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.

The Dunes was the tenth resort built on the Las Vegas Strip and opened on May 23, 1955. The resort included a 18-hole Championship golf course which ran from Tropicana Ave .to Flamingo Road, it was called the Dunes Miracle Mile. In its early years, the Dunes was known for the 35 ft tall fiberglass sultan that stood above its main entrance. Many top performers, such as Dean Martin, Jayne Mansfield, Liberace, George Burns, Pat Cooper, Judy Garland, Violetta Villas, Phyllis Diller and Frank Sinatra performed at the hotel.

The Dunes Hotel closed it doors on January 26, 1993. It sat where the now famous Bellagio resides on the corner of Las Vegas Blvd. and Flamingo Road.

Photo By: © 1983 Larry D. Moore (CC-BY-SA)