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The Sands Hotel was a legendary Las Vegas, Nevada hotel/casino
that operated from December 15, 1952 to June 30, 1996.
It was the seventh resort that opened on the Las Vegas
Strip.
During its heyday, the Sands would
be the center of entertainment and cool on the Strip,
and hosted many famous entertainers of the day. Regulars
would be able to mingle with the stars in the lounge
after their late-night shows. Even most of the Presidents
stayed at the Sands when they were in town.
Its most famous claim to fame was a
3-week period in 1960 when, during the filming of the
movie Ocean's Eleven, they organized an event called
the “Summit at the Sands”, where for the
first time Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis,
Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford performed on stage
together. They would forever be known after that as
the Rat Pack. Sinatra would also own a stake in the
Sands for a time.
The hotel first began as just a casino
with a few hundred rooms.
In its final years, the Sands became
a shadow of its former self; a throwback to the old
days, and it ultimately could not compete with the newer
and more exciting megaresorts that were being built
on the Strip. The decision was eventually made by its
final owner, Sheldon Adelson, to shut it down and to
build a brand new resort. On November 26, 1996, it was
imploded and demolished much to the dismay of longtime
employees and sentimentalists. The Las Vegas scenes
of Con Air (1997) were filmed at the Sands prior to
its demolition.
Today, the Venetian now stands where
the Sands once stood.
History
When billionaire Howard Hughes purchased
the hotel in the mid-1960s, a 500-room tower was added
and the hotel became a Vegas landmark.
Kirk Kerkorian bought the hotel in 1988 and sold it
in 1989.
In 1989, Sheldon Adelson purchased the Sands.
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