1.
Paradise, Nevada
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Paradise is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. The population was 223,167 at the 2010 census, making it the most populous unincorporated community in Nevada, as an unincorporated town, it is governed by the Clark County Commission with input from the Paradise Town Advisory Board. Paradise was formed on December 8,1950, Paradise contains McCarran International Airport, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and most of the Las Vegas Strip. Paradise contains most tourist attractions in the Las Vegas area, excluding downtown, despite this, the name Paradise remains relatively unknown. All Paradise ZIP codes have Las Vegas mailing addresses, the southern part of the Las Vegas Valley was referred to as Paradise Valley as early as 1910, owing to a high water table that made the land particularly fertile for farming. County commissioners established a Paradise school district in 1914, the commission voted to create the unincorporated township of Paradise on December 8,1950. In 1975, Nevada enacted a law that would have incorporated Paradise into the City of Las Vegas, before it could take effect, however, the bill was struck down as unconstitutional by the Nevada Supreme Court. According to the United States Census Bureau, the place of Paradise has a total area of 46.7 square miles. At the census of 2010, there were 223,167 people residing in Paradise. The racial makeup was 59. 8% White,8. 9% African American,0. 8% Native American,9. 5% Asian,1. 0% Pacific Islander, and 5. 5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 31. 2% of the population and 46. 3% of the population was non-Hispanic White. As of the census of 2000, there were 186,070 people,77,209 households, the population density was 3,947.3 people per square mile. There were 85,398 housing units at a density of 1,811.6 per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP was 72. 51% White,6. 59% African American,0. 77% Native American,6. 52% Asian,0. 59% Pacific Islander,8. 37% from other races, and 4. 65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23. 47% of the population,31. 9% of all households were made up of individuals and 7. 5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the family size was 3.04. In the CDP, the population was out with 21. 2% under the age of 18,10. 8% from 18 to 24,33. 3% from 25 to 44,23. 6% from 45 to 64. The median age was 35 years, for every 100 females there were 109.1 males
2.
Las Vegas Boulevard
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Las Vegas Boulevard is a major road in the Las Vegas Valley of Nevada, best known for the Las Vegas Strip portion of the road and its casinos. Las Vegas Boulevard runs the length of the Las Vegas metropolitan area in Clark County, the Boulevard, as it is sometimes called by longtime Las Vegas residents, starts at Apex, and continues south to about 2 mi south of Jean, in the Mojave Desert. The Boulevard shows up again in Primm, Nevada but is not connected to the northern sections. There are tentative plans to connect the section at Primm to the northern section at Jean. The north/south street address demarcation boundary is located at Fremont Street, at its northern end in Apex, the Boulevard starts in an industrial complex of manufacturing plants and power plants running along the Union Pacific Railroad line. Traveling south, the road meets Nellis Air Force Base on the east side, as the road enters the city of North Las Vegas, it passes through some of the older commercial areas in the region. On crossing Washington Avenue, the Boulevard is designated as the Downtown Las Vegas Boulevard Scenic Byway by the state and this designation continues south to Sahara Avenue. Further south is a stretch of road that has many of the older motels, bars, the Boulevard leaves the city of Las Vegas at Sahara Avenue and assumes its unofficial name the Las Vegas Strip for the next 4 miles. This portion of Las Vegas Boulevard begins a few blocks to the north at the Stratosphere and this is the section of the road most people are familiar with, it is home to casino megaresorts with their world-famous lights, huge video signs and other attractions. It is designated as an All-American Road, just past the end of The Strip, the road passes the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign as it abuts the western edge of the McCarran International Airport property. The South Strip is now used to describe the section of Las Vegas Boulevard between Russell Road and Blue Diamond Road. Along this stretch, development thins out except for newer shopping malls, hotels and condominiums as the Boulevard continues to travel south, Route 117 serves the southern end of Las Vegas Boulevard from the SSTT south towards Las Vegas Premium Outlet Stores, South Point Casino and Silverado Ranch. Las Vegas Boulevard has had names, including 5th Street, Main Street. South of the city, Las Vegas Boulevard was commonly known as the Los Angeles Highway, just north of Jean is the place where the last spike on the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad line was driven. With the construction of I-15, Las Vegas Boulevard went from being the main road to one that only served as a city street for locals. Its current name, in effect since 1959, reflects its importance to the Valley rather than past names when it served as a main intra-city road, on October 16,2009, the Federal Highway Administration announced the designation of a new National Scenic Byway on the boulevard. The 3. 5-mile section starting at Sahara Avenue and running north to Washington Avenue was designated the City of Las Vegas, Las Vegas Boulevard State Scenic Byway, Nevada portal Las Vegas portal U. S. Roads portal Tropicana – Las Vegas Boulevard intersection Las Vegas Strip Media related to Las Vegas Boulevard at Wikimedia Commons
3.
American Old West
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Frontier refers to a contrasting region at the edge of a European-American line of settlement. American historians cover multiple frontiers but the folklore is focused primarily on the 19th century west of the Mississippi River. As defined by Hine and Faragher, frontier history tells the story of the creation and defense of communities, the use of the land, the development of markets, and the formation of states. They explain, It is a tale of conquest, but also one of survival, persistence, thus, Turners Frontier Thesis proclaimed the westward frontier as the defining process of American history. As the American frontier passed into history, the myths of the West in fiction and film took firm hold in the imagination of Americans, America is exceptional in choosing its iconic self-image. David Murdoch has said, No other nation has taken a time and place from its past, the frontier line was the outer line of European-American settlement. It moved steadily westward from the 1630s to the 1880s, Turner favored the Census Bureau definition of the frontier line as a settlement density of two people per square mile. The West was the settled area near that boundary. Thus, parts of the Midwest and American South, though no longer considered western, have a frontier heritage along with the western states. In the 21st century, however, the term American West is most often used for the area west of the Mississippi River, in the colonial era, before 1776, the west was of high priority for settlers and politicians. The American frontier began when Jamestown, Virginia was settled by the English in 1607, English, French, Spanish and Dutch patterns of expansion and settlement were quite different. Although French fur traders ranged widely through the Great Lakes and mid-west region they settled down. French settlement was limited to a few small villages such as Kaskaskia. They created a rural settlement in upstate New York. Areas in the north that were in the stage by 1700 generally had poor transportation facilities. The wealthy speculator, if one was involved, usually remained at home, the class of landless poor was small. Few artisans settled on the frontier except for those who practiced a trade to supplement their primary occupation of farming, there might be a storekeeper, a minister, and perhaps a doctor, and there were a number of landless laborers. However frontier areas of 1700 that had good river connections were transformed into plantation agriculture
4.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
5.
Hotel
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A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Small, lower-priced hotels may offer only the most basic guest services and facilities, Hotel rooms are usually numbered to allow guests to identify their room. Some boutique, high-end hotels have custom decorated rooms, some hotels offer meals as part of a room and board arrangement. In the United Kingdom, a hotel is required by law to serve food, in Japan, capsule hotels provide a tiny room suitable only for sleeping and shared bathroom facilities. The precursor to the hotel was the inn of medieval Europe. For a period of about 200 years from the mid-17th century, inns began to cater to richer clients in the mid-18th century. One of the first hotels in a sense was opened in Exeter in 1768. Hotels proliferated throughout Western Europe and North America in the early 19th century, Hotel operations vary in size, function, and cost. Most hotels and major hospitality companies have set standards to classify hotel types. Full service hotels often contain upscale full-service facilities with a number of full service accommodations, an on-site full service restaurant. Boutique hotels are independent, non-branded hotels that often contain upscale facilities. Small to medium-sized hotel establishments offer a limited amount of on-site amenities, economy hotels are small to medium-sized hotel establishments that offer basic accommodations with little to no services. Extended stay hotels are small to medium-sized hotels that offer full service accommodations compared to a traditional hotel. Timeshare and destination clubs are a form of property ownership involving ownership of a unit of accommodation for seasonal usage. A motel is a small-sized low-rise lodging with direct access to rooms from the car park. Boutique hotels are typically hotels with an environment or intimate setting. A number of hotels have entered the public consciousness through popular culture, some hotels are built specifically as a destination in itself, for example at casinos and holiday resorts. The organizational chart and volume of job positions and hierarchy varies by size, function and class
6.
Casino
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A casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. The industry that deals in casinos is called the gaming industry, casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions. There is much debate whether or not the social and economic consequences of casino gambling outweigh the initial revenue that may be generated. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertainment events, such as comedy, concerts. The term casino is a confusing linguistic false friend for translators, Casino is of Italian origin, the root casa originally meant a small country villa, summerhouse, or social club. In modern-day Italian, the term designates a bordello, while the gambling house is spelled casinò with an accent. Not all casinos were used for gaming, the Copenhagen Casino was a theatre, known for the mass public meetings often held in its hall during the 1848 Revolution, which made Denmark a constitutional monarchy. Until 1937, it was a well-known Danish theatre, the Hanko Casino in Hanko, Finland—one of that towns most conspicuous landmarks—was never used for gambling. Rather, it was a hall for the Russian nobility which frequented this spa resort in the late 19th century and is now used as a restaurant. In military and non-military usage in German and Spanish, a casino or kasino is an officers mess, in Italian—the source-language of the word—a casino is either a brothel, a mess, or a noisy environment, while a gaming house is called a casinò. The precise origin of gambling is unknown and it is generally believed that gambling in some form or another has been seen in almost every society in history. From the Ancient Greeks and Romans to Napoleons France and Elizabethan England and it was closed in 1774 as the city government felt it was impoverishing the local gentry. In American history, early gambling establishments were known as saloons, the creation and importance of saloons was greatly influenced by four major cities, New Orleans, St. Louis, Chicago and San Francisco. It was in the saloons that travelers could find people to talk to, drink with, during the early 20th century in America, gambling became outlawed and banned by state legislation and social reformers of the time. However, in 1931, gambling was legalized throughout the state of Nevada, Americas first legalized casinos were set up in those places. In 1976 New Jersey allowed gambling in Atlantic City, now Americas second largest gambling city, most jurisdictions worldwide have a minimum gambling age. Customers gamble by playing games of chance, in cases with an element of skill, such as craps, roulette, baccarat, blackjack. Most games played have mathematically determined odds that ensure the house has at all times an overall advantage over the players and this can be expressed more precisely by the notion of expected value, which is uniformly negative
7.
Las Vegas Strip
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The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of South Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada, known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip is approximately 4.2 miles in length, located south of the Las Vegas city limits in the unincorporated towns of Paradise. However, the Strip is often referred to as being in Las Vegas, most of the Strip has been designated an All-American Road, and is considered a scenic route at night. Many of the largest hotel, casino, and resort properties in the world are located on the Las Vegas Strip, fourteen of the worlds 25 largest hotels by room count are on the Strip, with a total of over 62,000 rooms. One of the most visible aspects of Las Vegas cityscape is its use of dramatic architecture, historically, the casinos that were not in Downtown Las Vegas along Fremont Street were limited to outside of the city limits on Las Vegas Boulevard. In 1959 the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign was constructed exactly 4.5 miles outside of the city limits, the sign is today about 0.4 miles south of the southernmost entrance to Mandalay Bay. In the strictest sense, the Strip refers only to the stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard that is roughly between Sahara Avenue and Russell Road, a distance of 4.2 miles. However, the term is used to refer not only to the road but also to the various casinos and resorts that line the road. The traditional definition considers the Strips northern terminus as the SLS, Mandalay Bay, located just north of Russell Road, is the southernmost resort considered to be on the Strip. Because of the number and size of the resorts, the Resort Corridor can be quite wide, Interstate 15 runs roughly parallel and 0.5 to 0.8 miles to the west of Las Vegas Boulevard for the entire length of the Strip. Paradise Road runs to the east in a fashion. The eastern side of the Strip is bounded by McCarran International Airport south of Tropicana Avenue, north of this point, the Resort Corridor can be considered to extend as far east as Paradise Road, although some consider Koval Lane as a less inclusive boundary. Interstate 15 is sometimes considered the edge of the Resort Corridor from Interstate 215 to Spring Mountain Road. North of this point, Industrial Road serves as the western edge, the famous Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign is located in the median just south of Russell Road, across from the now-demolished Klondike Hotel & Casino. Marketing for these casinos usually states that they are on southern Las Vegas Boulevard and not Strip properties. The first casino to be built on Highway 91 was the Pair-o-Dice Club in 1931 and that casino stood for almost 20 years before being destroyed by a fire in 1960. Its success spawned a second hotel on what would become the Strip, the funding for many projects was provided through the American National Insurance Company, which was based in the then notorious gambling empire of Galveston, Texas. Las Vegas Boulevard South was previously called Arrowhead Highway, or Los Angeles Highway, the Strip was named by Los Angeles police officer and businessman Guy McAfee, after his hometowns Sunset Strip
8.
