Bluegrass Days, Neon Nights: High Rolling With Happy Chandler's Wayward Son, Dan Chandler

by John L. Smith

Bluegrass Days, Neon Night takes you through the rollicking life and times of legendary Las Vegas casino host and bon vivant, Dan Chandler. The wayward son of former Kentucky Governor and Major League Baseball Commissioner Albert "Happy" Chandler, Dan likes to say he started at the top and has spent his life working his way to the middle.Dan's bluegrass days began as a boy growing up in the Kentucky Governor's Mansion, the youngest son of one of the most popular politicians in America. Dan not only encountered President John F. Kennedy, but also learned a hard lesson in politics and life. Dan arrived in Las Vegas as the gambling capital's mob days were fading, but Caesars Palace had no shortage of characters - and he became intimate friends with super high rollers and stars ranging from Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson to Frank Sinatra.Bluegrass Days, Neon Nights is an unforgettable true tale told in the voice of one of the last of the great Vegas characters.

251 pages, Hardcover

First published April 30, 2006

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

A prize-winning journalist, John L. Smiths (1960- )column in the Las Vegas Review-Journal is the most widely-read newspaper feature in Nevada. In addition, John is the author of many books.

John lives in Las Vegas with his wife, Tricia, and daughter, Amelia, and carries the distinction of being a fourth generation Nevadan."

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See:

John L. (Lewis) Smith (1811-1899)
John L. Smith (1846- )
John L. Smith (1945- )
John L. Smith, Baptist preacher

Reviews

[Erin Chandler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting book about my father that came out the year he died in 2004. John L. Smith the prize winning columnist from the Las Vegas Review Journal and author of many books on Vegas, followed him around soaking up decades worth of Daddy's hard won knowledge of the gaming business after three decades as casino host at Caesar's Palace, Alladin, Rio and Harrahs from their infancy to the transformation you see today. Dan Chandler shares tales of the assasination attempts and successes of the 'mobbed up casino bosses' that were his running buddies as well as stories of high stakes gamblers all over the world and their peculiar tastes. While he is light on his personal life, he shares heavily about his wheelings, dealings and high times with Sports legends, Music greats, a plethora of celebrities and of course alot about his father and Kentucky... where his heart remained throought this crazy life he led out west.