Grandissimo: The First Emperor of Las Vegas

How Jay Sarno Won a Casino Empire, Lost It, and Inspired Modern Las Vegas

By: David G. Schwartz

Narrated by: Eric Martin

Jay Sarno built two path-breaking Las Vegas casinos, Caesars Palace (1966) and Circus Circus (1968), and planned but did not build a third, the Grandissimo, which would have started the mega-resort era a decade before Steve Wynn built The Mirage. As mobsters and accountants battled for the soul of the last American frontier town, Las Vegas had endless possibilities - if you didn't mind high stakes and stiff odds. Sarno invented the modern Las Vegas casino, but he was part of a dying breed - a back-pocket entrepreneur who'd parlayed a jones for action and a few Teamster loans into a life as a Vegas casino owner.

For all of his accomplishments, his empire didn't last. Sarno sold out of Caesars Palace shortly after it opened - partially to get away from the bookies and gangsters who'd taken over the casino - and he was forced to relinquish control of Circus Circus when the federal government indicted him on charges of offering the largest bribe in IRS history - a bribe he freely admitted paying, on the advice of his attorney, Oscar Goodman. Though he ultimately walked out of court a free man, he never got Circus back. And though he guessed the formula that would open up Las Vegas to millions in the 1990s with the design of the Grandissimo, but he wasn't able to secure the financing for the casino, and when he died in 1984, it remained only a frustrating dream.

Sarno's casinos - and his ideas about how to build casinos - created the template for Las Vegas today. Before him, Las Vegas meant dealers in string ties and bland, functional architecture. He taught the city how to dress up its hotels in fantasy, putting toga dresses on cocktail waitresses and making sure that even the stationery carried through with the theme. He saw Las Vegas as a place where ordinary people could leave their ordinary lives and have extraordinary adventures. And that remains the template for Las Vegas today.

©2013 David G. Schwartz (P)2014 David G. Schwartz

Great book. Interesting Vegas info.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Entertaining stories. Interesting information on Vegas history

What did you like best about this story?

Information on the history of Vegas

Which scene was your favorite?

Scenes with Evil Knievel and Jay

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I hate this question

Any additional comments?

Nope

captivating

Usually I can only listen to 30 to 60 minutes of an audio book at a time. This story kept me captivated and I binge listened. I'm looking forward to my next Vegas trip as I'll have a new protective on the strip.

Great story, captures an era, well done all around

First, my compliments go to the author for delivering up a super-readable (listenable) book. The writing is sharp, punchy, and effortlessly zooming between a bigger picture and colorful details. I love it when a writer slows down and really crafts a book, line by line. The choice of Sarno and those times is a great one. So much of American post-war history (in a freer, wilder, risk-embracing time, perhaps the heyday of a certain white middle-class male's fantasies) collides here. This book is easily listenable and I do not lose my train of thought or struggle to follow it in any moment. It just flows and I love to listen.

Eric Martin is among my top favorite narrators, to the point where I buy books just to hear him. It helps that his choice of books (I don't know how that works) agrees with my tastes. He has a sort of Rod Serling-like Twilight Zone voice with a slightly hooded, shadowy, dark punchiness.

I tend to unconsciously pick up stacks of books in a year where the same character surfaces and resurfaces. One of those characters for me now is Jimmy Hoffa, and here he is, among amazing rooms-full of odd characters of fame and weirdness in the mid-1960s. It is just on the verge of psychedelic, with Evel Knievel doing motorcycle jumps over the Caesars fountain, and every other celeb, hood and freak passing through. So yeah, this is a book that has everything from its times, with Hoffa thrown in as a bonus. It's a business story, a cultural history story, and a fun ride, and tops at all those things.

Bad narrator

Narrator applied a very smarmy and unpleasant delivery that could only be tolerated for so long. It made the listening to the end of the book a challenge.

Building the world of Vegas

a great true story. Fun to listen to. Good narration. In a story that almost reads like fiction.

You will never view the fountains at Cesars again

If you love Vegas this a book that is a must. The story of Cesars and Circus Circus is one that will float in your mind over and over again when you walk the strip next after you finish this book. Fun and relaxing structure and narration make this listen very enjoyable.

Captivating story about a pivotal time in Vegas

This is the best book about Las Vegas I’ve listened to. The author does a great job of telling the story of Jay Sarno, a larger than life personality. It’s a terrific listen.

Re-listening for the 4th time

Probably my favorite Vegas related book, this and Blood Aces are ones I listen to again and again.

Jay Sarno - the man who created Las Vegas

I have always loved Las Vegas. Now I know who to thank posthumously. The story is presented as grandiose as the colorful character it portrays.
It's presentation as a documentarian story of the mind and man who envisioned the creation of the grandissimo "Disney " style casino is fascinating. It never lost my attention.
I traveled with the story through the life of Jay Sarno with envy, respect and gratitude.
Las Vegas is a unique compelling city and so is the story of Jay Jackson Sarno.

Interesting but no big idea about casino business

Interesting story with overview of people in this industry but no clear vision about how casino business run.