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Cheapo Vegas Big Empire Tales from the past.

Discussion in 'Misc. Vegas Chat' started by Ben Jammin, Apr 19, 2017.

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  1. Ben Jammin

    Ben Jammin MIA

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    http://www.bigempire.com/vegas/cheapeats.html
    Those side splitting stories of yesteryear, Vegas on $19 dollars a day, the El Dorado Craps table, Shades of Vegas World, (now the Stratosphere ) were as funny then as they are now.
    A little outdated but so am I.
    I might have been the lowest roller there was but these guys take the cake.
    Hang on to your fanny pack, get the nitro ready... here it comes!

    .
     
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2017
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  2. insin

    insin Speed Spender

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    I still have "Vegas on $19 Dollars a Day" (Tales of Matt & Stinky) on my phone!
    I freaking LOVED that website.
    I would love it if they could do a reunion trip.
    I'm sure so much has changed in all of their lives by now!
     
  3. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    I used to LOVE CheapoVegas!

    The Vegas World prank story was a total scream! :)
     
  4. LolaDoggie

    LolaDoggie VIP Whale

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    They were my go-to when we were starting out as Vegas people. Miss those guys.
     
  5. smerrian

    smerrian View from Bally's

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    I always confirmed the best deals in town before a trip by going to cheapo vegas.
     
  6. fasbman

    fasbman VIP Whale

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    Unfortunately, there will never be a reunion, since I remember reading that "Stinky" unexpectedly passed away.
     
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  7. LolaDoggie

    LolaDoggie VIP Whale

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    I remember hearing about that. Stinky was my age. Gone far too soon.
     
  8. vegaskid74

    vegaskid74 VIP Whale

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    I'm not exaggerating when I say I have both cried and wet myself while laughing at some of those stories. I think the anger management seminar in Reno is my favorite, but they're all incredible.
     
  9. jamesxnj

    jamesxnj VIP Whale

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    Loved that DMR..Me and my buddy's first stay was there in '86 .I read that a few years ago and sent it to him,he had same reaction-LOL..Was not sure if this was the site,glad you mentioned it.
    There a great Sigma Derby story floating around also about some broke college kids,but I think I posted it somewhere on here a few years ago..Def worth the read.
    Thanks for the post Ben!
     
  10. Ben Jammin

    Ben Jammin MIA

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    Excerpt from the original big empire.. with my jaded prelude of course,

    The El Dorado was my absolute favorite place to play Craps. You'd think a $1 table with quarter chips would be full of cheapskates too cheap to tip the waitress but I had never seen so many green and some black chips spread all over that table on a Saturday night,.

    I remember I had pass line bet and a don't pass bet up at the same time, i was switch hitting (never do that I forgot which way I was betting, but I remembered the cocktail waitress bringing me a number of shots of top shelf tequila one right after another, and a few Heineken beers in between. Oh those were the days.

    OK smarty pants don't tell me the El Do doesn't have a Craps table, it used to and it was the best!

    They have since moved that very table to the Joker's Wild (yes that exact table) and they set it up long ways right in front of the door on the edge of the pit. That's still the place to go for Craps, the dealers are mostly newbies and they aren't jaded yet like the dry heartless zombies in the lower end of the gambling spectrum on the strip and some places downtown.

    Here's the story....

    The rest is here: http://www.bigempire.com/vegas/facetofelt2.html

     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 3, 2017
  11. azlefty

    azlefty VIP Whale

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    I too was a fan, and when I read their retelling of the Vegas World risk-free craps finagle they became my hero. I met them at a "Solar System Series of Poker" that they hosted at the Las Vegas Club, probably around 2003 or thereabouts. They welcomed the first 15 or so members of the public who signed up on their web site to enter and were willing to post the buy-in which I think was around $15. I did, and got a t-shirt, but I had no poker skills then and I think I was the first eliminated from the final table (of 2 starting tables). Matt won the tournament.

    Anger management notwithstanding, they seemed to be a friendly, mild-mannered bunch of geeky guys who met in college at UC Irvine, around my age and not too different from myself. Mark (a.k.a. "Stinky") clearly did not appreciate being called Stinky and made an effort to correct me when I introduced myself and asked him if he was that person.

    My wife was contemplating entering their shrimp eating contest the next day at the Golden Gate but I think we ended up going to a show instead.

    A few years after Mark passed away, I heard they sold the "cheapovegas.com" web site for around $50k to some reseller like hotels.com or something of that ilk, but kept the big empire and Vegas on 25c/day sites. Having kept a blog for a year or so, I know how difficult it is to vigilantly maintain it.

    Have they posted any stories recently? I guess I can check myself.
     
  12. flyguyfl

    flyguyfl MIA

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    Thanks for bring back those memories. Fun reads on that old site.
     
  13. bnlphan

    bnlphan Degenerate In Training

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    I miss reading that site as well. Take it that some corporate Hotel advertisement site has taken it over now days. Just a few hints at what it used to be. Even the hotel reviews are toned down and incomplete :( Sad. Seems to be a niche that needs to be filled. I'm sure there are some members here that could step up hint hint.
     
    NYNY,Cannery,Sam's Town Jun4-11
  14. The Rumor

    The Rumor VIP Whale

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    cheapovegas did indeed used to be awesome and it sucked even 3 years ago. It is just a marketing front.
     
  15. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    I'm sure they got a very nice sum for that domain!
     
  16. woodsie

    woodsie VIP Whale

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    For anyone who is interested, the old cheapoVegas website is archived in all its glory on archive.org. Google "wayback machine" to get there quickly.
     
  17. VegasGroove

    VegasGroove VIP Whale

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    Blast from the past! I REALLY miss that website! Loved the hilarious hotel reviews and stories.
     
  18. JR Swift

    JR Swift VIP Whale

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    Definitely the funniest Vegas website I can remember. Like Hunter S Thompson meets Homer Simpson.
     
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  19. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    I assume you mean archive.org. I did that a while back and many of the old pages seem to be missing.
     
  20. Ben Jammin

    Ben Jammin MIA

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    http://www.bigempire.com/vegas/triprep.html

    I actually wandered into Vegas World once, I left quickly. Little did I know it would become the Worlds Greatest Casino "The Stratosphere" with the tallest building west of the Rockies and the worlds fastest elevator (at the time).
    THAT PLACE WAS SO DESPERATE THEY WOULD COMP YOU 5 TIMES IN A ROW JUST FOR SIGNING UP TO THEIR SLOT CLUB.
    oops all caps... anyway they had some pretty good coupons and you could get a book about once every two months. I forgot what coupons they were oh yeah, match plays and free drinks and no charge to go up the tower and a free cheesy souvenir. but they kept us coming back for free rooms and the cheesy rooftop pool on the 10th floor of the old building, girls were allowed to go topless! Guys too!
    There was a lame mural of a Hawaiian scene and some kind of screen, no children were allowed.

    So have fun reading those stories.
     
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