Las Vegas Sun - History

March 28, 2024

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Ad seeking showgirls causes quite a stir

The numbers game!

I am not a student of numerology but I don know that numbers play an important part in life.

Football plays are in motion only with the quarterback calling a string of numbers. It takes vast sums of numbers to evolve the theories which have given us the atom bomb and will some day put a man into space. It’s all done by the numbers and I’m not referring to the numbers that Ed Mapel of the Sahara gives when his opponent politely informs him that he has achieved "gin." But, the Sahara Hotel is part of the numbers story which can have repercussions of great consequence of Las Vegas.

I doubt if Milton Prell of the Sahara realized what he was getting into when he came up with the magical numbers of 36-24-36.

Faced with an influx of foreign girlie shows from France, Japan and other friendly nations, the Sahara decided to embark on an advertising program to search for American girls with measurements of 36-24-36 to prove that anything other nations can produce, we can do better. It was an unprecedented move to feature Las Vegas nationally with the first break appearing in Life Magazine. A full page should not only bring Las Vegas into many homes in the nations but in return might bring a carload of 36-34-36’s to our town. The salary offered is $900 a month. A tempting wage even for Las Vegas.

At first, we were inclined to view the idea as a publicity stunt with little thought of follow through, for a Life ad can run into many thousands of dollars — far more than the cost of all the chorus girls’ salaries for a month. But when the advertisement was shown to my wife and I by Jack Melvin of the advertising agency representing the Sahara, with an approval from Life Magazine to run it, I was somewhat amazed. Life is a family magazine which usually does not feature semi-clad girls, especially in a want ad.

Not so amazed was the good wife, who scoffed at the whole idea with the thought there’s nothing unusual about 36-24-36. Barbara believed the Sahara could get all they need right here in Las Vegas with a $20 ad in the SUN instead of paying Life a whopping $20,000.

In fact, even Barbara had those measurements once, but four kids do change things around a bit. Actually, she still does have some of them but not in the same order — more like 24-36-24. Incidentally, a chorus line with such measurements could be a real novel show and we give the idea to the Sahara

for nothing.

I was right, though. After the ad was accepted, some executive in Life’s top echelon got a peek at it and decided to nix the whole thing.

It was felt that Life could not be a party to a promotion of this kind and did not want to be placed in the position of soliciting girls for Las Vegas through the medium o want ads.

The money had been accepted and acknowledged. An agreement to print the ad had been reached and Life’s refusal before publication could be viewed as a breach of contract.

The hassle is presently going on with threats from Melvins’ agency to bring suit if the contract is not performed.

It is possible that the Sahara could get far more publicity for Las Vegas by Life’s refusal than by actually printing the ad. Some of our state’s leading figures have entered the fray with letters and telegrams to Life upholding the morality and decency of the chorus girl’s profession.

Either way, it began to appear that lass Vegas might soon receive an influx of 36-24-36’s that will keep the sheriff busy day and night driving out the old ones to make room for the new.

There was a time when ability was a criteria for a performer rather than body measurements but that was in the days when girls were not so scantily dressed. Although I do know from actual observation that the Sahara girls wear a few more feathers and bows than at some of the other places.

It promises to be a battle which simple prudence enjoins any involvement on my part, but in a free country, no man can be deprived of his rights as a spectator.

It’s still not to late to learn the science of numerology and from what I hear it shouldn’t be too baffling for one who have been around a bit.

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