Lost - Lost Las Vegas (Lost)

By Jeff Burbank

Lost Las Vegas traces the dizzying pace of change in America’s fastest-evolving city.

Lost Las Vegas traces the cherished places in the city that time and the brutal forces of economics have swept aside before the National Register of Historic Places could save them from the wrecker’s ball or, in the case of Las Vegas, before the Neon Boneyard can claim them.

Organised chronologically starting with the earliest losses and ending with the latest, the book details the many hotels and casinos that failed to move with the times and got swept away for something bigger, better and brighter.

Legendary names in the field of entertainment have come and gone – the Sands hotel featured many of the rapack in residence, but the casino is long gone. Howard Hughes and the mob featured heavily in Vegas history but neither could sustain their success for very long. Today, it is the showgirl who is under threat. That Vegas institution is under threat from the big setpiece shows such as Cirque du Soleil.

Losses include: Arizona Club, El Portal Theater, Clark County Courthouse, Hotel Nevada, First State Bank, Las Vegas Rail depot, El Dorado Club, Old Ice House, Atomic Tourism, Helldorado on Fremont Street, The Green Shack, El Rancho Vegas, Hotel Last Frontier, Desert Inn, Sands, Sahara, The Thunderbird, The Mint, Royal Nevada, Stardust, Showboat, Hotel Biltmore, Dunes, Hacienda, Moulin Rouge, Tally Ho, Paddlewheel/Debby Reynold’s. Silver Slipper, Tam O’Shanter, Bonanza, Boardwalk Casino, Old Las Vegas Convention Center, Landmark Hotel, Aladdin, La Concha, Westward Ho!, Castaways

Format: Hardback
Release Date: 01 Apr 2014
Pages: 144
ISBN: 978-1-909815-03-2
Jeff Burbank grew up in Los Gatos, Calif. He holds a B.A. degree in political science from University of California, Berkeley, and a M.A. in Communications/Print Journalism at American University in Washington, D.C. He was a Fulbright Scholar who taught news media and non-fiction writing at Khazar University in the former Soviet Union nation, Azerbaijan, in 2011. He taught business writing and news reporting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, academic English at San Jose State University, and composition, professional writing and contemporary history at DeVry University. He has more than 15 years experience as a news reporter and editor, and is the author of four books. He currently works as a journalist covering San Jose, Calif.,  Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties in Northern California for San Francisco-based Bay City News Service

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