Stardust Resort and Casino

Stardust Resort & Casino
Address	3000 Las Vegas Blvd South Las Vegas, NV 89109
Opening date	July 2, 1958
Theme	Outer space/science fiction
No. of rooms	1,552
Total gaming space	75,000ft²
Casino type	Land-Based
Owner	Boyd Gaming Corporation
Previous names	none
Renovated in	1960 1964 1977
Website	www.stardustlv.com

The Stardust Resort & Casino was a historic casino resort located on 63 acres along the famed Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The original resort was conceived and built by Tony Cornero, though he died in 1955 before construction was completed. When the hotel opened, it had the largest casino in Nevada, the largest swimming pool in Nevada and the largest hotel in the Las Vegas area.

The Stardust officially closed at 12:00pm (Pacific Time) on November 1, 2006. It is scheduled for implosion in mid-March 2007. Later that year, construction will begin on Echelon Place, which will replace The Stardust.

History

The Stardust was one of the oldest hotels on the strip and opened at 12:00pm on July 2, 1958. The attendees of the opening included Governors, Senators, city and county officials and Hollywood celebrities.

The entertainment registry started with the spectacular French production show Lido de Paris. Lido was conceived by Pierre-Louis Guerin and Rene Fraday, and staged by Donn Arden.

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 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 with what was architecturally little more than a warehouse, charging just $6.00 a day. The resort contained the Big Dipper swimming pool measuring 105 feet in length, a 13,500 square foot lobby, 16,500 square foot casino, and a decor featuring rich red and deep brown colors and indirect lighting.

The Stardust turned its sign, the largest in the world at the time, into its architecture establishing an unconventional, but effective response to the Strip. The Stardust was the first Strip hotel to not include the prestigious circle drive, spacious lawn and burbling fountain. Its architecture was a billboard that advertised nothing less than the universe itself.

The challenge of the Stardust's sign was the night sky and the vast desert. They could hide a low sprawl of motel wings without a trace. The sign had to stand out. The Stardust was already partially built when Young Electric Sign Company was hired to fabricate the sign. Kermit Wayne's design was selected for both the façade and the roadside signs. Although Dalitz said it was from his original plans, the sign was really part of Cornero's original concept.

The Stardust gave visitors a panorama view of the solar system that exploded beyond the edges of the building. At the sign's center sat a plastic earth which was 16 feet in diameter, formed in slices three feet across, taken from the Sputnik which was off the front pages of the newspaper. Cosmic rays of neon and electric light bulbs pulled out from behind the earth in all direction. Three-dimensional acrylic glass planets spun alongside 20 scintillating neon starbursts. Across the universe was a jagged galaxy of electric lettering spelling out "Stardust". The sign utilized 7,100 feet of neon tubing with over 11,000 bulbs along its 216 foot front. The "S" alone contained 975 lamps. At night the neon constellation was reportedly visible 60 miles 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. Subsidiary signs marked out the domain of the Stardust at secondary entrances. Lacking the Desert Inn's lawn and fountain, or the Riviera's dramatic front drive, the front of the Stardust was a parking lot with a sign.

The Stardust also conveniently held Las Vegas' only first run a drive-in theatre in the rear of the resort.

The Stardust took over the closed Royal Nevada hotel-casino, and remodeled the showroom and made it the exhibition and convention center. A half circle was added to the Royal Nevada's roofline but the fountain of neon tubing marking the entry was saved.

From 1959 to 1964 this wing was for the exclusive use of The Stardust's "high roller" guest who could stay in luxury two story suites and shared the use of the private pool with The Stardust showgirls who also lived in the Royal Nevada wing.

This olympic size pool area was opened to the general public with the 1964 addition of the 9 story Stardust Tower that replaced half of the bungalow rooms.

In 1960, the resort added a new 4,800 square foot screen surface to its drive-in theatre. They also installed a new speaker system which carried practically stereophonic type sound. The same year, the Aku Aku Polynesian Restaurant is 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, listing seven aliases, had 14 convictions, including one for assault, and had received a three-year sentence for income tax invasion. 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 Morris Kleinman who was part of the general management team, 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 5 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.

In 1965, a spectacular new roadside sign replaced the old circular sign at a cost of $500,000. Its 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 188 foot tall sign down over the Stardust name, igniting a frenzy and then snowing down onto the fortunate people below.

In 1966, Howard Hughes attempted to buy the Stardust for $30.5 million but the antitrust division blocked his takeover on the grounds that his acquisition of any more gambling resorts might violate the Sherman Antitrust Act.

In November of 1969, Parvin-Dohrmann Corporation purchased the Stardust for an undisclosed amount.

In 1977, the Stardust 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. The encrustation of bulbs turned solid mass into ethereal form.

In 1980, the Aku Aku Polynesian Restaurant closes. The giant stone Tiki head that marked the entrance was later moved to an island in an artificial lake at Sunset Park in Las Vegas.

In 1984, the Nevada Gaming Commission gave the highest fine ever issued in Nevada with the $3 million fine against the resort for skimming. 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 purchased the Stardust in March of 1985 with the enthusiasic blessing of the Nevada Gaming Commission.

