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EL RANCHO IMPLOSION more information The El Rancho begins to crumble early Tuesday from explosives set to bring the building down. The 2:30 a.m. implosion brought an end to the hotel-casino, which opened as the Thunderbird in 1948. Photo by John Gurzinski.

Wednesday, October 04, 2000
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

El Rancho crumbles like clockwork

Developer says he wanted to remove eyesore from Strip

The El Rancho building is gone, but a prime development parcel was born early Tuesday.

The property's owners are 90 percent certain they will build a hotel-casino on the parcel, but they are 100 percent happy they demolished the structure.

"We wanted to clean up the site for the people of Las Vegas and to get rid of an eyesore," said Jeffrey Soffer, a principal with Florida-based Turnberry Associates, which bought the site in May for $45 million.

His development firm also wanted to improve the view condominium owners in his company's Turnberry Place will have when the 40-story, 184-unit first phase opens in December, across from the Las Vegas Hilton.

The company is evaluating its options, but it would prefer to open a hotel-casino jointly with an established casino operator, Soffer explained.

"We expect to make a decision about redeveloping the property within the next six months," he said.

Site cleanup will be handled by Las Vegas-based LVI Environmental Associates, which expects to finish the project within two months, Soffer added.

Tuesday's 2:30 a.m. implosion of the El Rancho brought an end to the hotel-casino, which opened as the Thunderbird in 1948. The property's moniker was changed to the Silverbird in 1977, and was renamed the El Rancho in 1982. The El Rancho closed in 1992, and never reopened despite several aborted redevelopment plans.

The El Rancho's implosion went off without a hitch, Soffer noted.

Metro police closed the Strip from Convention Center Drive, north of Spring Mountain Road, to Wet 'n Wild, almost to Sahara Avenue, at about 2 a.m. Tuesday.

Turnberry Associates requested a midweek, early morning implosion in order to reduce security costs and minimize inconvenience to neighboring properties and drivers.

An expectant throng gathered along Las Vegas Boulevard to view the 52-year-old building's demolition, while high rollers attended implosion parties in high-rise suites at the neighboring Riviera.

The crowd was decidedly low-brow, with many drinking libations from Westward Ho and Slots-A-Fun to-go cups.

The Strip closure let people gather in the street along the police barricades, while the absence of cars allowed a lone inline skater to perform figure-eights in front of the Riviera.

Metro police public information officer Sgt. Chris Darcy estimated the crowd on the street at about 2,000; he said 100 police officers provided security.

Riviera floor-person and blackjack dealer Irene McLaughlin came outside to join the crowd during her break.

"This will be my first implosion," McLaughlin said. "Usually I just watch on TV."

The El Rancho's neighboring casinos benefited from the unusual midweek, late-night activity. The Sahara, Circus Circus and Riviera all reported heavy traffic through their casinos.

The crowd on the Strip cheered, shouted and whistled as the scheduled implosion time approached.

A rapid succession of loud blasts quieted the crowd. Seconds later, the 13-story building began collapsing.

The north side of the building fell first, with the remaining adjacent segments falling in rapid succession.

Just 15 seconds after the implosion began, the skyline had changed, and the El Rancho was gone.

As the building tumbled, a large black dust cloud grew above the former casino. The wind blew the cloud toward the north, away from the crowd gathered in front of the Riviera.

"I'd hoped there'd be a fireball or a fire or something, but still it was excellent," said Steve Westbury from Cornwall, England.

Las Vegas visitor Rick Runimas said the implosion was more exciting than the Western Electric building demolition he witnessed about 15 years ago in his hometown of Chicago.

"Not only was it better, but I'm wide awake at 2:30 in the morning," he said. "But, hey, it's Las Vegas. I'll sleep when I get home."

The lone craps table open at the Riviera was surrounded by players before, during and after the implosion.

"We had a bunch of passes, and I wasn't about to leave," said Louis Jones, a Detroit visitor who said his original $100 buy-in had reached almost $400.

Only 15 minutes after the El Rancho implosion, he had less than $100 in chips.

People attending the Riviera's various implosion parties began leaving the resort almost immediately after the El Rancho fell.

One group of women sporting the classic Las Vegas combo of long legs and short skirts dismissed the spectacle as merely another hum-drum event.

"I can't believe we came to this," said one. "But did you see Susan's fake Fendi bag?"

Police opened up Las Vegas Boulevard at about 3 a.m., after the dust had dissipated.

Metro's Darcy said police made no arrests while securing the implosion site.

"Citizens were kept out of harm's way, with minimal inconvenience," noted Darcy. "The implosion was a success."

The El Rancho's implosion marked the fifth time in the past seven years a casino structure was transformed into rubble.

The Dunes made way for Bellagio with its 1993 implosion. The Sands' demolition in 1996 allowed construction of The Venetian, and the Hacienda's 1996 implosion cleared space for Mandalay Bay. The Landmark casino was imploded in 1995, and has been replaced by a parking lot.

Opened as the Thunderbird 52 years ago, the demolished El Rancho building was the fourth resort casino built on the Strip, and initially thrived.

The Thunderbird's gaming license was revoked by the Nevada Tax Commission in 1955 because of underworld links to one of the casino's owners. Although the license was restored after a lengthy court battle, the resort never fully recovered.

Subsequent owners included the Del Webb Corp., Caesars Palace and Dunes owner Major Riddle, who changed the name to the Silverbird.

Ed Torres bought the property in 1981, changed the decor and added a bowling center, renaming it the El Rancho, in honor of the Strip's first resort. The original El Rancho was on the southwest corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara Avenue, just outside the Las Vegas city limits, and was destroyed by a 1960 fire.