she woke up she couldn't find her glasses. (Normally she'd put them by the tv so she wouldn't break them accidentally half asleep) they weren't there. She spent a good ten minutes looking for them, when I got the thought of looking in the drawer. We found them on top of the holy bible... She blamed me saying I put them there to freak her out. (I didn't) Also there was a massive lamp there that we couldn't get working, I had the idea that I would turn it on, so it could help her sleep on our last night. Couldn't figure it out. We ended up leaving it off. (we're idiots.) We got back at about 4am and the lamp was on. The next day when we woke up, the lamp was off. This trip I slept like a baby. Mainly because if there is any truth about ghosts, the ghost was after jenny :-)"

Circus Circus

Circus Circus was a real hit with Diane as a kid. This was one of the only kid-friendly places on the strip and it had live circus performers on top of that. This is the largest permanent circus in the world. Circus Circus opened in 1968 with a casino on its first floor and carnival games on the second floor. The casino was designed by Rissman and Rissman Associates in a circus tent structure formed from steel and concrete. The tent-shaped roof was made from a plexiglass material painted white and hot pink. Trained monkeys roamed the casino and an elephant named Tanya would throw dice and pull slot machine handles with her trunk. A hotel wouldn't be added until 1972 and this was a 15-story tower with 409 rooms. Jay Sarno and Stanley Mallin were the original owners and they eventually leased operations to Bill Bennett and William Pennington after authorities started connecting the original owners to organized crime. 

Sarno had previously opened Caesars Palace. He had intended for this casino to be like a Roman circus, but then he decided he anted it to be a circus circus and that is where the name came from. The new owners built another tower of rooms in 1975 and added an RV park in 1979. More rooms and towers were added through the years and eventually an amusement park opened in 1993. The resort was acquired by MGM Mirage in 2005 and is currently owned by Phil Ruffin. He has been renovating and has plans to possibly turn the RV park into a swimming pool complex. The clown on the roadside sign that rises 123 feet is known as Lucky, of course. This is one of the most photographed signs in Las Vegas.

Many people staying at Circus Circus claim to hear phantom noises and have other weird things happen. Possibly due to homicides. A Vietnamese couple was found stabbed to death in their hotel room after a robbery gone wrong in 2018. They were part of a Vietnamese tour group and when they didn't show up for the Grand Canyon tour, hotel staff were asked to do a welfare check. The couple had multiple stab wounds. It was thought that it could be a murder-suicide because nobody had entered the room after the couple did, but eventually a suspect was arrested.

Another homicide was said to have taken place in Room 123 and there were two victims, a mother and her son. Unfortunately, it was later determined that the mother had killed her son and then took her own life. As an aside, interesting that the sign is same height in feet as room number. This room is said to be haunted by the mother and son. Guests staying in the room claim to hear whispers, many times saying the words, "help me." Words are sometimes written on the mirror in the bathroom, which we could possibly debunk as other previous guests fooling around. Another guest ran into a woman and her young son who seemed to be frantically looking for someone. When asked who this was, the woman said they were looking for Robert. Possibly her husband? The pair then disappeared. Furniture moves around on its own and a little boys apparition has been seen in the hallways near Room 123. 

Luxor

Rising along the Strip is a very unusual sight, a giant black pyramid. This is a casino named the Luxor and it is the third largest pyramid in the world. Giza claims the two largest pyramids, but the Luxor does have a claim to fame that neither of these pyramids has, the most powerful man-made light in the world. This is a beam that shoots up into the night sky from the tip of the pyramid. The light is known as the Luxor Sky Beam and is generated by using curved mirrors to collect the light from 39 xenon lamps and focusing the light waves into one intense, narrow beam that can be seen up to 275 miles away. The beam was activated for the first time on the night of October 14, 1993 when the resort had a pre-opening party. We've heard stories of curses connected to pyramids. Is it possible that this modern pyramid has a curse too? It is quite possible. 

