Lu Ann Sullivan and her husband, Sam Morris, are valet parkers who met while working at the Dunes. They appear in a photo from Jan. 24, 1993. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file photo)
This photo, from Nov. 9, 1971, is captioned “Men in tuxedos and golf queen,” and that probably covers it as well as anything. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file photo)
A mural is unveiled during a ceremony at the International Boxing Hall of Fame at the Dunes hotel in 1981. (Las Vegas Review Journal file photo)
The Dunes’ marquee offers support to UNLV’s Runnin’ Rebels men’s basketball team, which was preparing in March 1987 to play Indiana in a national semifinals game. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file photo)
Dunes executive Richard Goeglein talks with coffee shop waitress Ramona Roman two days before the hotel closed its doors on Jan. 26, 1993. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file photo)
Guests get in a few more games in the days before the Dunes’ closing in this photo from Jan 24, 1993. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file photo)
Guest check out of the Dunes for the last time in this photo from Jan. 24, 1993. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file photo)
Dunes cashier Denise Watson works shift in a photo from Jan. 24, 1993. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file photo)
Dunes blackjack pit boss Earl Brookner, in glasses, and longtime Dunes patron Danny Salyers talk in photo from Jan. 24, 1993. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file photo)
Dunes employee participate in a slot tournament on the hotel’s last day. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file photo)
Shoppers line up to purchase Dunes towels, dishes and plants at discount prices on the hotel’s closing day. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file photo)
The Dunes does live on in the artifacts it left behind. This Dunes sign was on display at the Nevada State Museum in 2003. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file photo)
Showgirls are shown during a performance at the Dunes in a souvenir postcard. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file photo)
The Dunes sign appears in a historic Las Vegas postcard. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file photo)
A $5,000 chip from the Dunes is displayed in 2011 at the Nevada State Museum at the Springs Preserve in Las Vegas. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file photo)
UNLV manuscripts librarian Su Kim Chung displays a vintage menu for the Dunes’ “Casino de Paris” dinner show in a 2010 photo. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file photo)
Bettors line up at windows at the Dunes race and sportsbook in a photograph from November 1981. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file photo)
Not to gush, but the Dunes hotel and casino hotel was one of the coolest retro resorts in town.
For that, credit amenities that included the Sultan’s Table and Dome of the Sea gourmet rooms, the sophisticated “Casino de Paris” show and a lush golf course.
Oh, and also, notes UNLV Special Collections and Archives — which maintains a healthy collection of Dunes photos — that the exterior is notable for its “giant fiberglass sultan figure that towered some 30 feet into the air on the hotel’s roof.”
They don’t make ’em like that anymore.
The Dunes opened May 23, 1955. In 1992, Steve Wynn purchased the hotel with plans to build a new resort on the site. The Dunes closed its doors on Jan. 26, 1993. It was imploded on Oct. 27, 1993. And in October 1998, Bellagio opened where the Dunes once was.
Here’s a look back at the Dunes, courtesy of the Review-Journal’s archives.
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