Category: Vegas

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

October 27, 2019
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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On This Date: October 17, 1956 The Hacienda Hotel Opened on the Las Vegas Strip

October 17, 2019
Hacienda Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip

Hacienda Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip

The Hacienda was a hotel/casino that operated on the Las Vegas Strip from 1956 to 1996. The Hotel was closed on December 10, 1996 and later was imploded on New Year’s Eve in 1999.

The Hacienda, while being designed, was called  the Lady Luck (not to be confused with the downtown’s Lady Luck), but before it was finished it was sold and eventually opened as the Hacienda in 1956. The Hacienda resort initially opened in 1954 without a casino. The hotel owned its own fleet of airliners for its ambitious air travel promotions, it was located directly across from McCarran Air Field.  The Hacienda was also one of the first Strip hotels to market to families and budget travelers. After the implosion, the Mandalay Bay Resort and Hotel was built on the old Hacienda site.

University of Nevada, Las Vegas University Libraries – See more at: http://digital.library.unlv.edu/objects/sky/1759#sthash.SFei5Q9I.dpuf
University of Nevada, Las Vegas University Libraries – See more at: http://digital.library.unlv.edu/objects/sky/1759#sthash.SFei5Q9I.dpuf
Hacienda Hotel neon sign

Hacienda Neon Horse from the original hotel now stands in Downtown Las Vegas (restored)

B & W Photo By: University of Nevada, Las Vegas University Libraries
Photo: Neon Horse – LasVegas360.com

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On this Date October 15, 1998 the Bellagio opened on the Las Vegas Strip

October 15, 2019
The Fountains at the Bellagio

The amazing fountains at night at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino. Located in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Bellagio resort open on October 15, 1998. the resort was conceived by Steve Wynn. Located on the old Dunes hotel and golf course on the corner of Las Vegas Blvd. and Flamingo Road.  The main tower of Bellagio is 36 floors tall, has 3015 rooms. The Spa Tower, which stands to the south of the main tower, is 33 floors and contains 935 rooms.  The Bellagio’s famous attractions include: Bellagio Gallery Of Fine Art, Bellagio Conservatory, the Fountains of Bellagio and Cirque du Soleil’s aquatic production called “O”.

In 2001, The hotel was featured in the movie Ocean’s 11 starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Andy García, and Julia Roberts.

Wynn sold Mirage Resorts to MGM Grand in 2000, resulting in the formation of MGM Mirage.

Photo by: wikipedia.org

 

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On This Date: September 2, 2014, The Delano Las Vegas Opens

September 2, 2019
TheHotel Delano

TheHotel is now the  Delano Hotel as of September 2, 2014

The Delano Las Vegas, formerly Thehotel at Mandalay Bay, is a 42-story 1,117 room luxury suite hotel owned and operated by MGM Resorts International, located at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip within the Mandalay Bay complex. It was renovated and re-branded as the Delano Las Vegas on September 2, 2014. The property originally opened on December 17, 2003 as Thehotel. The lettering  was identical to the “Mandalay Bay” letters at the top of the original tower. In 2006, the font and letting were changed to “THEhotel” to distinguish the property. Due note, the building for the hotel has the same white and gold look as them main Mandalay Bay property.

With the opening of the Delano Las Vegas, all of the 1,100 suites at the hotel were redesigned. There are new bars, lounges, restaurants and nightclubs.

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On This Date: September 2, 1948, The Thunderbird Hotel Opened on the Las Vegas Strip

Thunderbird Las Vegas

Thunderbird Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip (1950’s)

On September 2, 1948, the Thunderbird Hotel (1948-1976) was the fourth resort to open on the Las Vegas Strip. The resort had a Native American theme and featured portraits, a Navajo-based restaurant, the only bowling alley ever on the Strip, and a showroom.

The Thunderbird has the distinction of being the resort where singer Rosemary Clooney made her first appearance in Las Vegas in 1951, and where Judy Garland made her final Vegas appearance in 1965.

The Silverbird (1977-1981) opened on January 1, 1977. Four years later, Major Riddle sold the resort to Ed Torres, who also owned the Aladdin Hotel and Casino. Torres renamed the Silverbird to the El Rancho, named after the nearby El Rancho Vegas, which burnt down in 1960.

On August 31, 1982, the El Rancho Casino opened its doors.  Rodney Dangerfield opened the “Rodney’s Place” comedy club inside the El Rancho in 1982.

The El Rancho Casino closed on July 6, 1992 and on October 3, 2000, the old resort was imploded.

El Rancho

El Rancho once was the Thunderbird then the Silverbird

Photo by (Thunderbird): http://digital.library.unlv.edu:81/u?/sky,2171

Photo by (El Rancho): Wikipedia.org

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On This Date: August 29, 1993 The Stratosphere Tower Caught Fire

August 29, 2019
Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas

Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas caught fire during construction on August 29, 1993

On August 29, 1993, the Stratosphere 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. The tower suffered no structural damage. Although a container of plastic material appeared to be at the flashpoint of the fire, the cause of the blaze remained unknown.

Photo By: Wikipedia.com

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