Hacienda Resort Hotel and Casino
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The Hacienda was a
hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...
and
casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
on the
Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of ...
in
Paradise, Nevada Paradise is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the 2020 census, making it the fif ...
, that operated from 1956 to 1996. It was opened by Warren Bayley, who owned other Hacienda properties in California as well. Bayley opened the hotel portion in June 1956, although the opening of the casino was delayed as the Nevada Gaming Control Board objected to his choice of casino manager,
Jake Kozloff Jake Kozloff (1901–1976) was a Russian-born American businessman. He was the owner of the Lebanon Valley Brewing Company in Lebanon, Pennsylvania in the 1930s. He invested in hotels and casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1940s and 1950s, wh ...
. The casino portion eventually opened on October 17, 1956. The $6 million property had 266 rooms and the largest pool on the Las Vegas Strip. Like its sister properties in California, the resort included a neon sign that depicted a cowboy riding a
palomino Palomino is a genetic color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane and tail; the degree of whiteness can vary from bright white to yellow. Genetically, the palomino color is created by a single allele of a dilution gene called t ...
horse. The Hacienda was built at the south end of the Strip, making it the first resort to be seen by tourists driving up from California. The Hacienda was located by itself at the time, a distance away from other resorts. Because of its location, most guests did not bother to visit the other resorts. The Hacienda was the first Las Vegas resort to target a family clientele, and until 1962, it operated a plane service to fly in guests from out of state. When Bayley died in 1964, his wife Judy Bayley took over the Hacienda. At the time, she was the only female casino owner in Las Vegas. She died in 1971, and the resort was sold to a group of investors, who added an RV park for guests. The Hacienda was sold entirely to Paul Lowden, a part owner, in 1977. The Hacienda hosted several ice-skating shows starting in the 1970s, and would later host Lance Burton in a magic show that ran for five years. The
Little Church of the West Little Church of the West is a wedding chapel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States, that is listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places. Built of redwood, it was intended to be a replica of a typical pi ...
was relocated onto the Hacienda property in 1979, and 11-story hotel towers were added in 1980 and 1991, for a total of 1,137 rooms. Circus Circus Enterprises purchased the Hacienda in 1995, with plans to build a new resort in its place. The Hacienda closed on December 1, 1996, and the hotel was imploded at the end of the month as part of a televised
New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...
special. Circus Circus Enterprises opened the Mandalay Bay resort on the site in 1999, and the Hacienda name was licensed to another property, the
Hacienda Hotel and Casino Hoover Dam Lodge is a hotel and casino near Boulder City, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Richard Craig Estey ( Nevada Restaurant Services). It was previously the Gold Strike until it was largely destroyed by an accidental fire on June 16, 1 ...
, near Boulder City, Nevada. The neon horse sign was preserved and put on display in downtown Las Vegas.


