80s Las Vegas – The Struggles and Triumphs of It’s Casinos
80s Las Vegas Suffering
One of the major disadvantages of running a casino business, especially in 80s Las Vegas, is that the whole industry is very susceptible to any changes in economic well-being. In other words, if the economy takes a dive then you can expect the casinos to follow. Though the beginning of the 1980s saw Las Vegas as one of the most popular gambling spots in the world, it was actually still the sick industry trying to get back on its feet after the 1970s oil crisis. Unfortunately, 80s Las Vegas was to catch the perfect storm. At precisely the same time these problems unfolded, there was yet another one coming to the fore.
Players from both New Jersey and New York stopped visiting Las Vegas. That was thanks to the legalisation of gambling in Atlantic City leading to players heading there to visit casinos to win the jackpot.
Sin City Became Boring
As you can imagine, this put a serious dent in the finances of Nevada’s gambling capital. Falling gaming revenues had put Sin City on life support. The media of the time, including newspapers and magazines, would run daily stories on the eventual and, in their eyes, inevitable decline of Sin City. In some ways, it was the same story being repeated again from the 1950s and the 1960s. But the casino industry players in Las Vegas were a tough crew and refused to go down without a serious fight. Together, they knew that they needed a different business viewpoint. They had to find new and refreshing ways of bringing gamblers to the jackpot games tables. One of these ideas was, instead of concentrating on the single male gambler, why not devise ways of looking after his whole family whilst he gambled.
80s Las Vegas: Tough Times Ahead
To that end, in 80s Las Vegas, the Sundance Casino opened downtown. Following on from this, Ramada Inns expanded their nearby property, The Tropicana. Just across the street, the South Tower was an addition to the Dunes. Though these extra rooms did nothing to add to the income of the casino, it would continue to suffer from poor revenue and a decrease in guest traffic. Stewart and Clifford Perlman, who ran Caesars World, would offer to buy the casino for $195 million in 1983. They later withdrew their offer after seeing how the casino was nothing more than a never-ending money pit.
In 1985 the Dune Resort threw in the towel and finally filed for bankruptcy protection. At this point, Steve Wynn stepped in with a $115 million-dollar offer. He was keen to add his name to the Las Vegas Strip. But his offer was ultimately declined. The next year, Donald Trump made an offer of $100 million. That too was also rejected. But Steve Wynn wasn’t a guy to take defeat lying down and he wasn’t ready to give up yet.
Steve Wynn on the Las Vegas Strip
As they say, if you can’t beat them, then join them. After being turned down by the Dunes, Steve Wynn decided that his best bet was to build his own casino. He had his eye on the plot of the old Golden Nugget Casino on Fremont Street. Sitting just one block away from the Dunes, it was the remains of a dilapidated old property that was originally under the ownership of Howard Hughes. He bought it in 1970 for a total of $3 million. It’s probably most famous for its 1,500-gallon aquarium, featuring nearly naked girls swimming around at regular intervals.
When Hughes owned the resort it included 35,000 square feet of gaming space. It also contained 1,700 hotel rooms. Somehow this monstrosity managed to survive the 1970s, though by the mid-80s it was really struggling to keep its head above water. Finally, the run-down 80s Las Vegas casino closed in July 1983 and was properly demolished.
Junk Bonds to the Rescue
Steve Wynn wasted no time in purchasing the land and beginning construction of what was to be a new style of mega-resort, which was based on a South Seas theme. Considering that Las Vegas was going through a crisis, spending over $630 million on the project was thought to be incredibly risky, and banks refused to help with its financing. In the end, Wynn teamed up with the king of junk bonds, Michael Milken. By issuing these junk bonds, Wynn was able to get to work, but with a personal exposure of over half a billion dollars, the casino complex would need to bring in over one million dollars per day in order to be a success.
This was a monster sum of money at the time. Interestingly enough, with today’s casino offering games over the internet, it’s quite possible to win the jackpot online with even more money as a prize. If you head over to King Billy Casino, you’ll have a fantastic chance of winning as they have so many great gaming options.
80s Las Vegas: The Mirage Saves the Day
The Mirage opened in November 1989, and though it was previously considered a risky bet, it nevertheless saw huge crowds of big-spending gamblers. It was to prove the nay-sayers wrong and marked the beginnings of the new Las Vegas, being the first successful casino built on the Strip for over sixteen years.
At the time, the Mirage was the world’s largest casino resort, boasting 3,044 rooms and standing 29 stories high. The casino itself measured a total of 100,000 square feet, and the upper floor featured a luxury restaurant. The marketing department that Wynn ran, used high roller lists and enticed them to Las Vegas with offers of luxury hotel rooms, gourmet dinners and high roller private gambling rooms. And it worked. Within just two years, the casino moved into profitability. Thanks to the huge income the Mirage generated, Wynn was able to open the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino within five years.
Circus Circus Enterprises
Without a doubt, the most prolific 80s Las Vegas casino business was Circus Circus Enterprises. This company was under the management of William Bennett and William Pennington. They originally formed their company in order to purchase the Circus Circus Hotel Casino from Jay Sarno. At the same time, the two Williams opened a casino in Reno, as well as taking over the Silver City Casino and Slots-A-Fun Casino in 1979. A short while later, they purchased the Edgewater Casino in Laughlin. In 1983, they took their company public with an NYSE offering, which netted a massive windfall. And they already knew what they wanted to do with this new cash injection.
Think of the Kids
With their finger on the gambling pulse, they could see that the old 80s Las Vegas was missing facilities for cheaper tourists who also wanted to gamble. The problem was that there really wasn’t much for young gamblers to do in Vegas at the time. So they decided that the way forwards was to place a greater emphasis on providing amenities for younger families. They saw the need for play areas, baby setting services, along with offering cheaper meals and hotel rooms. In fact, they introduced the $4.95 prime rib dinners and $6.99 dinner buffets. You could stay at the Circus Circus Hotel for just $29 per night. if you’re watching your money, then King Billy Casino will have you covered. They offer all new players a massive welcome bonus of 151% up to €/$500 plus 51 bonus spins!
King Arthur Comes to Vegas
As you can imagine, this proved to be a huge success. Bennett and Pennington realized that they should invest in building mega-resort closer to the Las Vegas strip. In 1987, they started work on the construction of what was to be three resorts. The first, the Excalibur, was to open in 1990. Built around the medieval theme of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, the facade was of a castle sitting on 70 acres. You could see Merlin the Magician from all over Vegas, as he sat in the highest tower in Camelot and oversaw the massive resort complex.
The Excalibur featured over 4,000 rooms, making it the largest hotel in the world. And it was an oasis for family-based entertainment. For the first time, gamblers could ring the whole family with them. And whilst dad was gambling away at the jackpot slots with the kids’ inheritance, mummy and the children could be busy with family entertainment around the resort. In 1993, Circus Circus Enterprises continued its expansion with the opening of the Luxor. This sits next door to the Excalibur and features a huge Sphinx. Corny as hell, but it all works. Looking back to the 80s Las Vegas, we can thank the two Williams for the foresight to see what had to change in order to lift 80s Las Vegas out of the doldrums and take the gambling city into the 21st century.
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