Vegas is one of those places where it’s a bit difficult to imagine people actually living, but Sin City is a real city, and has its very own Slavs. Who knew?
Local Bulgarians have their own homepage, and a restaurant called Magura (1305 Vegas Valley Dr.). Croats also have a homepage, and featured in the book The Peoples of Las Vegas: One City Many Faces. Apparently Croats have been in Vegas since the 1920s, and many can trace their lineage back to the Pinjuv brothers, who owned a gas station and motel at Fremont and 10th Street in the 1930s.
Poles have also contributed to Vegas’s history by lending the city one of their own: Wladziu Valentino Liberace. The local Polish community also supports the Polonez Polish Restaurant Bar & Deli (1243 E Sahara Ave, Las Vegas) and the Polish American Social Club of Las Vegas.
Pseudo-Russian Vegas attractions include the bar Red Square (Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. S. at Tropicana Ave.) 
and the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum at the Venetian, as well as the Men of Russia spectacular.A bit more authentic are the Eliseevsky Restaurant (4825 W. Flamingo Road) the Russian Tea Room (3743 Las Vegas Blvd S). Other landmarks include St. Paul the Apostle Orthodox Church (OCA; 5400 Annie Oakley Drive) and the Life-Giving Spring Retreat Center (in near-by Boulder City). There’s also a Russian Vegas homepage.
The city also boasts a Serbian church, St. Simeon Serbian Orthodox Church (3950 South Janes Boulevard), and a Rusyn one, St. Gabriel the Archangel Byzantine (Ruthenian) Catholic Church (2250 East Maule Ave).
And if you can’t make it out West, Slavic Las Vegas is featured in the novel Blood of Montenegro, by Bajram Angelo Koljenovic and James Nathan Post.
2 comments:
Thanks for the tip on good Polish food in Vegas. I am a transplanted New Yorker married to a Slav and we really appreciate it! FYI- I also found a Polish Deli at 5900 W Charleston Blvd, Las Vegas, 89146. Thanks!
Thanks for the tip about the Polish Deli in Las Vegas... also there's a new deli run by a Bulgarian family (I believe) called the Mediterranean Country Market on E. Tropicana (near Pecos?). Prices & selection are good, and they're really friendly.
Cheers!
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