Category: On This Date

On This Date: November 7, 1995 The Landmark Hotel was Imploded in Las Vegas

November 7, 2020
The Landmark Hotel and Casino

The Landmark Hotel and Casino was imploded on November 7, 1995

The Landmark Hotel and casino opened on July 1, 1969. It took more than 8 years to complete and was bought up by Howard Hugues 6 months before its completion.

The Landmark Tower was a 525 rooms hotel/casino located at 364 Convention Center Drive on the corner of Paradise Rd. and Convention Center Drive. The Landmark opened on July 1, 1969 and closed on August 8, 1990.

The Landmark played host to famous celebrities such as Danny Thomas, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and Freddy Fender’s first appearance. The Landmark was one of the few hotel properties not located on the Strip or in downtown Las Vegas but across the street from the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The Landmark was closed on August 8, 1990. and on November 7, 1995, it was imploded. The demolition was filmed and used in the movie Tim Burton, “Mars Attack”. The Landmark was also featured in such movies like Viva Las Vegas, Diamonds Are Forever, Casino, and The Cooler. Also seen in TV Shows like Vegas and Crime Story.

Photo By: University of Nevada, Las Vegas University Libraries

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On This Date: December 18, 1993: MGM Grand Las Vegas Opened

December 18, 2019
MGM Grand Hotel & Casino

MGM Grand Las Vegas Opened on December 18, 1993

The MGM Grand Las Vegas  opened on December 18, 1993. The hotel casino is located on the Las Vegas Strip on the corner of Las Vegas Blvd and Tropicana Ave. The MGM Grand is the second largest hotel in the world by number of rooms and the largest hotel resort complex in the United States, ahead of The Venetian. When it opened in 1993, the MGM Grand was the largest hotel in the world.

Owned and operated by MGM Resorts International, the 30-floor main building is 293 ft. high. The property includes five outdoor pools, rivers, and waterfalls that cover 6.6 acres, a 380,000 sq ft. convention center, the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and the Grand Spa. It also houses numerous shops and night clubs, restaurants, the Grand Garden Arena and the largest casino in Clark County, which occupies 171,500 sq ft.

The original hotel that existed on the current site before the MGM was built was the Marina Hotel. The Marina with was incorporated in to the new design and makes up the west wing of the hotel.  The MGM Grand name was originally used for the MGM Grand on the Flamingo Road and the Strip which was renamed when it was bought up by Bally’s Inc.

Originally, the main entrance on the Strip was inside the mouth of a giant cartoon-like version of MGM’s mascot, Leo the Lion, but this entrance feature was changed to a more traditional entrance; many Chinese gamblers avoided the casino or entered through the back entrance, due to the feng shui belief that entering the mouth of the lion was “bad luck.” In 1998, a large bronze statue of Leo was added above the entrance to keep with the MGM Lion theme.

Photo by: Wikipedia

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On This Date: November 21, 1980 The MGM Grand’s Fire Disaster

November 21, 2019
MGM Grand Fire November 21,1980

MGM Grand Fire November 21, 1980

The MGM Grand fire occurred on November 21, 1980 at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino (now Bally’s Las Vegas) in Las Vegas, located on the corner of Flamingo Road and the Las Vegas Blvd. The fire killed 85 people, mostly through smoke inhalation. The tragedy remains the worst disaster in Nevada history, and the third-worst hotel fire in modern U.S. history. The fire was caused by an electrical ground fault inside a wall from a restaurant call “The Deli” located on the the south end of the casino.

MGM Grand ( now Bally's) Worst Fire Disaster in Nevada's History on Nov. 21, 1980

MGM Grand (now Bally’s) Worst Fire Disaster in Nevada’s History on Nov. 21, 1980

Fire spread across the areas of the casino in which no fire sprinklers were installed. Smoke spread into the hotel tower. A total of 85 people were killed and 650 injured, including guests, employees and 14 firefighters. While the fire primarily damaged the second floor casino and adjacent restaurants, most of the deaths were on the upper floors of the hotel, and were caused by smoke inhalation. Openings in vertical shafts (elevators and stairwells) and seismic joints allowed toxic smoke to spread to the top floor.

The fire at the MGM lead to new strict fire regulations for all hotels and commercial buildings in Nevada and are consider the most

Photo by: Wikipedia.org

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On This Date: November 13, 2007 the New Frontier Hotel was Imploded

November 13, 2019
The New Frontier was a hotel and casino

The New Frontier Hotel and Casino imploded on November 13, 2007

On this date, November 13, 2007 the New Frontier Hotel and Casino was imploded on the Las Vegas Strip. Originally, the property started as a nightclub called Pair-O-Dice that opened in 1930, then The Ambassador Night Club in 1936 and was renamed the 91 Club in 1939 for its location on US 91. It was subsequently rebuilt and renamed the “Hotel Last Frontier” in 1942. On April 4, 1955, it was renamed the New Frontier, following a modernization of the resort.

The Last Frontier Hotel & Casino, (later renamed the New Frontier) was the second resort that opened on the Las Vegas Strip and operated continuously from October 30, 1942 until it closed its doors for good at 12:00 A.M. on July 16, 2007.

The resort had the distinction of hosting Elvis Presley’s first Vegas appearance in 1956, and the final performance of Diana Ross and The Supremes on January 14, 1970. The New Frontier was also the starting place for Vegas headliners, Siegfried & Roy before they Moved to the Mirage.

The building was demolished on November 13, 2007. In 2007, A new hotel casino, tentatively titled the Las Vegas Plaza, was proposed to be built in its place but those plan were scuttled in 2011.

Photo By: Wikipedia.org

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On this Date: October 27, 1993 Treasure Island Hotel Opened on the Las Vegas Strip

October 27, 2019
Treasure Island Hotel and Casino

Treasure Island Hotel and Casino now called “TI”

Treasure Island was opened by Mirage Resorts on October 27, 1993 under the direction of Steve Wynn at a cost of $450 million. The resort was originally going to be a tower expansion for the Mirage, but become its own resort. The property sits at the corner of Las Vegas Blvd (the Strip) and Spring Mountain Road. Its current neighbors consists of the Mirage, Venetian, Fashion Show Mall, the Palazzo and the Wynn Resort.

The resort is home to Cirque du Soleil’s Mystère. When opened in 1993. Originally, Treasure Island had a free “Buccaneer Bay” show in a large man-made lake fronting the resort. The show included 2 boats, one in dock and another,a pirate ship, which sailed into port to rain mayhem, but ultimately is sunk at the last cannon shot. In 2003, the show was replaced the Sirens’ Cove featuring the Sirens of TI which removed the sailing pirate ship to make was for new mall space and also become more adult orientated. The Sirens’ Cove was closed on October 21, 2013.

On December 15, 2008, MGM Mirage was sold for $775 million to Phil Ruffin, former owner of the New Frontier Hotel and Casino.

Photo by: Treasure Island (4068177090) by Ronnie Macdonald from Chelmsford, United Kingdom

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On This Date: October 27, 1993, The Dunes Hotel was Imploded

The Dunes Hotel and Casino

The Dunes Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip

On October 27, 1993 the Dunes Hotel and Casino on the corner of Las Vegas Blvd. and Flamingo Road was imploded to make way for the Steve Wynn’s new project, the Bellagio Resort.  The Dunes opened on May 23, 1955 and remained open until it closed on January 26, 1993.

The Dunes was demolished in a grand ceremony that involved major fireworks displays and the use of several “cannon blasts” from the English ship ‘HMS Britannia’ of Treasure Island Hotel and Casino.

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