El Rancho Vegas
El Rancho Vegas opened in 1941 and closed in 1960, after 19 years, on the Las Vegas Strip, with up to 222 rooms. On the site today: A Hilton Grand Vacations timeshare and MGM's Festival Grounds, across from the SAHARA.
The story
Thomas Hull, who ran hotels in California, built El Rancho Vegas on desert land beside Highway 91 hoping to catch drivers coming from Los Angeles. With cottage bungalows and an Old West theme, it opened on 3 April 1941 as the first resort on what became the Strip, and its success drew others to the road. It made the all-you-can-eat buffet popular in Las Vegas. Beldon Katleman ran it from 1950. On 17 June 1960 a fire of unknown cause destroyed the main building with the casino and showroom, and the resort never reopened. Howard Hughes bought the property in 1970; it stayed largely empty for decades, and MGM opened its Festival Grounds there in 2015.
- Opened1941
- Closed1960
- RoomsUp to 222
- There nowA Hilton Grand Vacations timeshare and MGM's Festival Grounds, across from the SAHARA
Nearby, also gone
- El Rancho 1948–1992 · up to 1,007 roomsNow: Fontainebleau Las Vegas (site of the Thunderbird, later the El Rancho)
- Riviera 1955–2015 · up to 2,075 roomsNow: Convention center space on the eastern part; the Strip frontage is for sale
- Westward Ho 1963–2005 · up to 777 roomsNow: Mostly empty land and a McDonald's, between Resorts World and Circus Circus
Old Vegas: where to still see it
Facts from El Rancho Vegas on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).