Stardust To Be Imploded Tuesday Morning

The legendary Stardust Hotel and Casino will become one for the Vegas history books as it is set to be imploded early Tuesday morning. In a few hours, the once-glitzy casino on the Las Vegas Strip known for its bargain rooms, friendly service and historic mob ties will be no more.

At 32 stories, it will be the tallest structure to ever be imploded on the Las Vegas Strip. It will take 428 pounds of explosives to bring down the tower, leaving around 170,000 tons of debris to be cleared out. It should take less than 10 seconds for the building to fall, since crews have been working for three months to gut most of the inside, leaving only the outer shell to be destroyed.

If you’re out and about when it happens, please be aware of the following road closures:

• Traffic will not be allowed on Las Vegas Boulevard from Riviera Drive to Cathedral Drive.
• Industrial Road will be closed from Stardust Road to Circus Circus.
• Stardust Road will be closed, as will be the access road between the Westward Ho property and the McDonald’s.

The Stardust opened July 2, 1958 and was closed 48 years later in November 2006. Boyd Gaming Corp.’s $4.4 billion megaresort complex, Echelon Place, will be built on the land where the Stardust once stood.

While I appreciate Vegas’ love of mega-everything nowadays, I still can’t help feeling a bit sad that the city’s growth has to come at the expense of it’s history and classic icons.

I’ll bring you further news of the Stardust implosion later in the day.