Las Vegas Strip

:This article is about The Las Vegas Strip area in the U.S. state of Nevada. For other uses, see Las Vegas (disambiguation).

History

The first casino to be built on Highway 91 was the Pair-o-Dice Club in 1931.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The first hotel to be built on what is today's Strip was the El Rancho Vegas, opening on April 3, 1941 with 63 rooms and standing for almost 20 years before being destroyed by fire in 1960. Its success spawned a second hotel on what will become The Strip, the Hotel Last Frontier, in 1942. The Flamingo opened a few years later, on December 26, 1946.

Related Topics:
El Rancho Vegas - April 3 - 1941 - 1960 - 1942 - Flamingo - December 26 - 1946

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1968, Kirk Kerkorian purchased the Flamingo and hired Sahara Hotels Vice President Alex Shoofey as President. Alex Shoofey brought along 33 of Sahara's top executives. The Flamingo was used to train future employees of the International Hotel, which was under construction. Opening in 1969, the International Hotel with 1,512 rooms, would become the largest hotel in the world, and begin the era of mega-resorts. The International is known as the Las Vegas Hilton today.

Related Topics:
1968 - Kirk Kerkorian - Flamingo - International Hotel - 1969 - Las Vegas Hilton

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

1973 added a new resort to The Strip. The (original) MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, also a Kerkorian property, opened with 2,084 rooms, ranking as the number one hotel in the world by number of rooms at that time. On November 21, 1980, the MGM Grand suffered the worst resort fire in the history of Las Vegas, killing 87 people (84 in the fire and three more due to injuries) as a result of electrical problems. It reopened eight months later.

Related Topics:
1973 - MGM Grand Hotel and Casino - November 21 - 1980

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1986, Kerkorian sold the MGM Grand to Bally Manufacturing and it was renamed Bally's.

Related Topics:
1986 - Bally's

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The opening of The Mirage in 1989 set a new level to the Las Vegas experience, as smaller hotels and casinos made way for the larger mega-resorts. These huge facilities offer entertainment and dining options, as well as gambling and lodging. This change impacted the smaller, well-known and now historic hotels and casinos, like The Dunes and The Sands.

Related Topics:
The Mirage - 1989 - Entertainment - Dining - The Dunes - The Sands

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In an effort to attract families, resorts offered more attractions geared toward youth, but had limited success. The (current) MGM Grand opened in 1993 with Grand Adventures amusement park, but it closed in 2000 due to lack of interest. Similarly, in 2003 Treasure Island closed its own video arcade and abandoned the previous pirate theme and adopting the new ti name.

Related Topics:
MGM Grand - 1993 - Amusement park - 2000 - 2003 - Treasure Island - Video arcade - Pirate

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Downtown Las Vegas hotels and casinos suffered heavily from the Strip's boom. They have funneled money into remodeling the facades of casinos, adding additional security and new attractions, like the Fremont Street Experience and Neonopolis (complete with movie theaters).

Related Topics:
Facade - Fremont Street Experience - Neonopolis

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Wet and Wild water park, located next to the Sahara hotel, closed permanently at the end of the 2004 season.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On July 8, 2005, news reports (1, 2) said that George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Brad Pitt will be working with Cindy Crawford's husband Rande Gerber to design and build a new casino hotel in Las Vegas just off the Strip. Mr. Gerber is the one behind Green Valley Ranch resort and spa's Whiskey Sky, so he is already involved in the Las Vegas entertainment market. Groundbreaking is expected to begin in January 2006. Clooney filmed Ocean's Eleven at the Bellagio, and spends vacation time at the Green Valley Ranch resort and spa. The official announcement came on August 29, 2005. The hotel, condo, and casino property will be called Las Ramblas, and will be built on Harmon Avenue next to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

Related Topics:
July 8 - 2005 - George Clooney - Matt Damon - Brad Pitt - Cindy Crawford - Rande Gerber - Green Valley Ranch resort and spa - January - 2006 - Ocean's Eleven - Bellagio - August 29 - Las Ramblas - Hard Rock Hotel and Casino

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~