Desert Inn

The hotel was situated at 3145 Las Vegas Boulevard South, between Desert Inn Road and Sands Avenue. The original name was ''Wilbur Clark's Desert Inn''. Wilbur Clark, described by Frank Sinatra biographer James Kaplan as a "onetime San Diego bellhop and Reno craps dealer", originally began building the resort with his brother in 1947 with $250,000, but ran out of money. Author Hal Rothman notes that "for nearly two years the framed structure sat in the hot desert sun, looking more like an ancient relic than a nascent casino". Clark approached the Reconstruction Finance Corporation for investment, but it was struggling financially. In 1949, he met with Moe Dalitz, the head of the notorious Cleveland Syndicate, which had ties to the Mayfield Road Mob, and Dalitz agreed to fund 75% of the project with $1.3 million, and construction resumed. Much of the financing came from the American National Insurance Company (ANICO), though Clark became the public frontman of the resort while Dalitz remained quietly in the background as the principal owner. The resort would eventually be renamed Desert Inn and was called the "D.I." by Las Vegas locals and regular guests. The Desert Inn opened formally on April 24, 1950, at a two-day gala which was heavily publicized nationally. Journalists from all of the major newspapers and magazines were invited, and the hotel paid $5,700 to cover air tickets. 150 invitations were sent out by Clark to VIPs with a credit limit of $10,000. About half the attendees at the opening were from California and Nevada. At the opening show in the Painted Desert Room were performers such as Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, Vivian Blaine, Pat Patrick, The Donn Arden Dancers, Van Heflin, Abbott and Costello, and the Desert Inn Orchestra, led by Ray Noble. In attendance were a number of mafiosi, including Black Bill Tocco, Joe Massei, Sam Maceo, Peter Licavoli, and Frank Malone in a gala which Barbara Greenspun believed marked the beginning of heavy involvement of the mafia in the development of Las Vegas. Sidney Korshak was one of its early investors. The Desert Inn became known for its "opulence" and top-notch service. After the Desert Inn opened, so called "bomb parties" famously took place in the hotel's panoramic Sky Room, where patrons could view the detonations from a relatively safe distance while drinking Atomic Cocktails. In 1959, Lawrence Wien, owner of New York City's Plaza Hotel purchased the hotel, but signed a management deal for Clark to remain as manager. In the early 1960s, the mafia-financed casino hotels of the Las Vegas Strip and Nevada came under close scrutiny by the FBI, and they placed increased pressure on the Nevada Gaming Control Board to force the mobsters out of Las Vegas. After Sam Giancana was spotted on the premises of Frank Sinatra's Cal Neva Lodge & Casino at Lake Tahoe, his gambling license was removed by the Board and he was forced to sell up and forfeit his share in the Sands Hotel and Casino. The Desert Inn faced similar scrutiny by the FBI, attracting controversy at the same time for the involvement of Dalitz and his mobster associates, In 1964, Clark sold his remaining share in the hotel to Dalitz and business associates Morris Kleinman, Thomas McGinty and Sam Tucker. He died of a heart attack the following year. The bell captain of the Desert Inn, Jack Butler, remembered Clark: "Wilbur was the greatest guy. Without him this town never would've got off the ground. Everyone came into the club just to see him and he was all over the postcards. He was the only boss who would agree to have his picture taken". The Desert Inn's most famous guest, businessman Howard Hughes, arrived on Thanksgiving Day 1966, renting the hotel's entire top two floors. After staying past his initial ten-day reservation, he was asked to leave in December so that the resort could accommodate the high rollers who were expected for New Year's Eve. Instead of leaving, Hughes started negotiations to buy the Desert Inn. After Hughes's death in 1976, the hotel remained under the Summa Corporation, which completed the extensive renovation that he had ordered. Modern history Kerkorian sold the resort In May 1994, ITT Sheraton announced plans to build the Sheraton Desert Kingdom, a $750 million, 3,500-room megaresort on the property, adjacent to the existing Sheraton Desert Inn. When ITT Sheraton bought Caesars World in December 1994, plans for the new resort were shelved. In 1997, ITT Sheraton undertook a $200 million renovation of the Augusta Tower and St. Andrews Tower and expansion, with the building and completion of the Palms Tower. 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. ITT Sheraton itself was sold the following year to Starwood. The sale to Sun International fell through the following March, however. The Desert Inn celebrated its 50th anniversary on April 24, 2000. Celebrations were held for a week and a celebrity golf tournament was held with the likes of Robert Loggia, Chris O'Donnell, Robert Urich, Susan Anton, Vincent Van Patten and Tony Curtis. As part of the festivities, a time capsule was buried in a granite burial chamber on April 25, to be reopened on April 25, 2050. was imploded to make room for a mega-resort that Wynn planned to build. Coming a month after the September 11 attacks, the implosion was marked with less fanfare than previous Las Vegas demolition spectacles due to its similarity to the collapse of the Twin Towers. Originally intended to be named Le Rêve, the new project opened as Wynn Las Vegas. The remaining two towers, the St. Andrews Tower and Palms Tower were both temporarily used as the Wynn Gallery, spanning to display some of Wynn's art collection. The St. Andrews Tower and Palms Tower were finally imploded on November 16, 2004. ==Architecture and features==

