Vegas Vic

Neon sign of a cowboy in Las Vegas, Nevada

Vegas Vic is a neon sign portraying a cowboy which was erected on the exterior of The Pioneer Club in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA in 1951. The sign was a departure in graphic design from typeface based neon signs, to the friendly and welcoming human form of a cowboy. The sign's human like abilities of talking and waving its arm received an immediate acceptance as the unofficial welcoming sign, reproduced thousands of times over the years and all over the world. The sign can still be found at 25 E Fremont Street, where it has been since 1951 on the exterior of what used to be The Pioneer Club but is currently a souvenir shop. The trademark is currently owned by Pioneer Hotel, Inc., which owns and operates the Pioneer Hotel and Gambling Hall on the Colorado River in Laughlin, Nevada. Laughlin has a twin of the Vegas Vic image on another large sign referred to as River Rick.

Although the Pioneer Club no longer operates as a casino, the 40 feet (12 m) neon cowboy that was its mascot still exists. In 1947, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce hired a West Marquis firm to draw visitors to Las Vegas. The company then created the first image of Vegas Vic and his friendly "Howdy Partner" greeting (deliberately misspelled as "Howdy Podner"). Due to the popularity of the cowboy, Young Electric Sign Company was commissioned to build a neon sign version by the owners of the Pioneer Club. They then commissioned Pat Denner, who modeled it after the image in use by the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. The neon version was complete with a waving arm, a moving cigarette, and a recording of "HOWDY, PARTNER!!!" every 15 minutes voiced by Maxwell Kelch, the President of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce at the time. Vegas Vic was then erected on the exterior of the Pioneer club in 1951 on the southwest corner of First Street and Fremont Street replacing the sign that simply said Pioneer Club with an image of a horse drawn covered wagon. In 1966, Lee Marvin was filming The Professionals and staying at the Mint Hotel. Marvin complained that Vegas Vic was too loud, so casino executives silenced Vegas Vic and it was left that way for nearly two decades. Vickie was designed by Charles F. "Chuck" Barnard of Ad Art. Vic and Vickie were "married" in a 1994 ceremony during construction of the Fremont Street Experience. Vickie was removed in 2017 in preparation for the demolition of the strip club along with Mermaids Casino, La Bayou and the Las Vegas Club. Vegas Vickie has been restored and now resides inside the Circa Resort & Casino which opened on the same spot in 2020. Vegas Vic has received new paint schemes through the years. Originally, from the 1950s through the 1960s, his shirt was white with yellow checkered stripes. Later during an early restoration in the 1970s, his shirt was painted solid yellow. When he was restored in 1998, his shirt was painted a red and yellow checkered pattern. In April 2023, the current owner was cited with a violation due to the condition of the sign, and the sign was fully refurbished and lit up again by July 2023.