"Landmark imploded
11/07/95 replaced by Convention Center parking. Construction was started
by Frank Carroll in 1961, and it was called Landmark Tower. Located at
364 Convention Center Drive across from the Las Vegas Convention Center,
this was supposed to be the second Strip. The casino never opened and
the building was never finished until after Howard Hughesbought it in 1968. Opened by Hughes as the
Landmark Hotel on July 1, 1969, it closed on August 8, 1990. On
September 1st 1993 the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor's Authority
purchased the Landmark for $16.7 million and turned the property into a
parking lot."
Mikey stayed at the Landmark in January of 1989 and was put in a room
that was in worse shape than a cheap room in a wino hotel. My room was
at the very back of the property, and I had to walk about 100 yards to
get to the casino. The AC unit
made a clanking noise that lulled me to sleep, and I had to call
maintenance to plunge the toilet twice. A black and white television set
was bolted to the wall, and only received three static filled channels.
The room wasn't very clean and the threadbare carpet featured several
large cigarette burns next to the bed. The bed sheets were clean, but had
suspicious stains. This was a place for low-rollers for sure. Everything
was run down and none of the staff seemed to care about anything. I
guess that they knew the end wasn't too far in the future. Four days and
three nights was all that I could stand, and sure was happy to get home.
The only good thing about the place was the free hors' douvre buffet that was
set up in the casino after 2 a.m. that featured delicious buffalo wings
and small sandwiches. I did manage to hit a couple of jackpots on the
10¢ slots, and went home with more money than I started with.
DeVille Casino: Frank Carroll Built the Landmark Tower on Convention
Center Drive thinking that this would be the next Strip. He never
finished the Landmark and sold it to Howard Hughes in 1969. Then he
built the DeVille Casino right across the street from the Landmark. The
casino was finished and fully equipped but never opened. After a 1992
renovation, the building opened as the Sport of Kings, a race book
parlor. Nine months later it closed.
Click on the
picture below to visit Marc Wagner's great Landmark history website.