Stardust at night

In 1991, a subdued Helvetica typeface replaced the Stardust sign's Jetsonian lettering. The oasis accented by fountains of neon has become a walled city of red, blue, and green tower illuminated by spotlight.

As the last resort built in the 50s, it updated itself costing $300 million to include 2,100 guest rooms and two landscaped swimming pools, golf, and an athletic facilities.

When it closed, the Stardust contained 100,000 square feet of gambling casino including 73 gaming tables, and 1,950 slot, keno and video poker machines. The conference center was 25,000 square feet 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 in 1999.

Siegfried & Roy got their Las Vegas start at the Stardust with the help of mob associate Frank Rosenthal after he gave them Allen Glick's Rolls Royce.

Wayne Newton signed a ten-year deal with the Stardust in 1999, for a reported $25,000,000 per year, the largest entertainment contract in Las Vegas at the time. 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. Rick Thomas has become the most popular daytime show in Las Vegas history.

The Stardust Theater was booked with legendary stars during its last month of operation including Tim Conway and Harvey Korman. The last act to perform in the Stardust Theater are Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme who closed the Stardust Theater on October 28, 2006.

The Stardust Sign is considered one of the most beautiful in the world and has been in place on the Las Vegas Strip since the 1960's. When first built the Stardust Sign was the world's largest electric sign. The Neon Museum and Boyd Gaming have arranged to preserve the world famous Stardust Sign. As an icon of Las Vegas history - it will eventually be moved to the Neon Museum, now that the casino is closed.

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 which sat on top of the resort.

The night before the opening, 'atomic soldiers' were treated to a pre-opening party.

The Royal Nevada was plagued with financial problems from the start.

While this resort seemed to "disappear completely", swallowed in 1959 by the Stardust becoming the Stardust's Convention Center, portions of the two story bungalow style Royal Nevada wing and pool remained in use up until 2006.

The Final Day

According to a news article in the Las Vegas Sun, the last dice throw at a Stardust craps table was by tourist Jimmy Kumihiro of Hawaii. When the casino was officially closed at 12 Noon, the Bobbie Howard Band led the customers out the doors for the last time (in a conga line) to the tune of "When the Saints Go Marching In", and the hotel/casino complex closed forever 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.

At the time of its closing, The Stardust Showroom starred The Magic of Rick Thomas, the most successful daytime show in Las Vegas history.

Attractions

• 25,000 square feet Convention Center
• Car rental—onsite
• Dining—9 places to choose from
• Fitness Center
• Pavilion/Exhibit Center—40,500 square feet
• Race and sports book
• Shopping
• Spa
• Swimming pools
• Wedding chapel

Books and film

The book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas written by Nicholas Pileggi and Larry Shandling and the movie Casino based on Pileggi's and Shandling's book chronicles the days when The Stardust Casino - and two other Las Vegas casinos - were run by Frank 'Lefty' Rosenthal and Anthony 'The Ant' Spilotro on behalf of the Chicago and Kansas City Mafia during the 1960's and 1970's.

Rosenthal was eventually denied a gaming license and placed in the Nevada Gaming Control Board's black book and Spiltoro and his brother were found dead, buried half naked in a corn field in Indiana.

In the film Robert De Niro portrayed the head of The Stardust, in the person of Sam 'Ace' Rothstein, a composite of Rosenthal's personality. Joe Pesci portrayed Nicky Santoro, a composite of Spilotro's personality. The name of the casino was changed to "Tangiers" and was shown being across the street from the Dunes, several blocks away from the site of The Stardust. However, snippets of the Hoagy Carmichael song Stardust can be heard on the soundtrack, giving a subtle hint as to the casino's true identity.

The book, "The Stardust of Yesterday: Reflections on a Las Vegas Legend" written by Heidi Knapp Rinella, edited by Mike Weatherford and foreword by Siegfried and Roy is a complete history of the hotel and casino. Heidi Knapp Rinella and Mike Weatherford are both staff writers for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Siegfried and Roy had their debut at the Stardust in the 1970's and tell of their many memories.

The book "The Odds: One Season, Three Gamblers and the Death of Their Las Vegas," by Chad Millman, chronicled a year in the lives of Stardust race & sports book manager Joe Lupo and assistant manager Bob Scucci, as well as professional sports bettor Alan Boston and wannabe sports bettor Rodney Bosnich. The Stardust was chosen due to its status at the time as the "home of the opening line."

The camp classic movie Showgirls was partly filmed on location and set in The Stardust Resort and Casino. The films revolves around the battles to be the top Stardust showgirl.

The Vince Vaughn film Swingers had scenes set and filmed at The Stardust Resort and Casino.

References

• Neon Survey
• Las Vegas Sun newspaper
• Boyd Gaming Press Release Announcing Echelon Place

External links

• [1] - Documenting the demolition of the Stardust Hotel/Casino in photographs
• Stardust — Hotel photos at Xah's Las Vegas
• The Fifties in Postcards — Stardust Hotel on old postcards