Burt queries Matt and Dan about all the terrible places they stayed in Vegas, including why in the world they stayed in them. Join us to hear about hookers working the front desk, broken Magic Fingers, jumping on beds, and dead pigeons by the pool.
The Westward Ho, on the Strip by Circus Circus, featured illuminated umbrellas and what seemed like miles of low-slung motels. All those lights stopped twinkling in 2005.
Mark and Matt are joined by Marga Rita, 99-cent 32 oz. cocktail ambassador at the Westward Ho, as they choke down $1.50 hot dogs.
The Tam O’Shanter was right across the Strip from Caesars Palace until 2004. That glamorous pool sat right on the Strip and was advertised as open 24 hours a day. We can confirm it was.
Robert checks out the Tam O’Shanter’s sign and the remains of the Tam at Vegas’ Neon Boneyard. This is about how they looked when the Tam closed in 2004.
The above-ground pool at the Glass Pool Inn, which sat on the southern portion of Las Vegas Boulevard greeting people arriving from California until 2003. Note that while the portholes seem like a cool gimmick, they also made it much harder to pee in the pool without being noticed.
The Gold Key Motel as idealized in a postcard. By the late 80s all of those smiling people had been replaced by dead pigeons. It closed in 1990, perhaps in no small part because of what we did to their towels.
The Sulinda’s sign at rest in the Neon Boneyard.
Beyond its sign, there were very few indications of jollity on display at the Fun City motel in the Naked City. It closed in 2020.
The Holiday Motel, in the shadow of the Stratosphere Tower, saw its best days long before we started going to Vegas. It was somewhat famous for how filthy it was. It closed for good in 2018.
East of civilization, a few blocks past the El Cortez on Fremont, sits the shell of the Western Hotel, where good times and terror came in equal doses.
The Western Hotel kept its prices low by not sweating the small stuff, like pubic hair on the bathroom ceiling, or accumulated gunk on the walls. But for $18, who complains?
Sink into luxury at the Western Hotel, and also perhaps into a soft spot in the floor.
In a Gold Spike bedroom, Amy prepares for the day and wipes off a few bugs while Mark tries to get a few last minutes Zs. The Neon Gutter crew stayed at the Gold Spike more than any other hotel, and it is still sorely missed.
