Category: Vegas

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, October 1, 1980 Bob Stupak’s Glitter Gulch opened on Fremont Street in Downtown Las Vegas.

October 1, 2019

On this Date, October 1, 1980 Bob Stupak’s Glitter Gulch opened at 22 Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas.

Sassy Sally Glitter Gulch

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

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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 20, 1931 The first gaming license issued in Las Vegas

March 20, 2019
The Northern Club on Fremont St. was the first establishment to be issued a gaming license in Clark County

The Northern Club on Fremont St. was the first establishment to be issued a gaming license in Clark County in 1931.

After the legalization of gaming in Nevada, the Northern Club received received the first gaming license in Las Vegas on March 20, 1931.  The Northern Club was located in downtown Las Vegas on 15 East Fremont Street. The license was issued by Clark County and was the first gaming license issued to a woman, Mayme Stocker.

Originally opened in the 1900’s as the Las Vegas Coffee House, Mayme Stocker renamed it the Northern Club in 1920 offering liquor and gaming while both were illegal.

The Northern Club casino was renamed in 1945 as the Monte Carlo Club by Wilbur Clark. In The Late 1970’s it was again renamed to the Coin Castle which later became the La Bayou Casino and is still in operation today.

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