The Great Consolidation of Las Vegas

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Since the creation of modern day Las Vegas, there have always been people lamenting the good ole days, whatever that means to that individual at the time. Determining what is considered “good” is about as subjective as subjective can be.  Most people today will point to the time before the strip was primarily owned by 2 companies, MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment.  While the benefits of consolidation are obvious, potentially the best thing about it is the story of how it all happened.  To do that, we are going to have to trace back to how these assets exchanged hands before finally ending up in the corporate portfolio that are currently a part of.  To keep the story clean and the timeline defined, we are only going to focus on the majority owners and only their moves in Las Vegas.  We’re calling this, the Great Consolidation of Las Vegas 

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Boyd Gaming

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Sam Boyd was a gambler at heart.  Once he discovered his passion for games of chance, he studied them feverously, learning that in every game, the advantage was always in the houses favor.  So Sam decided the best way to gamble was to be the house.  And that’s how his career in gaming began.  Sam’s son Bill was encouraged from a young age to get an education.  So he did and became a lawyer but eventually the father and son would join forces and become a team that grew into one of the most respected gaming companies in the world.  Factor in their inherent desire to do the right thing and give back to the community, and you instantly start to suspect there’s more to the story than what you’re being told.  But dig as deep as you like, there’s no more.  The story of Sam, Bill and Boyd Gaming may be one of the greatest American success stories in history and overwhelming proof that sometimes, nice guys finish first.

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Kirk Kerkorian & MGM Resorts

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Intensely private, Kerkorian’s legacy may not be as well known as Steve Wynn’s but is unarguably one of the most important in Vegas history.  Some will criticize MGM as the shinning example of the faceless corporate machine that has taken over the city but without the corporate evolution of the market, the expansion of gaming around the United States, and the world for that matter, would have never been possible.  Corporations removed the negative stigmatism the gambling industry had for eons and made it a viable, bordering on respectable business model, now regarded as just another form of entertainment.

If you're interested in learning more about Kirk Kerkorian, check out

• The Gambler 
• Kerkorian: An American Success Story
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Steve Wynn

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Steve Wynn is probably the biggest name in modern gaming.  He’s definitely one of the biggest in gaming history.  Like Walt Disney before him, Steve Wynn saw the way things were and dreamed of how they could be better, then brought them to life.  He’s a visionary with a gift for promotion, a legacy of world renowned landmarks and a charm that can make him instantly likable.  This is the story of an icon.

For more information, check out

Running Scared

Winner Takes All
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Evolution of Vegas E-1: El Rancho

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The "Evolution of Vegas" is a companion series to our 360 Vintage Vegas podcasts. They take advantage of the documentary format we use to tell our Vintage segments and bring the stories to life via actual photos and video from the time. While the Vintage Vegas podcasts tell the story of this evolution, they don't tell the story in chronological order. That is exactly how we will present the Evolution of Vegas series.

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The Landmark

 

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The Landmark existed for 34 years, 1961-1995, and during that time, sat empty and unused for a 3^rd of its life.  Make no mistake, the Landmark was a great idea.  It just never had the support it needed to reach its potential.  It resembles everything that is great about Las Vegas.  Any grand idea can live here, if only here.  Want to build Paris in the desert, sure; Recreate ancient Roman decadence, why not; put a casino in the sky, give it a shot.  The sobering reality is it takes much more than a visionary idea to succeed in Vegas and there are many examples to prove that.  Rather than lament it’s passing we should celebrate the fact that it had a chance. There are literally dozens of visionary projects planned for Las Vegas that never make it beyond the concept phase.  Currently north strip is home to 3 of them in various stages of incompletion.  Regardless of it’s inability to become a financial success, the Landmark was able to literally live up to it’s name, establish itself as one of the most memorable properties in the landscape of Las Vegas history.Hughes FingerprintThe PoolGalaxy HotelFall of a Landmark

For those of you interested in more information on the Landmark, I can’t recommend the Marc Wagner book “Above the All- The story of the Landmark Hotel and Casino” as well as their companion site www.landmarkhotelmemorial.com.  Possibly the best documentation of a single property I’ve ever seen.  Others sources include

lvstriphistory.com

OnlineNevada.org

YouTube.com

Book - Next To Hughes

Book - Citizen Hughes
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Luxor

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Luxor changed my life.  It can be credited as the property that brought me to Vegas for the first time with a theme that made me say "I have to go see that". The inspiration for this show, my love for just about all things involving the city including becoming a student of it's history can all be traced back to this property.  While it’s true, over the years, I’ve not spent a lot of time at Luxor.  In fact, I haven’t stayed at the property since my first trip.  I can still say with no exaggeration that I love Luxor.  This is the story of the 1st pyramid built in the desert in over 6,000 years.

For more information on Luxor, Bill Bennett and Mandalay Resorts, check out

Bill Bennett: Forgotten Man

Super Casino

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