Sassy Sally atop the Glitter Gulch sign

In 1982 Herb Pastor acquired the Glitter Gulch Casino next door to his Golden Goose Casino and combined the two locations under the license of the Golden Goose operating it until 1991.

Photo by LasVegas360.com

O.J. Simpson LVMPD Booking Shot after being found guilty in 2008 (photo by: LVMPD)

On September 16, 2007, O. J. Simpson along with Clarence Stewart was arrested in Las Vegas, at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino and charged with numerous felonies (12 in total), including armed robbery.  Simpson and Stewart entered a hotel room and attempted to rob two sports memorabilia dealers at gun point. Simpson was immediately taken into custody and told the police that he was trying to reclaim his stolen possessions.

He was later found guilty and sentenced to 33 years imprisonment, with a minimum of nine years without parole. He is currently serving his sentence at the Lovelock Correctional Center in Lovelock, Nevada.  This was also the same day that Simpson’s book about his ex-wife’s and Ron Goldman’s murder was published.

He’s not eligible for parole until late 2017.

Zappos Cubicles allow for personalization

On this date, September 9, 2013, Zappos moves their headquarters into the old City Hall building in Downtown Las Vegas. Zappos original was from San Francisco, moved to Henderson, Nevada in 2004 and finally to Downtown Las Vegas.  Lead by Zappos CEO and guru, Tony Hsieh, who is considered in some circles as the Dalai Lama or Llama of DTLV.  Tony Hsieh, who also leads the Downtown Project, has been revitalizing downtown Las Vegas as a vibrant cultural and economic hotspot.

Photo By: lizzielaroo http://www.flickr.com/photos/61023128@N08/5553353725/

Date: March 15, 2011

Rapper Tupac Shakur shot and later died in Las Vegas

On September 7, 1996, after attending the Bruce Seldon vs. Mike Tyson boxing match, rapper Tupac Shakur was shot multiple times in a drive-by shooting at the intersection of Flamingo Rd. and Koval Lane in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was taken to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, where he died six days later from his wounds.

Boulder Dam/Hoover Dam Dedicated by President Roosevelt Sept. 30, 1935

Hoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Its construction was the result of a massive effort involving thousands of workers, and cost over one hundred lives. The cost of the construction was $49 million dollars and was completed two years ahead of schedule. The dam was controversially named after President Herbert Hoover.

Vdara Hotel & Spa on the Las Vegas Strip

On this date December 1, 2009, the Vdara Hotel & Spa opened. The property is located within the CityCenter complex across from Aria Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. The Vdara is 578 feet high in a 57-story tower and houses 1,495 suites. There is a two-story spa, salon and fitness center. It also has a 40,000 sq ft pool and deck area. The Vdara does not have a casino and is a non-smoking hotel within CityCenter located near Harmon and the Las Vegas Strip.

Photo Date: March 6, 2010
Photo by: By Cygnusloop99 (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons

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

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

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

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

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