The initial hotel, a $6.5 million property set in 200 acres, was designed by Hugh Taylor who was hired after Wilbur Clark and Wayne McAllister could not agree on the design. Interiors were by noted New York architect Jac Lessman. The property conveyed the image of a "southwestern spa" that was "half ranch house, half nightclub". It was built of "cinder blocks but trimmed with sandstone and finished throughout the inside with redwood". The logo of the hotel was a Joshua tree cactus. The driveway into the hotel passed under an "old-fashioned ranch sign" bearing the name ''Wilbur Clark's Desert Inn in scripted letters. The Sky Room'' restaurant was headed by a chef formerly of the Ritz Paris. The 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. Charles Cobelle created the handpainted murals, and a "band car" was used to move the orchestra within the showroom. Next door was a restaurant, the Cactus Room. The Kachina Doll Ranch was a supervised play area for guests' children. The hotel had a ladies salon and health club from the outset. Another performance venue at the hotel was the Lady Luck Lounge. The hotel had its first addition when in 1963 the St. Andrews Tower was built. The tower was designed by William B. Tabler. A near-identical tower by Tabler was built concurrently at the Stardust, which was under common ownership. and the property was renamed the Desert Inn and Country Club. It featured full country club amenities open to guests of the hotel, including a club house, driving range, pro shop, restaurant and lounge at the golf club; 10 tournament-class outdoor tennis courts; and a spa. Three restaurants were added: the "small, intimate" Monte Carlo Room, the "gourmet" Portofino Room, and the Ho Wan Chinese restaurant. In 1997, the Desert Inn underwent a $200 million renovation and expansion by Steelman Partners, The room count was reduced to 715 to provide more luxurious accommodations. was also a major part of the renovation. 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. Golf course and country club , Red Skelton and Wilbur Clark playing golf at the hotel in June 1959 The 18-hole, par-72 The course hosted the PGA Tour Tournament of Champions from 1953 to 1966, attracting professional golfers such as Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklaus. Allard Roen was director of the tournament for many years and was instrumental in breaking down the race barrier on the Strip. He broke the all-white club convention by permitting Sammy Davis, Jr. to play on the course. From 1958 it hosted the Golf Cup Golf Tournament, the largest tournament in the world for amateur golfers. According to the Las Vegas Sun, the course "held the distinction of being the only golf course in the United States to have annually hosted three championship tour events – the PGA Tour's Las Vegas Invitational, the Las Vegas Senior Classic and the LPGA Las Vegas International". The house was subsequently listed on the City and State historic registers. ==Performances==

Almost every major star of the latter half of the 20th century played at the Desert Inn. Frank Sinatra made his Las Vegas debut at the Desert Inn on September 13, 1951. He later said of it: "Wilbur Clark gave me my first job in Las Vegas. That was in 1951. For six bucks you got a filet mignon dinner and me". Noël Coward performed at the Inn on one occasion for an entire month. In 1954, after a performance at the Desert Inn, Betty Hutton announced one of her several retirements. In 1958, Tony Martin was signed to a five-year deal at $25,000 per week, making him the highest paid performer in Las Vegas. Eddie Fisher was heckled by a disguised Elizabeth Taylor during a 1961 performance, in a year which saw Dinah Shore booked for her fourth performance and debut Vegas performances at the Desert Inn by both Benny Goodman and Rosemary Clooney. In 1979, Jet magazine noted that Wayne Newton was "enthroned" at the Desert Inn as king of entertainment idols", earning $10 million a year, which made him the highest-paid nightclub performer of all time. Other performers in its famous "crystal showroom" over the years included Patti Page, Ted Lewis, Louise Mandrell, and more. Louis Prima and Keely Smith recorded their 1960 Dot Records LP On Stage live at the Desert Inn. Bobby Darin's famous album Live! At the Desert Inn was recorded at the hotel in February 1971. 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. ==Film and television==

Portions of ''Ocean's 11'' were shot at the Desert Inn. It is one of the five Las Vegas hotels robbed on New Year's Eve by the characters played by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and others in the film. Orson Welles' film F for Fake covers, among other topics, the scandal of a fake biography of Howard Hughes, and the billionaire's Desert Inn residence is illustrated by Welles. In the 1985 film Lost in America, Julie Hagerty's character Linda Howard loses the couple's "nest egg" at the Desert Inn, leading to a memorable scene in which Albert Brooks' character David Howard tries to convince the Casino manager (Garry Marshall) to give them their money back. David, an ad man, proposes a campaign centered around the generosity of the casino in his case, replete with a jingle: "The Desert Inn has heart... The Desert Inn has heart." The opening scene to the 1993 film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit took place in the Grand Ballroom of the hotel. The Desert Inn saw its last commercial use in the 2001 film Rush Hour 2, shortly before it was imploded. It was converted into the "Red Dragon", an Asian-themed casino set. The hotel served as the primary backdrop for the TV show Vega$ which aired on ABC from 1978 to 1981. The 1980s Aaron Spelling soap opera Dynasty included footage of the hotel, and use of the Presidential Suite. The hit 1980s NBC TV series Remington Steele filmed its 60th Las Vegas-set episode at the inn, where both the exterior and interior are shown regularly throughout the episode. ==Legacy==

The closure of the Desert Inn in 2000 and subsequent demolition was unpopular with many as it seemed to mark the end of old Las Vegas. Historian Michael Green stated: "To a lot of people outside of Las Vegas, these two places (the Desert Inn and the Sands) really meant Las Vegas. These were the places that represent the images of Las Vegas, in a far greater way than the Dunes, the Aladdin, the Hacienda and the Landmark". Robert Maheu, Howard Hughes's head of Nevada operations and publicist for many years, remarked that the "Desert Inn was the gem of Las Vegas". The hotel remained popular with locals until the end, as the heavily tourism-driven modern Las Vegas emerged in the 1990s. ==Desert Inn Road==

Desert Inn Road is a 17¼ mile west–east road part of the Las Vegas Valley grid road system. It travels through residential, commercial, and industrial areas and exists as a major thoroughfare in the area. At the Las Vegas Strip exists a 2½ mile expressway portion of the road officially called the Desert Inn Road Super Arterial that acts an arterial road between Winchester and Paradise. The expressway opened in 1996 and had a construction cost of US$84 million. ==See also==