Stardust’s original rooms soon to be demolished

Thursday, Dec. 2, 1999 | 11 a.m.

Demolition is set to begin on the original 537 rooms at the Stardust, one of the Strip's oldest and best-known hotel-casinos.

The rooms are part of four two-story buildings erected in 1958. The Stardust's parent company, Boyd Gaming Corp. of Las Vegas, is considering replacing the 41-year-old structures with convention facilities that would substantially increase the property's current 35,000 square feet of meeting space.

The demolition is the final phase of a $25 million, year-long renovation at the Stardust that has included upgrading of the resort's other 1,550 rooms and suites and an extensive landscaping project featuring a 2.5-acre outdoor recreational complex.

The renovation included construction of a 340-seat buffet-style dining room called Coco Palms All-You-Can-Eatery. A new Japanese restaurant called Sushi King is scheduled to open sunday.

The improvements included a new exterior design and lighting system that stretches along the hotel-casino's frontage along the Strip, as well as refurbishment of its 188-foot electric sign.

Boyd Gaming bought the Stardust in 1985 just 15 months after the State Gaming Control Board asked the company to take over management of the resort. The previous owner, Trans-Sterling, had been embroiled in a massive state and federal skimming probe.

Boyd added four new restaurants and a shopping mall over the next three years, then spent $250 million in 1991 to add a 32-story, 1,550-room tower, a conference center, new hotel lobby, second swimming pool and the Tres Lobos Mexican Restaurant.

That same year, the production show "Enter The Night" replaced the Stardust's long-running French revue, "Lido de Paris." "Enter The Night" ends its run Dec. 27, and will be replaced by long-time Las Vegas headliner Wayne Newton, who will perform up to 40 weeks a year at the resort.