Las Vegas NowHistory of Las Vegas Implosions

History of Las Vegas Implosions

(Nov. 16) -- Las Vegas, of course, has a long history of implosions. One of the more recent one's was the Sands hotel back in 1996. And it's a sight that has become a part of Las Vegas history.

For more than a decade, implosions have become a popular attraction that adds to the glitz and glamour of the Las Vegas Strip. Steve Wynn started it all when he brought down the Dunes hotel back in October of 1993. More than 2,000 people lined the sidewalks along the Strip. Six hundred pounds of dynamite, and thirty seconds later, the Dunes was gone. The Bellagio hotel and casino now sit where the Dunes once was.

Nine years ago this month, the tower of the Landmark hotel and casino stood for the last time on the corner of Convention Center Drive and Paradise. One hundred pounds of dynamite was used to implode the 31-story hotel. The implosion was used in the film "Mars Attacks." Now a 22-acre parking lot for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is in place.

A year later in November of 1996, the Sands hotel was next to come down. The historic venue where entertainers such as Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Junior and Dean Martin once took center stage, was turned into rubble to make way for what now is the Venetian.

A month later, also in 1996, Las Vegans would see another implosion on the south end of the Strip. The Hacienda hotel set a perfect New Years Eve celebration. Hundreds of thousands watched a fireworks display that was also a part of the implosion. That made way for the Mandalay Bay.

Perhaps the most visual of implosions to date, was in 1998 when the 17-story Aladdin collapsed, leaving behind 50 million pounds of debris. An estimated 20,000 on lookers were on hand for the start of a new era the Aladdin would soon embark on, reopening years later, once again as the Aladdin.

The El Rancho was the first demolition of the new millennium. In October of 2000, an early morning implosion brought an end to the hotel-casino, which opened as the Thunderbird in 1948.

And on October 21, 2001 the shape of the new Wynn mega-resort started with the implosion of the Desert Inn's first tower. Close to 240 pounds of explosives were used in that implosion.

Construction and implosion crews have been making their way through the remaining Desert Inn tower for final preps before Tuesday morning's implosions.

Like a choreographed dance, imploding a building takes strategic planning. The explosives are placed in specific areas to keep the debris all in one area, and to keep everyone safe.

Here's how Tuesday night's implosion worked. The first explosion went off on the top floor, and then one floor after another detonated from the top down. The explosions allowed debris to crumble down in one central spot.

However, one thing that could have easily changed plans was wind speed. Even with the best technology, officials can't determine the wind direction and where it will take dust and debris.