TL
Joined: Aug 23, 2003
Posts: 798
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TL
Well folks, looks like all of the speculating and hypothesising, and yes, even the phone-calls to the place have turned out to be all for naught. TABOO COVE and VENUS lounge as we know them are GONE. Yes, I said GONE!
How do I know, you ask? Well, pull up a chair, folks, and I'll tell you a little tale...
I live here in Vegas, and have the Tiki Room at The Red Rooster Antique Mall, as well as a space at the new Flamingo Road Antique Mall (Flamingo & Pecos... Thanks For Askin'!), and I have feelers out all over the place to get the heads up on where to find stuff. I also happen to be a Gondolier at The Venetian, and I am CONSTANTLY in that gosh dern bar with friends after work. At least I was, until a few months ago. I haven't been in a while. Just a few days ago, I got a call from a buddy of mine who WORKS IN THE BAR. Not around it, not at the front desk, but actually is employed by the company that owns the two places and physically works inside of the establishment. He told me the horrific news: "They've torn everything out and are throwing it away. There's a big pile of Bosko's stuff & more in the kitchen and they don't know what to do with it. They want to throw it away because it's in the way." Dear God, what a shock. I asked him why they were getting rid of it, and he said they were going to totally re-do the whole place. It'd still be a Tiki Bar & Retro Lounge, but "all new". Panic set in immediately. The dealer in me wanted to run down there and cry, beg, & grovel for it all, and the Tiki-Phile in me wanted to go down there and try to talk some sense into the Manager and tell him why it NEEDS to be re-assembled and kept as Bosko designed it. My friend said to chill for a while & he'd try to get me a meeting with the Manager, and that was the last I heard from him.
Flash Forward to today, when I went in to work. I went early so I could see if I could get in and talk to the Manager. The outside looked normal; everything in place. And then I noticed the windows all covered up with black from the inside. I tugged on the door, & it opened.
I don't even know how to describe the feeling of sickening loss that I felt as I walked in to see that what was once glorious, was now stripped completely bare. There is absloutely NOTHING left in that place. Thatching: gone. Bamboo: gone. Carvings: gone. Framed menus, art & records:gone. Lights: gone. Mugs: gone. Shag's Art & all the posters: gone. Believe me when I tell you that the place is completely devoid of any and all decor what-so-ever. I looked in the kitchen where the stuff was supposed to be piled up, and it was not there. I hope to God that it's in storage, waiting to be re-instated and not wasting away in the Las Vegas Landfill.
So, the definitive answer for that burning debate as to whether or not Taboo Cove & Venus are closed is: NO. They WILL be open for New Years Eve. However, they will not be the same Taboo Cove & Venus as before. Bosko's Taboo Cove is gone forever. It's life was short, but that torch burned oh so brightly. I know a lot of you out there didn't like it much, but it's all we had here in Vegas. For all it's shortcomings, I will miss it tremendously.
[ Edited by: Tiki Lee's on 2004-12-23 01:39 ]
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