Desert Inn will be imploded

August 20

There will be a double implosion at the huge Wynn Las Vegas resort in the middle of the night on November 17.

Steve Wynn stated Thursday that he plans to implode both remaining Desert Inn hotel buildings at the exact same time. The St. Andrews Tower will be included and the demolition will be at 1a.m. on Nov. 17.

Wynn's top staff had been housed in the St. Andrews Tower but they are scheduled to move today to temporary offices until their new offices in the $2.4 billion Wynn Las Vegas resort are completed.

Clark County Building Official Ron Lynn said Thursday that Wynn Resorts already has its conventional demolition permits for the building to be gutted and its critical connections weakened before the implosions.

Lynn said the county hasn't yet received the needed implosion permit requests but he also noted that Wynn has plenty of time to apply as the turnaround time is only approximately five weeks.

The city's last two hotel implosions have also been early morning demolitions. Wynn imploded the Desert Inn's Augusta Tower in October 2001 and Florida-based Turnberry Associates imploded the El Rancho tower in October 2000.

Wynn said he chose the early morning time for the double implosion simply because it's cheaper. The company will have to cover the cost of shutting down Las Vegas Boulevard and other nearby streets for safety reasons because hotel tower implosions create huge dust clouds that impair visibility.