History


Construction and opening

The Hacienda initially began as a hotel-casino project called Lady Luck, which was being planned by Carlton Adair in 1954. Adair had several partners in the project, including Stanley Burke, a Sacramento man who owned the land. Adair also brought in Warren "Doc" Bayley, a travel columnist and owner of several Hacienda motels in Fresno,
Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...
, and
Indio, California Indio (Spanish language, Spanish for "Indian") is a city in Riverside County, California, Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley of Southern California's Colorado Desert region. It lies east of Palm Springs, Califo ...
. Under the deal, Adair and his group would have interest in the casino, while Burke would own the land and buildings. Bayley would be in charge of the hotel portion. The owners hoped to have the project finished before the opening of the Tropicana resort down the street. The Lady Luck project received approval from the Clark County Planning Commission in January 1955, and construction was underway later that year. The project struggled to get investors, and its financing fell apart before construction reached the halfway mark. Bayley took over the project, renamed it the Hacienda, and removed Adair, leaving only Bayley and Burke. Bayley agreed to lease the property for $55,000 per month for 15 years.
Alternative
at Newspapers.com.
The Hacienda was designed by Homer A. Rissman, and was built like other Las Vegas properties at the time, with a central building for the casino and restaurants, and motel structures to provide lodging. Rissman designed the project so that each motel building would connect to the casino via glass-walled corridors. Before it opened, the Hacienda included a 300-seat dining theater. Because of the high cost for performers, the Hacienda owners decided to refocus the space on hosting conventions rather than live entertainment, which instead would be offered in a lounge. The hotel portion opened in June 1956. Because Bayley and Burke lacked casino experience, they chose
Jake Kozloff Jake Kozloff (1901–1976) was a Russian-born American businessman. He was the owner of the Lebanon Valley Brewing Company in Lebanon, Pennsylvania in the 1930s. He invested in hotels and casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1940s and 1950s, wh ...
, a Las Vegas casino investor, to manage the gaming operations. However, the Hacienda was denied a gaming license, as the Nevada Gaming Control Board was opposed to Kozloff's involvement because of past activities. A gaming license was issued after Kozloff was removed from the project, and the casino eventually opened on October 17, 1956. The $6 million Hacienda had 266 rooms and the largest swimming pool on the
Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of ...
. Like the other Hacienda hotels, the Las Vegas property featured a roadsign neon sign that depicted a cowboy riding a
palomino Palomino is a genetic color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane and tail; the degree of whiteness can vary from bright white to yellow. Genetically, the palomino color is created by a single allele of a dilution gene called t ...
horse. It was designed by
YESCO YESCO is a privately owned manufacturer of electric signs based in Salt Lake City, founded by Thomas Young in 1920. The company provides design, fabrication, installation and maintenance of signs. Many notable sign projects have been produce ...
and was among the company's most popular signs. The Hacienda was built on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip, making it the first resort to be seen by motor tourists arriving from California. It sat alone at the time, surrounded by desert and away from the other resorts on the Strip. Gaming executives initially predicted that the Hacienda would struggle due to its location, although the resort prospered for many years. Its remote location ensured that most guests stayed on the property rather than visiting other resorts. The Hacienda was also popular because of its location near the
McCarran International Airport Harry Reid International Airport is an international airport in Paradise, Nevada, and is the main government airport for public use in the Las Vegas Valley, a metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Nevada, about south of Downtown Las Vegas. ...
, although the resort never had the same success as other Strip properties such as the Dunes and the Sands. Because it lacked the same elegance as other resorts on the Strip, the Hacienda received the negative nickname "Hayseed Heaven". The Hacienda was built as a budget resort and was the first Las Vegas resort aimed at attracting families. It included a go-cart track and a miniature golf course for children, and Las Vegas' first par 3 golf course. It also offered the Palomino room, which was used for shows and small parties. In 1957, a few months after the opening, Kozloff filed a
writ of attachment A writ of attachment is a court order to " attach" or seize an asset. It is issued by a court to a law enforcement officer or sheriff. The writ of attachment is issued in order to satisfy a judgment issued by the court. A prejudgment writ of att ...
against the Hacienda, alleging that he was owed $71,000 from a loan he made to the property. The hotel posted a bond which nullified the writ. Three months later, Burke made various allegations against Bayley and requested that the Hacienda be placed into receivership. Bayley denied the allegations, which included a claim that he had mishandled finances. Later that year, plans were being made to add additional hotel rooms.


Promotion

Bayley devised numerous ideas to promote the resort. Shortly after its opening, he formed Hacienda Airlines, offering packages that included transportation from Los Angeles to the Hacienda as well as a room and some casino chips. The airline service proved to be successful, prompting Bayley to increase the number of planes. Its success was attributed to low fares, frequent advertising in California, and its catering to working-class tourists. The service would later extend to other U.S. cities. The airline included DC-3s, DC-4s and Lockheed Constellations, eventually numbering as many as 30 aircraft. One plane included a piano bar with actor Dick Winslow, who provided musical entertainment during the ride. The flights also offered champagne, and featured young women modeling lingerie for the passengers, who were mostly men. By the end of 1960, the Hacienda had flown in 150,000 people, making it the largest consumer of California champagne. The flights eventually stopped in 1962, following an order from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB). The agency alleged that the Hacienda was operating as an airliner, and the resort was not licensed to provide such service. The Hacienda denied this and stated that its guests were flown in for free, saying that they paid only for food and a hotel room. However, because guests paid before boarding the plane, CAB determined that they were essentially paying for a plane fare. The resort also offered the Hacienda Holiday, a promotional program for tourists in which $10 casino chips were given away as part of a $16 package deal. In 1958, the Clark County licensing board ordered the Hacienda to halt this program, objecting to the fact that the chips were redeemable in the casino. The board said that these chips could be used for other services, but it was opposed to their use in the casino, stating that this would promote gambling. The promotion would be offered for at least the next 20 years, eventually becoming the Hacienda Champagne Holiday. From December 1958 to February 1959, the Hacienda sponsored a flight endurance record when two men took turns flying a Cessna 172 across the southwestern United States for a period of 64 days. However, the promotion did not turn out as planned. Newspapers did not report on the story until 30 days after the plane took off, and they declined to mention the Hacienda. Dick Taylor, the Hacienda's general manager, said, "The papers, detecting a publicity stunt, did what they felt they had to do. They deleted the Hacienda name from all reports, and even went so far as to blank out the Hacienda name that was painted so large along the side of the plane."


