When my husband and I first visited Las Vegas in late December 1998, we didn't know much about gambling. Not that it mattered. The trip was a family excursion to California over Christmas break with our three college-aged adult sons. Two days enjoying Santa Monica and the glorious Pacific Ocean, another for sightseeing in touristy Hollywood, and the final days in Las Vegas enjoying the shows and sights along the Strip. The boys and I had never traveled West before, but my husband had fond memories of a trip to the Golden State in his childhood, and he hoped to convince me that we should retire there in a few years. Vegas was an afterthought. We were so close. Why not see what all the fuss was about.
There's a lot to see in Las Vegas even without spinning the wheels, but the day before we were to fly back to snowy Indiana, we decided our trip would not be complete without giving the slots a try. So abandoned by our children who were off riding roller coasters at NY/NY, we bought a bucket of quarters and walked the casino floor searching for a game that appealed to both of us. Then we saw it.
It wasn't like the electronic slots we play today. This game, whose manufacturer I do not know and whose name I do not remember, featured a mechanical gorilla climbing what could have been the Empire State Building. The details are a little fuzzy after almost 18 years, but as we remember it, whenever a certain icon came up -- perhaps a banana --the ape climbed another story of the building. If it made it to the top, the jackpot was won. I think it took 3 quarters to play and I think it had 12 stories to climb. Some spins there were no bananas and the ape stayed where he was. Some spins there were multiple bananas allowing him to climb more than one story.
Possibly the game had a mechanical defect. Likely when the prior player abandoned the game he didn't cash out all his coins. For whatever reason King Kong did not slide back to the ground level and start over. We continued the climb from the level the prior player had reached, and after just a few lucky spins the ape climbed the rest of the way to the top of the building and 240 quarters dropped into the hopper. And we were hooked. I have always had a spot in my heart for gorilla themed games because that's what started it all for me.
King Kong is about to return. News articles tell of construction beginning this year on the new Wynn Paradise Park, a 1,000 room expansion centered around a 38-acre lagoon, hosting water skiing, paddle boarding, and parasailing by day and fireworks by night. Though it will not be finished until 2020 if work begins as planned, Paradise Park will feature a new island in the lagoon, a zip line, and King Kong. This isn't the first time the great ape has been featured in Vegas plans - there were plans in 1995 to build a King Kong ride at the Stratosphere Tower that hasn't yet opened. Owners envisioned a 70-foot ape scaling the side of the tower with 30 passengers in the belly of the beast. Obviously it was never built and remains a quirky Vegas footnote.
According to Wynn, there will be two islands in the proposed lagoon. The island in the turquoise lagoon will be like Hawaii, with tall peaks and white sand beaches - irresistible in the arid desert. There will be a restaurant at the top of the peak, and people can zip line to the island or take a gondola car to the peak for dinner. There will be water shows every day and fireworks every night.
On the second peak, there will be an eight-story-tall King Kong who will make an appearance every day before the water show. The ape will be able to turn 360 degrees and will have a 50-ft arm spread. In his left hand he will hold a girl. How much will visitors to Vegas pay for the animated eyes and ferocious sound? No one knows. It seems odd, but so did British ships sinking in a pirate battle on the Strip every 90 minutes. Maybe it's just what the Strip needs.
The lake will be located at the site of a golf course currently. The Southern Nevada Water Authority estimates that the golf course uses about 700 to 800 acre-feet of water per year. The new lake alone would use about 300 to 400 acre-feet per year. One acre-foot of water is about enough to serve two average Las Vegas homes for more than a year, according to CDC gaming reports.
The lake will be located at the site of a golf course currently. The Southern Nevada Water Authority estimates that the golf course uses about 700 to 800 acre-feet of water per year. The new lake alone would use about 300 to 400 acre-feet per year. One acre-foot of water is about enough to serve two average Las Vegas homes for more than a year, according to CDC gaming reports.
If you have seen a movie lately or attended Comic Con, you have probably seen the trailer for the new movie Kong: Skull Island. With a release date of March 10, 2017 by Warner Brothers, timing will be good for the opening of the Wynn extravaganza, Paradise Park.
Hopefully this link will take you to the trailer released at Comic Con this July. Sorry for the ad.
https://youtu.be/9M8jDZOfs7k
What a great article. The writing is so smooth that it flows like a stream. The description reminds me of the first time my wife and I visited Las Vegas in '95 with our daughter (who was 15 years old, I am ashamed to say). It was definitely a memorable experience. By the way, I remember the gorilla slot machine described here.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much, Nick,for your nice comments. I don't get much feedback so I really appreciate it when someone takes the time to write. I'm glad you remember the King Kong slot -- no one else seems to and I can't find it on YouTube. I suspect players weren't filming their games back then. If anyone knows the name of the game or manufacturer, please share so I can try to find some history. ❤️ Thanks again for reading and commenting.
ReplyDelete