Celebrity stories, good or bad, always fun to hear

Curt Thompson is a natural story-teller and shared two memories, one where the celebrity looked bad, the second where the celebrity looked good.

The director of operations at the Railroad Pass was giving a preview of the casino’s 80th anniversary celebration to the Las Vegas Media Group, a loose collection of folks with deep roots In Las Vegas who like to chew the fat about olden times.

Before telling about the casino’s long history, Thompson opened with the two celebrity stories.

In the first, he was working downtown at the Mint when security told him someone had thrown a telephone out the hotel tower window. Thompson went to the room and a man was sprawled on the bed, almost passed out. He admitted he was the culprit and threw the telephone out the window. His reason? Because it was ringing too much.

Thompson told the man he’d have to leave for another hotel, maybe the Golden Nugget where the man said he was performing.

Yes, Thompson threw Willie Nelson out of the Mint Hotel.

The second tale took place in 1967, when Thompson was a student. It was Thanksgiving and a family had invited him over for dinner, but his 1963 Chevy overheated and stalled. A man in a convertible wearing a Nehru jacket drove by, saw Thompson’s plight, and offered to drive him to his dinner.

This time, Thompson recognized the man. It was Sammy Davis Jr.

Some 30 years later, Thompson was at the Frontier hotel and needed a performer for a week that Siegfried and Roy were off.

Among the performers available – Sammy Davis Jr.

Thompson hired him and told him, “You did something for me I never forgot and now it’s my opportunity to pay you back.”

Why is it we love to hear stories about celebrities, whether they’re being bad or good? Can someone tell me?