This was my second Vegas book and even to my young and immature eyes, it was a hoot. Ralph Pearl was the daily entertainment columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal who also had a regular local TV show and with that workload, he had more than enough to fill up these pages.

 

First off, the stories and there are a ton of them; full range of celebrities (from the well-knowns to the forgotten), local boosters, people who make a living 'gambling and sweating', gamblers and 'losers, boozers and lovers' who troll the casinos and the streets. Ralph also goes into his many connections with these people, including a huge feud with Jerry Lewis. There are tall tales and mythologies explored, exploited and exposed.

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You can complain how much of this is outdated these days and no one will deny that as, for example, Peal uses the body measurements of Rachel Welch and Twiggy for comparisons and shock value, which was a popular references in those days, especially in the good old Playboy network. Still, this timelessness (or however you want to call it) also makes this book important; names and their deeds digs deep into the town's history and Pearl weaves them all in a no-holds-barred campfire chat on a bar stool of sorts.