And yet another relic of Older Las Vegas is soon to crap out on us. The Westward Ho, which was built around 1975, will close on November 17. Soon after, it will be torn down and the new owners of the property will build a big condominium complex on the land, smack dab on a prime segment of The Strip. So you can kinda guess what each of those apartments will go for: More money than anyone ever won at the Westward Ho, that's for certain.
I have no particular affection for the place. It was probably a dump almost from the day it opened, and I don't think I ever played there or ate there. I certainly never stayed there. My most vivid memory of it is the time I walked past late one afternoon and a guy out front was touting the show inside, trying to get people to come in and pay to see a fellow who did a "Wayne Newton Tribute" show. Loosely translated, that means they had a guy who looked and sounded a little like Wayne Newton and he'd plagiarize Wayne's act under the pretense of honoring him.
Anyway, the Westward Ho was situated right next door to the Stardust where, later that very same evening, one could go to the showroom and see…Wayne Newton. So I had to ask the guy out front, and I'm sure I wasn't the first: "Why should I go see your Wayne Newton impersonator when I can walk across that parking lot and see the real Wayne Newton?"
And the man didn't flinch. Had his reply all ready. He said, "Because our Wayne Newton is $14.95 and includes a buffet." And I thought: You know, that's a really good answer.
At least it was in the old Vegas, where the idea was that everything's a bargain: Food is cheap, hotel rooms are cheap, shows are cheap, etc. And then all the money you save on those things, you lose gambling. That was the premise, and it was a good one because all you had to do to come out way ahead was not gamble. As they tear places like this one down, it isn't that we're losing good businesses. It's that we're losing the bargain aspect of Las Vegas. Rooms at the Westward Ho from now until they close it down are around $40 a night, and that puts you smack dab at the center of the Strip, not far from the new Wynn Las Vegas where rooms start at around $239 and go up and up and up some more from there. Okay, so it's a much, much nicer room and it might be worth the price…but not everyone can afford it. So the idea for those people is to stay at a place like the Westward Ho, eat at its $6.95 buffet, and then walk across the street and experience a little of the Wynn, sightseeing and maybe playing a slot machine or two. Just so they could feel like they belonged there.
That's the part of Vegas we're slowly losing. It's not altogether gone. There are still cheap places to stay, cheap places to eat. They're just getting farther from the action and harder to find. And before you know it, most of them will be luxury condos or mega-resorts.