The Desert Inn , also known as DI , is a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, operating from April 24, 1950, to August 28, 2000. Designed by architect Hugh Taylor and interior design by Jac Lessman, it is the fifth resort opened on the Strip. It is located between Desert Inn Road and Sands Avenue.
The Desert Inn opens with 300 rooms and a restaurant Sky Room, led by an earlier chef from Ritz Paris, who once had the highest point of view on the Las Vegas Strip. The casino, at 2,400 square feet (220 m 2 ), was one of the largest in Nevada at the time. Tower St. Andrews nine floors were completed during the first renovation in 1963, and the 14-story Augusta Tower became the main tower of the Desert Inn when it was built in 1978 along with the seven-storey Wimbledon Tower. The Palms Tower was completed in 1997 with a second and final renovation. The Desert Inn is the first hotel in Las Vegas featuring a fountain at the entrance. In 1997, Desert Inn underwent renovations and expansions worth $ 200 million, but after being bought for $ 270 million by Steve Wynn in 2000, he decided to destroy it and build new hotels and resorts. The remaining Desert Inn tower exploded in 2004. Today, Wynn and Encore are now where Desert Inn once stood.
The original show venue at the Desert Inn is the Painted Desert Room, then the Crystal Room, which opened in 1950 with 450 seats. Frank Sinatra made his Las Vegas debut there on 13 September 1951 and became a regular player. The property includes an 18-hole golf course that hosted the PGA Tour Champions Tournament from 1953 to 1966. The golf course is now part of the Wynn resort and is being redeveloped into a lakeside entertainment property.
Video Desert Inn
Histori
This hotel is located at 3145 Las Vegas Boulevard South, between Desert Inn Road and Sands Avenue. The original name for many years is the Wilbur Clark's Desert Inn . Wilbur Clark, described by Frank Sinatra biographer James Kaplan as "a former San Diego doorman and Reno dice seller", initially began building the resort with his brother in 1947 for $ 250,000, but was running out of money. Author Hal Rothman notes that "for almost two years the skeletal structure sits in the desert sun, more like an ancient relic than a newborn casino." Clark approached the Financial Corporations Reconstruction for investment, but he is struggling financially. In 1949, he met Moe Dalitz, head of the famous Cleveland gang, Mayfield Road Mob, and Dalitz agreed to finance 75% of the project with $ 1.3 million, and construction resumed. Most of the financing comes from the American National Insurance Company (ANICO), although Clark is the public frontman of the resort while Dalitz remains quietly in the background as the main owner. The resort will eventually be renamed the Desert Inn and called "D.I." by residents of Las Vegas and regular guests.
The Desert Inn was officially opened on April 24, 1950, in a massively publicized two-day gala. Journalists from all major newspapers and magazines are invited, and the hotel pays $ 5,700 to cover plane tickets. 150 invitations sent by Clark to VIP with a $ 10,000 credit line. About half the participants at the opening were from California and Nevada. At the opening ceremony in the Painted Desert Room are shows like Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, Vivian Blaine, Pat Patrick, Donn Arden Dancer, Van Heflin, Abbott and Costello and Desert Inn Orchestra, led by Ray Noble. The attendees were a number of mafiosi, including Black Bill Tocco, Joe Massei, Sam Maceo, Peter Licavoli, and Frank Malone in a gala which is believed by Barbara Greenspun to mark the beginning of a mafia of heavy involvement in the development of Las Vegas. Sidney Korshak was one of the earliest investors.
The Desert Inn is known for its "luxury" and exceptional service. Desert Inn's first manager worked as a manager at the Clift Hotel in San Francisco. Lew and Edie Wasserman are often guests. During the 1950s, hotels often hosted Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Winston Churchill, Adlai Stevenson, Senator John F. Kennedy, and former President Harry S. Truman.
