Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Wendover Will, retro neon cowboy, greets visitors to small gambling town

West Wendover

Andy Barron/Reno Gazette-Journal

The “Welcome to West Wendover” sign, featuring Wendover Will, is shown in the northeast Nevada town, July 1, 2011. The neon landmark stands on Pueblo Boulevard, the main street leading into town.

In 1952, a Mr. William Smith opened a casino called the Stateline in the small northern Nevada-Utah border town of West Wendover. He had the good taste to commission a Mr. Pat Denner, the designer of Las Vegas' famous Vegas Vic neon cowboy, to adorn his gambling parlor with a similar cowpuncher to give everybody a friendly "Howdy, pardners!" as they drove by and nudge them in the direction of his wagering temple. And thus Wendover Will, named for both the town and Mr. Smith, was created, and Mr. Denner made him an even taller galoot (63 feet) than his older brother, earning him the distinction of the World's Largest Mechanical Cowboy from the Guinness Book.

Both of Will's arms waved, his eye winked, his cigarette flicked, and his 1,184 feet of neon tubing flashed day in and day out until 2002, when the Stateline changed ownership and Will was kindly donated to the town. West Wendover made him their good-Will ambassador, moved him to an even better location and gave him a lavish restoration. His white hat, yellow bandanna, red shirt, Levis, cowboy boots, and six-gun gleam in the hot daytime Nevada sun and light up after dark. Will is such a local fixture, in fact, that when the town of West Wendover incorporated in 1991, he took a prominent place on the city seal.

It's encouraging when a treasure like Will is recognized for the neon-tastic icon he is and a town revels in his awesomeness. Kudos to West Wendover for appreciating that where there's a Will, there's a he-went-that-a-way. Happy trails to you.

Wendover Will is located off exit 410 of Interstate 80 on Wendover Boulevard in West Wendover, Nev.

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