Another old-school Las Vegas Strip icon closes
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Seemingly every titan of the Las Vegas Strip eventually falls.
Soon, the Mirage name will disappear to be replaced by the Hard Rock brand. Casino Royale, a small property nestled between a number of huge Caesars Entertainment (CZR) - Get Free Report resorts will also soon be replaced by something much bigger.
In the past year, the Las Vegas Strip also saw the Bally's name removed from its casino ranks as Caesars remodeled the property and rechristened it The Horseshoe. The actual Bally's Corporation (BALY) - Get Free Report bought the legendary Tropicana, with plans to bring the Bally's name back, but instead decided to allow the Oakland' A's to build a stadium on the property.
That will mean the end of Tropicana, the second-oldest Strip resort casino (behind Caesars Flamingo). These changes follow a long history where the Strip has lost many once-famed names. These include the Dunes Casino, which is now the site which houses the Bellagio, Hacienda, where MGM Resorts International's (MGM) - Get Free Report Mandalay Bay sits now, and the former Vegas World, which sat at the end of the Strip where The Strat stands now.
It's a long history where nearly every property will eventually be imploded, rebuilt, renamed, or rebranded. Closures, of course, are not limited to casinos. The Strip lost Hawaiian Marketplace, a kitschy 80,000-square-foot shopping area that was designed to 'bring a taste of island-style shopping to Vegas" last year.
In addition, Mirage closed Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat earlier this years and plans to close the Mirage Volcano at some point next year. The Strip also saw its longest-running show, "Legends in Concert" close and showgirls, once a Las Vegas fixture no longer appear in any active Strip show.
Nothing on the Las Vegas Strip, aside from perhaps Wayne Newton, is forever and, now, another old-school property has shut its doors for good.
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Las Vegas Strip loses the Diamond Inn
The Diamond Inn website, which is still operational, invites visitors to "explore the good old days of Las Vegas." It also invites visitors to "explore the good old days of Las Vegas."
The motel, which closed in late September, was known for its Pink Elephant, which while small by today's standards was once a bold calling card for the motel.
"The pink elephant came from Disney World, probably in the 50’s. He used to trumpet loudly, but the noise caused some accidents. Because of that, the county made the owner take the sound mechanism out," according to the company.
A sort of mascot for the hotel, tens of thousands of Las Vegas Strip visitors have taken their picture next to the famous pink elephant.
Now, unsightly fences surround the property which was closed after it failed to make needed electrical repairs, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
The Diamond Inn Motel, originally the Desert Isle Motel when it was built in 1940 is one of the oldest buildings on the Las Vegas Strip. Its owner, Sam Aldabbagh, answered the newspaper's request for information with a "no comment" issued through a lawyer.
Aldabbagh formerly owned the Can Can Room, a defunct Las Vegas Strip club.
The property has not been listed for sale and the owner has not shared what will happen to the famed pink elephant. A "reservations" button on the Diamond Inn's website brings people to a generic Hotels.com Las Vegas hotel room search page. The motel's website touts its location as one of the property''s biggest attractions.
"Diamond Inn Motel is located across from Mandalay Bay, Luxor, and Excalibur and within walking distance to the attractions along this legendary boulevard in the heart of the gaming and entertainment capital of the world," the company shared.
