{"id":8632,"date":"2015-02-09T16:34:41","date_gmt":"2015-02-09T16:34:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/2015\/02\/09\/las-vegas-clarion-hotel-prepares-to-crumble-into-history\/"},"modified":"2015-02-09T16:34:41","modified_gmt":"2015-02-09T16:34:41","slug":"las-vegas-clarion-hotel-prepares-to-crumble-into-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/2015\/02\/09\/las-vegas-clarion-hotel-prepares-to-crumble-into-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Las Vegas: Clarion hotel prepares to crumble into history"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nVideo of more implosions http:\/\/content.jwplatform.com\/videos\/thEMyAKW-3SSLL1M3.mp4<\/a><\/p>\n

\tChris Kudialis, Las Vegas Review-Journal \u00b7 February 9, 2015 at 9:23 am
\n\tBookmark and Share
\n\tFormerly known as the Royal Americana, Paddlewheel, Debbie Reynolds Hollywood Hotel and Greek Isles, the Clarion Hotel and Casino will be bid farewell with a spectacular implosion planned for early Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n

\tLocated at 205 Convention Center Drive, just off the Strip, the Clarion underwent several bankruptcies and closures during its 44-year-history, and it changed ownership at least five times through 2009.<\/p>\n

\tClosed since Sept. 1, the hotel features more than 200 rooms and was the nation\u2019s only Clarion to offer gaming. It\u2019s the 13th valley hotel to be imploded and the first since New Frontier came crashing down in 2007.<\/p>\n

\tLorenzo Doumani, a Las Vegas developer, purchased the property in October for $22.5 million in cash. He won\u2019t disclose his plans for replacing the Clarion but says both Tuesday\u2019s implosion and his next project will be \u201coutstanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIt\u2019s going to be something very unique that has a hotel component,\u201d Doumani said. \u201cAnd it might be taller than the Wynn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tDoumani says his goal is to make Convention Center Drive the new prime area of the Strip. He says a proposed $2.5 billion expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center will help.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cFive years from now, this will be the largest spot in Vegas,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be phenomenal, and I think it\u2019ll really come into fashion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tFor Tuesday, Doumani picked two companies, Diversified Demolition and Controlled Demolition, to take down the building on his 6-acre lot. The Clarion will be imploded between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m., according to Clark County spokesman Dan Kulin.<\/p>\n

\tKen Mercurio, president of Diversified Demolition, also was involved in the Bourbon Street and Boardwalk implosions in 2006. Mercurio said spectators can expect two series of separate blasts before the Clarion implodes Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cPeople always think the first blast doesn\u2019t work, because the hotel doesn\u2019t fall right away,\u201d Mercurio explained. \u201cBut then we set off the second blasts, and gravity takes over from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tFor Tuesday\u2019s implosion to be postponed, sustained winds would need to reach at least 10 mph during the morning, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Don Berc in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

\tThough gusts could reach between 10 and 15 mph Monday night, sustained wind speeds are expected to drop to between 5 and 10 mph by morning, Berc said. Temperatures are predicted to be in the mid-to-high 50s. No rain is expected.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIt\u2019s going to be pretty darn nice for this time of the year at that time of the night,\u201d Berc said.<\/p>\n

\tStarting at 11:30 p.m., Metro officers will close all roads located around the implosion site. Convention Center Drive, Kishner Drive, Debbie Reynolds Drive and Channel 8 Drive will reopen at 3:30 a.m., according to police.<\/p>\n

\tDesignated pedestrian \u201cexclusion\u201d locations will be made available in three locations: at the Las Vegas Convention Visitor Authority parking lot, about 1,000 feet east of the neighboring Las Vegas Marriott and about a block west of Sadie Lane, according to Mercurio. Pedestrian viewing zones will be clearly defined, and both Metro and demolition staff will be staffing viewing zone boundaries.<\/p>\n

\tFor easy entry and exit to viewing the implosion, spectators are encouraged to arrive early. While the implosion will last for only 10 seconds, traffic could be delayed for up to an hour, according to Mercurio.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIt\u2019s going to be dusty, make no mistake about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tContact Chris Kudialis at ckudialis@reviewjournal.com<\/a> or 702-383-0283. Follow @kudialisrj on Twitter.<\/p>\n

\tHISTORY OF IMPLOSIONS<\/p>\n

\t1. DUNES: Oct. 22, 1993<\/p>\n

\tThe first valley hotel to be imploded, the Dunes made way for the Bellagio resort, the world\u2019s most expensive hotel project at the time.<\/p>\n

