The Dunes Hotel is a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, operating from May 23, 1955 to January 26, 1993. Designed by architect Maxwell Starkman, it is the tenth resort to open on the Strip. Bellagio now stands on the former land. The Dunes golf course is now occupied by sections of Park MGM, New York-New York, CityCenter, and Cosmopolitan, and T-Mobile Arena.
Video Dunes (hotel and casino)
History
In the early 1950s, Al Gottesman, a retired owner of a cinema network living in Miami, received a request from two developers for a $ 58,000 loan that would be used to purchase desert properties for a Las Vegas hotel. Gottesman agrees to provide funds in return for a fraction of the hotel's profits. Gottesman gave an additional $ 16,000 to hire an architect for a new project.
Gottesman later discovered that another partner, originally from Rhode Island and led by Joe Sullivan, had also invested in the project. The Sullivans secretly include the Raymond Patriarca mafia, a fact not discovered until many years later. The early developers then left the project, and the property was later taken over by Gottesman and by the Sullivan group, both of whom had plans for a large gambling resort. An additional $ 1.5 million was raised, with Beverly Hills jewelry seller Bob Rice as an additional partner. The pension fund from the International Brotherhood of the Teamsters, which has connections to the mafia, helps to complete the new resort, which costs $ 3.5 million to build.
Opening and early years (1955-1960s)
The Dunes, themed after Arabian Nights stories, opened on May 23, 1955. It was designed by architect Maxwell Starkman. The new resort includes 200 hotel rooms, located in several two-story buildings. Also featured a 90 foot-shaped swimming pool and 150-meter long lagoon. The resort also features Arabian Rooms, which have the capabilities and the size of Broadway theater. Hollywood star Vera-Ellen performs on the opening night. The resort is located on an 85 hectare property, some of which are still empty at the time of opening. The hotel slogan is "The Miracle in the Desert". From the time of its opening, the dunes are known for the 35-foot (11 m) sultan fiberglass statue standing above its main entrance.
Gottesman and Sullivan were shocked by the amount of money lost in the hotel and expensive expensive entertainment, while the resort suffered bad earnings on the game table and little success from the Arab Room. The Sands Hotel and Casino manager hired showrooms and casinos for a short time, but could not make it a success. In August 1955, Gottesman prepared to sell the resort because he became angry with a large amount of his own money to spend to keep him operating. Casino closed briefly due to lack of business.
The resort was purchased in 1956 by two businessmen, Major A. Riddle and Jake Gottlieb, who dealt with Chicago Outfit. Rice lives with the property to work on her entertainment aspect with Riddle. On January 10, 1957, Riddle introduced Nevada's first topless show, called Minsky's Follies - the first being "Minsky Goes to Paris." Although the State Legislature opposed the event, it set a record to attend in a week at 16,000.
In 1958, the International Brotherhood pension fund from Teamsters lent $ 4 million to Riddle and Gottlieb to help the resort. At one point, Jayne Mansfield appeared in the resort showroom for $ 35,000 a week. An 18 hole golf course was added in 1959. In April 1959, the dunes celebrated what was the first double launch ceremony in Las Vegas, with construction commencing simultaneously at the new & amp; Convention Hall and 500-space parking lot.
In 1961, a 24-story hotel tower, 250 rooms, known as Diamond of the Dunes, was added to the northern part of the property, bringing the number of rooms to 450. At the top of the tower is Top O 'Restaurant and Strip lounge. The tower was the tallest building in the state at the time.
Many renowned artists, such as Dean Martin, Liberace, George Burns, Pat Cooper, Judy Garland, Violetta Villas, Phyllis Diller, and Frank Sinatra, performed at the hotel.
Operation and last year (1960s-1993)
Although it opened to much fanfare, it struggled from scratch because it was on the southernmost part of the Strip. Hotels often had to borrow money, and even Sands Hotel lent its executives to help, as well as bringing in a number of famous celebrities and entertainers such as Frank Sinatra's shocking appearance dressed as a sultan. In the late 1960s, Morris Shenker bought flowers at Dunes and became Chairman of the Board. In 1970, there was an unrealized rumor that Howard Hughes would buy into the hotel.
During the 1970s, a restaurant with a dome-shaped roof, known as the Dome of the Sea, operates on the property. From 1976 to 1978, Johnny Elvis Foster starred in his Elvis show, For The Love Of Elvis, in the Dunes showroom. Shenker was Foster's godfather. Foster was Elvis's first impersonator before Elvis died.
In 1979, the South Tower was added, extending the hotel to 1300 rooms.
