Author: John Rosen
The 1960's didn't start well for Las Vegas. On June 17, 1960,
most of the original Las Vegas Strip hotel casino, El Rancho
Vegas, burned down. Things then stayed quiet in Las Vegas until
1966, when Howard Hughes came to town. By the time Hughes left
ten years later he either current owned or had owned the Desert
Inn, Castaways, New Frontier, Landmark, Sands, and Silver
Slipper, and in addition he owned huge tracts of Las Vegas land.
Additionally in 1966, Caesars Palace and Aladdin opened.
The 1970's were perhaps the heyday of mob control of Las Vegas.
Teamster loans were used to finance the acquisition of a variety
of hotel casinos. It would take the FBI years to finally drive
the mobsters out. New casinos that opened during the 1970's
include Circus Circus, Holiday Casino, and MGM Grand.
Three incredibly important events occurred in the 1980's in Las
Vegas. In 1980, 84 people died in the worst disaster in Nevada
history, the MGM Grand fire. In 1986 Tony Spilotro was found
murdered in a cornfield in Indiana, marking the end of major mob
influence in Las Vegas. And in 1988 The Mirage, funded by junk
bonds floated with the help of Michael Milken, opened for
business. The opening of the Mirage signaled the beginning of
the greatest growth spurt in Las Vegas Strip history, and
encouraged investment in Las Vegas by major corporations.
The Las Vegas Strip was almost completely rebuilt in the
1990's. In 1990 the largest hotel in the world, the Excalibur,
opened at the corner of Tropicana and the Strip. In 1993 Mirage
buys the Dunes, including its golf course, and implodes the old
hotel. Also in 1993 the MGM Grand, Treasure Island, and Luxor
open for business. In 1996 the Stratosphere opened, and the
Sands and Hacienda closed. In 1997 New York-New York opened, and
Aladdin closed. In 1998 the most expensive hotel casino ever
built, the Bellagio, opened, and Hilton split their corporation
into gaming and non-gaming entities. Finally, in 1999, MGM
bought Primadonna Resorts, and the final three hotel casinos to
open in the millennium, New York-New York. Mandalay Bay, the
Venetian, and Paris opened.
Now, in the new millennium, two corporations own a large part
of the Las Vegas Strip. In 2000 MGM buys Mirage, and in 2004
they also buy Mandalay Resort Group, leaving them with Mandalay
Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, MGM Grand, New York – New York, Bellagio,
Mirage, Treasure Island, and Circus Circus on the Las Vegas
Strip. Meanwhile Park Place purchased Caesars World in 2000 and
Harrahs in 2004, leaving them with Paris, Bally's, Flamingo,
Harrahs, and Caesars Palace on the Strip. In 2005 Steve Wynn
returned to the Strip with the Wynn Resort. In 2007 two older
hotels, the Frontier and the Stardust, are closed and imploded,
and, finally, in 2008 the Palazzo opened for business. In
addition, the other major change that is currently occurring is
the incredible growth of residential condos on the Las Vegas
Strip. The fastest growing city in the United States for most of
the twentieth century is now looking more like a major urban
city.
About The Author: John Rosen writes for Las Vegas Strip Map
(http://www.lasvegasstripmap.
developments on the Las Vegas Strip.
