Stardust Hotel and Casino

The Stardust Hotel and Casino opened its doors on July 2, 1958, with great fanfare. Conceived by Tony Cornero, a colorful figure in the Las Vegas underworld who was involved in bootlegging and gambling, the Stardust was designed to be the largest hotel in Las Vegas at the time. Unfortunately, Cornero died in 1955 before the hotel was completed, and the project faced financial difficulties. It was eventually taken over and finished by businessman John Factor, with the hotel debuting three years later.

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When the Stardust opened, it boasted an astounding 1,065 rooms, which made it the largest hotel in Las Vegas and one of the largest in the world. The casino floor was also one of the largest, and the hotel became instantly known for its colossal neon signage.

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The Stardust sign, designed by renowned sign designer Kaye Dean, was one of the most iconic in Las Vegas history. Its 216-foot-wide façade was covered with stars, planets, and a large script reading "Stardust" in neon lights, symbolizing the atomic age and space race themes that were popular at the time.

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The Stardust quickly set itself apart from other hotels and casinos by embracing a futuristic, outer-space theme. It promoted itself as a destination that brought "tomorrow’s world" to today’s guests, and its main showroom, the Café Continental, featured lavish dinner shows that would become a staple of Las Vegas entertainment.

One of its most famous early shows was Lido de Paris, a French revue that brought Las Vegas audiences elaborate stage productions filled with beautiful showgirls, lavish costumes, and impressive sets. The Lido de Paris was a massive hit, running at the Stardust for more than 30 years and helping to cement the resort's reputation as a top entertainment destination.

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The Stardust also became known for its low prices. Unlike the more upscale hotels the Sands or the Desert Inn, the Stardust catered to middle-class tourists, offering affordable rooms and meals while still providing high-end entertainment and gaming.

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The Stardust’s history is also closely tied to organized crime. By the 1970s, the resort had become a hub for illegal activities, including the notorious “casino skimming” operations. The Chicago Outfit and other mob organizations were heavily involved in Las Vegas casinos during this period, and the Stardust was no exception.

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The most infamous mob-related scandal involving the Stardust occurred in the 1970s and early 1980s, when it was revealed that millions of dollars were being skimmed off the casino’s earnings and funneled back to organized crime families. The scheme was part of a larger network of mob-controlled casinos in Las Vegas, and it eventually led to several high-profile investigations and convictions.

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This period in the Stardust’s history was fictionalized in the 1995 Martin Scorsese film "Casino," which told the story of mob involvement in Las Vegas through a dramatized version of real events at the Stardust and other casinos.

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In the 1980s, following the FBI crackdown on organized crime in Las Vegas, the Stardust was sold to Argent Corporation, which was also tied to mob figures. Eventually, the casino was taken over by more legitimate corporate interests, including Boyd Gaming, which acquired the Stardust in 1985. Under Boyd Gaming, the Stardust underwent several renovations and updates to remain competitive with the newer mega-resorts that began to dominate the Las Vegas Strip. However, by the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Stardust was beginning to show its age, and it struggled to keep up with the increasingly extravagant hotels and casinos being built around it, such as The Mirage and Bellagio.

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The end of the Stardust era came in 2006, when Boyd Gaming announced that the resort would close to make way for a new mega-resort development called Echelon Place. The Stardust officially closed its doors on November 1, 2006. In March 2007, the Stardust was imploded.

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While the planned Echelon Place development was eventually canceled due to the 2008 financial crisis, the site was later sold and became the location for the Resorts World Las Vegas, which opened in 2021.