Gam’s Restaurant was opened in 1952 by Emilio Georgetti, an Italian from San Francisco who purchased the Westerner from Benny Binion. The name Gam’s comes from a shortened version of Georgetti’s nickname “Gambo”. The restaurant was advertised as an Italian “joint” as at that time a significant number of the casino operators/owners were of Italian decent and why not cater to your own people.
Every Sunday my Dad Henry, Mom Ellie, twin brother Chuck, and I would go downtown to the Westerner to have a special meal and mingle with some of the other owners of the club who always made it a point to come by our booth and say hello to the twins. The head chef was a friendly man all decked out in his whites, known to me as “Bocce” however his real name was unknown. Note the menu features and pricing: Spaghetti and Meat Balls $1.10, Veal Marsala $1.85, New York Steak $3.50, and a Frisco Special Hamburger for $.85.
Another interesting fact is when the restaurant was added it obviously consumed some of the valuable casino floor, but that didn’t stop the owners of the club from ADDING more slot machines to increase the take.
Such great memories!
How can I zoom in on the menu and read the small print from the web page
Click on the menu page picture you want to read. A new browser window will open with a larger picture which can be zoomed-in or zoomed-out.
Thanks Cousin Carl for giving history a future!