VIDEO VAULT | The Silver Slipper closes its doors forever

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Last week's Video Vault went back three decades to the November 22, 1989 opening of the Mirage. That first "mega-resort" put pressure on some of the smaller properties, and even before the Mirage was complete, some of the dominoes started to fall.

On October 1, 1987, anchor Dave Courvoisier led the five o'clock newscast with a report about two long-standing properties about to change hands.

"Scott Andrus is with us now live at the Frontier with more information on that possible sale," introduced Courvoisier. "Scott?"

"Well Dave, the two resorts, the Frontier and the Silver Slipper as you mentioned, are the last two resorts owned by Summa Corporation on the Strip."

Summa was the company founded by reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes in the late '60s. Today it operates as Howard Hughes Corporation, a real estate property and management company with locations across the country, including Summerlin here in Las Vegas.

The Frontier would be around for almost two more decades. But on November 28, 1989, the Silver Slipper was the top story.

"Good evening," began anchor David Riggleman. "This time tomorrow, around 600 Las Vegans will be out of a job."

"After nearly 40 years on the Strip, the Silver Slipper is closing is closing its doors forever," continued co-anchor Laura Stephenson. "News 3's Lonni Leavitt joins us live with more."

"The tiny hotel is nestled between the Stardust and the Frontier," reported Leavitt. "Tomorrow morning it will officially close down at 7 a.m."

The word "hotel" was a misnomer. The Silver Slipper had begun in 1942 as part of the Western Village at the Last Frontier (which later became the New Frontier and then simply the Frontier), the second resort on the Strip, then known simply as Highway 91.

While the Silver Slipper never added rooms, it did boast a lively, small casino and went through various phases of entertainment. For a while, it was a popular place to hold boxing matches. Many different entertainers performed there, along with a succession of burlesque shows. It was also a bit of a pioneer in turning a female impersonator show into mainstream entertainment on the Strip.

"Kenny, can I put my Marylin Monroe into the show tonight?" asked one performer in drag from a long-running TV commercial that began in the late '70s.

"Cool it, baby," responded Boylesque star Kenny Kerr. "Just stick to your bumps and grinds."

While this closure 30 years ago would be permanent, the Silver Slipper had been forced to stop business once before.

"Back in the early 1960s, the Gaming Control Board closed it down and locked its doors with a chain when they found some cheating going on, they said in the form of shaved dice," reported Leavitt.

The property re-opened after a forced sale to Claudine and Shelby William, and in 1968 it was sold again to Howard Hughes. In 1989 times were good, but a final sale to Margaret Elardi and her family spelled the end. Employees were given pink slips as Thanksgiving approached.

"They're very sad because they're going to be without a job during the slow time of the year," lamented casino manager Danny Ruggiero. "And it's sad to see the Silver Slipper go down as such a historical property."

"I just decided to take it easy for a little while after eight years, six days a week," said employee Betty Bohlen. "But I'm sure going to miss my home."

"Elardi intends to keep the hotel's name and most famous landmark when a new high-rise hotel is built in the future," said Leavitt.

The building was demolished within weeks, but the sign and the landmark sparkling silver slipper that rotated atop it were saved. They languished for a couple of decades in the Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO) boneyard but are now part of the Neon Museum.

Plans for a 1,000-room hotel were derailed when the Elardis got bogged down in a labor dispute with the Culinary Union that dragged on for seven years.

The land where the Frontier and Silver Slipper once stood is a vacant lot today, on the south side of the Resorts World construction site.