Renewing Old Friendships, The Duke of Fremont Street

The Duke of Fremont Street

          I first met the Duke of Fremont Street shortly after I arrived in Vegas for the first time.  I was playing poker at the Golden Nugget Hotel on Fremont Street when the Duke walked in.  He sat down at the poker table and promptly put 186,000 dollars on the table.  This was not a high stakes poker game.  I think that I two hundred dollars in front of me and that was about average.  I wrote about the encounter in this blog.  The post was simply called the Duke of Fremont Street

          The Duke was also memorable because of his attire.  He was dressed in 1930's gangster garb.  He carried his money in a violin case and wore enough gold to settle the national debt.  I became friends with the Duke and I have featured him in a number of post through the years.  He was once almost killed when he was robbed of a load of cash in another casino in Nevada.  His assailants were caught, prosecuted and convicted.  Most of the case was again followed here on this blog. 

         I now find myself back in Vegas and it appears that I will be stuck here for a while.  I decided to catch up with the Duke and get an update.  I caught up with him at a Vegas Casino Memorabilia  show being held at the El Cortez Hotel.  He was his dapper self, dressed to the nines, selling casino chips, rare coins and currency.  He broke for lunch and we spent a good hour bringing each other up to speed.   

          The Duke was as entertaining as every.  It was good see an old friend.