In The News: Department of History
The building will be demolished on Thursday, March 5, Boyd Gaming confirmed.
Valentine鈥檚 Day is a day for flowers, cards and chocolate, but the history of the lover鈥檚 holiday may be much darker. Valentine鈥檚 Day is a day for flowers, cards and chocolate, but the history of the lover鈥檚 holiday may be much darker.
The Valentine鈥檚 Day we recognize today started around the late 18th century. The tradition had solidified in England and spread to the United States, with people writing poetry and hand-making cards, according to Elizabeth White Nelson, a 性视界传媒 history professor.
The holiday's roots stretch back centuries, long before commercial greeting cards existed.
The New Testament of the Bible mentions saints around 100 times, depending on the version you鈥檙e reading. However, the term typically refers to Christians or the church, rather than a specific saint, according to the online Christian resource Got Questions Ministries. Although this might be why the namesake of St. Valentine鈥檚 Day is not mentioned in the Bible, the religious ties to the February holiday are even more complicated.
Sammy Davis, Jr. was a true giant of entertainment. For nearly half a century, he was a Las Vegas fixture.
Although St. Valentine lends his name to Valentine鈥檚 Day, he did not become known as the patron saint of lovers until hundreds of years after his death. The third-century priest lived during a time when Christians were persecuted for their religious beliefs. Records and historic liturgical calendars indicate he was martyred, though what exactly led to his murder is a bit murky.
Much like the origins of Valentine鈥檚 Day, the real identity of St. Valentine remains a bit of a mystery. The holiday鈥檚 namesake, a martyred priest, actually could have been one of multiple men. Although many think of him as the patron saint of lovers, this reputation likely began centuries after his death.
On a fall night in 1982, mob figure Frank 鈥淟efty鈥 Rosenthal was almost blown up outside a Tony Roma鈥檚 in Las Vegas 鈥 a harrowing attack portrayed in the opening scene of 鈥淐asino.鈥
More than 40 years after the infamous car bombing, the Tony Roma鈥檚 building is home to a sex-toy shop, and a neighboring former Marie Callender鈥檚 is boarded-up. Now the plaza itself where Rosenthal was nearly killed in a suspected mob hit has been sold.
Most holidays have pretty clear origin stories and reasons for their celebration. But Valentine鈥檚 Day has a complicated history. February 14, a date we now associate as a Hallmark holiday with hearts, flowers, cards and grand gestures, was not always a day of love.
The Las Vegas bettors are getting set for its first Super Bowl since a series of arrests linked to insider betting.
While Nevada has a long history of old family names in politics (think the Goodmans, the Reids), the list of candidates that have filed to run in 2026 in Southern Nevada contains a shockingly low number of legacy names. How much power do these famous families still hold? Co-hosts Sarah Lohman and Dayvid Figler talk with 性视界传媒 history professor Michael Green to talk about the political dynasties of Las Vegas and if a legacy last name still matters as much as it used to.