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Inn
The Desert Inn was a Las Vegas, Nevada hotel/casino
that operated from April 24, 1950 to August 28, 2000.
It became the fifth resort that opened on the Las Vegas
Strip. The property included an 18-hole golf course,
the only one on the Strip.
The Desert Inn’s most famous
guest, the billionaire Howard Hughes, arrived on Thanksgiving
Day in 1966, renting the hotel's entire top floor. After
staying past his initial ten-day reservation, he was
asked to leave in December 1966 so that the resort could
accommodate the high rollers who had been promised those
suites. Instead of leaving, Hughes decided to start
negotiations to buy the Desert Inn, and on March 1,
1967, he purchased the resort for around $13 million.
This purchase was the first of many Vegas resort purchases
by Hughes.
On April 27, 2000, the resort was purchased
by Steve Wynn, who closed it several months later. On
October 23, 2001, the main tower was demolished to make
room for a megaresort that Wynn planned to build. Originally
intended to be named "Le Reve", the Wynn Las
Vegas opened on April 28, 2005, his wife’s birthday.
The Desert Inn saw its last use as
the Las Vegas set for Rush Hour 2 and was converted
to resemble an asian themed casino. The old towers were
then used as a small museum to display some of Wynn's
art collection and as offices for Wynn Resorts. The
last remaning tower has been removed.
The Desert Inn was the last Strip hotel
with its own golf course.
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