Post #331104 by Ojaitimo on Fri, Sep 7, 2007 7:31 PM

On 2007-09-07 08:37, bigbrotiki wrote:
The rooms at the El Morroco had not been changed since forever, they were so original that Martin Scorcese chose one several years later to shoot the Sharon-Stone-cheating-with-that-nasty lil guy (?) scene in Goodfellas in them without changing a thing about the decor!

And we all know that great Stardust sign photo from the Book of Tiki! Incredible. My favorite case for preservation is this sign:

I think you meant the other Scorcese film Casino, based on Lefty Rosenthal and the Stardust. I started going there as a kid and when the Aku Aku was being built in the late fifties, I remember pestering Eli Hedley while he worked on the Aku Aku. My mother Ione stayed at the Stardust often and I used to play Blackjack while sitting next to her, after a few trips they all knew me and none of the pit bosses seemed to mind. I would wear sunglasses and dress older.
Years later, a new pit boss had me thrown out of the casino. "Who does he think he is I thought? I've been playing here for years and some hot shot pit boss is going to throw me out?"

This new guy didn't look like any of the other pit bosses who had worked there over the years. He had blond hair and blue eyes and was easy to spot. I thought my only chance to play was when this new boss wasn't working.
I returned frequently over the next 4 days but this new pit boss seemed to live there. I never did get to play that trip.
Many years later I saw Casino where De Nero played Lefty but it still didn't register until I saw a documentary about the Stardust and there was the blonde haired pit boss that had me thrown out so long ago. Guess I'm lucky his short friend didn't catch me.

[ Edited by: ojaitimo 2007-09-18 13:02 ]