White Cross - There's a New Girl in Town

I have been going to the lunch counter at White Cross at The Strip and Oakey since the first time I came to Las Vegas.  It's always been a little dreary, but the food has been fantastic, consistent ... and expensive for the atmosphere.  But it has always been worth the price.  Many big business deals have been made at White Cross over the last forty years.  The customer base has been eclectic.  A well dressed woman on her way to work might be sitting next to a bum who wandered in off the street for a cup of coffee, and he was sitting next to a casino owner.  That has changed.  The power brokers and bums don't hang out there any more, but the food is still good, and it's worth a visit.

Mr. Papas ran the lunch counter for 37 years.  Its had three names over the last decades.  It was the Liberty Cafe for years.  Then it became Tiffany's about six years ago.  Both under Mr. Papas's regime.  And just this month there is a new owner, and it has been renamed Vicky's Diner.  It has also been cleaned up considerably since Vicky step in.  The old dessert case that was decades old is gone.  In its place a clean red wall and a couple of nice paintings.  There are new menu boards and new menus and new energy. When you come to Las Vegas this is the historic place to stop for lunch, dinner or a midnight snack.  They're open 24/7. 

White Cross Drugs and the lunch counter are historic in Las Vegas.  At one time the drug store was the only place in Las Vegas to buy cosmetics.  Showgirls got their false eyelashes and Max Factor there.  It was busy all night long, and it was the only place in the area to buy liquor.  But the drug store closed seven years ago and took with it many memories.  Some of the employees had been there since the 70's.  Two years ago it reopened as the neighborhood grocery store.  The prices are a little high except for the Boar's Head deli, which are standard prices everywhere.  The liquor choice has grown considerably from when it was the pharmacy.  And it is convenient for both the people in the neighborhood and tourists.

So stop in.  Have a hamburger at Vicky's and pick up a bottle of wine at the grocery store and become a little piece of Las Vegas history.

The Riv Does It Right

At last one place in Las Vegas is doing it right.  About a year ago I was walking through the Riviera and remembered how exciting it was the first time I was there.  Like every place in Las Vegas at the time, you could smell the money in the air.  Everyone was dressed.  There was hooting and hollering at the tables.  You could hear the money falling into the trays from the slots.  There were red dollar racks tucked between the machines.  Now, it was barely hanging on.  There were three or four people playing the machines.  The Splash Bar, which had always been busy, was gone.  There were more employees than customers.  But there was something different in the air.  There was a sense that something was happening. 

Coming in through the convention area, I noticed that the lights were on and somebody was home.  The check-in desk had been moved to the back instead of being tucked in an off-the beaten track corner.  It was about 9:30 at night.  People were checking in.  The Pick-a-Pearl kiosk that had been there for years was gone.  So were the other little stores, but that wasn't bad.  There was a sense of hope in the air.  I cornered an employee and asked what was going on.  "We have new management," he said.  "It's like the old days.  She walks through the casino and asks our opinion.  I've been here for twenty years.  For the first time I have hope that things will change."

I have made a tour through the casino about once a month since that day, and it has been interesting to watch the changes.  It's not the floor moves or that the coffee shop, always one of my favorites, is closed (I can't even find where it had been they've done such a good job with their remodeling.)  It's watching the business comes back that is fascinating.  It's amazing what can happen when management knows what's its doing.

A year ago, one of the first things I noticed, besides the lights being on, was the music.  I was too loud.  It was lousy, and the volume wasn't level as you walked the casino.  That has been fixed.  People were still checking in at ten o'clock at night.  The new bar at the Asian restaurant was busy.  So was the bar at Wicked Vicky's.  There were three conventions going on.  The machines were busy.  The tables were busy.  The energy is rising, but you can feel that it's not done yet.  It will only get better.  

There's a facebook group, Las Vegas, The Good Old Days I'm sure will love the changes.  This is the perfect place for them to get together and reminisce.  It's the one place in town that is "Vegas."