MANY MEMORIES AS CAESARS TURNS 50

1966....and now

  August 5 marks the fiftieth anniversary of Caesars Palace, the ancient Rome-themed hotel and casino that has been the red-hot center of Las Vegas's biggest sports and entertainment events.

  Originally it was going to be called the Cabana Palace, then it was the Desert Palace but when it opened its doors for the first time, the greeters dressed as gladiators and waitresses in Cleopatra outfits made it clear it was Caesars Palace.

as it was in 1966

  It holds so many memories for me: I interviewed Sammy Davis Jr in his sumptuous suite there; talked and shared a pizza with Cher in her dressing room after her show there; I watched from backstage as Willie Nelson performed and later went to his suite where an assistant called Snake supplied the marijuana.

   And I was ringside at some of the most memorable fights ever staged in the outdoors ring---Sugar Ray Leonard vs Tommy Hearns; Roberto Duran vs. Hearns; Marvin Hagler vs Hearns and vs Leonard; Riddick Bowe vs Evander Holyfield, when Fan Man stopped the fight by parachuting into the ring....etc. etc.   

 room key card from ten years ago

  The anniversary celebrations started in June so while I was there it seemed only right to drink a toast in Gordon Ramsay's Pub and Grill, a lively pub-restaurant opposite the hotel's Colosseum

 theatre, which recently hosted the US premiere of Jason Bourne.

  Some of the movies that have been made there include Ocean's Eleven,The Electric Horseman, The Hangover, Rain Man, Iron Man, The Big Short and many more.

  So here's to another 50 years!