Lei Polynesian Room - at The Vapors - Hot Springs - Arkansas

Hot Springs, Arkansas, United States

The Vapors was a nightclub in Hot Springs (Garland County) during the last era of illegal gambling in the city. Upscale entertainment in the style of Las Vegas, Nevada—featuring well-known acts like Edgar Bergen, the Smothers Brothers, and Tony Bennett—distinguished it from many of the rival clubs in the area.

Dane Harris, who had been a World War II pilot, accumulated money from a stake he had in the Belvedere Country Club and casino during the 1950s and used that money to build the Vapors nightclub. Harris partnered with Owen Vincent “Owney” Madden, owner of the Cotton Club in New York and a noted gangster, to build the nightclub at a site at 315 Park Avenue formerly occupied by the Phillips Drive-In. The club was built in the summer of 1959 and opened in 1960, offering the Vapors’ Coffee Shop; the Monte Carlo Room for meetings, events, and luncheons; a large lobby; a dance floor; a theater restaurant with tiered seating and a retractable stage big enough for an orchestra; and a casino that opened late in the evening. Entertainment included two shows every night featuring some of the most popular entertainers in the country.

Tony Bennett noted in his autobiography that he first sang his signature hit “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” at the Vapors.

The Lei Polynesian Room was opened here with a separate cocktail menu sometime between 1960-1963, but did not survive afterwards.

In the late morning of January 4, 1963, an explosion rocked the Vapors, causing extensive damage. Twelve injuries were reported, and three people required hospitalization. Speculation about who was responsible ranged from outside crime syndicates attempting a takeover to local small club owners lashing out in response to raids against their own facilities. Such raids were intended to take the public pressure off authorities while leaving more prominent clubs like the Vapors alone. As a result of the bombing, a wall separating the casino from the lobby was demolished, exposing the club’s gaming tables and slot machines to the street. Reporters covering the bombing for the Arkansas Gazette managed to snap a photograph of the slot machines and craps tables against the orders of police officers securing the area. The photo appeared on the front page of the next day’s edition, providing clear proof of illegal gambling in Hot Springs, but illegal gambling would not be completely curtailed in the city until 1967, six months into the first term of reformist Governor Winthrop Rockefeller.

Unlike many former casinos in Hot Springs, the Vapors continued to operate as a nightclub and restaurant after its casino was closed. In 1977, responding to changing tastes in entertainment, Dane Harris began renovations to the club, which would see the addition of the Cockeyed Cowboy and Apollo Disco, as well as an additional showroom completed in 1980. Either the bombing or these later renovations erased all signs of the Lei Polynesian Room.

Harris died in 1981. The Vapors continued to operate as a nightclub into the 1990s but only as a lackluster shadow of its former self. The building was sold in October 1998 to Tower of Strength Ministries for use as a church; in November 2013, the building was again put up for sale.

It is still around today, as of 2026, and is a live music and events venue.