In 1959, Lawrence Wien, owner of Plaza Hotel New York City bought the hotel, but signed a management agreement for Clark to remain as manager. In the early 1960s, mafia-financed casino hotels from the Las Vegas Strip and Nevada were under intense scrutiny by the FBI, and they put increasing pressure on the Nevada Gaming Control Board to force the mafia out of Las Vegas. After Sam Giancana was found at the venue of Cal Neva Lodge & amp; Frank Sinatra Casino in Lake Tahoe, his gambling license was removed by the Council and he was forced to sell and lose his share in the Sands Hotel and Casino. The Desert Inn faced similar scrutiny by the FBI, drawing controversy at the same time for the involvement of Dalitz and his mafia colleagues, but simultaneously calling for the FBI prosecution for illegal intercepts. In 1964, Clark sold the rest of his shares at the hotel to Dalitz and business associates Morris Kleinman, Thomas McGinty and Sam Tucker. He died of a heart attack the following year. The captain of the bell from the Desert Inn, Jack Butler, remembers Clark: "Wilbur is the greatest person, without him, the city will never fall to the ground Everyone comes to the club just to see it and he's on the whole postcard, the only boss who agreed to take his picture ".
The most famous guest in the Desert Inn, businessman Howard Hughes, arrived on Thanksgiving Day 1966, renting the entire top two floors of the hotel. After passing his first ten-day reservation, he was asked to leave in December so the resort can accommodate the expected high rollers for New Year's Eve. Instead of leaving, Hughes started negotiations to buy the Desert Inn. On March 27, 1967, Hughes bought the resort from Dalitz for $ 6.2 million in cash and $ 7 million in loans. This is the first of many Las Vegas resort purchases by Hughes, including Sands Hotel and Casino ($ 14.6 million) and Frontier Hotel and Casino ($ 23 million). However, Hughes refused to enter the PGA Tour of Champions Tournament in a deal, so Dalitz moved the tournament to the Stardust Resort and Casino in 1967 and 1968.
The solitary Hughes continued to live in his penthouse suite at the Desert Inn for four years, never leaving the 250-square-foot (23 m) bedroom. Usually naked, he spends his time "negotiating purchases and business deals with drawn curtains and tied windows and doors", and does not allow anyone from the hotel staff to come in and clean his room. On the eve of Thanksgiving 1970, he was ejected from his room on a stretcher and flown to the Bahamas. After Hughes's death in 1976, this hotel remained under the Summa Corporations, which completed extensive renovations that he ordered. Summa sold the hotel to Kirk Kerkorian and Tracinda Corporation in 1986, and it became known as MGM Desert Inn. Kerkorian sold it to ITT-Sheraton in 1993 for $ 160 million.
Modern history
In 1992, Frank Sinatra celebrated his 77th birthday at the hotel in an event that generated much media attention. Dick Taylor, CEO of public relations firm Rogers & amp; Cowan recalled: "We have stars gathered in the presidential suite of casinos and then take them in limousines to the hotel entrance, where press and hundreds of fans gather, such as Hollywood movie screenings.The stars are interviewed on the red carpet and they go to Crystal The famous room is a very big deal. "
The property was sold to ITT Sheraton in 1993 for $ 160 million and renamed the Sheraton Desert Inn. Four years later, in 1997, ITT Sheraton renovated $ 200 million for the Tower of Augusta and the Tower of St. Louis. Andrews and its expansion, with the construction and completion of the Palms Tower. The resort returns to its historic name, Desert Inn, dropping the Sheraton name, and is placed in ITT's Sheraton Luxury Collection division. ITT Sheraton itself was sold the following year to Starwood Hotels & amp; Resorts Worldwide. Due to losing money, Starwood immediately placed the Desert Inn for sale, and contracted sales to Sun International Hotels Ltd. on May 19, 1999 for $ 275 million. Sales to Sun International fell in March next. Also in 1999, the Sinatra and Rat Pack real estate manager, Sheffield Enterprises Inc., sued Desert Inn, claiming rights violations in the use of Sinatra's name and persona in advertisements and sales, including the words "Frank", "Ol 'Mata Biru, "Chairman of the Board" and "The Rat Pack." Sinatra's estate specifically rejects its use in "billboards, marquees, alcohol and wine, and on the front and back of t-shirts and hats in the souvenir shop" and photographs of Sinatra and signs hands on the wall behind the bar near the entrance to the Starlight Lounge of the Desert Inn.
