If you walked down the Las Vegas Strip today, you’d see the curving, copper-colored towers of the Wynn and Encore. They are massive. They are modern. But they sit on the bones of something entirely different, a place that basically defined "Old Vegas" before the mega-resorts took over. That place was the Desert Inn Hotel Las Vegas. It wasn't just another casino. For fifty years, it was the spot where the richest people in the world went to hide in plain sight.
It’s gone now.
Most people think Steve Wynn just tore it down because he wanted something bigger, but the story of the "D.I." is way more complicated than a simple demolition. It involves the mob, a reclusive billionaire who refused to leave his penthouse, and a golf course that was so legendary it hosted the PGA Tour for decades. Honestly, the Desert Inn was the last of its kind. When the wrecking ball hit in 2001, it wasn't just a building falling; it was the end of an era where service mattered more than "themed experiences" or giant fountains.
The Birth of the D.I. and the Wilbur Clark Era
The Desert Inn Hotel Las Vegas opened its doors on April 24, 1950. It was only the fifth resort to open on the Strip. Wilbur Clark was the face of the project, a guy who had been around the gambling scene for years, but he ran out of money halfway through construction. That’s when the "Cleveland Syndicate"—basically the mob—stepped in. Moe Dalitz and his associates finished the job.
It was tiny by today’s standards. Just 300 rooms.
But those rooms were nice. Like, really nice. While other places were trying to be flashy, the D.I. went for "ranch-style luxury." It had a sprawling layout and a massive 18-hole golf course that acted as a green moat, keeping the noise of the Strip at bay. You didn't go there to be seen by the masses; you went there because you were a high roller who wanted a quiet steak and a game of baccarat.
The Wilbur Clark era was all about prestige. He was a master promoter. He made sure the Desert Inn was the first place in Vegas to really lean into the "resort" part of "resort-casino." They had an Olympic-sized pool. They had the Painted Desert Room, which hosted everyone from Frank Sinatra to Maurice Chevalier. But behind the scenes, Dalitz was the one pulling the strings, ensuring the skim was running smooth and the "right" people were taken care of.
Howard Hughes and the Most Expensive Eviction Notice Ever
You can’t talk about the Desert Inn Hotel Las Vegas without talking about Howard Hughes. This is the stuff of Vegas legend, and it's actually true. In 1966, the eccentric billionaire checked into the top two floors of the hotel. He arrived in the middle of the night on a train from Bel Air.
👉 See also: Jannah Burj Al Sarab Hotel: What You Actually Get for the Price
He stayed. And stayed.
Eventually, the hotel management got annoyed. It was New Year's Eve, and they wanted those high-roller suites for people who were actually going to gamble. They told Hughes he had to leave.
Hughes didn't like being told what to do. Instead of checking out, he just bought the whole hotel. He paid about $13 million for it, which was a staggering amount at the time. This move actually changed Las Vegas forever. Before Hughes, the casinos were mostly owned by shadowy figures with ties to organized crime. When a "legitimate" (if weird) businessman like Hughes bought the D.I., it paved the way for corporate ownership in Nevada.
Hughes lived in that penthouse for years. He never left. He watched movies, ate chocolate bars, and ran his global empire through memos while the casino hummed away downstairs. He eventually bought several other properties, but the Desert Inn was always his headquarters, his fortress.
Why the Golf Course Was the Real Star
Most Vegas hotels are built around the casino floor. The Desert Inn Hotel Las Vegas was built around its golf course. This wasn't some little par-3 course either. It was a championship-level masterpiece that hosted the Tournament of Champions from 1953 to 1966.
Think about that.
The biggest names in golf—Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Sam Snead—were all walking the fairways right there on the Strip. The winners were often paid in silver dollars, literally wheeled out in a wheelbarrow. It gave the D.I. a level of "country club" credibility that no other casino could match. Even today, the Wynn Golf Club occupies that same land, but it's a different beast entirely. The original D.I. course was a piece of sporting history. It was the only place where you could play 18 holes in the morning and see Jimmy Durante in the afternoon without ever leaving the property.
