Signs of change

From mob era to closing, Stardust sowed fond memories

As the Stardust doors closed to the public on Nov. 1, many employees found themselves with years of treasured memories of a piece of old Las Vegas.

Once run by Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, the Stardust's history is a 48-year-old tale of Las Vegas, from old to new.

"It's like my home away from home," said Shirley Brancucci, the first female baccarat dealer at the Stardust and on the Strip. "When I signed my term papers on Monday (Oct. 30), I was in tears. I've raised my whole family in there."

Brancucci started working at the Stardust in 1969 as a cocktail server before switching over to baccarat dealer in 1972. She said she decided on the switch after she began having back trouble from cocktail serving.

"I thought I need to get out and do something else if I'm going to stay in the business," she said.

At the time, Rosenthal was one of the first to hire female dealers. Brancucci said she had to have her tuxedos specially made.

Although Brancucci said many of her male counterparts were kind, she was met with mixed reactions from customers. Not all believed the phrase "luck be a lady."

"There were several customers that would absolutely not play," she said.

Aside from its progressive approach in hiring, Brancucci said the Stardust was different in other ways under Rosenthal's direction. She said that although the Boyd Gaming Corp. created a friendly working environment, her experience with Rosenthal's Stardust was a good one -- "like family."

"The difference between corporate and the mob -- there was no such thing as three strikes and you're out. If you did your job, that was fine. If you didn't do your job, goodbye," she said.

Taking a day off to care for a sick child was never a problem, she said, and there was never a matter of filling out paperwork.

Cindy Thormahlen started at the Stardust in 1973 working at the front desk and closed the facility as the head of human resources. She said she always felt a sense of family, even after the place was taken over by the Boyd Gaming Corp.

"When I first came here, I was pretty naive and I was right next to the bell desk, so I grew up really fast," Thormahlen said.

In those days, Thormahlen said the rooms ran for $6.95 per night, and staffers often would sell the same room several times during the night as couples would use it for 20 minutes at a time.

Thormahlen said she had a good rapport with her bosses. When her family came by, they were offered complimentary food and rooms.

"You couldn't ask for a better time to be in a hotel," she said.

During the 1970s, Thormahlen said the city was a safer place. Back then, she would walk down Fremont Street alone, something she said she wouldn't do now. She said the patrons had a different attitude, as well.

"When they used to come into the Stardust, everyone was dressed to the Ts in heels and furs and diamonds," she said.

Thormahlen said she saw her fair share of celebrities, as well. She once witnessed Elvis Presley watching a man impersonating him.

Some days during Rosenthal's run, Thormahlen said the employees were asked to scout the building for bombs without alarming or telling the patrons.

"We were told to look around and make sure there was nothing that would go off and kill Mr. Rosenthal," she said.

Carol Geraci, who had worked as a cocktail waitress at the Stardust since 1966, said she was unaware of any shady dealings when she first started.

"They acted very normal. A couple of them were a little rough around the collar, but most of them were gentlemen," Geraci said.

Geraci said she enjoyed all 40 years working at the Stardust. She said the Stardust was her family when she moved to Las Vegas to work as a cocktail server.

"I worked well with the owners, regardless of who was there. Even when the old guys were there," she said. "I didn't have any trouble."

She said she worked with many of the big poker players, including Jimmy the Greek and Johnny Moss.

"I was pretty close to my bosses in those days. I was close to those people because they were my family when I first came to town," she said.

Geraci even was married at the Stardust, free of charge. Her husband-to-be was friends with one of the managers and was in charge of attracting guests to the casino. The wedding, which drew 200 people, was offered as a way of getting more guests who were Geraci's husband's friends to visit the Stardust.

Geraci said her most keen memory from the Stardust was a Christmas party the employees put on annually for the past 16 to 18 years for youngsters in Child Haven.

"That was the most memorable thing I've ever done in my life. Those children, that's the only Christmas they are going to have," she said.

Geraci said she's unsure of what she plans to do now, but retiring is not on the list.

"Forty years is a long time," she said. "I guess I figured I would die at the Stardust. Well, not really. I at least thought I would spend the rest of my days there."

Thormahlen said she has spent more than half her life at the Stardust.

"(The Stardust) raised my children, went through my marriage, my divorce and remarriage," she said.

Thormahlen said she knew the day she walked into the Stardust that it was where she belonged. One time, Thormahlen said she considered applying for a job at Mandalay Bay when it opened.

"When I walked in there (the Mandalay Bay) and I was walking, I was thinking, 'What a cold atmosphere.' It wasn't warm. It didn't have the camaraderie that the Stardust had inside," she said.

Thormahlen begins her new job at Sam's Town in January. She said she enjoyed her time at the Stardust, but it is time for something new and big on that end of the Strip.

"We'll take the Stardust with us wherever we go," she said.

Brancucci said she, too, considered leaving at one point, but couldn't.

"The Stardust was just it. It was just a great place to work," she said.

Brancucci said she plans to retire. At 77, she said she thought she might never leave the Stardust.

"All my friends kid me and say they had to implode the Stardust to get you out of there. And they might be right, because as long as the Stardust was there, I was going to stay," she said.