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Another old collection

Rosie looked over my shoulder and saw the old photo from 1935 (page 2). She asked if I had ever
“used the photos from that old Italian restaurant in Las Vegas that we were in two years ago.” I had
forgotten that Rosie had taken some and had never seen them.

We both forget the name of the restaurant and a search on Google Earth Street View shows the sign
saying “Fine Italian Cuisine” but the main sign is now for a liquor store. The restaurant was on Koval
Lane, near the corner with Flamingo Road and right by the entrance to the Flamingo Casino car park
– which is how we spotted it, returning late one night after a day out of the city. Not having eaten we
decided to give it a try.

The place had been there for about 60 years but we dined on one of their last nights. The food was
good but not great, rustic, authentic Italian. The place, as you will see in the photos, was liberally
adorned with photos and memorabilia. The photos all being individually signed by the stars that had
dined there over the years, some, including Frank Sinatra, on a very regular basis.

Unfortunately the building, and a couple by it, had been bought by the Flamingo and all the tenants
had been given just a month’s notice to get out as they were going to re-develop as soon as possible.
I saw the cabinets with the miniatures in and got talking to the owner, a lady in her 80’s (first photo).
Her and her husband had started the restaurant many years before and the miniature collection was
both a decoration and her late husband’s hobby. There were several cabinets and many diners had
added to it over the years. There were bottles that I had only ever seen pictures of previously and
some that I had never seen at all. I asked what was to become of it and she said she was going to
give it to her staff. I will let the photos speak for themselves although, unfortunately, the rarest bottles
were in a cabinet Rosie could not photograph as there were still diners in the booth.

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