The 1989-90 Las Vegas music strike

I saw another thread talking about buffets in Vegas and it reminded me I got a steak and eggs for $1.99 early one morning in Vegas during the time of the musicians strike. So when was that? I was probably there in late 1989 on a tour bus for an overnight trip from LA, the return bus was the next day. I was at the Wynn and one player invited me up to his room many floors up and introduced me to his room safe. I'm sure I was at other casinos just walking around and noticed the musicians outside striking and had to check out that story. I also noticed a lot of magazines in newstand dispensers that weren't newspapers. I saw Johnny Carson on the casino TV and got freaked out by his performance in deep sea diving gear. I didn't play any table games, and played a few slots on a shoestring budget. I'm sure all I saw back then is gone by now with a few exceptions from all the construction that happened in the mid-1990's.

I took another tour bus to Laughlin, Nevada and visited some casinos there. One had hay all over the floor. Seemed way backwards to me.
Laughlin Resort Guide | Casinos, Hotels & Tips - Traveling With Jennifer Sparks Savoy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXigT9r8cr0


No sign of hay on the floors here.
Pioneer and Golden Nugget Laughlin Nevada 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQnQuLxya7U


I remember some gold plated walls near the elevators and some black jack tables at The Wynn, but I didn't see them in this video. The place reeked of big money back then, more than the other places I went to. No, I didn't get a room anywhere that night. The bus fare was like $10 or something and we got a fun book.
WYNN Las Vegas 2021 casino walking tour and dinner at La Cave
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUCTYyegW9A


Checking up on Steve Wynn.
Steve Wynn: The King of Vegas Who Lost Everything Overnight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BNYZgcktGM


1989: Steve Wynn's Mirage Resort Opens
AI: The resort opened on November 22, 1989, after two years of construction. It was the world's most expensive resort, completed at a cost of $630 million.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNktZk_ynEQ




AI: The 1990 Las Vegas music strike was a bitter 7.5-month battle that ended in January 1990, marking a major loss for musicians as five top resorts secured the right to replace live orchestras with taped music. Musicians from Local 369 ratified a four-year contract after a long fight to keep live music in major showrooms, according to UPI reports from 1990.
Key details of the dispute:
Duration: The strike began on June 3, 1989, and concluded with a ratified vote on January 24, 1990.
Properties Involved: The strike affected five major gambling resorts: Tropicana, Caesars Palace, Bally's, Las Vegas Hilton, and Flamingo Hilton.
The Issue: Casinos sought to replace live, unionized orchestra musicians with pre-recorded tape in production shows, such as the Folies Bergere.
Outcome: While musicians gained some compensation (a total of $1.3 million for 46 displaced musicians) and higher wages, they lost the fight to keep live music, giving hotels "unfettered power" to use tape, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
Impact: The dispute was characterized as a "David-vs.-Goliath struggle" in which musicians felt they lost a long-term fight against cost-cutting, per UPI reports from 1990.

Tom Hawley's Video Vault - Las Vegas Musicians Union Strike of 1989
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewwGeymvFsk

Quote: ChumpChange

I was probably there in late 1989 on a tour bus for an overnight trip from LA, the return bus was the next day. I was at the Wynn
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Quote: MDawg

Quote: ChumpChange

I was probably there in late 1989 on a tour bus for an overnight trip from LA, the return bus was the next day. I was at the Wynn
link to original post

link to original post

I gotta hand it to him. That's certainly a feat.

Quote: Dieter

Quote: MDawg

Quote: ChumpChange

I was probably there in late 1989 on a tour bus for an overnight trip from LA, the return bus was the next day. I was at the Wynn
link to original post

link to original post

I gotta hand it to him. That's certainly a feat.
link to original post

Easy, when this is the bus!

It was likely The Mirage I went to that had just opened. Everybody knew it was Wynn's place (among others) so I just called it The Wynn by mistake (and that place opened in 2005). The TV News clip highlighted someone in some kind of diving gear behind the check-in counter. No TV cameras were allowed in at the time to see the interior. But I'm gonna suspect casino surveillance had contacted Burbank that night I was there, even though the show taped hours earlier. Maybe just being on the bus manifest was enough.

Quote: AutomaticMonkey

Quote: Dieter

Quote: MDawg

Quote: ChumpChange

I was probably there in late 1989 on a tour bus for an overnight trip from LA, the return bus was the next day. I was at the Wynn
link to original post

link to original post

I gotta hand it to him. That's certainly a feat.
link to original post

Easy, when this is the bus!


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Well, O'Reilly's used to carry the parts, so getting there 15 years before...

Still, if that's the bus, why not hit up Tannen's?