Desert Inn
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The Desert Inn was a Las Vegas, Nevada hotel/casino that operated from April 24, 1950 to August 28, 2000. It was the fifth resort to open on the Las Vegas Strip. The property included an 18-hole golf course. Locals nicknamed the resort "The D.I." or just "D.I."
[edit] History
The original name was Wilbur Clark's Desert Inn. Wilbur Clark originally began building the resort, but when he ran out of money, the Cleveland mob led by Moe Dalitz took over the construction. Mr. Clark would become the frontman, the public face, of the resort, while Mr. Dalitz remained quietly in the background as the principal owner.
The Desert Inn’s most famous guest, billionaire Howard Hughes, arrived on Thanksgiving Day in 1966, renting the hotel's entire top two floors. After staying past his initial ten-day reservation, he was asked to leave in December so that the resort could accommodate the high rollers who had been promised those suites. Instead of leaving, Hughes decided to start negotiations to buy the Desert Inn, and on March 1, 1967, he purchased the resort from Mr. Dalitz for around $13 million. This purchase was the first of many Vegas resort purchases by Hughes.
Almost every major star of the last fifty years played at the Desert Inn. Its famous "crystal showroom" hosted Liberace, Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Paul Anka, Neil Sedaka, Dionne Warwick, Wayne Newton, Barry Manilow, Cher, Tina Turner, and more. Comics and variety acts like Don Rickles, The Smothers Brothers, Roseanne Barr, Garry Shandling, Buddy Hackett, Mentalist Brent Webb, Rich Little, all worked the D.I., along with thousands of others.
In 1997, the D.I. went through a $200 million renovation and expansion, giving it a new exterior with white stucco and clay tile roofs. Unlike other expansions, the 821 rooms were reduced to 715 to provide extra accomodations. The Palms tower was completed and the lagoon-style pool was also added. The seven-story lobby with a vaulted cieling and large windows was also a major part of the renovation.
The hotel was owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide until 1998. It was also owned for a time by MGM Grand Inc. in the late 1980s.
On April 24, 2000, Desert Inn turned 50 years old, and celebrated with a full week of activities. There was a celebrity golf tournament with Susan Anton, Robert Loggia, Chris O'Donnell, Robert Urich, Vincent Van Patten, Tony Curtis, Rip Taylor and various local dignitaries, celebrities and media. A time capsule was buried in a custom-designed granite burial chamber on April 25, 2000, to be opened on April 25, 2050.
Two days later, on April 27, 2000, the resort was purchased by Steve Wynn for $270 million, who closed it several months later. On October 23, 2001, the main tower was demolished to make room for a megaresort that Wynn planned to build. Originally intended to be named Le Rêve, the new project opened as the Wynn Las Vegas.
One of the towers was used as a small museum to display some of Wynn's art collection and as offices for Wynn Resorts. It was closed due to poor ticket sales. The last remaining tower was imploded on June 14, 2004.
Desert Inn Road, and east-west Las Vegas Valley roadway named after the hotel, still exists. It is the only major east-west surface street on the Strip that does not connect to Las Vegas Boulevard, There are no current plans to rename the roadway at this time.
The Desert Inn was the last Strip hotel with its own golf course. It became part of Wynn Las Vegas, after a rebuilding associated with the new resort's opening.
[edit] Film history
The 1960 version of Ocean's Eleven was filmed there.
The hotel was used as a primary backdrop for the TV show Vega$ from 1978-1981. The lead character, Dan Tanna had his office in the DI.
The Desert Inn saw its last commercial use as the Las Vegas set for Rush Hour 2. It was converted to resemble an Asian-themed casino called the "Red Dragon" for the movie.
