Category: The Strip

On This Date: October 7, 1952, The Sahara Hotel & Casino Opened

October 7, 2019
Sahara Hotel & Casino

Sahara Hotel & Casino Opened on October 7, 1952

On October 7, 1952 The Sahara Hotel & Casino opened and was anchored on the north end of the Las Vegas Blvd. and Sahara Ave. It was the sixth resort to open on the “Strip”.  The Sahara remained in operation until May 16, 2011.  On May 16, 2011 the Sahara Hotel and Casino closed and reopened on August 23, 2014 as SLS Hotel

In late 1954, the hotel hired jazz musician Louis Prima to be their late night lounge act, one of the earliest ones on the Las Vegas Strip. A long list of headliners followed: included Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Judy Garland, Marlene Dietrich, Jack Benny, Paul Anka, and George Carlin to mention a few. The resort was the site of the annual Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon for many years, mostly in the 1970s, and for a brief time in the 1990s.

The hotel had 1,720 guestrooms and suites with a casino covering more than 85,000 sq. ft. after the SLS renovation there are now 1,600 rooms.

Photo By: Wikimedia Commons

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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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On this Date: March 17, 1989, Famous Las Vegas Artist Montyne passed away

March 17, 2019
Montyne

Montyne Sculpture in Front of Circus in 1999

Born Sherman LaMont Sudbury, known as Montyne (November 23, 1916 – March 17, 1989) was an American artist and stage performer. He was best known for his sculptures that once stood in front of Circus Circus Las Vegas and for his View-Master scenes of Tarzan of the Apes.

Montyne moved to Las Vegas in 1968 to sculpt the statues in front of Circus Circus. The first, The Balancer, was a self-portrait, depicting him as an acrobat. This heroic-size statue in 1978 was featured on the front cover of 35mm Photography. The work at one time was one of the most-photographed sculptures in the world. Over the next three years, he created four more statues: the Lion, the Clown, Gargantua the gorilla, and his wife China who was featured balancing on a rolo-board. In the photo above you can see the clown and the lion on the sidewalk in from of Circus Circus on Las Vegas Blvd. (The Strip).

While working on the statues at Circus Circus, Montyne also was commissioned to create the wall murals in the convention hall at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino on Flamingo Road (1973). The casino was longer than a football field, and on the 15 ceiling arches were Montyne’s murals. The murals were destroyed in the 1980 MGM Grand fire.

Montyne passed away at the age of 72 and is buried in Las Vegas.

Clown Circus Circus

The last standing Montyne sculpture in front on Circus Circus – 2015

Photo by: LasVegas360.com

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On This Date: February 15, 2008 the Monte Carlo Reopens After Fire

February 15, 2019
Monte Carlo Resort

Monte Carlo Resort and Casino fire broke out on January 25, 2008

On January 25, 2008, at 10:57 AM, a fire broke out on the exterior of the top six floors of the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino. The fire was on the exterior of the building burning the foam facade. The ignition of the facade wall was attributed to welding on a catwalk on the roof. The hotel and casino were evacuated with no major injuries or deaths during the fire, which lasted a little more than an hour. The hotel remained closed for 21 days and The hotel & casino reopened to guests on February 15, 2008. MGM Mirage officials put the total losses due to fire damage and loss of business at just under $100 million.

Photo by: wikipedia.org

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