Question of the Day - 04 February 2024

The one with the “cannonball” that you’re asking about was, actually, the first Las Vegas implosion, which was turned into a spectacle. 
The old Dunes closed in early 1993 to make room for Bellagio and when Treasure Island opened in October of that year, the two events were linked. On opening night at Treasure Island’s pirate show, Steve Wynn “lit the fuse on a cannon trained on the Dunes down the street, which was timed to synchronize the implosion of the original north tower," in the words of the Las Vegas Sun. Very cool — and 200,000 spectators jammed the Strip to witness the opening of TI and the destruction of the Dunes. The Dunes' south tower was imploded in July 1994 without fanfare, though 3,000 people were on hand to see it.

Beyond that, here’s the implosion litany.

The ill-fated ugly Landmark tower was imploded in November 1995. That event was immortalized by director Tim Burton in the movie Mars Attacks! It’s perhaps emblematic of how little the Landmark is missed by the fact that it was replaced with a 2,000-space parking lot for the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Next up was the Sands almost exactly a year later. Though it ended, once and for all, the glory days of the Rat Pack in Vegas, it was definitely for a good cause: The Sands Convention Center (now Venetian Expo) and Venetian All-Suite Hotel and Casino arose on that spot and later Palazzo.

Only a month or so later on New Year's Eve 1996, the Hacienda was felled to make way for Mandalay Bay. 

The old Aladdin was imploded in April 1998. Other than the Aladdin Theater for the Performing Arts, now Bakkt Theater, the entire property was imploded and razed to clear a path for the new Aladdin and Miracle Mile Shops, which opened two and a half years later in August 2000. Of course, it was eventually rebranded Planet Hollywood.  

The El Rancho was imploded in October 2000. It had sat shuttered, fenced, and brooding for more than eight years before the 13-story tower along the north Strip was brought down. The sad saga of the El Rancho was replaced by the sad saga of the Fontainebleau.

Now we come to the Desert Inn, whose Augusta Tower was knocked down in October 2001. A lot of old-timers, ourselves included, were sorry to see it go, as it was still a great joint that held a lot of memories. But Steve Wynn had other plans for the huge property, which included the golf course (which he picked up for a song, as he was wont to do), so it all had to go. The shorter towers were kept around as offices — and places for Wynn’s art collection — for a few years, till they too were leveled with explosives to no fanfare by 2004.

Another property that wasn’t lamented at the time or missed ever since, the Castaways, was imploded in January 2006. It had been the Showboat, out on Boulder Highway, since 1954, before it changed hands several times later in its life, was rebranded as the Castaways, and closed in 2004. It’s now an empty lot owned by Station Casinos.

The Boardwalk was blown up in May 2006. By then, the little joint with the outsized reputation, oversized decorative Ferris wheel, and funky buffet was completely outclassed and overshadowed by the Monte Carlo (now Park MGM), MGM Grand, and New York-New York at the south end of the Strip. MGM brought it down to clear the way for CityCenter.

The penultimate implosion took down the Stardust in March 2007. The property was supposed to become Echelon Place, then just Echelon, but the Great Recession imploded those plans. It’s now Resorts World. 

Finally, there was the New Frontier in November 2007. A few different owners of that property planned a few different incarnations of megaresorts; it’s now owned by Wynn Resorts, which seems content to sit on it indefinitely.

So there you have it: 11 implosions in 14 years. 

Implosions, at least the ones open to the public, are publicized well in advance and if you keep an eye on our Vegas News feature, we'll be among the first to pass on any announcement of any that are announced. 

Of course, the last implosion took place 14 years ago and other than the Tropicana, to make way for the Las Vegas A's stadium (plus a few joints that qualify for “implosion wishful thinking”), we don't see any on the horizon.