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Great old Article on Bob Stupaks Vegas World(Stratosphere)

Discussion in 'Misc. Vegas Chat' started by Iu25, Jan 31, 2013.

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  1. Iu25

    Iu25 High-Roller

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    This may have been posted before, but I read this article 3-4 years ago and its really a very interesting story on how one guy and probably more, used to take advantage of the liberal offers Stupak sent out! Great read!

    http://www.bigempire.com/vegas/bobstupak.html
     
  2. Drambler

    Drambler High-Roller

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    The Big Empire guys (Matt and Stinky) write some great trip reports. They were some of the first I read and it really got me fired up for LV. They are on their site somewhere. These guys ran cheap-o-vegas back in the day. I think one of them has passed away.
     
  3. nuggetboy

    nuggetboy Low-Roller

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    My wife and I wandered into Vegas World on our second trip to Vegas back in the early 90's. It was a degree of tackiness we had never seen or imagined. We were amazed.
    We saw some of the VIP packages advertised and I wondered how anyone would not figure out how to beat the house. Simple math, didn't even need algebra.
    One thing we also noticed was the headline act: Allen and Rossi.
    I wanted to see them but we did not have any time on this trip. By the time we got back two years later, they were gone and the place was being "transformed". I wish I had caught their act.

    Have gone into The STRAT twice over the last 7-8 years. No real feel to the place, good or bad. Just blah. No intention of returning.
     
  4. Iu25

    Iu25 High-Roller

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    I've read some of those reports, just classic stuff!!
     
  5. smartone

    smartone VIP Whale

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    A young man who used to work for me sister was driving the car that pulled out in front of Bob's motorcycle and he T-boned her. He was going at a very high rate of speed, but she did pull out in front of him... she never saw him till they hit. I saw pictures of the accident... incredible that he lived. He was quite a character and was good for the town and the state. The consummate promoter/gambler.
     
  6. kel3420

    kel3420 VIP Whale

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    Great reading, thanks!
     
  7. Candy Apple

    Candy Apple VIP Whale

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    We stayed at Vegas World three times with their VIP package in the late 80's and in '90. It was fun. Back then we didn't know it was a bad neighborhood.
     
  8. alanleroy

    alanleroy Click my avatar

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    In the summer of 1991 I received a 3-page letter from Bob Stupak, owner of Vegas World. He had a very special VIP package lined up for me. Why me? Not because I was part of a 1 million piece random mailing campaign, but because I was an 'elite' person hand picked by a team of 'high powered experts' that he paid a lot of money. He had decided to give me $1,200 in 'Cash and Casino Action', a free Vegas vacation and lots of other stuff, just to get me to try Vegas World. It only cost $398 for two. The Exact Offer was:

    4 Days/3 Nights Free Room
    $200 Cash
    $200 Casino Action (1 Dollar Chips…if you win they pay you in a real chip and take your Casino Chip)
    $400 in slot play on their 'Jumbo Jackpot' Machines
    2 Free chances to win a million bucks
    Free Buffet the Moon Rock Café
    5 Free Keno Plays
    Unlimited Free Drinks
    2 Show tickets to the Galaxy Lounge
    1 of five expensive gifts
    A pair of Las Vegas Dice
    A deck of Las Vegas Cards


    Bob went on to say 'I'm not kidding when I tell you I've moved heaven and earth to make this package attractive to you. You won't be disappointed. You have my word on that. You'll say, as so many others have said "That guy Bob Stupak is a man of his word…he really knows how to make his guests happy'.

    I imagine the 'experts' came up with a list of suckers with spare money because something made me want to accept his invitation…I figured my free expensive gift alone would be worth the price of admission.

    Welcome to Vegas World….

    For those of you that never got a chance to visit Vegas World…well it's kind of like the Stratosphere …except no tower, no rides, no kids and darker, dirtier, dingier, seedier. But what Vegas World lacked in glamour it made up in pure psychedelic bizarreness. The outside walls had giant colorful murals depicting planets, flying saucers, a giant astronaut connected to a roulette wheel, and cards floating through space. A huge round sign declared 'Sky's the Limit'. The main Vegas world sign was shaped like a rocket.

    Inside Vegas world was dark. The ceiling was painted black and was embedded with miniature lights that twinkled like stars. Lot's of stuff hung from the ceiling including a large sky lab model, rocket ships and an astronaut. Stupak's name was everywhere…in the carpets, on the rockets and his portrait identifying him as 'The Polish Maverick' was featured in several places. Lighted plastic columns went from floor to ceiling and were filled with colored liquid. They produced bubbles that slowly made their way from floor to ceiling. There was a 50-foot, motorized, lighted Big 6 wheel at one end of the casino.

    Hotel check in was at 'Space Pod Check In', which had several large gold rotating balls suspended above. One glass case displayed a real moon rock (it was a gift from the US to the Nicaraguan government)...lord knows how Stupak got it. Another glass case supposedly displayed a million dollars, but seemed to have too many 5's and 10's to come anywhere near a million.

    They had the Moon Rock Buffet, which may have been the worst buffet in Vegas History; The Galaxy Bar which served watered down drinks with rot gut booze; and a Big Pool on the Roof that was always closed. In the elevators were artist's renderings of the 1500' Stratosphere Tower that Bob was going to build…and a pitch to invest money in it and be a lifetime partner. To sum it up with one word this place was Tacky, but weird enough to be entertaining and memorable.

