This list was graciously and generously updated and corrected by Jeff, the brains and energy behind VintageLasVegas.com, a website that's building a dated photographic record of Las Vegas casinos, hotels, and motels, complete with detailed indexes for Index the Strip and downtown and searchable/sortable by year and property name.
Jeff, a graphic designer who runs a record label in Los Angeles, tells us, "I've been most intrigued by what I have, and haven't yet learned, about the area in the 1930s-40s, after the spark of legalized gaming, and before it was a major tourist destination. Although the town was small, it was more active than the 'Bugsy invented Vegas' myth would ever suggest, even out on the early Strip."
Check out VintageLasVegas. It's well worth a cruise through the past.
Here's the updated list.
East side of the Strip:
SLS HOTEL. Club Bingo (1947-52), Sahara (1952-2011) Fontainebleau construction site. formerly Thunderbird (1948-76), Silverbird (1977-81), El Rancho (1981-92), Algiers Hotel (1953-2002), Wet 'n' Wild waterpark. Vacant lot. formerly Riviera (1955-2015), La Concha Motel (1961-2004), El Morocco Motel (1964-83). ENCORE. Monaco Motel (1958-90). WYNN. Desert Inn (1950-2000), Colonial House Motel (1953-87), and several small clubs circa 1940s-80s. PALAZZO. Tam O’Shanter Motel (1959-2005), Imperial 400 Motel (1962-90). VENETIAN. Sands (1952-96), Kit Carson Club and Motel (1946-63), and other motels. CASINO ROYALE. Bon Aire Club and Motel (1945-62), Nob Hill (1978-90). HARRAH’S. Tumbleweed Motel (1949-65), Pyramid Motel (1953-73), Holiday Casino (1973-92). THE LINQ. Flamingo Capri (1959-78), Imperial Palace (1979-2012), The Quad (2012-14), O’Sheas (1989-2012) FLAMINGO. No previous casino or hotel. THE CROMWELL. Desert Villa Motel (1959-74), Times Square Motel (1974-77), Barbary Coast (1979-2007), Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall and Saloon (2007-13). BALLY’S. Three Coins Motel (1962-66), Bonanza (1967-73), MGM Grand (1973-86). PARIS LAS VEGAS. Galaxy Motel (1966-87), Little Caesars (1970-94). PLANET HOLLYWOOD. Tally Ho (1962-66), Aladdin (1966-2007). MGM GRAND. Tropicana Golf Course (1961-91), Marina (1975-90). TROPICANA. No previous casino or hotel.
West side of the Strip:
LAS VEGAS FESTIVAL GROUNDS. El Rancho Vegas (1941-60). CIRCUS CIRCUS. No previous casino or hotel. Resorts World construction site. Formerly Royal Nevada (1955-59), Stardust (1958-2006), Westward Ho (1964-2005). Vacant lot. Formerly Pair-O-Dice (1930-38), Frontier (Last and New, plus Silver Slipper on the grounds). (1942-2007). TREASURE ISLAND. No previous casino or hotel. THE MIRAGE. Red Rooster and Grace Hayes Lodge (1930-57), Sans Souci Hotel (1947-62), Castaways (1962-87). CAESARS PALACE. No previous casino or hotel. BELLAGIO. Dunes (1955-93), Royal Palms Motel (1954-79), and other motels. COSMOPOLITAN. Jockey Club (1972 - still open, nearly hidden by the Cosmo) MANDARIN ORIENTAL. Holiday Inn (1966-85), Boardwalk (1988-2006). Much of City Center was formerly the Dunes golf course. MONTE CARLO. Desert Rose Motel (1953-95). NEW YORK-NEW YORK. Suez Motel (1955-73), Rodeway Inn (1964-95), Lone Palm Motel (1954-88). EXCALIBUR. No previous casino or hotel. LUXOR. No previous casino or hotel. MANDALAY BAY. Hacienda (1956-96).
Off-Strip notables:
STRATOSPHERE. Million Dollar Historic Gambling Museum (1974), Vegas World (1979-95). WESTGATE. International Hotel (1969-71), Las Vegas Hilton (1971-2014). WESTIN LAS VEGAS. Maxim (1977-2001). HOOTERS. Howard Johnson Hotel (1972-75), Paradise (1975-77), 20th Century (1977-79), The Treasury (1979-85), Polynesian (1985-89), San Remo (1989-2005).
