So long Stardust Hotel!

[Toejam]

Almost 2 weeks ago Las Vegas said goodbye to one of it's Richest treasures the Stardust Hotel & Casino. Built in 1954 it was one of Vegas' most famous attractions, it was the inspiration for the movie Casino with Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesce. I found this Video on Youtube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym3Gto_fNIk

 

[MM]

it had the countdown and the fancy light show.....all we needed was Dick Clark!!! (maybe a big crystal ball)

 

[Kelly Andersen]

It was bizarre, when I was out there for the pro stock showdown all that was left was the frame, I cant imagine how much it cost to strip the building of everything. Sure spent alot in lighting just to have it destroyed. Kind of a cool send off for a building with lots of history.

 

[Toejam]

It was bizarre, when I was out there for the pro stock showdown all that was left was the frame, I cant imagine how much it cost to strip the building of everything. Sure spent alot in lighting just to have it destroyed. Kind of a cool send off for a building with lots of history.

Kelly I heard they had a huge auction of just about anything that could be taken out. I imagine some Beds/Drapes are in somebody's Home right about now.

 

[none]

I`m going to have to check out the property when we`re out there in a couple weeks. Stardust had been around a long time, my parents stayed there on their honeymoon. We gambled there one time on our way back to the LV Hilton, after Friday night qualifying, and I`m sure the place had seen better days. I remember my wife won like $400 playing blackjack and we got comped a free steak/lobster tail dinner in their 24 hr. restaurant...not good!

 

[Toejam]

I`m going to have to check out the property when we`re out there in a couple weeks. Stardust had been around a long time, my parents stayed there on their honeymoon. We gambled there one time on our way back to the LV Hilton, after Friday night qualifying, and I`m sure the place had seen better days. I remember my wife won like $400 playing blackjack and we got comped a free steak/lobster tail dinner in their 24 hr. restaurant...not good!

Chris, now you know why the Steak/Lobster was Comped?

 

[mick]

can't believe it's been 11 years since i've been there, but in '96 we
stayed there, very nice; gambling, pool.....and especially the lounge.
from what i hear, in addition to recycling the casino/hotels;
high-rise condos are going up everywhere now.

 

[Bob]

I first visited the 'Dust in 1976, sad to see her go. They leveled the Westward Ho late last year, and the New Frontier should be next to make room for a multi-billion dollar mega resort. Too bad, I like the older smaller places. During the implosion of the Stardust, the McDonald's next door was completely covered in plastic to keep the 'Dust dust out!

 

[mick]

what's left on the strip? o'shea's & barbary coast?
if the frontier comes down and i hear the flamingo hilton,
tropicana & riviera are scheduled to go too.
also heard rumor another tower will be built at wynn's??

 

[d'kid]

AWESOME Video... Ya'll in Vegas sure know how to bring the house down

 

[Bob]

what's left on the strip? o'shea's & barbary coast?
if the frontier comes down and i hear the flamingo hilton,
tropicana & riviera are scheduled to go too.
also heard rumor another tower will be built at wynn's??

The Barbary Coast is now Bill's Gambling Hall, Harrah's bought it. They own O'Sheas too, so they have the entire block. I fully expect them to level the block within 4 years, and build another mega resort. The Trop has been under consideration for demolition for a couple years now. Aztar wants to do something else with the property, they just haven't figured out what that might be. Don't know much about the Flamingo other than it hasn't carried the Hilton name for a while. The Riviera has had a couple take-over attempts recently (they are a publicly traded company), but the key to that place going down would have to include the old Water World site north of it. Still north of that is the Sahara, and it was recently sold, so who knows what will happen on the north end of the strip...

I've been going to Vegas for more than 30 years, and the place has always been in a constant state of change.

 

[.]

Chris Schoen mentioned in an earlier post about the food being bad in one of the 24 hour restaurants…..

When I was in Vegas just before the Winternationals, we ate at the crappy little restaurant in the back corner of the Barbary Coast. We only had breakfast food (it was 3:00am) but we noticed the “Chinese lunch” and the “Chinese dinner” on the menu. We asked the waiter, WHO WAS CHINESE, what the difference was…. He said “I’m not sure, but it‘s not very good!!! We thought it was funny that a Chinese waiter didn’t know the difference between the two Chinese items on the menu…..


I’m with Bob Orme…. I also prefer the older places. I’m partial to Binions Horseshoe

 

[Toejam]

what's left on the strip? o'shea's & barbary coast?
if the frontier comes down and i hear the flamingo hilton,
tropicana & riviera are scheduled to go too.
also heard rumor another tower will be built at wynn's??

I did hear the Frontier's suppose to come down by this time next year. The Tropicana will be demolished for a newer and Fancier Tropicana.

 

[Bob]

That's a recent photo of Binion's, it is no longer Binion's Horseshoe! Harrah's bought the name "Horseshoe" when they bought the property from Becky, then they sold the casino minus the name.

This is a list of the casino/hotels I've stayed at in Vegas.

Aladdin (the newer one, now changing to Planet Hollywood)
AZ Charlie's Decatur
Ballys (was the MGM Grand before the fire)
Barbary Coast (now Bill's Gambling Hall and Saloon)
Binion's Horseshoe (now Binion's)
Boulder Station
Circus Circus
Excalibur
Four Queens
Gold Coast
Hacienda (Mandalay Bay sits where this place was)
Las Vegas Club (now the Vegas Club)
Las Vegas Hilton
Orleans
Palace Station
The Palms
Paris
Rio (the window between the shower and the bedroom is ...interesting)
Riviera
Sahara
San Remo (now Hooters)
Stardust
Stratosphere
Terrible's (not terrible at all, used to be the Continental)
Vacation Village (the worst hotel I ever stayed at anywhere)
Westward Ho (stayed there 4 days before it closed forever)

The Paris is the place I've stayed the most (7 or 8 times). I've stayed at the Aladdin, AZ Charlie's Decatur, Circus Circus, Four Queens, Las Vegas Club, Sahara, and Stardust three or more times each.

