Issue 59
October 23 - 29, 2001
Volume 2
page 1

This Issue

Gaming News
Desert Inn Hotel Is Demolished

Casino Del Sol To Open This Month

Stations Casino and Rande Gerber To Open Whisky Sky

Gaming Industry Sees First Permanent Job Casualties Since Sept. 11 as Flamingo Reno Closes

Net Gambling Provisions Axed from Anti-Terrorism Act

Columns
Buzz Daly's Player's Guide To Sports Books
A Mighty Package of Information

Show Time
B.B. King will appear at the Waynes Newton Theater at Stardust Hotel Casino November 23-25

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Desert Inn Hotel Is Demolished
By Ken Ritter, Associated Press Writer

LAS VEGAS - /AP/ - The Desert Inn's 15-story Augusta tower, a symbol of old Las Vegas on the city's famous Strip, was demolished on October 23 with staccato-controlled explosions and a cloud of dust.

The implosion of the 50-year-old building, which once featured Frank Sinatra and was home to Howard Hughes, clears the way for developer Steve Wynn to build a new hotel on the same site.

"This is Vegas. There's a lot of hotels around here, but they say this one's got to go,'' said Amy Lowers, 26, of Olympia, Wash.

Lowers sipped lemonade-liquor drinks with others in town for the National Association of Convenience Stores convention, waiting for the 2 a.m. blast.

It was muted compared to previous Las Vegas hotel implosions. Eight or 10 booms, a crackle of firecracker-like pops and the building - having already been stripped to a honeycomb shell of cement - shuddered and collapsed.

"People think you're trying to blow something up,'' Doug Loizeaux, vice president of Baltimore-based Controlled Demolition, said as dust began to billow. "Actually, it has its own energy. You let gravity bring it down.''

Loizeaux's company also imploded the Dunes in 1993, the Landmark in 1995, the Sands in 1996, the Hacienda on New Year's Eve 1996, and the El Rancho last year.

Loizeaux said 248 pounds of explosives were used Tuesday. No mishaps were reported.

"What we blasted was essentially a concrete framework,'' Loizeaux said. "Everything combustible was taken out. All that's left is recyclable.''

With no wind on a 68-degree early morning, the dust wafted like fog east over the Desert Inn Golf Course and the Las Vegas Convention Center.


The 15-story, 300-room Augusta tower at the Desert Inn Hotel and Casino crumbles as it is imploded in Las Vegas, October 23, 2001. The tower was destroyed to make way for Steve Wynn's Le Reve - French for "The Dream" - the next megaresort to be built on the Las Vegas Strip. Japanese pachinko machine manufacturer Aruze Corp. is a partner in the resort which is expected to open in 2004.

Wynn has filed plans with the Clark County Planning Commission for a 45-story, 514-foot glass tower with 2,455 rooms. It would be called Le Reve, French for "The Dream.''

Wynn is credited with starting the megaresort boom on the Las Vegas Strip in the 1990s. Among the hotel-casinos he developed before selling them to MGM Grand Inc. last year are the Bellagio, Mirage and Treasure Island.


Casino Del Sol To Open This Month

TUCSON, AZ - The face of Arizona tribal gaming will change dramatically when Casino Del Sol officially opens Phase I of its new gaming complex, complete with the new 4,400-seat Anselmo Valencia Tori Amphitheater (AVA) at the end of this month.

The first phase of Casino Del Sol's $65 million construction project, encompassing 70,000 square feet, also will include 500 multi-denominational, ticket-in/ticket-out slot machines, a dozen poker tables and Moby's, a 24-hour 1960s themed diner.

"This is a significant and proud moment in our history as a tribe. We have truly come a long way,'' said Robert Valencia, chairman of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. "Upon completion of the project late next year, Casino Del Sol will provide over 900 jobs for tribal members and Tucsonans.

"This expansion will greatly aid in our tribe's goal of becoming more self-sufficient by helping us to continue expanding and upgrading health and social services, education programs and housing in our Yaqui communities.''

The second of two casinos owned by the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Casino Del Sol will be the most unique gaming complex in Arizona when completed, with remarkable architecture fashioned after a Mediterranean resort. Designed by Leo A. Daly, built by Kitchell Contractors and themed by The Larson Co., Casino Del Sol will set a new standard of excellence in gaming and entertainment in the state.

One of the key features of Casino Del Sol is the offering of 100 percent outside air. This unique system is the only one of its kind in the state and will generate smoke-free air to virtually negate any effects of smoking in the interior.

Along with a 12-table poker room, the casino will provide 500 top-of-the-line, nickel, quarter, dollar and five-dollar slot machines featuring Casino Del Sol's new ticket-in/ticket-out coin-less slot technology, which industry analysts say is revolutionizing the gaming industry.

For guests with an appetite, Moby's will be the first of several restaurants opening at Casino Del Sol. Diners will be treated to a 1960s California beach hangout that will be open 24 hours a day. Breakfast will be available from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m., and lunch or dinner will be served anytime in a casual and laid-back atmosphere.

Also opening this month is the Anselmo Valencia Tori Amphitheater (AVA). From nationally known entertainers to local acts, this 4,400-seat, open-air amphitheater will be the first of its kind and the largest private concert venue in southern Arizona. This truly intimate, state-of-the-art setting includes six corporate boxes, 1,600 theater seats and 2,800 festival-style lawn seats.

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