Little Caesar’s Casino, Las Vegas, Triblend Tee

Description

The “Little Caesar’s Casino” (not to be confused with the national pizza chain which came into being much, much later) was a compact, almost legendary sportsbook-casino hybrid that operated on the Las Vegas Strip from roughly 1970 through 1994. Located at 3665 South Las Vegas Boulevard, a block south of what was then Bally’s (formerly the MGM Grand), it occupied a small storefront in a strip-mall environment rather than a sprawling resort. Little Caesar’s carved out its niche in an era when sports wagering was still evolving in Nevada. It began as a race and sportsbook joint—one of the few places where sports bets were legally taken in the city’s early days of sports betting. Over time it expanded its offering and was wired for casino games: records indicate it had 25-cent craps and $1 blackjack. The venue was unpretentious, even dingy by Strip standards, described by one author as “the dingiest little storefront you ever saw” tucked into a run-down shopping center. Yet it drew a steady flow of bettors and gamblers through the 1970s and into the early 1990s. Its modest size and low limits made it appealing for locals and budget-conscious visitors. One of the more curious episodes in its history: in the mid-1980s the property was linked to the million-dollar “Super Bowl bet” by local gambler Bob Stupak, which added to its lore. As the Strip exploded into mega-resorts through the 1990s, the compact Little Caesar’s had trouble keeping pace—by 1994 it ceased operations under that name. Though the building is long gone, the legacy of Little Caesar’s lives on in Las Vegas gaming history. It’s remembered as a relic of a simpler time—a time when sportsbooks could operate in strip-mall spaces, when limits were low, and when the gamblers were comfortable in gritty venues rather than opulent resorts. Its story underscores how far Las Vegas has come—and how much the “little places” matter in the city’s layered gambling heritage. Today, the strip mall property that served as home to Little Caesar’s Casino is a part of the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino.