Question of the Day - 28 August 2021

First, congratulations on your 52nd anniversary. Your and your bride have certainly passed the acid test of time. 

As for the Hacienda, it was, as you recall, the very first hotel-casino you came to on the south Strip, at the corner of Russell Road. It opened in June 1956, more than a year before the debut of the Tropicana, so the closest casino at the time was the Dunes, at Flamingo Road, which opened a year earlier. It was built at a cost of $6 million (the equivalent of $60 million today) and operated by Warren Bayley, who also owned Hacienda-branded lodgings in California. It had 266 rooms, the most sumptuous pool on the Strip (which made it attractive to families), and a fleet of charter planes, Hacienda Airlines, that flew in gamblers from around the country. 

In 1964 when Warren passed away, his wife Judy took over the property, Las Vegas' only woman casino owner at the time. In 1967, she commissioned the "Caballero on a Palomino" neon sign. (Much later, it was rescued from the neon boneyard and was the first restored sign installed on Fremont Street; it remains right there at the corner of Las Vegas Blvd. and Fremont Street.) 

When Judy died in 1971, the Hacienda's troubles were on the horizon. The hotel was sold to investors, including Allen Glick and Paul Lowden. Lowden started out as a musician and bandleader in casino showrooms, then began investing in casinos; he also became the Hacienda's entertainment director. The Hacienda was one of the four casinos, along with the Marina, Stardust, and Fremont, involved in a skimming scandal during that time period. A sizable 16-acre 450-site RV park, Hacienda Holidays, was built on the property. 

Lowden bought out his partners in 1977 and even in the face of residual suspicions from regulators, managed to right the ship. Along the way, the Little Church of the West wedding chapel was moved there from the site that became the Fashion Show Mall. The renowned Charcoal Room steakhouse opened. Expansions added two towers, bringing the room count to just over 1,100. 

By late 1993, the Hacienda was completely overshadowed by Excalibur and Luxor, and Circus Circus Enterprises coveted the large 47-acre property. In 1995, CCE paid $80 million for the Hacienda and another $73 million for an adjacent 74-acre lot. The 11-story tower was imploded amidst much fanfare on New Year's Eve 1996 and CCE immediately began building the resort-casino that replaced it: Mandalay Bay.