Ownership changes

Bayley died of a heart attack in 1964, and his widow, Judith Bayley, took over the Hacienda. At the time, Bayley was the only female casino owner in Las Vegas, earning her a nickname as the "First Lady of Gambling". She lacked business training, and found the casino operation to be more complicated than initially expected. She lost hundreds of dollars in her first few months. Under her management, the Hacienda offered shuffleboard and babysitting services for guests, maintaining its appeal as a family resort. A lounge, known as the Jewel Box, was remodeled and reopened in 1965, followed by the opening of a keno room. Las Vegas mayor
Oran Gragson Oran Kenneth Gragson (February 14, 1911 – October 7, 2002) was an American businessman and politician. He was the longest-serving mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada, from 1959 to 1975. Gragson, a member of the Republican Party, was a small business own ...
attended both openings. One county commissioner had opposed the keno addition, stating that it would add a "honky tonk" atmosphere that was common in the city's Fremont Street area. In 1966, the Clark County Commission threatened to shut down the Hacienda unless Bayley made improvements to a resort that her company was building at
Mount Charleston Mount Charleston, including Charleston Peak (Nuvagantu, literally "where snow sits", in Southern Paiute or Nüpakatütün in Shoshoni) at , is the highest mountain in both the Spring Mountains and Clark County, in Nevada, United States. It is ...
. To focus on the Las Vegas Hacienda, Bayley sold off the California hotels in 1970, with the exception of one located in El Segundo. In December 1971, Judy Bayley died of cancer at the age of 56. Bayley's estate left the Hacienda to her assistant Joan Rashbrook and lawyer Calvin Magleby. Several weeks after Bayley's death, Magleby announced that American Mining and Smelting Inc. would purchase the Hacienda, with plans for expansion and remodeling of the resort. However, the sale was never completed. Later in 1972, the Hacienda was sold for $5 million to a group of buyers, which included Allen R. Glick, Paul Lowden, and Eugene Fresch. Lowden had raised $250,000 to purchase a 15-percent interest in the property, and he also became the resort's entertainment director. In 1973, the Hacienda began construction on Travel World, an adjacent RV park for its guests. In 1974, the Hacienda became part of Glick's company, Argent Corporation, which held a controlling interest. Fresch and Lowden also retained interests. The 452-space RV park, later called Ramada Camp Inn, was opened in 1975. It was part of a $7 million renovation of the resort. In 1976, Argent announced that it would sell the Hacienda for $21 million to Hawaiian businessman Joseph Gennitti, who would also take over $11 million in debt. The deal ended after Gennitti failed to provide Glick with details about financing the purchase. Subsequently, two opposing investment groups began negotiations to purchase the Hacienda. Later that year, state investigators found that money had been skimmed from slot machines at Glick's casinos, including the Hacienda. In January 1977, it was announced that Lowden, the hotel's president, would purchase the remaining interest from Argent and Fresch for $21 million. Lowden worked with several individuals to raise money for his purchase. The Nevada Gaming Control Board accused Lowden of being deceitful, alleging that people with questionable records would have hidden interests in the Hacienda and control over it. Lowden denied this, stating that he would be the sole buyer. The board recommended against his purchase, but was overridden by the Nevada Gaming Commission. According to commission chairman Harry Reid, there was no evidence of hidden interests. He said that audit agents in the case "didn't do a very good job in their investigation." The sale was completed in July 1977. In 1978, the Hacienda began offering deluxe rooms and suites as timeshares. Within two years, the hotel had 3,000 timeshare members. The Hacienda was associated with
Resort Condominiums International RCI (formerly Group RCI and, before that, Resort Condominiums International) is a timeshare exchange company with over 4,300 affiliated resorts in 100 countries. Founded in Indiana in 1974 by Jon and Christel DeHaan, RCI is one of the two main t ...
, an exchange network that allowed timeshare owners to trade their units. The
Little Church of the West Little Church of the West is a wedding chapel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States, that is listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places. Built of redwood, it was intended to be a replica of a typical pi ...
, located further north on the Strip, was relocated to the Hacienda property in 1979, making room for the new Fashion Show Mall. By 1980, the Hacienda included a popular steakhouse known as the Charcoal Room. A $30 million expansion of the Hacienda was underway in 1980, scheduled for completion later that year. It included an 11-story tower with 300 rooms, adding on to the hotel's 538-room count. Also added was a convention center, known as the Matador Arena. In addition to small conventions, it also hosted monthly, televised matches between professional boxers. At the end of 1982, Wayne Newton was in discussions to become a co-owner in the Hacienda, as well as Lowden's other Strip resort, the
Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...
. After two months of negotiations, Newton decided against the idea, as he was considering other resorts for purchase. In the mid-1980s, the RV park operated as the Hacienda Adventure Camperland. It occupied 16 acres, and included 451 hook-ups, a pool, and a playground. In 1989, Lowden announced a $30 million plan to add a 400-room tower and to expand the casino. The tower was completed in 1991, bringing the room count to 1,137. The expansion also doubled the casino.


