LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — At one time, the Rat Pack was almost synonymous with Las Vegas, but on this day in history, just one name appeared on the Marquee at the Desert Inn.
On Sept. 4, 1951, Frank Sinatra performed his first show as a headliner on the Las Vegas Strip. Sinatra would spend his early Vegas days in the painted desert room at DI. But he and his friends would make their mark at the sands.
Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Junior, Actor Peter Lawford, and comedian Joey Bishop packed the copa room nightly.
He also headlined at the Sahara, the Riviera, Caesars Palace, and the Golden Nugget. And while the so called “chairman of the board” never settled down in sin city, he played a key role in making it the entertainment capital it is today.
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