Location Paradise, Nevada Theme Klondike, Yukon Total gaming space 7,700 sq ft (720 m) | Opening date 1962 No. of rooms 153 | |
 | ||
Closing date June 30, 2006; 10 years ago (June 30, 2006) Address 5191 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89119, USA Similar MGM Grand, Flamingo Las Vegas, The Mirage, The Venetian, Bellagio Hotel and Casino | ||
Klondike Hotel and Casino (formerly Kona Kai Motel and Klondike Inn) was a 153-room hotel and a 7,700 sq ft (720 m2) casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, in the United States.
Contents
- Kona Kai Motel 1962 1975
- Klondike Inn 1975 1982
- Klondike Hotel and Casino 1982 2006
- In popular culture
- References
The hotel sat between the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign and McCarran International Airport on Las Vegas Boulevard on 6 acres (2.4 ha) of land. The Klondike was the southernmost hotel on the Las Vegas Strip until it closed in 2006. Mandalay Bay is now the southernmost hotel.
John Woodrum, the casino's long-time owner, also operated a sister property, the Klondike Sunset Casino, in nearby Henderson, Nevada, from 1999, until his death in 2014.
Kona Kai Motel (1962-1975)
The Klondike opened in 1962 as the Tiki-themed Kona Kai Motel, and included a restaurant and cocktail lounge. Ralph Engelstad purchased the motel in 1967. In 1973, four motel buildings from Engelstad's other property, the Flamingo Capri motel (later re-opened as the Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino), were relocated and converted into a one-story motel building for the Kona Kai.
Klondike Inn (1975-1982)
In 1975, John Woodrum split from his business partner, Bill Boyd. Woodrum and another partner, Katsumi Kazama, purchased the motel that year for $1.2 million and renamed it as the Klondike Inn. Woodrum became the sole owner in May 1976. In 1976, Woodrum provided a power line to the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign, which had not been lit for several years. The county later provided power to the sign.
Klondike Hotel and Casino (1982-2006)
In 1982, Woodrum added a casino and renamed the motel as the Klondike Hotel and Casino. In September 2004, Leroy's Horse & Sports Place began operating a sports book at the casino. In May 2005, Royal Palm Las Vegas LLC bought 5.25 acres of land adjacent to the Klondike for $42 million. In September 2005, the Klondike was sold to Royal Palm for $23.7 million, for a total of 10.5 acres. The casino closed on June 28, 2006, while the hotel, restaurant and bar closed on June 30, 2006. Shortly after its closure, the property was used for training by the K9 unit of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
The Klondike's replacement would have been called Paramount Las Vegas. The new resort would have included an 1,864-room hotel and 80,000 sq ft casino. Plans for the new resort were approved by Clark County in October 2006, but were sidelined in late August 2007, when an investor pulled out of the project before closing on restructuring a land loan.
In September 2007, homeless people were living in the abandoned motel rooms of the Klondike. Royal Palm Las Vegas LLC was ordered to either demolish the buildings by November 13, 2007, or repair them by December 18, 2007. In November 2007, the Klondike was boarded up. Demolition of the Klondike began around March 17, 2008, and concluded on March 20, 2008. The land was put up for sale in May 2008, at a price of $18 million per acre. In May 2013, plans for a Harley-Davidson dealership were announced, to be built on the former land of the Klondike.
In popular culture
While the Klondike's name is not mentioned or seen, the casino appeared in a scene in the 1997 film Vegas Vacation where Clark (played by Chevy Chase) tries to win money back. The film version of the casino featured simple games such as "Pick a Number Between 1 and 10," and "Coin Toss." However, the also-featured casino war is in fact a real casino game.
The hotel and casino appear in the 2005 film Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous.
In 2005, Avenged Sevenfold filmed a portion of the music video for their song, "Bat Country", inside one of the Klondike's motel rooms.