Jolly Trolley

2440 Las Vegas Boulevard South

1971-1978 ~ 1981-1981

Photo from the Dennis Connolly Collection

Photo from the Pam Goertler Collection

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Eric Mensch Grade 2	Mark Englebretson Grade 2

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The Jolly Trolley was located at 2440 Las Vegas Boulevard South, at the corner of the Strip and Sahara, next door to the Bonanza Gift Shop. It remained open for only a few years, on and off between 1977 and 1981. A couple other small casinos, such as Honest John’s and Friendly Fergie’s, also made a go of it in that small shopping center around the same time. The Trolley took over the site from a butcher shop; one of the butcher’s coolers was built into the casino design., used to advertise the joint’s famous steak meal deal.: a filet mignon not only cooked to order, but cut to order (you specified how many ounces you wanted). It was a grind joint to end all grind joints, but it’s claim to fame during its short life was that it was the only casino in Las Vegas history to have a real strip joint inside. That was the extent of the entertainment: a succession of strippers on the stage at the edge of the pit, dancing to raunchy music. The craps and blackjack players occasionally gave a glance. A number of fairly well-known strippers and porn stars of the day played the Jolly Trolley, including Dusty Summers; Marilyn Chambers did a “one-woman show” there. Other acts included the Fantasy Follies and the Loose Caboose Comedy Players. It is known that Oscar Goodman, a mob attorney at that time, represented an Arizona restraunteur who was convicted in 1981 of assisting a New Jersey organized crime ring in its efforts to infiltrate the Trolley; Goodman’s fee was paid in points in the casino in lieu of cash. The Jolly Trolley closed shortly thereafter.