Wynn Resorts
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Wynn Resorts Limited is a publicly traded corporation based in Paradise, Nevada that is a developer and operator of high end hotels and casinos. It was formed on October 25,2002, by former Mirage Resorts Chairman, as of 2016, the Company has developed five properties. In 2000, Steve Wynn agreed to sell Mirage Resorts to MGM Grand in a takeover, after having led Mirage. Wynn laid the foundation for his next venture that same year, Wynn found an early partner in Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada of Universal Entertainment Corporation. Wynn hired investment banker Ronald Kramer as president and director in 2002 in order to take the company public. Wynn Resorts made its public offering on NASDAQ on October 25,2002. The companys first project, Wynn Las Vegas, opened on April 28,2005, Wynn Macau, the companys second project started construction on June 28,2004. Encore, an extension to Wynn Las Vegas, broke ground on April 28,2006, the first anniversary of the opening of Wynn Las Vegas. Steve Wynn announced a redevelopment of the golf course at Wynn Las Vegas, called Wynn Golf and Country Club. Redevelopment will not take place before 2009, Encore at Wynn Macau, the companys second project in Macau Peninsula, Macau, Peoples Republic of China, opened on April 21,2010. Wynn bought 52 acres of the Cotai Strip in Macau where he hopes to break ground in 2012 for Wynn Cotai for a 2013 or early 2014 opening. The company considered opening a casino as part of the Entertainment City development in the Philippines, Okada decided to proceed with the project alone, leading to the rupture of his partnership with Wynn. The dispute went public with accusations of corrupt practices. Aruze had been the companys largest shareholder, with a 19. 7% stake, on September 17,2014, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission voted to approve Wynn Resorts’ proposed $1.6 billion casino to be located in Everett, Massachusetts, just north of Boston. In Las Vegas, the 1st quarter of 2009 was the first where the Encore was fully operational after its opening on December 22,2008, the prior year quarter includes only Wynn Las Vegas. Overall revenue from the resort increased from $327.2 to $345.9 in the first quarter, despite the additional casino at the Encore net casino revenues for the combined resort were lower than the first quarter of 2008 when only The Wynn was operating. Net casino revenues for the combined resort dropped from $125.1 million to $117.5 million, food and beverage revenues increased as a result of the additional 12 food and beverage outlets located in the Encore expansion. Retail revenues declined and entertainment revenues also decreased due to the closure of the Spamalot production show in July 2008
9.
U.S. Route 91
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U. S. Route 91 is a north–south United States highway. The highway currently serves as a connection between the Cache Valley area of Utah and Idaho to the Salt Lake City and Idaho Falls population centers. Prior to the mid-1970s, US91 was a commerce route from Long Beach, California to the Canada–US border north of Sweetgrass. US91 was routed on the streets of most of the communities it served, including Las Vegas Boulevard in Las Vegas. From Los Angeles to Salt Lake, the route was built along the corridor of the Arrowhead Trail, US91 has been largely replaced by Interstate 15. A portion of the former route in California is currently State Route 91. U. S.91 begins at Brigham City and winds its way through the Wellsville Mountains using Box Elder and Wellsville Canyons for its path to the Cache Valley, along the way it passes Mantua and Mantua Reservoir and crosses over Sardine Summit. Once entering Cache Valley it serves as the thoroughfare of the valley. Logan is the largest city in the valley, both the Utah and Idaho portions of Cache Valley are part of the Logan Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Utah section of US-91 is defined at Utah Code Annotated § 72-4-115, U. S.91 continues serving the Idaho portion of the Cache Valley with Preston as the largest city. The highway passes by the Bear River Massacre Site, a National Historic Landmark, near Preston, the U. S.91 corridor in Idahos Cache Valley was the primary filming location for the 2004 movie Napoleon Dynamite. After leaving Cache Valley, the highway crosses back to rejoin Interstate 15. At Pocatello, U. S.91, U. S.30, U. S.30 separates from U. S.91 near Pocatellos city hall at what was once the starting point of one of Idahos first designated highways, the Yellowstone Park Highway. From this point the highway follows the original route of the Yellowstone Park Highway northeastward, until it reaches its terminus at its intersection with U. S.26. At its peak, from 1947 to 1965, U. S.91 extended from the Pacific Ocean at Long Beach, California to Coutts, Alberta. North of Riverside, California, U. S.91 followed a route that would be largely paralleled by modern I-15 and I-215 where these routes did not completely supplant it, there are some parts where U. S. 91/I-15 had divergent paths. The more southerly is from Littlefield, Arizona to Saint George, the more northerly and longer is the surviving portion of U. S.91 from Brigham City to Downey, where Interstate 15 follows an old route of U. S. Route 191. Utah first submitted a petition to AASHTO to have the U. S.91 designation truncated in 1971 and this petition was approved on June 21,1971
10.
Elvis Presley
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Elvis Aaron Presley was an American singer and actor. Regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, he is referred to as the King of Rock and Roll. Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and relocated to Memphis and his music career began there in 1954, when he recorded a song with producer Sam Phillips at Sun Records. Accompanied by guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, Presley was a popularizer of rockabilly. RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker, Presleys first RCA single, Heartbreak Hotel, was released in January 1956 and became a number-one hit in the United States. He was regarded as the figure of rock and roll after a series of successful network television appearances. In November 1956, Presley made his debut in Love Me Tender. In 1958, he was drafted into military service, in 1973, Presley featured in the first globally broadcast concert via satellite, Aloha from Hawaii. Several years of drug abuse severely damaged his health. Presley is one of the most celebrated and influential musicians of the 20th century and he won three Grammys, also receiving the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36, and has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame. Presley was born on January 8,1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi, to Gladys Love and Vernon Elvis Presley, Jesse Garon Presley, his identical twin brother, was delivered stillborn 35 minutes before his own birth. Thus, as a child, Presley became close to both parents and formed an especially close bond with his mother. The family attended an Assembly of God, where he found his musical inspiration. Although he was in conflict with the Pentecostal church in his later years, rev. Rex Humbard officiated at his funeral, as Presley had been an admirer of Humbards ministry. Presleys ancestry was primarily a Western European mix, including Scots-Irish, Scottish, German, gladyss great-great-grandmother, Morning Dove White, was possibly a Cherokee Native American. Gladys was regarded by relatives and friends as the dominant member of the small family, Vernon moved from one odd job to the next, evincing little ambition. The family often relied on help from neighbors and government food assistance, the Presleys survived the F5 tornado in the 1936 Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak. In 1938, they lost their home after Vernon was found guilty of kiting a check written by the landowner, Orville S. Bean and he was jailed for eight months, and Gladys and Elvis moved in with relatives
11.
The Supremes
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The Supremes were an American female singing group and the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Most of these hits were written and produced by Motowns main songwriting and production team, founding members Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross, and Betty McGlown, all from the Brewster-Douglass public housing project in Detroit, formed the Primettes as the sister act to the Primes. Barbara Martin replaced McGlown in 1960, and the signed with Motown the following year as the Supremes. Martin left the act in early 1962, and Ross, Ballard, during the mid-1960s, the Supremes achieved mainstream success with Ross as lead singer. In 1967, Motown president Berry Gordy renamed the group Diana Ross & the Supremes, Ross left to pursue a solo career in 1970 and was replaced by Jean Terrell, at which point the groups name reverted to the Supremes. After 1972, the lineup changed frequently, Lynda Laurence, Scherrie Payne. The Supremes disbanded in 1977 after 18 years, since Ballard sang, as did Paul Williams girlfriend Betty McGlown, the Primess manager Milton Jenkins decided to create a sister group to the Primes called the Primettes. Ballard recruited her best friend Mary Wilson, who in turn recruited classmate Diane Ross, mentored and funded by Jenkins, the Primettes began by performing hit songs by artists such as Ray Charles and the Drifters at sock hops, social clubs and talent shows around the Detroit area. Receiving additional guidance from group friend and established songwriter Jesse Greer, after winning a prestigious local talent contest, the Primettes sights were set on making a record. Robinson liked the girls and agreed to help, but he liked their guitarist even more, with the Primettes permission he hired Tarplin, who became the guitarist for the Miracles. Undaunted, later that year the Primettes recorded a single for Lu Pine Records, a label created just for them, titled Tears of Sorrow, the single failed to find an audience, however. Shortly thereafter, McGlown became engaged and left the group, local girl Barbara Martin was McGlowns prompt replacement. Determined to leave an impression on Gordy and join the stable of rising Motown stars, eventually, they convinced Gordy to allow them to contribute hand claps and background vocals for the songs of other Motown artists including Marvin Gaye and Mary Wells. In January 1961, Gordy finally relented and agreed to sign the girls to his label –, the Primes had by this time combined with Otis Williams & the Distants and would soon sign to Motown as the Temptations. Gordy gave Ballard a list of names to choose from that included such as the Darleens, the Sweet Ps, the Melodees, the Royaltones. Ballard chose the Supremes, a name that Ross initially disliked as she felt it too masculine, nevertheless, on January 15 the group signed with Motown as the Supremes. In the spring of 1962, Martin left the group to start a family, thus, the newly named Supremes continued as a trio. Between 1961 and 1963, the Supremes released six singles, none of which charted in the Top 40 positions of the Billboard Hot 100, jokingly referred to as the no-hit Supremes around Motowns Hitsville U. S. A
12.
