Desert Inn opened with 300 rooms and the Sky Room restaurant, headed by a chef formerly of the Ritz Paris, which once had the highest vantage point on the Las Vegas Strip.
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20 Facts About Desert Inn
2.
The Desert Inn was the first hotel in Las Vegas to feature a fountain at the entrance.
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3.
In 1997, the Desert Inn underwent a $200 million renovation and expansion, but after it was purchased for $270 million by Steve Wynn in 2000, he decided to demolish it and build a new hotel and resort and casino.
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4.
Original performance venue at the Desert Inn was the Painted Desert Room, later the Crystal Room, which opened in 1950 with 450 seats.
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5.
Desert Inn opened formally on April 24,1950, at a two-day gala which was heavily publicized nationally.
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6.
Desert Inn became known for its "opulence" and top-notch service.
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7.
The first manager of the Desert Inn had previously worked as the manager at the Clift Hotel in San Francisco.
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8.
The resort was returned to its historic name, The Desert Inn, dropping the Sheraton name, and was placed in the ITT Sheraton Luxury Collection division.
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9.
On October 23,2001, the Augusta Tower, the Desert Inn's southernmost building, was imploded to make room for a mega-resort that Wynn planned to build.
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10.
The Desert Inn was the first hotel in Las Vegas to feature a fountain at the entrance.
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11.
Original performance venue at the Desert Inn was the 450 seat Painted Desert Room, later the Crystal Room, which opened in 1950 with 450 seats.
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12.
At the time of its sale to ITT-Sheraton in 1993, the Desert Inn had the largest frontage of any casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, measuring 1,700 feet feet.
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13.
In 1997, the Desert Inn underwent a $200 million renovation and expansion by Steelman Partners, giving it a new Mediterranean-looking exterior with white stucco and red clay tile roofs.
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14.
On January 27,2000, the Megabucks jackpot record for Las Vegas was broken when $34,955,489 was won by an anonymous gambler at the Desert Inn, playing a bank of six Megabucks machines near the hotel's coffee shop.
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15.
Desert Inn opened an outdoor dining area, to accommodate golfers and swimmers who might prefer a more informal atmosphere.
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16.
Desert Inn broke the all-white club convention by permitting Sammy Davis, Jr.
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17.
The Las Vegas Senior Classic event at the Desert Inn was added to the Senior PGA Tour in 1986, and has since been won by Bruce Crampton, Al Geiberger, who equaled the course record at the time of 62, Larry Mowry and Lee Trevino.
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18.
In 1992, a week-long celebration of Frank Sinatra's 77th birthday at the Desert Inn was held and later in January it was announced that Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, Paul Anka, Shirley MacLaine, Dean Martin, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme had all signed a two-year engagement agreeing to perform at least five weeks annually.
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19.
The Desert Inn saw its last commercial use in the 2001 film Rush Hour 2, shortly before it was imploded.
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20.
Desert Inn Road is a 17¼ mile west–east road part of the Las Vegas Valley grid road system.
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