The future of the Hacienda looked bleak, indeed, during its first winter. It was 1956 and 1957 that saw several hotels open and then close in bankruptcy. First the Royal Nevada which was built across the street from the Desert Inn (now a part of the Stardust resort). Then the Dunes closed in failure. Operators of the Sands Hotel bought the defunct Dunes and they, themselves threw in the towel a few months later unable to make a success of the hotel.

In fact, the picture for the entire area was so bad that Life Magazine carried a front page story of the chaotic situation in Las Vegas: Too many new hotels, not enough tourists.

"Doc" Bayley had been forced to take over the position of the master leasee of the proposed "Lady Luck" hotel at the most southern end of the strip at the worst time. In hopes of getting its share of summer crowds, the Hacienda had opened it doors on May 5th, 1956, without a gaming license. Due to Warren "Doc" Bayley's lack of gaming experience, had made a deal with the experienced Jake Kozloff to operate the casino for the Hacienda. The Gaming Control Board, under Robbins Cahill, refused to give the Hacienda its gaming license. They never did tell Bayley why. Just month after month they refused to approve Kozloff and Bayley. The front page of the Las Vegas SUN newspaper carried a banner headline on its August 24th, 1966 edition: "Tax Commission Thinks Vegas Gambling Economy Due to Bust", and another headline screamed: "Hacienda License deferred. Probe "To Much Gambling (In Las Vegas)". What they didn't tell Bayley was that they felt Kozloff was unsuitable to hold a gaming license. But they were apparently afraid to state this reason so they just deferred approval with no comment month after month. It was finally in September that "Doc" Bayley met with some of the commissions and was told "off the record" that if he would remove Kozloff from the Hacienda license application, they would go ahead and approve it. They also said "We think you will go broke trying to operate a casino here" to which "Doc" replied: "We're going broke as it is, so please give us a chance."

The Hacienda was first rated a loser but the skeptics were wrong! Under the promotional genius of Warren "Doc" Bayley the hotel operation survived the first crucial winter. He gathered around him an unlikely group of advisors. His head bar manager from Fresno, Bill Purcaro, was part of the "inner circle" of executives that held dusk to dawn meetings in "Doc's" suite (#101). Melba Moore, a dynamic hotel woman who had managed the "Ocean House" on the Southern California Beach in Santa Monica when Howard Hughes was a resident was also part of the "team". Melba had been a key "idea" person for Bayley at his very successful convention-type motor hotel in Fresno prior to the acquisitions of the Las Vegas resort. Bruce Davis, the entertainment director, and Henry Price who was also part of Bayley's "inner circle". I was previously the Sales Manager responsible for convention bookings at the Fresno operation. I was the last member of the team because of my new position of Resident Manager. It was Henry Price that one night suggested the gem of an idea that helped the Hacienda make it through its first precarious years. Bayley grabbed the idea and expanded on it and the "Hacienda Holiday" was born. A simple package that cost the tourist $16.00. For $16.00 the tourist got a room and $10 in trade chips for use in the bar and restaurant. (And later in the Casino). So the net cost to the potential house guest war only $6.00).

Paul Price, the Las Vegas SUN newspaper's (and maybe the town's) most read columnist wrote a scathing column on the Hacienda's special deal in his June 16th 1960 edition of the SUN newspaper. But by that time the promotion was so successful that the Hacienda's place on the Las Vegas scene was guaranteed!

The Hacienda Holiday package deal hit its highest importance in 1967 when I was sent to Barstow to obtain rights for some billboards along the old two lane highway from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. I was unable to make a quick deal with property owners so as I started to drive back to Las Vegas I had an idea. At that time they were starting to build a major new freeway route from Victorville to Barstow straight across the barren desert instead of along the meandering river bed. In Victorville all traffic had to stop at one point just outside of town where the new construction was underway. At that point I stopped like everyone else to get onto the "old road" and when I did I had an idea. The idea saved the Hacienda! It produced over 100 rooms per night for almost two years! My idea was to put someone off that corner where everyone has to stop and have them give a "Hacienda Holiday" folder to each car! By the time I got back to my desk at the Hotel almost a dozen folders had already been turned in. "Doc" immediately dispatched two pretty girls with 100,000 folders to be permanent employees at that corner to pass out folders. It lasted until September 2nd 1968 and helped make the hotel a success.

