In Twin Peaks Season 3 on Showtime, we are introduced to the Mitchum Brothers’ Silver Mustang Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Appearing in a handful of episodes, there are actually two locations used for the scenes. The interior shots were captured at the located at 49500 Seminole Drive in Cabazon, California. For this Setting The Stage article, I’m exploring the exterior scenes which were shot in Commerce, CA.
CASINO LOCATION
Located at 6131 Telegraph Road in Commerce, California, the opened in 1983. It’s home to many games of skill (i.e. card games like poker) meaning there are no slot machines at this casino (it’s probably why they shot the interior scenes at the Morongo).
During my recent visit to Los Angeles at the end of May, I could see the Casino from “the 5″ (no one says”Interstate 5” in southern California) as my wife and I drove toward downtown Los Angeles. As the casino came into view, I started yelling like a crazy man. She didn’t understand why until she saw the casino. It was my first spotting of a Season 3 California location in person and I was over the moon. Hello-ooo-ooo!
CASINO IN PART 3
The first establishing shot of the casino is seen in Part 3. I visited the location on May 26, 2019 and attempted to get a similar shot. Notice how they digitally removed the hotel and casino name and added the lucky horseshoe graphic to the building front.
Jade pulls up to the casino front in her 2015 yellow Jeep Wrangler with Dougie Jones.
Dougie and Jade talk for a moment before Dougie is reluctantly removed from the Jeep.
A similar view out front of the Commerce Casino on May 26, 2019.
Dougie Jones calls for help as he attempts to enter the front of the Silver Mustang Casino. Notice the Security Guard standing nearby.
We catch a glimpse of this unidentified security guard in Part 10 as he waits in the hallway. I wonder if he actually worked at the Commerce Casino.
Dougie has trouble navigating the green revolving door but eventually makes it inside. The green revolving door is actually a thing at the Commerce but I didn’t have any trouble using.
CASINO IN PART 5
A similar establishing shot seen in Part 3 is used again in Part 5.
The scene cuts to a surveillance room inside the Silver Mustang. I draw your attention to the monitors behind Supervisor Burns (Brett Gelman) and Pit Boss Warrick (David Dastmalchian).
There are several monitors which appear to show exterior locations from the Commerce Casino.
Notice the image on the bottom right.
This image from Google appears to match part of the casino building front as seen in the monitor from Part 5.
Notice the screen behind Supervisor Burns which looks similar to the Porte-Cochere at the Commerce Casino. I didn’t have these reference images at the time or else I would have taken even more photos during my visit.
CASINO IN PART 10
The only nighttime establishing shot of the Silver Mustang Casino is seen in Part 10. I found an almost matching image from Google Maps that was shared by John Carbon. I wish I would have stayed to see the casino at night. Next time.
A similar shot from Part 5 is seen again in Part 10, this time with newly promoted Supervisor Warrick on the casino floor. The same exterior scene is seen on the bottom right monitor.
Check out more exterior shots on the monitors behind the Mitchum Brothers in Part 10. I’m guessing these were recorded video loops that the Commerce Casino shared with the crew. They were intermixed with footage taken from the Morongo Casino scenes.
Next time you watch Part 10, I invite you to watch the screen circled in red. This particular monitor is why I believe the monitors contain recorded footage that is recycled throughout the takes.
Throughout the entire scene from Part 10, this car pulls up to the front and a gentleman exits the vehicle. This happens at least twice meaning there were either multiple takes or they just replayed the footage on a loop.
CASINO IN PART 16
The final establishing shot for the Silver Mustang Casino is seen in Part 16. This is the same shot from Parts 3 and 5.
When we cut to the interior scenes, they are inside the Morongo. Notice how the exterior doesn’t match the previously shared images from the Commerce Casino.
While researching this article, I found an Instagram post by Commerce Casino for National Donut Day 2019. It sure reminded me of Twin Peaks. Did Lucy set it up?
