There was a small hotel, with 100 rooms, the quality about equal to a Motel 6 about five years too late for renovation. The Castaways was a cramped square-shaped casino that resembled the inside of a bus station. It wasn’t even in the class of run-down mobbed-up Dunes, soon slated for demolition. It wasn’t known for world-class entertainment like the Sands, across the street.

It wasn’t famous like the Flamingo, down the block. The Castaways wasn’t luxurious like its haute neighbor Caesars Palace, next door. I can’t identify what exactly made the Castaways so damned appealing, so fun, so interesting, so compelling, and - now 36 years later - so memorable. None of those things were important when you’ve just turned legal age and you’re visiting Las Vegas for the first time. And, it stank.īut none of that mattered when you’re 21. Here’s my recollection of that forgotten slice of the Las Vegas Strip before it was demolished to make way for The Mirage, which today stands in its place. The Castaways Casinowas open from 1963 to 1987.

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