Centerfold Casino, Las Vegas, Ladies Cotton Tee

Description

Centerfold Casino burst onto the Las Vegas scene in 1975, springing from the site that had evolved through several identities—including Honest John’s Casino and the Big Wheel. Located at 2440 Las Vegas Boulevard South—a shopping-center-turned-casino strip near Sahara Avenue—it embodied the era’s edge of kitsch and risqué marketing. This iteration embraced a bold adult appeal—its neon marquee boasted slogans like “Girls! Girls! Girls!” alongside gaming promises such as “Casino – Poker – 21.” Though the bold signs implied topless entertainment, the gaming and adult performance aspects were likely kept separate to comply with Nevada Gaming Commission rules. Despite its splashy entrance, the Centerfold’s lifespan was brief—lasting about one year. By 1977, it had become the Jolly Trolley adult-themed casino. That iteration lasted until roughly 1981, after which the location ceased to operate. Over the decades, the property continued morphing through various entertainment functions before eventually becoming the massive Bonanza Gift Shop complex—the world’s largest gift store—where gaming, adult, and novelty elements melded under one remarkable shopping roof. Though its existence was brief, Centerfold Casino captured a vibrant slice of Las Vegas’s experimental spirit—where adult entertainment and gaming flirted in neon-lit tandem. Its legacy survives in nostalgic photographs, vintage signage, and stories of a hustling strip where the line between kitsch and mainstream blurred, a testament to Vegas’ wild-and-free ethos of the mid-1970s. And it’s legacy lives here, on our beautifully kitschy Centerfold Casino t-shirt.