I Am Here

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Jay Jackson Sarno was an Italian-American developer, hotelier and casino owner. He developed and owned the Atlanta Cabana Motel in Atlanta, Georgia, as well as several motels in California and Texas. He was the founder and developer of the Caesars Palace hotel as well as the Circus Circus hotel, the Mandalay Resort Group and Slots A Fun in Las Vegas, Nevada. (https://www.gamblingsites.com/las-vegas/jay-sarno/)

Sarno’s vision for Caesars Palace shaped the Strip of today. The casino allowed patrons to escape into ancient Rome, a place where waitresses fed patrons peeled grapes and massaged their backs as they ate.

"[He] figured out a way to make this Roman orgy, Bacchanalian kind of motel look expensive by using a concrete block that you could see through. And that would allow you to do the cheapest possible construction but hide it because it was the entire facade. And you laid behind the block a neon tube and it gave it a sexy glow. You put a couple of phony statues and a fountain in front of it. And customers thought they were driving up to the Taj Mahal." - Steve Wynn (1)

"So how does one go about inventing concrete that you can see through? Invisible sand? Transparent portland cement? Spike the punch bowl? Nope, the answer is simple, brilliant and alive in Las Vegas if you know where to look."

The Sarno Block.

"After being dissatisfied by existing concrete block solutions, Caesars Palace creator Jay Sarno set about to develop a new shape that could support ample weight and allow large amounts of light to pass through it in an aesthetically interesting pattern. The Sarno Block is a four legged, slightly bowed X shape block form that could be manufactured and shipped quickly and stacked and mortared like traditional brick walls."

"With the so much of Vegas casino history - New Frontier, Stardust, Sahara, Imperial Palace, Tropicana and Riviera - being demolished or completely renovated in the last few years, there isn't a helluva lot of stuff still standing that one can identify as being "the real stuff." For those Vegas freaks (yeah you) who love this stuff, the covered walkway between Circus Circus and Slots-A-Fun is one of the last places where you can come see and touch one of the literal building blocks of Las Vegas in its original form." (2)

(1) (Grandissimo, by David G. Schwartz - https://www.amazon.com/Grandissimo-Emperor-Casino-Empire-Inspired/dp/0990001601)
(2) By Chuckmonster on Friday, 7th August 2015. Vegas Tripping, An Award Winning Guide to Las Vegas. (http://www.vegastripping.com/news/blog/5626/in-search-of-sarno-blocks/)

Data researched and input by Anne Savage, 2020.