\t2. LANDMARK: Nov. 7, 1995<\/p>\n

\tThe futuristic, space-themed Landmark was opened in 1969 and played host to dozens of famous entertainers \u2014 including Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and Danny Thomas. It was imploded to make room for 2,000 new parking spaces at the Las Vegas Convention Center.<\/p>\n

\t3. SANDS: Nov. 26, 1996<\/p>\n

\tThe Sands is perhaps most famous as birthplace of \u201cThe Rat Pack,\u201d featuring Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford, in 1960. Entertainers often recorded live albums in the Sands\u2019 famous Copa Room, and the resort also was featured in several movies \u2014 most famously \u201cOcean\u2019s Eleven.\u201d It was replaced by The Venetian.<\/p>\n

\t4. HACIENDA: Jan. 1, 1997<\/p>\n

\tThe 1,500-room Hacienda saw its profits tumble as newer, glitzier resorts became the norm on the Strip. The New Year\u2019s Day implosion was accompanied by a fireworks show. It was replaced by Mandalay Bay.<\/p>\n

\t5. ALADDIN: April 27, 1998<\/p>\n

\tOnce named the Tally-Ho and King\u2019s Crown, the Aladdin was a premier Strip resort with more than 1,000 rooms in the 1990s. It was imploded after 32 years to make room for a new hotel of the same name, which has since become Planet Hollywood.<\/p>\n

\t6. EL RANCHO: Oct. 3, 2000<\/p>\n

\tLocated on the northern part of the Strip, El Rancho opened in 1948 as the Thunderbird. After closing in July 1992, the hotel sat empty for more than eight years before finally being imploded. It was replaced by Fontainebleau Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

\t7. DESERT INN: Oct. 23, 2001<\/p>\n

\tOne of the first resorts on the Strip, the Desert Inn boasted an 18-hole golf course and performances from Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin and Tony Bennett. The Desert Inn was bought by Steve Wynn in 2000, closed, and imploded to make way for Wynn Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

\t8. CASTAWAYS: Jan. 11, 2006<\/p>\n

\tKnown as the Showboat from 1954-2000, the casino was one of the valley\u2019s premier locations for professional boxing, wrestling and bowling in the 1980s. Four years after a group of investors bought and renamed the property in 2000, Castaways went bankrupt. The land is owned by Station Casinos.<\/p>\n

\t9. BOURBON STREET: Feb. 14, 2006<\/p>\n

\tThe small New Orleans-themed casino, originally known as the Shenandoah, changed hands at least seven times in its 26-year history. Harrah\u2019s purchased the hotel in early 2005 before closing and imploding it in less than a year. The property remains an empty lot owned by TRB Flamingo LLC.<\/p>\n

\t10. BOARDWALK: May 9, 2006<\/p>\n

\tThe Coney Island-themed Boardwalk hotel featured a roller coaster on the roof and a faux parachute drop. Originally a Holiday Inn, the hotel was purchased by MGM in 2000 but was soon closed and imploded to make room for CityCenter.<\/p>\n

\t11. STARDUST: March 13, 2007<\/p>\n

\tThe Stardust was famous for its role in the movie \u201cCasino.\u201d It was also a popular destination for early Siegfried & Roy performances. Replaced by Echelon Place, which failed before opening when the 2008 recession gripped the gaming industry, the site was sold in 2013 to Malaysia-based Genting Barhad.<\/p>\n

\t12. NEW FRONTIER: Nov. 13, 2007<\/p>\n

\tOne of the Strip\u2019s oldest casinos, the hotel known as New Frontier had roots dating to the 1930s. The building was the site of Elvis Presley\u2019s first Las Vegas performance in 1956. Australian billionaire James Packer bought the 35-acre site in August, and the company hopes to begin construction of a hotel-casino project later this year.<\/p>\n

\t13. CLARION: scheduled for implosion Tuesday morning<\/p>\n

\tOnce owned and named after Debbie Reynolds, the Clarion changed hands at least six times and filed for several bankruptcies in its 44-year history. The hotel, along Convention Center Drive, is scheduled to be replaced by a new, \u201coutstanding\u201d hotel proposed by owner Lorenzo Doumani.<\/p>\n

\n

Replies:<\/h3>\n

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Video of more implosions http:\/\/content.jwplatform.com\/videos\/thEMyAKW-3SSLL1M3.mp4 Chris Kudialis, Las Vegas Review-Journal \u00b7 February 9, 2015 at 9:23 am Bookmark and Share Formerly known as the Royal Americana, Paddlewheel, Debbie Reynolds Hollywood Hotel and Greek Isles, the Clarion Hotel and Casino will…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-casino-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8632\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}