In a city where fantasy trumping reality is the norm, a dreamer has a good
chance of making a name for himself. Looking at the Strip today, it's hard to
imagine that Vegas in the Fifties and early Sixties was a ragtag collection of
casinos whose names promised exotic locales, but all looked pretty much the
same. With one imperial gesture, Jay Sarno changed that forever.
A child of the Depression, Sarno, like many of his Vegas contemporaries, served
in World War II before returning to civilian life as a tile contractor in
Florida. He and his lifelong business partner Stanley Mallin soon hit it big
with a small chain of over the top motels they called Cabanas. But a trip to
Vegas stopped the motel expansion in its tracks; Sarno had a much bigger idea.
Caesars Palace was like nothing that had come before it. Awash with columns
and high-style, the Roman theme was carried throughout the building, with even
staff members dressing the part in togas and tunics. For guests, it was a true
escape from the norm, a resort that became a destination overnight and
redefined the nature of the Strip.
After selling Caesars for a tidy profit in 1969, Sarno and his team embarked
on an even more prophetic project. Circus Circus, with its live midway shows
and carnivalesque atmosphere, created the idea of a family friendly casino,
opening up the Strip to a whole new generation of visitors. Economic hard
times and lack of hotel rooms hampered the new casino's bottom line, however,
and Sarno eventually sold out to Bill Bennett and Bill Pennington.
Sarno was well known as a compulsive personality, so Vegas was a dangerous,
yet welcoming, place for him. Known to drop a quarter of a million dollars at
the craps table, he took advantage of the city's penchant for excess. Though
some suspect the teamster funds he used to build his casinos were just mafia
front money, there's ample evidence to suggest that Sarno preferred to run a
clean operation.
Successful Vegas developers rarely die without at least one unfulfilled
project. In Sarno's case it was the Grandissimo, a 6,000 room hotel stocked
with waterfalls and fountains. The famous developer Steve Wynn
recognized Sarno's vision with construction of the Mirage and subsequent
resorts, all surrounded with lots and lots of water.
