Friday, April 24, 1998 | 9:51 a.m.
After 32 years as a South Strip landmark, the Aladdin hotel-casino will collapse with a whimper and not a bang.
That's if everything goes as planned during the scheduled 7:25 p.m. Monday implosion of the 17-story hotel.
"This hotel is smaller than the Dunes and the Sands, and we don't expect the Aladdin implosion to be as noteworthy or as glamourous as some of the past ones," said Trooper Steve Harney of the Nevada Highway Patrol.
Nevertheless, Aladdin Gaming, owner of the property has hired 13 state troopers and more than 100 Metro Police officers to ensure that everything goes smoothly during the implosion.
"Our advice is to stay home and watch the implosion on television," Harney said. "However, if you do come out, you should expect not to be able to leave the area for quite a while, depending on traffic, weather conditions and whatever takes place."
Sgt. Ron Swift of Metro Police special events explained that the Strip will be closed from Flamingo to Tropicana avenues during the implosion, and pedestrians and onlookers will be restricted to the sidewalk on the west side of the Strip.
"In controlling this event, we must consider the right of the public to free access and balance this with public safety," Swift said. "After all, it could be dangerous. There could be an errant piece of steel or chunk of concrete flying through the air."
Indeed, all Metro officers plan to be inside their vehicles during the implosion.
Harney advises those who wish to see the implosion to arrive early, to be prepared to walk quite a distance from a parking area away from the Aladdin, "and to remember that it will take us close to 30 minutes after the implosion to re-open Las Vegas Boulevard."
Officials also advise onlookers to take along dust masks, just in case the wind kicks up.
"There will be dust in the air in the proximity of the Aladdin event," said Mike Naylor, director of air pollution control for the Clark County Health District.
To keep the dust to a minimum and to protect the public, county officials will allow the implosion only if the wind speed is under 15 miles an hour.
"Also the debris has to be cleaned up immediately," Naylor said. "Workers will begin cleaning the area as soon as the building is down."
Two demolition contractors are preparing for the implosion of the Aladdin: Controlled Demolition Incorporated of Phoenix, Md., and LVI Group Inc. of New York City.
"The demolition contractors are performing as they should be," said Assistant Building Director Ron Lynn, who added that if everything continues to be in order he expects to issue a permit for the implosion sometime today.
"We make sure that all the utilities are notified both before and after the implosion, particularly the gas company," Lynn said. "In addition, we work with fire fighters who have a preeminent role, and with the Department of Public Works to ensure that the Strip is repaired and cleaned after the implosion and that people in the surrounding area stay off their roofs, in case there's a collapse."
Ruben Vasquez, president of the Nevada division of LVI, said he and 36 other demolition experts from both companies are working around the clock to make sure the Aladdin implosion goes as planned.
"LVI is doing all the preparation work to weaken the tower, and CDI is placing all the charges," said Vasquez, who explained that supporting columns and other structures around the tower must be cut to ensure the tower falls in the right manner and direction when the charges are detonated.
By Monday evening, there will be nearly 600 pounds of dynamite in three locations of the tower: the base, the middle and the top.
"The idea is to make the building fall away from the Strip," Vasquez said. "With all the preparation work and the proper placement of the charges, the building should fold over to the south and the east, and then spread out."
Unlike other recent hotel implosions, no pyrotechnics are planned for the Aladdin demise.
The implosion will, however, include a fireworks demonstration and will also anchor an exclusive $250-per-person celebrity and invited guest fund-raiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Nevada.
The 800-person charity event will be conducted in a tented arena at the southeast corner of the 36-acre Aladdin property, a safe distance from the implosion.
Richard Goeglein, president and chief executive officer of Aladdin Gaming, said the exclusive fund-raiser will be more than an entertainment event for a good cause -- it will also serve as the unofficial christening of the planned $1.3 billion re-developed Aladdin hotel-casino, scheduled to open in the spring of 2000.
Despite the implosion of the tower, and the removal of everything except for the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts, Goeglein said the enchanting atmosphere of the new Aladdin will only be enhanced.
"The Aladdin hotel and casino will always be very much based in a visional place of antiquity, mystery and where fantasies are likely to come true," Goeglein said.
Themed after the classic "1001 Arabian Nights," the resort will feature 2,600 rooms as well as a high-limit gaming salon developed by joint venture partner London Clubs International.
Another joint venture partner with Aladdin Gaming is Planet Hollywood International that plans a $250 million, 1,000-room music-themed property with a 50,000-square-foot casino and a nightclub.
Wrapping around the entire complex will be Desert Passage, a nearly 500,000-square-foot retail, restaurant and entertainment complex that will be managed by TrizecHahn Corp. of San Diego, which owns and manages many shopping centers throughout the nation including the Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas.
Goeglein said the resort, which will employ 11,000 people and will contain its own power plant, will become one of the South Strip's most popular destinations.
"We think we're on the premiere piece of real estate on the Strip, and this resort will be a must-see property," Goeglein said. "You can't get a better combination than that."
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