Glick ended his testimony by claiming his involvement in the skimming conspiracy stemmed from his intimidation of the crime figures. Prosecutors acknowledged his testimony as the truth to the jury, and as a result, Glick got off scott free. Controversy surrounding the Stardust finally laid to rest in 1985, when Boyd Gaming purchased both the Stardust, and the Fremont Hotel. Boyd’s Gaming had a reputation for abstaining from criminal activity, leading many to view their acquisition of the property as a new beginning. Throughout the ninety’s, the Stardust underwent several drastic changes. Being one of the last resorts on the Strip from the 1950’s, the Stardust underwent a three hundred million dollar renovation to modernize the resort in 1991.
The renovation plans included adding a new, thirty two story hotel tower, along with two swimming pools, a golf course, and athletic facilities. One year later in 1992, Boyd replaced the Stardust’s famous “Lido de Paris” show, with a less established show known as “Enter the Night”. While “Enter the Night” never received the same attention as “Lido de Paris”, the show stayed with the Stardust for seven years before parting ways in December of 1999. Around the same time, Developers also replaced the futuristic lettering on the original sign with a blocky typeface lettering. Before the turn of the century, Wayne Newton signed the biggest entertainment deal in Las Vegas History. In October of 1999, Newton signed a ten year deal with the Stardust, for a reported twenty five million dollars per year Oncasinogames Canada. According to the deal, he would perform exclusively at the Stardust for forty weeks out of the year. Due to contractual obligations, Newton ceased all performances in the Hollywood theater at MGM Grand. Following his signing, the Stardust renamed their nine hundred and twenty seat theater to the “Wayne Newton Theater” in his honor. The turn of the century marked the beginning of the end for the Stardust Resort. While the casino retained some of its popularity, it would never be as profitable as the newer Mega-Resorts built on the Strip. Towards the end of the 1980’s, the Las Vegas Strip underwent a gradual transition due to the steady decline in organized crime involvement. Long gone were the days of “Rat Pack” Vegas, as the Strip shifted towards a more commercialized, and family friendly environment. This new Chapter in Las Vegas History came to be known as the “Mega-Resort Era”, and kicked off in November of 1989 with the opening of Steve Wynn’s Mirage. Steve Wynn’s Mirage set a new standard for luxury on the Strip, and attracted droves of tourists as a result. What followed the Mirage’s astronomical success was nearly twenty years of rapid growth, and financing for projects. By the start of the twenty first century, the era of Mega-Resorts was in full swing, and the Stardust struggled to keep up. In an attempt to become competitive with the new Mega-Resorts, the Stardust demolished four of the original two story buildings to make way for the planned twenty five million dollar renovation. Renovations done to the Resort included upgrading the public facilities and guest rooms, construction of a new, three hundred and forty seat buffett, and lastly, refurbishment of the property’s roadside sign. Regardless of the renovations, the Stardust continued struggle as newer resorts out shined the once iconic resort. In a last ditch effort to save the declining resort, Stardust officials brought in Magician Rick Thomas as a performer in March of 2005. The following month in April, Newton decided to end his run at the resort four and a half years early. His departure hit the resort hard, despite Thomas’s magic show becoming the most successful daytime show on the Strip. Once Newton left the Stardust, no one questioned if the resort was going to close. The question now stuck in everyone’s mind was when it would close. By 2004, Boyd Officials recognized that the Stardust’s closure was inevitably. In response, officials created a plan to potentially redevelop the site of the Stardust. In July, Boyd put their plan into action, and spent a hefty 1.2 billion dollars on purchasing Coast Casinos Incorporated. This pricey acquisition provided the company with four new properties: the Sun Coast, the Gold Coast, the Orleans, and Barbary Coast. A few months later in November, Boyd purchased a thirteen acre parcel located contiguous to the Stardust for forty three million dollars. Between 2004 and 2006, the company purchased several more properties, including the land between the Stardust and the Westward Ho. Towards the end of 2006, a deal was made with Harrah’s Entertainment to trade the Barbary Coast Casino, for eleven acres located adjacent to the Stardust. In total, Boyd acquired eighty seven acres for the Stardust re development. In January of 2006, Boyd Gaming announced to the public they would be replacing the Stardust, and Westward Ho with a new project known as “Echelon Place”. Boyd described Echelon as a luxurious multi-use complex boasting five partially separated hotel towers, with a combined guest capacity surpassing 5,000 people. The project sat on eighty seven acres, and was to contain a 140,000 square feet casino floor, a convention center with close to a million square feet of space, and numerous other amenities. The development expected to become the centerpiece of the northern end of the Strip. With the development of Echelon Place, Boyd hoped to surpass the Mirage and become the leader in luxury on the Strip. Estimated to cost four billion dollars if completed, Echelon Place is believed to be the second most expensive hospitality development ever undertaken. The only project to top Echelon is the Mirage and MGM’s six billion dollar CityCenter project. Following the announcement, on November 1st, 2006, after remaining continuously open for forty eight years, the Stardust Resort and Casino finally closed their doors to the public. Once the clock struck noon, the Bobbie Howard Band lead patrons out of the resort one final time to the tune of “When The Saints Go Marching In.” After operating for twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, the Stardust sat eerily quiet and empty for the first time in nearly half a century. On March 13th, 2007, at two in the morning, the Stardust was imploded to make way for the planned construction of “Echelon Place”. The demolition ceremony included a firework show displaying a ten second countdown to the implosion.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Important for all writers!!!If you need help in writing essay or review, hire a professional writer from Edusson essay writing service. Archives |