The Stardust Hotel-Casino on the Las Vegas strip, was demolished in a spectacular show of fireworks and pyrotechnics.The Hotel opened on July 2, 1958, billing itself as the world’s largest resort hotel with 1032 rooms. The hotel was the brainchild of prohibition-era bootlegger Tony Cornero. During its early years, the hotel was always closely associated with organised crime, with several known criminals involved in the management of the complex.

The Martin Scorsese gangster movie Casino was shot at the Stardust. The hotel was closed on November 1 last year, ending a remarkable 48 years of continuous, 24-hour service, with a marching band leading customers out of the hotel and away from the gaming tables for the last time.

A new $US 4.4 billion resort, Echelon Place, is to built on the site of the landmark and is scheduled to be open for business in 2010. Sadly, it can never replace the charm and history of the original.

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