    At check in we received two 100 bills and vouchers to pick up our casino action. My wife took the 400 in slot play and I took the casino chips. I had planned to bet 95 on pass, 95 on don't pass and 10 bucks on craps, thus guaranteeing a 95 win and I figured the slot play would return a hundred bucks so the trip would be free.

    When I read the fine print, it turned out you could only use the chips on even odds bets and the Craps tables were 'Crapless Craps' a game Bob invented. 2,3 and 12 were actually on the layout and could become points. He also offered Double Exposure 21 where both the dealer's cards were dealt face up, but the dealer took pushes and blackjack paid 1 to 1. I finally decided just to bet it all on Red on the roulette wheel. I won. Unfortunately the 400 in slot play was only good on his special machines. Total return from the slot play was exactly 0. But we still had a free trip because of my win.

    We saw Allen and Rossi in the showroom and they were a riot. Also saw Marty Allen and Bob walking around the Casino. Our free gift was a $300 vacation at a Hawaii resort. To get it we would only have to sit through a 3-hour presentation….sound familiar? That's about all I can really remember. I did come home a winner and the trip was free so I have to say 'That guy Bob Stupak was a man of his word…he really knew how to make his guests happy'

    Vegas World was a dank, tacky, smelly, casino with rude dealers and a completely surreal design. When you walked out of the place it was like leaving a cave and walking into direct sunlight…. I remember looking back at it and saying 'What the hell was he thinking'. Was it awful? Absolutely. Do I miss it? You betcha.
     
  9. Candy Apple

    Candy Apple VIP Whale

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    Wow, alan, you remember a lot more details of the package than I do!

    I know the coffee shop had a late night steak & eggs breakfast for $2.99.
     
  10. alanleroy

    alanleroy Click my avatar

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    I didn't actually remember the details. I was digging through my desk and found the original offer.
     
  11. Jerseyguy

    Jerseyguy MIA

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    Sorry I never wandered in there

    To be honest ,it made most of the early places in AC look like the Bellagio,it just looked really "tourist trappy"
     
  12. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    Wow! I thought I was a packrat!:poke:
     
  13. zamboni

    zamboni VIP Whale

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    I stayed at the Strat in november and still don't know it's a bad neighborhood. Go to North Las Vegas and see some of the homeless camps. Those are bad neighborhoods.
     
  14. Candy Apple

    Candy Apple VIP Whale

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    It's all relative.

    Maybe sketchy or "rough" would be better words..?
     
  15. Criminole

    Criminole Low-Roller

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    First trip to Vegas with a buddy from high school and we took the Vegas World deal. I wish I remembered what the place was like but I remember the tower being 20 foot tall or so. Don't remember what the time share type of offer was but since we weren't a "couple" we were able to cut it short. Next trip was years later with girlfriend (later became wife). Splurged and took her to Westward Ho! Last two trips with wife have been Bellagio and Aria. Still haven't been forgiven for the Ho!
     
  16. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    Big Empire and the old Cheapo Vegas used to be a real trip! Their pranks, juvenile I will admit, were hilarious!

    I remember the old Vegas World (or as my one friend use to call it Vagrant World) from one trip.

    To make a long story long ...

    A former boss of mine (actually, the only boss of mine I remember who was a bona fide jerk) used to LOVE Vegas World. I would come back from a trip and tell everyone about the Stardust and how much fun it was and such, and he would always one-up by saying how much nicer Vegas World was. At his recommendation we did one of their so-many-hours freebee gambling spree things!

    You were like stuck there for so many hours, I forget how many but it seemed like all afternoon, and each hour you went to the desk and got more freebees, which usually lasted for 5 minutes or so.

    There were things like slot tokens which could only be used on certain slots that had a token acceptor on the side. None of them paid out.

    Then the Free Keno Play each hour. Whoopee! {twirling index finger} How they could rig those to never pay astounds me, but they did it!

    Then those free gaming chips! Good on the dollar BJ table, but when you won, you got ONE real chip, not two! Jeesh! What a rip!

    The "souvenir photo" that you got when you were all done was printed on some kind of a cheesy printer and looked like 10 pounds of {s-word} in a 5 pound bag!

    Oh well, that was the only time I remember setting foot in the old Vegas World.
     
  17. Vegas Insight

    Vegas Insight MIA

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    V World was before my time, unfortunately. But I remember those ads, I always found it amazing how much they offered you for so little money. Now I know why.

    I have to believe a lot of people were cashing in on those VIP offers to basically cover their cost of a hotel room for the weekend, even if it was less than glamorous.

    I'm confused. What is the connection, or lack thereof, of Big Empire and Cheapo Vegas?
     
  18. Buckeye Bob

    Buckeye Bob Low-Roller

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    The guys on Big Empire were the same guys that did the CheapoVegas reviews. They used to talk about the reviews in their Trip Reports.
     
  19. merlin

    merlin MIA

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    I remember doing the vegas world thing, we were maybe 21 tops, the gimmick was you had to wait about an hour between "steps" where you would get more promo chips. After a couple hours we would go right back maybe 5 min. after the previous time. The woman at the booth would say "cmon guys, it's only been 5 min", we would say sorry and go back maybe 7 min later, whereby she would happily give us more of those delicious freebee's. I remember
    one pit boss telling my I reminded him of his son...those were the days!
     
  20. IxAccDnf

    IxAccDnf VIP Whale

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    I played Double Exposure BJ and Crapless Craps at Vegas World.
     
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