The Desert Inn celebrates its 50th anniversary on April 24, 2000. The celebrations are held for a week and a celebrity golf tournament is held with the likes of Robert Loggia, Chris O'Donnell, Robert Urich, Susan Anton, Vincent Van Patten and Tony Curtis. As part of the celebration, the time capsule is buried in the granite cemetery on April 25, to reopen on April 25, 2050. Three days later, on April 27, Steve Wynn purchased a Starwood resort for $ 270 million. Wynn closed the Desert Inn at 2:00 am on August 28, 2000.
On October 23, 2001, the Augusta Tower, the southernmost building of the Desert Inn, was blown up to make room for Wynn's planned mega-resorts to be built. Coming a month after the September 11 attacks, the explosion was marked by less fanfare than the earlier Las Vegas demolition because of its similarity to the collapse of the Twin Towers. Originally intended to be named Le RÃÆ'ªve, the new project opened as Wynn Las Vegas. Two remaining towers, Tower of St. Andrews and the Palms Tower are both temporarily used as Wynn Galleries, covering 1,316 square feet (122.3 m 2 ) to showcase some of Wynn's art collections. Tower St. Andrews and the Palms Tower finally exploded on November 16, 2004.
Maps Desert Inn
Architecture and features
The initial hotel, a $ 6.5 million property set in 200 hectares, was designed by Hugh Taylor who was hired after Wilbur Clark and Wayne McAllister could not approve the design. The interior is by New York architect Jac Lessman. The property conveys the image of a "southwest spa" that is "a half ranch house, half a nightclub". Built from "cinder blocks but trimmed with sandstone and finished all over the inside with redwood". The hotel logo is the cactus of Joshua tree. The entrance to the hotel passes under an "ancient farm sign" bearing the name of the Wilbur Clark's Desert Inn in written letters. The Desert Inn is the first hotel in Las Vegas featuring a fountain at the entrance. The "Dancing Waters" show involves a fountain jet that is choreographed into music.
The interior of the hotel is finished in redwood with a tiled stone floor. Public spaces include registration areas, casinos, two bars, coffee shops, restaurants, various shops and commercial services, and a broadcasting station for K-RAM radio. The guest room is located in the wing located behind the main building, surrounding the number eight swimming pool. The hotel initially has 300 rooms, each equipped with air conditioning with individual thermostats.
The lounge is located in a three-storey tower, the glass side in front of the hotel known as the Sky Room , which is the largest structure on the Strip at the time of construction and its commander's view. mountains and deserts all around, as well as forgotten features of "Dancing Waters". The Sky Room restaurant is led by a previous chef from the Ritz of Paris.
The original show venue at the Desert Inn is a 450-seat Painted Desert Room, then the Crystal Room, which opened in 1950 with 450 seats. Charles Cobelle created a handpainted mural, and "car band" was used to move the orchestra inside the showroom. Next door is a restaurant, Cactus Room. The Kachina Doll Ranch is a supervised play area for guest children. The hotel has a ladies salon and a health club from scratch. Another show place in the hotel is Lady Luck Lounge.
