When did some of Las Vegas’ most famous casinos first open?

From the desert to the Wild West, Las Vegas’ casinos have gone through a number of styles and themes over the years, according to one of the valley’s top historians.

Bob Stoldal, the chair of the City of Las Vegas Historic Preservation Commission, said two specific areas split when it came to the theme of their establishments.

“In the late 1930s and 1940s, Las Vegas had a feel when hotels with names like Dunes, Sands, Sahara, Rivera, Royal Nevada, Stardust and Tropicana opened in the 1950s on what became the Strip,” he said. “While downtown Las Vegas maintained a western feel with Vegas and Vickie signs.”

Stoldal said the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce originally started marketing Las Vegas as “still a frontier town,” with gambling. The city dates back to 1905, he said.

Here’s when some of the old casino-hotels opened in Las Vegas.

Stoldal said the Las Vegas Club casino-hotel dates back to 1908 and was moved from the south side of Fremont to the north side in 1949, taking over the space of the Overland Hotel built in 1906. While Boulder Club opened in 1929 (and was absorbed by the Horseshoe Hotel and Casino), the Northern Club opened in 1912, and started the city’s 5 cent glass beer war and closed in 1943 when it became the Turf Club and then in 1945, Wilbur Clark renamed it the Monte Carlo.

In 1932 the Apache Hotel opened with gambling, the S.S. Rex opened in 1945 on the first floor of the Fremont Street side of the Apache Hotel. Then in 1946, it became Eldorado Club for the next four years before it became the Horseshoe.

The Pioneer Club opened in 1942.

The El Cortez opened on November 7, 1941, exactly one month before Pearl Harbor, along U.S. Highway 91 (South 5th Street), the Hotel El Rancho Vegas opened in 1941 and the Last Frontier Hotel opened in 1942.

Also in 1941, Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel and his partner Moe Sedway made their first investment in Las Vegas when they took over the Northern horse race betting operation.

A number of famous casinos have also gone through openings, closings and name changes including the original Aladdin which opened in 1962 and was closed Nov. 25, 1997 at a site formerly known as the Tallyho. The Linq opened in December 2013, but its name was formally changed from The Quad on Oct. 30, 2014, and was also formerly known as Imperial Palace which opened in 1959.

Main Street Station originally opened under the name Holiday International in 1978 and also was known as Park Hotel and Casino before opening as Main Street by Boyd Gaming Corp. in November 1996. D Las Vegas was formally established in the fall of 2012 after being known as the Sundance from 1980-87, and Fitzgeralds from 1987-2012.

The Showboat opened on Fremont Street on Sept. 3, 1954, and was sold by Harrah’s Entertainment to Station Casinos, which rebranded it as the Castaways until Jan. 29, 2004, when it was closed, then demolished in 2005. The Hoover Dam Lodge opened in May of 1958 as Gold Strike, then renamed to the Hacienda after a fire on June 16, 1998, then bought in December 2013 by Dotty’s, which renamed it the Hoover Dam Lodge.

The following is a list of other famous casino openings:

— Jan. 1, 1975 California

— Jan. 2, 2003 Cannery

— Jan. 3, 1997 New York-New York

— Jan . 15, 1990 Rio

— Feb. 10, 1998 Fiesta Henderson (close 3/17/20)

— Feb. 14, 1991 Santa Fe Station

— March 2, 1979 Barbary Coast (Cromwell)

— March 2, 1999 Mandalay Bay

— March 31, 2008 Trump International

— April 4, 1957 Tropicana

— April 17, 2007 Planet Hollywood (Aladdin)

— April 18, 2006 Red Rock Resort

— April 28, 2005 Wynn Las Vegas

— April 30, 1996 Strat

— May 1, 1975 Marina (MGM Grand)

— May 3, 1999 The Venetian

— May 9, 2018 Park MGM (Monte Carlo)

— May 18, 1956 Fremont

— May 20, 1994 Silverton

— June 2, 1966 Four Queens

— June 19, 1990 Excalibur

— June 10, 1997 Sunset Station

— June 21, 1996 Monte Carlo (Park MGM)

— June 24, 2021 Resorts World Las Vegas

— July 1, 1976 Palace Station (The Casino)

— July 2, 1971 Plaza (Union Plaza)

— July 2, 1973 Harrah’s Las Vegas

—July 2, 1980 Sundance (Fitzgeralds, D)

— July 12, 1995 Texas Station (close 3/17/20)

— July 13, 1979 Vegas World (Strat)

— Aug. 1, 1931 Railroad Pass

— Aug. 5, 1966 Caesars Palace

— Aug. 18, 2001 Aladdin (Planet Hollywood)

— Aug. 23, 1994 Boulder Station

— Aug. 28, 2008 Eastside Cannery (closed 3/17/20)

— Aug. 30, 1946 Golden Nugget

— Sept. 1, 1999 Paris-Las Vegas

— Sept. 3, 1954 Showboat (Castaways)

— Sept. 12, 2000 Suncoast

— Sept. 29, 2023 Sphere

— Oct. 7, 1952 Sahara

— Oct. 15, 1993 Luxor

— Oct. 15, 1998 Bellagio

— Oct. 18, 1968 Circus Circus

— Oct. 26, 1993 Treasure Island

— Oct. 28, 2020 Circa

— Nov. 22, 1989 The Mirage

— Dec. 4, 1973 MGM Grand (original)

— Dec. 5, 2023 Durango

— Dec. 13, 2023 Fontainebleau

— Dec. 14, 1994 Fiesta Rancho (close 3/17/20)

— Dec. 15, 2010 Cosmopolitan Las Vegas

— Dec. 16, 2009 Aria

— Dec. 16, 2009 Vdara

— Dec. 16, 2009 Waldorf Astoria

— Dec. 18, 1993 MGM Grand

— Dec. 18, 1996 The Orleans

— Dec. 18, 2001 Green Valley Ranch

— Dec. 21, 1986 Gold Coast

— Dec. 22, 2008 Encore Las Vegas

— Dec. 26, 1946 Flamingo

— Dec. 30, 1993 MGM Grand

— Dec. 30, 2007 Palazzo

Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at pblennerhassett@reviewjournal.com.