I love Las Vegas! Laughlin and Reno ain't too shabby either!

 

[.]

That's a recent photo of Binion's,

You're correct. I took it the Tuesday before the Winternationals.

It is no longer Binion's Horseshoe! Harrah's bought the name "Horseshoe" when they bought the property from Becky, then they sold the casino minus the name.

I did not know that! It all makes sense now.... I asked the security guard what happened to "Binions Millions" He said "a collector bought it" (how much does a million dollars cost anyway )

This is a list of the casino/hotels I've stayed at in Vegas.

Aladdin (the newer one, now changing to Planet Hollywood)
AZ Charlie's Decatur
Ballys (was the MGM Grand before the fire)
Barbary Coast (now Bill's Gambling Hall and Saloon)
Binion's Horseshoe (now Binion's)
Boulder Station
Circus Circus
Excalibur
Four Queens
Gold Coast
Hacienda (Mandalay Bay sits where this place was)
Las Vegas Club (now the Vegas Club)
Las Vegas Hilton
Orleans
Palace Station
The Palms
Paris
Rio (the window between the shower and the bedroom is ...interesting)
Riviera
Sahara
San Remo (now Hooters)
Stardust
Stratosphere
Terrible's (not terrible at all, used to be the Continental)
Vacation Village (the worst hotel I ever stayed at anywhere)
Westward Ho (stayed there 4 days before it closed forever)

The Paris is the place I've stayed the most (7 or 8 times). I've stayed at the Aladdin, AZ Charlie's Decatur, Circus Circus, Four Queens, Las Vegas Club, Sahara, and Stardust three or more times each.

I love Las Vegas! Laughlin and Reno ain't too shabby either!

I think you've been there just a couple times more than I have.

 

[Bob]

I did not know that! It all makes sense now.... I asked the security guard what happened to "Binions Millions" He said "a collector bought it" (how much does a million dollars cost anyway )

I read that Becky turned down $2 million for the 100 $10,000 bills. One guy did buy them (the price was kept private), and he has been selling them to currency collectors one at a time. He's had a few on eBay with opening bids of $60,000 each, and I think they've all sold for more than the opening bid. Those are some very rare bills! Binion's 100 $10,000 bills was the largest collection in the world. The second largest was(is) at the American Numismatic Association museum here in Colorado Springs, and they only have 4 of them.

The $10,000 bills weren't the only things of value that Becky sold off that weren't part of selling the casino to Harrah's. The cage and vault were full of casino chips that would have no playable value to a new owner (Nevada Gaming regs require new chips with a change of ownership). She was offered $1 million for all of the chips. She turned that down too. Those were bought at an undisclosed price to undisclosed buyer(s) and they too are now being sold into the collectors markets.

 

[.]

I read that Becky turned down $2 million for the 100 $10,000 bills. One guy did buy them (the price was kept private), and he has been selling them to currency collectors one at a time. He's had a few on eBay with opening bids of $60,000 each, and I think they've all sold for more than the opening bid. Those are some very rare bills! Binion's 100 $10,000 bills was the largest collection in the world. The second largest was(is) at the American Numismatic Association museum here in Colorado Springs, and they only have 4 of them.

The $10,000 bills weren't the only things of value that Becky sold off that weren't part of selling the casino to Harrah's. The cage and vault were full of casino chips that would have no playable value to a new owner (Nevada Gaming regs require new chips with a change of ownership). She was offered $1 million for all of the chips. She turned that down too. Those were bought at an undisclosed price to undisclosed buyer(s) and they too are now being sold into the collectors markets.

I had no idea the bills were worth 10K each.

I’ll keep my eyes open for them on eBay (not that I can afford one)

Brian.

 

[mick]

a couple more than me too.

first time i ever saw the place i was 10 yrs. old and on 'family vacation'
in '74 wood veneer gran torino ford station wagon. anyways, somewhere
i have old photo of outdoor boxing ring setup behind ceasar's. we were
driving along highway behing the strip. mountains/desert/highway/strip
i think the fight was of notoriety (frazier, foreman, ali.....that group)
this was 1976.

 

[ProNitro Pete]

Not to mention the NameSake of Shoe's STARDUST fuel coupe.
I asked, and yes, he watched it come down!

 

[Dougster]

Well, I've never been to Vegas but not having any personal experience has never stopped me (or anyone on the internet) from airing my opinion. I'm sad to see it go, as I was sad to see all the old hotels/casinos go as Vegas transforms itself yet again.

I guess I liked the idea of the "old" Vegas which was somewhat tacky, tawdry, and trashy - isn't that why we went? A place to do things that were unacceptable at home, gamble away the grocery money, all the while surrounded by zillions of watts of neon and kitsch.

I'm not really thrilled by all the new mega-resorts that seem to be springing up in place of the old classics. Sure they have amenities out the yin-yang, and MUCH nicer accomodation, but is that really what going to Vegas should be about? Also, many of them seem to be set back further from the street and more isolated/unwelcoming for passersby (okay, I've been reading Kunstler and Jane Jacobs again).

Farewell Stardust and to more of the "old" Vegas...