Stardust Resort and Casino


The Stardust Resort and Casino was a casino resort located on along the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada.
The Stardust opened in 1958 and operated continuously for 48 years. Shortly after the resort opened, the defunct nearby Royal Nevada hotel and casino was converted to become part of the Stardust, and a 32-story tower was added in 1991. It officially closed at noon on November 1, 2006 and was demolished by implosion in March 2007, a short lifetime even by Las Vegas standards, where casinos are torn down and rebuilt on a regular basis.
In 2007, Boyd Gaming, which owned the property, began construction on Echelon Place, Stardust's intended replacement. Construction was halted in 2008, however, during the economic downturn. In 2013, Malaysia-based Genting Group bought the site from Boyd, with plans to open Resorts World, a Chinese-themed resort, by 2021.

Sign

The famed Stardust sign became one of the symbols of Las Vegas.

Original signs (1958)

was hired to fabricate the sign. Kermit Wayne's design was selected for both the façade and the roadside signs. Although Moe Dalitz, who took over from original developer Tony Cornero upon his death, said it was from his original plans, the sign was really part of Cornero's original concept.
The 1958 Stardust façade sign was long and high, wrapping around two sides of the building, and was lit with of neon tubing and 11,000 incandescent bulbs. It weighed, contained of wiring, and drew 3,000 amps. At the bend in the sign was a diameter plastic model of the Earth. Cosmic rays of neon and electric light bulbs beamed from behind the model Earth in all directions. Three-dimensional acrylic glass planets spun alongside 20 sparkling neon starbursts. Across the universe was a jagged galaxy of electric lettering spelling out "Stardust". The "S" alone contained 975 lamps. At night, the neon constellation was reportedly visible from over away.
The roadside sign was freestanding with a circle constraining an amorphous cloud of cosmic dust circled by an orbit ring and covered in dancing stars. The hotel's name was nestled in a galactic cloud.

New roadside sign (1967)

In 1967, the old circular sign was replaced by a new $500,000 roadside sign. The new sign's form was blurred by a scatter of star shapes, a shower of stardust. At night, incorporating neon and incandescent bulbs in the animation sequence, light fell from the stars, sprinkling from the top of the tall sign down over the Stardust name. It was repainted in 1977 along with the refreshing of the building signage.

Remodeled façade (1968)

In 1959, the Stardust took over the neighboring Royal Nevada Hotel, which had opened in 1955. The county abandoned the road that had separated the two properties in 1964 and the façade was extended in 1966 along with the main lobby building to encompass the Royal Nevada property. The façade sign was completed in 1968; compared to the 1958 original, it was made flat and retained the starburst theme, but now the model Earth was elevated above the center of the sign on a lighted tower.

Later changes (1977+)

The 1977 remodel of the building sign dropped the space theme in favor of an animated red and blue neon background, and the covering of the porte cochere was lit with thousands of incandescent bulbs. The main name was reset in the Futura typeface and moved to the new West Tower after it opened in 1991, and the building façade was stripped of many lights.
In 1991, the Stardust sign's Googie lettering was replaced with a subdued Futura typeface.

History

Conception and construction

The resort was conceived and built by Tony Cornero, who died in 1955 before construction was completed. The resort's assets were acquired and completed by John Factor, half-brother of cosmetics seller Max Factor, Sr.. John Factor leased the casino out to a company controlled by Moe Dalitz. When the hotel opened, it had the largest casino and swimming pool in Nevada, and the largest hotel in the Las Vegas area.

Royal Nevada

The Royal Nevada was the previous hotel on part of the Stardust site.
The Royal Nevada opened north of the New Frontier on April 19, 1955, as the Showplace of Showtown, U.S.A. The resort's crowning glory was the crown that sat on top of the resort. Al Sachs, who started as a dealer in illegal games before opening the Royal Nevada in 1955.
The night before the opening, "atomic soldiers" from Camp Desert Rock were treated to a pre-opening party. Operation Teapot, the sixth in a series of nuclear weapons tests, had started earlier in 1955.
The Royal Nevada was plagued with financial problems from the start; 1955 was in general a bad year for casinos, as the Royal Nevada and three other casinos that opened that year all went bankrupt.
While this resort seemed to "disappear completely", swallowed in 1958 by the Stardust and becoming the Stardust's Convention Center, portions of the two-story bungalow style Royal Nevada wing and pool remained in use up until 2006.

