Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-07-20
A Big Payday
In Las Vegas
By MORRIS SIEGEE

FOR THE MONEY CHANGERS in the gambling tenn
Piles of Las Vegas Mondays aceof between Sonny Lton
and Floyd Patterson is the most important thing that's
happened to the desert since it egalized crap
shooting.
Attendance will be far from the largest crowd
to see heavyweight title fight even any title scrap in
Vegas which has been host to seven previous champion
ship hoedownS Money-wSe, it's a different story
Vegas doesn't need stimulant to encourage pungerS
Dice tables roulette Wheels slot machines blackjack and
other parlor games, which invariably hest the money
belt off of most players, enough
However a championship Set-to between the Big
Berthas of the stghtng trade always brings out the
high rollers If there's anything Las Vegas discourages
more than convention it's the absence Of the shoot
fireworks clientele
TO LAS VEGAS THE Liston-Patterson shndig is about
the same as the grand opening Of supermarket or
drug store It's merely window dresSngat the customers
expense, of course
Remember the super-store christening you last at
tended around here? It's oddS-on that Pick Temple
Pnky Lee Ranger Hal Mark Evans in PINCH presided
the ritual.
That's been the formal for years. although many
npckers in the advertising agency business today regard
the presence of celebrities" the invention of their
own unimaginatve minds It's been going on for CEN
tures four decades anyway and for this statement proof
is about to be entered into evidence.
Albert W. 0or win 'em all") levitt a top-flight
public relations type even if he is bad gin player
decries the current boast of launching ship store or
tavern with names as something modern
Brother AL sends in documented evidence of prize
fight which used to shi for drug store open
ing AZ ago. 1t is strictly uncoincidenta that the
store bore the name of levitt
THE FOLLOWING is REPRINTED, in part from the
1922 issue of The American Druggist popular periodical
before druggists started handling Armstrong The Morn
ing Telegraph and other trade papers Here's the
periodicals account of the event. which took place in
Newark, N. ].
Our store opened July g. 1921 at which time the
Carpenter fight took place at Boyle's Thirty
Acres The excitement and enthusiasm displayed by all
at that time are now matter of history. We figured
why not capitalize this interest by announcing the
, returns of the fight from our store?"
CThis is the childhood genius Of Levitt at work.
The time was opportune the famous old estab-
Asnment known from coast-to-coast Cdurray's Cafe)
which had been announcing all important events to the
sporting public for the last so years. had closed its doors
We set out to do this and with the help of Peter
Murray started making arrangements 1t no small
matter contract was entered into for direct open
wire to the New York offices of the Evening Journal with
our own operators at each end
THEN CAME THE MATTER of police protection and
sanction For making the announcements we secured the
services OF Bill Sullivan the official announcer of the
Veoorome Race Track known to Newarkers as the best
in the business - ~ ~
our corner became famous overnight and we were
the ak OF the town for months after crowd estimated
at over 10000 people lined the curbs and walks and the
nltla detail OF six mounted policemen weren't enough
10 hoo tne IN check and had to be reinforced by several
more sent from headquarters
Tne captain later remarked that never in the history
OF Newark did ne remember such news-hunerv crowd
we scored a hit by announcing the knockout fully
minutes before any other bulletin reached the citv
"A feature of the plan that it brings all the snort
ing men TO our store and naSmuch as our stock of
smokers articles is the largest of any drug store in the
state we get them coming to their needs whereas
ordinarily they wouldn't figure drug store to carry such
a complete line" ~
In Las Vegas the sporting also are fockinp To
the stores except in the Vegas stores the smokes are
on the house.