| Sands Hotel and Casino | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Sands Hotel and Casino in 1959 | |
   | |
| Location | Paradise, Nevada |
| Address | 3355 South Las Vegas Boulevard |
| Opening date | December 15, 1952 |
| Closing date | June 30, 1996 |
| No. of rooms | 200 (1952) 715 (1996) |
| Signature attractions | Copa Room |
| Casino type | Land-based |
| Owner | 1967–1981 Howard Hughes 1981–1983 Inns of Americas 1983–1988 Summa Corp. 1988–1989 MGM Grand, Inc. 1989–1996 Las Vegas Sands |
| Architect | Wayne McAllister (1952) Julius Gabrielle (Aqueduct) Martin Stern Jr. (1964) |
| Renovated in | 1965, 1978 |
| Coordinates | 36°07′17″N 115°10′08″W / 36.12139°N 115.16889°W |
The Sands Hotel and Casino was a historic American hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States, that operated from 1952 to 1996. Designed by architect Wayne McAllister, with a prominent 56-foot (17 m) high sign, the Sands was the seventh resort to open on the Strip. During its heyday, it hosted many famous entertainers of the day, most notably the Rat Pack and Jerry Lewis.
The hotel was established in 1952 by Mack Kufferman,[1] who bought the LaRue Restaurant which had opened a year earlier.[1] The hotel was opened on December 15, 1952, as a casino and hotel with 200 rooms. The hotel rooms were divided into four two-story motel wings, each with fifty rooms, and named after famous race tracks. Crime bosses such as Doc Stacher[1] and Meyer Lansky acquired shares in the hotel and attracted Frank Sinatra, who made his performing debut at Sands in October 1953. Sinatra later bought a share in the hotel himself. In 1960, the classic caper film Ocean's 11 was shot at the hotel, and it subsequently attained iconic status,[2] with regular performances by Sinatra, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Sammy Davis Jr., Red Skelton and others in the hotel's world-renowned Copa Room.
In 1966, Sands opened a 500-room tower.[3] In 1967, Sands became the first of several Las Vegas hotels to be purchased by Howard Hughes.[3] Its final owners were Sheldon Adelson, Richard Katzeff, Ted Bernard, Irwin Chafetz, and Jordan Shapiro. After buying out his partners, Adelson shut it down to build a brand new resort. On November 26, 1996, the Sands was imploded and demolished, and The Venetian built in its place.
- ^ a b c Schwartz, David G. (2020). At the Sands. Winchester Books.
- ^ "Sands Hotel". Onlinenevada.org. Archived from the original on August 4, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
- ^ a b "Index of hotels, motels, casinos, race books". Vintage Las Vegas. Retrieved September 26, 2020.