Delaware North
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Delaware North is a global food service and hospitality company headquartered in Buffalo, New York in the United States. The company also operates in the lodging, sporting, airport, gaming, the company employs over 55,000 people worldwide and has over $2.6 billion in annual revenues. Delaware North began as Jacobs Brothers in 1915 and was founded by brothers Marvin, Charles, the current operating name for the holding company was first used in 1980. The company remains family-owned and operated by Jeremy Jacobs who also owns the Boston Bruins, the arena in which the Bruins play, the TD Garden, is owned by Delaware North. Jacobs is also a member of the U. S. Department of Commerce Travel, in 1915, Jacobs Brothers, ultimately to become Delaware North, was founded in Buffalo, New York, to operate theater concessions. When the establishments closed down in the hot months, the three men turn their attention to ballparks, the first being Offermann Stadium, and the creation of the sports concession industry. Sportservice was created in 1926 following contracts with minor-league ballparks in Buffalo and Syracuse, Sportservice is Delaware Norths largest operating company. In 1930, the company entered into its first major-league deal by signing an agreement with the Detroit Tigers to handle food service at Navin Field, the Jacobs brothers expanded their business in 1939 by acquiring a racetrack, marking the beginning of Delaware North Companies Gaming & Entertainment. In 1941, the company entered the arena with a contract to provide food service in Washington National Airport. Delaware North Companies Travel Hospitality Services operates in more than 30 major airports worldwide, upon the death of his father, founder Louis M. Jacobs in 1968, Jeremy M. Jacobs began leading the company, then called Emprise, at the age of 28. The years that followed were characterized by unprecedented growth and diversification, Jeremy dissolved Emprise and reorganized his familys holdings under a new company, Delaware North, with a public emphasis on operating a clean, separate organization with no connection to Emprise. Delaware North acquired the Boston Garden in 1975 while Jeremy Jacobs purchased the Boston Bruins, in 1987, the company acquired Sky Chefs, a move that bolstered its airport business. The company obtained the contract to provide services in Yosemite National Park in 1993. Under the terms of the largest concessions contract in the U. S. National Park Service, the award sows the seeds of a new line of business, Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts. In 1995, Delaware North won the contract to run the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, in the late 1990s, the company worked toward becoming the largest racino operator in North America by adding gaming to some of its racetrack properties. The company moved its World Headquarters from the Main Court Building to the Key Center South Tower in 1999,2004 saw the company beginning GuestPath, its companywide continuous improvement process. The company entered the European market with a contract at Wembley Stadium, in 2008, the company signed a 10-year contract at Pride Park Stadium, Derby. In 2008/2009, Delaware North got a contract to operate a 4,500 slot machine racino at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens and it lost the contract in 2009 when it could not make a $370 million upfront payment to the state of New York
13.
Howard Hughes
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Howard Robard Hughes Jr. was an American businessman, investor, pilot, film director, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most financially successful individuals in the world. He first made a name for himself as a film producer, later in life, he became known for his eccentric behavior and reclusive lifestyle, oddities that were caused in part by a worsening obsessive–compulsive disorder and chronic pain from a plane crash. As a maverick film tycoon, Hughes gained prominence in Hollywood beginning in the late 1920s, when he made big-budget and often controversial films like The Racket, Hells Angels, later he controlled the RKO film studio. Hughes formed the Hughes Aircraft Company in 1932, hiring numerous engineers and designers and he spent the rest of the 1930s setting multiple world air speed records and building the Hughes H-1 Racer and H-4 Hercules. He acquired and expanded Trans World Airlines and later acquired Air West, Hughes was included in Flying Magazines list of the 51 Heroes of Aviation, ranked at No.25. Today, his legacy is maintained through the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the birthplace of Howard Hughes is recorded as either Humble or Houston, Texas. The date remains uncertain due to conflicting dates from various sources and he repeatedly claimed that his birthday was on Christmas Eve. A1941 affidavit birth certificate of Hughes that was signed by his aunt Annette Gano Lummis and Estelle Boughton Sharp states that he was born on December 24,1905, in Harris County, Texas. Hughes was the son of Allene Stone Gano and Howard R. Hughes Sr. a successful inventor and he was of English, and some French Huguenot, ancestry, and was a descendant of John Gano, a minister who allegedly baptized George Washington. His father had patented the two-cone roller bit, which allowed rotary drilling for petroleum in previously inaccessible places, the senior Hughes made the shrewd and lucrative decision to commercialize the invention by leasing the bits instead of selling them, and founded the Hughes Tool Company in 1909. Hughes uncle was the famed novelist, screenwriter, and film director Rupert Hughes, at a young age, Hughes demonstrated interest in science and technology. In particular, he had great engineering aptitude and built Houstons first wireless radio transmitter at age 11 and he went on to be one of the first licensed ham radio operators in Houston, having the assigned callsign W5CY. At 12, Hughes was photographed in the newspaper, identified as being the first boy in Houston to have a motorized bicycle. He was an indifferent student, with a liking for mathematics, flying and he took his first flying lesson at 14, and later attended math and aeronautical engineering courses at Caltech. The red brick house where Hughes lived as a teenager at 3921 Yoakum St. Houston today serves as the headquarters of the Theology Department of the University of St. Thomas and his mother Allene died in March 1922 from complications of an ectopic pregnancy. Howard Hughes Sr. died of an attack in 1924. Their deaths apparently inspired Hughes to include the creation of a research laboratory in the will that he signed in 1925 at age 19. Howard Sr. s will had not been updated since Allenes death, on his 19th birthday, Hughes was declared an emancipated minor, enabling him to take full control of his life
14.
Steve Wynn
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Stephen Alan Steve Wynn is an American real estate businessman and art collector. He is known for his involvement in the American luxury casino, in 2000, Wynn sold his company Mirage Resorts to MGM Grand Inc. resulting in the formation of MGM Mirage. Wynn afterwards took his company Wynn Resorts public in a public offering. Current projects include Wynn Palace in Macau and Wynn Everett near Boston, in 2006 Wynn was inducted into the American Gaming Association Hall of Fame. As of September 2015, Wynns net worth was estimated by Forbes at $2.4 billion, Steve Wynn is an avid collector of fine art, often exhibiting pieces by artists such as Picasso and Claude Monet in Wynn Resorts hotels. Steve Wynn was born Stephen Alan Weinberg in New Haven, Connecticut on January 27,1942, Wynn was raised in Utica, New York, and graduated from The Manlius School, a private boys school east of Syracuse, New York, in 1959. Steve Wynn received his Bachelor of Arts in English literature at the University of Pennsylvania where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity, shortly before graduating his father died of heart problems, leaving $350,000 in gambling debts. Wynn relinquished a position at Yale Law School to take charge of his familys business in Waysons Corner, Maryland, within a year he had expanded the company. Wynn and his family moved in 1967 to Las Vegas where his success with his familys business allowed him to purchase a small stake in the Frontier Hotel. That year he met E. Parry Thomas, dubbed by Vanity Fair as the most influential banker in Las Vegas. Thomas was the president of the Bank of Las Vegas, which was the bank at the time that would extend loans to Las Vegas casinos. Starting in 1968 Wynn also spent four years operating a wine and his company stake increased so that, in 1973, he became the majority shareholder, and the youngest casino owner in Las Vegas. In 1977 he opened the Golden Nuggets first hotel tower, followed by several others, frank Sinatra was a periodic headliner at the Golden Nugget, and Wynn has since maintained a relationship with the Sinatra family, even naming a restaurant at Encore “Sinatra”. In 1980, Wynn began construction on the Golden Nugget Atlantic City in Atlantic City and it was Atlantic Citys first casino built from scratch, first and only locals casino, and the citys sixth casino after the city legalized gambling in 1976. Joel Bergman, who designed Wynns other resorts, designed the Golden Nugget, though at its opening it was the second smallest casino in the city, by 1983 it was the citys top earning casino. The Atlantic City Golden Nugget was sold by Wynn in 1987 for $440 million, in 1989, the company acquired the Nevada Club casino in Laughlin, Nevada, and re-branded it as the Golden Nugget Laughlin. Wynns first major casino on the Las Vegas Strip was The Mirage and it was the first time Wynn was involved with the design and construction of a casino, and he financed the $630 million project largely with high-yield bonds issued by Michael Milken. The resorts high cost and emphasis on luxury meant that it was considered high risk at the time, the hotel, with its erupting volcano and South Seas theme, ignited a $12 billion building boom on the Strip
15.
Summa Corporation
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Summa Corporation was the name adopted for the business interests of Howard Hughes after he sold the tool division of Hughes Tool Company in 1972. The tool division would merge with Baker International in 1987 to form Baker Hughes, the name Summa, Latin for highest, was allegedly chosen by several of Hughes employees without consulting him first. Hughes was allegedly dissatisfied, and preferred the name HRH Properties - with the standing for both Howard Robard Hughes and Hughes Resort Hotels. His suggestions were never implemented, and the company remained Summa for 18 years following Hughes death, administrators were appointed led by his cousin William Lummis. Most of Summas operations were gradually liquidated, Summas Nevada money losing mining interests were sold by the end of 1976, while KLAS-TV and Hughes Sports Network were both sold in 1978. Hughes Airwest was sold to Republic Airlines for $38.5 million in October 1980, the hotel and casino properties were gradually sold off during the 1980s. As its original businesses were sold, Summa recast itself as a real estate developer, in September 1994 Summa Corporation was renamed The Howard Hughes Corporation, both to honor Howard Hughes and to fulfill his original intentions of keeping his name on the business. Howard Hughes Corp. was acquired by the Rouse Company in 1996, Rouse was, in turn, acquired by General Growth Properties in November,2004. The current version of The Howard Hughes Corporation was spun off in 2010 and is now a developer and operator of master-planned communities
16.
Pioneer Club Las Vegas
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Pioneer Club Las Vegas was a casino that opened in 1942 and was located in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, at 25 East Fremont Street. It ceased operating as a casino in 1995, the year the Fremont Street Experience was completed. The Pioneer Club occupied a building that was built in 1918, the Pioneer Club and Cocktail lounge opened in April 1942 on the corner of 1st Street and Fremont Street. In 1965 the Pioneer Club bought The Elwell Hotel located at 200 South First St. directly behind the Pioneer Club, the Hotel was sold in 1969 and became the Golden Hotel. In 1983 The Pioneer Club bought Club Bingo located to the west of it, from 1956 to 1967 it was called the New Pioneer Club. In 1984 The Golden Nugget bought the hotel and demolished it, building a parking garage for its Casino, for many years The Pioneer Club was one of downtowns leading casinos. Margaret Elardi who also owned the Frontier Hotel on The Strip and later the Pioneer Hotel & Gambling Hall casino in Laughlin, owned the club for a while, then Gold Strike Resorts. The owners closed the casino in 1995 and it remained vacant until 1998 when Schiff Enterprises bought the Pioneer Club. The vintage Pioneer Club signs and Vegas Vic sign still exists on the exterior of the building, although the Pioneer Club no longer operates as a casino, Vegas Vic lives on. In 1947 Las Vegas chamber of Commerce hired a West-Marquis firm which invented the Fremont Street Cowboy Vegas Vic, the Young Electric Sign Company was commissioned to build the neon version of the sign by the owners of the Pioneer Club. They then commissioned Pat Denner who modeled it after the image used by the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce in 1947 consisting of a cowboy in blue jeans with a yellow-checked shirt and red bandanna. Vegas Vic was then erected on the exterior of the building in 1951 changing the exterior of The Pioneer club forever
17.
Pioneer Hotel & Gambling Hall
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The Pioneer Hotel & Gambling Hall is a hotel and casino in Laughlin, Nevada, United States known for its neon cigarette-puffing River Rick marque. It was a property of the Pioneer Club in Las Vegas until both properties were sold to separate parties. What would become the Pioneer Hotel & Gambling Hall initially opened in 1979 as the Colorado Club and was built by Tom Ward, in 1986 the casino had the distinction of being the first casino to open a players club for slot players in Nevada. The Hotel and Casino were purchased on January 9,2004 by current owner Archon Corporation, the current owners continue utilizing the western theme that has been the signature of The Pioneer Club since its inception. The casino added a new book, operated by Luckys Race & Sports Book. River Rick is the name of the sign that resembles a cowboy that was erected at the Pioneer Hotel & Gambling Hall in 1981. He is also referred to by some as Laughlin Lou, although the hotel itself calls him River Rick.5 million, River Rick was built by the same sign company that made Vegas Vic 30 years prior. River Rick is one of three neon cowboys in Nevada, the others being Vegas Vic and Wendover Will
18.