Opening

The Stardust opened at noon on July 3, 1958. The attendees of the opening included governors, senators, city and county officials and Hollywood celebrities, and the opening festivities were marked with fireworks and promised "a very unique 'ribbon cutting' ceremony".
The entertainment roster featured the spectacular French production show Lido de Paris. Lido was conceived by Pierre-Louis Guerin and Rene Fraday, and staged by Donn Arden. The show continued into the 1960s with Vocalist Ray Vasquez, and Renee Victor, The performers were flown to Las Vegas on a chartered plane, arriving on June 20. The first showing on the night of July 3 was a preview reserved for members of the press. It was staged in the Cafe Continental, with seating for 700 and a rising stage capable of sinking below and rising above the floor. The stage was billed as larger than a basketball court, held a swimming tank and ice skating rink, and was capable of generating rain and snow on demand.
The opening night lounge lineup offered, from dusk to dawn, Billy Daniels, The Happy Jesters, The Vera Cruz Boys and the Jack Martin Quartet. Daniels became the first entertainer to sign a long-term residency contract in Metropolitan Las Vegas when he agreed to appear for 40 weeks per year for three years.
Tony Cornero's dream became a $10 million, 1,065 room reality, charging just $6.00 a day; the rooms were arranged in six buildings, each named for a different planet, with parking provided at each building. The resort featured the long, Big Dipper swimming pool, a lobby, a casino, and a decor featuring rich red and deep brown colors and indirect lighting.

Expansion and attractions

The Stardust also held Las Vegas Strip's only first-run drive-in theater in the rear of the resort.
The Stardust took over the closed Royal Nevada hotel-casino, remodeled the showroom, and converted it into a convention center and high-roller suite. From 1959 to 1964, this wing was occupied by the Stardust's "high roller" guests and The Stardust showgirls.
In 1964, the Olympic-size pool area opened to the general public with the addition of the 9-story Stardust Tower that replaced half of the bungalow rooms.
In 1960, the resort added a new screen surface to its drive-in theatre. The same year, the Aku Aku Polynesian Restaurant was opened, complete with a Tiki Bar, and a large stone Tiki head marking the entrance from the outside.
By 1961, Stardust's management included Credit Manager Hyman Goldbaum, a career criminal with seven known aliases, fourteen criminal convictions including an assault conviction, and a three-year prison sentence for income tax evasion. Casino Manager and 5% owner Johnny Drew, was a veteran associate of Al Capone and was once fined for running a crooked dice game at an Elks convention, and general manager Morris Kleinman had served three years for tax evasion.
In 1964, with the addition of the nine-story tower, the room count increased to 1,470. For the next five years The Stardust was the leader in rooms until 1969 when The International opened. In 1964 the landmark façade was updated, expanding out into the parking lot by the highway. The new façade raised the Stardust's name, still in electra-jag letters, onto a pole above the exploding universe.
From 1965 until 1970, the hotel operated the Stardust International Raceway in Spring Valley. The track drew the Can-Am and USAC Championship Car series, including drivers such as Mario Andretti, Dan Gurney, Bruce McLaren, Mark Donohue, and Jackie Stewart.
In 1966, Howard Hughes attempted to buy the Stardust for $30.5 million, but was thwarted by government officials on the grounds that his acquisition of any more gambling resorts might violate the Sherman Antitrust Act.
Siegfried & Roy got their Strip start as headliners at the Stardust in the late 1960s with the help of mob associate Frank Rosenthal after he gave them his wife Geraldine Rosenthal's unwanted gift Rolls Royce.

Under Argent

In November 1969, Parvin-Dohrmann Corporation purchased the Stardust for an undisclosed amount. The resort was bought by Argent Corporation in 1974 using loans from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Central States Pension Fund. Argent was owned by Allen Glick, but the casino was believed to be controlled by various organized crime families from the Midwest. Al Sachs served as president of the Stardust in the early 1970s before leaving in 1974 after disagreeing with Glick and Rosenthal. Sachs was succeeded by Herb Tobman.
In the 1970s, Argent Corporation had siphoned off between $7 and $15 million, using rigged scales. When this scam was exposed by the FBI, this skimming operation was the largest skim ever exposed. A number of organized crime figures were convicted as a result of the skimming. The story of the casino operations and the cash skimming was featured in the Martin Scorsese movie and best selling book Casino by Nicholas Pileggi.
In 1977, the Stardust Hotel Casino went through another remodeling. The bombastic galactic theme was abandoned, though the roadside sign remained, and the façade was covered with animated neon tubing and trimmed with mirrored finish facets. The new porte cochere sparkled with 1,000 small incandescent bulbs.
In 1980, the famous Aku Aku Polynesian Restaurant closed. The giant stone Tiki head that had marked the entrance was later moved to an island in an artificial lake at Sunset Park in Winchester, Nevada.