The Luxor was built in 1993 by Circus Circus Enterprises. Veldon Simpson was the architect and the casino was named for the city of Luxor in Egypt with a plan for a 30-story tall pyramid featuring Egyptian theming inside. This included an indoor Nile River ride. The initial idea was a pretty cool one though too with a moat that had a real casino riverboat traversing it. Various replicas of Egyptian artifacts were brought in as a part of the decor. The exterior was formed from metal and glass. Construction cost $375 million.Two hotel towers were added later and the casino has undergone numerous renovations, many that have taken away much of the Egyptian theming. A tram was added to connect the Luxor to The Excalibur Casino and Mandalay Bay Casino. Vici Properties bought the Luxor and MGM operates the resort.

The Luxor has a reputation for having a high number of murders, suicides, and other deaths, some of which took place during construction. Because of that, people claim the place must be cursed. We mentioned Tupac Shakur earlier. He was staying at the Luxor at the time of his death. A casino worker was killed by her boyfriend in plain sight of people in 2012. A man fell from the 10th floor. An employee at the Luxor food court was killed in 2007 in the Luxor parking garage when a homemade pipe bomb exploded. He was apparently targeted by two other men who were apprehended and given life sentences in 2010. Las Vegas has a huge number of suicides every year for obvious reasons and the Luxor seems to have the greatest number of them. Another reason why there may be issues at the casino is the fact that there is only one sphinx guarding the entrance. Egypt of the ancient world always held to a practice of having a pair of sphinxes to guard entrances. Could it be that this lack of tradition has allowed something dark to get through?

Most paranormal experiences take place in the pyramid part of the resort rather than the towers. There is one room here that has a poltergeist and that is Room 30018. The spirit here doesn't like to share its space. Nearly every morning at 8:30 am, a metallic noise rings out in the room. A blonde spirit known as the Luxor Blonde haunts several rooms and she likes to make her presence known by strangling people in their beds. Guests awaken when they feel hands tightly gripping their necks and are shocked to find that they are either alone or their partner is sound asleep and not trying to murder them in the bed. Some of these people describe the experience as being more like a very vivid dream and during the dream they see that it is a blonde woman trying to strangle them. Other people claim to have intense chest pains.

Other activity includes the pounding of doors by unseen fists. Guests get up to yell at whoever has awakened them from slumber to find the hallways empty. Shadow figures have been seen out of the corner of the eye. Construction workers who died have appeared in the quieter parts of the hotel. Acrid smells out of nowhere invade the senses and lights sometimes flicker on their own. Another female ghost supposedly walks through the halls of the 12th, 13th, and 14th floors and see likes to push people or breathe down their necks. Visitors say not to look over railings because something malevolent tries to convince you to jump.

A woman left a review reporting, "Here is the best part. My fiance screamed for me to 'come here' when I was brushing my teeth. I came out and asked 'what's wrong?' He looked stunned and couldn’t speak. He said a little girl just appeared in the room and asked for help. Wow, now we have a ghost in our room. He woke me later to ask if I could hear singing."

Another review from December 2016 said that a woman woke up when she felt a hand on her face. She jumped out of bed and saw that her husband was awake and looked terrified. he told her that he had just seen a blonde woman wearing a hat, possibly a beret, and that she had been standing at the bedside and then she disappeared. After that, they decided to sleep in the other bed in the room. Their peace didn't last long as the woman was awakened once again, but this time she felt someone wrapping the covers tight around her and leaning against her back. They told the concierge about their experiences the next day and she didn't seem surprised. She gave them a new room in one of the towers. 

Another review reported, "Running the risk of sounding insane, I swear my room was haunted. I always felt like there was a shadowy figure just at the edge of my vision and this creeped me out like nothing before."

Casinos in Vegas can be a ton of fun, as long as you don't mind losing some money. They might have an added bit of fun for those of us that enjoy a good ghost story and a little love tap from an apparition. Are these Vegas casinos haunted? That is for you to decide!