Siegfried & Roy
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Siegfried & Roy are a German-American duo of former contemporary magicians and entertainers who became known for their appearances with white lions and white tigers. From 1990 until Roys career ending injury on October 3,2003, the duo formed Siegfried & Roy at the Mirage Resort and Casino. From 2004 to 2005, Siegfried and Roy were executive producers of Father of the Pride, Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn were born and raised in Germany. They migrated to the United States and became naturalized citizens, in 1981, Ken Feld of Irvin & Kenneth Feld Productions started the Beyond Belief show with Siegfried & Roy at the New Frontier Hotel and Casino. A revamped version of the show was taken on a tour in the third quarter of 1988. In 2004, their act became the basis for the television series Father of the Pride. Right before its release, the series was almost cancelled until Siegfried & Roy urged NBC to continue production after Roys injury from October 2003 improved. On October 3,2003, during a show at the Mirage, Roy Horn was bitten on the neck, crew members separated Horn from the tiger and rushed him to the only Level I trauma center in Nevada, University Medical Center. Horn was critically injured and sustained severe blood loss, while being taken to the hospital, Horn said, Montecore is a great cat. Make sure no harm comes to Montecore, as of 2006, Horn was talking and walking. On Pat OBriens television news program The Insider, he commented about his daily rehabilitation, youd think they are the KGB from Russia. The injury to Roy Horn prompted the Mirage to close the show, in February 2009, the duo staged a final appearance with Montecore as a benefit for the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute. This performance was recorded for broadcast on ABC televisions 20/20 program, on April 23,2010, Siegfried & Roy retired from show business. The last time we closed, we didnt have a lot of warning and this is the dot at the end of the sentence. According to a release, on March 19,2014, Montecore
19.
Culinary Workers Union
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Culinary Workers Union or UNITE HERE local 226 is a private sector local union in Nevada, USA, affiliated with UNITE HERE, a national labor union. With 60,000 members, the Culinary Workers Union represents more members than any union in Nevada, is the largest union local in a right-to-work state and is the largest affiliate of UNITE HERE. While most Culinary members work in casinos, the union does not represent dealers, Local 165 of UNITE HERE represents bartenders in Las Vegas although the two locals negotiate contracts in tandem. In January 2008, the union endorsed U. S, senator Hillary Clinton on the presidential election. In February 2016, the union declined to endorse former U. S. Secretary of the State Hillary Clinton or U. S, senator Bernie Sanders on the primary and later endorsed Clinton on the general election as Democratic presidential nominee. Clinton lost the election to Donald Trump on November 8–9,2016. Culinary Workers Union Website Bartenders Local 165 Website
20.
Las Vegas Sun
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The Las Vegas Sun is one of the Las Vegas Valleys two daily newspapers. It is owned by the Greenspun family and is affiliated with Greenspun Media Group, the paper published afternoons on weekdays from 1990 to 2005. The paper is now included as a section inside the pages of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, publisher and President Brian Greenspun, former publisher Hank Greenspuns son, was a college roommate of U. S. President Bill Clinton. Greenspun welcomed Clinton, while he was a sitting President, as a house guest during a Clinton fundraising trip to southern Nevada, the Las Vegas Sun was first published on May 21,1950, by Hank Greenspun, who served as its editor until his death. Hank acquired the Las Vegas Free Press and two weeks later renamed it to the Las Vegas Sun and he started the Las Vegas Sun after he received a US$1, 000-loan from businessman Nate Mack. From its founding the paper was published in the mornings, starting in 1989, after it signed a Joint Operating Agreement with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the paper switched to publishing in the afternoon. The Pulitzer Prize committee noted that the Suns coverage led to changes in government policy, alexandra Berzon was the primary author for the 4 part series. Berzon promptly left the paper upon her win, as did health reporter and Pulitzer finalist Marshall Allen in 2011. The afternoon edition of the paper was published until September 30,2005, when, on October 2,2005, the staff for each paper remained independent. The section typically contains no advertisements, the two newspapers editorial departments continue to have in-print disputes, often on the op-ed pages by Brian Greenspun and former Review-Journal publisher Sherman Frederick. Before Christmas in 2009, the Sun fired more than half its staff and changed its focus from news to feature stories. Then, in September 2011, the laid off a dozen additional employees
21.
Dunes (hotel and casino)
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The Dunes Hotel was a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, that operated from May 23,1955 to January 26,1993. Designed by architect Maxwell Starkman, it was the resort to open on the Strip. Bellagio now stands on the former grounds, the Dunes golf course is now occupied by parts of Monte Carlo, New York-New York, CityCenter, and Cosmopolitan, and T-Mobile Arena. The Dunes opened on May 23,1955, as a resort with Hollywood star Vera-Ellen providing the entertainment in the Magic Carpet Review. The State Legislature was in an uproar, but the set a record for attendance in a single week at 16,000. In 1961, a 24 story northern tower, called Diamond of the Dunes, was built, at the time, it was one of the finest and largest hotels on the Strip. The hotel was built in part with financing from movie mogul Al Gottesman, the major investors were Joseph Sullivan, Alfred Gottesman and Bob Rice. It was designed by architect Maxwell Starkman, the resort soon ran into financial difficulties and the casino closed after a year. The resort was purchased in 1956 by two businessmen, Major A, riddle and Jake Gottlieb, who had dealings with the Chicago Outfit. The resort boasted an 18-hole golf course, a health spa. The Hotels Slogan was The Miracle in the Desert, in its early years, the Dunes was known for the 35 ft tall fiberglass sultan that stood above its main entrance. Many top performers, such as Dean Martin, Jayne Mansfield, Liberace, George Burns, Pat Cooper, Judy Garland, Violetta Villas, Phyllis Diller and Frank Sinatra, performed at the hotel. Although it opened to much fanfare, it struggled from the start, in the late 1960s, Morris Shenker bought an interest in the Dunes and became its Chairman of the Board. In 1970, there were unrealized rumors Howard Hughes would buy into the hotel, in The Showroom for 2 years, Johnny Elvis Foster starred in his Elvis show For The Love Of Elvis. Morris Shenker was Johnny Elvis Fosters godfather, Johnny was the first Elvis impersonator before Elvis died, on the strip, from 1976 to 1978 at the hotel. In 1979, the South Tower was added, expanding the hotel to 1300 rooms, a second casino in a separate, round building on the site opened in 1983 under the name Oasis Casino at The Dunes. In 1984, Shenker filed for bankruptcy, and soon after, Major Riddles company also filed bankruptcy, the sultan statue, by now on the golf course, caught fire in 1985, reportedly due to an electrical short. In 1987, Japanese investor Masao Nangaku purchased the Dunes for $155 million, on November 17,1992, the Dunes was sold for the last time to developer Steve Wynns company, Mirage Resorts, Inc. for $75 million
22.
The Landmark Hotel and Casino
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The Landmark Tower was a hotel and casino located in Paradise, Nevada. The Landmark opened on July 1,1969, and closed on August 8,1990, today, the property which once housed the Landmark is a 2,948 space parking lot for the Las Vegas Convention Center. The Landmark played host to famous celebrities such as Danny Thomas, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, with just 525 rooms, the Landmark was small in comparison to the newer Las Vegas megaresorts. In 1961, Frank Caroll purchased 22 acres the lot at the corner of Convention Center Drive and Paradise Road in Paradise, Nevada. With a $3 million loan from the Appliance Buyers Credit Corporation, Caroll and his group hired John W. Jamieson of Tustin, edward Hendricks of Los Angeles was contracted to oversee the tower construction. Construction of the reinforced concrete tower, using a patented method of concrete slip forming, was directed by the San Francisco office of MacDonald Engineering. The original plan was to build a 15-story tower, the tallest in Nevada at that time and this was increased to 31 stories, when The Mint Hotel downtown decided to add more floors to its tower to claim the height record. In the end, the title went to Landmark, in December 1962, Caroll ran out of funding to complete the project. His creditors refused to lend him money to complete the tower. The tower sat 80% complete, just an empty shell, in 1966, after four years of dormancy, the Teamsters Union Pension Fund awarded Caroll $5.5 million to complete the Landmark. Work resumed and the tower was completed by early 1967, Landmark announced the opening of its main showroom and lounges on New Years Eve,1967 but due to lack of funding it did not open on time. The Carolls expected to have the open in April 1968. On January 17,1969, reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes purchased the Landmark, unlike Hughes other Las Vegas hotels, Landmark had yet to be opened. This allowed Hughes to make all the decisions from room decor to employee uniforms. After eight years in the phase, The Landmark Hotel & Casino opened on July 1,1969 with a celebration of 500 invited guests. Many top performers, such as Liberace, George Burns, Pat Cooper, having top performers at the Landmark did not continue, as the Landmark was not a high profit venture. Throughout the 1970s, continuing financial troubles and bad publicity plagued Landmark, in 1970 Hughes fled Las Vegas, leaving control of his hotels to his company, Summa Corp. Landmark reported a loss of $5.9 million that year, in 1974, William G. Bennett and William Pennington made an offer to buy the Landmark, but every time they came close to a deal, Hughes raised the price
23.
Sands Hotel and Casino
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The Sands Hotel and Casino was a historic hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada, United States, that operated from 1952 to 1996. Designed by the architect Wayne McAllister, with a prominent 56-foot high sign, during its heyday, the Sands was the center of entertainment and cool on the Strip, and hosted many famous entertainers of the day, most notably the Rat Pack. The hotel was established in 1952 by Texan oil tycoon Jake Freedman, who bought up the LaRue Restaurant, which had opened two years earlier. The hotel was opened on December 15,1952 as a casino with 200 rooms, the hotel rooms were divided into four two-story motel wings, each with fifty rooms, and named after famous race tracks. The opening was widely publicized, and every guest was given a Chamois bag with silver dollars, crime bosses such as Meyer Lansky and Frank Costello acquired shares in the hotel and attracted Frank Sinatra, who made his performing debut at Sands in October 1953. Sinatra later bought a share in the hotel himself, Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. were instrumental throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s in bringing a change in racial policy in Sands, and after an incident in 1961, it began employing blacks. In 1960 the classic caper film Oceans 11 was shot at the hotel, red Skelton and others, who performed regularly in the hotels world-renowned Copa Room. In the mid 1960s, Sands and its adjacent properties were bought by the reclusive businessman Howard Hughes, after the 1970s it fell into decline until its final owner, Sheldon Adelson, made the decision to shut it down and to build a brand new resort. The last dice in the casino was rolled by Bob Stupak just after 6pm on June 30,1996, on November 26 of that year, it was finally imploded and demolished, much to the dismay of longtime employees and sentimentalists. Today, The Venetian stands where the Sands once stood, the LaRue Restaurant was established in December 1950 by Billy Wilkerson. The following year, oil tycoon Jake Freedman of Houston, Texas bought LaRue for $15,000, Freedmans idea was to build the best hotel and casino in Las Vegas to specifically cater to the glamorous Hollywood film stars and executives in a $600,000 project. Construction began on Sands Hotel in early 1952, built to a design by Wayne McAllister. Freedman had initially intended naming the hotel Holiday Inn after the film of the same name starring Bing Crosby, but after noticing that his socks became so full of sand decided to name it Sands. The tag line would be A Place in the Sun, named after a recently released film starring Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor, and quite suitable to the hot desert location of Las Vegas. The hotel was opened on December 15,1952 as a casino with 200 rooms, the opening was widely publicized, and the hotel was visited by some 12,000 people within a few hours. At the inauguration were 146 journalists and special guests such as Arlene Dahl, Fernando Lamas, Esther Williams, every guest was given a Chamois bag with silver dollars, and Sands ended up losing $200,000 within the first eight hours. Jack Entratter, who was formerly in charge of the New York nightclub, Entratter made many show business friends during his time at the nightclub, he was able to use these connections to sign performers for the Sands Copa Room. Entratter was also able to offer entertainers an additional incentive to perform at the Sands, headlining stars received points, or a percentage of ownership in the hotel and casino
24.
