Las Vegas, Nevada (October eighteenth) The world`s heaviest

FREEMA/V
COMPANY
pubficists
10/18
JACK ENTRATTER
Las Vegas, Nevada (October eighteenth)
The world's heaviest concentration of neon
lights is within a three mile stretch of glamour located
on the Great American Desert 300 miles from Hollywood in
what used to be the only watering hole between Santa Fe
and California for the first weary Conestoga wagon rider.
Las Vegas, which means "The Meadows'* in
Spanish, was famous then for its water to the parched
pioneers — but today it has become famous as "The
Entertainment Capitol of the World" to the fun-starved
pleasure-seekers from the four corners of the globe.
Until 1952 Las Vegas plodded along with a few
glamorous resort hotels opening up several years apart
and offering mediocre shows and first-class gambling
facilities for Californians and neighboring states visitors.
The Chamber cf Commerce statistics showed a total of three
million visitors annually to the desert resort, but revealed
that two million of them came to the area mainly to see
Boulder Dam.
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When the Sands opened in December 195>2, producer
Jack Entratter, one of the main owners who had come here
from a half-ownership in New Tork's Copac abarxa, startled
the blase Vegas show producers with his own ideas in
entertainment that had helped project the Copa in New York
into the #1 spot in America,
Entratter brought in Danny
Thomas for his furst nightclub engagement, surrounding him
with 21). beautiful CopaGirls in costumes and production
numbers that cost more than Danny's salary — and the mad
rush was onS
Visitors to Las Vegas fought to see the Sands
show, news of which had spread from mouth-to-mouth as
"the best show in town."
When the other complacent hotels
missed many customers that had been satsified previously
to see a mediocre show simply because there wasn*t a
single outstanding production in town, they started looking
the situation over and the competition started, which
resulted In sky-high bidding for talent, rising to offers
of $14.0,000 and $ 5 0 , 0 0
a wee ic
f o r individual stars.
But Entratter had forseen the mad rush and
gathered around him most of the nightclub stars who had
already proven to be big business-getters in bistros and
cafes throughout the world, signing them to three and five
year contracts.
When the smoke had cleared after the first
frantic rush, six months after the Sands had opened Entratter
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had 14 of the top 18 stars in the business, and the other
hotels were still scrambling and scattering money like chaff
in the wind to attract the few remaining entertainers who
could be counted on to draw enough customers to compete with
the Sands.
Because of his relationship with these top stars
over the years and being responsible for quite a few of
them being stars, Entratter was able to sign them willingly
to fairly sensible salaries of $15,000 to t25,000, while
the other producers in town went as high as 150,000.
Entratter*s roster of friends and stars signed to appear
at the Sands year after year includes Danny Thonas —
Frank Sinatra —(Nat King Cole-- Sammy Davis, Jr. —
Peter Llnd Hayes and Mary Healy — Dean Martin — Lena
Home — Jerry Lewis — Robert Merrill and Louis Armstrong.
For lj.9 weeks each year f or the -paet- ^
and -for the next five, the Sands is sure of the top business
in town when these performers f i l l in with three or four
week engagements I
Meanwhile, the tremendous spurt in
entertainment has Increased the volume of traffis to Las
Vegas to the present
million visitors annually, for
It has been proven time and time again that the public will
jam the hotel which presents the best nightclub stars — and
Entratter has seen this simple maxim of giving people the top
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single attractions for their money bear fruit to the
extent that the Sands is now considered the #1 showplace
on the fabulous Strip which houses 10 luxurious resort
hotelsI
The Sands pays the most tax money into the
Nevada State coffers, a sure criterion of doing the most
business in this desert resort that sees nearly $200,000,000
a year spent by the nine million visitors, nearly 55$ of
whom are from East of Las Vegas, as compared to the scanty
8fo from East of Las Vegas up to 1952.
John Ounther in writing the inside story of
Las Vegas recently stated "Entratter is responsible for
the
transformation of Vegas from a dusty little desert
village to a town boiling with talent and glamour•
He
brought in Danny Thomas, Nat King Cole and dozens of other
entertainers and made the Sands the entertainment capitol
of the whole Strip and Vegas itself the entertainment
capitol of the whole world
Jack Entratter has put on nightclub shows seen
by 1|#992,000 people in his nightclub rooms since 19^0 #
He has signed more payro^L checks for top business stars,
feataKP&d acts and musicians than any other American
nightclub producer - more than 16,155 checks to some
lj.,315 chorus girls, 3,290 musicians, 1,5^5 featured acts,
and 127 top acts I
Entratter has purchased more than
$11,000,000 worth of talent for his nightclub presentations,
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and he spends each week nearly $55,000 for live entertainent
for his shows at the Sands Hotel and his television productions
in Hollywood,
His relationship with top stars in America
today
is Mr. Entratter's biggest asset in his ability to sign them
away from competitors for his own productions®
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