Final years

In its final years, the Hacienda was owned by Lowden through his company, Sahara Gaming Corporation. The resort struggled as new megaresorts were opened nearby, including the Excalibur (1990) and the Luxor (1993), both owned by Circus Circus Enterprises. In September 1994, Sahara Gaming stated that it was receiving offers to purchase the Hacienda, and that such offers would be considered for the right price. In January 1995,
Bill Bennett William Richards Bennett, (April 14, 1932 – December 3, 2015) was the 27th premier of British Columbia from 1975 to 1986. He was a son of Annie Elizabeth May (Richards) and former Premier, W. A. C. Bennett. He was a 3rd cousin, twice removed, ...
announced that he would buy the Hacienda and adjacent acreage. Bennett was a director for Circus Circus Enterprises and had previously served as the company chairman. Bennett planned to rename the Hacienda and give it a South American theme. His plans would include extensive renovations and the addition of approximately 2,000 hotel rooms. However, his impending purchase was complicated by a corporate clause which would give Circus Circus Enterprises the right to purchase the resort instead of him. Shortly after Bennett's plans were announced, Circus Circus filed a lawsuit to prevent his purchase, stating that he was aware of the company's plans to buy the property and that he proceeded anyway. The Hacienda occupied 47 acres, and Circus Circus wanted to buy an adjacent 74 acres to build a new resort on both parcels, connecting with the Luxor and Excalibur. Bennett and Circus Circus agreed to a settlement in March 1995, allowing the company to buy the Hacienda for $80 million and the 74 acres for another $73 million. Lowden said that an inability to reach an agreement with the Culinary Workers Union was a major factor in choosing to sell the Hacienda. The Hacienda's impending closure was announced in September 1996, as Circus Circus proceeded with plans to replace it. The closure would affect 900 employees. After 40 years, the Hacienda closed at 4:00 p.m. on December 1, 1996. The resort's fixtures and hotel furnishings were donated to local charities. A few days later, the Little Church of the West was relocated down the street. The resort's horse and rider neon sign was also saved, being put on display in downtown Las Vegas. The Neon Museum had the sign refurbished at a cost of $60,000, and it was then installed in its new location a couple weeks prior to the Hacienda's closure. Before the Hacienda was demolished, the stairwells and stripped interiors of the hotel were used in a firefighter training mission to aid them in the event of a real high-rise fire. More than 30 local firefighters rushed through the hotel in reaction to an imaginary fire, situated on the fifth floor.
Controlled Demolition, Inc. Controlled Demolition, Inc. (CDI) is a building implosion, controlled demolition firm headquartered in Phoenix, Maryland. The firm was founded by Jack Loizeaux who used dynamite to remove tree stumps in the Baltimore, Maryland area, and moved on to ...
(CDI) was hired to demolish the 11-story hotel through implosion. CDI was usually given six months' notice, although Circus Circus Enterprises wanted the Hacienda demolished in 30 days for
New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...
, as part of a televised event that would compete with the annual
Times Square Ball The Times Square Ball is a time ball located in New York City's Times Square. Located on the roof of One Times Square, the ball is a prominent part of a New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square commonly referred to as the ball drop, where the ...
celebration in New York City. After the Hacienda's closure, salvage crews removed equipment such as air conditioners, and they had to knock out walls in the hotel's southern end stairwell. This presented a potential problem for CDI, as wall strength is an important factor in properly controlling an implosion. CDI expected that the south end would not fall with the rest of the hotel. All of the walls in the hotel were built to be reinforced. The implosion took place on the night of December 31, 1996, and was televised as the culmination of
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
's New Year's special '' Sinbad's Dynamite New Year's Eve'', where it aired approaching midnight ET. The coverage featured a cameo by ring announcer Michael Buffer. A six-minute fireworks show led up to the implosion at 9:00 p.m. More than 1,000 pounds of explosives were used for the implosion, which was watched by a crowd of more than 300,000 people. As expected, the southern end of the hotel did not fall. The next day, a crew was brought in to bring down the remaining structure with a wrecking ball. Thousands of spectators gathered to watch the final demolition. Circus Circus Enterprises opened the Mandalay Bay resort on March 2, 1999, replacing the Hacienda. The company also licensed the Hacienda name to the
Hacienda Hotel and Casino Hoover Dam Lodge is a hotel and casino near Boulder City, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Richard Craig Estey ( Nevada Restaurant Services). It was previously the Gold Strike until it was largely destroyed by an accidental fire on June 16, 1 ...
near Boulder City, Nevada. The name also continues to live on through Hacienda Avenue, a road that runs along the Mandalay Bay property, although a small portion was renamed Mandalay Bay Road.


