The Tropicana is among the most famous demolitions in Las Vegas history. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

It starts with The Dune

Exactly 31 years ago, the dust was likely still settling on the biggest non-nuclear explosion in Nevada history. This wasn’t a military exercise though, it was the implosion of the Dune Hotel & Casino, the first case in which the destruction of a Las Vegas landmark was made into a spectacle.

650 pounds of dynamite, with black rifle powder and 600 gallons of aviation fuel

And what a spectacle it was. The implosion utilized 650 pounds of dynamite, with black rifle powder and 600 gallons of aviation fuel mixed in to make the blast as awe-inspiring as it could be. Around 200,000 spectators turned up on the day of October 27, 1993 to watch from the Strip. It was a show for the ages:

Since that date, it has become a hallmark of Las Vegas that historic casinos are destroyed in outlandish fashion – from the Landmark Hotel and Casino right up to the Tropicana Las Vegas earlier this month. VegasSlotsOnline News has listed some of the most amazing implosions below so you can check them out yourself.

Landmark Hotel & Casino

The implosion that followed The Dune was the Landmark Hotel & Casino, and it will forever be immortalized in Tim Burton’s Mars Attack. Video of the implosion was used in the film, playing the part of the Galaxy Hotel that is destroyed by the outer space attackers.

cleared to make way for a 21-acre parking lot to be used by the Las Vegas Convention Center

Inspired by the Space Needle in Seattle, the iconic tower featured a flying saucer-style structure at the top of 31 floors. The property fell into financial trouble and was closed by owner Bill Morris, a Las Vegas lawyer. It was decided it would be cleared to make way for a 21-acre parking lot to be used by the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Significantly smaller than the Dunes event, the implosion used just 100 pounds of dynamite placed in certain locations throughout the first four floors of the tower. Around 7,000 people gathered on the Strip in November 1995 to watch the demolition at 5:37am that morning. A black cloud of dust ascended 150 feet in the air.

Hacienda Hotel Resort & Casino

Unlike the well-known reason for the Landmark’s implosion, there was a lot of secrecy surrounding the Hacienda Hotel Resort & Casino. It was destroyed to be replaced by what was known at the time as “Project Paradise.” It is now common knowledge that that implosion took place to make way for the MGM Resorts International’s Mandalay Bay, one of Las Vegas’ most successful resorts.

The Hacienda was 40 years old at the time of the implosion, which occurred on New Year’s Eve of 1997. It began life as a 256-room motor lodge before growing into a 1,200-room resort, among the first properties to offer family-friendly recreation in Las Vegas, including mini golf and a go-kart track.

attracted 300,000 people, many of whom were already in Las Vegas for New Years Eve

Ultimately, the resort had to make way after struggling to compete with the major resorts on the Strip. Its implosion was broadcast live on the FOX network and attracted 300,000 people, many of whom were already in Las Vegas for New Years Eve. A six-minute firework display preceded the implosion, which featured more than 1,000 pounds of explosives.

Stardust Resort & Casino

The stardust lived up to its name in 2007 when its two main towers were reduced to rubble in spectacular fashion. The property, which opened in 1958, was once the biggest hotel in Las Vegas, boasting 1,000 hotel rooms at the time. It played host to Siegfried and Toy with their show “Enter the Night” in 1992.

Boyd Gaming Corporation ultimately closed the property in 2006. A decision was taken to destroy the iconic venue the following year, and Genting Group took over control of the site to develop its Resorts World.

still holds the record as the tallest building to ever be imploded on the Strip

Smaller buildings were destroyed in the lead up to the full implosion date on March 13, 2007. A four-minute firework show took place before the implosion at 2:34am. It supposedly took more than 20 minutes for the dust to dissipate. The 32-story tower still holds the record as the tallest building to ever be imploded on the Strip. It was the ninth resort to come down in 14 years on the Strip.

New Frontier Hotel & Casino

Perhaps the most notable aspect of our next implosion is the fact that the site still sits unused nearly 17 years later. The 16-story New Frontier Hotel & Casino tower, which opened in 1931, was imploded November 2007 after being closed in May of that year. The spectacle included a fireworks display and countdown chanted by thousands of onlookers.

Prior to the implosion in 2007, New Frontier sold the hotel casino site to Israeli investors for a sum of $1.24bn. They had plans to construct a huge resort to replace the old property, with 4,100 hotel rooms, 2,600 condo units, in addition to 1 million square-feet of casino, restaurant, convention, and retail space. But this dream was never realized.

Wynn Resorts later purchased the site of the former casino in 2018 but has still not announced what it has planned. The company has stated only that it “may be used for future development” without providing any further details. Wynn already owns and operates the Wynn Las Vegas on the Strip.

The Tropicana Las Vegas

We end our list with the latest famous Las Vegas venue to go boom. The Tropicana closed after 67 years in April of this year. It became a symbol of glitz and glamour in the 1950s, even making money for the mob through a partnership between its owner and Frank Costello, one of the most infamous gangsters at the time.

the resort was outdated and no longer fit for purpose without a major investment

But all of that is ancient history now. Bally’s purchased the property in 2022 for $308m, and agreed to demolish the property in May of 2023 to make way for the new 30,000-seater ballpark for the MLB’s Oakland Athletics. Bally’s asserted that the resort was outdated and no longer fit for purpose without a major investment it wasn’t willing to make.

The implosion took place on October 9, featuring a spectacular fireworks and drone show that culminated in the destruction of the two towers.