Boardwalk Hotel and Casino

The Boardwalk Hotel and Casino was a Coney Island-style hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. It was owned and operated by MGM Mirage. It was part of the Holiday Inn hotel chain until it was acquired by MGM in 2000. It was built before the era of the mega-casinos, and with 653 rooms was relatively small compared to many properties in its vicinity.

Boardwalk Hotel and Casino
The Boardwalk in 2004
Location Paradise, Nevada
Address 3750 South Las Vegas Blvd
Opening date1966 (Holiday Inn)
1989 (Boardwalk)
Closing dateJanuary 9, 2006
ThemeConey Island
No. of rooms653
Total gaming space33,000 sq ft (3,100 m2)
Casino typeLand-based
OwnerMGM Mirage
ArchitectHomer Rissman (Holiday Inn, 1966)
Previous namesHoliday Inn (1966–1985)
Viscount (1985–1989)
Boardwalk (1989–2006)
Renovated in1968, 1985, 1989, 1996
Coordinates36°6′24″N 115°10′27″W

The Boardwalk was located in between the Bellagio and the Monte Carlo and across from the Paris, Aladdin and MGM Grand.

The hotel's Coney Island theme could be seen in its facade with an original 1906 parachute jump ride and a faux wooden roller coaster. The hotel was composed of three distinct buildings all built at different times. The newest building was the sixteen-story tower built in 1996.

History

The Boardwalk began as a 138-room Holiday Inn hotel, planned for opening in August 1965. The hotel included a restaurant, cocktail lounge, and meeting space with a capacity for 100 people.[1] The hotel, located at 3740 South Las Vegas Boulevard,[2] was designed by architect Homer Rissman[3] and was completed in 1966.[3][4][5] The hotel first opened with a six-floor tower, ultimately known as the Steeplechase tower.[4][5]

In March 1966, employees of the Holiday Inn, who were represented by the Culinary Workers Union, began picketing in front of the hotel, alleging that they did not receive wages and conditions that were standard for the area.[6][7][8][9] Holiday Inn denied the claim, stating that wages and conditions were equal to or above local standards.[9] The union ultimately lost its fight.[10][9]

A second hotel tower, eventually known as the Luna Park tower, opened in 1968.[4] Norbert Jansen, former owner of Pioneer Club, opened a gift shop, Holiday Gifts, at the hotel in 1972.[4] In October 1975, the hotel's innkeeper died in a fire that was believed to have been started by a cigarette. The fire was confined to the innkeeper's room on the fifth floor, and caused approximately $40,000 in damage. Guests of the fifth floor were evacuated, and approximately 10 were treated for smoke inhalation.[11] Later that month, the Holiday Inn received approval from the Clark County Commission for a 10-story, 300-room expansion. The hotel was located on 6 acres (2.4 ha).[12]

In December 1977, the Nevada Gaming Control Board voted against Avis Jansen's plan to install 15 slot machines at the gift shop, then known as Holiday Gifts South. She had been rejected due to the fact that her husband Norbert was the landlord of the business; he had previously been convicted of tax evasion in the 1960s, and was also involved in a company that filed bankruptcy.[13][14] The gift shop soon began operating a casino on the site known as Slot Joynt.[4] During the 1970s and early 1980s, the hotel was known as Holiday Inn South and Holiday Inn South Strip, differentiating it from other Holiday Inn hotels in the city.[15][16] The hotel was renamed as the Viscount in 1985.[4]

Boardwalk (1989–2006)

In 1989,[4] under the management of Jansen, the hotel and casino were branded Boardwalk Hotel & Casino (alternately, Holiday Inn Casino Boardwalk,[17] or Boardwalk Holiday Inn).

Boardwalk became a public corporation (Boardwalk Casino, Inc.) in 1994. The carnival facade was built the following year and a 15-floor, 451-room tower was finished in 1996.[18][19]

In 1996, Jacobs Entertainment made a $9 million investment in the Boardwalk.[20]

In December 1997, Mirage Resorts agreed to purchase the Boardwalk and three adjacent parcels for $135 million.[21] The $105 million Boardwalk sale was approved by the Nevada Gaming Control Board and the Nevada Gaming Commission in June 1998.[22][23][24] At the time, the Holiday Inn Boardwalk included 650 employees, 653 rooms and a 33,000 sq ft (3,100 m2) casino.[22] Minor improvements were planned for the Boardwalk, with no immediate plans to replace it.[23] A decision to expand or replace the Boardwalk was expected within three or four years.[22]

When MGM Mirage took ownership in 2000, the Holiday Inn name was dropped.[25]

The hotel and casino closed on January 9, 2006, and the main hotel tower was imploded on May 9, 2006. The property is now the location of Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas at CityCenter.[5]

Attractions

References
  1. "Innkeeper Named for Holiday". Las Vegas Sun. June 27, 1965. Retrieved August 30, 2018 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  2. "Police Grab A Suspect". Las Vegas Sun. May 12, 1966. Retrieved August 30, 2018 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  3. "Rissman and Rissman and Associates". University of Nevada, Las Vegas. December 1, 1968. Archived from the original on August 30, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  4. "Las Vegas Strip: hotels, motels, casinos, race books". vintagelasvegas.tumblr.com. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  5. "Holiday Inn". Vintage Las Vegas. February 19, 2015. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015.
  6. "Culinary Union Resumes". Las Vegas Sun. March 25, 1966. Retrieved August 30, 2018 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  7. "Inn Tells Union No Dice". Las Vegas Sun. May 26, 1966. Retrieved August 30, 2018 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  8. "LV Inns". Las Vegas Sun. May 31, 1966. Retrieved August 30, 2018 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  9. "Picketing Ordered Away From Holiday". Las Vegas Sun. September 3, 1966. Retrieved August 30, 2018 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  10. "Signboard for Rent". Las Vegas Sun. June 2, 1966. Retrieved August 30, 2018 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  11. "Strip Innkeeper Dies In Blaze". Las Vegas Sun. October 3, 1975. Retrieved August 30, 2018 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  12. "Resorts Get Rise Approval". Las Vegas Sun. October 8, 1975. Retrieved August 30, 2018 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  13. "Gift Shop Loses Bid For 15 Slots". Las Vegas Sun. United Press International. December 8, 1977. Retrieved August 30, 2018 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  14. "Two New York men lose bid to set up book". Reno Gazette-Journal. Associated Press. December 16, 1977. Retrieved August 30, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "In Las Vegas, we give you a choice instead of a chance". Los Angeles Times. April 22, 1975. Retrieved August 30, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Where they hang their lucky hats". New York Daily News. March 8, 1981. Retrieved August 30, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Holiday Inn Casino Boardwalk". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 1997-02-06. Retrieved 2017-06-23.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  18. GmbH, Emporis. "Boardwalk Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas – 176297 – EMPORIS". www.emporis.com. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  19. "Boardwalk Hotel and Casino Dreamland Tower, Las Vegas - SkyscraperPage.com". skyscraperpage.com. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  20. Donald Sabath (July 17, 1996). "Jeffrey Jacobs buys stake in Nevada casino". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, OH – via NewsBank.
  21. Berns, Dave (December 23, 1997). "Mirage acquires Strip properties". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on 2000-09-19. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  22. Vogel, Ed (June 4, 1998). "Boardwalk purchase approved". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on 1999-10-10. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  23. "Mirage purchase of Boardwalk approved". Las Vegas Sun. June 4, 1998. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  24. Ryan, Cy (June 24, 1998). "Boardwalk's sale to Mirage approved". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  25. Thakur, Sanjana. "List of Las Vegas Casinos". Retrieved 23 June 2017. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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