(Wikipedia) The Stardust Resort and Casino was a casino resort located on 60 acres (24 ha) along the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. The Stardust was conceived by Tony Cornero, and construction began in 1954. Cornero died in 1955, and the project was taken over by his brother. The Stardust had numerous creditors and construction was stopped in 1956 when the project ran out of money.
Rella Factor, the wife of John Factor, bought the Stardust in January 1958, and finished construction. The Stardust opened on July 2, 1958, as the world's largest hotel. It had 1,065 rooms located across six motel structures, and included a 16,500 sq ft (1,530 m2) casino. An adjacent hotel-casino, the Royal Nevada, became part of the Stardust in 1959, with its casino converted into Stardust convention space. A nine-story hotel addition was completed in 1964. The resort operated the off-site Stardust Country Club and the Stardust International Raceway during the 1960s, and in 1972, it became the first resort on the Las Vegas Strip to open an RV Park for guests, a concept that proved to be popular.
After several ownership changes, Argent Corporation purchased the Stardust in 1974. Argent added a sportsbook that would later become a popular attraction for the Stardust. In 1976, a state investigation found that a skimming operation was occurring at the Stardust and at Argent's other properties. The Stardust was sold again, in 1979, to Al Sachs and Herb Tobman, both of whom had previously served as general managers for the resort. Another investigation, in 1983, determined that skimming was still occurring at the Stardust. The Nevada Gaming Commission concluded that Sachs and Tobman had failed to prevent the skimming, and the men agreed to sell the Stardust.
The Stardust was featured in the Robert DeNiro movie Casino, where he portrayed casino manager Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal. |