The hotel was first renovated in the early 1960s, where the Tower of St. Andrews was built in 1963. In the 1970s, the hotel underwent a $ 54 million renovation under Howard Hughes, which continued under the responsibility of the Summa Corporations after his death. in 1976. The 14-storey Augusta tower became the main tower of the Desert Inn when the tower was completed in 1978. The seven-storey Wimbledon Tower consists of a duplex suite, and resembles a modern version of the Mayan pyramids. It overlooked the golf course and was built at the same time, bringing the total number of rooms to 825. In 1978, most of the 1950s structure on the property had been replaced with modern buildings and the property was renamed Desert Inn and Country Club. It features full state club facilities open to hotel guests, including club house, driving range, pro shop, restaurant and lounge at golf club; 10 outdoor tennis courts tournament classes; and an 18,000 foot spa (5,500 m). Three restaurants added: The Monte Carlo room is "small, familiar", the "gourmet" Portofino Room, and the Chinese restaurant Ho Wan. At the time of its sale to ITT-Sheraton in 1993, Desert Inn had the largest front of any casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, measuring 1,700 feet (520 m).
In 1997, Desert Inn underwent a $ 200 million renovation and expansion by Steelman Partners, giving it a new, Mediterranean-looking exterior with white plaster and red clay tiles. The number of rooms was reduced to 715 to provide more luxurious accommodation. The nine-storey Palm Tower has been completed, the lagoon-style pool is added, and important changes are made to the Grand Lobby Atrium, Starlight Lounge, Villas Del Lago, and the new golf shop and country club. The seven-story lobby, fully constructed of marble, is also a major part of the renovation.
Casino
At its opening in 1950, the casino, at 2,400 square feet (220 m 2 ), was one of the largest in Nevada at the time. The windowless space includes "five trap tables, three roulette wheels, four black jack desks and 75 slot machines", along with sportsbooks. Hundreds of coin-operated gambling machines - including slot machines, video poker, 21, and keno - were installed during a 1978 renovation. The casino gained a reputation for attracting high rollers. On January 27, 2000, Megabucks' jackpot record for Las Vegas broke down when $ 34,955,489 was won by an anonymous gambler at the Desert Inn, playing a bank with six Megabucks machines near the hotel's coffee shop.
Golf course and country club
The 18-hole, par-72 Desert Inn Golf Club opened in 1952. Initially, Dalitz had pushed the idea of ​​opening a golf course beside the hotel with the entrance of the Strip, which would be accessible by other hotels and enhance the city's profile as a tourist destination. When other hotel owners rejected this idea, Dalitz built a course on the hotel premises. She also opens an open dining room, to accommodate golfers and swimmers who may prefer a more informal atmosphere. The course hosted the PGA Tour of Champions Tournament from 1953 to 1966, attracting professional golfers such as Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklaus. Allard Roen was the director of the tournament for many years, and was instrumental in breaking down the racial barrier on the Strip. He broke the all-white club convention by allowing Sammy Davis, Jr. playing in the field. From 1958 to host the Golf Cup Golf Tournament, the biggest tournament in the world for amateur golfers.
According to Las Vegas Sun, the course "makes a difference to being the only golf course in the United States that annually hosts three championship events - Las Vegas Invitational PGA Tour, Las Vegas Senior Classics and LPGA Las Vegas International". The Panasonic Las Vegas Invitational, now the Las Vegas Invitational, returned to Desert Inn in 1983, and is known as the richest PGA event in the world. Since then it has been won by the likes of Fuzzy Zoeller, Curtis Strange, Greg Norman, and Paul Azinger. The Las Vegas Senior Classic show at Desert Inn was added to the Senior PGA Tour in 1986, and has since been won by Bruce Crampton (1986), Al Geiberger, who equaled the course record at 62 (1987), Larry Mowry (1988) and Lee Trevino (1992).
Wilbur Clark was the first to build a house on a golf course in the 1950s. The extra house was added to Desert Inn Country Club Estates since the 1960s. During his tenure at the hotel, Howard Hughes built 100 units of homes on the property. After Steve Wynn bought the resort in 2000 and announced that real estate is too valuable to abandon as a golf course, homeowners are forced to sell their property to Wynn and property developer Irwin Molasky. Molasky buys the closest home to a $ 2 million golf course each, and houses on the resort's perimeter costing $ 900,000 to $ 1.2 million each. The Las Vegas Junior League convinces Wynn to save a home from demolition and move it to many places in downtown Las Vegas to serve as its headquarters. This is Morelli House, designed by architect Hugh Taylor for Antonio Morelli, "a rare example of modernist architecture in Las Vegas". The house is then listed on the City and State history list.
