Vintage 80's Shark Club Matchbook ~ Las Vegas, Nevada

In 1978, Paul Anka’s disco club Jubilation opened on Harmon Avenue near the Strip, and it was considered one of the first true dance clubs in Las Vegas. Newspaper articles from the time say the $3 million, 10,000-square-foot restaurant and club claimed to be the largest disco in the world. It was also said to be the first club to use metal detectors to find weapons on patrons as they entered. A spokesman for the disco told a newspaper the security was needed “because this is still the wild, wild West, and an unusually large percentage of people in Las Vegas carry guns with and without a permit. In 1987, Jubilation was redone and renamed The Shark Club, in honor of UNLV Running Rebels basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian. And was a regular hangout spot for mobster Tony “The Ant” Spilotro. Cover charge was $5 to $10, a first for Las Vegas. It was reborn as a rock club, and famous acts such as the Gin Blossoms and No Doubt performed there early in their careers. Unfortunately the Shark Club closed a decade later.