Advertise on podcast: Ghosts of Vegas Past

The host's personal experience of 9/11 as a college student in Las Vegas

In the 1990's, Las Vegas tried to sell itself to the world as an all-ages destination, and for a time it worked.  That all changed in May 1997, when a 7-year old girl named Sherice Iverson was strangled in a casino restroom by a teenager named Jeremy Strohmeyer, whose best friend could have prevented it but chose not to intervene. The full story of the rise and fall of Vegas' Family-Friendly Era can be found here, along with the accompanying rise and fall of Primm, NV, a once popular resort town on the California border.   Things mentioned in the episode: The Treasure Island TV Movie: https://youtu.be/SFZVz1SJ4Vs?si=oGCrG0D7XwtXOgZA Help move Howard Hughes' Green House to the Clark County Museum: https://clarkcountymuseumguild.org/heritage-in-motion/ Nevada Preservation Society's Homes & Heritage Las Vegas Week: https://nevadapreservation.org/

The full and complete story of Sonny Liston's life and death in Las Vegas   Items mentioned in the show: Sonny's Commercial for Braniff Airlines with Andy Warhol: https://youtu.be/jWYamU2e2wU?si=3jzzf-i_qGCvIMnh Sonny's Appearance on Love American Style: https://youtu.be/fyYtR9ZA3xM?si=Su1oNnHkIiuO8eks Be sure to follow the show's Instagram at GOVPPOD!  See the post dated 10.22.2024 for exclusive photos of the inside of Sonny's home.

The days are shorter and the temperatures are (allegedly) cooler, so once again it's time for another classic ghost story.  This year it's the granddaddy of them all, Washington Irving's 1820 classic "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." More Vegas History soon - in the meantime enjoy the annual Fall Classic!

Sonny Liston, now Heavyweight Champion, faces the most legendary opponent of them all: Muhammad Ali.  Will he maintain the title, or is there a Phantom Punch forthcoming? Be sure to check out the show's Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/govppod/ for additional supplimental material, and interesting Vegas-related stuff. Some items mentioned in the show: A look inside Le Colisee in Lewiston, ME: https://stadiumandarenavisits.com/visitsreviews/the-colisee/ The Modern Martial Artist's breakdown of the "Phantom Punch": https://youtu.be/rqZlQ3IWX4s?si=u_owgYOt9IzWc4VG

Sonny Liston was the world's greatest Heavyweight Boxer in 1961.  So why wasn't he the Heavyweight Champion?  A neurotic opponent and his vindictive manager planned on keeping the title all for themselves.  Meanwhile, Las Vegas fulfills its destiny as the Capitol of Boxing.

Charles "Sonny" Liston was as terrifying in the ring as he was misunderstood outside of it.  A youthful run with the wrong crowd gives him a criminal record he'll never live down, even as he reaches the pinnacle of his sport. In this episode, we look at Sonny's early years and ascent in the Heavyweight Division, through the lens of his eventual relocation to Las Vegas and early death. Follow us on Instagram at govppod, or send your comments and emotional outbursts to [email protected].

If it's October, it must be time for another trip into the world of classic horror fiction.  This year's entry is The Yellow Sign by Robert W. Chambers, which is part of a larger anthology called The King in Yellow.   Have you ever started down the road into a relationship you knew wasn't a good idea?  This year's protagonist sure does.... Be sure to follow the show on Instagram @GOVPPod, or contact us at [email protected] More history content coming soon!

In Fall 2012, one of the worst cases of hoarding ever recorded was uncovered in one of Las Vegas' nicest neighborhoods.  How could someone live in a house packed to the rafters with trash?   Jane Ann Morrison's original article about the case:  https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/news-columns/jane-ann-morrison/help-comes-for-hoarder-neighbors-in-las-vegas/ Dr. Todd Grande's episode about alleged killer Rob Telles:  https://youtu.be/NKLfaJbmWNM

It's that time of year again, where we turn our attention to another piece of classic horror fiction.  This year's entry is "Pickman's Model," one of H.P. Lovecraft's best and most accesible works. Dripping in the antique spookiness of Old New England, this story is a great introduction to one of the 20th Century's most important authors.   Follow us on Instagram at govppod for Vegas history content, or contact me directly at [email protected] for your questions, concerns, and emotional outbursts.

In the Summer of 1987, a painfully shy teenager named Kathy Hobbs is abducted from her East Las Vegas home and brutally murdered.  A serial killer already on Death Row in Texas named Michael Lee Lockhart is ultimately fingered, but was he the responsible party? This story was featured in the first season of Unsolved Mysteries; today we give it a full GOVP Examination.

In the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, actress Carole Lombard went out of her way to support the war effort.  What she didn't know was that poorly thought-out Civil Defense plans would take her life and bring Hollywood's greatest love story to an abrupt end.

In 1942, one half of the most celebrated couple in Hollywood history met her end on a mountainside just outside of a then-unknown town called Las Vegas.  In this episode, we look at daily life in this little desert hamlet, as well as reviewing how Clark Gable and Carole Lombard came to be Hollywood's Golden Couple.

We're taking a break from history content today; instead relax as your host reads a classic from the mind of Edgar Allan Poe - The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar

Henderson, Nevada wasn't always the good part of Vegas.  They used to make rocket fuel there, until the day eight million pounds of it exploded with the force equivalent of a small nuke. What follows is the story of this tragic event, and how it set the table for Henderson to become one of America's most desirable addresses.