Desert Inn chronology

Thursday, April 28, 2005 | 8:39 a.m.

A history of the Desert Inn as compiled from Sun archives:

1945: Wilbur Clark uses the $1.5 million proceeds from the sale his share of the El Rancho Vegas and another casino to begin the process of building the Desert Inn on what would become the Las Vegas Strip.

1946: Construction begins on Wilbur Clark's Desert Inn. The same year, Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel opens the Flamingo a mile south of the DI.

1947: Clark runs out of money because post-World War II building materials are expensive and scarce. Construction stalls. Clark's Cleveland associates, led by Moe Dalitz, provide the additional funding. The money comes from the Teamsters Union's Central States Pension Fund, then said to be controlled by mob interests. The Dalitz group takes three-quarters interest in the DI.

1950: The $4.5 million Desert Inn opens on April 24, 1950. Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy headline the resort's Painted Desert Room on opening night. With 350 employees, the Desert Inn is the state's largest employer. Three weeks after its opening, the hotel's first publicity director, Hank Greenspun, leaves the gaming industry to buy a newspaper that will become the Las Vegas Sun, which his widow and heirs publish today.

1951: Ground is broken in November for the DI's 18-hole golf course.

1953: The Desert Inn hosts its first Tournament of Champions pro golf tournament. The sport's biggest names compete there for 13 years.

1960: The Desert Inn is one of the five Strip resorts fictionally scammed by Frank Sinatra and the other members of the Rat Pack in the film "Oceans 11."

1963: The nine-story St. Andrews Tower opens with more than 100 rooms.

1965: Clark dies on Aug. 27 of a heart attack.

1967: Reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes buys the Desert Inn from Dalitz and goes on to purchase other Las Vegas hotels to usher in the gaming industry's corporate age.

1976: Hughes dies, but his Summa Corp. maintains possession of the DI and other properties.

1978: The hotel undergoes a $54 million face-lift. Construction of the 14-story Augusta Tower gives the hotel a total of 825 rooms. The tower is dedicated by then-hotel president Burton Cohen, who plays a major role in bringing LPGA tournaments to the resort in the 1980s.

1988: Summa sells both the Desert Inn and the Sands in February 1988 to billionaire Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp., for a combined $167 million.

1994: ITT Corp. buys the Desert Inn from Kerkorian for $160 million.

1997: A $200 million expansion, including the addition of the Palm Tower, is completed. However, the expansion reduces the number of DI rooms to 715.

1998: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. buys ITT and puts the Desert Inn up for sale.

1999: Sun International Hotels Ltd. agrees to buy the DI for $275 million but later pulls out of the deal.

2000: The Desert Inn turns 50 years old with a week-long celebration that features a gala in the Crystal Showroom and a celebrity golf tournament. A time capsule was buried on April 25. Three days later Steve Wynn buys the Desert Inn for $270 million. On Aug. 28, he closes the resort.

2001: The DI's Augusta Tower is imploded on Oct. 23.

2002: Wynn begins construction on the Le Reve -- the original working name of the Wynn Las Vegas -- on Nov. 1. The name, which is French for "The Dream" comes from Picasso's "Le Reve," a painting in Wynn's vast art collection that includes works by Rembrandt, Matisse, Manet, Van Gogh and other masters.

2004: The Desert Inn's remaining two hotel towers, the Palm and St. Andrews, are imploded on Nov. 16 to make way for completion of the Wynn Las Vegas.

Today: Wynn Las Vegas opens at 12:01 a.m.