Sachs and Tobman

After Argent Corporation was forced out of the gaming business in the late 1970s, the casino was sold to Al Sachs and Herb Tobman, who had both previously served as president of the Stardust. They formed Trans-Sterling, which took over the casino in 1979. However, the Nevada gaming authorities found that the cash skimming was still going on. In 1984, the Nevada Gaming Commission levied a $3.5 million fine against the Stardust resort for skimming, the highest fine ever issued by the commission, and Sachs and Tobman were forced to sell the Stardust and surrender their gaming licenses. Suspicions, accusations and controversy about the Stardust's hidden ownership over the years was finally squelched when Sam Boyd's locally based, squeaky-clean gaming company, Boyd Gaming, purchased the Stardust in March 1985.
The Stardust was a virtual gold mine to the Chicago Outfit, the skim being extremely large. When The Stardust was taken over by the reputable Boyd family, they were surprised by its huge profits, with every penny of net income recorded. Ex-FBI agent William F. Roemer, Jr., longtime senior agent of the FBI's organized-crime squad in Chicago and an expert in Las Vegas doings, said, "The amount of skim had been so heavy that the profit and loss statement did not present a true picture of the gold mine that the Stardust was."

Later years

In 1991, a 32-story West Tower was added to the resort, overshadowing the older East Tower and bringing the total room count to 1,500. Two landscaped swimming pools, a golf course, and athletic facilities were also built. The renovation project totaled $300 million. The bungalow rooms had been demolished, leaving the room count at 1,500.
At its peak size, the Stardust contained of gambling casino, including 73 gaming tables, and 1,950 slot, keno and video poker machines. The conference center was and could accommodate meetings and banquets for groups of 25 to 2,000.
Lido de Paris was replaced in 1992 with Enter the Night, which closed after its final show on December 27, 1999. Four of the original two-story buildings were demolished in 1999 as part of a $25 million renovation that included upgrades to rooms and landscaping.
Wayne Newton signed a ten-year deal, negotiated by Jack Wishna, with the Stardust in 1999, for a reported $25 million per year, the largest entertainment contract in the Las Vegas region at the time. Newton's opening night was January 24, 2000.After five and half years, Newton ended his run in late April 2005, and George Carlin moved into his theater. Magician Rick Thomas premiered at the hotel on March 25, 2005.
In 2002, comedian Andrew Dice Clay had a regular show at the Stardust.
The casino hosted an annual international pool tournament, the Jansco Brothers' Stardust Open, which attracted most of the top professional players of the era. For many years, its one-pocket division was the premier event in that discipline.
During the Stardust Theater's last month of operation, legendary stars, including George Carlin, Tim Conway and Harvey Korman, gave performances; singer Lawrence Leritz performed for the Ex-Playboy Bunny Reunion. The last act to perform in The Stardust Theater was Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé; the theater formally closed on October 28, 2006.
At the time of its closing, the Stardust Showroom starred The Magic of Rick Thomas, the most successful daytime show in the Strip's history.

Final day

The Stardust permanently closed its doors to the public on November 1, 2006. The last dice thrown at a Stardust craps table were by tourist Jimmy Kumihiro of Hawaii. Slot machine betting was officially halted at 7:30 a.m. Just before the casino was officially closed at noon, the Bobbie Howard Band led the customers out the doors for the last time to the tune of "When the Saints Go Marching In", and the hotel/casino complex closed after a 48-year run of continuous 24-hour operation. Outside, the loudspeakers were playing the John Lennon song "Nobody Told Me", which contains the line Nobody told me there'd be days like these / Strange days indeed.

Implosion

On Tuesday, March 13, 2007 at 2:33 a.m., the Stardust Resort was imploded in a grand ceremony which included fireworks marking the 10-second countdown before the East and West Towers tumbled. 428 pounds of explosives brought down the hotel, which at the time was the tallest building demolished on the Strip. A planned laser light show was cancelled when strong winds blew dust toward the audience.
Since the implosion, Boyd Gaming has continued to use the Stardust trademark with its Stardust Suite, in gaming area signage at its Orleans hotel-casino in Las Vegas. The domain StardustCasino.com now redirects to Boyd Gaming's website.

Attractions

In literature