Low expectations are funny

With the on-going economic tough times, some casinos have tightened up their slot machines. Some have clamped down on comps. Others have fired people, while even more have just plain gotten cheap. But they still lead their customers to believe that their stays will be grandiose: patrons are promised world class dining, service, and entertainment.

Contrast that with this advertisement, which appeared in the November 1, 1976 Valley Times.

Because of the ad’s poor design, I initially thought that it was promoting “Bacteria Free Monday,” which I assumed contrasted with the usual germ-laden fare of Tuesday through Sunday. But no, it’s actually celebrating the Monday 11 AM “Breakfast Club Bingo.” In addition, the text on the margins tells us, the entire place is smoke free, bacteria free, and has pure air.

I know that he’d just died, but was this ad written for Howard Hughes or something? Or were they trying to lure young Adrian Monk into the bingo game (we’ll suspend our disbelief and pretend that yes, a 1976 Silver Nugget exec wrote an ad in reference to a fictional character who wouldn’t appear for another 30 years)?

Here’s an idea for the next big Strip jukebox musical–how about a John Hughes-themed 1980s show called Breakfast Club Bingo? Like there aren’t millions of nostalgic 80s people who wouldn’t fork over $90 each to see that?

But we go back to the ad. Smoke free is a plus, but I’ve never looked for “pure air” or checked the bacteria levels at the places I frequent. Maybe I should start. But wow, those are some low expectations the Valley Times readers must’ve had back then.

Finally, we’ve got another first here at the die is cast: once this page is spidered, Google will return at least one result for the hitherto-non-interweb phrase “bacteria free Monday.”