✨ Don't miss: City Map of Christchurch New Zealand: What Most People Get Wrong
The 90s Struggle and the Final Days
By the 1990s, the Desert Inn Hotel Las Vegas was starting to look like a relic. The "Mega-Resort" era had arrived. The Mirage had opened in 1989 with its volcano, and suddenly, a quiet hotel with a golf course seemed boring to the new generation of tourists.
ITT Sheraton bought it in 1993 and spent a fortune—about $200 million—trying to modernize it. They added the Augusta Tower and tried to pivot toward a high-end European vibe. It was beautiful, honestly. It was probably the most elegant the hotel had ever been. But the math didn't work. The D.I. had about 700 rooms at its peak, while the new giants like the MGM Grand had 5,000.
You just can't compete with that kind of scale when your overhead is that high.
Starwood eventually took over ITT, and they didn't really want to be in the gambling business. They put the Desert Inn on the market. In 2000, Steve Wynn had just been ousted from his own company, Mirage Resorts, and he was looking for a comeback. He bought the Desert Inn for $270 million on his 58th birthday.
Everyone hoped he would renovate it. He didn't.
On the 50th anniversary of the hotel, Wynn announced he was going to tear it down. The demolition happened in stages. The iconic "cactus" sign came down first. Then, in 2001, the Augusta Tower was imploded. The final tower fell in 2004. It was a quiet end for a place that had been the heartbeat of the Strip for half a century.
Realities of the Desert Inn Legacy
- The Secret Tunnels: People always talk about mob tunnels under Vegas. The D.I. actually had a sophisticated underground "back of house" system that allowed staff to move between the different wings without bothering the guests. It wasn't for bodies; it was for laundry and room service.
- The First to Innovate: It was the first hotel to have a dedicated "high limit" area that wasn't just a cordoned-off table. They understood the psychology of the whale before anyone else did.
- The Resident Performers: Bobby Darin, Cher, and Barry Manilow all had long-running associations here. It was a "performers' hotel." Frank Sinatra famously jumped ship to the Sands, but he started his Vegas career at the D.I.
How to Experience the Spirit of the D.I. Today
You can't book a room at the Desert Inn anymore, but you can still find its fingerprints if you know where to look.
🔗 Read more: Ilum Experience Home: What Most People Get Wrong About Staying in Palermo Hollywood
If you want to understand what made it special, visit the Wynn Golf Club. It’s the only golf course left on the Las Vegas Strip, and it sits on the exact same dirt. While the layout has been redesigned by Tom Fazio, it maintains that sense of isolation from the neon chaos.
Another spot is the Neon Museum. They have preserved some of the original signage and artifacts from the property. Seeing the scale of those signs in person gives you a sense of how the D.I. dominated the skyline before the skyscrapers arrived.
Finally, if you’re looking for that specific "Old Vegas" service, head to the Piero’s Italian Cuisine or The Golden Steer. They aren't on the D.I. property, but they are the last bastions of the vibe that Moe Dalitz and Wilbur Clark created. It’s about the captain of the dining room knowing your name and how you like your martini.
The Desert Inn Hotel Las Vegas proved that you didn't need a pirate ship or a pyramid to be successful. You just needed class. While it's gone, the shift it caused—from mob-run boutiques to corporate-owned luxury—is the reason Las Vegas exists in its current form today.
To dig deeper into this history, look for the book The Quiet Don by Matt Birkbeck, which details the influence of the Cleveland mob on the property, or check out the UNLV Digital Collections for archival photos of the original 1950s interior. Exploring these records is the only way to truly see the "Cactus Patch" as it was in its prime.
Actionable Next Steps
- Visit the Neon Museum: Book a "Brilliant!" show ticket to see the Desert Inn signage re-illuminated through projection mapping. It’s the closest you’ll get to seeing the 1950s facade in person.
- Walk the Wynn Perimeter: Take the pedestrian bridge between Wynn and Fashion Show Mall. Look at the land behind the Wynn towers. That entire footprint—stretching all the way back to Sands Avenue—was the Desert Inn's domain.
- Research the "Hughes Purchase": For a real look at how the D.I. changed Vegas law, look up the Nevada Corporate Gaming Act of 1967 and 1969. It was directly inspired by Howard Hughes' spending spree at the hotel.