25 Las Vegas Hotels Where the History Still Stands
The 1946 Flamingo that Bugsy Siegel built, the 1906 Golden Gate downtown, Caesars Palace where Evel Knievel crashed, and the Bellagio on the site of the imploded Dunes.
Las Vegas tears down its past more often than it keeps it, so this list sticks to hotels still standing and still open under a name with a story. It has the 1946 Flamingo that Bugsy Siegel built and was shot dead months after opening, the 1906 Golden Gate that started downtown, Caesars Palace where Evel Knievel crashed jumping the fountains, and the Bellagio that Steve Wynn raised on the site of the imploded Dunes.
The list is grouped by era, not ranked. Most of the resorts link to their own site, where the rate is current and you book direct; a few are listed without a link.
Mob-Era and Rat Pack Landmarks
Flamingo Las Vegas · The Strip
The Flamingo opened on 26 December 1946, built by the mobster Benjamin ‘Bugsy’ Siegel. Siegel was shot dead in Beverly Hills in June 1947, months after it opened. A plaque near the pool still marks his connection to the place.
Caesars Palace · The Strip
Caesars Palace opened on 5 August 1966, built by Jay Sarno on a Roman Empire theme. On New Year’s Eve 1967, Evel Knievel crashed trying to jump its fountains. Its Colosseum was built in 2003 for Celine Dion’s residency.
Sahara Las Vegas · The Strip
The Sahara opened in 1952, one of the earliest Strip resorts, and drew Rat Pack performers; the Beatles played its Congo Room in 1964. It became the SLS in 2014 and went back to the Sahara name in 2019.
Westgate Las Vegas · Paradise / off-Strip
The Westgate opened in 1969 as the International, later the Las Vegas Hilton. Elvis Presley played 636 straight sold-out shows here between 1969 and 1976, and Barbra Streisand opened the showroom in 1969.
Circus Circus · The Strip
Circus Circus opened in 1968, built by Jay Sarno, who also made Caesars Palace. It appears in the opening of Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Its Adventuredome, from 1993, is billed as the largest indoor theme park in the country.
Planet Hollywood Las Vegas · The Strip
Planet Hollywood opened in 1966 as the Aladdin, where Elvis and Priscilla Presley married in 1967. The original Aladdin was imploded in 1998 and rebuilt, becoming Planet Hollywood in 2007.
Downtown and Fremont Street Pioneers
Golden Gate Hotel and Casino · Downtown / Fremont Street
The Golden Gate opened in 1906 as the Hotel Nevada, the oldest hotel and casino in Las Vegas. For decades it ran as the Sal Sagev, Las Vegas spelled backward. It claims to have brought the shrimp cocktail to Las Vegas in 1959.
Golden Nugget Las Vegas · Downtown / Fremont Street
The Golden Nugget opened in 1946 as a purpose-built downtown casino. Steve Wynn took control in 1973 and turned it into a luxury property. It displays the ‘Hand of Faith’, billed as the largest gold nugget on public show.
El Cortez · Downtown / Fremont Street
The El Cortez opened in 1941, one of the oldest hotel-casinos still running in the city. In the mid-1940s a group that included Bugsy Siegel and Meyer Lansky briefly owned it. Jackie Gaughan owned and lived at the property for decades.
The D Las Vegas · Downtown / Fremont Street
The D opened in 1980 as the Sundance, later Fitzgeralds, before Derek Stevens rebranded it the D in 2012. The name nods to Stevens’s hometown of Detroit.
Plaza Hotel and Casino · Downtown / Fremont Street
The Plaza opened in 1971 as the Union Plaza, on the site of the old railroad depot. It stands at the head of Fremont Street, where Las Vegas began as a railroad town.
Four Queens · Downtown / Fremont Street
The Four Queens opened in 1966, named for the first owner’s four daughters. Its Hugo’s Cellar has been a downtown fine-dining room for decades.
The Megaresort Revolution
Bellagio · The Strip
The Bellagio opened in 1998, built by Steve Wynn on the site of the Dunes, which was imploded in 1993 to clear the land. Its lakefront fountains are set to music and lights.
Treasure Island (TI) · The Strip
Treasure Island opened in 1993, part of Steve Wynn’s Mirage-era expansion of the Strip, and ran an outdoor pirate-battle show out front for years. The billionaire Phil Ruffin bought it in 2009.
MGM Grand · The Strip
The MGM Grand opened in 1993 as one of the largest hotels in the world, with a lion-themed entrance and a giant bronze lion out front. It was the long-time home of Cirque du Soleil’s KA.
Luxor Las Vegas · The Strip
The Luxor opened in 1993 as a 30-storey black-glass pyramid fronted by a sphinx. The Sky Beam from its apex is billed as one of the strongest beams of light in the world, and guests ride angled ‘inclinator’ lifts to the upper floors.
Excalibur · The Strip
Excalibur opened in 1990 as a castle-themed resort at the south end of the Strip. It still runs the Tournament of Kings jousting dinner show.
Turn-of-the-Millennium Icons
New York-New York · The Strip
New York-New York opened in 1997 with a skyline of scaled-down Manhattan landmarks and a roller coaster, the Big Apple Coaster, wrapped around the outside. After the September 11 attacks, its replica Statue of Liberty became a spontaneous memorial.
The Venetian · The Strip
The Venetian opened in 1999, built by Sheldon Adelson on the site of the Sands, the Rat Pack’s old headquarters, which was imploded in 1996. Indoor canals carry gondola rides under a painted sky.
Mandalay Bay · The Strip
Mandalay Bay opened in 1999 at the south end of the Strip, built by Circus Circus Enterprises. It holds the Shark Reef Aquarium and a House of Blues.
Paris Las Vegas · The Strip
Paris Las Vegas opened in 1999 with a half-scale Eiffel Tower replica over the Strip, its legs coming down through the casino floor.
Modern Landmarks and Off-Strip Legends
Wynn Las Vegas · The Strip
Wynn Las Vegas opened in 2005, built by Steve Wynn on the site of the Desert Inn, a 1950 Rat Pack-era resort that was closed and torn down for it. It was the first big Strip resort named outright for its developer.
Encore Las Vegas · The Strip
Encore opened in 2008 as the sister tower to Wynn Las Vegas, on the original Desert Inn land.
Horseshoe Las Vegas · The Strip
Horseshoe opened in 1973 as the original MGM Grand, scene of a deadly hotel fire in 1980. It became Bally’s in 1986, then took the Horseshoe name, tied to the World Series of Poker, in December 2022.
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas · Paradise / off-Strip
Virgin Hotels opened in 2021 in the building that was the Hard Rock Hotel from 1995 to 2020, off the Strip. It runs within Hilton’s Curio Collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these hotels ranked?
No. The groups sort them by era, and the order within each group carries no meaning.
What made a hotel interesting enough for this list?
A story. Every entry was a mob-era landmark, a downtown pioneer, a megaresort that changed the Strip, or a survivor of an older Las Vegas. Comfort or size alone did not qualify.
Why are there no prices?
Rates change daily and a priced list goes stale in a month. Where a resort runs its own site, its name links there, so you see the current rate and book direct.
Which hotel puts me closest to the day trips on this site?
Most day trips from Las Vegas run out to the Grand Canyon, the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, or into the red rock of Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire. The Strip resorts sit closest to the airport and the tour departures.
Which of these are the real old-timers?
The 1906 Golden Gate, the 1941 El Cortez and the 1946 Flamingo are the oldest names still running. Downtown’s Fremont Street holds most of the early survivors.