Las Vegas Nevada Casino Fun

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The Stardust was the last of the ”organized crime” run casinos. With such a  history, how could we ever forget this landmark? This resort smbolized a mentality of skimming, scamming, and other felony crime. Her history has so many twists and turns that her story was even made into the 1995 movie CASINO staring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Sharon Stone.

The demolition in 2007 ended a yearlong farewell to a 48-year-old resort that was, in its heyday, considered the ultimate in luxury and style. It was a frequent stop of Frank Sinatra and his Rat Pack.Hundreds of invited guests and corporate officials watched the demolition from across a parking lot on the Las Vegas Strip, the street of major hotels and casinos that runs through the heart of the city. The building came down in 10 seconds at about 2:30 a.m., the time having been chosen to reduce crowds and traffic congestion.

Four grandsons of Boyd’s chief executive, William Boyd, pushed a wooden lever that signaled to the demolition crew to begin the series of dynamite explosions. Fireworks marked the 10-second countdown in front of the buildings before the explosives were touched off. A planned laser light show was canceled when unexpectedly strong winds blew a cloud of dust toward the audience.

At 2.30am in the morning, the Stardust was blown up. It is a really sad day, but exciting for everyone who saw the fireworks display as it crumbled to the ground. 

The Stardust’s 32 story west tower (opened in 1991) was a prominent enhancement to the appearance of the Las Vegas strip with its purple and violet neon glow. The Stardust, Frontier, and Westward Ho have all been demolished; Sky Condos were constructed south of the Hilton Grand Vacations Club, Encore at Wynn was built just north of Wynn, Palazzo was built just north of Venetian, and a hotel/condo combination called Crown was developed on the site of Wet N Wild Waterpark south of the Sahara. Boyd Gaming began construction on Echelon at the Stardust site; but that project is currently on hold.

Stardust was one of my regular stops for many when walking the strip. Folks liked the quiet, no nonsense atmosphere – no silly themes or tourist gimmicks. There was one particular cluster of video poker machines I have spoke with people played he Stardust 50 cent machines near the south end of the casino. I wonder if one can still hear the sounds of old when passing by where the building once stood.

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Las Vegas is the largest city in Nevada and the catalyst of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. Revenue from hotels (including many of the world’s largest), gambling, entertainment, theme parks, museums, and other tourist-oriented industries forms the backbone of the economy. The nightclubs, casinos, and championship boxing matches are world famous, and entertainment enterprises have led to an increasing array of music, sports, gambling, and amusement centers up and down the main “strip,” as the city succeeded in the 1990s in redefining itself as a family resort, complete with monorail (opened 2004).  Its 1,149-ft Stratosphere Tower is the country’s tallest observation tower. The city is also the commercial hub of a ranching and mining area and has diverse manufacturing, including gaming equipment.

In the 19th century, Las Vegas was a watering hole  for travelers bound for southern California. In 1855-57 the Mormons maintained a fort there, and in 1864, Fort Baker was built by the U.S. army. In 1867 Las Vegas was detached from the Arizona Territory and joined to Nevada. Its main growth began with the completion of a railroad in 1905.

Founded in 1911, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce is an organization of business leaders who work to improve their community and the area’s business climate. A volunteer board of trustees governs the Chamber and a professional staff of more than 60 manages the day-to-day operations. A private, member-funded organization, the LVCC is the largest, most influential business organization in the state of Nevada and the third-largest local Chamber of Commerce in the United States. Of its over 6,700 members, 85 percent are small businesses with 25 or fewer employees.

The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce Collection contains an incomplete series of minutes of meetings of the Board of Directors as well as general meetings of the membership from the Chamber’s founding in 1911 through 1913, from 1924-29, and from 1944-48. Financial records include a dues ledger from 1911 ( in which minutes of meetings were penciled) and two cash books covering the years 1929-41. A series of scrapbooks of activities of the merchant’s Bureau of the Chamber from 1963 complied by the Bureau’s manager, Ken O’Connell, includes memoranda, correspondence and press clippings and photographs. There are a series of files on the history of the Chamber of Commerce, gathered for the Diamond Anniversary in 1986 including the Calendar produced by the Chamber as well as narrative histories of the Chamber and the Las Vegas News Bureau, photographs, clippings, and miscellaneous brochures and information. The collection also contains a number of Chamber of Commerce publications from 1948 to 1988.

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Contrary to what some people think, Las Vegas weather does have four seasons. Yes, the seasons are different than you would experience in a Northern state, but they exist nonetheless. Let’s take a look at what they are like.

Normal high temperatures in Las Vegas, in the middle of Winter, are around 55 degrees farenheit. Daily normal lows hover around 35. Lows have been recorded as low as 8 degrees. Temperatures into the 80s have been recorded in March as Winter was ending. Las Vegas hasn’t has a major snowstorm in years, but in January 1979 Las Vegas received 9.9 inches of snow, and in January 1949 Las Vegas was hit with 16.7 inches! January and February tend to be rainier than most months, but they still average well below an inch of rain.

The normal high for Las Vegas in Spring starts around 70 degrees, and by the time Spring is ending the average high is 100. Temperatures as high as 116 have been measured near the end of Spring, that’s just a degree short of the highest temperature measured in Las Vegas in the past 80 years. Spring is particularly dry in most years, with less than half an inch, on average.falling in the months of April, May, and June combined. Humidity is also low, and bottoms out in June.

The normal high for Summer in Las Vegas is over 100, although is dips below 100 after September 1. Humidity increases in July and August, and the number of thunderstorms increases to about 3 per month for those two months. Lows have been measured in the 50s in September, but 80s is normal for July and August, dipping into the 70s in mid September.

The temperatures in Fall decrease faster than they increase in Spring. The daily average temperature on September 1 is 99, by December 1 its 60. If someone tells you they were swimming and sunbathing in Las Vegas in the Fall it was probably not late Fall. Rain levels are lower than they are in January, February, July or August.

There are two weather phenomenon that can be potentially dangerous in Las Vegas (three if you consider the rare but potentially crippling snowstorms). One is wind. Wind can happen any time of year, and gusts into the 90s have been recorded in the flat, open valley that Las Vegas is situated in. Wind is rarely life threatening, but its strong enough that you should take it into consideration when enjoying the outdoors here. The other, more serious problem, is flooding. Rain amounts that wouldn’t raise an eyebrow in many locations can cause flash flooding in Las Vegas. Besides having hard ground that isn’t very absorbent, Las Vegas is in a bowl-like valley, surrounded by mountains. Water runs from on high and accumulates in low lying areas. Pay attention to flash flood watches and warnings, and unless its an emergency stay off of the roads during a flooding situation.

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