Entertainers and shows

When the Hacienda opened, several other Las Vegas resorts had suffered financially after competing for high-priced entertainers. Initially, the Hacienda owners did not intend to battle for top performers, and the only live entertainment would be lounge acts. In the late 1950s, the Hacienda debuted a show by
Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...
called '' Can-Can''. In 1964, the resort hosted the puppet show ''
Les Poupées de Paris ''Les Poupées de Paris'' (''The Dolls of Paris'') was a musical theatre, musical puppet show created, produced and directed by Sid and Marty Krofft, that toured the United States throughout the 1960s. History Puppeteers Sid and Marty Krofft ha ...
''. Comedian
Hank Henry Hank Henry (July 9, 1906 – March 31, 1981) was an American comedian, known for his stage work on the Las Vegas Strip for decades. He was also a film and television actor. Henry got his start in American burlesque and was the comic to straightm ...
also performed at the Hacienda during the mid-1960s. The resort also offered shows such as ''Strictly Burlesque'' and ''Topless Models''. After taking ownership of the Hacienda, Glick said in 1973 that the resort would return to the "friendly image of the past" by eliminating nude stage shows. In 1967, the Hacienda hosted a two-hour late-night TV program called ''
The Las Vegas Show ''The Las Vegas Show'' was an American late night television program broadcast in May 1967 on the short-lived United Network. The two-hour-long talk show, hosted by comedian Bill Dana, was supposed to be the flagship program of a planned fourth ...
'' on the fledgling
United Network The Overmyer Network, later the United Network, was a television network. It was intended to be a fourth national commercial network in the United States, competing with the Big Three television networks. The network was founded by self-made m ...
. Hosted by Bill Dana and featuring regulars Ann Elder, Pete Barbutti, Danny Meahan, Joanne Worley, Cully Richards and Jack Sheldon, the show (and the network) were shut down after only a month on the air. In the mid-1970s, the resort offered a nude ice-skating show called ''Spice on Ice'', although it eventually lost interest among audiences as other resorts opened their own topless ice shows. ''Spice on Ice'' ran for four years, and was replaced by an ice-skating variety show, ''Ice Fantasy'', in 1977. Another ice show, titled ''Fire and Ice'', debuted in 1982, in the resort's Fiesta showroom. The show included Albert Lucas, who would juggle while ice-skating. The show eventually ended, but returned in 1989, when the Hacienda began reviving its old ice shows. At the time, the show consisted of comedy acts and ice skating. Comedian
Redd Foxx John Elroy Sanford (December 9, 1922 – October 11, 1991), better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Foxx gained success with his raunchy nightclub act before and during the civil rights movement. ...
was a frequent performer at the Hacienda during the late 1980s, and he later got married at the Little Church of the West. Magician Lance Burton performed at the Hacienda from 1991 to 1996.


References

{{Authority control Defunct casinos in the Las Vegas Valley Defunct hotels in the Las Vegas Valley Casinos completed in 1956 Hotel buildings completed in 1956 Hotels established in 1956 1956 establishments in Nevada 1996 disestablishments in Nevada Skyscraper hotels in Paradise, Nevada Demolished hotels in Clark County, Nevada Buildings and structures demolished in 1996 Buildings and structures demolished in 1997 Casino hotels Buildings and structures demolished by controlled implosion