A Timeline of Las Vegas Grand Openings Quiz

In 1906 the Hotel Nevada had just opened but was not quite finished, much less with any type of grand opening. It was built on Fremont Street because the railroad had recently established Vegas as a rail junction and people were in need of a place to eat and sleep. Unlike the canvas tents around it, the Hotel Nevada was a modern marvel with a concrete structure and even steam heating.

There were no glitzy shows but there was a lively saloon. Over the years it would become the Sal Sagev Hotel (what does it spell backwards?) and then the Golden Gate Hotel and Casino.

It was 1941 and the El Cortez had just premiered on November 7 as downtown Las Vegas's first true luxury hotel-casino. It was built by former West Coast gambling boat operators John Grayson and Marion Hicks who modeled its Spanish Colonial style after a Baja California resort. The $350,000 property was a much-needed modern oasis in a tiny railroad town.

While early Las Vegas was still dominated by dusty streets and simple wooden joints, the El Cortez brought upscale flair complete with 91 air conditioned rooms, a chic casino floor, and a grand opening night featuring music from MGM studios bandleader Jack Martin and his orchestra. Over the years, the historic property would see everyone from local gamblers walk its floors to mobster Bugsy Siegel take a financial stake, ultimately cementing its legacy as the oldest continuously operating hotel-casino in downtown Las Vegas.

It was December 26, 1946, and notorious mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel had thrown a heavily hyped, star-studded grand opening for his luxurious new desert oasis, the Flamingo Hotel. Built out on what would become the famous Las Vegas Strip with a staggering $6 million price tag, it was designed to bring Hollywood glamour, modern architecture, and high-stakes gambling to the middle of nowhere. Opening night featured star-studded entertainment with famous singer and comedian Jimmy Durante headlining the showroom alongside music from Cuban bandleader Xavier Cugat, while Bugsy's Hollywood friends looked on from the crowd.

However, the debut proved to be an immediate disaster: uncooperative weather kept many expected celebrity guests from flying in from Los Angeles, and because the hotel rooms weren't even finished yet, patrons took their winnings and drove elsewhere to sleep. The casino suffered a brutal $300,000 loss in its first week alone, forcing a temporary shutdown a month later. This financial catastrophe ultimately contributed to Siegel's violent death, even as the casino laid the permanent bedrock for modern Las Vegas.

It was August 5, 1966, and visionary developer Jay Sarno had launched a lavish, three-day grand opening party for his $24 million Roman-themed masterpiece named Caesars Palace. Purposefully spelled without an apostrophe, Sarno omitted it because he wanted every single guest who walked through the doors to feel like a literal Caesar rather than treating it as a possession of just one ruler. The opulent opening week drew 1,400 elite attendees who consumed 50,000 glasses of champagne and tons of filet mignon and imported caviar, while surrounded by imported Italian marble statues, towering fountains, and staff dressed in Roman togas.

The hotel's grand debut featured singer Andy Williams headlining the 800-seat Circus Maximus showroom (modelled after the inside of Rome's Colosseum) while the comedy group the Ritz Brothers christened Nero's Nook lounge. Pushing the boundaries of architecture and excess, Caesars Palace forever shifted Las Vegas away from simple roadside motels and into an era of themed mega-resorts.

It was October 18, 1968, and casino developer Jay Sarno had unveiled his carnival-themed creation called Circus Circus. Fresh off his success at Caesars Palace, Sarno designed the property to be a permanent, high-energy indoor circus where the gaming floor sat beneath continuous live acrobatics, high-wire walkers, and trapeze acts performing high above the crowds. At that time, it was operating entirely as a stand-alone casino without a single hotel room on opening night.

That evening, political heavyweights like Nevada Governor Paul Laxalt, Senators Alan Bible and Howard Cannon, and Las Vegas Mayor Oran Gragson joined the festivities. Signalling the playful, eccentric spirit of the resort, Sarno cut a massive 90-foot (27 m) streamer with giant shears, released 5,000 balloons into the desert sky, and then triumphantly led 1,500 VIP guests inside by sliding down a fireman's slide dressed head-to-toe as a top-hatted ringmaster. While it struggled financially at first due to its novel family-focused format, Circus Circus forever captured the public's imagination as the ultimate whimsical playground on the Strip.

