Of course, no one would name the "World's Finest Resort Hotel" something as mundane as "starstuff". You need a name that has a cosmically magical quality that will grab attention. And outlined in glowing neon, the giant googie-style letters spelling STARDUST meant you had arrived at the first "elegant supper-club gambling entertainment complex".
Originally conceived as the "Starlite", Tony Camero began building Las Vegas' newest casino in 1954. Camero opened his first casino in 1931, when gambling was legalized in Nevada. Utilizing the new concept of roadside architecture to lure customers, he began building a 5-winged complex with 1,000 rooms. Alas, Camero ran out of money and spent his final moments at the craps table at the Desert Inn, succumbing to a fatal heart attack. The project languished for 2 years until it was bought by John Factor, whose brother Max owned a popular cosmetics line. Once completed, it opened for business on July 2, 1958 as the Stardust.
According to this embossed matchbook, the Stardust once had 5 restaurants: Moby Dick featured seafood and steaks, Aku Aku was Polynesian, The Platter for relaxed dining, Palm Room was the 24 hour coffee shop, and Cafe Continental featured the popular Lido de Paris floorshow.
Just as the universe expands and contracts, so did the Stardust. In no time, the new casino has usurped its neighbor, the Royal Nevada, to create the Stardust Auditorium. In the early years, one feature was a drive-in theater that was removed during the first major renovation in 1964, that saw the creation of polygonal Big Dipper pool. After the final expansion in 1991, the Stardust had transformed its 1,000 first-floor "bungalows" into a 9-floor complex with 1,592 rooms. The French showgirls got the boot in 1992, and with much fanfare the whole complex shut down in November, 2006. 6 months later, starry or not, the casino/hotel/resort was dust itself.
Since that time, the old Stardust site has been slated for new development. Scheduled to open in 2010 with 5,300 rooms, the Echelon failed to have enough $tar$tuff, if you know what I mean. Two years ago, a new developer, Resorts World, announced an Asian-themed complex would rise on the site instead. With 3,500 rooms, the mega-resort would also duplicate (on a smaller scale) the Great Wall of China and a panda habitat. While construction finally began this year, the pandas have been put on hold, at least until they have enough $tar$tuff.
Note: This early 1970's matchbook does not show the address, but the Stardust was located at 3000 Las Vegas Blvd.
