Category: On This Date

On this Day May 3, 1999 The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino Opened on the Las Vegas Strip

May 3, 2017
Venetian-Las-Vegas

Venetian Las-Vegas opened on May 3, 1999

The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and resort located on the Las Vegas Strip.on the site of the hotel is 36 stories high and rises 475 feet and was built on the on Sands Hotel made famous by the Rat Pack. The hotel opened on May 3, 1999. The design of the hotel uses Venice, Italy, as its design inspiration and features architectural replicas of various Venetian landmarks, including the Palazzo Ducale, Piazza San Marco, Piazzetta di San Marco, the Lion of Venice Column and the Column of Saint Theodore, St Mark’s Campanile, and the Rialto Bridge. At the opening, it was one of the most expensive hotels constructed at a cost of over 1.5 billion dollars.

The Venetian resort complex with Sands Expo Convention Center and The Palazzo Hotel and Casino Resort is the world’s second-largest hotel, with 4,049 rooms, 3,068 suites with a 120,000-square-footcasino.

Photo: Creative Commons – Ricky Barnard

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On This Date: May 3, 1844 John C Fremont Camps at the Las Vegas Springs

John C. Fremont

John C. Fremont camped at the Las Vegas Springs on May 3, 1844

On This Date, May 3, 1844 John C. Fremont led an overland expedition west and camped at Las Vegas Springs. His name is remembered today in neon as well as museums and history books. The Fremont Hotel-Casino in Downtown Las Vegas bears his name as does Fremont Street.

The credit of discovering Las Vegas  goes to an experienced young scout, Rafael Rivera. In 1829 was traveling with a 60 man party who veered off the main route of the Old Spanish Trail. A scouting party rode west in search of water.  Rivera separated from the scout party and ventured into the unexplored desert. Within two weeks, he discovered Las Vegas Springs. The actually date of Rivera’s discover is unknown.

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On This Date: April 30, 1996, The Stratosphere Las Vegas Opens

April 30, 2017
Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas

Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas at 1,149 feet tall.

Stratosphere Las Vegas is a tower, hotel, and casino located on Las Vegas Boulevard just north of the Las Vegas Strip. Its tower is also the tallest observation tower, and the 9th-tallest freestanding structure in the United States, as well as being the tallest structure in Las Vegas.

The Stratosphere was conceived by Bob Stupak as an addition to his Vegas World casino. At the conception of the project, one of the planned rides was to be a giant ape that would carry riders up and down on one of the tower’s columns. The original plans envisioned the Stratosphere exceeding the height of the CNN Tower at 1,815 ft., making it the world’s tallest freestanding structure at that time. However, due to possible interference with nearby McCarran International Airport, and any possible flights that come through Las Vegas, the Tower’s proposed height shrank multiple times, bringing it to its current height of 1,149 ft. On August 29, 1993, the Tower caught fire while still under construction. No one was injured, but the fire forced repairs and rebuilding that led to numerous delays in the construction of the Tower.

For the latest information on The Stratosphere including rides, restaurants and bookings, you can check out The Stratosphere at World Casino Directory.

Photo By:  Timjarrett at en.wikipedia
Date Taken: November 2003

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On This Date: Andre Agassi Was Born- April 29, 1970

April 29, 2017
andre_agassi

Andre Agassi was born April 29, 1970

Andre Agassi was born April 29, 1970, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Agassi is an American retired professional tennis player and former World No. 1, who was one of the game’s most dominant players from the early 1990s to the mid-2000s.

In singles tennis, Agassi is an eight-time Grand Slam champion who competed in 15 Grand Slam finals and a 1996 Olympic gold medalist. His four Australian Open titles are an Open Era record (shared with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer). Agassi retired from professional tennis on September 3, 2006, after losing in the third round of the US Open.

Agassi was married to Brooke Shields from 1997 to 1999. He married Steffi Graf on October 22, 2001 and is still married.

He is the founder of the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation, which has raised over $60 million for at-risk children in Southern Nevada.In 2001, the Foundation opened the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas, a K-12 public charter school for at-risk children.

Photo By: Wikipedia (c) Creative Commons

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On This Date, April 28, 2005, the Wynn Opened in Las Vegas

April 28, 2017
Wynn Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas

Wynn Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas

On this date, April 28, 2005, the Wynn opened its doors in Las Vegas. Wynn Las Vegas, often referred to as simply the Wynn, is a luxury resort and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada. The $2.7 billion resort is named after casino developer Steve Wynn and is the flagship property of Wynn Resorts Limited. The resort covers 215 acres and is located at the northeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sands Avenue, directly across The Strip from the Fashion Show Mall.

The 614-foot high hotel has 45 floors, with the 2,716 rooms range in size from 640 sq ft. to the villas at 7,000 sq ft. The complex also includes a 111,000 sq ft. casino, a convention center with 223,000 sq ft. of space, and 76,000 sq ft. of retail space. Together with the adjacent Encore, the entire Wynn resort complex has a total of 4,750 rooms.

The resort has earned AAA five diamond, Mobil five-star, Forbes five-star, Michelin five star, and Zagat Survey Top U.S. Hotel ratings, as well as one Michelin star for restaurant Wing Lei. The Wynn and is considered to be one of the finest hotels in the world. Wynn Las Vegas and its sister property Encore Las Vegas collectively hold more Forbes five-star awards than any other resort and casino in the world.

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On This Date: April 24, 1950 Desert Inn Hotel and Casino Opened

April 24, 2017
Desert Inn aka DI

The Desert Inn Hotel & Casino in 1999

Desert Inn Hotel by the pool

Early photo of the Desert Inn Hotel by the pool

The Desert Inn was a hotel/casino that operated from April 24, 1950, to August 28, 2000. It was the fifth resort to open on the Las Vegas Strip. The property included an 18-hole golf course. Locals nicknamed the resort “The D.I.” or just “D.I.”.

The Desert Inn’s most famous guest, businessman Howard Hughes, arrived on Thanksgiving Day in 1966, renting the hotel’s entire top two floors and then later bought the resort when asked to vacate.

The Desert Inn has appeared in many movies including: The 1960 film version of Ocean’s 11 and last use in the film Rush Hour 2.

Photo by: LasVegas360.com and UNLVspecial collections

The D.I. Was imploded on  November 16, 2004. to make way for the Wynn and Encore resorts.

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