Where I Stand: There’s room for old and new in world-class Las Vegas

Wednesday, Oct. 8, 1997 | 10:51 a.m.

GROWTH IN LAS VEGAS has been blamed for every social ill that has befallen our smoggy valley. On the other hand, all the advantages we reap as a large city, including favorable national press, are a result of our phenomenal growth. So which is it? Are we happy or have we reached our maximum stress point? Can Las Vegas continue to grow beyond anyone's wildest expectations?

Two events happened this past weekend really helped clarify, for me anyway, what sort of city we have been and are becoming. Saturday evening's spectacular Andre Agassi Foundation presents An Intimate Celebration and Sunday evening's second annual Old Timers Reunion Dinner presented more eloquently than any other examples the dichotomy of the Las Vegas then-and-now debate.

Unquestionably, growth without some major plan being agreed upon by the county and city is intolerable. We must have creative, visionary leadership or we are doomed to become a city behind walls of high-density houses, the building plan favored by most developers. We are losing the parts of Las Vegas that give it its soul -- the rural areas, the historic parts. And that is sad.

Old-timers in Las Vegas, those of us who've been here 30 years or more, have quietly been grousing about what's happened to our little town. Traffic, smog, crime, having to lock our doors at night are common complaints for any small town that has suddenly become a world-class city. Sure, the new restaurants are terrific and we don't have to go to Los Angeles to find that really special ball gown, but old-timers are feeling a little pushed aside, like Las Vegas belongs to the newcomers now. Where did that small-town hospitality go when you went into a restaurant or casino and everybody knew your name?

Apparently those feelings were slightly more widespread than anyone imagined, because the old-timers threw themselves a party and several hundred people showed up. Of course, we had to wear name tags and my brother Danny thought we should all have to stand up and say where we used to live, but all in all it was an old-time revival meeting, minus the revival part. Frankly, the evening was fairly lackluster, truth be told. Who knows? I was a little girl when most of the good old days were going on, but Sunday evening at the Stardust reminded me of what a small, boring town Las Vegas used to be.

Having lived through the free-wheeling '50s, the corporate '60s, the tacky period of the '70s, the booming '80s and now the sophistication that has come in the '90s , may I say, as an old-timer, Las Vegas is much more fun right now.

Peter Anthony waxed nostalgically about the old Las Vegas and pined for a shopping center that contained Mr. Sy's, Gelos Lounge, Churchill Downs and Sherry's. Give me Caesars Forum Shops and the Fashion Show mall.

The reunion of the Mary Kay Trio minus Frankie Ross brought enthusiastic response to those in the audience who experienced their ground-breaking lounge entertainment style of decades past. Never having seen them in their glory days, I'm content with "Mystere" at Treasure Island.

The Old Timers Reunion video Sunday night brought up a lot of odd memories of what used to be Las Vegas: the Helldorado float featuring Lili St. Cyr taking a bath while slaves poured oil into the tub; a poodle parade at one of the hotels attended by what appeared to be hundreds, because there simply wasn't much else to do here 40 years ago; the fabled Rat Pack at the Sands; the opening of the Tropicana Hotel, considered to be located at the end of the world.

Saturday night was a completely different story. Las Vegas was the setting for a truly memorable, thrilling evening. Although Frank and Dean and Sammy and Joey weren't there, Celine Dion, Clint Black, Lionel Richie and Elton John magnificently entertained the "rich people down on the floor and the poor people up in the bleachers" as Jay Leno so irreverently put it.

New faces abounded, but they were beautiful faces, happy faces. Las Vegas' own Andre Agassi brought his glamorous bride, Brooke Shields, who in turn brought the cast of her NBC show. Saturday's star-studded extravaganza at the MGM Grand Garden proved beyond all doubt that the new Las Vegas has all the heart of the old Las Vegas, all the glamour and every bit of the excitement.

We can't relive, revive or revisit the old days. But our town just keeps getting better and better. Except for the traffic, smog, crime, have to lock our doors at night ...