A view of the Dunes Hotel tower under construction. The famous sultan statue is visible in the foreground. The marquee is visible in the background advertising "Now in the Persian Room Vive Les Girls French Stage Spectacular 8:30 pm, 11:30 pm, 1:15 am" and "Persian Room All new direct from Paris Vive Les Girls! Produced by Danny Costello Star of the Ed Sullivan Show". The Dunes, which was themed after the Arabian Nights stories, opened on May 23, 1955 with 200 hotel rooms, located in several two-story buildings. From the time of its opening, the Dunes was known for the 35 foot tall fiberglass sultan statue that stood above its main entrance. In 1961, a 24-story, 250-room hotel tower, known as Diamond of the Dunes, was added to the northern part of the property, bringing the total number of rooms to 450. At the top of the tower was the Top O' the Strip restaurant and lounge. The tower was the tallest building in the state at the time. In 1979, the South Tower was added, expanding the hotel to 1300 rooms. A second casino in a separate, round building on the site opened in 1983 under the name Oasis Casino at The Dunes. In 1985, the sultan statue was moved to the golf course during renovations, and later caught fire, reportedly due to an electrical short. On November 17, 1992, the Dunes was sold to Wynn's company, Mirage Resorts, Inc., for $75 million. On January 26, 1993, the Dunes closed its doors for good. Steve Wynn bought the Dunes and started the redevelopment trend with the demolition of the 32-year-old North Tower. On October 27, 1993, the Dunes was demolished in a grand ceremony that involved major fireworks displays and the use of several "cannon blasts" from the English ship 'HMS Britannia' of Treasure Island Hotel and Casino. The 15-year-old South Tower was demolished 9 months later in July 1994, with no fanfare and minimal media attention. The Bellagio now stands in its place. The property is located at 3600 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, NV 89109.
Includes meeting agenda and minutes, along with additional information about the constitution of the Nevada Student Alliance, senate positions, and bylaws.
Musical arranger and bass player Connie (Condit) Atkinson was born New Jersey in 1929. During his high school years he played in various dance bands all over New Jersey. During his four years at South Eastern College he played in small groups and big bands in the state of Louisana. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1970s and worked in several hotel house bands and with small musical groups. He retired to Florida in 1981 and passed away in 2009 in Del Rey Beach, Florida.
M.J. Christensen was born in Milford, Utah around 1896. He started out as a railroad watch inspector, out of Milford, before relocating to Las Vegas, Nevada and opening his own jewelry business and store. He considers himself a conservative Democrat and states that he led an active political life in Nevada, where he was head of the Merchant’s Bureau in Las Vegas. From there, he went on to become president of the Chamber of Commerce and later, the president of the Better Business Bureau.
Author L. (Leslie) Paul Mercer was an enthusiast of spinning, dyeing, and weaving in the Native American tradition. Born October 2, 1903, Mercer was a former resident of Boulder City, Nevada where he worked for the Bureau of Reclamation for 16 years. Mercer was a former president of The Nevada Handweavers and Spinners Guild. He lived with a Navajo family in Arizona for three years to learn techniques in spinning, dyeing, and loom operation.
Leslie Paul Mercer passed away on April 16, 1972 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Marc Schorr is the former chief operating officer (COO) of Wynn Resorts, Ltd. in Las Vegas, Nevada. He served as COO of Wynn for thirteen years, until his retirement in 2013. Schorr worked in the casino gaming industry for more than thirty years, and held many senior executive positions at Steve Wynn's former company, Mirage Resorts; Schorr was president and COO of both The Mirage and Treasure Island casinos.