Hacienda (resort)
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The Hacienda Resort Hotel and Casino was a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, that operated from 1956 to 1996. It was one of a chain of four Hacienda properties, with the three being located in Fresno, Bakersfield, and Indio, California. Each Hacienda featured a horse and rider sign, the Las Vegas sign is now prominently displayed at the Neon Museum. Located by itself on the far end of the Las Vegas Strip. Since it was so far from the resorts at the time. The Hacienda was also located close to McCarran International Airport, and at one point they had their own airline, Hacienda Airlines, the Hacienda was known for their inexpensive, all-inclusive junkets marketed to American Midwestern retirees. Work on the Lady Luck Hotel had begun by 1953, before construction reached the halfway mark, the projects financing fell apart, and management was denied a gaming license by state regulators. One of the investors, Warren Doc Bayley, a travel columnist and owner of the Hacienda Motel in Fresno, stepped in to take over and he changed the name from Lady Luck to Hacienda. The Hacienda opened on October 17,1956, at a cost of $6 million, with 266 rooms, Bayley formed Hacienda Airlines in 1957. Offering packages that included transportation from Los Angeles to the Hacienda as well as a room, the airline included DC-3s, DC-4s and Lockheed Constellations numbering as many as 30 aircraft. After Bayleys death in 1965, his widow, Judith Bayley, after her death, the property was sold in 1972 for $5 million to a group led by Allen R. Glick, who was later revealed as a frontman for organized crime interests. In 1977, Paul Lowden, the Haciendas entertainment director and owner of a 15% stake, bought out Glick, the Gaming Control Board voted to deny Lowden a license due to his association with Glick, but was overruled by the Gaming Commission. Magician Herbert L. Becker produced, directed and wrote his own show at the Hacienda beginning in 1977, the show ran for two years, on a staggered schedule before Becker went into retirement. Magician Lance Burton also produced, directed and wrote his own show at the Hacienda beginning in 1991, the show ran for five years before Burton moved to the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino. In 1995, the Hacienda was purchased by Circus Circus Enterprises from Lowdens Archon Corporation, by this time, it was dwarfed by the many new megaresorts that were being built, in particular the Luxor which had just been recently completed. On December 10,1996, the Hacienda was closed to the public after 40 years and this implosion was broadcast on the Fox Network as a part of their New Years Eve 1996 telecast. Despite the implosion, parts of the old resort still stood, due to the building not falling into its footprint, the next day a wrecking crew was brought in to bring down the remaining parts. In March 1999, it was replaced by the Mandalay Bay, the Hacienda name was licensed to the Hacienda Hotel and Casino in Boulder City
25.
Conference and resort hotels
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Conference and resort hotels are hotels which often contain full-sized luxury facilities with full-service accommodations and amenities. These hotels may attract business conferences and vacationing tourists and offer more than a convenient place to stay. These hotels may be referred to as major conference center hotels, flagship hotels, destination hotels, the market for conference and resort hotels is a subject for market analysis. These hotels as destinations may be characterized by distinctive architecture, upscale lodgings, ballrooms, large facilities, restaurants. They may be located in a variety of settings from major cities to remote locations, since the 1800s, the traditional concept full service conference and resort hotels has been based upon a venue which is typically remote and has a natural feature as its attraction. For example, the Kviknes Hotel in Norway is a difficult to reach remote location which provides access to the scenic fjord at Balestrand. A megaresort is a type of destination which is of a large size. The hotels along the Las Vegas Strip are most typically thought of as megaresorts owing to their immense size, Kirk Kerkorian is credited for building the first mega resort in 1969 earning him the nickname father of the mega resort. Two projects in Las Vegas in 1969 and 1973 by architect Martin Stern, Jr. and entrepreneur Kirk Kerkorian, the International Hotel, the Mirage given its size and emphasis on non-gaming entertainment options like shopping and fine dining to draw in customers. Megaresorts use the same fantastic or mythical theme throughout their properties, many megaresorts have a large theme park as its centerpiece. Resorts such as the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts feature multiple hotels, multiple theme parks, other megaresorts exist with no specific centerpiece, having many features that are considered prominent, such as Atlantis Paradise Island and its upcoming sister park in Dubai
26.
San Francisco
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San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the cultural, commercial, and financial center of Northern California. It is the birthplace of the United Nations, the California Gold Rush of 1849 brought rapid growth, making it the largest city on the West Coast at the time. San Francisco became a consolidated city-county in 1856, after three-quarters of the city was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was quickly rebuilt, hosting the Panama-Pacific International Exposition nine years later. In World War II, San Francisco was a port of embarkation for service members shipping out to the Pacific Theater. Politically, the city votes strongly along liberal Democratic Party lines, San Francisco is also the headquarters of five major banking institutions and various other companies such as Levi Strauss & Co. Dolby, Airbnb, Weebly, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Yelp, Pinterest, Twitter, Uber, Lyft, Mozilla, Wikimedia Foundation, as of 2016, San Francisco is ranked high on world liveability rankings. The earliest archaeological evidence of habitation of the territory of the city of San Francisco dates to 3000 BC. Upon independence from Spain in 1821, the became part of Mexico. Under Mexican rule, the system gradually ended, and its lands became privatized. In 1835, Englishman William Richardson erected the first independent homestead, together with Alcalde Francisco de Haro, he laid out a street plan for the expanded settlement, and the town, named Yerba Buena, began to attract American settlers. Commodore John D. Sloat claimed California for the United States on July 7,1846, during the Mexican–American War, montgomery arrived to claim Yerba Buena two days later. Yerba Buena was renamed San Francisco on January 30 of the next year, despite its attractive location as a port and naval base, San Francisco was still a small settlement with inhospitable geography. The California Gold Rush brought a flood of treasure seekers, with their sourdough bread in tow, prospectors accumulated in San Francisco over rival Benicia, raising the population from 1,000 in 1848 to 25,000 by December 1849. The promise of fabulous riches was so strong that crews on arriving vessels deserted and rushed off to the gold fields, leaving behind a forest of masts in San Francisco harbor. Some of these approximately 500 abandoned ships were used at times as storeships, saloons and hotels, many were left to rot, by 1851 the harbor was extended out into the bay by wharves while buildings were erected on piles among the ships. By 1870 Yerba Buena Cove had been filled to create new land, buried ships are occasionally exposed when foundations are dug for new buildings. California was quickly granted statehood in 1850 and the U. S. military built Fort Point at the Golden Gate, silver discoveries, including the Comstock Lode in Nevada in 1859, further drove rapid population growth. With hordes of fortune seekers streaming through the city, lawlessness was common, and the Barbary Coast section of town gained notoriety as a haven for criminals, prostitution, entrepreneurs sought to capitalize on the wealth generated by the Gold Rush
27.
September 11 attacks
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The September 11 attacks were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda on the United States on the morning of Tuesday, September 11,2001. The attacks killed 2,996 people, injured over 6,000 others, two of the planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, were crashed into the North and South towers, respectively, of the World Trade Center complex in New York City. A third plane, American Airlines Flight 77, was crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia and it was the deadliest incident for firefighters and law enforcement officers in the history of the United States, with 343 and 72 killed respectively. Suspicion for the attack fell on al-Qaeda. The United States responded to the attacks by launching the War on Terror and invading Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, many countries strengthened their anti-terrorism legislation and expanded the powers of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to prevent terrorist attacks. Although al-Qaedas leader, Osama bin Laden, initially denied any involvement, al-Qaeda and bin Laden cited U. S. support of Israel, the presence of U. S. troops in Saudi Arabia, and sanctions against Iraq as motives. Having evaded capture for almost a decade, bin Laden was located and killed by SEAL Team Six of the U. S. Navy in May 2011. S. many closings, evacuations, and cancellations followed, out of respect or fear of further attacks. Cleanup of the World Trade Center site was completed in May 2002, on November 18,2006, construction of One World Trade Center began at the World Trade Center site. The building was opened on November 3,2014. The origins of al-Qaeda can be traced to 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden traveled to Afghanistan and helped organize Arab mujahideen to resist the Soviets. Under the guidance of Ayman al-Zawahiri, bin Laden became more radical, in 1996, bin Laden issued his first fatwā, calling for American soldiers to leave Saudi Arabia. Bin Laden used Islamic texts to exhort Muslims to attack Americans until the stated grievances are reversed, Muslim legal scholars have throughout Islamic history unanimously agreed that the jihad is an individual duty if the enemy destroys the Muslim countries, according to bin Laden. Bin Laden, who orchestrated the attacks, initially denied but later admitted involvement, in November 2001, U. S. forces recovered a videotape from a destroyed house in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. In the video, bin Laden is seen talking to Khaled al-Harbi, on December 27,2001, a second bin Laden video was released. In the video, he said, It has become clear that the West in general and it is the hatred of crusaders. Terrorism against America deserves to be praised because it was a response to injustice, aimed at forcing America to stop its support for Israel, the transcript refers several times to the United States specifically targeting Muslims. He said that the attacks were carried out because, we are free, and want to regain freedom for our nation. As you undermine our security we undermine yours, Bin Laden said he had personally directed his followers to attack the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
28.
Donald Trump
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Donald John Trump is the 45th and current President of the United States. Prior to entering politics he was a businessman and television personality, Trump was born and raised in Queens, New York City, and earned an economics degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He then took charge of The Trump Organization, the estate and construction firm founded by his paternal grandmother, which he ran for four. During his real career, Trump has built, renovated, and managed numerous office towers, hotels, casinos. Besides real estate, he started several ventures and has lent the use of his name for the branding of various products. He owned the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants from 1996 to 2015, and he hosted The Apprentice, as of 2017, Forbes listed him as the 544th wealthiest person in the world with a net worth of $3.5 billion. Trump first publicly expressed interest in running for office in 1987. He won two Reform Party presidential primaries in 2000, but withdrew his candidacy early on, in June 2015, he launched his campaign for the 2016 presidential election and quickly emerged as the front-runner among 17 candidates in the Republican primaries. His final opponents suspended their campaigns in May 2016, and in July he was nominated at the Republican National Convention along with Indiana governor Mike Pence as his running mate. His campaign received unprecedented media coverage and international attention, many of the statements he made at rallies, in interviews, or on social media were controversial or false. Trump won the election on November 8,2016, in a surprise victory against Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. His political positions have been described by scholars and commentators as populist, protectionist, Trump was born on June 14,1946 at the Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, Queens, New York City. He was the fourth of five born to Frederick Christ Fred Trump. His siblings are Maryanne, Fred Jr. Elizabeth, and Robert, Trumps ancestors originated from the village of Kallstadt, Palatinate, Germany on his fathers side, and from the Outer Hebrides isles of Scotland on his mothers side. All his grandparents, and his mother, were born in Europe and his mothers grandfather was also christened Donald. On a visit to his village, he met Elisabeth Christ. He died from the flu pandemic of 1918 and Elizabeth incorporated the family real estate business, Elizabeth Trump and Son, which would later become The Trump Organization. Trumps father Fred was born in the Bronx, and worked with his mother since he was 15 as a real estate developer, primarily in the New York boroughs of Queens and he eventually built and sold thousands of houses, barracks and apartments
29.
