Las Vegas is about
to destroy yet another landmark, the former Rat Pack haunt Stardust,
sometime in the next few days. In advance, Steve got an exclusive
chance for several stories he's writing to walk the stripped-down
ruins and interview the folks from CDI
setting it up for the big blast.
UPDATE: CLICK HERE
FOR PDF IMAGES OF RENDERINGS FROM THE FIREWORKS COMPANY HANDLING
THE EVENT
Check back for links
to Steve's writing about the Stardust, actual implosion shots
and video and an interview on the March 15 episode of The
Strip Podcast with "Casino" author Nicholas Pileggi.
[Click here
for "The Strip" with Boyd Gaming CEO Bill Boyd on
the closure of the hotel]
Can't get much closer to the stripped-down tower. That's my
hardhat.
Click any other picture below
and it will expand to full view in a new window.
Close the new window when finished viewing.
Looking up from the base.
The implosion intends to make this elevator shaft at the
north end fall to the right.
The stripped down third floor,
one of the floors to be blasted.
Another external view
Where'd
the sign go?
Through the looking
glass: Shots of the reflection of a piece of surviving glass
attached to a pillar. The one on the right is particularly
cool and possibly foreshadowing.
This sign's still
here...for now!
A view from the
the third floor. Is the Frontier next? Also in view, the
in-progress Palazzo at Venetian and that odd space-cloud
thing at the Fashion Show Mall.
I saw the signs: Make of this what you will, given
the media embargo on the date of the implosion.
This nine-story
tower is also coming down.
Bye bye.
Circus Circus still stands tall,
if not proud, next door. But for how long?
The vanity section: Shots of me on site
in the hardhat they made me buy.
Looking
out through the fencing on the first floor
The
crew from CDI takes a KFC break.
Stuffing the pillars
with dynamite
This two-story low-rise
is the last remaining piece of the original hotel. It will
be knocked down separately.
The Lozieaux family have been imploding
Vegas structures since the Dunes. Stacey (left) and her
parents Mark and Sherry (center) work together with other
relatives. At right, Mark handles dynamite.
