Date: 04/1980

Name:
Bob Cartwright
Job:
Local Historian

How old is the city?

Founded in the early 1900s by a group of tin prospectors, it was primarily a mining community for the workers to live near the mines.

Throughout the 20s & 30s was a boom period, more people flocking to find their fortune, hoping there was more than tin, which there wasn’t.

The 50s saw a slump as the mines ran dry and the city, built on tin, found a lot of people unemployed. People with any money left the city for somewhere with prospects.

Cue the Mob…

What did the Mob do?

They bought up cheap land and began a feverish construction of clubs, casinos and hotels. This began a tourist boom from the 60s to the 70s. Paradice was the place to be swinging, snorting and smoking. The city’s first casino, The Treasure Tin, was a glamorous Roman affair. Lots of gold and marble. Statues of people no one recognised. Hostesses in short skirts, chubby pit bosses in ill-fitting suits, the occasional threat to a dealer quickly ‘defused’ by security. It had it all, big wins, small wins, big losses… I once saw a guy gamble his wife’s diamond ring on a game of Blackjack, she couldn’t get it off her finger so she placed her hand on the table, I’m sure if he’d have lost they would’ve taken her finger with the ring. Great times.

So, the 60s and 70s were a great time in Paradice?

You’re erect and correct! That’s a little city saying from the construction times.

Whilst more casinos and hotels were being built, legit businesses began to move here too, it was a real classy time to live here. Shops like Glammo, the city’s first fashion boutique and Blammo, a gun store with lax licensing made the city more than just a gambling destination. We had a park, a two lane highway, even a reservoir!

So what happened?

We could see the writing was on the wall when the feds introduced the R.I.C.O act. The Mob was being slowly dismantled and so was Paradice. Places began to shut and this had a big effect on the tourism industry and the city as a whole, people were again unemployed, but we knew we could bounce back. Hey, we’d done it before.

Has the city bounced back?

In a word, yes and no. The city is a bit rundown and needs bringing into the 80s, but we do have a new industry, Pagers. They’re a form of digital communication, you can send a message to anyone from your telephone and they’ll see it. The city has invested heavily to help bring the company to Paradice and sees it as the future. We’re all in as they say at the poker! But we also still have a lot of casinos.

Do you gamble?

Personally I don’t gamble, I’m a historian. The history of this great city is enough excitement for me.

But if that’s your thing, then Paradice is fine for that, just remember to visit some of our historical sites while you’re here. Have I mentioned the Nuclear testing site?

Or even better, you could move here. It’s nearly free.

Date: 06/1980

Name:
Clem Palmer
Job:
Pit Boss at The Lucky Saddle

Can we address the reports that link you with the mob?

No comment.

Ok, how did you get into the gambling business?

Are you a cop? 

No comment.

No i’m a journalist from The Paradice Mirage newspaper.

Don’t ask me no cop questions…

I’ll try not to.

Do you live in the city?

Ok that’s it, im done with this…