Condo hotel
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A condo hotel, also known as a hotel-condo or a Contel, is a building, which is legally a condominium but which is operated as a hotel, offering short term rentals, and which maintains a Front Desk. Condo hotels are typically high-rise buildings developed and operated as hotels, usually in major cities. These hotels have condominium units which allow someone to own a full-service vacation home, when they are not using this home, they can leverage the marketing and management done by the hotel chain to rent and manage the condo unit as it would any other hotel room. The U. S. Government is very strict about the type of advertising that can be done vis-a-vis condo hotel projects, condo hotels have been criticized in California for allowing developers to skirt laws designed to protect public access to beaches. In the Philippines condominium hotels carry a real estate deed. This allows foreigners to acquire up to 30% of the condotel units and this has made this particular development popular in the country. Condo hotels are found at ski resorts and international destinations, such as Jaco. Investors spent an estimated $250 million on condo hotels in 2006, note that analyzing the economics of a condo hotel unit is extremely difficult because of the challenge of getting accurate information about the potential income stream. The primary factors that contribute to the outcome in ownership are rental revenue, appreciation or depreciation, lending. Rental revenue is shared with the management company, and owners typically pay no upfront fees for management, typical monthly fees for units in the rental pool include FF&E reserve and resort fee. Although the revenue splits between owner and management company do vary from project to project, most hover around 50 percent, rental income from hotel guests is at the mercy of travel patterns and may decline. Many condo hotels, especially the branded condo hotels, have seen double-digit growth, condo hotels units are fee simple deeded real estate, and can be bought and sold like other forms of real estate. Just like traditional real estate, appreciation is never guaranteed and this very scenario most recently occurred in Las Vegas. Several of the more notable condo hotels have sold for less in the market than during pre-construction. Financing is generally costlier than for a primary residence, mortgage rates may be a full point higher, and in the past this was especially true because financial institutions were unfamiliar with the condo hotel concept. Pre-construction purchases require a significant down payment, and buyers will not see financial return or be able to use their unit until the hotel is completed, furthermore, owners may have to purchase extra insurance to protect against liability claims and some types of damage or loss. Additional tax benefits may be obtained through condo hotel ownership, condo hotel tax laws determine this, and affect individuals on a case-by-case basis, as each potential buyer’s tax situation is different. As with most condominiums, owners of units are required to pay homeowners association fees
30.
Trump International Hotel Las Vegas
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It is located across the street from Wynn Las Vegas, behind Alon Las Vegas on 3.46 acres, near the Fashion Show Mall, and features both non-residential hotel condominiums and residential condominiums. The exterior glass is infused with gold, the hotel is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. Tower 1 opened on March 31,2008, with 1,282 rooms, the hotel features two restaurants, DJT, named after the developer, and a poolside restaurant, H2. It is Las Vegass tallest residential building at 640 feet, in September 2012, the Trump Organization announced that it sold roughly 300 condominium units in Trump International Hotel Las Vegas to Hilton Worldwides timeshare division, Hilton Grand Vacations. Trump had initially approached Ruffin two years earlier about developing a property on or near the Las Vegas Strip, construction on Trump Tower Las Vegas was to begin in six to seven months, and was expected to last approximately 18 months. In August 2003, Ruffin said the tower had been decreased to 43 stories and was expected to cost $272 million, in November 2003, Trump denied that the project had been delayed or that it was suffering from a lack of financing. Trump also said he was considering something on a scale for the project. In July 2004, Ruffin said the project had been delayed up to point because of other business ventures, including Trumps reality television show. That month, Trump and Ruffin announced revised plans for Trump International Hotel and Tower, although Trump held a Nevada gaming license, he chose not to include a casino on the property. Donald Trumps son, Eric Trump, later said, We have no problem getting a gaming license and we wanted a true luxury resort experience. Its hard to have a high-quality product when you walk into ding, ding, ding, Ruffin appeared in an October 2004 episode of The Apprentice to sign a $300 million deal with Trump regarding the project. The project was referenced again in the shows finale, when winner Kelly Perdew was offered a job at the property. Jack Wishna, who introduced Trump to Ruffin, was a minority partner in the project, in January 2005, the project was valued at $1 billion. Groundbreaking was initially scheduled for May 2005, with completion expected by the end of 2006, by May 2005, all of the towers 1,282 condominium units had been reserved by prospective buyers. Trump and Ruffin held a ceremony for the project on July 12,2005. The Las Vegas Review-Journal wrote that the event was really a ribbon-cutting, condominium units went on sale the same day with the opening of a $3 million temporary sales center at the corner of South Las Vegas Boulevard and Fashion Show Drive, in front of the New Frontier. The building was 8,100 sq ft, and featured a 10-foot replica of the tower and that month, an NBA team was in negotiations to purchase an entire floor of the tower, while Trump was considering an alternate version of The Apprentice that would involve the tower. Construction was expected to begin by the end of that summer, construction began in November 2005, when the buildings foundation was poured
31.
Montreux Casino
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Montreux Casino is a casino located in Montreux, Switzerland, on the shoreline of Lake Geneva. It has served as the venue for the Montreux Jazz Festival and was following a 1971 fire memorialized in the Deep Purple song Smoke on the Water. It is a property of Groupe Lucien Barrière, Montreux Casino was built in 1881 and had modifications made to it in 1903. Throughout the twentieth century, the site played host to many symphony orchestras. By the late 1960s, jazz, blues and rock artists began to perform there, in 1967 the Casino became the venue for the Montreux Jazz Festival, which was the brainchild of music promoter Claude Nobs. The festival was held annually and lasted for three days. The highlights of this era were Keith Jarrett, Jack DeJohnette, Bill Evans, Nina Simone, Jan Garbarek, originally featuring almost exclusively jazz artists, in the 1970s the festival began broadening its scope, including blues, soul, and rock artists. Some notable rock acts which performed at Montreux Casino in these years include Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, on December 4,1971, Montreux Casino burned down during a concert by Frank Zappa after a fan had set the venue on fire with a flare gun. A recording of the outbreak and fire announcement can be found on a Frank Zappa Bootleg album titled Swiss Cheese/Fire, the Festival continued to be hosted there until 1993, when it moved to a larger Convention Centre located approximately one kilometre from the Casino. From 1995 through 2006, the Festival occupied both the Convention Centre and the Casino, beginning with the 41st Festival in 2007, nightly performances of headliners were again moved mainly to the Convention Centre, although the Casino still hosts the odd one-off show
32.
The Mirage
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The Mirage is a 3,044 room Polynesian-themed resort and casino resort located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The resort was built by developer Steve Wynn and is owned and operated by MGM Resorts International. The original marquee sign in front of the Mirage is the largest free standing marquee in the world, the resort is connected by a free tram to the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino neighboring the hotels property to the north. The Mirage was built by developer Steve Wynn and designed by Joel Bergman and it was built on the site formerly occupied by the Castaways and prior to that, the Red Rooster Nite Club. The Mirage was proposed with an initial cost of $565 million, financier Michael Milken helped finance the project by selling $525 million worth of mortgage bonds. The Mirage was the first resort that was built with the money of Wall Street through the use of junk bonds, the project went over budget, and was the most expensive hotel-casino in history, with a construction cost of US $630 million. The hotels distinctive gold windows get their color from gold dust used in the tinting process. The Mirages construction is considered noteworthy in that Wynn had set a new standard for Vegas resorts, also, this was a time when Las Vegas was no longer considered a fashionable destination, so a new, high-profile, project was necessary to jump-start the ailing industry. Wynn planned for the resort to feature boxing matches to compete against the Las Vegas Hilton, Wynn initially considered naming the resort the Golden Nugget, after his Golden Nugget hotel-casino in downtown Las Vegas. However, Wynn and others involved with the new resort knew that it would need a different name, otherwise, Wynn chose The Mirage because of the resorts South Pacific theme. In 1988, to avoid confusion, Wynn purchased the rights to the Mirage name from two other businesses, the La Mirage Casino and the Mirage Motel, both businesses received $250,000 to change their names. The Mirage, initially scheduled for an opening in early December 1989, was opened early on November 22,1989, at the time of its opening, The Mirage was the largest hotel in the world, with 3,044 rooms. The hotel tower, standing 29 stories, was out in a Y-shape design, a concept that was later copied by Las Vegas Treasure Island, Monte Carlo. The hotels top five floors were used exclusively for high roller rooms, the Mirage was the first new resort to be built on the Las Vegas Strip in 16 years, after the completion of the MGM Grand in 1973. When it opened, The Mirage was the first casino to use security cameras full-time on all table games, starting in February 1990, The Mirage was the venue for the Siegfried & Roy show, held in the resorts 1, 500-seat showroom. The two headliners combined magic and the use of wild animals, the show closed in 2003 after performer Roy Horn was bitten and injured by one of the white tigers used in the show. In 1993, The Mirage hosted an extended run of the Cirque du Soleil show Nouvelle Expérience in a tent in The Mirage parking lot and it was during this time that Steve Wynn decided to invite Cirque to create Mystère for the soon-to-be-built Treasure Island resort next door. Finally returning to where they began in Las Vegas, Cirque du Soleil has a permanent production at The Mirage, as of 1999, The Mirage had 6,000 employees
33.
Paris Las Vegas
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Paris Las Vegas is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corporation, the front of the hotel suggests the Paris Opera House and the Louvre. The Paris is linked via a promenade to its property, Ballys Las Vegas. In May 1995, Bally Entertainment, owner of the adjacent Ballys Las Vegas, Paris was designed by architectural companies Leidenfrost/Horowitz & Assoc. Bergman, Walls & Assoc. and MBH Architects, the design architect of the project was Bergman Walls Associates. Herbert Horowitz, Partner of Leidenfrost/Horowitz & Assoc. was executive architect, Bally broke ground for the Paris Las Vegas on April 18,1997, and construction began in May on the 24 acres parcel. It completed in May 1997 at an estimated cost of $760 million, original plans for the Eiffel Tower called for a full-scale replica, however that would have interfered with the nearby McCarran Airport and designers therefore reduced it to approximately 1,2 scale. The hotel is 33 stories tall, a unique architectural aspect of the Paris is that the back legs of its Eiffel Tower actually come down through the ceiling into the casino floor. Paris Las Vegas opened on September 1,1999, with fireworks being shot from the Eiffel Tower, French actress Catherine Deneuve flipped a switch, turning on all of Paris lights, including the various crystal chandeliers in the main lobby. On January 31,2007, Paris Las Vegas premiered its new show The Producers, there were reports of friction between the shows producers and Hasselhoff and he announced he would leave May 6 due to other commitments. The Producers refocused on Max, played by Tony Danza, Danza came on as the celebrity actor for the show until The Producers closed on February 9,2008. Barry Manilow has headlined at the Paris since March 6,2010, beginning in 2010, Caesars Entertainment Corporation has begun a series of improvement projects that will see some removal of the Parisian theme. Caesars is beginning to phase out the French greeters around the property, the project debuted in Spring 2011 and includes a new nightclub dubbed Chateau and the largest Sugar Factory store on the Strip. It was announced in early December 2010 that the hotels famous steakhouse Les Artisies would close at the end of January 2011 to make way for Gordon Ramsay Steak, the controversial icons restaurant opened in June 2011. It is expected that as of March 5,2011, a new nightclub called Chateau is to be opened in the Paris Hotel, the new nightclub overlooking the Strip will span more than 45,000 square feet in a two-story, outdoor setting. Outside, guests will find a 10, 000-square-foot terrace overlooking the Strip with VIP cabanas, during the day, the terrace will serve as a beer garden and restaurant, opening at 10 a. m. In 2015, Hexx Kitchen & Bar and Hexx Chocolate & Confexxions was opened in the formerly occupied by the Sugar Factory. Hexx is the first bean-to-bar chocolate maker in Nevada, in 2016, Beer Park by Budweiser opened on a 10, 000-square-foot deck overlooking the Las Vegas Strip
34.
