The Clarion Casino-Hotel In Las Vegas Makes Way For New Hotel Tower

The casino industry in Las Vegas has slowed down during the last decade and a number of casino-hotel establishments have suffered from the lack of business. Casinos in Las Vegas have huge overheads since the casino needs regular maintenance and a large payroll for casino staff must be processed.

During the last few years, 12 casino-hotel complexes have been shutdown and their buildings have been demolished to make way for a new enterprise.

This week, the Clarion Casino-Hotel became the 13th casino-hotel to be demolished via an explosive device. The casino-hotel consists of 12 stories and is strategically located near the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The demolition of the Clarion Casino-Hotel received a lot of publicity as this was the first time in 8 years that explosives were used to bring a building down near the strip. There were a number of individuals who specifically came down to watch the demolition of the Clarion Casino-Hotel. The explosives were set for an early morning demolition as developers will use the site to construct a new hotel tower that will have 60 floors.

The new hotel tower will not have any place for a casino and is expected to be the tallest housing tower in Las Vegas. Developers will also make provision for a convention centre and office space to encourage companies to use their premises when they visit Vegas for conferences and conventions. This new project is expected to be completed in 2018.

The demolition of the Clarion Casino-Hotel did not go as per plan as the explosives were unable to bring down an elevator shaft that stood firm even though 4,400lb of explosives were used. The property owner and developer Lorenzo Doumani was present when the explosives were detonated and was surprised to see the elevator shaft still stand firm. Construction workers might use a wrecking ball to bring the shaft down and complete the demolition process.

The Clarion Casino-Hotel filed for bankruptcy a number of times and never managed to establish itself as being a premier casino establishment on the strip. Doumani believed that the design of the casino along with its hotel rooms did not help the casino standout. Considering the slow growth of the casino industry in Vegas, Doumani believes that it makes more sense to diversify rather than constructing a new casino and trying to compete all over again.