Everything dies, baby, that's a fact...

Stardust Casino, 1958-2006, RIP.

Back in the day (long ago) I was a semi-serious blackjack player, and the first place I ever sat down at a legal card table was the Stardust.

This was in the late 1980s, and so Vegas had already been "cleaned up" to the extent that it would be, and the new megaresort properties were already starting to go up.

I never liked the newest generation of Vegas glitz; I preferred playing at the old Strip hotels (the Stardust and the Sands) or the seedy little joints down on Fremont Street.

Born too late, I guess.

I haven't been in a casino (except for a business function this year) in ten years. (No, I wasn't running away from a gambling problem, I didn't avoid them for any reason except that my tastes changed and I got bored with them.)

But I'll have a drink in memory of the Stardust tonight.

(Yes, I know the headline refers to Atlantic City. Work with me here.)