This morning photographer Sarah Gerke and I were going to head to the Strip to see the demolition of the Stardust. In truth, I wasn't that excited, because so much work had already taken place that it required a bit of imagination to recall that the shell had once been the Stardust. But this was my first implosion (that I could attend) since moving to Vegas and Gerke had a new lens for her camera she wanted to try out. Also, I was looking forward to interviewing one of the executives about Echelon: the new resort that will rise from the ashes and dust. In the next weeks on the Buffet, I am going to explore some of the new developments and how individually and collectively they are changing Las Vegas. If there is a symbolic passing of the baton it is the Stardust going down for Echelon to go up. 

 

Echelon will be an estimated $4.4 billion development that, amazingly, will be only the second biggest construction project in Vegas falling behind MGM's $7 billion Project CityCenter. Both developments are over 60 acres. Add to that the expansions being built at Wynn and the Venetian, and I can't help wonder if there has ever been so much private construction in such a small place before? Consider that the Hoover Dam (under $50 million back in the day) was in many ways a miniscule venture compared to these private resorts. Obviously, the engineering marvel of the Hoover Dam and history is what brings tourists to see the Dam each year. Yet, Las Vegas surely deserves some credit now as one of the world's engineering marvels. Consider what it takes just to air condition a single resort on the Strip? Vegas is a marvel of modern engineering and construction worth exploring as in this desert sit these massive buildings that contain every environment imaginable under one roof: shark tanks, lion habitats, lakes and. of course, lined up adjacent are a handful of the largest hotels in the world and the growing, always growing. This is a fascinating topic to me about what is happening right now in Las Vegas. And, exhausting. The Stardust was set to go at 2 AM and so Sarah Gerke and I decided to nap before the big event.

 

Sad to say thanks to a combination of oversleeping and not changing our clocks (both of us!) we managed to sleep through the implosion of the Stardust! Anyway, I hope to still interview an executive for Echelon in the coming days. Fortunately, you can see what we missed as The Las-Vegas Review Journal offers video footage of the entire implosion.

 

There are lots of fireworks because it was dark. Goodbye Stardust.  I am glad I went to spend a night at the Stardust before it closed for this blog.