In 1983, Stuart's brother and Clifford Perlman, founder of Caesars World, agreed to buy Dunes for $ 185 million, and even took over the property operations for several months, but the sale eventually failed. The second casino in a separate circular building on site opened in 1983 under the name Oasis Casino at The Dunes . In 1985, the statue of the sultan was transferred to the golf course during renovation, and then burned, reportedly due to lack of electricity.
The Dunes, suffering from low income, filed for bankruptcy protection and reorganization under Chapter 11 on November 6, 1985. Later that year, Steve Wynn, head of the local Golden Nugget-casino hotel, offered $ 115 million to buy the resort, even though the offer was rejected. Businessman Donald Trump then offered to buy the resort for $ 100 million, even though he was rejected as well. In July 1987, Hilton Hotels Corporation and Japanese investor Masao Nangaku both planned to buy the resort. I bought the Dunes that year for $ 155 million, though he could not make it financially successful.
On November 17, 1992, Dunes was sold to Wynn's Mirage Resorts, Inc. for $ 75 million.
Closing and unloading
On 26 January 1993, the dunes closed the door for good. The liquidation sale is conducted by the National Content Liquidator to clear the property from its contents as the beginning of the demolition of the building. Like many legendary properties of his era, he can no longer compete with the newer and more exciting megaresorts that are being built.
Steve Wynn bought the Dunes and started a rebuilding trend with the 32-year-old North Tower demolition. On October 27, 1993, the dunes were destroyed in a large ceremony involving a major fireworks show and the use of several "cannon explosions" from the British ship 'HMS Britannia' from the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino. More than 200,000 people witnessed its destruction. The signs of the dunes themselves are lit and read "There Is No Emptiness" as if it were still open. Steve Wynn, along with Controlled Demolition, Inc. stood up and said, "Captain Britannia, are you ready, sir? Prepare the leaflet! Ready! Shoot! Fire!" The gunshot from the ship is simulated to coincide with the explosion along the Dunes property. Neon signs were destroyed and fireballs triggered by 16,000 liters (4226 gallons) of aviation fuel swallowed the Diamond Tower shortly before the explosives were brought down. Everything except the south tower was destroyed "in the midst of a rain of fireworks that had never existed before the west of the Mississippi."
The 15-year-old South Tower was destroyed 9 months later in July 1994, without fanfare and little media attention. Destruction also holds symbolic significance for the city. Many long-time residents know that Dunes is controlled by the mafia, which was first built with money from him and a mass-controlled pension fund from unions and Pipefitters. Destruction hints at the end of control and significant mafia influence in Las Vegas.
Over the years, the hotel was owned by Major Riddle of "Chicago Outfit" and later sold partly to Morris Shenker, a "lawyer associated with St. Louis Mafia, Meyer Lansky, Jimmy Hoffa, and Frank Foster, owner of Athony Alarm". Riddle and Shenker later became the targets of the Organized Crime Forces at St. Louis.
During the construction of a new resort and casino, workers found four bags of casino Dunes chips buried at the site.
The Bellagio now stands in its place. The Dunes golf course is now occupied by sections of Monte Carlo, New York-New York, CityCenter, and Cosmopolitan, and T-Mobile Arena.
Maps Dunes (hotel and casino)
Popular culture
- The Dunes is displayed across the fictional Tangiers casino at the beginning of the Casino movie.
- The Dunes made a cameo in the Fallout video game << i> New Vegas under the name "Gomorrah".
- This hotel is used in the intro Vega $ .
- The Dunes mark can be seen in the movie Diamonds Are Forever when James Bond rises behind a diamond smuggler van to the research center.
- The Dunes are widely seen on the episode of The Bionic Woman, "Fembots in Las Vegas".
- The Dunes sign is viewable and this hotel is featured in Angels in Vegas episode Charlie's Angels .
- The Dunes and Oasis Casino marks appear near the end of the Four Seasons episode of Highlander: The Series, The Immortal Cimoli, where a new Immortal named Danny Cimoli is performing there and meets an immortal named Vrej Ratavoussian.
- The sign of a Dunes is seen in the 1991 cult classic cult scene of Harley Davidson and Marlboro Men in the window of the hotel where they were staying in Las Vegas. The film takes place in 1996, where in real life, the Dunes were torn down before that year.
- The Dunes were spotted on a pilot episode of the hit 1980's Knight Rider hit TV series Knight Rider of the Phoenix and seen in the season's first episode of Season Two titled "Goliath".
See also
- List of hotels in the United States
References
External links
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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