When Bob Timm, Manager of the Hacienda slot department, told CEO "Doc" Bayley of his dream of setting a world record, Bayley was probably taken aback! But Timm knew that "Doc" Bayley was trying all kinds of promotions to get the Hacienda Hotel publicity. Timm was probably not surprised when Bayley said "Ok, let's do it."

The year was 1958. Bob Timm had convinced a friend, John Cook to be co-pilot, and it wasn't long before a Cessna single engine plane was secured and the Hacienda name and logo painted on both sides.

Hours and hours were spent putting the plan down on paper. A fast pick-up truck was secured and men hired to drive it. Practice runs were made on the dry lake just south of the Nevada-California state line (where Whisky Pete's is now located) and on the main road in Pahrump Valley. Pahrump was so isolated and so few people lived there that the highway was open and clear most of the time for this activity. The practice session required the pilots to come in low over the speeding pick-up truck, drop a line, and after being secured to a hose it was pulled back up into the plane (both speeding down the straightaway). Once the hose was pulled into the cockpit John Cook would force it into a gas tank and the men in the back of the speeding truck below would start a manual pump to get gas up the hose and into the plane.

Bayley's plan for publicity was put into action. Photographs of the plane were taken from all directions and released to the newspapers. The team was very disappointed when the newspapers wouldn't carry the story until they had passed the 30 day (one full month) aloft marker. Then it was becoming news and had reader interest. But the papers detecting a publicity stunt did what they felt they had to do - delete the Hacienda name from all reports and even went so far as to blank out the Hacienda name that was painted so large along the side of the plane.

Bob Timm and John Cooke had taken off on December 4, 1958, and spent a very cold and lonely Christmas flying over Nevada, California and Arizona.

Meals were prepared in the Hacienda kitchen by the famous Chef, Harry Rammicotti, and were lifted up via the same method as was the gasoline.

No one ever asked me, and I never asked, what the pilots did with their waste. I presume they bombed some remote desert area!

Bayley, in attempting to salvage the publicity potential, set up a booth near the casino cage where casino customers could talk with the record setting pilots or just stand around and listen to the adventure unfold as each day added to their record.

On February 9, 1959, Timm and Cook landed their Cessna at the old McCarran airport south of town. They had surpassed the previous record for a sustained flight by nearly 15 days! Little did they know that the record they set in 1959 has been unbroken all these years and they are still registered in the Guinness World Book of Records as holders of the record.

Astronauts, of course, have stayed aloft for longer periods of time, but Timm and Cook hold the record for a single engine prop small airplane.

One of the most interesting segments of Frank Maggio's life was not mentioned in his obituary (Maggio died November 8, 1993).

I knew Frank very well. I know he treasured his association with the Hacienda, starting in the late '50s when he operated a horseback stable in the desert behind the hotel.

Frank did a number of free-land publicity photos for Doc Bayley and myself until Doc's death, when he became the full-time publicist for Judy Bayley.

He dreamed up and organized the annual Judy Bayley Trail Ride to aid the local cancer society. The event gained national press for Judy Bayley, Las Vegas and the Hacienda. Even when Judy was too ill to participate, she attended the event in her wheelchair as the riders mounted up for the event.

Maggio became the advance man for Judy Bayley for her many trips coast-to-coast and out of the country. He would generate pre-trip publicity and then depart for the event a week before Judy was to arrive. When she did arrive, all of Frank's advance work paid off with large crowds to greet her as the first lady of gambling.

Frank's legacy to Las Vegas is a major collection of photos of Judy with almost every celebrity you can think of, and every area of early-day Las Vegas.

Prior to his last illness, he told me of his interest in publishing another book using all of his massive photo collection. I hope that his heirs will donate this collection to UNLV's special collections section of the library. It is an impressive collection of an interesting era in the history of Las Vegas.