On a brisk November morning in 1989, crowds of curious sightseers and local residents had lined Las Vegas Boulevard, held back by a makeshift barrier of security personnel awaiting the official debut of The Mirage. Boasting a staggering $630 million price tag that made it one of the priciest hotels ever constructed at the time, the towering structure gleamed under the desert sun thanks to windows infused with real gold dust. Right at noon, developer Steve Wynn radioed the guard line to let the public through, triggering a mad dash up the driveways as visitors flooded the new South Pacific-inspired property.

The sheer volume of gamblers quickly overwhelmed the resort's infrastructure, famously causing an eerie pause across the casino floor when the cashier cages temporarily ran out of change for the massive bank of 2,300 slot machines. By nightfall, onlookers were mesmerized by the outdoor spectacle of a simulated volcano erupting every quarter-hour, while master illusionists Siegfried and Roy launched a legendary era of high-production entertainment inside. All of this began a colossal new standard for the Las Vegas Strip.

On June 19, 1990, the majestic Arthurian castle of Excalibur swung open its massive gates on the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip. Developed by Circus Circus Enterprises, it was remarkably financed almost entirely out of cash flow and low-interest loans rather than crushing debt. The $290 million mega-resort began turning a profit from day one. Executives and Nevada Governor Bob Miller kicked off the debut with a ceremonial sword cutting of the ribbon, accompanied by blaring trumpets, descending balloons, and a rush of thousands of eager guests.

Instead of targeting traditional high-rollers, the property proudly catered to mainstream middle-American families, welcoming crowds who flocked to experience the medieval-themed fantasy. A fire-breathing animatronic dragon, roaming actors in period garb, and the whimsical, castle-spired architecture helped to even further expand the Strip's appeal.

On the evening of October 15, 1998, developer Steve Wynn completely redefined high-end luxury on the Las Vegas Strip with the grand debut of the Bellagio. Inspired by the picturesque Italian resort town on Lake Como and built on the storied grounds of the former Dunes hotel, the $1.6 billion mega-resort set a new global benchmark for opulence. The extravagant opening night reportedly cost $88 million, featuring an exclusive black-tie gala packed with a star-studded guest list (including Michael Jordan, Clint Eastwood, and George Lucas) who watched Wynn deliver a 40-minute welcome speech followed by the global premiere of Cirque du Soleil's aquatic masterpiece, "O".

By 1:00 a.m., an estimated 15,000 curious onlookers flooded the packed casino floors. Though high winds unfortunately forced the cancellation of a planned fireworks display, the resort immediately captivated the world with its stunning art collections, upscale conservatory, and the grand public debut of the iconic, 8-acre choreographed Fountains of Bellagio. This hotel and casino began steering Las Vegas away from kitsch and toward world-class sophistication.

On the evening of December 15, 2010, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas opened its doors, marking a sleek and stylish arrival of a mega-resort. Built on an 8.7-acre parcel between CityCenter and the Bellagio with a staggering $3.9 billion price tag, the property broke away from traditional sprawling themes. It utilized a vertical urban aesthetic, which was a style that stacked an energetic and culturally rich vibe of a bustling downtown metropolis into high-rise towers rather than spreading it across a giant footprint.

Eschewing a single traditional red-carpet gala, cheering employees and security stepped aside at 8:00 p.m. as massive crowds flooded in from the Strip to experience its multi-tiered layout, edgy art installations, vibrant restaurant neighborhoods, and the striking Chandelier Bar wrapped in two million cascading crystals. Welcoming everyone from gaming enthusiasts placing opening-night bets to a special acoustic performance by local native Brandon Flowers, the resort offered a chic, apartment-style atmosphere complete with its signature multi-story private outdoor terraces.

On June 24, 2021, Resorts World Las Vegas marked a monumental milestone as the first entirely new mega-resort built from the ground up on the Strip in over a decade. Costing an amazing $4.3 billion, the massive multi-brand property celebrated its official opening night with a high-energy public ribbon-cutting ceremony, dazzling fireworks, and vibrant live entertainment. Socialite Paris Hilton took on the role of DJ for the party, while notable political figures like Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak and US Representative Dina Titus were in attendance for the formal celebration.

Fusing cutting-edge technology, cashless gaming floors, and futuristic touchless amenities, the resort brought a fresh wave of modern luxury to the northern end of the Strip. By featuring massive superstar residency acts in its state-of-the-art theater, it helped to create a bold new chapter for Las Vegas hospitality.