Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., Oct. 19 (UPI) -- The Sands Casino Hotel, which opened in 1980 in Atlantic City, N.J., came down in a few seconds, to be replaced by a Vegas-style casino. An implosion brought the Sands down in a few seconds Thursday night. A crowd of about 100,000 gathered in Atlantic City to watch a fireworks display and light show that climaxed with the building's destruction, The Atlantic City Press reported. Advertisement Pinnacle Entertainment plans to begin construction next year on a casino resort that may cost as much as $1.5 billion. "We have a footprint here where we can build a Las Vegas-style casino," said Dan Lee, the chairman and chief executive officer. "We're going to have attractions that are better than Las Vegas." The Sands opened in 1980 as the Brighton Hotel Casino. Ownership changed the next year, along with the name. Pinnacle owns both the Sands site and the vacant lot next door that was once occupied by the Traymore Hotel, a 19th-century relic that was once the largest hotel in Atlantic City. The Traymore was demolished in 1972.
