Nov. 13, 2007: "Cold beer, dirty girls"

Nov. 13, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

New Frontier imploded

The New Frontier's 16-story Atrium Tower was reduced to a four-story high pile of concrete, steel and glass in 18 seconds early Tuesday morning with the implosion of one of the most troubled casino properties to ever have a Strip address.

From Meg Bertini's eagle-eye vantage point, it was quite a show.

"We had a great view from the balcony," said Bertini, after watching her first implosion from her 35th-floor condominium at Sky Las Vegas nearly a mile south. "It was amazing. You could hear what sounded like the floors coming down before the outside imploded in."

A series of detonations moved through the building north to south followed six seconds later by a louder series of explosions that brought the building down in a large dust cloud.

Hotel Last Frontier opened in 1942 with 105 rooms; the Atrium tower was added in 1990.

The hotel-casino was the second one to be built on what has become the world-famous Strip, but its history has been a mixed one.

Originally built with partially mob-backed funds, it was also the site of Elvis Presley's unsuccessful Las Vegas debut in 1956 and of a nasty 2,325-day strike by Culinary union workers. Eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes also once owned the property.