Show
Almost every major star of the second half of the 20th century plays at the Desert Inn. Frank Sinatra made his Las Vegas debut at the Desert Inn on September 13, 1951. He then said: "Wilbur Clark gave me my first job in Las Vegas, it happened in 1951. For six dollars, you got a filet mignon dinner and I ". Noà £  £ l Coward performed at the inn on one occasion for a full month. In 1954, after the show at the Desert Inn, Betty Hutton announced one of his few resignations. Eddie Fisher was criticized by Elizabeth Taylor who was disguised during the 1961 show, a year that Dinah Shore saw for her fourth show and Vegas premiere at Desert Inn by Benny Goodman and Rosemary Clooney. In 1979, the journal jet recorded that Wayne Newton "reigned" at the Gurun inn as king of entertainment idol ", earning $ 10 million a year, making him the nightclub with the highest cost of all time. in the famous "crystal showroom" for many years including Patti Page, Ted Lewis, Joe E. Lewis, Bobby Darin, Jimmy Durante, Tony Bennett, Paul Anka, Dionne Warwick, Louise Mandrell, and more.
Louis Prima and Keely Smith recorded their 1960 Dot Records LP On Stage directly at the Desert Inn. Bobby Darin's famous album Live! In the Desert Inn was recorded at the hotel in February 1971. In 1992, Frank Sinatra's 77th anniversary celebration at the Desert Inn was held and then in January it was announced that Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, Paul Anka, Shirley MacLaine, Dean Martin , Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme have signed a two year agreement agreed to do at least five weeks each year.
Movies and TV
Part of Ocean's 11 was shot at the Desert Inn. This is one of five Las Vegas hotels robbed on New Year's Eve by the characters played by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and others in the movie. The Orson Welles F movie for Counterfeits includes, among other topics, the false biographical scandal of Howard Hughes, and the billionaire Desert Inn's residence is illustrated by Welles. In the 1985 film Lost in America, Julie Hagerty's character Linda Howard lost the "egg nest" couple at the Desert Inn, leading to an unforgettable scene in which Albert Brooks character David Howard tried to convince Casino manager (Garry Marshall) give them their money back. David, a commercial man, proposed a campaign centered around the casino's generosity in his case, filled with jingles: "The Desert Inn has a heart... The Desert Inn has a heart." The 1993 film opening scene Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit takes place at the Grand Ballroom Hotel. The Desert Inn saw its final commercial use in the 2001 film Rush Hour 2, shortly before it exploded. It was changed to "Red Dragon", an Asian-themed casino.
The hotel served as the main backdrop for the TV show Vega $ which aired on ABC from 1978 to 1981. The 1980s Aaron Spelling soap operas include Dynasty including footage from the hotel, and the use of Presidential Suite. The 1980s hit NBC TV series Remington Steele filmed the 60th episode of Las Vegas at the inn, where the exterior and interior were displayed regularly throughout the episode.
Legacy
The closure of the Desert Inn in 2000 and subsequent demolition was unpopular with many people as it seemed to mark the end of the old Las Vegas. Historian Michael Green states: "To many people outside Las Vegas, these two places (Desert Inn and the Sands) really mean Las Vegas.These are places that represent the image of Las Vegas, in a way much larger than the Dunes , Aladdin, Hacienda and Landmark ". Robert Maheu, Howard Hughes publicist for many years, said that "Desert Inn is a Las Vegas gem". The hotel remained popular with locals to the end, as modern, guided Las Vegas tourism emerged in the 1990s.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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