Famous Like Me > Actor > S > Bob Stupak
Profile of Bob Stupak
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| Name: |
Bob Stupak |
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| Also Know As: |
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| Date of Birth: |
6th April 1942 |
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| Place of Birth: |
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA |
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| Profession: |
Actor |
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From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia
Bob Stupak was born in 1942 and is the son of Chester Stupak, a man who operated the longest running floating craps game in Pittsburgh. Once Bob reached legal age, he moved to Vegas and started a coupon book scam. He sold books full of two-for-ones and the like and made a tidy profit. He also went to Australia and did the same thing, only to be asked to leave the country for questionable business practices. What Bob really wanted was to own a casino, and so at the first chance, he opened one. With his own cash and dollars raised from his father's friends, Stupak acquired a homely 1.5 acre (6,000 m²) parcel north of Sahara Avenue at Las Vegas Boulevard South that once was home to a car lot. What rose in its place and opened on March 31, 1974, was a small slot joint absurdly named Bob Stupak's World Famous Historic Gambling Museum. "The name was about 10 feet [3 m] longer than the casino," Stupak recalled years later. On May 21, an air conditioner caught fire and burned the joint down. Arson was suspected, but the insurance company eventually settled the claim.
Stupak went on to open Vegas World in 1979, a casino known for its crazy promotions and new twists on games. At its peak in the mid 1980's, Vegas World grossed $100 million per year.
In 1995, Stupak was in a horrendous motorcycle accident, breaking every bone in his face and going into a coma. It seemed impossible that he'd survive, let alone function normally. Improbably, he recovered. At the time, he was at work developing The Stratosphere, a massive observation tower that he envisioned as the largest sign in Vegas, a town known for gaudy signs. It opened in late April of 1995, at a cost of $550 million, and was a disaster. Many came to see it, but few stopped long enough to gamble, dine or shop. It went bankrupt soon thereafter, and it was sold.
Since then, Stupak continues to plan Vegas projects, including a purchase of the Moulin Rouge and a huge hotel shaped like the RMS Titanic but these have gone nowhere.
Further reading
- Smith, John L. 1997. No Limit: The Rise and Fall of Bob Stupak and Las Vegas' Stratosphere Tower. Huntington Press. ISBN 0929712188
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