Page 42 - LVGL Magazine Spring 2021

HISTORY
Neighborhood Residents

Johnny Carson, Joe Louis, Phyllis Diller, Delores Fuller, Pawnee Drive - Pawnee Circle
Shecky Greene, Max Baer, Foster Brooks, Juliet Prowse, • Sam "Baby Shoes" Prezant (bookmaker associated with the mob)
Donald Sutherland, Dionne Warwick, and others. Famous • Judy Lynn (Country music singer and Miss Idaho 1955)
and infamous Vegas locals included Circus Circus and • Jerry Gordon (vice president Flamingo)
• Tim Alexander (drummer for Primus)
Caesars Palace visionary Jay Sarno, Caesars Palace exec-
utive Ash Resnick, bookmaker Sam “Baby Shoes” Prezant, Cayuga Parkway
bookmaker Frank Rosenthal, Sahara owner Frank Schivo, • Bobby Darin
• Phyllis Diller
and Howard Hughes’ right-hand man, Robert Maheu.
Seminole Circle
Give yourself bonus points if the name Rosenthal rings • Johnny Carson
a bell. Give yourself triple bonus points if you know how • Joe Louis (world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949)
Resnick is tied to Rosenthal and also to one of the most Spencer Blvd.
famous Hollywood movies about Las Vegas and the mob, • Frank Rosenthal (the movie Casino was based on this person)
Casino. Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal was one of Las Vegas’ most Ottawa Circle & Commanche Drive
well-known casino executives and had ties to the mob. His • Dolores Fuller (actress/song writer for Elvis) - she owned
life and times were the movie’s central theme, and his char- two homes)
acter, Sam “Ace” Rothstein, was portrayed by Robert De Ottawa Drive
Niro. Rosenthal’s wife—real name Geraldine McGee—was • Debbie Reynolds
played by Sharon Stone, and his partner-in-crime (the noto- • Sonny Liston (world heavyweight boxing champion)
rious mob enforcer Tony Spilotro) was played by Joe Pesci. Pueblo Way
The Rothstein residence in the movie is located between • Max Baer (actor - Jethro Bodine)
the first and 18th fairways at National and was owned in • Foster Brooks (actor)
• Dionne Warwick (who lived there briefly, but used to rent it
real-life by Resnick. In the movie, an FBI plane lands in a to the Riviera for their headlining acts such as Engelbert
fairway, which is the National’s 18th. Humperdinck, Bob Newhart, and Burt Bacharach)
Geronimo Way
Note: in the true version of events, the plane actually landed • Shecky Greene
in the 10th fairway of the private Las Vegas Country Club, Maricopa Way
which is located just a few minutes from National. Official
records reveal that the plane ran out of gas while pilots/ • Jay Sarno (Circus Circus/Caesars Palace)
• Robert Bigelow (Bigelow Aerospace)
agents were monitoring potential mob activities in the Seneca Drive
gated neighborhood.
• Frank Pellegrino (actor)
• Tonni Kalash (Trumpet for Herb Albert & the Tijuana Brass)
National General Manager Coy Wood has spent countless • Cal Kalash (violinist)
hours researching the course’s history. Today, historical Arapaho Circle
markers located throughout the course’s tee boxes honor • David Victorson (Caesars entertainment director)
homes of the notable residents and other big moments that • Juliet Prowse (actor, engaged to Frank Sinatra, dated Elvis
have occurred at National. “It’s like actually living in the Presley)
pages of a history book when you play here,” says Wood. “It Raindance Way
seems like almost every day we learn about something new • David Swan (comedian/actor)
that happened at National. They say it’s interesting to relive Pima Lane
history, but here you can actually walk in the footsteps of so • Donald Sutherland (actor)
many legends from so many different walks of life.” Cochise Way

Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame member and longtime PGA • Frank Schivo (Sahara part owner)
of America professional Joe Kelly is the course’s director • Robert Maheu (F.B.I., C.I.A., and right hand man to Howard
Hughes)
of operations, but has been in Las Vegas for several dec- • Casino film location
ades and knows National’s mystique well. His hall of fame • Ash Resnick (Caesars vice president with ties to the mob)
plaque hangs on the wall of the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame Algonquin Drive
exhibit, which is appropriately housed in National’s club- • Don Vincent (Wayne Newton's music director)
house. He takes it in stride when people spend most of their * Home addresses have been omitted for privacy concerns of current
homeowners, but when you stop by National, general manager Coy Wood
40 SPRING 2021 just might share a few with you www .las v egasgolf andl eisur e.c om
www.lasvegasgolfandleisure.com
40 LAS VEGAS GOLF & LEISURE