Montreux Jazz Festival
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The Montreux Jazz Festival is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second largest annual festival in the world after Canadas Montreal International Jazz Festival. The Montreux Jazz Festival was founded in 1967 by Claude Nobs, Géo Voumard and René Langel with considerable help from Ahmet, the festival was first held at Montreux Casino. It lasted for three days and featured almost exclusively jazz artists, the highlights of this era were Miles Davis, Keith Jarrett, Jack DeJohnette, Bill Evans, Soft Machine, Weather Report, The Fourth Way, Nina Simone, Jan Garbarek, and Ella Fitzgerald. Originally a pure jazz festival, it opened up in the 1970s, Jazz remains an important part of the festival. Part of the expansion was due to coproduction by Quincy Jones who brought many international artists in the early 1990s. Todays festival lasts two weeks and attracts an audience of more than 200,000 people. Towards the end of the decade, the festival expanded even more, including music from all continents, santana came to Montreux for the first time in 1970, Van Morrison played in 1974 and 1980. The initiator and, until his death in 2013, the head organizer, Claude Nobs, managed to bring an array of artists to Montreux. Following Claudes death the organisation of the festival was handed over to Mathieu Jaton, the festival was originally held at the original Montreux Casino, which burned down in December 1971 during Frank Zappas performance. The festival was then in other auditoriums in Montreux, until it could return to the rebuilt new Casino in 1975. The festival continued to grow, and in 1993, it moved to the larger Congress, from 1995 through 2008, it occupied both the convention centre and the casino. As of 2007, the Convention Centre hosts two stages, Auditorium Stravinski and Miles Davis Hall, as well as the smaller Montreux Jazz Cafe. Additional themed shows are held on boats cruising the lake and train cars traveling the region, the festival changed in the 1980s, it grew dramatically and included an even wider variety of music styles. Jazz remained important, as did Brazilian music, but more and more rock, Miles Davis came to Montreux several times, British hard rock band Deep Purple were invited as headliners eight times, and Status Quo have headlined the festival twice. The expansion that began in the 1980s has continued since then – Montreux transformed from a jazz festival into a music festival. Quincy Jones co-produced the festival from 1991 to 1993, by 1993, the festival had outgrown the Casino and moved to the larger Convention Centre. The number of visitors rose from 75,000 in 1980 to 120,000 in 1994, in 1999, the festival saw more than 220,000 visitors
35.
Ferris wheel
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Some of the largest modern Ferris wheels have cars mounted on the outside of the rim, with electric motors to independently rotate each car to keep it upright. These wheels are sometimes referred to as wheels and their cars referred to as capsules. The original Ferris Wheel was designed and constructed by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. as a landmark for the 1893 Worlds Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The generic term Ferris wheel is now used for all such structures, since the original 1893 Chicago Ferris wheel there have been nine worlds tallest-ever Ferris wheels. The current record holder is the 167. 6-metre High Roller in Las Vegas, US, pleasure wheels, whose passengers rode in chairs suspended from large wooden rings turned by strong men, may have originated in 17th-century Bulgaria. A Frenchman, Antonio Manguino, introduced the idea to America in 1848, a much earlier description of a Ferris-type wheel can be seen in The Death of Arthur, a volume of the Vulgate Cycle dating from around 1220. The text describes King Arthur in a dream being approached by Fortuna, the following year he was granted the first U. S. patent for a Roundabout. George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. rode on Somers wheel in Atlantic City prior to designing his wheel for the Worlds Columbian Exposition, the original Ferris Wheel, sometimes also referred to as the Chicago Wheel, was designed and constructed by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. With a height of 80.4 metres it was the largest attraction at the Worlds Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois and it was intended to rival the 324-metre Eiffel Tower, the centerpiece of the 1889 Paris Exposition. Ferris was a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and he began his career in the railroad industry and then pursued an interest in bridge building. Ferris understood the growing need for steel and founded G. W. G. Ferris & Co. in Pittsburgh, a firm that tested and inspected metals for railroads, the wheel rotated on a 71-ton,45. There were 36 cars, each fitted with 40 revolving chairs and able to accommodate up to 60 people, the Exposition ended in October 1893, and the wheel closed in April 1894 and was dismantled and stored until the following year. It was then rebuilt on Chicagos North Side, near Lincoln Park and this prompted William D. Boyce, then a local resident, to file a Circuit Court action against the owners of the wheel to have it removed, but without success. The Wiener Riesenrad is an example of nineteenth-century Ferris wheels. A demolition permit for the Riesenrad was issued in 1916, but due to a lack of funds with which to carry out the destruction, following the demolition of the 100-metre Grande Roue de Paris in 1920, the Riesenrad became the worlds tallest extant Ferris wheel. Still in operation today, it is one of Viennas most popular tourist attractions, chronology of worlds tallest-ever wheels 1893, the original Ferris Wheel was 80.4 metres tall. Built for the Worlds Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, it was moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1904 for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, and demolished there in 1906
36.
London Eye
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The London Eye is a giant Ferris wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. The structure is 443 feet tall and the wheel has a diameter of 394 feet, when erected in 1999 it was the worlds tallest Ferris wheel. Its height was surpassed by the 520 feet tall Star of Nanchang in 2006, the 541 feet tall Singapore Flyer in 2008, and the 550 feet High Roller in 2014. Supported by an A-frame on one side only, unlike the taller Nanchang and Singapore wheels and it is the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom with over 3.75 million visitors annually, and has made many appearances in popular culture. The London Eye adjoins the western end of Jubilee Gardens, on the South Bank of the River Thames between Westminster Bridge and Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. A predecessor to the London Eye, the Great Wheel, was built for the Empire of India Exhibition at Earls Court, modelled on the original Chicago Ferris Wheel, it was 94 metres tall and 82.3 metres in diameter. It stayed in service until 1906, by which time its 40 cars had carried over 2.5 million passengers, the Great Wheel was demolished in 1907 following its last use at the Imperial Austrian Exhibition. The London Eye was designed by architects Frank Anatole, Nic Bailey, Steve Chilton, Malcolm Cook, Mark Sparrowhawk, mace was responsible for construction management, with Hollandia as the main steelwork contractor and Tilbury Douglas as the civil contractor. Consulting engineers Tony Gee & Partners designed the works while Beckett Rankine designed the marine works. Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners assisted The Tussauds Group in obtaining planning, the rim of the Eye is supported by tensioned steel cables and resembles a huge spoked bicycle wheel. The lighting was redone with LED lighting from Color Kinetics in December 2006 to allow control of the lights as opposed to the manual replacement of gels over fluorescent tubes. The wheel was constructed in sections which were floated up the Thames on barges, once the wheel was complete it was lifted into an upright position by a strand jack system made by Enerpac. It was first raised at 2 degrees per hour until it reached 65 degrees, the London Eye was formally opened by then Prime Minister Tony Blair on 31 December 1999, but did not open to the paying public until 9 March 2000 because of a capsule clutch problem. On 5 June 2008 it was announced that 30 million people had ridden the London Eye since it opened, the wheels 32 sealed and air-conditioned ovoidal passenger capsules, designed and supplied by Poma, are attached to the external circumference of the wheel and rotated by electric motors. Each of the 10-tonne capsules represents one of the London Boroughs, and holds up to 25 people, the wheel rotates at 26 cm per second so that one revolution takes about 30 minutes. It does not usually stop to take on passengers, the rate is slow enough to allow passengers to walk on. It is, however, stopped to allow disabled or elderly passengers time to embark and disembark safely, in 2009 the first stage of a £12.5 million capsule upgrade began. Each capsule was taken down and floated down the river to Tilbury Docks in Essex, on 2 June 2013 a passenger capsule was named the Coronation Capsule to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
37.
Plaza Hotel
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With a height of 250 ft and a length of 400 ft, the hotel occupies the west side of Grand Army Plaza, from which it derives its name, and extends along Central Park South in Manhattan. Fifth Avenue extends along the east side of Grand Army Plaza, the Plaza Hotel is recognized as a Historic Hotel of America by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The hotels main entrance at 768 Fifth Avenue faces the southern portion of Grand Army Plaza, the Grand Ballroom, Terrace Room and meeting spaces are currently managed by CPS Events, a joint venture between Delaware North Companies and the high end caterer Great Performances. The Oak Room, now closed, was another restaurant in the Plaza, the Plaza Hotel is the second hotel of that name on the site. The French Renaissance château-style building was designed by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, at the time, it cost $12.5 million to construct. When the hotel opened, a room at the Plaza Hotel was only $2.50 per night, the same room costs over 15 times as much today. Alphonse Salamone joined the hotel in 1947, although later left to accept a position in San Juan at the Caribe Hilton and he returned the hotel and helped it out of hardship during the 1960s. The Plaza Hotel was accorded landmark status by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1969, the hotel offers tours of its interior to the public. Long the site for famous performers and guests, it has also been the place for important political meetings. Miles Davis recorded an album in the Persian Room in 1958. Unaccompanied ladies were not permitted in the Oak Room bar, women favored the Palm Court for luncheons, in September 1985, ministers of developed countries met at the Plaza Hotel to consult on finance issues and affirmed their agreement by signing the Plaza Accord. It served as an agreement among the ministers of the United States, Japan, West Germany, France. The Beatles stayed at the Plaza Hotel during their first visit to the United States in February 1964, on November 28,1966, in honor of the publisher Katharine Graham, the writer Truman Capote hosted his acclaimed Black and White Ball in the Grand Ballroom. The ballroom was also the site, in 1993, of Donald Trumps wedding to Marla Maples in front of 1,500 guests, conrad Hilton bought the Plaza Hotel for $7.4 million in 1943 and spent $6 million refurbishing it. The Childs Company, a restaurant chain which partnered in the development of the neighboring Savoy-Plaza Hotel. Childs, later named Sonesta International Hotels, sold the Plaza to Western International Hotels in 1975 for $25 million, Donald Trump bought the Plaza Hotel for $407.5 million in 1988. Trump commented on his purchase in an open letter in The New York Times, I havent purchased a building. For the first time in my life, I have knowingly made a deal that was not economic – for I can never justify the price I paid, Trump installed his wife, Ivana Trump as the hotels president
38.
New York City
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The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange
39.
Las Vegas Plaza
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Construction was scheduled to begin in early 2008 for completion in 2011, but worsening economic conditions in 2008 caused the project to be suspended and ultimately cancelled in 2011. It would have built on the 34.5 acres site of the former New Frontier Hotel and Casino which closed July 15,2007. ElAd purchased the New Frontier for $1.2 billion from Phil Ruffin in a deal announced May 15,2007 and this property purchase set a new record for Strip land at over $33 million an acre. The Plaza name comes from El-Ads flagship property, the Plaza Hotel in New York City, the companys current design plans for the Las Vegas complex are based on the New York Plaza. In August 2014, Crown Resorts bought the site of the New Frontier Hotel, on June 26,2015, Crown Resorts officially announced that the new hotel, called Alon Las Vegas, will be located in the former New Frontier site. Crown announced in December 2016 that it was halting the project, on December 16,2007, the El-Ad Group put their plans for The Plaza before the Clark County planning commission for approval. Resorts longtime Las Vegas broker David Atwell is seeking $12 million plus damages for unpaid fees. He claims he initiated the $1.24 billion sale of the New Frontier to Elad from owner Phil Ruffin, Atwell has had dealings with Steve Wynn, Caesars Palace, atwells attorneys will call Elad president Miki Naftali and founder Yitzhak Tshuva for depositions in the coming new year
40.
