| New Frontier Hotel and Casino | |
|---|---|
 The New Frontier in 2004 | |
   | |
| Location | Paradise, Nevada |
| Address | 3120 South Las Vegas Boulevard |
| Opening date | October 30, 1942 (Hotel Last Frontier) April 4, 1955 (New Frontier) July 29, 1967 (The Frontier) |
| Closing date | July 16, 2007 |
| Theme | Western |
| No. of rooms | 105 (as of 1942) 650 (as of 1967) 984 (as of 2007) |
| Total gaming space | 41,325 sq ft (3,839.2 m2) (as of 1998) |
| Signature attractions | Gilley's Saloon |
| Casino type | Land-based |
| Owner | R.E. Griffith (original owner) William J. Moore (1943–51) Various groups (1951–67) Hughes Tool Company (1967–73) Summa Corporation (1973–88) Elardi family (1988–98) Phil Ruffin (1998–2007) El Ad Properties (2007) |
| Architect | William J. Moore (1942) Rissman & Rissman (1966) |
| Previous names | Hotel Last Frontier (1942–65) New Frontier (1955–65) The Frontier (1967–98) |
| Renovated in | 1948, 1954–55, 1978, 1989–90, 1998 |
| Coordinates | 36°7′46″N 115°10′6″W / 36.12944°N 115.16833°W |
The New Frontier (formerly Hotel Last Frontier and The Frontier) was a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The property began as a casino and dance club known as Pair O' Dice, opened in 1931. It was sold in 1941, and incorporated into the Hotel Last Frontier, which began construction at the end of the year. The Hotel Last Frontier opened on October 30, 1942, as the second resort on the Las Vegas Strip. The western-themed property included 105 rooms, as well as the Little Church of the West. The resort was devised by R.E. Griffith and designed by his nephew, William J. Moore. Following Griffith's death in 1943, Moore took over ownership and added a western village in 1948. The village consisted of authentic Old West buildings from a collector and would also feature the newly built Silver Slipper casino, added in 1950.
Resort ownership changed several times between different groups, beginning in 1951. A modernized expansion opened on April 4, 1955, as the New Frontier. It operated concurrently with the Last Frontier. Both were closed in 1965 and demolished a year later to make way for a new resort, which opened as the Frontier on July 29, 1967. Future casino mogul Steve Wynn was among investors in the ownership group, marking his entry into the Las Vegas gaming industry. The ownership group also included several individuals who had difficulty gaining approval from Nevada gaming regulators.
Businessman Howard Hughes bought out the group at the end of 1967. Like his other casino properties, he owned the Frontier through Hughes Tool Company, and later through Summa Corporation. In 1988, Summa sold the Frontier to Margaret Elardi, and her two sons became co-owners a year later. A 16-story hotel tower was added in 1990. The Elardi family declined to renew a contract with the Culinary Workers Union, and 550 workers went on strike on September 21, 1991. It became one of the longest strikes in U.S. history. Businessman Phil Ruffin eventually purchased the Frontier for $167 million. The sale was finalized on February 1, 1998, when Ruffin renamed the property back to the New Frontier. The strike ended on the same day, as Ruffin agreed to a union contract. Ruffin launched a $20 million renovation to update the aging property. His changes included the addition of a new restaurant, Gilley's Saloon.
Over the next decade, Ruffin considered several redevelopment projects for the site, but lack of financing hindered these plans. In May 2007, he agreed to sell the New Frontier to El Ad Properties for more than $1.2 billion. The resort closed on July 16, 2007, and demolition began later that year. The 16-story tower was imploded on November 13, 2007. It was the last of the Hughes-era casinos to be demolished. The 984-room property had been popular as a low-budget alternative to the larger resorts on the Strip. El Ad owned the Plaza Hotel in New York City and planned to replace the New Frontier with a Plaza-branded resort, but the project was canceled due to the Great Recession. Crown Resorts also scrapped plans to build the Alon Las Vegas resort. The site was purchased by Wynn Resorts in 2018, although plans to build the Wynn West resort were also shelved, and the land remains vacant.
The property hosted numerous entertainers throughout its operation, including Wayne Newton and Robert Goulet. It hosted the Las Vegas debuts of Liberace in 1944, and Elvis Presley in 1956, and also hosted the final performance of Diana Ross & The Supremes in 1970.