LAS VEGAS, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- The Clarion hotel-casino in Las Vegas was imploded early Tuesday, leaving nothing but a pile of rubble -- and a still-standing elevator shaft.
The 12-story, 200-room facility, which opened its doors in 1970, became the first hotel-casino to be imploded in Las Vegas in eight years when it was brought down just before 3 a.m. Tuesday.
Controlled Demolition Inc., the company that handled the implosion, said they are planning to bring in a crane to knock down the elevator shaft, which was left standing after the more than 4,000 pounds of explosives detonated.
The company said officials expect it will take about a month to clear the rubble from the site.
The building was originally known as the Royal Inn and has subsequently been called the Royal Americana, the Paddlewheel Hotel & Casino, Greek Isles, and Debbie Reynolds Hollywood Hotel before it was the Clarion.
Planners said a new mixed-use resort is planned for the site as well as an expansion of the nearby Las Vegas Convention Center.