National Geographic (U.S. TV channel)
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The channel airs non-fiction television programs produced by National Geographic and other production companies. Its primary sister network worldwide, including the United States, is Nat Geo Wild, as of February 2015, National Geographic Channel is available to approximately 86,144,000 pay television households in the United States. In September 1997, the first National Geographic Channels were launched in the United Kingdom, Europe, in July 1998, National Geographic Channel Asia was launched in partnership and distribution with STAR TV. Today, the channel is available in over 143 countries, seen in more than 160 million homes, according to people connected to the channel, it was first launched in the country due to the sales success of the magazine National Geographic. In the United States, the National Geographic Channel, launched on January 12,2001, is a joint venture of National Geographic Television & Film, National Geographic provides programming expertise and the Fox Networks Group provides its expertise on distribution, marketing, and advertising sales. In the same year a Latin American version of the channel was released, in Australia, National Geographic Channel is carried by Foxtel, Optus, Austar, Neighbourhood Cable, TransTV, and SelecTV. The Australian version includes Australian guest presenters of promotional material and to certain programs, series. In New Zealand, National Geographic Channel is broadcast on SKY Network Television, in South Africa, the channel is carried by Digital Satellite Television MultiChoices multi-channel digital satellite television service in Africa. In the Middle East, an Arabic version is broadcasting free to air on Nilesat as National Geographic Abu Dhabi and it is co-owned by the National Geographic Society/Fox International Channels and Abu Dhabi Media Company. In India, the channel was launched on July 1,1998, the 2000s, A New Reality, also narrated by Lowe, premiered on July 12,2015. On November 14,2016, National Geographic Channel was rebranded as National Geographic and it was originally composed in 1964 for the Societys television specials, which were broadcast on CBS, ABC, PBS and NBC from 1964 until the early 2000s. Designed to offer a music video channel for both international and smaller independent local labels with a focus on cultural lyrics and rhythms. Nat Geo Music became available in Italy on October 15,2007, Nat Geo Junior is available in Belgium, India, and the Netherlands and is formatted specifically for children. Nat Geo Junior is also featured as a block on the National Geographic Channel in Asia. The United States 720p high definition simulcast of the National Geographic Channel launched in January 2006 and it is available on all major cable and satellite providers. In Canada, the Canadian version of NGC HD launched on December 19,2006. It is available nationally via the two satellite services, Shaw Direct on channel 276, Bell TV on channel 828, Videotron on channel 754. In Australia, this channel has been available on the Foxtel HD+ service since July 1,2008, in Asia Pacific, this channel was the first channel to support 1080i HD and 5. 1-channel surround sound
41.
Encore Las Vegas
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Encore Las Vegas is a luxury resort, casino and hotel located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The resort is connected to its resort, Wynn Las Vegas. Encore has been awarded the AAA Five Diamond Award every year since opening, the Towers Suites at Encore and The Spa have both received the Forbes five-star award. Together with adjacent Wynn Las Vegas, the entire Wynn complex has a total of 4,750 rooms, on April 28,2006, Wynn Las Vegas celebrated its one-year anniversary by breaking ground on a second hotel tower. Initially named the Encore Suites at Wynn Las Vegas, the 2, 034-room hotel project cost $2.3 billion and was sited adjacent to the existing resort and on the remaining frontage of Las Vegas Boulevard. Originally envisioned as an expansion of Wynn Las Vegas, Encore Las Vegas quickly became a full-scale resort, the resort was estimated to add 5,300 jobs to the Las Vegas area. After 2½ years of construction, the resort opened to the public at 8,00 pm on December 22,2008. Due to the economic downturn, the opening was designed to be more subdued than previous casino resort openings. The resorts jewelry shop featured the 231 carats, prune-sized Wynn Diamond, to open the betting, Steve Wynn gave high-rollers a few million dollars to make the initial bets and initiated the action by declaring over a microphone, Let the games begin. The start of gambling was accompanied by a recording of Frank Sinatras Luck Be a Lady Tonight. The resort features a 74, 000-square-foot casino,60,000 square feet of space,27,000 sq ft of retail space in The Esplanade, a spa and salon, five restaurants, seven bars. The pool area includes 29 rentable cabanas, in late November 2009, the casino was slightly altered, removing drapery and palm trees in an effort to open up the space a bit more. Steve Wynn, after reviewing and walking through, replaced the planting, the resorts nightclub, XS, was developed by Victor Drai and opened on New Years Eve 2008 with 40,000 sq ft and space for 3,000 guests. Other restaurants are Wazuzu, a bistro that features a 27 ft crystal dragon, Andreas an Asian inspired cuisine by Chef Joseph Elevado, and Society Cafe. The Encore Beach Club opened in June 2010, replacing the Strip entry, the Resort Suites contain 700–745 ft² of floor space. The hotel tower features two sections, the standard Resort tower and the smaller, more upscale Tower Suites, the resorts permanent show was singer-comedian-impressionist Danny Gans, until his death on May 1,2009. The performance space, built with Wynn Las Vegas and previously named the Broadway Theater, Encore Beach Club is a 50,000 square feet venue featuring 40-foot palm trees surrounding three tiered pools. There are chaise lounges, couches, and day beds featuring private safes and it includes oversized lily pads resting in shallow water, and shower poles
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Yitzhak Tshuva
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Yitzhak Tshuva is an Israeli business magnate. He is the chairman of El-Ad Group, which owned the New York Plaza Hotel and he also owns the Israeli conglomerate Delek Group. In 2014, he was listed by Forbes as the seventh wealthiest Israeli and his personal wealth is estimated to be $4.3 billion as of August 2015. Tshuva was born in Tripoli, the capital of Libya in 1948, around this time, his grandfather on his fathers side, Rabbi Yossef Tshuva, was murdered in the pogroms in Libya. When Yitzhak Tshuva was six months old, his parents, Rachamin and Julia and they settled near the city of Netanya. Tshuva studied at the Yavne primary school, at the age of 12, Tshuva began working to support his family by taking on construction and farming jobs. One of these included the construction of fortifications along the Bar Lev Line, near the Suez Canal. In the 1970s, Tshuva became a developer of low-income neighborhoods and he was involved in the construction of hundreds of apartments in the city. In 1978, Tshuva joined local politics by founding the Manof party, at the 1978 municipal elections, Manof won three seats in the Netanya city council. In his capacity as member of the Netanya city council, Yitzhak Tshuva was in charge of construction, development, in the 1980s, Tshuva initiated a number of large residency and commercial projects all over Israel. In 1988, Yitzhak Tshuva and his family immigrated to the United States for a number of years, during this time, he was involved in the construction of many real estate projects in New Jersey and New York City. In 1992, Yitzhak Tshuva founded El Ad Holdings which manages the majority of his real estate transactions in North America. In the mid 1990s, El Ad Group purchased thousands of residential and commercial properties in New York and Florida and it also purchased thousands of rental properties on the west coast of the United States. In 2004, El Ad Group purchased the Plaza Hotel in New York City for $675mn from the Saudi investor, El Ad Group sold 182 residential apartments prior to the hotels renewed opening in 2008. Apartments were sold for record breaking prices in Manhattan at the time and this transaction was said to have garnered about $1bn. In 2013, El Ad Group sold its share of the hotel, Yitzhak Tshuvas major business breakthrough came in 1998, when he managed to gain control of Delek Israel Fuel Corporation from the Recanati familys IDB Holdings. Tshuva grew Delek Group into a company dealing with petrol, natural gas, insurance, biochemistry, armored vehicles. As of 2014, Delek Groups market value was about $4. 5bn, Delek discovered offshore natural gas reserves in Israel and Cyprus
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Crown Resorts
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Crown Resorts Limited is one of Australias largest gaming and entertainment groups which had, in June 2015, a market capitalisation of just over A$7.5 billion. Crown wholly owns and operates two of Australia’s leading gaming and entertainment complexes, Crown Melbourne and Crown Perth, the company was established in 2007 when Publishing & Broadcasting Limited divested its gaming assets to Crown Limited. PBL was renamed Consolidated Media Holdings, retaining all of the remaining assets, in December 2007, Australian gaming company Crown Limited agreed to buy CCR for $1.75 billion. The agreement was ended in March 2009, however, with Crown instead buying a 24.5 percent stake in the company for $370 million, in 2008, Crown attempted to enter the Las Vegas gambling market by acquiring a 19. This was one of a succession of major losses in Gateway Casinos, Harrahs Entertainment. In September 2013, the Sri Lankan government gave approval to Crowns chairman and largest shareholder, James Packer, the project was to be completed by 2015. However, when a new government took office, President Maithripala Sirisena canceled all three casino licenses awarded by the administration, including the Crown Resorts project. Ground broke in 2015 and will open in 2017, in August 2014 Betfair completed the sale of their 50% stake in Betfair Australia to venture partner Crown Resorts, one of Australias largest gaming and entertainment groups. In August 2014, Crown bought the site of the New Frontier Hotel, in December 2014, James Packer signed a deal with Matthew Tripp, which gained Packer control over Tripp’s online betting platform BetEasy. On 26 June 2015, Crown officially announced that the new hotel, called Alon Las Vegas, Crown announced in December 2016 that it was halting the project and seeking to sell its investment. In 2016, ground broke on Crown Sydney and will open in 2020, in Feb 2017, Barry Felstead replaced Rowen Craigie as CEO Crown Resorts Melbourne. The companys Crown Resorts Foundation makes grants to the arts, community welfare, education, health care, crownBet was convicted of the five offences and ordered to pay a total of $10,500 in fines and also ordered to pay L&GNSW legal costs of $10,000
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Oaktree Capital Management
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Oaktree Capital Management is an American global asset management firm specializing in alternative investment strategies. As of December 31,2015, the company managed $97 billion, primarily on behalf of public funds, pension funds, foundations, corporate and insurance companies, endowments, on April 12,2012, Oaktree Capital Group LLC became listed on the NYSE, OAK. The firm was co-founded in 1995 by a group who had worked together at the TCW Group starting in the 1980s. Oaktree quickly established a reputation in the high-yield and distressed-debt markets, with headquarters in Los Angeles, the firm has over 900 employees and offices in 17 cities worldwide. Oaktree has a value-oriented investment philosophy, emphasizing risk-control, consistency and specialization, on November 12,2011, the Financial Times said of Oaktree’s approach, “the heart of risk management Oaktree-style, with its emphasis on living to fight another day, is simple. Oaktree eschews overly complicated hedging strategies. ”The firm specializes in off-the-beaten-path and contrarian investments, and favors companies with tangible assets. The firms motto is “if we avoid the losers, the winners will take care of themselves. ”Oaktree invests across the structure, with an emphasis on senior debt in companies and markets where it has what it calls a “knowledge advantage. ”Distressed or otherwise ailing companies, according to Oaktree. Since its 1995 formation, Oaktree has become the largest distressed-debt investor in the world, in 2008, it raised $10.9 billion for what was the largest-ever distressed debt fund, its Opportunities Fund VIIb. As reported in The Washington Post on June 26,2011, in addition to credit investments in distressed debt and high-yield bonds, Oaktree also invests in areas such as private equity, real estate and listed equities. In recent years, the company has expanded its real estate activities, Oaktree’s clientele includes 75 of the 100 largest U. S. S. institutional investors. According to the Wall Street Journal, Oaktree has “long been considered a repository for pension-fund and endowment money. ”The company’s distressed-debt funds are often over-subscribed. Within three months of its founding in 1995, “more than 30 TCW clients transferred $1.5 billion in assets to Oaktree. ”Oaktree has formed various sub-advisory relationships since 1995, in 1996, Oaktree was selected as the sub-advisor for the Vanguard Convertible Securities Fund. Since 1995, Oaktree has created what it refers to as “step-out” strategies and its growth in strategies has largely focused on expanding into European and Asian markets. Between 1997 and 1999, Oaktree created 3 new strategies, Emerging Markets Absolute Return in 1997, European High Yield Bonds in 1999, Oaktree was one of the first U. S. -headquartered alternative asset managers with dedicated European investment teams focused on credit. In 2001 Oaktree continued to introduce new strategies, starting with Mezzanine Finance. Asia Principal Opportunities and Asia Special Situations followed, along with European Principal Investments, Senior Loans and Value Opportunities, European Senior Loans, Global High Yield Bonds, and Emerging Markets Equities. Oaktree was required to put in place policies and procedures to prevent violations in the future, in 2008, the firm raised $11 billion for their distressed debt fund. In 2009, Oaktree was selected by the U. S. Treasury, at the time of Oaktree’s inclusion in the PPIP program, The New York Times reported, “Howard S
