Frommer's Las Vegas 2004

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APPENDIX . LAS VEGAS IN DEPTH
Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop (all of whom happened
to be in town filming Ocean’s Eleven).
The building boom of the ’50s took a brief respite. Most of the Strip’s first
property, the El Rancho Vegas, burned down in 1960. And the first new hotel
of the decade, the first to be built in 9 years, was the exotic Aladdin in 1966.
During the ’60s, negative attention focused on mob influence in Las Vegas.
Of the 11 major casino hotels that had opened in the previous decade, 10 were
believed to have been financed with mob money. Then, like a knight in shining
armor, Howard Hughes rode into town and embarked on a $300 million hoteland
property-buying spree, which included the Desert Inn itself (in 1967).
Hughes was as “bugsy” as Benjamin Siegel any day, but his pristine reputation
helped bring respectability to the desert city and lessen its gangland stigma.
Las Vegas became a family destination in 1968, when Circus Circus burst
onto the scene with the world’s largest permanent circus and a “junior casino”
featuring dozens of carnival midway games on its mezzanine level. In 1969, Elvis
made a triumphant return to Las Vegas at the International’s showroom and
went on to become one of the city’s all-time legendary performers. His fans had
come of age.
Hoping to establish Las Vegas as “the Broadway of the West,” the Thunderbird
Hotel presented Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Flower Drum Song. It was a smash
hit. Soon The Riviera picked up Bye, Bye, Birdie, and, as the decade progressed,
Mame and The Odd Couple played at Caesars Palace. While Broadway played the
Strip, production shows such as the Dunes’s Casino de Paris became ever more
lavish, expensive, and technically innovative.
THE 1970S: MERV & MAGIC
In 1971 the 500-room Union Plaza opened at the head of Fremont Street on the
site of the old Union Pacific Station. It had what was, at the time, the world’s
largest casino, and its showroom specialized in Broadway productions. The same
year, talk-show host Merv Griffin began taping at Caesars Palace, taking advantage
of a ready supply of local headliner guests. He helped popularize Las Vegas
even more by bringing it into America’s living rooms every afternoon.
The year 1973 was eventful: Over at the Tropicana, illusionists extraordinaire
Siegfried & Roy began turning women into tigers and themselves into legends
in the Folies Bergère.
Two major disasters hit Las Vegas in the 1970s. First, a flash flood devastated
the Strip, causing more than $1 million in damage. Second, gambling was legalized
in Atlantic City. Las Vegas’s hotel business slumped as fickle tourists decided
to check out the new East Coast gambling mecca.
As the decade drew to a close, an international arrivals building opened at
McCarran International Airport, and dollar slot machines caused a sensation in
the casinos.
THE 1980S: THE CITY ERUPTS
As the ’80s began, Las Vegas was booming once again. McCarran Airport began
a 20-year, $785-million expansion program.
Siegfried & Roy were no longer just the star segment of various stage spectaculars.
Their own show, Beyond Belief, ran for 6 years at the Frontier, playing
a record-breaking 3,538 performances to sellout audiences every night. It
became the most successful attraction in the city’s history.
In 1989, Steve Wynn made Las Vegas sit up and take notice. His gleaming
white-and-gold The Mirage was fronted by five-story waterfalls, lagoons, and