The New Frontier
casino-hotel was imploded early today, giving a
violent end to the second property to open on
the Las Vegas Strip. The 16-story hotel tower
was felled with over 1,000 pounds of explosives
before a group of reporters and bystanders to
make way for a multibillion-dollar resort
bearing The Plaza brand, which is set to open in
2011. Elad Group owner and Israeli billionaire
Yitzhak Tshuva, who is partnering to build an $8
billion megaresort where the New Frontier stood,
shook hands and gave hugs after the tower went
down. An easterly breeze helped to quickly
dissipate the dust. The New Frontier earned
historical notations by becoming the Strip's
first theme casino and hosting Elvis Presley's
debut in the city.
The owner of The Plaza hotel in New York, said
the new property will include a luxury hotel
with about 3,500 rooms, private residences,
retail space and a casino bearing The Plaza
brand, all set to reach for the highest end of
the market. "Let me promise to all of you today
that we will build in this beautiful city one of
the most magnificent hotels in the world,"
Tshuva told a gathering ahead of the implosion.
"I think that there should be no price tag for a
place with such enormous potential."
The destruction of the New Frontier was the
latest step in a dramatic, and expensive,
facelift for the northern Strip. The Stardust
hotel-casino was imploded in March.
The Last Frontier was the second hotel-casino to
open on the Strip, and over its 65 years it
played host to such entertainers as Ronald
Reagan, Wayne Newton and Siegfried & Roy. Elvis
Presley performed for the first time in Las
Vegas at the resort in 1956. Billionaire Howard
Hughes once owned it, and Wynn's purchase of a
minority stake in the 1960s in exchange for
heading up the slot and keno departments sparked
his career as a casino magnate.
The implosion
Posted: 17th. November 2007
