Dunes (hotel and casino)
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The Dunes Hotel was a Las Vegas, Nevada hotel/casino that operated from May 23, 1955 to January 26, 1993, and was the tenth resort to open on the Las Vegas Strip. The Bellagio now stands on the former grounds.
[edit] History
The Dunes opened on May 23, 1955 with "Hollywood Star" Vera-Ellen providing the entertainment in the Magic Carpet Review. The hotel was built in part with financing from movie mogul Al Gottesman and the Teamsters Pension Fund. The Hotel's Slogan was ""The Miracle in the Desert". [1]
In its early years, the Dunes was known for the 35-foot tall fiberglass sultan (1964) that stood above its main entrance. [2] Although it opened to much fanfare, it struggled from the start; one of the reasons possibly being it was located at what was the southernmost part of the Strip at the time. The hotel frequently had to borrow money, and even the Sands Hotel lent its executives to help out, as well as bringing in numerous famous celebrities and entertainers such as actor/singer Frank Sinatra’s surprise appearance dressed as a sultan. On January 10 1957, in a desperate move to keep the resort afloat, the Dunes became the first hotel/casino in Nevada to offer a topless show, called Minsky’s Follies - the first of which was Minsky Goes to Paris. The State Legislature was "in an uproar" but the show set a record for attendance in a single week at 16,000. In 1961, a 24 story tower was built, bringing the number of rooms up to 450. In 1970 there were rumors Howard Hughes would buy into the hotel but that did not end up happening. In 1979, the hotel expanded to 1300 rooms. In 1985, the Sultan statue, by now on the golf course, had caught on fire - reportedly due to an electrical short in his stomach. In 1987, Japanese investor Masao Nangaku purchased the Dunes "for $155 million but could not make it a financial success." [3]
On November 17, 1992, it was sold for the last time to developer Steve Wynn's company, Mirage Resorts, Inc. for $75 million. [4], [5] On January 26, 1993, the Dunes closed its doors for good. Like some of the other legendary hotel/casinos of its era, it could no longer compete with the newer and more exciting mega-resorts that were being built.
On October 27, 1993, the Dunes was imploded in a grand ceremony that involved major fireworks displays and the use of several “cannon blasts” from the pirate ship of Treasure Island hotel and casino. The cannon blasts simulated the effect of the ship’s cannons being responsible for the destruction of the Dunes. Everything, including its legendary neon sign, was destroyed "amid a shower of fireworks never before equaled west of the Mississippi. More than 200,000 people crowded onto the Strip to witness the spectacle." [6]
The implosion also served as a very symbolic effect for the city. Many longtime residents knew the Dunes was controlled by the mafia, having been first built with money from it and the Teamsters’ pension fund, and the implosion signaled the end of significant mafia control and influence in Las Vegas. For many years, the hotel was owned by Morris Shenker - "an attorney associated with the St. Louis Mafia, Meyer Lansky, Jimmy Hoffa, and the Dunes Hotel." [7], [8], [9] Shenker later became a target of the Organized Crime Strke Force in St. Louis. [10]
In 1998, the Bellagio opened on the former site of the Dunes.
[edit] Film History
The implosion of the Dunes was shown in the closing credits of The Cooler.
[edit] References
- ^ Dunes/Bellagio
- ^ Early Las Vegas
- ^ Dunes/Bellagio
- ^ History of Las Vegas
- ^ Dunes/Bellagio
- ^ History of Las Vegas
- ^ Mr. Cleanface’s Dirty Laundry: Harry Reid’s Mob Money
- ^ Mr. Cleanface’s Dirty Laundry: Harry Reid’s Mob Money
- ^ Las Vegas Casinos and Past Mob Ties
- ^ Aladdin, A Casino With A Colorful Past, Rises Again
