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MDawg
12-04-2019, 01:16 PM
The Landmark, in its day (pre stratospheric Stratosphere) was the tallest structure in Vegas, and given that at least from the ground it looked like much of the resort was up top in its futuristic looking tower, also the most modern looking.
69
From the moment it opened, with billionaire Howard Hughes as its owner, the Landmark was plagued with financial problems. One issue might have been that while the 31 story tower itself looked grand, there was very little casino up there in the Seattle Space Needle inspired dome itself, and no hotel rooms, making most of the resort, at least from the inside, seem not much different from any other Vegas hotel. Gamblers playing in the windowless base of the building didn't find much to revel at, and the hotel rooms in the narrow traditional tower sported only one small window each, making the rooms somewhat dark and confining. Hotel occupancy and casino numbers were low from the getgo, and dropped lower still over the years as multiple owners tried desperately to revive the resort.

In its last days asbestos was removed from the aged, doomed structure over a period of two years, and the tower finally demolished to make way for a parking lot for the Las Vegas Convention Center.

On July 1, 1969, Howard Hughes rushed The Landmark to predate the International's (later the Hilton, now the Westgate) opening, ironic in that the International, which opened the next day, still stands, but the Landmark is long gone, notwithstanding its milestone of a name.