Category: On This Date

On This Date: March 13, 2007 The Stardust Hotel Was Imploded

March 13, 2019


The Stardust Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip was imploded on March 13, 2007 at 2:33 am to make way for the now defunct Echelon Place. The stardust operated from 1958 to 2006. When the hotel opened, it had the largest casino and swimming pool in Nevada and the it was the largest hotel in the Las Vegas area.

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On This Date: March 12, 2014, Jackie Gaughan Sr. Passed Away

March 12, 2019
Jackie Gaughan in front of his El Cortez Hotel/Casino 1965

Jackie Gaughan in front of his El Cortez Hotel/Casino 1965

John D. “Jackie” Gaughan Sr.(October 24, 1920 – March 12, 2014) was a casino owner and operator from the early 1950s in Las Vegas, Nevada. Gaughan had an ownership stake in many casinos throughout his career, but he is best known for his ownership of the El Cortez, where he resided until his death on March 12, 2014.  Gaughan at one time owned more than 25 percent of available real estate in Downtown Las Vegas.

Photo By: The Las Vegas News Bureau
Date Taken : March 22, 1965

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On This Date March 10, 2011, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts Opened

March 10, 2019
Smith Center bell tower

The Smith Center for the Performing Arts opened on March 10, 2011

The Smith Center for the Performing Arts is a public/private partnership that is the centerpiece of cultural life in Las Vegas offering a blend of performances by resident companies as well as first-run touring attractions. The 4.75-acre cultural complex features inviting lobbies with beautiful balconies, refined acoustics and a tastefully landscaped plaza in downtown’s 61-acre urban development, Symphony Park. Home to the 2,050-seat Reynolds Hall and the Boman Pavilion, The Smith Center is a living room for Las Vegas; a place that educates, entertain and excite the citizens of our great community. The Smith Center broke ground in May of 2009 with a ceremonial carillon bell casting and ringing. In February 2010, it celebrated its “Topping Out” with the raising of 50 tons of steel and open on February 10, 2011.

Symphony Park

Symphony Park

Next door the the Smith Center is the new home for the children’s museum, a state-of-the-art building to be named the Donald W. Reynolds Discovery Center.

Next to the Smith Center, is a small park called, Symphony Park, it is a two-acre open space within the heart of Symphony Park a is used for special cultural events.

Construction Photos

Photo gallery prior to opening

The Smith Center for the Performing Art- Panoramas

Interior Photos of the Smith Center for Performing Arts

Photos by: LasVegas360.com

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On This Date: March 10, 1995, The First Hard Rock Hotel Opens in Las Vegas

Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas

Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas With its Signature Guitar over the Main Entrance

On March 10, 1995, the The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino opened in Las Vegas. It was the first Hard Rock Hotel to open and was built by Peter Morton, co-founder of the Hard Rock Cafe. It was expanded in 1999, and began another expansion in 2007. Features of the property include the hotel tower, a 30,000-square-foot casino, Tahitian-style beach and swimming pool, a nightclub, six restaurants, three cocktail lounges, several retail stores, a spa, a poker room, and “The Joint”, a music venue. In June 2002 influential rock bassist John Entwistle of The Who died in one of the hotel’s rooms.

Photo by: Wikipedia.org

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On This Date: March 2, 1999 Mandalay Bay Opened in Las Vegas

March 2, 2019
Mandalay-Bay

Mandalay-Bay

On March 2, 1999, Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino opened on the Las Vegas Strip. The 43-story luxury hotel and casino has 3,309 hotel rooms, 24 elevators and a 135,000 sq foot casino.  Adjacent to the hotel is the 1,000,000 sq foot Mandalay Bay Convention Center and the 12,000-seat Mandalay Bay Events Center. One of the property’s towers operates as THE hotel, while the top five floors of the other tower are occupied by a Four Seasons Hotel.

Photo by: Wikipedia.org

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On This Date: February 27, 2007 The Barbary Coast Closed

February 27, 2019
barbary-coast

Barbary Coast in 1999 with it white facade – was originally a burgundy color

On February 27, 2007, at The Barbary Coast closed at 2:00 a.m. The Barbary Coast originally opened on March 2, 1979 on the prime Las Vegas restate corner of Las Vegas Blvd and Flamingo Road. The casino was built by Michael Gaughan and opened at a cost of $11.5 million. After The Barbary Coast closed it would then go on to be opened 2 days later as the re-branded as Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall and Saloon, owned and operated by Harrahs Entertainment. Bill’s closed in February 4, 2013 and expected to reopen after a $185 million remodel as a boutique hotel called he Cromwell owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment.

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