Bruce Henstell Sunshine and Wealth: Los Angeles in the Twenties and Thirties, Chronicle: San Francisco, 1984. 132 pp., 1938
"In early May, 1938, the impending opening of the Rex was announced . . . Airplanes inserted the ship's name into the skies above Los Angeles and big ads were inserted into the papers. "OPEN MAY 5th, and every afternoon and evening thereafter. Cocktail bar. No cover. Popular priced meals at all hours. Cuisine by Battista, formerly of Trocadero and Victor Hugo's-ALL THE THRILLS OF BIARRITZ, RIVIERA, MONTE CARLO, CANNES-SURPASSED." . . .
""We don't want it!". . . the Santa Monica Evening Outlook . . . "The gambling barge Rex will be no asset to Santa Monica." Mayor E.S. Gillette [forbid] Tony [Conero] to have a brass band on the Santa Monica Pier the day the ship opened.
". . . A fleet of thirteen water taxis was kept busy ferrying people back and forth. The Rex was open twenty-four hours a day, and there was seldom less than a 1,000 people aboard, and 2-3,000 during the peak hours." pp. 67, 68